Pegasus and the Flame (18 page)

‘I’m with Agent O,’ he said. ‘We’ve had hundreds of men out there combing all the boroughs for signs of a crashed or landed starship. We’ve contacted NORAD for satellite detection. There just aren’t any traces or sightings of anything coming in from space.’

Agent J cursed. ‘How the hell am I going to explain this?’ he demanded. ‘Command is obsessed with finding extra-terrestrials. More importantly, their technology. Look at all the weapons developed through findings from the Roswell incident! Not to mention the more recent captures. Alien technology is invaluable, and Command expects us to provide information!’

‘Calm down, sir,’ Agent O said. ‘You’ll give yourself a stroke!’

Agent J held up a warning finger. ‘Don’t tell me to calm down! We are the most powerful nation on the planet! Why? Because we have the biggest weapons developed from off-world technology. How will I explain that this kid and that flying horse aren’t from outside of Earth, but a bunch of old myths coming true? What’s next? Vampires? Werewolves? How about some sweet little fairies riding a unicorn!’

‘I know it’s hard to digest,’ said Agent O. ‘But we’d be foolish not to consider it a possibility.’

‘What about all the others?’ Agent J demanded. ‘Jupiter, Apollo, Cupid and all those other mythical characters. Are you suggesting they exist too? And if so, why haven’t we heard from them before now?’

Paelen watched Agent O shrug. ‘I don’t know. Maybe they wanted to keep a low profile,’ he said. ‘Stay hidden in our modern world. But the myths do say that Mercury travelled around in winged sandals. Look at what you’re holding. What do our scientists say about them?’

‘Nothing,’ Agent J spat furiously. ‘The materials are untraceable! They say these are real diamonds, rubies and sapphires sewn on to the sides. But the feathers on the wings aren’t from any known bird species on Earth. Neither is the leather. They just can’t tell us where they came from.’

‘So our kid could in fact be Mercury?’ Agent T asked.

Agent O nodded. ‘He claimed that was one of his names.’

Agent J snorted. ‘He also claimed to be Hercules, Jupiter and Paelen the Magnificent. I wouldn’t put much stock into what he’s told us so far.’

‘What about the bridle?’ Agent T asked.

‘Same as the sandals,’ Agent J answered sourly. ‘Untraceable materials. Yes, it’s real gold. But there’s a lot more mixed in with it. They found saliva on it too. The DNA doesn’t match any kind of known horse. In fact, it doesn’t match anything living on this planet. Just like the kid and that creature we have down on the slab.’

‘So it could belong to the real Pegasus?’ said Agent O.

Agent J sighed heavily, ‘Lord, I hope not. We’re here to find extra-terrestrials, not Olympians! But we won’t know for sure until they get here and we can test the stallion for ourselves.’

Paelen almost jumped from his skin. Had they found Pegasus?

‘When should that be?’ Agent O. asked.

He saw Agent J look at a small device on his wrist. ‘Based on their current movements, I would imagine we’ll have them captured and delivered here before noon today,’ he said.

‘How did you find them?’ Agent T asked. ‘Last I heard they were hidden in the park.’

‘They left the park hours ago,’ said Agent J. ‘We just brought in two guys from a livery on 50th. They called the police and claimed that four people with a winged stallion broke into their stables and stole a carriage. With that, it wasn’t too hard for us to locate the carriage and keep an eye on it.’

‘Four people?’ Agent O repeated. ‘There were only two kids in the photo with Pegasus. Who are the other two?’

‘The guys from the livery said one of them was a tall, super-strong woman the others called Diana. They said she carried a spear and beat them both senseless because of the way they treated their horses.’

Paelen had to cover his mouth to keep silent. Diana was in this world! If Pegasus ever told her about him stealing the bridle, he knew there would be no escaping her wrath. But to hear these people were going to bring Jupiter’s daughter to this facility with Pegasus was almost too much to bear.

‘The other adult with them is a New York City cop, Steve Jacobs. The girl from the picture is his thirteen-year-old daughter. What we don’t know is how or why they got involved. Nor do we know who the other kid is. He may be like our Mercury or he may be human. The owners of the stable said that the monsters arrived not long after they broke into the place. I’ve just seen the photos our guys took of the livery. Those creatures tore through the door like it was butter.’

‘What were they after?’ Agent O asked.

