Day of the Assassins

future. We had considered that scenario but believed it to be highly unlikely. But science moves quickly…”

“Two time machines? Sounds like things could get really messed up. Dr Pendelshape said something about the ‘Armageddon Scenario’.”

“Yes — a theoretical possibility. You could get into a series of interventions and reversals in history… anything could happen. It’s unpredictable and very dangerous.”

The professor removed his round glasses and started to polish them energetically on a napkin, as his mind spun in wonderment at the potential consequences of time-travel interventions.

“A kind of time war,” he said — probably with more enthusiasm than he intended.

“If you like, Professor, but we don’t even want to contemplate that. We must stop the Benefactor from doing anything at all.”

“But you can’t do that — you don’t know where he is — he has his own Taurus — he can do whatever he wants… whenever he wants.”

The Rector stared down at Jack. His expression had changed — he now had a sympathetic, even sad, look in his eye, “Of course, you would be right, but for one thing.”

Jack cocked his head, not sure what the Rector meant.

“Sorry — I keep calling him ‘the Benefactor’ — old names, old habits, I’m afraid. You of course know by now, who the Benefactor is?”

“Some nutcase — sounds like.” Jack glanced over to the professor and smiled nervously.

“He’s your father, Jack.”

A gilded cage

Jack heard the words but they made no sense. For a second, he just stared blankly at the Rector.

“What?”

“The Benefactor — he’s your father…”

“But… how…?”

“Jack, I know this is hard…”

Slowly it started to become clear. “…the library at Cairnfield…”

“Yes — your father’s workshop.”

It all made sense. All the First World War memorabilia they had found there. Then there was the present of a history book and his strange flashbacks of the trip to the First World War battlefields and cemeteries — no doubt driven by his father’s interest in history — maybe his desire for Jack to share the same interest, and share his horror at the slaughter. And then there was his early childhood near Geneva — where his father had worked with the rest of the Taurus team. And his father never being at home — always working — which wasn’t surprising given the importance of what he was doing. And, of course, the separation from his mum. It was obvious now why that had happened. The stress must have been unbearable. Jack couldn’t believe that he had not realised it before.

“But why wasn’t I told… why didn’t Mum say…?”

“To protect you. Knowledge of the Taurus, and the people involved with it, is strictly controlled. Carole, your mother, is aware, she has to be… but she is on our side. Your father pleaded with her desperately for you both to join him when he left. But Carole was determined that she should try to give you a normal life… not to have you caught up in all… this. And anyway…”

“Anyway what?”

The Rector turned away again, rubbing his hands by the fire. “Sorry Jack… your father could be… difficult.”

“So, this explains the message we received from Jack’s mother on the time phone in the balloon,” the professor said.

“We managed to send a temporary signal from our Taurus to your time phone. We told Carole immediately what had happened, and we sent the message from her, we thought you would trust her, to try to warn you that we would be bringing you in. Not to resist. We would have tried to get you back right then — but there was no signal.”

“So why send a couple of thugs?” Jack said crossly.

“MacFarlane and Smith?” the Rector raised his eyebrows, “This is not a game, Jack. The fight you witnessed at the school was… unfortunate. But we were desperate — we had to act very, very fast.”

“But on Dreadnought… they were going to inject me with some stuff, then Gordon shot at me with that weird rifle thing when I managed to get on the balloon.”

“No. It might have appeared like that to you. You were under intense stress. They had strict orders to sedate you if necessary, but to bring you home, safely, as soon as we had a signal. I understand that Mr Macfarlane’s shot at the balloon was an attempt to free it from its moorings before you boarded it. It was the shot of a marksman… He was certainly not aiming for you. Those two are utterly trustworthy.” He added under his breath, “Although sometimes they become a little over enthusiastic.”

“But you still have not explained why this young man is so important to you — why he needs to be mixed up in all of this?” the professor said, glancing across at Jack sympathetically. “Surely it is Jack’s father you want, not Jack?”

The Rector sighed, “Don’t you see? I’m afraid, Jack, in a way, you are a kind of hostage. If we have you, then the Benefactor, your father, has his hands tied… You are the only person in the world that he cares about. He even thinks Carole has betrayed him now. The only way we can stop him using the Taurus is by threatening to harm you if he does.”

Jack suddenly realised the terrible logic of his predicament and thought back to the email from his father that he and Angus had read in Pendelshape’s store cupboard: I fear that when they find out, they may take Orion… we must protect Orion.

Orion. At last he knew who that was. Orion was himself. His father had wanted Pendelshape to make sure that Jack was safe, so that his father would be free to use his own Taurus, without the Rector and VIGIL stopping him by threatening to harm his son. It explained, too, why Pendelshape had taken them into his confidence so suddenly and taken such a risk in showing them the Taurus and its control room. Pendelshape had been working secretly with his father all along. Before the Rector had arrived with Tony and Gordon in the control room, Pendelshape was about to take Jack somewhere so that the Rector could never find them. In fact, as he had guessed, Pendelshape had been planning to use the Taurus to hide Jack in time. In 1914. Then, his father could use his second Taurus to locate them and rescue them — so they would be permanently free from the clutches of the Rector and VIGIL. But the Rector had arrived too soon and had upset the plan. Ironically, Jack had been so frightened by the sudden arrival of the Rector and the VIGIL guards, he had panicked and used the Taurus to escape anyway.

But the email had also mentioned someone else: Lynx.

There is nothing we can do about Lynx now — she has gone over to the other side.

Jack looked at the Rector, “So if I am ‘Orion’, who is ‘Lynx’?”

“Carole — your mother.”

Of course. “So, what you’re saying is that I’m a kind of pawn in a battle between you and my dad?”

“I’m afraid so, Jack.”

“And while you have me… you can threaten my dad that you might kill me… or… or torture me… then you know he won’t do anything. Anything silly — with the second Taurus — to change things in the past. To change the course of history…”

“Yes. But you are more than a pawn. You are much, much more important than that. In fact, I would say, right now, until we can track down your father, and bring him under control, you are possibly the most important person in the world. It’s only the threat to harm you that prevents your father from acting. We are all involved in a deadly high-wire balancing act… It’s not how we want it to be. But it’s the way it is.”

Jack felt confused at first… then he started to feel angry. Angry that these men, with their intellects and