The Doomsday Code

‘No, sire. Just other … other men at arms, sire.’

‘How many?’

‘We are at ’alf strength. Perhaps no more than two ’undred, sire. But more leave each day.’

‘So why’ve you stayed?’ asked Liam.

‘Because … because there’s food ’ere. Because I’m afraid what them people out there goin’a do to me, sire. I ’eard stories of soldiers caught leavin’ this castle … what them outside ’ave gone done to them.’

Eddie cursed. ‘This castle will not hold the people of Nottingham out much longer if all that is left inside are frightened boys.’

Cabot nodded. ‘This is not a good situation for ye to take charge of, Liam.’

The young guard’s eyes widened and Cabot noticed that. ‘Aye, seems this young man is to be yer new sheriff.’ He tossed a nod at the snoring body on the bed across the hall. ‘I am sure he can do no worse a job than that drunken fool, William De Wendenal.’

Cabot turned to Liam. ‘So, lad … there are things it seems that need yer immediate attention here, before we go looking for a certain item.’

Liam nodded silently. Jay-zus, I’m supposed to be running a castle now?

‘Right,’ he said with little enthusiasm. ‘Right … yes.’

He became aware that Cabot, Eddie, the young guard — even Bob — were all looking at him, waiting for him to say something.

Why me? Why is it always me?

‘Errr … all right,’ he said finally. ‘Right,’ he said once more for good measure. ‘Umm, OK.’

Eyes on him still.

‘So, then, Eddie?’

‘Sire?’

‘I’m going to put you in charge of the men here.’

His jaw dropped open. ‘Sire?’

‘That’s right, you’re the garrison commander now. I want you to take command on the walls for the rest of tonight. All right?’

‘Aye, my lord!’ Eddie barked with enthusiasm.

Liam expected him to turn and go immediately but then he realized the man was waiting to be dismissed. ‘So then, uhh … you can go now.’

‘Sire!’ Eddie turned on his heels. ‘Come on, lad!’ he barked at the young guard. They clumped heavily out of the hall and a minute later Liam thought he heard his parade-ground bark echoing up the stone walls from the bailey outside.

Cabot filled the quiet hall with the sound of his soft wheezy laugh. ‘So, Liam of Connor, mysterious traveller from the future. It seems now ye have become a part of history. Ye are the Sheriff of Nottingham.’

‘This will cause contamination,’ cautioned Bob. ‘And it is exceeding our mission parameters.’

‘Yes.’ Liam nodded. ‘I’m well aware of that.’ He glanced at the snoring drunk on the bed. The man was clearly unfit for his role; a nervous wreck. A drunken nervous wreck. Perhaps the situation had done that to him. The stress of it, being in charge of this hopeless mess. He’d learned enough now to know that this country was in a perilous condition, bankrupt and on the verge of complete anarchy. A resentful population taxed to their knees and now starving. The noblemen — barons, lords, earls who should have been the backbone of authority providing men-at- arms and money to maintain order — were all conspiring against John, refusing to pay the tributes they owed.

A mess. A terrible mess. But a mess that was not his nor Bob’s concern. That’s how this history was meant to be anyway, right?

‘I’m afraid, Mr Cabot,’ said Liam, ‘that fella snoring away over there … he’s still the sheriff.’

‘Ye understand this castle is the administrative centre of the north!’ said Cabot. ‘Do ye understand that? If it falls into the hands of marauding peasants, if they overrun this place, then the country north of Oxford will be lost!’

‘Right. But it’s not our business. If it happens, then it’s meant to happen. That’s how history goes.’

Cabot studied him silently. ‘Ye would let that happen? If order collapses, the land will be awash with the blood of innocent people!’

Cabot was probably right.

‘Information: there are no records in history of a popular uprising of peasants successfully overthrowing the Sheriff of Nottingham,’ said Bob.

Liam looked at him. ‘You sure?’

‘Affirmative.’

‘Oh that’s just grand, that is,’ he sighed. ‘You’re telling me this is all wrong — right? That this shouldn’t be happening?’

Bob nodded. ‘It appears we are experiencing incorrect history.’

CHAPTER 39

2001, New York

‘Sal? Sal? … You OK?’

Maddy noticed she was teetering on her feet unsteadily. The half-empty mug of tea dropped from her slackened fingers to the floor and shattered on the hard concrete. She took a faltering step, then steadied herself against the edge of the kitchen table. Maddy got up from her armchair and put a protective arm round her narrow shoulders.

‘Dizzy,’ she replied.

‘She OK?’ asked Adam.

Sal nodded. ‘I’m fine … but I think that was a — ’

The archway went completely dark.

‘Time wave,’ said Maddy.

‘What?’ She could hear Adam’s breath, uneasy and ragged. She felt the soft touch of air on her cheek, his hands swooping and flailing in the pitch black. ‘What is this? Is this … is this some other sort of dimension thing?’

‘No,’ she replied. ‘It’s just darkness. The genny should kick in, in a few seconds.’

But the lights flickered back on before she heard the deep coughing throb of the generator starting up.

‘Oh! That means we’ve got power still,’ she said, looking at him and smiling. ‘That’s a good sign.’

The computer monitors began to flicker back to life, one after the other.

‘That was a big wave,’ said Sal.

‘Yes, it was.’

Adam looked at them both. ‘So does that mean …?’

‘You’re in an alternate timeline? An alternate 2001?’

His head bobbed like a cork.

‘Yes.’ She made her way over to the computer desk. ‘Let’s see how alternate.’ The computer system was just finishing restoring itself, and Bob’s dialogue box flickered up on to one of the screens.

› System reset complete.

‘Bob?’

› Hello, Maddy.

‘We just had a time wave.’

› I know.

‘But we’ve got power still.’ Stupid thing to say, but she’d said it anyway.

› Affirmative, we have power. But I have had to correct the voltage and amplitude settings.