Read Online Tunnels 05 - Spiral by Roderick Gordon - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Roderick Gordon
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“You don’t mean that!”
She bowed her head. She hadn’t combed her thinning gray hair after her nap, and it was as disheveled as a wind-ravaged bird’s nest. “I do, ’fraid to say,” she whispered in a downbeat way. “I do. I think it’s all over for us now.”
“You don’t really believe that.” There was a note of reprimand in the Second Officer’s voice, even though he was talking with his mouth full. Realizing that gravy was dripping from his spoon onto his blue tunic, he sat up so any spillage would instead be caught by the tray. As he did so, he sniffed, catching the aroma coming from the stew. “This is tasty,” he complimented his mother in an attempt to lift her spirits. “You’ve really outdone yourself.” He frowned. “But we never normally have rat on weekdays, do we?”
He stirred the watery gravy in the bowl. As he did so, something floated up from the bottom.
Although the heat had turned most of it a dull gray, in one place the greyhound’s tiny eyeball still had a pinkish hue to it.
He dropped the spoon in the bowl.
“You didn’t!”
His mother was up and out of her chair and beetling rapidly toward the door. “Times are ’ard. There’s not enough food to go r —”
“You monstrous old hag!” the Second Officer shouted, throwing the tray across the room. “You did! You cooked my bloody dog!”
“I hear my father got you behind the wheel, so why don’t you do the honors?” Drake lobbed the car keys at Will. “And take it slowly because I want to brief you both on the way,” he said, pointing at the track that led to the woods.
He continued to talk as they trundled along. “I’m going to introduce you to some old friends. They aren’t exactly used to having people around, so you have to tread carefully with them.”
“Why? Who are they?” Chester asked from the backseat.
“They’re here on the estate because they didn’t have anywhere else to go. They’ve all worked with Parry in the past — even as far back as his tours in Malaya. Many of them are . . . how can I put it . . . ?” Drake ran a hand over his clean-shaven scalp as he chose the right words. “Battle weary. And some of them were deemed too much of a liability to be allowed back into the general populace. So Parry undertook to the authorities that he’d give them a home here.”
The boys absorbed this, then Will ventured, “So are they dangerous?”
“Potentially, yes. These men have served their country in ways you couldn’t even
begin
to imagine. They’ve been to the dark side — a place you don’t return from unscathed.”
As Will recognized the gate with the danger sign on it, Drake told him to stop. He slowed the Land Rover to a juddering halt and turned off the ignition. Drake made no move to get out, so the boys remained in their seats.
“But how well do you know these people?” Will asked.
“They were around while I was growing up. My mother died young, and they helped Parry to look after me, particularly as he went abroad a lot. They were kind of like my extended family.” Drake smiled to himself. “A bunch of extremely strange but incredibly interesting uncles.”
“But why are
we
meeting them?” Chester asked. “Why not my dad and Mrs. Burrows?”
Drake swiveled around in his seat so he could speak to Will and Chester at the same time. “You have no idea how much you’ve both changed, do you?”
“What do you mean?” Will said, exchanging a glance with Chester.
“When I first took you under my wing in the Deeps, you were a couple of baby-faced kids, with no idea what you were doing. But you have now.” Drake let his words sink in before he went on. “I know it hasn’t been easy for you with the Styx on your tail.”
“You can say that again,” Chester muttered.
“And it shows,” Drake said. “These men will recognize that in you. They’ve been there, too, in their lives. And I need them to realize that the threat is real, and persuade them
She bowed her head. She hadn’t combed her thinning gray hair after her nap, and it was as disheveled as a wind-ravaged bird’s nest. “I do, ’fraid to say,” she whispered in a downbeat way. “I do. I think it’s all over for us now.”
“You don’t really believe that.” There was a note of reprimand in the Second Officer’s voice, even though he was talking with his mouth full. Realizing that gravy was dripping from his spoon onto his blue tunic, he sat up so any spillage would instead be caught by the tray. As he did so, he sniffed, catching the aroma coming from the stew. “This is tasty,” he complimented his mother in an attempt to lift her spirits. “You’ve really outdone yourself.” He frowned. “But we never normally have rat on weekdays, do we?”
He stirred the watery gravy in the bowl. As he did so, something floated up from the bottom.
Although the heat had turned most of it a dull gray, in one place the greyhound’s tiny eyeball still had a pinkish hue to it.
He dropped the spoon in the bowl.
“You didn’t!”
His mother was up and out of her chair and beetling rapidly toward the door. “Times are ’ard. There’s not enough food to go r —”
“You monstrous old hag!” the Second Officer shouted, throwing the tray across the room. “You did! You cooked my bloody dog!”
“I hear my father got you behind the wheel, so why don’t you do the honors?” Drake lobbed the car keys at Will. “And take it slowly because I want to brief you both on the way,” he said, pointing at the track that led to the woods.
He continued to talk as they trundled along. “I’m going to introduce you to some old friends. They aren’t exactly used to having people around, so you have to tread carefully with them.”
“Why? Who are they?” Chester asked from the backseat.
“They’re here on the estate because they didn’t have anywhere else to go. They’ve all worked with Parry in the past — even as far back as his tours in Malaya. Many of them are . . . how can I put it . . . ?” Drake ran a hand over his clean-shaven scalp as he chose the right words. “Battle weary. And some of them were deemed too much of a liability to be allowed back into the general populace. So Parry undertook to the authorities that he’d give them a home here.”
The boys absorbed this, then Will ventured, “So are they dangerous?”
“Potentially, yes. These men have served their country in ways you couldn’t even
begin
to imagine. They’ve been to the dark side — a place you don’t return from unscathed.”
As Will recognized the gate with the danger sign on it, Drake told him to stop. He slowed the Land Rover to a juddering halt and turned off the ignition. Drake made no move to get out, so the boys remained in their seats.
“But how well do you know these people?” Will asked.
“They were around while I was growing up. My mother died young, and they helped Parry to look after me, particularly as he went abroad a lot. They were kind of like my extended family.” Drake smiled to himself. “A bunch of extremely strange but incredibly interesting uncles.”
“But why are
we
meeting them?” Chester asked. “Why not my dad and Mrs. Burrows?”
Drake swiveled around in his seat so he could speak to Will and Chester at the same time. “You have no idea how much you’ve both changed, do you?”
“What do you mean?” Will said, exchanging a glance with Chester.
“When I first took you under my wing in the Deeps, you were a couple of baby-faced kids, with no idea what you were doing. But you have now.” Drake let his words sink in before he went on. “I know it hasn’t been easy for you with the Styx on your tail.”
“You can say that again,” Chester muttered.
“And it shows,” Drake said. “These men will recognize that in you. They’ve been there, too, in their lives. And I need them to realize that the threat is real, and persuade them
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