Day of Deliverance

gleaned from Christie’s message to VIGIL. A party of four would be conveyed to February 1587 to attempt to locate and intercept Pendelshape before he carried out the Revisionist plan. This would not be easy, as the details of his intent and his location were sketchy. The search party on the hill had reported back and so far there had been no sign of Tom Christie. It was unlikely he would contact VIGIL again — there was too high a risk that he might reveal his own whereabouts. In any case, it seemed likely that he only knew the outline of the Revisionist plan. Nevertheless, Inchquin had instructed the search party to continue through the night.

The time-travel team had already been chosen: Tony, Gordon, Jim De Raillar and Theo Joplin had been dispatched to the preparation annex for equipment allocation and further briefing. It was not clear to Jack what would be done with Pendelshape in the event that he was found by the VIGIL squad, but he suspected that it would not be pleasant.

Inchquin had issued orders to power up the Taurus and the remaining VIGIL team members had already arrived to support the emergency mission. Everyone seemed to be well drilled — emergencies like this were something that they now practised for repeatedly, following the scare six months earlier. The control room itself had morphed into a fully kitted-out command centre. The nearest thing Jack could compare it to was NASA mission control. Jack and Angus sat in an observation area within the control room. Angus followed the proceedings with great excitement and would occasionally nudge Jack and point something out as the transfer time drew close.

As they watched, a door at the far end of the control centre opened and the VIGIL response squad arrived from the preparation annex, ready to board the Taurus.

“Best I could do, I’m afraid,” Joplin announced.

The response squad needed to be fully prepared for the Elizabethan period. They had to ensure that they would not inadvertently trigger something, however small, that might have a knock-on effect in the future. If they did, VIGIL might need to return to repair the damage — a risky scenario in itself. They needed to try to blend in. At the basic level, this meant wearing the right clothes. VIGIL had built up an extensive costume archive for this purpose.

The response squad stepped forward, somewhat sheepishly, to display the fruits of their efforts. Tony and De Raillar looked reasonable. They wore snug black doublets with jerkins on top and short cloaks. Beneath their cloaks, each carried a thin backpack that contained a range of equipment for their mission and some basic provisions. Their legs were clad in breeches that were pinned in at the knee. Each had a dagger on a belt. Joplin, however, looked like something out of The Three Musketeers. He wore a loose-fitting doublet with baggy trousers that were tucked in at boot level and a long, elaborately embroidered cloak that hung jauntily from one shoulder. On his head was a ridiculous wide-brimmed hat, adorned with a long plume of feathers, and on his feet were riding boots with wide, lace-trimmed turnovers. Finally, from a broad leather belt hung… a full- length sword.

“It’s about forty years too late for the period — but it’s all we could find in the wardrobe…” he announced.

But the best was still to come.

A moment later, when Gordon appeared, Jack and Angus burst out laughing. Gordon also wore a tight doublet on his upper body, but it was far too small for his powerful frame. The garment had elaborate inlays and patterns and, at the collar, Gordon’s intricate lace ruff seemed to push his chin upwards at an alarming angle. On his legs, Gordon wore enormous baggy breeches that ballooned out from his waist and were gathered in at mid- thigh level. These were also highly decorated in a night-scape of yellow half-moons and stars. Angus and Jack had to rub their eyes because beneath the flouncy breeches, Gordon was actually wearing tights. Bright yellow tights. They encased a pair of powerful legs that were far better suited to pumping iron than mincing around an Elizabethan royal court. To finish it off, Gordon’s white shoes were open on each side and — this was the final straw for Angus and Jack — flowers were pinned to the front. A lot of flowers.

Inchquin put his head in his hands. Gordon shrugged, “We ran out — had to move onto the aristocrat’s section. At least I’m in period.”

The Rector sighed. “You’ll just have to see what you can lay your hands on when you get there.”

With everything finally in place, the Rector completed the briefing. “Any questions before we initiate countdown sequence?”

Angus nudged Jack. He had a warped smile on his face, the kind that Jack knew typically meant only one thing — trouble.

Jack mouthed, “What?”

But before Jack could stop him, Angus was marching over to the Rector and Inchquin. “What about us?” he demanded.

Jack cringed. Without hesitation, Inchquin replied, “Out of the question.”

But Angus was not about to be patronised. “So why are we in VIGIL at all then? You have always said that one of the main points of VIGIL is to prepare the next generation, you know, to protect history and protect the human race — how can we do that if we are stuck here — just watching?”

Suddenly, support piped up for Angus from an unexpected source — Miss Beattie. “You know the lad has a point. He’s young, he’s extremely fit and has already proved himself on one mission.”

“Yes, Sir,” Angus said, “I thought that was what I was here for, you know, to help.”

Inchquin looked at the Rector and Miss Beattie nervously. “I’m not sure we can authorise… we are not really in a position…”

Angus interrupted him. “But you said yourself — VIGIL can decide whatever it wants.”

Inchquin turned to his colleagues, waiting to see if any would voice an opinion. There was silence.

Angus’s outburst had got Jack thinking — but not quite along the same lines as his friend. He spoke up. “Sir, I’m not as keen as Angus — I mean time travelling again would be pretty scary. But there is one thing. Angus and I know Pendelshape. And we also know that Pendelshape was desperate to get us to join him and Dad. I know Dad has had a bust-up with Pendelshape. But maybe if we were to go back as part of the team, maybe there would be a chance we could link up with Pendelshape and, well, pretend we wanted to come over to his side, you know, because of Dad or something. With us under his control, Pendelshape would think he could get Dad to rejoin the Revisionists. What I am trying to say is…”

Inchquin finished Jack’s sentence. “Your old teacher might trust you… and we could use that to stop Pendelshape and infiltrate the Revisionists…”

“And finish them off for good,” the Rector added. He nodded thoughtfully. “It certainly gives us another option.”

Angus punched the air. “Yes!”

Inchquin smiled. “I guess you can take De Raillar and Joplin’s places — they will form the next wave — your back-up, if it’s needed.”

Jack’s mum had been following the discussion with increasing dismay. “I can’t possibly agree to this…” she burst out.

But the words tumbled from Jack’s mouth before he had time to stop them. “Mum — sorry — I’ve been thinking about it. The Christie family is partly responsible for all of this. If it’s anyone’s duty to help sort this out, it’s got to be ours… mine.”

It was decided.

Thirty minutes later, Jack, Angus, Tony and Gordon stood on the Taurus platform. Miss Beattie’s costumes for the production of Hamlet were now period costumes for Jack and Angus. Beneath their woollen cloaks they each carried one of the thin VIGIL backpacks. Under their doublets, tight-fitting vests secured the all-important time phones. The countdown was already under way and the assembled VIGIL team looked on from their positions behind the blast screen. The Rector was completing a short lecture on the workings of the Taurus. Not that Jack needed reminding.

“Remember, the Taurus itself stays put — it focuses the energy and creates the temporary wormhole. But to move through time and space, you need to have physical contact with your time phone. You need it to go… and to get back again. While back in time, the time phones are controlled and tracked by the Taurus. Of course, they will only work when the Taurus is at the right energy state, and also when there is a strong enough time signal.” The Rector had also reminded them of the limitations of the Taurus and its umbilical linkage to the time phones. “You can only use your time phone when you have a signal — and the signals are intermittent. Remember that bar?” He