Underground (18 page)

‘What is this?' I asked Mr Weir. ‘What are we doing here? Wait.' I turned back to Montag, figuring it out. ‘
You
organised this?'

‘Doctor Montag came to me at school,' said Mrs Weir. ‘He told me your mother was in danger. He's trying to help her.'

‘We've only got about five minutes,' said Montag.

‘I need you to listen to me.'

‘I'm not listening to
anything
you –'

‘Shackleton has your blood samples,' Montag pressed on, shutting me up instantly. ‘Within a couple of hours, he'll discover the truth about you and your mother.'

‘What truth?' asked Mum. Clearly, Montag hadn't bothered to fill her in on any of this ahead of time.

‘That we're not supposed to be here,' I said. ‘That he's free to kill us the next time he –'

‘Luke can explain when you're safe,' said Montag. His gaze flitted across the street, then back to me. ‘Take her to wherever you're staying. Keep her hidden.'

‘It's a trap,' said Dad. He looked to me for confirmation. ‘Right? What's to keep him from following us back?'

‘Luke, this is our only chance at keeping your mother alive,' said Montag. ‘I've shut down the security cameras, but they'll be back online any time now. As soon as that happens –' Montag broke off. His pocket was buzzing. He reached down and pulled out his mobile phone.

‘Rob!' said Mum, and I realised it was the first time she'd seen a working phone in two months. ‘How –?'

‘Not now,' I hissed.

Montag looked down at the display, and his expression turned suddenly anxious. He motioned us all to keep quiet, then slid the phone open. ‘Yes?'

A pause. The doc's eyes widened. ‘
Now?
Don't be – We have a schedule. Her next appointment is –'

Another pause. The voice on the other end definitely wasn't happy.

‘Yes, but that's still five days from now!' said Montag, eyes flashing to the window again.

The caller shot back even louder this time, and I realised who it was. Realised what they were talking about.

Montag mouthed an obscenity. ‘All right. Yes, fine, but I'm meeting you there. If anything happens to that child – No. No, I'm on my way.'

I was tearing out the door before he'd even hung up the phone.

Calvin was coming for Jordan's family.

Chapter 23

S
ATURDAY
, J
ULY
4
40
DAYS

I leapt down the front steps.

‘Luke!' yelled Dad, racing out after me, Montag right behind him.

‘Get them out of here!' I called back, wheeling around. ‘And don't let
him
see where.'

He stopped running. ‘Where are you going?'

‘Dad,
please!'

A second of indecision. Then Dad turned back and threw a flying punch into Montag's face, sending him tripping back into the house.

‘Jack!'
yelled Mum, outraged.

I ran. Out onto the street, looking wildly around for guards. No-one in sight. But that just meant they weren't standing under the streetlights.

Three blocks to Jordan's house.

I looked left, dashing across the first side-street, and for a few seconds, I could see straight down to the security centre at the end of the block. Nothing moving down there.

A voice behind me. I glanced back. Montag was tearing up the street, hand to his ear again. Back on the phone.

Two blocks to go.

I looked over my shoulder again. A dark shape darted across the road behind us, and then another, visible for just a second as they skirted the edge of a streetlight. Dad up front, lumbering along with Mr Weir across his back. Mrs Weir hurrying after him, and –

Clank, clank, clank, clank.

Noise up ahead. Running footsteps and jangling metal. Faint, but not for long. It was coming from around the next corner.

No.

Clank, clank, clank, clank.

A shout from the side-street.

Officer Calvin, a block away, flanked by four security guards, all carrying the same semi-automatic weapons they'd been using when they went out into the bush, looking for Dad. Calvin was snarling into his phone.

I hit Jordan's block and, for a moment, the guards were out of sight. But I could still hear the clanking of their weapons, and the pounding of their feet, and the fierce back-and-forth of Calvin and Montag's phone conversation as they closed in on each other.

I swerved sideways as a gleaming black pole sprang up out of nowhere. One of the new cameras. A little green light blinked out from the dome at the top. The security network was back online.

Not that I had panic to spare for that right now.

I jumped the fence, into Jordan's yard. Up the steps and through the open front door. ‘JORDAN!'

Jordan's mum was standing at the foot of the stairs, still in her pyjamas, arm wrapped tightly around a panicked-looking Georgia. I swear, Mrs Burke's stomach had doubled in size since the last time I'd seen her. She opened her mouth, almost screaming as I came into the room, but then saw who I was.

Jordan came thundering down the stairs. ‘What? Are they –?'

‘They're coming!' I said. ‘Where's your dad?'

‘Upstairs! He's just –'

‘No, Jordan – They're coming
now!'

Jordan swayed, grabbing the banister, and for a horrible second I thought she was slipping into another vision. But she steadied herself, taking the rest of the stairs in three strides. ‘Out the back!' she panted, holding her mum's arms. ‘Get over the fence and
run
. Into the bush, deep as you can –'

‘Over the fence?' said Mrs Burke weakly, free hand drifting to her belly. ‘Jordan, I don't think I can –'

‘Just
do it!'
Jordan shouted. She started dragging them toward the hall, shooting a desperate glance up at the second-floor landing. ‘DAD! GET DOWN HERE!'