‘The stallion,’ Agent J said. ‘At least that’s what the guys said.’

‘What if they get to them before we do?’ Agent T asked.

‘They won’t,’ said Agent J confidently. ‘We’ve already got our people in position. Pegasus and the carriage are completely surrounded on all sides. They can’t make a move without us knowing it. We’ve got the 59th Street Bridge locked down and secure. We’re just waiting for our prey to enter the trap.’

Agent O shook his head. ‘Sounds a little risky to me. If we know where they are, why don’t we move in now and grab them. How can you be so certain they’ll try for the bridge?’

Agent J stood up. He yawned and stretched. ‘Because that’s what I’d do if I were them,’ he said. ‘Look, if we try to take them out in the open, there’s a chance that stallion will fly away. We need to get them where he can’t use his wings. The centre lanes of the bridge are perfect for that. The bridge itself will work as a giant cage.’

‘And you’re sure they are going to try to leave the city?’ Agent O checked.

Agent J nodded. ‘They have to get out of the city before those creatures find them again. That bridge is the closest route off Manhattan. They can’t afford to waste time heading further uptown to one of the other bridges. Besides, we’ve got those covered too. New York City is secure. There is no way off.’

He put down the sandal. ‘We’ve got a few hours left before we close the net. It’s been a long night. I’m going to go get some rest. If they arrive here early, make sure they are all separated. I want to talk to each of them alone. Especially the kids. I have a feeling that woman with them isn’t human. If she’s anything like our Mercury, she won’t talk. But I’m pretty certain the kids will.’

Agent T looked unconvinced. ‘If Mercury hasn’t talked, what makes you so sure about those kids?’

‘I’m sure because we know at least one of them is human,’ said Agent J. ‘And unlike our strange alien or Olympian friend, I’m sure she will prove more susceptible to the persuasive powers of pain.’

Paelen listened in shock. They were planning to torture the human girl he’d seen in the picture with Pegasus. She was just a child! Yet they didn’t seem to care.

The men finally left the office, closing the door behind them. Paelen waited awhile to make sure they weren’t coming back. When he was certain, he reached forward and applied pressure to one side of the vent. The screws gave easily. But this time, Paelen was more careful. Instead of pushing the grate off completely, he only bent it a bit. When there was enough space, he winced in pain as he forced his bones to stretch out again.

Bit by bit, Paelen manipulated his body until he was able to pour himself into Agent J’s office. He landed softly on the floor. Without returning his body to its natural shape, he reached for Mercury’s sandals. Throwing them up into the vent, Paelen quickly climbed back in after them. He secured the vent again, caught hold of the sandals and returned to his normal shape. He quickly took the tunnels back to his own quarters.

Paelen left the sandals in the vent outside his room. With another painful shape change, he slid back into his room and replaced the cover. Once he was satisfied that everything looked normal, he lay back down on the bed. He put the cuffs back on his ankles and wrists and returned to his natural shape.

It had been his plan to escape and find Pegasus. But he knew that his chances of finding the stallion in this strange world were remote at best. Hearing Agent J talking about how they were about to capture Pegasus and Diana and deliver them both to the very same facility, Paelen knew what he had to do. Nothing.

He would suffer their torture and whatever else they planned to do to him. He would not fight them. He would not try to leave. He would wait until the others were here. Then, when the time was right, he would take Mercury’s sandals and help Pegasus and Dinna escape.

Together they would return to the remains of Olympus.

As the carriage travelled slowly along 18th Street, Emily was grateful that no one was paying them much attention. Apart from the helicopters circling the city and the rotten way she was feeling, on any other day she would have enjoyed the ride. She struggled to keep her eyes open. She felt very hot and knew her fever was spiking. Diana still had her arm wrapped around her and was constantly checking her forehead.

‘Hold on, child,’ she coaxed. ‘It will not be much longer.’

In her fevered state, Emily thought she heard her mother’s voice speaking gently to her, encouraging her to go on. ‘I will, Mom,’ she mumbled.

Diana gave her a gentle squeeze. Dimly, Emily heard Diana speaking to her dad.

‘Steve, where is Emily’s mother?’

‘She died three months ago,’ he said sadly. ‘It hit Em really hard. She and her mother were very close.’

Emily heard her father’s response and felt her throat tighten. Her mother would have loved Pegasus and would have been right there fighting alongside them.

