Scotland Hard (Book 2 in the Tom & Laura Series) (35 page)

“If you claim you were walking me to the castle door, you could be close to Dougal.”

“You would still have to knock him down for us, Daisy,”
Arnold
said quietly. “And we all know you are enamored of him.”

“I could do it to save
London
, not to mention saving Tom and Laura. If you promise not to hurt him too much; I am sure he is an innocent in all this.”

46.
      
Betrayals

“I was wondering if you might reconsider the timing of setting off the bomb, Laird,” Blane enquired of Lord McBride. “Some of
Scotland
’s oldest and most noble lines will be present at the State Opening of Parliament. Surely, it will not affect the final outcome if you delay exploding the bomb until after the Christmas recess.”

Lord McBride began to pace the room looking in many ways like a caged beast whose frustration had almost reached bursting point.

“Blane, the whole point is to kill the English lords, their Hanoverian royalty, and their members of parliament in one fell swoop. The death of a few Scotsmen is a price well worth paying in achieving that endeavor,” McBride said irritably.

“Have you considered, Laird,” Blane started, trying to find another argument to persuade the Laird to delay his actions, “How difficult it will be to get the first families of
Scotland
to unite against the English if there are deprived of their clans leaders by your bomb? They might even choose to side with the English in their grief.”

McBride waved away the suggestion.

“Most of the
Scotland
’s lords deserve to die, in any case. Their continuing acquiescence to their English overlords has allowed the English scum to rape our land, steal our resources, and subjugate our people. This purge is long overdue.”

Blane felt shock run through his veins like freezing water. This was the first time Lord McBride had ever said that the target for his infernal device was more than just the English nobility and their politicians.

Blane had enjoyed the game of planning how to give the English their just desserts as much as his Laird. It had been a pleasant fantasy to while away the hours of the night. Now that fantasy was in danger becoming a reality Blane was plagued with second thoughts. To kill so many innocent people was more than wrong; it was evil and Blane was finally seeing it for what it was.

Yet he knew he was committed to this outcome every bit as much as his Laird. His hands were all over the creation of this weapon. Blane had found Clerkes and persuaded McBride to listen to his strange ideas. It was surely far too late to turn back the clock and to put their toys back into their cupboards.

As if in answer to his thoughts, Lord McBride continued with his musings.

“I have three MM3 agents in the cellars awaiting disposal in the loch. Should I go down, untie them, brush their clothes, and beg their pardon? One of them claims to be the MM3 Director of Operations. How do you think he would react if I were foolish enough to try such a thing?”

McBride stared at his secretary and his eyes seemed to shine.

“How many people did we kill with the test? One hundred? Perhaps it was as many as five hundred if we were to search the villages. You and I have purchased children stolen from their parents. Simply for the purpose of furthering our research into magic, so we might counter the English’s Empire’s greatest strength. With their four Class A heading an army of a few thousand they could defeat an army of hundred of thousands. We needed to find the weakness in their armor before we struck.”

Blane saw an opening to suggest delay.

“And we have failed in that particular task, Laird. Is that not a good reason to reconsider our actions?”

McBride faced Blane and in the light shining up from the lamp on his desk he took on the look of a demon. He spoke triumphantly.

“I know something you do not, Blane. All four Class A’s will be in
London
that day.” Lord McBride smiled with pleasure as he presented this astonishing news.

Blane almost jumped in surprise. “I thought that Military Magic took great care never to allow even two of them to be in the same place at the same time?”

“And so they do. It is official policy. However, Annelise Shultz has managed find a traitor in a senior position in MM1. He has arranged for all four Class A’s to be travelling through
London
at the same time while on their way to different parts of the country.”

“He has not been told why since he lives and works in
London
. The Hungarians are willing to let all their English agents, and indeed their embassy staff, die in the blast. It will help them to deny any involvement when fingers are pointed.”

“When they retrieve Miss Young, the Hungarians will be in a position to cripple the
British Empire
as they will have more Class A’s than them,” Blane pointed out.

McBride smiled cunningly.

“I have no intention of turning Miss Young over to them. She will be far too valuable to the New British Empire, or should I say the New Scottish Empire?”

Blane frowned. “Annelise Shultz is a dangerous woman to cross.”

“I think her masters will bring her quickly to heel when the alternative is a dantium bomb in the Danube, exploding shall we say, in the centre of
Vienna
?”

“I thought that
London
would be our only use of the bomb, Laird?” Blane asked in alarm. He began to wonder just what kind of a monster he had unleashed on an unsuspecting world.

McBride’s smile turned into a wicked grin.

“I had thought that myself until I talked to Hans this afternoon. He has opened my mind to a set of possibilities I had not previously considered. Why should we limit our ambitions to the
British Empire
when controlling the world is only a single step further?”

“We are the only people who know how to build these bombs and Hans has made them small enough and resilient enough for us to plant almost anywhere without detection. We could end all war on Earth, if we are clever enough. A bomb hidden in every major city would soon end talk of revolt or treason against me.”

Blane knew for the first time that he was working for a madman. However, the Laird was right about one thing, there could be no going back. To stop would mean the gallows for them both.

