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“Thanks for the offer, John,” Hannah said, “but I really don’t need you complicating matters right now. This is serious.”
Annabel came up behind them. Mordred was having increasing difficulty recognising her: she looked like she’d been dragged through a hedge not just backwards, but forwards and sideways, and so many times she’d ended up wearing it. Her hair was spectacular. It contained leaves. “Could I have a word with you, John?” she asked. “In private?”
Hannah looked as if here was a new piece of evidence for a hypothesis she’d forgotten - her brother the womaniser – and withdrew with a scowl.
“What’s the problem?” Mordred said.
“Keep your voice down. Tariq’s gone for a drink of water. I just wanted to tell you again: sorry for what happened at my wedding. I never want you to mention it.”
“I thought we’d already agreed that.”
“I love Tariq now. I didn’t think I could, but I do. And I don’t love you. I thought I could, but I don’t. I can’t.”
“That’s fine. I just don’t understand why you married him when you weren’t sure.”
“Because people kept telling me: ‘nobody’s ever certain, everyone gets the jitters’. I thought I was just normal. But obviously I’m not. In any case, I do know now that I love Tariq. For certain.”
“Okay. Like I say, I can be very discreet. It never happened.”
“It’s not really you I’m worried about.”
It clicked. “Oh, I see. Alec, yes. Well, as a matter of fact, I’ve already spoken to him. Right afterwards. His actual words were, ‘As far as I’m concerned, it’s forgotten’. So sorted.”
“You’re joking.”
“Think about it. I like you, and so does he. Obviously, we’re going to try and limit the damage.”
She beamed. “I thought it might be all over Tracy Island by now.”
“Believe me, Alec’s passed the point in his life where swapping gossip for attention seems like a good trade.”
“I know that this seems like a trivial thing, given what we’re up against, but it’s important to me. More than anything.”
“Understood,” he said.
“In that case, let’s get back to the matter in hand. Did I just hear you say you had a plan?”
“A very good one. However, verily I say unto you, no prophet is accepted in his own country. Hannah’s not interested. Yet.”
“You don’t need her consent do you?”
“Unfortunately, she’s an integral part of it.”
“Tell me. I’ll pass it off as mine.”
He grinned. “I like the way you just assume it’ll be good enough.”
“You’re hardly an idiot, John.”
Five minutes later, Tariq re-joined them and the three of them went to find Hannah. She was in the room where the food had been served, sitting on a low table, eating a crust of stale bread. “Where’s Edna?” she asked.
“She’ll be along in a minute,” Annabel said in a distant tone. “I needed to have a word with John, I’ll be having a word with Edna in a moment, but right now, I need to speak to you.”
She stood up. “What about?”
“The truth is, Tariq and I are not who we claimed to be. Our meeting with Edna in Saint Helier was no accident. We’re bodyguards. When her representative at the British Athletics Race Agency Service discovered where she was, she despatched Tariq and I to look after her.”
Hannah pointed from Annabel to Tariq and back again. “So you’re not ...?”
“Husband and wife? That part is true, and it’s also true that we’re on your side. We came to Jersey with open minds – looking after one of the greatest sprinters Britain’s got isn’t incompatible with supporting either party in the dispute – but we’ve come round to your way of thinking. Even if we hadn’t, given that Edna’s clearly attached to John, and John’s determined to remain with you, we need a plan of action to stop people getting hurt. I’m pleased to say, I’ve got one.”
“I’m, er, listening ...” Hannah said.
“We’ve got to think ourselves into Pownall’s shoes. He’s trying to find us. He knows a lot of people have given up the fight and reached Saint Helier, or possibly Gorey harbour in the east, depending on which way they came in. He’ll know there are others still out here. They’ll be his priority. He’s probably posted lookouts, and if they’re effective, they’ll already have intercepted the leavers and be questioning them. It’s unlikely anyone’ll rat us out, so they’ll have to resort to other measures. They’ll confiscate a phone or two, or fifty, and read the messages. So what you need to do is text as many people as you can, and tell them where we are. ‘Good luck, don’t let on we’re in the war tunnels at Poingdestre Farm’. Not quite that crass, but equally reckless, or so it must appear. When Pownall’s shock troops get here, we need something to lure them into the tunnels, then we’ll close and bolt the doors on them. The electricity supply’s probably controlled from the farm, so we should be able to plunge them into complete darkness once they’re inside.”
