- I had to take care of the angel. They could have talked.
- They’re not talking though, are they? But the rest of the bloody world is!
- That’s hardly my problem.
- Again, I do not appreciate your tone. If you are incapable of securing that egg for us, there will be repercussions. Noticeable ones. Unpleasant ones.
- Am I clear?
- Crystal.
#35 Julius – Beta Earth
Julius had endured a rotten night’s sleep. The place was a sauna; he didn’t know much about these people, but he had decided they all had a problem with temperature control. The heating had been on full whack all night, so he’d had to sleep with the windows open as well as on top of the sheets, having kicked the duvet and blankets, to the floor. He’d been tempted to sleep in the buff, but that just felt a bit too vulnerable given all the recent events. If he were going to be attacked by unknown assailants, he would do it in more than his altogether. It felt a bit grubby sleeping in his boxers, but at least he would maintain a modicum of dignity whilst fleeing for his life. Plus, he had a feeling Neith might laugh.
Whilst he had lain in bed thinking about Neith, he tried to see if he could do anything to impress her. Beyond running quickly away from bad guys in his boxer shorts. He knew he was trying to show off, which made him ponder. She was certainly an interesting individual, if a little unconventional. He had a limited skill set; he wasn’t a martial arts expert or a cage fighter or a tracker, but Neith, Clio and Ramin seemed to have those skills covered. What he was, was a brilliant researcher. Admittedly, those three seemed to be that as well, but he did have a few advantages over them. The first was that they didn’t appear to be locals, so he would know stuff that just didn’t turn up on the internet. The second was that he was Charlie’s oldest friend, which meant he knew stuff that no one else did. He didn’t know if that was going to help, but it just might. Getting up, he washed and headed for the kitchen. The fire was already lit in the living room, and the three of them were almost sat on top of it eating breakfast. Julius made a coffee and, having said good morning, went and sat in the garden. The cold, crisp air filled his lungs and he watched on as a robin was giving it their all in the early morning sunshine.
After a bit Ramin came and joined him.
‘Too hot for you as well?’ Julius said and smiled. He was trying to build bridges with Neith’s team, so he may as well start with Ramin; of the two of them he seemed less full of psychotic malevolence. He was sure Clio was a lovely girl and that she meant well, but he and his lungs were still a bit skittish around her. At least Ramin, to date, had not tried to put him in hospital.
‘Not quite,’ said Ramin, who was looking decidedly shivery, ‘but we can’t protect you out here. It’s unlikely that Paul would attempt a snatch from the grounds, but we can’t risk it, so I said I’d come and keep you company.’
‘How are you doing?’ Julius asked and Ramin looked at him in surprise and Julius continued. ‘Paul was clearly a friend. This defection must be a terrible shock?’
Ramin paused and Julius saw that he was battling to try and control his emotions. He suddenly felt contrite, this man had probably saved his life and now he was struggling to come to terms with a painful betrayal, whilst shivering in the garden, just so that Julius could sit outside. Despite Ramin’s protests he headed back indoors. He couldn’t bear the idea of someone suffering whilst trying to save his life. Plus, the appeal of fresh air had suddenly waned.
‘Close the sodding door!’ shouted one of the girls from the living room, and whilst Julius wasn’t sure which one it was, he took no chances and shut it quickly.
Walking through to join them, he asked if anyone would like another cup of coffee. ‘Also, can I log on to one of the laptops in the dining room?’
The dining room appeared to have been turned into a workstation and had several laptops. Various screens were monitoring security cameras, and lines of text were constantly updating on another. He wasn’t completely au fait with the local police intelligentsia, but he wondered if they knew how easily their system appeared to be hacked. ‘I’d like to start researching the clue, but I don’t want to interrupt any of your feeds.’
If these guys were above board, this would be the moment when one of them would jump in. They would reassure him that they had permission for all these surveillance hacks, or it wasn’t what it seemed, or it was, but that wasn’t what was important right now. The silence, however, was deafening. He was so tempted to walk away, but currently he had a rogue man with a gun after him and a dead best friend. A best friend who had sent him his final message. Meaning, he was stuck with these guys until the egg or the assailant was found. He didn’t much care which one came first. The egg hunt had been fun, right up until the shooting had started. Since then, life had been pretty scary.
‘I’ll make the coffees,’ said Clio. ‘Least I can do to make amends. Ramin, set him up on a laptop and let’s see if the three of us can’t work out what your friend was trying to tell you.’
Clio surprised him with a genuinely apologetic smile as she headed off for the kitchen. He joined Ramin and Neith in the dining room.
‘Told you she isn’t that scary.’ Ramin set Julius up with a spare laptop, and soon the
