Blood Ties (34 page)

My heart leaped into my throat.
Not Rachel. Not her.
I swerved my gaze back to them. Lewis’s hand sign flashed into my head. I caught Rachel’s eye and held my hand out flat. I dipped my straightened fingers.

Dive
.

For a second her eyes widened. Then she got it. Just as Simpson turned, she grabbed Daniel and threw herself at the ground.

BANG
. The shot was like a bomb going off. Simpson crumpled to the ground. Daniel started kicking and screaming. People were rushing over. A big man in outsize jeans rolled Simpson over. He jumped back. ‘OH MY GOD!’ he yelled. ‘HE’S BEEN SHOT!’

Rachel was still on the ground, holding Daniel down. I raced down the ten or so steps that separated us and yanked her up by the wrist. More people were surging round now.

‘What?’ A male voice.

‘Oh my Lord!’ A woman.

A pool of blood was seeping out from under Simpson’s head, surreal against the stone steps. Daniel’s screams pierced through everything. I let go of Rachel and grabbed his arm. Hauling him up, I ran down the steps, looking round for Simpson’s men.

Rachel was beside me. She stumbled on the bottom step. I reached out for her with my cut arm. As I flexed the muscles to hold her up, the pain that shot through my arm was indescribable.

‘RUN!’ I yelled, fighting the nausea that swelled in my stomach. I turned right onto the pavement.

Rachel was pulling against me. ‘No,’ she said. ‘RAGE.’

I looked up the road. Men on either side of the street were running towards us. Only metres away. I turned, tugging sharply on Daniel’s arm, and pelted in the opposite direction, towards the water, towards the trees.

I was half carrying, half dragging Daniel, who was still screaming hysterically. Rachel pounded along beside me. Ignoring the throbbing agony of my arm, I gripped her wrist tighter and pulled them both forwards.

‘This is where the shot came from,’ I said.

‘Doesn’t matter,’ Rachel panted. ‘No choice.’

We dived into the trees, weaving in and out of the bare trunks. Across a bridge. At least two men were still following us. More trees. A bigger space.

I ran on and on. More shots rang out in the distance. Rachel tripped and stopped running for a second. I hauled her forwards again. I could hear Daniel gasping for breath. At least he’d stopped screaming.

Pain drove through me. I ran on and on, focused only on the uneven ground beneath my feet and the pulsing agony in my arm.

I looked over my shoulder.

Sirens were screaming in the distance. I could hear raised voices from the direction of the memorial. But no one was here. No one was following us.

I dived down behind the biggest tree I could find and sank to the ground, breathing heavily, finally letting the pain take me over.

Daniel’s screams started up again, louder than before.

‘Be quiet.’ I grabbed his shoulders. ‘Stop it.’

Daniel looked up at me with terrified, tearful eyes. ‘I want . . .’

I slapped the hand of my good arm over his mouth. He struggled furiously.

‘Theo, stop.’ Rachel wrenched Daniel away from me and hugged him, stroking his hair like she had in the car. He was still bawling, but the noise was muffled against her top. She was whispering in his ear. ‘
Sssh.
It’s all right.’

I sat back against the tree trunk, watching them.

Watching her.

Gradually Daniel’s sobs subsided.

Then there was silence.

‘Did you see where any of the shots came from?’ Rachel whispered over Daniel’s head.

‘Further back, I think. It’s hard to say from this angle.’ I peered round the tree again. No sign of anyone. ‘Why aren’t those men from RAGE following us? They must have seen us run over the bridge.’

Rachel frowned. ‘And who did the shooting?’ Her lips trembled. ‘They killed Simpson. Back at the memorial, didn’t they?’

I nodded, my mouth dry.

‘Was it him they were aiming at?’ she said, shakily.

‘I think so,’ I said. But the truth was I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t sure of anything any more.

‘I wish I knew if Lewis was all right.’ A tear trickled down Rachel’s face. ‘D’you think he and Mel managed to get away?’

‘You like him, don’t you?’ The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Rachel frowned. ‘Of course I like him. He looked after me when . . .’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘You mean like as in “like”?’ She stared at me incredulously. ‘No. He’s, like,
years
older than me.’

I shrugged. ‘Whatever.’

Daniel disentangled himself from Rachel’s arms. ‘I want to go home,’ he sobbed.

She patted his head. ‘Soon,’ she said. She glanced at me. ‘What do we do now?’

