Read Online The Boy in the Smoke by Maureen Johnson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Maureen Johnson
Ads: Link
wore an elegantly tailored but nondescript grey suit—a light summer one that didn’t crumple in the heat.
“Stephen Dene,” the man said, standing and extending his hand. “I expect you’ve had rather a strange evening.”
The matter-of-factness of the man’s voice was soothing.
“I’m Thorpe,” the man said. “Come inside. Unless you want to walk. It’s nicer out here than in there, but it’s your choice.”
Part of Stephen wanted to go inside, just to be assured that this man
could
go inside. But a bigger part believed him, and preferred the cooling night air and being able to walk. Also, he could simply run off if he chose to do so.
“Outside,” he said.
“All right. Let’s walk a bit.”
The stretch of the river along Vauxhall was darker than the path further up, and the bushes rattled a bit as they passed. Rats? Drunks? It was hard to tell.
“I’ve read your records,” Thorpe said. “Quite impressive.”
Stephen had no reply to that. That was simply what people said to you when you went to Eton, that you were impressive.
“We’ve come to recruit you,” Thorpe said.
“Recruit me for
what
?”
“To restart a group that hasn’t been functional since the early 1990s. It appears that London is a city plagued by the departed. This causes any number of problems, anything from disruptions on Tube lines to accidents or even death. So, for years, we had a group who could see and deal with these issues. It’s not something we really want getting out—that we run a unit that deals with ghosts. And, as I said, the last unit was disbanded some time ago. But it’s been decided that it must be reopened. And we’d like you to be at the head of it.”
“Me? How did you even
find
me?”
“We’ve been looking for someone like you for a long time. We had feelers out at hospitals and clinics. We were looking for someone around your age, someone who had just had a close brush with death, someone who then reported seeing … ”
“ … ghosts.”
“Ghosts, yes. When you turned up, we acted quickly. You have everything we’re looking for—a fine academic record, high-scoring, rational, good levels of physical fitness, and some experience in leadership. Eton certainly trains for that.”
“And you want me to run a group?” Stephen said. “What kind of group?”
“Technically, a police unit. Much of the work is done under the auspices of other professions, to allow access to various places. So you could be uniformed police, or work for the Underground, or British Gas…”
“A police officer?” Stephen said, stopping him. “I could become a
police officer
?”
“Yes. Does that interest you?”
It definitely interested him, but it still all felt like a trick.
“What was the business with the torch?” Stephen asked.
Thorpe reached his hand into his pocket and produced a plastic vial. He illuminated his palm with his phone, revealing that the vial contained two small, clear stones.
“These are diamonds,” he said. “Not particularly valuable ones. They’re small and flawed. There is a third one of this set, which is located in the torch you handled earlier. When a current is run through these stones, they produce something—I’m not going to pretend to know what—but something that dismisses whatever the thing … the … ghost.”
“You’re joking,” Stephen said.
“Trust me, I wish I was. I’m not necessarily any more comfortable with this than you are. But it is what it is.”
“You’re saying that you have
diamonds
that can get rid of ghosts.”
“That is exactly what I am saying, because it’s what I’ve been told. Diamonds are excellent semiconductors. They’re pure carbon. I don’t know why they work. I don’t know where we got them. But we have them. They are quite a precious resource. They’re called
termini
. Each one, a terminus. An end point. Name’s a bit on the nose, but I suppose it does provide an accurate
“Stephen Dene,” the man said, standing and extending his hand. “I expect you’ve had rather a strange evening.”
The matter-of-factness of the man’s voice was soothing.
“I’m Thorpe,” the man said. “Come inside. Unless you want to walk. It’s nicer out here than in there, but it’s your choice.”
Part of Stephen wanted to go inside, just to be assured that this man
could
go inside. But a bigger part believed him, and preferred the cooling night air and being able to walk. Also, he could simply run off if he chose to do so.
“Outside,” he said.
“All right. Let’s walk a bit.”
The stretch of the river along Vauxhall was darker than the path further up, and the bushes rattled a bit as they passed. Rats? Drunks? It was hard to tell.
“I’ve read your records,” Thorpe said. “Quite impressive.”
Stephen had no reply to that. That was simply what people said to you when you went to Eton, that you were impressive.
“We’ve come to recruit you,” Thorpe said.
“Recruit me for
what
?”
“To restart a group that hasn’t been functional since the early 1990s. It appears that London is a city plagued by the departed. This causes any number of problems, anything from disruptions on Tube lines to accidents or even death. So, for years, we had a group who could see and deal with these issues. It’s not something we really want getting out—that we run a unit that deals with ghosts. And, as I said, the last unit was disbanded some time ago. But it’s been decided that it must be reopened. And we’d like you to be at the head of it.”
“Me? How did you even
find
me?”
“We’ve been looking for someone like you for a long time. We had feelers out at hospitals and clinics. We were looking for someone around your age, someone who had just had a close brush with death, someone who then reported seeing … ”
“ … ghosts.”
“Ghosts, yes. When you turned up, we acted quickly. You have everything we’re looking for—a fine academic record, high-scoring, rational, good levels of physical fitness, and some experience in leadership. Eton certainly trains for that.”
“And you want me to run a group?” Stephen said. “What kind of group?”
“Technically, a police unit. Much of the work is done under the auspices of other professions, to allow access to various places. So you could be uniformed police, or work for the Underground, or British Gas…”
“A police officer?” Stephen said, stopping him. “I could become a
police officer
?”
“Yes. Does that interest you?”
It definitely interested him, but it still all felt like a trick.
“What was the business with the torch?” Stephen asked.
Thorpe reached his hand into his pocket and produced a plastic vial. He illuminated his palm with his phone, revealing that the vial contained two small, clear stones.
“These are diamonds,” he said. “Not particularly valuable ones. They’re small and flawed. There is a third one of this set, which is located in the torch you handled earlier. When a current is run through these stones, they produce something—I’m not going to pretend to know what—but something that dismisses whatever the thing … the … ghost.”
“You’re joking,” Stephen said.
“Trust me, I wish I was. I’m not necessarily any more comfortable with this than you are. But it is what it is.”
“You’re saying that you have
diamonds
that can get rid of ghosts.”
“That is exactly what I am saying, because it’s what I’ve been told. Diamonds are excellent semiconductors. They’re pure carbon. I don’t know why they work. I don’t know where we got them. But we have them. They are quite a precious resource. They’re called
termini
. Each one, a terminus. An end point. Name’s a bit on the nose, but I suppose it does provide an accurate
Similar Books