Daisy knocked at the imposing castle door and stepped back. The rest of the team stood a few feet behind her. Tricky was watching Ebb, as he knew he could get a few seconds advantage, provided he read his friend’s reactions accurately.

The door opened and Dougal stepped out. He looked surprised to see Daisy’s entire family standing out in the cold with her.

“We thought it best to walk Daisy up to the castle as it is so dark,”
Arnold
said before Dougal could speak. “I don’t know how safe it is in
Scotland
, but in
London
it would not be wise for an attractive woman to walk so far alone.”
Arnold
put out his hand for Dougal to shake.

Dougal smiled and stepped forward to take his hand.

“It is perfectly safe in Glen Russell. Everybody knows everybody and nobody would attack a… “

Dougal collapsed as Daisy hit him on the head with a heavy piece of wood that she had concealed within the sleeve of her coat.

Arnold
and
Cam
caught Dougal as he fell and dragged him into the castle. Tricky ran forward and opened the door wide so they could get in without difficulty. They laid Dougal out on the floor while Tricky and Ebb closed the door behind them.

“Oh my God! I haven’t killed him have I?” Daisy asked in panic as she looked at the body on the floor.
Cam
pressed her fingers against Dougal’s neck and sighed with relief.

“He has a strong pulse, Daisy. He is unconscious, not dead.”

“Get him tied and gagged as quickly as you can,”
Arnold
ordered as nobody else seemed to be taking charge. He looked around and went to the first door he saw. A quick look at the room beyond convinced him it would do. “Bring him in here.”

Daisy and Cam half lifted, half-dragged Dougal into the room where
Cam
preceded to tie him up while Daisy wiped his brow with her handkerchief.

“Come on, Daisy,”
Cam
called impatiently as Daisy continued to fuss over Dougal.

“You go ahead. I need to be sure he is all right before I follow.”

“Daisy, you have no idea how to get to the laboratory.”

“I was taken there by Dougal the other night. I’m sure I can find it once I get my bearings. You go ahead.”

Arnold
and
Cam
shared bewildered looks, neither was prepared to leave without Daisy, and neither had a clue how to make her come with them.

“We ‘as to go,” Tricky said worriedly. Ebb nodded in agreement. The boys felt they were too close to the castle door for comfort.

“Go on, all of you. I shall be fine,” Daisy said.

She got up and started shooing
Arnold
and
Cam
towards the door.

“I am more than capable of looking after myself and I am not leaving Dougal until I am sure he will recover. Now go.”

Arnold
and Cam shared a look of despair and
Cam
shrugged.

“If you get us caught and killed, I shall never forgive you, Daisy Drew,” she said and gave her friend a hug. “Do not wait here for too long.”

Cam and the others left the room with
Arnold
in the lead. Daisy saw a jug of water on a table and wet her handkerchief before caressing Dougal’s brow with it.

Dougal moaned and his eyes flew open to stare at Daisy. He tried to move and discovered he could not, which made him struggle all the harder. He tried to speak through the gag and then began to struggle desperately, banging his head and shoulders against the nearby wall.

“Do not struggle so, Dougal. We mean you no harm,” Daisy whispered urgently, placing her hand on him in reassurance.

“Whmmmph wer.”

“If I take off the gag, will you promise not to shout?”

Dougal stopped struggling and nodded his head. Daisy loosened the gag and then removed it, keeping hold of both ends so she could force it back in place if Dougal had lied to her.

“So you and your family are nothing but common thieves and brigands,” Dougal stated angrily when he recovered his breath.

“We are neither, nor are we family. We are agents of Military Magic on a mission.”

“Do not think me foolish enough to believe that Military Magic sends children of ten or twelve out on its missions?”

“Cam,
Arnold
and I are agents of MM3, though barely out of training. We rescued Ebb and Tricky from where they were being held and brought them along with us. It is all very complicated,” Daisy admitted.

“I seem to have nothing else to do at the moment, so why don’t you explain it to me?”

Daisy knew that she should put the gag back on Dougal and go after the others, but she had vague memories of dreams where Dougal was by her side and more importantly, where he was needed. She sighed, it was difficult being a Precog. Sometimes, it was like living your life in a fog.

“We were sent to rescue Laura and Tom. They had been kidnapped by an organization of criminals called the Brotherhood, which has infiltrated MM3.”

“Who are Laura and Tom?” Dougal asked in confusion.

“Laura Young is a Class A Spellbinder while Tom Carter is a Healer.”

“Miss Young and Mister Carter were sent to my father by Military Magic. He told me so himself when he came back from
London
a couple of days ago.”

“He bought them at a slave auction along with a young girl called
Alice
. He has purchased gifted children before, though we do not know why he collects them.”

Dougal shook his head and winced at the pain the movement brought.

“This is arrant nonsense. My father is a Lord and a respected citizen of the Empire. I know the children you speak of; he is paying for their education as a gift to their families.”

“Your father bought Laura to replace two sick Spellbinders he employs. He needed her to extract pure dantium for Hans Clerkes bomb. A bomb he intends to use to destroy
London
.”

Dougal gave Daisy a look of sheer disbelief.