“How are you going to get them in?” Hannah asked.
“Simple. I’m going to go down there and pretend to be you. Tariq will be with me. Using the power of voice imitation and echo, we’ll produce the impression that you’re only one of several people down there. That you’ve been caught unsuspecting, in other words.”
Hannah laughed. “And how are you both going to get out afterwards?”
“I’m not. At least not for a while. As you can see, there are rooms with reinforced metal doors leading off from the corridor on either side. Tariq and I will repair to one of those and lock it from inside. Then we’re safe. It may be that each room’s on a different circuit, and the corridor itself can be isolated, so hopefully, we’ll have light in there, but, if not, we’ll definitely have food and drink, enough for three or four days. The farmer’s bringing it now. All we have to do is sit tight until reinforcements arrive from London.”
“How’s that going to happen?”
“What do you mean?”
“Reinforcements from London. Given that Pownall isn’t allowing anyone onto the island?”
“She’s got a point,” Mordred said.
Annabel looked at each of them in turn. “Haven’t - ? You’ve not heard?”
“Heard what?” Mordred said.
“The news. A few hours ago. The hurricane nearly tore Saint Helier apart. Thanks to Pownall’s isolationism, those families reliant on tourism were already halfway to bankruptcy. Storm damage was the last straw. Early this morning, a big crowd marched on his house with torches and pitchforks, demanding an end to it all. Luckily, for him, his Waterloo coincided with ours, and his wasn’t quite so bad. This morning, he went on TV and addressed the island, US President-style. We’ve achieved 100% success in ending the protests. Our financial services employers remain fully committed to the island’s future, and have agreed to compensate businesses harmed as a result of the stand-off. The emergency is now over. We have won. For that reason, and with true gladness of heart, I hereby declare our ferry ports and the airport open again to visitors with immediate effect.”
“Three cheers for the iron man of Saint Helier,” Mordred said.
“And yet he still sends his goons out to give us a mauling,” Hannah said. “What was it the PM said in Yes Minister? ‘In defeat, malice; in victory, revenge’? That just about sums Pownall up.”
“The point is,” Annabel said, “Tariq and I work for a high-profile security agency. And with the island welcoming guests again, they will send people to rescue us.”
“I have to admit, it sounds like a good proposal,” Hannah said. “There’s only one problem. What right do I have to ask you to make that kind of sacrifice?”
Mordred rolled his eyes and threw his hands up. “For God’s sake.”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Annabel said. “I’m doing it for Edna. You’re taking her with you, and the two of you can look after each other. When the chips are down, she’s pretty handy in a fight.”
“You and Tariq are going to be inside the tunnel,” Hannah went on. “Who’s going to shut the doors and bolt them in?”
“That’d be me,” Mordred said.
She grinned and shook her head. “Oh, no.” She laughed. “No, no, no. No, John, no.”
“Why bloody not?” he asked.
“Because you wouldn’t be able to do it properly, you’d - ”
“I’ve just about had enough of you treating me like a complete imbecile!” He didn’t feel angry, but it was worth a try. “Every time I propose something new, or try to strike out on my own, or show the slightest little bit of independence, you’re down on me like a ton of bricks. I didn’t ASK you to come here; I didn’t ASK you to get pregnant. But now that you ARE pregnant, and you ARE here, THE LEAST YOU CAN DO IS LET ME HELP YOU OUT!”
Obviously this was the last thing she was expecting, which meant it may have worked. She looked at him for a moment as if she’d never seen him be so cruel, and how could he, then burst into tears.
“I’m sorry!” she wailed, turning to Annabel and Tariq. She waved her face. “It’s the hormones! I’m not normally like this! I’m sorry!”
Mordred put his arms round her and they hugged as she tried to rein herself in.
“Stop thinking,” he told her. “Just follow orders for once in your life. You’re going with Edna and I’m staying here, and I’ll be okay. I’m sorry I shouted. I still love you.”
She wiped her eyes while still flooding them with tears. “Don’t – don’t do anything too risky, will you?”
“No,” he said. “Now go and find the others, and get moving. I’ll meet you in a few hours at Plemont fields.”
She looked at him mournfully, as if she might never see him again, then got up to leave.
“Not so fast,” Annabel told her. “I need your clothes. And one more thing: don’t call for a taxi. We think Pownall may be listening in on their offices.”