Read Online Thaumatology 12: Vengeance by Niall Teasdale - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Niall Teasdale
Ads: Link
all that’s happened over the last few years.’
Barry grunted, possibly in agreement. ‘We’ve tightened security at the power plant and increased patrols around the universities, just in case. There is, however, a complication.’ He tapped a button on a tablet sitting on the conference room table and a screen lit up behind him showing a map of London with three points marked on it. ‘These are where our guests vanished. This is why I actually asked you to come in.’
Ceri peered at the three dots, mentally joining them up. ‘You know, that does look like the centre point would be around Battersea…’
Another tap produced a vaguely circular shape on the map, hovering over the general area of the power station. ‘The mathematicians say it’s hazy, given the inexact points of reference, and there only being three of them, but the centre of the effect is somewhere in there.’
‘And the power station is right in the centre of that blob,’ Ceri added, frowning.
‘So the complication is that the nut job might be right?’ Lily asked.
‘Pretty much,’ Barry growled.
‘I’d better get Cheryl and go in to take a look,’ Ceri muttered. ‘There’s no way the generator could be doing this, but…’
‘But what?’
‘This effect would take a huge amount of power to run constantly.’
‘And,’ Kate said, ‘there’s a core region close to thirty thaums in there.’
‘Is that a lot?’ John asked.
‘Let’s put it this way,’ Ceri told him, ‘you need more than sunblock to go in there.’
Battersea.
There was a crowd outside the gates of the power station, several of them waving placards with various religious-sounding slogans daubed on them. John drove Ceri and Cheryl in slowly with Kate watching the protestors, but it seemed peaceful enough, if noisy.
Michael was waiting for them at the main entrance, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, and a pair of moccasins, but with a name badge clipped to his waistband which made him look rather more official than Ceri was used to.
‘Michael?’ Ceri said as she got out of the car. ‘They called you in?’
‘About that lot outside,’ he corrected, ‘but when I heard you were coming over I said I’d take you in.’
‘Oh, the “pack liaison” thing?’
He nodded. ‘We’re keeping an eye on things out there. We’ve got Brian and Lynn in skin watching them in shifts. The other guards are under orders to steer clear.’
Ceri nodded in turn and glanced at the two cops. ‘Brian and Lynn are Guards, good people, very good at being unnoticed. They helped at the conference last year.’ She turned back. ‘Let’s get this done with. Did you get me something to wear, Michael?’
‘Torpen’s got a boiler suit, boots, and a hardhat for you. I don’t think he realises what you’re up to, but I figured they’d do.’
‘He’ll freak,’ Cheryl predicted.
~~~
Horace Torpen, supervising engineer at the plant, watched as Ceri pulled her T-shirt over her head and then spun on the spot, his cheeks flaming red. Cheryl gave him a smile as though Ceri stripping in public was just normal practice. From the way Michael was behaving, you would think it was.
‘Has there been anything unusual here in the last few days?’ Cheryl asked.
‘No,’ Torpen growled. He was not an agreeable man at the best of times and being embarrassed was not making him more pleasant. ‘Well, we had a slight fluctuation in output a few days ago. It stabilised.’
‘That shouldn’t happen,’ Ceri stated flatly. ‘There’s a buffer built into the enchantments on the central pylon. That should absorb any fluctuations in input over a short period.’ She was not about to mention that the buffer was there as a start-up reservoir for an inter-dimensional gate, but it had turned out to be useful anyway.
‘Well, it happened. What is it you’re planning to do, Doctor Brent?’
‘I need to take a look inside the generator,’ Ceri replied. ‘Someone may have done something
Barry grunted, possibly in agreement. ‘We’ve tightened security at the power plant and increased patrols around the universities, just in case. There is, however, a complication.’ He tapped a button on a tablet sitting on the conference room table and a screen lit up behind him showing a map of London with three points marked on it. ‘These are where our guests vanished. This is why I actually asked you to come in.’
Ceri peered at the three dots, mentally joining them up. ‘You know, that does look like the centre point would be around Battersea…’
Another tap produced a vaguely circular shape on the map, hovering over the general area of the power station. ‘The mathematicians say it’s hazy, given the inexact points of reference, and there only being three of them, but the centre of the effect is somewhere in there.’
‘And the power station is right in the centre of that blob,’ Ceri added, frowning.
‘So the complication is that the nut job might be right?’ Lily asked.
‘Pretty much,’ Barry growled.
‘I’d better get Cheryl and go in to take a look,’ Ceri muttered. ‘There’s no way the generator could be doing this, but…’
‘But what?’
‘This effect would take a huge amount of power to run constantly.’
‘And,’ Kate said, ‘there’s a core region close to thirty thaums in there.’
‘Is that a lot?’ John asked.
‘Let’s put it this way,’ Ceri told him, ‘you need more than sunblock to go in there.’
Battersea.
There was a crowd outside the gates of the power station, several of them waving placards with various religious-sounding slogans daubed on them. John drove Ceri and Cheryl in slowly with Kate watching the protestors, but it seemed peaceful enough, if noisy.
Michael was waiting for them at the main entrance, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, and a pair of moccasins, but with a name badge clipped to his waistband which made him look rather more official than Ceri was used to.
‘Michael?’ Ceri said as she got out of the car. ‘They called you in?’
‘About that lot outside,’ he corrected, ‘but when I heard you were coming over I said I’d take you in.’
‘Oh, the “pack liaison” thing?’
He nodded. ‘We’re keeping an eye on things out there. We’ve got Brian and Lynn in skin watching them in shifts. The other guards are under orders to steer clear.’
Ceri nodded in turn and glanced at the two cops. ‘Brian and Lynn are Guards, good people, very good at being unnoticed. They helped at the conference last year.’ She turned back. ‘Let’s get this done with. Did you get me something to wear, Michael?’
‘Torpen’s got a boiler suit, boots, and a hardhat for you. I don’t think he realises what you’re up to, but I figured they’d do.’
‘He’ll freak,’ Cheryl predicted.
~~~
Horace Torpen, supervising engineer at the plant, watched as Ceri pulled her T-shirt over her head and then spun on the spot, his cheeks flaming red. Cheryl gave him a smile as though Ceri stripping in public was just normal practice. From the way Michael was behaving, you would think it was.
‘Has there been anything unusual here in the last few days?’ Cheryl asked.
‘No,’ Torpen growled. He was not an agreeable man at the best of times and being embarrassed was not making him more pleasant. ‘Well, we had a slight fluctuation in output a few days ago. It stabilised.’
‘That shouldn’t happen,’ Ceri stated flatly. ‘There’s a buffer built into the enchantments on the central pylon. That should absorb any fluctuations in input over a short period.’ She was not about to mention that the buffer was there as a start-up reservoir for an inter-dimensional gate, but it had turned out to be useful anyway.
‘Well, it happened. What is it you’re planning to do, Doctor Brent?’
‘I need to take a look inside the generator,’ Ceri replied. ‘Someone may have done something
Similar Books
