Atlantis by Marcus Blake

Author:Marcus Blake [Blake, Marcus]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780718159665
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2013-09-14T00:00:00+00:00

44

Achilles and Marta received Professor Hooper’s message just as they were trying to decide what to do for the night. The Moviedrome which, with its zombie marathon, had proved so handy the evening before was showing a David Lynch double bill: closing time 11 p.m. So that was no good to them.

But if not there, then where? What’s more, they were now running on limited funds.

All of which became irrelevant the moment they got the message: Abort, do NOT come to my house. Go to the cubbyhole. Open the store, and beware of the dog.

They tried calling him back and got nothing but his voicemail. The two of them looked at one another, their faces mirrors of worry and fear.

‘They’ve gone after him, haven’t they?’ said Marta.

‘Who’s “they”, Marta?’ asked Achilles.

‘Don’t be so lame, Achilles. Agency 08, who do you think?’

‘But I didn’t think you believed in any of that?’

He saw red spots form in the centre of her cheeks.

‘It doesn’t matter what I believe. It’s what they believe, and whether they believe it enough to kill for it. Do I think they believe it enough to kill for it? Yeah, I do. And do I want Hooper dead because of us? No, funnily enough, I don’t.’

They rode the bus to Hooper’s part of Georgetown, and quickly became aware of cop cars rushing past them, sirens piercing the night, and any hope that their fears might prove unfounded began to evaporate – unless it was sheer coincidence that Hooper had messaged them, clearly worried about his own safety, and then suddenly every cop in the city was turning up in the neighbourhood.

‘I don’t like this, Achilles. Look,’ said Marta.

They were close, approaching the boards that were supposed to fence off the neglected building site. Covered in the tattered remains of fly-posters, the boards hung off posts and offered a glimpse of rubble beyond, a stark, grimy contrast to the plush houses slightly further along the street.

Except the houses no longer looked quite so elegant. Not when they were crawling with cops. Two cruisers were parked across the street. Also at the kerb were SWAT vans and black vans. A helicopter buzzed overhead, blasting the area with a searchlight.

Achilles and Marta looked at each other in horror. Here they were, on the run from the cops, and now every single cop in the city seemed to be here.

‘Oh, this is so not good,’ said Marta. Her voice was harsh and etched with worry. ‘We can’t let them take us, Achilles. If they get us in custody, who knows what they might do? Who knows what they might do to you?’

‘You believe now?’

‘Get it through your head that it doesn’t matter what I believe. All that matters is what they believe.’

For a moment they stood frozen on the sidewalk, their instincts telling them to leave right now, even though their hearts told them something different: that Hooper was in trouble, that they were all that stood between him and jail … or worse.

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