“Not very easily. I can’t see the lieutenant allowing us on to the field on the strength of that contract, not when all the troops are taking off. At the very least he’ll call Uncle Jules first. Then we’ll really be in trouble.”
“Why?” Genevieve asked.
Louise squeezed her sister’s hand. “I had a bit of a quarrel with Roberto.”
“Yuck! Mr Fatso. I didn’t like him.”
“Me neither.” She glanced out of the window again. “Fletcher, can you tell if Furay is out there?”
“I will try, Lady Louise.” He came over to stand beside her, putting both hands flat on the windowsill and bowing his head. He shut his eyes.
Louise and Genevieve swapped a glance. “If we can’t get away into orbit, we’ll have to go out onto the moors and camp there,” Louise said. “Find somewhere isolated, like Carmitha did.”
Genevieve put her arms around her big sister’s waist and hugged. “You’ll get us away, Louise. I know you will. You’re so clever.”
“Not really.” She hugged the girl back. “But at least I got us into some decent clothes.”
“Yes!” Genevieve smiled down approvingly at her jeans and sweatshirt, even though there was a horrid cartoon rabbit printed on the chest.
Fletcher’s eyes flicked open. “He’s here, Lady Louise. Over yonder.” He pointed out of the window in the direction of the central control tower.
Louise was fascinated by the wet palmprints he’d left on the sill. “Excellent. That’s a start. Now all we have to do is work out how to get to the spaceplane.” Her hand tightened on the new Jovian Bank credit disk in her trouser pocket. “I’m sure Mr Furay can be persuaded to take us up straightaway.”
“There are also several possessed within the aerodrome perimeter.” Fletcher gave a confused frown. “One of them is wrong.”
“Wrong?”
“Odd.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not quite sure, only that he is odd.”
Louise glanced down at Genevieve, whose face had paled at the mention of the possessed. “They won’t catch us, Gen. Promise.”
“As do I, little one.”
Genevieve nodded uncertainly, wanting to believe.
Louise looked from the girl to the soldiers marching about outside, and came to a decision. “Fletcher, can you fake one of the army uniforms?” she asked. “An officer, not too high-ranking. A lieutenant or captain, perhaps?”
He smiled. “A prudent notion, my lady.” His grey suit shimmered, darkening to khaki, its surface roughening.
“The buttons are wrong,” Genevieve declared. “They should be bigger.”
“If you say so, little one.”
“That’ll do,” Louise said after a minute, anxious that the sergeant would return before they were done. “Half of these boys have never seen uniforms before. They don’t know if it’s right or not. We’re wasting time.”
Genevieve and Fletcher pulled a face together at the reprimand. The girl giggled.
Louise opened the window and peered out. There was no one in the immediate vicinity. “Push the cases through first,” she said.
They walked over to the nearest hangar as quickly as they could; Louise immediately regretted bringing their bags and cases. She and Fletcher were carrying two apiece, and they were heavy; even Genevieve had a big shoulder bag which she was wilting under. Any attempt to be inconspicuous was doomed from the start.
It was about two hundred yards to the hangar. When they got there, the central control tower didn’t look any nearer. And Fletcher just said that Furay was “near there.” The pilot could be well on the other side for all she knew.
The hangar was being used as a store depot by the army; long rows of wooden crates were lined up along the sides, arranged so that narrow alleyways branched off at right angles leading right back to the walls. Five forklift trucks were parked at the far end. There were no soldiers in sight. The doors at both ends were wide open, creating a gentle breeze along the main aisle.
“See if there’s a farm ranger or something like it parked here,” Louise said. “If not, we’re going to have to dump the cases.”
“Why?” Genevieve asked.
“They’re too heavy, Gen, and we’re in a hurry. I’ll buy you some more, don’t worry.”
“Can you use such a contraption, my lady?” Fletcher asked.
“I’ve driven one before.” Up and down Cricklade’s drive. Once. With Daddy shouting instructions in my ear.
Louise let the bags fall to the floor and told Genevieve to wait by them.
“I will search around outside,” Fletcher said. “My appearance will cause little concern. May I suggest you stay in here.”
“Right. I’ll check down there.” She started walking towards the other end of the hangar. The ancient corrugated iron roof panels were creaking softly as they shed the heat of Duke-day.
She was about thirty yards from the open sliding doors when she heard Fletcher calling out behind her. He was running down the wide aisle formed by the crates, waving his arms urgently. Genevieve was chasing after him.
A jeep drove into the hangar. Two people were sitting in it. The one driving wore a soldier’s uniform. The second, sitting in the back, was dressed all in black.
Louise turned to face them. I’ll brazen it out; after all, that’s what I’ve been doing all day.
Then she realized the man in black was a priest, she could see the dog collar. She breathed out a sigh of relief. He must be an army padre.
The jeep braked to a halt beside her.
Louise smiled winningly, the smile which always made Daddy say yes. “I wonder if you could help us, I’m a little bit lost.”
“I doubt that, Louise,” Quinn Dexter said. “Not someone as resourceful as you.”
Louise started to run, but something cold and oily snaked around her ankles. She crashed down onto the timeworn concrete floor, grazing her hands and wrists.
Quinn stepped down out of the jeep. The mockery of a cassock swirled around his feet. “Going somewhere?”
She ignored her stinging hands and numbed knee, lifting her head to see him standing above her. “Devil! What have you done to Mummy?”
His dog collar turned a shiny scarlet, as though it were made from blood. “Such a fucking great hurry for knowledge. Well don’t you worry, Louise, we’re going to show you exactly what happened to Mummy. I’m going to give you a personal demonstration.”