I looked around. The park area around us was pretty empty. I could see a few people now in the distance, but no one nearby. A wave of uneasiness swept through me. What
had
happened to all those guys from RAGE? Where were Lewis and Mel and whoever had shot Simpson? And was Elijah still following us?

Without Lewis and Mel, I couldn’t see how we could possibly deal with our relocation plans ourselves. All the work Rachel and Max had done would be for nothing without Lewis’s expertise.

We were totally trapped. Even if we could somehow get out of this park without being spotted, both Elijah and RAGE would always be on our tail.

‘We have to go to the police,’ Rachel said. ‘That’s what Lewis would want me to do if he didn’t show up at the memorial.’

I stared at her. Had Lewis not explained to her where Elijah got his money from? If we went to the police, the government would find out. And the government were on Elijah’s side.

I started to speak. ‘Rachel—’

‘Rachel.’ The other voice was like an echo. Deeper. More urgent. ‘Rachel.’

‘It’s him.’ I jumped to my feet. ‘It’s Lewis.’

I looked around.

There, emerging from one of the tall bushes nearby, were Lewis and Mel. Lewis looked strained and anxious, but his blue eyes twinkled as I flew into his arms.

‘You okay, Rachel?’

‘Fine.’ I hugged him tightly. ‘How did you get away?’

‘Once Simpson was shot, RAGE panicked. Mel and I got the guys who had us, then the ones following you.’

‘I thought you were dead.’ I gave him another squeeze, then turned to Mel and hugged her too. Over her shoulder I could see Theo explaining who Daniel was to Lewis. There was a weird – slightly resentful – look on Theo’s face. I flashed back to that question he’d asked me earlier.

Do you like him?

It suddenly struck me. Theo was jealous.
No
. I must be wrong.

‘We have to get out of here,’ Lewis said.

Daniel shuffled up beside me, his little hand creeping into mine.

‘Oh, Theo, what happened to your arm?’ That was Mel.

I followed her gaze to Theo’s arm. The pillowcase was drenched with fresh blood. Theo shrugged, looking embarrassed.

‘He did it so we could escape from Elijah,’ I said.

‘Where are RAGE now?’ Theo asked. ‘What’s left of them, that is.’

‘I think we lost them.’ Lewis’s face coloured. ‘But beforehand, last night, they got all the relocation information out of us. I’m sorry.’

My heart sank. The relocation plan was our only way out.

‘We’ll just have to start again with it,’ Lewis said. ‘It’ll take a few days but RAGE’ll be—’

‘Actually, I’ve got a better idea,’ I said.

‘Listen, Rachel.’ Theo’s voice was urgent. ‘There’re things you don’t understand.’

‘Not now, six-pack,’ Mel grinned at him. ‘Whoever shot Simpson is still out here somewhere.’

Six-pack?

I met Lewis’s eye. ‘D’you think it was Elijah?’

‘Has to be,’ Lewis said. ‘He must have picked up your trail this morning.’

I shivered, thinking of all the people I’d stopped and asked for directions to the Jefferson Memorial.

‘Let’s go,’ Mel said.

We set off across the park, away from the memorial. Lewis carried Daniel in his arms.

As we got closer to the highway up ahead, we could see a police roadblock in the far distance. The police officers stationed there appeared to be stopping all the cars passing through. Other officers were swarming into the park. None were coming in our direction.

‘We have to get to the police,’ I insisted. ‘That’s what I was trying to say earlier. We get them to protect us. Get the government to relocate us. It’s the only—’

‘Won’t work,’ Theo said.

I looked at Lewis. He was scanning the rest of the park.

‘Why?’ I frowned. ‘I—’

‘Elijah works for the government,’ Theo said.

‘So?’ I raised my eyes. ‘I bet they don’t know half of what he gets up to. I bet they’ll do anything for us if we tell them everything we know about what he does.’

Lewis turned round. He and Mel exchanged looks.

A twig snapped behind me. I spun round.

‘A good idea. Except none of you understand anything about what I do.’

I froze, as Elijah stepped out from behind a tree.

Elijah had a rifle in his hands. ‘I know none of you are armed. So no stupid sudden movements, okay? You saw Simpson. You all know how well I shoot with this.’

Lewis set Daniel onto the ground. He moved closer to Rachel, pushing Daniel behind him.

Elijah walked towards us, his eyes flickering along the line of us, from Mel to me to Rachel to Daniel. His eyes rested on Lewis.

‘Ah,’ he said softly.

