Jenny had the vehicle drop Albert and Isobel off at the point where it had picked them up. They walked back to Waverley. The guards at the gate were in a lenient mood and didn’t bother them as they passed. Back at the tavern, Albert paused when he saw an extra ten Italians on top of the twenty already staying on his ground floor. There was no sign of Ben or Kevin.
‘What’s going on?’
Sofia stood up. ‘The door was unlocked. They just came in. I couldn’t stop them.’
He shook his head, keeping his mask on. Isobel took off her coat, hung it up, and busied herself behind the bar. Albert sat down on one of the stools. Where was Old Pete? He hadn’t seen him for two days now.
‘You didn’t say much on the ride back,’ Albert said to Isobel.
‘I was thinking.’
‘Will you help us with the Fortress workers?’ The time for giving Isobel space was over.
‘I would rather speak to Stephen, to verify this Jenny woman. But there’s no way to do that, is there?’
Albert didn’t see how. He shook his head.
‘Then I don’t see that I have a choice.’
‘I’m sorry, Isobel. If there was another way...’ Albert took off his coat and mask, and rubbed his two-day-old beard. He caught his breath in the thin air. ‘I know the life support problem doesn’t affect you, but I’m a hard-working man and I don’t like to see people in trouble, no matter where they come from. I’d like to believe you care about some people living in Waverley.’
Isobel’s lips thinned. She stared at one of the beer taps and nodded. ‘I’ll help, but I can’t promise I’ll be of any use to the skilled workers.’
The front door opened with force and Sal burst in. ‘What happened after I left, Albert?’
Isobel dashed from behind the bar to stand in front of Sal. Albert blinked. It still unnerved him to see her move at an unnatural speed.
‘I’d like to help out at the school. I can’t be here right now.’
Sal nodded. ‘They could always use an extra pair of hands.’
Isobel put her coat back on and left through the open door.
Sal removed her gel mask and massaged her throat. She took in the room, strewn with towels, clothes and blankets. ‘The air’s more than a little thin in here. Since when did you agree to take in more refugees?’
Albert closed and locked the door. ‘They moved in when I wasn’t here. He hooked his finger at Sal. ‘Come on. We need to talk.’ He took her upstairs to the kitchen.
‘Where are the boys?’ said Sal, as she took a seat.
Albert sat down in the chair opposite her, feeling every second of his eighty years. ‘I have no control over what those kids do any more. I don’t know how to keep them safe.’
Sal touched his arm. ‘The boys will be fine. And we’re in this together, even the refugees living in the bar.’
Albert nodded at her and rubbed his tired eyes.
‘Isobel didn’t look very happy,’ said Sal.
‘She thinks I tricked her into helping.’
‘She’ll see reason. She’s a smart woman. When will you go to the Fortress?’
‘I need to speak to Sofia. She’s the only one who knows where it is. But tomorrow, first thing. Jenny will come with us.’
‘And I’ll be there of course.’
‘No. It’s too dangerous. I need you to watch the boys.’
‘Dangerous? I thought the plan was to speak to them, not fight them.’
‘It is. But we don’t know what defences they have in place. I’m just preparing for the worst.’ He paused. ‘Jenny wants me to bring Ben.’
‘Why?’
‘Because he has a connection with Isobel. Because Jenny doesn’t trust that Isobel will help.’
‘She wants to use him as bait.’
‘Something like that.’
‘Are you going to bring him?’
Albert shook his head.
Sal sighed and examined her grease-smeared nails. ‘Every day, more refugees stream in from the other Compounds. It kills me that we have to turn them away.’ She looked at him. ‘Just make sure it goes well.’
‘How is Hans?’
Sal shook her head. ‘There was nothing we could do for him. We don’t have medical supplies or doctors here. He didn’t make it.’
‘Another decent man killed by Marcus.’ He stood, and anger rippled through him. The chair tilted back then righted itself.
‘Take a deep breath, Albert. What’s done is done.’
Albert yanked the kitchen door open and stomped down the stairs. Sal followed.
The floor of the tavern looked like a drop-in centre. He stepped over makeshift mattresses and blankets and ducked under clothes lines packed with airing shirts and trousers.
‘We need to get some order in here. I can’t live like this.’
Several of the Italians looked up in alarm.
