Fortunately we have a backup.' The screen glowed white again and then showed a wide-screen monochrome view of the castle courtyard from the river side over the wall.
'This view is from the top of Tower Bridge, the only remote camera with this angle — consequently the resolution isn't brilliant, but it's apparently far enough away to be unaffected by whatever is causing the disruption.'
He zoomed in on the courtyard and then started advancing frame by frame. 'Three, two, one… now.' The screen showed two indistinct blurry images entering the courtyard. They appeared to be in no rush, though the image was unstable, as if it was looking through intense heat-haze. He stepped through the images until they crossed out of sight.
'The internal cameras are time-matched so this is the same scene we saw before, but as you see, internally they're only recording a tiny fragment of the data coming from the high remote camera, which implies that some sort of editing has taken place, yet the integrity of the frames is valid — they have not been tampered with.' He looked up, expecting some sort of response. Garvin and I stared back.
'The alarms start shortly after. There are generalised power failures, a number of incendiary devices were used though we have yet to identify the accelerant. It appears to be extremely volatile leaving little trace. The White Tower came under sustained assault, the building was accessed and a number of the secondary alarm systems were triggered, though as in the case of the outside cameras, the inside feeds were ineffective.'
'The White Tower is where the Crown Jewels are kept,' said the Scot.
'How much did they get away with?' asked Garvin.
'Nothing, at least not from there,' the Scot said. 'The jewels are separately secured overnight, and there's no ready access. It's not like the Queen phones up overnight and sends for the crown to be sent round to Buckingham Palace on a whim.'
'So they left empty-handed?' I asked.
'Not quite,' said the Scot. 'You're going to love this bit.'
The tech went back to the camera, zooming out to full field view. He let it run fast-forward for a few minutes and then slowed it to normal speed.
'There was a disturbance in the outer courtyard during the alarms — we assumed that this was a backup team or an exit strategy, but that isn't played out by what followed. The tourist party shadowing the ceremony of the keys was immediately detained, pending investigation. In the event it appears they were innocent bystanders. The gates to the courtyard were secured, though, and armed guards posted to the exits in accordance with security procedure. They were attacked by one or more assailants and physically assaulted. The gate was opened and there is a brief glimpse here…'
He panned the view to the corner of the screen where three shadows crossed open grounds and disappeared under some trees. 'Injuries to the guards were not severe, though there is a disciplinary pending on how four armed soldiers can't defend one gate from what appear to be a group of unarmed teenagers.'
He panned back again into full-field view.
'More interesting is just under six minutes later.' He fastforwarded and then slowed. 'Watch here.'
A dark blur slipped along the top of the wall facing the river. It seemed to cling to the edges and veer around like a candlelight shadow in a breeze, flickering and dodging. It hesitated, then continued, tracking along the wall, then hesitating.
'She's looking for a way out,' said the tech.
'She?' said Garvin.
The shadow slipped along the wall to a gate structure, flanked by square towers.
'Traitor's Gate,' said the Scot. 'Quite appropriate in the circumstances.'
The tech continued. He seemed 'The water gate itself is wood reinforced with iron. It's old and not really intended as an effective barrier. On the other side of it, though, the entrance to the Thames has been bricked up and there's a significant barrier. The Thames is high, as you can see, but the water doesn't enter the tower itself. The water behind the wall is quite shallow — a few inches only. The tide turned twenty-three minutes before this and is on the ebb. The current is downstream towards the estuary.'
He panned across the wall where the gate had been sealed. 'According to witnesses there was no splash or ripple, and they initially discounted the water as an exit route. It's not as easy a way out as it appears and has trapped the unwary before. Instead they focused their attentions on the parapet and any attempt to abseil or scale down the wall. Only when the water started to move did they realise where's she'd gone.'
'That's the second time you've used a female pronoun,' said Garvin.
'The wave oscillated three times, initially moderately but with increasing force. On the third oscillation the gate is forced open. That's when the outer wall starts to collapse. Within moments there's water flooding through. A section of the wall collapses and the Thames is through.'
He looked up at them.
'The wall was inspected a month before. There was no sign of any weakness then, though subsequent inspection shows water damage to be the cause. We're at a loss to explain it. That would have been it,' said the tech, 'except that there are cameras under the bridge which monitor boats passing underneath. One of them caught this image…
The screen changed to a black view with a small white spot in it. He zoomed into the spot until it resolved into a face in the water. The girl had her eyes closed, arms extended, carried by the strong current downstream. It was Alex.
Garvin and I exchanged glances.
'Good,' said the Scot. 'I thought you'd recognise her.'
Garvin interlaced his fingers on the table. 'We are not unaware of this individual's activities.'
'Excellent,' said the Scot, opening a file in front of him. 'The girl has been identified as Alexandra Dobson, nee Petersen, daughter of Katherine Dobson and Niall Petersen, who, if I'm no mistaken, is about three feet to your right at the moment. Any comment?'
'We are not currently aware of her whereabouts,' said Garvin quietly.
'Not currently aware? Is that shorthand for you've fucking lost her?'
'You try my patience,' said Garvin.
'We're not talking a bit of mindless vandalism here. These are the crown jewels. They are a symbol of this country's integrity and lawfulness. Can you imagine how embarrassing it would be if we'd had them stolen?'
'About as embarrassing as having it discovered that you're conducting illegal and immoral experiments on human beings?' said Garvin.
'They weren't human,' said the Scot.
'That's an interesting point of view,' I said, earning a sharp look from Garvin.
'Nothing human can do that!' the Scot said, pointing at the screen.
I was standing before I knew it, the power boiling up inside me, aching to be released. Garvin was up beside me, pressing down on my shoulder, making me sit, pushing me back down, and the power with it. If we hadn't been surrounded by the dampening effect of the horse shoes, I don't think I could have contained it. I allowed myself to be re-seated, slowly and carefully, acutely conscious of how close I'd come to killing him.
The Scot was elated that he'd provoked a reaction. 'You're on every alert list we have, Petersen,' he said. 'The only thing missing is a bounty on your head.'
'Are you threatening me?' My voice was low and level, but far from how I felt.
'Enough,' said Garvin. 'Niall, hold your tongue. You're not helping and there's more at stake here than you're dignity.'
'It's not my…'
'Enough!' Garvin stared me down. When I looked away he turned to the Scot. 'You've already admitted they didn't take anything. I'll ask you again, is there any point to this exhibition?'
'I didn't say they didn't take anything,' said the Scot. 'I said they didn't get the jewels'
'So what did they get?' he asked.
'Will you stop pacing up and down?' said Blackbird, 'You're distracting the baby.'
I looked down at our son, resting in Blackbird's arms and watching me rather than latching on to her to feed.
'Sorry.' I sat down, but that just provoked a bout of wriggling and tipping his head back until he could reach a
