lamplight.
Angus and Jack couldn’t believe what they saw.
Arms Cache
What they saw before them was a rack of six assault rifles — but they didn’t look like rifles from the First World War.
“What are they?” Jack asked.
“L85A2s,” Angus replied matter-of-factly.
“What?”
“British army assault rifles. Not the old SA80s, either.”
“So they’re modern?”
“Bang up to date. British standard. Accurate to 400 metres. Ninety-five point six per cent reliability rating. Probably the best standard assault rifle in the world.”
Jack shook his head, “And you call me a boffin.”
Zadok opened a second cabinet. It was a veritable arsenal. There were two grenade launchers, two boxes of hand grenades and several ammunition clips.
“You’ve got enough stuff here to wage a small war… not just kill some archduke with a funny hat…”
“The English teacher has been generous… we are behind the times here, I think, we had no idea such weapons existed… and over here…” Zadok moved to the far end of the room and with an extravagant flourish swept away a mangy dust cover.
Angus’s jaw dropped, “Unbelievable…”
“What are they?”
Angus lowered his voice reverentially, “Jack — before you stand two Harley-Davidson MT350Es. American army issue, Rotax engines — four stroke, 30 bhp, 160 kg, 80 mph top end, 255 mm ground clearance…” He turned to Jack. It was as if he was having some sort of religious experience, “Jack… they’ve even got gun carriers…”
“So…” Zadok said, scarcely able to control his excitement, “The English teacher said you would know…”
“Know what?” Jack asked.
“How it all works.”
Angus smiled, eyeing the bikes, “Oh yes, Mr Zadok, we know how it works all right.”
“Excellent. The English teacher said this equipment is all modern English designs, the very latest and very best. I am not a military man, so I am afraid I have no idea where to start. But I suggest that Anna and I leave you here to check everything is in working order. Then you will be prepared to carry out the English teacher’s instructions. Anna and I will make preparations for the journey to Sarajevo. We should leave after nightfall.”
Anna and Zadok left them alone in the dingy outbuilding with its extraordinary array of twenty-first century firepower.
Angus turned to Jack as soon as they had gone, “I hope you know what’s going on — ’cos I don’t.”
Jack was concentrating hard, “So Pendelshape made three visits. Probably in quick succession. On the final trip, he brought all this stuff with him and set up this arms cache.”
“But why?”
“It’s just as we said, Angus. Pendelshape and Dad’s plan was never to help the assassins. Anna and Zadok still don’t know it, but the real plan is to betray them. They were going to stop the assassination.”
“But why do they need all this… kit?”
Jack shrugged, “Kind of makes sense. The bikes to get to Sarajevo easily and quickly. The weapons need to be good and reliable — just in case anything goes wrong. Remember, there are several potential assassins from the other cell that make their way to Sarajevo… and a whole network of supporters. I guess Dad and Pendelshape needed to be sure if it turned ugly they would be ready. Remember, they might need to hold out without a time signal for quite a while. And not only that…”
“What?”
“Well — Pendelshape and Dad knew that they might not only have to take on the other assassins. They were probably more worried about…”
“VIGIL.”
“Right. They couldn’t be sure that VIGIL, the Rector and Inchquin, would not find out about their plan, and maybe even spring a trap for them in Sarajevo. So all this stuff,” he waved around at the equipment, “was just in case they ran into difficulties. One thing’s for sure, Pendelshape and Dad were taking a big risk bringing all this stuff back here.”
“Why?”
“Like the Rector said, making any intervention in history may have unforeseen consequences. I would have thought that bringing some of this modern kit back here, even though it is hidden in these ruins, would be a risk. Someone might find them…” Jack’s mind raced ahead, “it could trigger anything… the Austrian army, or, or German army, if they got hold of one of those guns, or one of the bikes… they wouldn’t understand what they were at first, but they might work out a way to copy them or something…”
“Could give them an edge… a military edge.”
“Yeah — these guys are not stupid. If they got hold of all this, then maybe they could win the war. The whole of history would change. We’d be living in a very different future. Did they really think about all these possibilities when they did the computer modelling of how the future might change?”
“I hate to admit it…”
“What?”
“I was wrong, Jack. And your Dad and Pendelshape are wrong. I was taken in by them.”
“Got to say, Angus, I think I agree with you. It all sounds too risky. But not only that…” Jack turned to Angus, shaking his head, “ever since we’ve been on this mad trip, death and destruction have followed us around… it doesn’t feel like we’re supposed to be here. Doesn’t feel right.”
“I’m with you on that.” Angus picked up a pebble from the dirt floor and flicked it at the wall, “And there’s Anna… we can’t betray her, can we?”
Jack got to his feet, dusting himself down. “No Angus, I don’t think we can. In which case, Dad’s not going to be happy with us.”
Angus shrugged, “Just say we felt we didn’t belong here — you know, none of our business.” He reached into his pocket to retrieve the time phone.
“Don’t tell me, still dead, right?”
Angus flipped it open. “Dead — apart the usual stuff.”
Date: Friday 26th June, 1914
Time: 6.03 p.m.
Location: Ozren, Bosnia-Herzegovina
“Still on our own.”
“Apart from Pendelshape.”
“Yeah. If he’s still out there. But we’re doing the right thing coming here with Anna. Pendelshape will want to come to this place… or Sarajevo. He’ll know that’s where Anna will be taking us.”
“Well, I hope he pitches up sooner or later — I want to hear him explain himself — properly this time.”
“Right,” Jack nodded at the two Harleys, “Will those things work?”
Angus looked them over. “Incredible: keys in the ignitions…” He unscrewed the fuel gauge of one of the bikes and peered in. “Full tank of petrol. They look like they’ve never been used.” He grinned at Jack, “What do you reckon?” He continued in a mock southern US accent, “Shall I fire up this Harley — this old ‘Haawg’?”
Soon they had managed to haul both bikes out of the shed. Angus deftly climbed aboard the nearest. “Here goes!”
He turned the ignition and the engine fired immediately. “Bingo!” He revved the engine, “Nice sound, better than my insect two-stroke bike back home.” He revved a couple more times and then cut the engine. He shrugged, “So they work… what next?”