‘So you are grieving,’ Diana said gently. She gave Emily a comforting squeeze. ‘My poor, poor child. Now I understand.’

The carriage turned up 1st Avenue. Struggling to keep awake, Emily watched the streets going by. Soon they were passing the United Nations buildings. As each block past, Emily half expected to see Nirads charging at them. But so far, it had been a blissfully quiet trip.

‘Steve, do they allow carriages on the bridge?’ Joel asked quietly.

‘No,’ he answered. ‘But I’ve got my badge with me if anyone tries to stop us.’

Soon they were on the entrance ramp to the 59th Street Bridge.

‘Here we go,’ Steve called. ‘Do we want to follow the route that goes under the framework of the bridge, or stay on the uncovered outside lane?’

Pegasus nickered several times and snorted.

Diana leaned forward to translate. ‘He says he much prefers to stay in the open in case something should go wrong. He says his wing is feeling much recovered and should be able to carry the carriage if needs be.’

‘If he’s sure,’ Steve said. ‘Pegasus, stay to the right. That will take us to the outside uncovered lane.’

As the carriage moved into place, they found the traffic on the bridge was particularly heavy.

‘It seems like a lot of other people had the same thought about leaving the city,’ Joel said. ‘The outside lane is bumper to bumper. Nothing is moving.’

‘That area is moving over there,’ Diana suggested as she pointed to the centre lanes leading under the cover of the bridge. ‘We must go that way to keep moving.’

‘You heard the lady, Pegasus,’ Steve said. ‘Take us on to the bridge and away from Manhattan.’

As the carriage joined the steady flow of traffic, they listened to the strange clip-clopping sound of the stallion’s sharp golden hooves on the steel grate of the bridge. The other cars slowed as they passed, but otherwise ignored the horse-drawn carriage.

When they were just over halfway, Emily saw they were passing over Roosevelt Island. She tried to recall the last time she had been here. It had been when her mother was still alive, well over a year ago. They had taken a weekend trek out of the city. She recalled the excitement of going to Long Island and Wildwood State Park. Emily remembered how happy she’d been when they had gone swimming together and—

‘Uh-oh,’ Steve said. ‘This isn’t good.’

Drawn from her fevered memories, Emily tried to focus her attention. The traffic was slowing down to a stop.

‘Look over there, it’s all stopped,’ Joel warned as he pointed to the other lanes going in the opposite direction.

Pegasus let out a warning whinny and started to shake his head. His ears were pricked forward and he was baring his teeth.

‘What is happening?’ Diana asked as she sat forward and looked around.

‘I have a bad feeling about this,’ Joel warned.

‘So does Pegasus,’ Diana agreed.

Emily sat up and gazed around the carriage. When she looked towards the back entrance of the bridge, her eyes flew wide in terror. Drawing to a stop several cars lengths back were multiple military trucks. Soldiers were pouring out of the trucks and drawing their weapons.

‘Dad—’

Suddenly from both sides of the bridge, a number of armed helicopters flew down from the sky and hovered beside them. Their weapons were pointed directly at the carriage.

‘It’s a trap!’ her father cried.

‘And we’re in it!’ Joel shouted.

‘D
ON’T
MOVE!
S
TAY
WHERE
YOU
ARE
!’ warned a voice from one of the helicopter’s loudspeakers. ‘Y
OU
ARE
COMPLETELY
SURROUNDED.
S
TAY
WHERE
YOU
ARE
!’

Without pausing, Steve jumped down from the carriage. ‘Joel, help me. We’ve got to free Pegasus!’

Emily tried to stand, but her infected leg wouldn’t support her weight. She fell back down to the seat. She could no longer move. All she could do was watch as Diana stood above her and raised her spear in the air. She was preparing to take on the military.

‘No, Diana!’ Emily weakly reached up to catch the end of the spear. ‘They’ll kill you. Go with Pegs. Please, get away. Save Olympus!’

‘Do not speak nonsense,’ Diana shot back at her. ‘I will not allow these foolish men to hurt you. If they wish to fight, I am happy to oblige.’

Everybody heard the pounding of many feet on the bridge as soldiers charged at them from all directions.

‘He’s free!’ Steve shouted as he pulled the last of the leather straps away from Pegasus. Joel tore the blanket from his wings and smacked the stallion’s rump.