‘Tidy this space up.’ He shook the clothes line. ‘This all needs to go outside. We don’t have room in here. I’ll see if I can free up some space upstairs.’
Sofia came through the back door, carrying a basket of wet clothes. She stopped when she saw Albert.
Sal guided him away from the refugees. ‘That sounds like a great idea, Albert. You go back upstairs and make a cup of tea. I’ll explain the situation to everyone.’
‘And where the hell are Ben and Kevin? I need to speak to them. I’ve had enough of this silly fighting between them.’
‘I’ll send them up when they get home.’ Sal gestured upstairs. ‘Now, get going.’
‘No. I need to speak to Sofia.’
‘I’ll do it. Albert, you’re scaring everyone.’
He stomped back up the stairs, but by the time he’d reached the first floor, the fight had drained out of him.
He sat at the kitchen table with the door closed. A cold cup of tea sat in front of him. Albert wished he could rewind time back four days to before the auction. Everything had changed since Isobel’s arrival.
The door creaked open and Ben stuck in his head.
‘There you are. Where’s Kevin?’ Albert half stood.
Ben opened the door further to reveal Kevin standing beside him. ‘We need to speak to you.’
‘I don’t.’ said Kevin. He looked nervous.
A stony-faced Ben pulled him inside the room and closed the door. They both joined Albert at the table.
He sat back down and looked from one boy to the other. ‘What’s going on with you two? Why are you always at each other’s throats?’
Ben nudged Kevin. ‘Do you want to tell him or should I?’
‘Tell me what?’
Kevin dropped his gaze.
Albert rubbed his eyes. ‘Serious issues are happening in Waverley and the people living on my ground floor aren’t here for the thrill of it. I’ve had it up to here with the pair of you, always disappearing when I need you to watch this place. Do I have to ground you both?’
‘I found Kevin with Marcus behind the storage unit at the markets,’ said Ben.
A panicked Albert grabbed Kevin’s arm. ‘Are you okay, son? Did he hurt you?’
‘He wasn’t hurting him, Albert. Turns out Kevin’s doing jobs for Marcus now.’
Albert slapped Kevin’s arm. ‘Marcus? That thieving, murdering lowlife? Kevin, why would you want to do business with that scum?’
Kevin yanked his arm away. ‘I can do what I like. You and Ben do. Like giving that Indigene freak a job. I never agreed to her working here. Seems like I have no say in this family anymore.’
Albert stared at his grandson who he barely recognised anymore. When had things changed so much? ‘What happened to you? What’s made you so bitter about life?’
Kevin’s cheeks bloomed red and he folded his arms.
‘There’s more,’ said Ben. ‘Kevin stole the money from Sal’s safe.’ Albert gripped the table. ‘And it gets worse. Marcus told him to do it.’
Albert closed his eyes for a second. ‘Kevin, please. Explain how this happened.’
Kevin spoke quietly into his chest. ‘He told me to take just enough to put the neighbourhood in debt. He wanted a reason to confiscate some generators.’
‘So where’s the money now?’
‘I buried it behind the tavern.’
The red mark on the tavern. It had simply been to mark the location of the money. Relief washed over him. ‘So, this is all over? Kevin returns the money and life goes back to normal.’
‘He can’t return the money,’ said Ben. ‘If he does, Marcus will know he told us where it was.’
‘I can handle Marcus,’ said Kevin.
‘No you can’t,’ said Albert. ‘So don’t even try. What even possessed you to get mixed up with the likes of him, anyway?’
Kevin’s expression softened for the first time since he sat down. ‘The criminals always have nice things. I guess I wanted the same. I can’t stand this neighbourhood, and other boys living here feel the same way.’
Albert couldn’t believe it. ‘Look at me.’ He waited until Kevin did. ‘Everything comes at a price. All that money, all those nice things? You have to pay in other ways. Most times you pay with your life. Marcus doesn’t give a crap about you or the other boys. I’ve seen the way he treats people who cross him. It’s not pretty.’
‘There’s something else,’ said Ben, nudging Kevin again.
Albert’s stomach danced at the thoughts of what could be left to reveal.
‘Marcus asked me to trash Sal’s place, to take enough generator parts so she couldn’t fix what she has.’
Albert gasped. ‘Sal has nothing to do with any of this.’
