Read Online Before the Storm by Sean McMullen - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Sean McMullen
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closed. Barry pointed at it and whispered, âThatâll be it.â
Just as he spoke they heard the outer door creak open far below, then came footsteps on the stairs. They slipped behind the empty wooden crates and huddled down out of sight. The newcomerâs footsteps continued on the stairs, and it was soon clear that he was going to come all the way to the top. He had the same brisk, military step that Emily had become used to hearing when Fox was on the stairs at home.
Emily heard a rapid but oddly purposeful series of taps on the door. A half dozen taps replied from within, then the visitor responded with several more. There is another person in the room, she concluded, blind panic suddenly paralysing her limbs. Fox seems noble, but he might have associations with criminals who are not. The door creaked open.
âReporting â¦â began Foxâs voice.
âSensor, scoping, intruders!â barked a voice that should not have existed. âThree, bearing, zero zero. Profile, concealed. Armament, knife, one. Status, crouching!â
Emily felt light-headed and on the verge of fainting as the seconds ticked by. Both she and Daniel had made the floorboards creak as they had walked across the landing to hide behind the crates, but the person who glided into view and loomed over them had somehow made no sound at all.
Emily recognised one of the stubby fire-rifles from the scene in Foxâs image machine. She was now seeing it from the most disturbing angle possible, however. The person holding it wore black trousers, a strip of white bandage around his stomach, and had a blue shirt caked with dried blood under an unbuttoned military jacket. His face was familiar; in fact, his face had been etched indelibly into Emilyâs memory two days earlier.
Fox stepped into view. The instant that he saw Emily and Daniel he sighed, then raised his eyes to the ceiling.
âBC, threat status, zero,â Fox explained to the youth.
âIdentify,â ordered the bandaged BC.
âEmily, Daniel, railway official,â he said, then turned to the crouching, terrified trio. âKnife?â he said as he held out his hand.
They stood up slowly, holding their hands high, then Emily surrendered her letter opener. With a flicker of an expression that might have been contempt, BC thumbed something on his weapon, then gestured to the open door and said, âIn.â
At first glance there was only rubbish in the room, but BC had a bed of blankets and newspapers set up behind some boxes in a corner, so that any watchman casually checking the room would see nothing suspicious. Beside the bed were several bottles of water, some fruit and sausage, and other small, bright things that Emily did not recognise at all. An open window looked out onto a gutter between two roofs. The word toilet floated through Emilyâs mind. After all, Daniel had once been in the habit of peeing through his bedroom window into the guttering because he was too lazy to go downstairs to the toilet â at least until the vicar, the deacon, and half a dozen members of the Ladiesâ Auxiliary Council of the parish had observed him in the act from their tea party next door. That had ended his pocket money for so long that he had had to ferry suspicious packages for Barry the Bag on his bicycle to earn his own money.
âSit,â ordered BC, closing the door and pointing to a corner.
Emily, Daniel and Barry sat on the floor, their arms still raised. Suddenly BC seemed to weaken, then sway. He sat down hastily on one of the boxes. For the first time Emily realised how very small BC was; in fact, he was shorter than Daniel. He was of a curiously slight, almost frail build, yet his eyes blazed with authority.
âRailway official, state name,â said BC in a tone that demanded an honest answer on pain of death.
âBarry. Barry the Bag, er, like, Barry Porter, that is. Iâm a mate of Dan the
Just as he spoke they heard the outer door creak open far below, then came footsteps on the stairs. They slipped behind the empty wooden crates and huddled down out of sight. The newcomerâs footsteps continued on the stairs, and it was soon clear that he was going to come all the way to the top. He had the same brisk, military step that Emily had become used to hearing when Fox was on the stairs at home.
Emily heard a rapid but oddly purposeful series of taps on the door. A half dozen taps replied from within, then the visitor responded with several more. There is another person in the room, she concluded, blind panic suddenly paralysing her limbs. Fox seems noble, but he might have associations with criminals who are not. The door creaked open.
âReporting â¦â began Foxâs voice.
âSensor, scoping, intruders!â barked a voice that should not have existed. âThree, bearing, zero zero. Profile, concealed. Armament, knife, one. Status, crouching!â
Emily felt light-headed and on the verge of fainting as the seconds ticked by. Both she and Daniel had made the floorboards creak as they had walked across the landing to hide behind the crates, but the person who glided into view and loomed over them had somehow made no sound at all.
Emily recognised one of the stubby fire-rifles from the scene in Foxâs image machine. She was now seeing it from the most disturbing angle possible, however. The person holding it wore black trousers, a strip of white bandage around his stomach, and had a blue shirt caked with dried blood under an unbuttoned military jacket. His face was familiar; in fact, his face had been etched indelibly into Emilyâs memory two days earlier.
Fox stepped into view. The instant that he saw Emily and Daniel he sighed, then raised his eyes to the ceiling.
âBC, threat status, zero,â Fox explained to the youth.
âIdentify,â ordered the bandaged BC.
âEmily, Daniel, railway official,â he said, then turned to the crouching, terrified trio. âKnife?â he said as he held out his hand.
They stood up slowly, holding their hands high, then Emily surrendered her letter opener. With a flicker of an expression that might have been contempt, BC thumbed something on his weapon, then gestured to the open door and said, âIn.â
At first glance there was only rubbish in the room, but BC had a bed of blankets and newspapers set up behind some boxes in a corner, so that any watchman casually checking the room would see nothing suspicious. Beside the bed were several bottles of water, some fruit and sausage, and other small, bright things that Emily did not recognise at all. An open window looked out onto a gutter between two roofs. The word toilet floated through Emilyâs mind. After all, Daniel had once been in the habit of peeing through his bedroom window into the guttering because he was too lazy to go downstairs to the toilet â at least until the vicar, the deacon, and half a dozen members of the Ladiesâ Auxiliary Council of the parish had observed him in the act from their tea party next door. That had ended his pocket money for so long that he had had to ferry suspicious packages for Barry the Bag on his bicycle to earn his own money.
âSit,â ordered BC, closing the door and pointing to a corner.
Emily, Daniel and Barry sat on the floor, their arms still raised. Suddenly BC seemed to weaken, then sway. He sat down hastily on one of the boxes. For the first time Emily realised how very small BC was; in fact, he was shorter than Daniel. He was of a curiously slight, almost frail build, yet his eyes blazed with authority.
âRailway official, state name,â said BC in a tone that demanded an honest answer on pain of death.
âBarry. Barry the Bag, er, like, Barry Porter, that is. Iâm a mate of Dan the
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