I escorted him to the loos and then called Ramin.
‘Track us closely and get ready to move. We are within two hours of the egg’s fracture point. I think I know where it is, so we need to be ready to jump. Tell Clio.’
Every minute past the fracture point we would be messing up the timeline, which was a no-no. The egg didn’t exist after 7.45pm. Every minute that it did ran the risk of temporal problems.
The minute we had the egg in our possession, the normal protocol was to step back with the artefact whilst the rest of the team cleared out the HQ location. With Paul gone rogue, we had a dilemma. It was a judgement call, but last night I had instructed the team to leave booby traps in all the IT equipment we had bought, and to rendezvous at the same location and step together. I had to assume that once we had left with the egg, Paul would then ignore Julius and also step back. Although, how the hell he intended to evade arrest, I had no idea. Maybe he had already stepped back and was laying down a pack of lies against us, then legging it? Maybe he’d decided to retire on Beta and become a master thief? Or a shepherd?
My mind was wandering and it wasn’t helping. Paul’s defection made no sense, and it was bugging me. I knew I was missing something, and I was hoping that whatever it was would be revealed to me whilst I was quietly reminiscing by the water’s edge with a cocktail in my hand, rather than running for my life thinking, ‘oh, that was it!’
Time to get going; one locked safe, one lost egg, one rogue agent.
What could possibly go wrong?
#37 Julius – Beta Earth
Night had fallen when we left the pub. Julius edged past a load of beer barrels stacked in the alley and turned right. Neith walked beside Julius, constantly checking over her shoulder as they moved briskly past other pedestrians. The alley was dimply lit, only pools of light from various doorways showing the way. Whilst she was glad of the darkness, it also gave Paul more shadows to hide in. Each time they opened onto a busy street, they would pause as Neith scoured the area for Paul or any of the hired thugs she had last seen at the church. Only when she was confident the coast was clear would she allow Julius to lead her to the next alley. Eventually, having passed a pile of bins, Julius banged on a large modern fire door and it swung open into the lane, a large pool of light illuminating the alleyway. A kitchen porter peered out at Julius, then grinned when he saw Neith.
‘No pass for your visitor, Professor?’
‘Guilty as charged. Let us in and I’ll put in a good word for you with Jane.’
Slipping in through the kitchen, the pair dodged around the large pans, readied for the evening meal. Getting into the colleges during term time could be tricky if you didn’t have a pass. The porters on the main gates were always alert to the proper security passes. Some porters were more forgiving of a professor signing a visitor into their own college, but King’s wasn’t Julius’ college, and he knew the porter on the main gate was a stickler for rules and regulations. He also didn’t think Neith would enjoy standing around like an exposed target whilst the porter tried to deliver a sermon on the importance of his job. He was concerned Neith might take matters into her own hands, and he didn’t think Old Barnaby deserved that. This seemed like the quicker option.
Moving from the kitchens through to the dining room, Neith’s jaw dropped. The beauty of the room was overwhelming. The long oak tables were fully laid with white linen tablecloths, on top of which sat crystal glasses and china plates. Candles stood flickering on the tables, and the effect was opulent and comforting. The room itself was huge, with a high vaulted ceiling, and decorative mouldings framing large stained glass windows.
‘This is a student dining room?’
‘High table. King’s is known for being a bit OTT. Come on, through here. The Provost will be coming down for food in a minute and then the coast will be clear.’
They headed off down oak-lined corridors, passing students beginning to mill around and ready for their supper. Julius decided to loiter down one of the side corridors. The Provost’s wing was quiet and private, and it would be easy to be spotted.
‘Exactly how will I be breaking-in, when you seem to have this covered?’
Julius shrugged. ‘You know, when it goes wrong you can jump in and do your thing. We should have the place to ourselves, but you never know.’
Finally, Julius saw the Provost emerge along the corridor and hail a few professors as he led the way into dinner.
‘Come on.’
Moving at a relaxed pace, Julius headed towards the Provost’s private study. It was always best to act with confidence, as lurking tended to catch someone’s eye. He was relieved to see that Neith had also adopted an air of ownership and was acting as though she had every right to be in here.
As they entered the room, Neith knelt down by the skirting board in the corridor before closing the door behind them.
‘It’ll give us a little heads up if anyone approaches the door.’
Julius winked at her. ‘See, that’s what I meant by tricks up your sleeve. At some point you and I are going to have a long talk about exactly who you work for.’
Julius moved towards the back of the large mahogany desk and started to lift the edges of the floor rug.
‘Charlie said this safe was set in the floor by