‘Marcus says it’s because she took in the bottom-feeder,’ said Kevin. ‘He says she needs to be taught a lesson.’
What Albert needed was to calm down, take control. ‘Tell me when Marcus wants the job done?’
‘Tonight.’
‘And when do you meet up with him?’
Kevin looked down. ‘Tomorrow, behind the market. I give him the parts, he pays me.’
He didn’t see how the boy had a choice. ‘Fine. Carry out this job, then after, tell him you’re done. Do you hear me? No more jobs. You come straight back here after you’re finished. Sal will be waiting for you and you’ll hand over everything Marcus paid you for the parts.’
But Kevin didn’t look up. ‘He also asked for a list of troublemakers.’
‘A list of what? Why?’
Kevin lifted his head. ‘I dunno, Granddad. He just did.’
What would Marcus want with that? The only reason Albert could think of was to make trouble in Waverley. But when he saw Ben biting his thumb, he braced for more bad news.
‘Please don’t tell me there’s more.’
‘No, I... I need to talk to you about something else,’ said Ben.
Albert stood up and ushered Kevin out the door. ‘Sal’s downstairs. Tell her what you’ve been asked to do.’
‘But—’
‘No excuses. You’ve agreed to do this. You must face the consequences of your actions. Go.’
With Kevin gone, Albert sat back down again. ‘Please let this be good news. I can’t handle any more bad news.’
‘It’s about Isobel. I don’t know if I should tell you this. She swore me to secrecy.’
‘Is this something that can help the neighbourhood?’
‘Maybe.’
‘Then she will forgive you. Now, out with it.’
Ben fidgeted with his sleeve. ‘She tricked the criminals at the docking station. She’s not an empath. She’s a structural engineer.’
‘Can she fix the generators?’
‘She says she can’t.’
‘Well, I can’t see how that skill would be of any use to us.’
Ben shook his head. ‘You’re missing the point, Albert. Where do the skilled workers live?’
‘In the medical facilities, underground.’
‘And what did the Italian woman say had happened to their tunnels?’
‘A partial collapse.’
‘If there are blueprints, documents about the tunnel structure, I should be able to find them at the digital library. If Isobel came with me, she could see if the blueprints are of any use.’
Albert stood up, feeling energised for the first time that day. ‘Well, I never expected this. A structural engineer in our neighbourhood.’
‘You can’t tell her you know. She told me not to tell anyone.’
Albert opened the door and stood at the top of the stairs, surveying the quiet chaos below. Ben followed.
‘You say she swore you to secrecy?’
Ben nodded.
Albert glanced at his watch. It was already 7pm: an hour from curfew. ‘It’s too late now, but I’ll speak to Isobel first thing tomorrow morning. If she understands how she could help the skilled workers, she might be more willing to help us.’
‘You promised you wouldn’t say anything, Albert. She’s worried about Marcus finding out.’
Albert nodded as he clutched the rail. ‘That’s why we will speak to her privately about this. I won’t breathe a word to Kevin. That much I promise. I’m not sure if I can trust him, not after all he’s done.’
With a tidier downstairs and the clothes lines gone, Albert felt better. Sal was helping Sofia to fold towels while the men sat at several bunched-up tables playing cards. Kevin sat in a chair away from everyone else, resting his head on folded arms.
‘Did Kevin tell you what he did?’ Albert said to Sal.
‘It’s fine.’ She waved at him but Albert could tell she was hurt. Kevin, a boy she had known for many years, had betrayed her. Sal nodded at Sofia. ‘She’s agreed to go.’
Sofia stopped what she was doing. ‘Si. I am happy to help. I know where la Fortezza is.’
‘Thank you,’ said Albert. ‘But I need another favour from your group, if you don’t mind. While we’re gone, could they keep an eye on this place and my grandsons?’
‘Si. I will translate.’ Sofia muttered a few words in Italian and the group nodded collectively. ‘They are happy to help. You have done so much.’
An alert Kevin stood up. ‘I don’t want to stay here. Let me come with you, Granddad. I can help.’
Albert shook his head. ‘Not until I can trust you again.’ He checked his watch. ‘Don’t you need to be somewhere, Kevin? Try not to mess up Sal’s place too much and get back here before curfew.’