I heard Rachel suck in her breath, but before any of us could move, Elijah whipped a smaller gun with a silencer attached out from behind his back. It was almost a careless movement. A swift glide upwards. A second to position. Then he fired.

Straight into Mel.

She was standing the closest to him. The bullet ripped through her throat. Even with the silencer it was an explosion. Then Mel seemed to fly backwards in slow motion, like it wasn’t real. Then
thud
, onto the ground.

My brain shut down, like it couldn’t make sense of what it was seeing. For a few seconds all I was aware of was my arm hurting and the air, cold against my face.

And Rachel standing beside me.

Lewis rushed forwards. ‘
NO!
’

‘No.’ Elijah pointed the gun at him. ‘No more noise.’

Lewis stopped, his breathing ragged and hoarse, his eyes on Mel. Elijah indicated the road and the police block in the distance. ‘No noise, or you’ll all be dead before they get here.’ He held out his hand. ‘Daniel, come here.’

Daniel stared up at him, his brown eyes wide with shock.

‘Now!’ Elijah barked.

Daniel scurried across the grass. Elijah reached out and pulled him close. Daniel huddled behind his legs.

‘Now,’ Elijah said. ‘Who’s death will hurt you most next, Lewis?’ He smiled at me, then shifted the gun to focus on Rachel.

I held my breath.

‘Yes,’ Elijah said. ‘You seem to have become attached to her, Lewis.’

‘But you created her.’ It was my voice. I hardly recognised it. ‘You don’t want her dead. You’ve tried to keep her alive.’

Elijah snorted. ‘That was before she decided to thank me by helping RAGE hunt me down and destroy everything I’ve worked for for the past ten years. To destroy me.’ He looked at Rachel. ‘Not a wise move, Artemis.’

Rachel was shaking, her whole body trembling.

‘Everybody deserves life,’ I said. ‘You don’t have the right to take—’

Lewis leaped forwards. Elijah spun round and fired. The shot pierced Lewis’s jacket. He fell backwards, banging his head against the tree behind. He slumped to the ground.

‘No,’ Rachel sobbed. ‘
No
.’

I stood there, numb.

It wasn’t real. They weren’t dead. Not Mel. Not Lewis. It wasn’t real.

Elijah was breathing heavily. I fixed my eyes on him. My senses seemed hyper-alert. I was aware of the ground under my feet, the whisper of wind in the trees. ‘You can’t kill us,’ I said.

‘I’ve got no intention of killing
you
, Theo,’ he said smoothly. ‘But you must see that Rachel has betrayed us.’

‘Us?’ I frowned. ‘There is no “us”. And don’t go kidding me about not killing me. I know what you’re planning. You’re going to take my heart out of me and put it in you. And then you’ll move on to Daniel.’

Elijah’s eyes were fixed on mine. If I could just keep him talking maybe he wouldn’t shoot. Maybe the police would find us.

‘What happened to you wanting me to take over from you? What happened to that . . .
Dad
?’ In spite of myself, my voice shook.

‘Oh, Theodore. Do you still understand so little?’ Elijah ran his hand through his hair. ‘That was my plan. And if RAGE had not destroyed my laboratories, that would
still
be my plan. But everything I needed to live was in them. My life was literally in those labs . . .’

‘What life? What d’you mean?’

‘My heart. Clones of my heart. And other organs. All developed over years in my laboratories. All destroyed in minutes by the monsters that she –’ he pointed at Rachel ‘– that she brought here.’

Rachel gasped.

‘Yes.’ Elijah laughed, his eyes dark and furious. ‘Do you see what you’ve done, Rachel? In coming to deliver Theo from the terrible fate you imagined, you have only succeeded in sentencing him to death.’

‘It’s not Rachel’s fault they destroyed your . . . your bloody body parts,’ I yelled. ‘And it certainly doesn’t justify you taking
mine
.’

Elijah shifted impatiently. ‘My heart is too weak to wait. I could be dead in weeks. I didn’t mean this to happen, I swear, but your heart is a perfect genetic match, no risk of my body rejecting it and—’

‘So what?’ I said. ‘You’ve got no right to take my life, just because yours is ending.’

Elijah’s eyes burned into me – sad and fierce and deeply troubled.

‘I am not doing this for myself, Theodore. In ten years’ time, believe me, with you trained and my powers fading I would make a very different decision. But, right now, I am at the forefront of scientific endeavour. My work on PGDT techniques alone . . . there’s no one in the world to touch me. I cannot put my personal feelings before scientific progress. I must be able to continue with my work, with my experiments . . .’