There was a bang as someone kicked the gate open outside.

Georgia started to cry. She buried her face in her mum's side and her soccer cap fell to the carpet.

‘Don't worry, sweetheart,' whispered Mrs Burke, starting up the hall. ‘Jordan's going to take us –'

Georgia screamed.

Mrs Burke opened her mouth to calm her down, but whatever she was going to say got swallowed up in a rush of feet pounding onto the verandah.

They were here.

Chapter 24

S
ATURDAY
, J
ULY
4
40
DAYS

Calvin swept into the room and stabbed a red-gloved hand at Georgia and her mum. Two of his men raced forward – Coffee Cart Guard, bandaged and bruised, and a curly-haired officer I thought I'd seen stacking shelves at the supermarket once.

‘RUN!' Jordan shouted, pushing her mum toward the back door and moving to head off the guards.

Calvin pointed his last remaining officer up the stairs.

Wait a sec …

Weren't there four guards before?

The curly-haired officer clamped down on Jordan's shoulders and tried to shove her aside. Jordan grabbed him back, her heels digging into the carpet.

‘Stop!' screamed Mrs Burke. ‘Let her go!'

‘Mum, please!' Jordan begged. ‘Go! Before –'

BANG.

The back door smashed open and Officer Barnett came bounding in from the other end of the hall, blocking the only escape we had left.

‘All clear, Chief,' he reported, clutching his rifle in both hands, looking like he was having the time of his life.

Calvin nodded in Jordan's direction. ‘Deal with her, will you?'

Jordan was still locked in her wrestling match with the other guard. Barnett got around the back of her and smashed the butt of his weapon down behind her knees. She cried out, releasing the guard and dropping halfway to the ground. Barnett kicked her the rest of the way over and planted his boot down between her shoulder blades.

I took a step toward them, but then Calvin hoisted up his weapon, aiming it at my chest, disintegrating whatever shred of hope I had left. ‘A bit late for heroics, Mr Hunter.'

Montag stood in the doorway, eyeing Calvin's gun. ‘Are those really necessary?'

Calvin didn't even look at him.

Coffee Cart Guard had both hands on Jordan's mum now, but he was still struggling to get her under control. The curly-haired officer was clutching Georgia around the middle, trying to pull her away. Georgia shrieked at him to leave her alone. Mrs Burke aimed a knee up between the curly-haired guard's legs and he crumpled, grabbing himself.

‘Oi!' Barnett shouted, swinging his weapon around and pointing it at Jordan's mum. ‘That'll do.'

Mrs Burke stopped struggling. The two recruits stepped back, raising their rifles, like they'd only just remembered they had them. Georgia cowered behind her mum.

‘Get them out,' Calvin ordered, rolling his eyes. ‘And
don't –'

A spray of weapons fire exploded above our heads, impossibly loud, like the whole house was coming down on top of us.

Georgia screamed again.

‘DAD!' Jordan strained under Barnett's boot, her face contorted with terror like I'd never seen before.

Calvin looked back to Coffee Cart Guard and the other guy. ‘Out!'

They started dragging Jordan's mum toward the door.

‘NO!' Jordan shouted, tears pouring down now. ‘YOU'RE
NOT
–!'

Barnett jabbed his rifle down into the back of her head. ‘
Shut up.

' I ran at him, no idea what I was doing. Almost instantly, a solid mass slammed into my back, throwing me to the ground. I hit the carpet and someone grabbed me by the hair.

‘I'll get to you in a minute,' Calvin growled behind my ear. He dropped my head roughly, still pinning me down with one knee.

The two young guards hauled Mrs Burke and Georgia to the door, and Montag stepped aside to let them out.

Georgia was howling so much she could barely breathe. ‘Leave me alone!' she gasped. ‘No! I don't want to go down there!'

Down there?
I thought dimly. It wasn't the first time Georgia seemed to know more than she should have.

She took a choking breath as they reached the verandah, and let out another ear-destroying scream.

Surely the whole street had to be up by now.

Calvin's knee dug into my spine. I was shaking, fear like a freight train, waiting for him to hurry up and –

SMASH!

Something shattered upstairs. There was a strangled shout, and a thump, and then Jordan's dad came sprinting into view, clutching the other guard's rifle in one hand.

Calvin twisted around, taking aim at him. ‘Drop it.'

Mr Burke froze halfway down the stairs, but held onto the rifle, hands trembling as Georgia's wails faded away down the street.

‘Chief,'
said Montag, eyes flashing. ‘We've got what we came for.'

‘Yes,' said Calvin. ‘You can go now, Rob.'

‘Do you think we can just walk away from this? You've already woken up half the town, Bruce. Noah's orders –' Calvin's left hand blurred above my head, leaving his rifle and drawing the pistol from his holster. He pointed it at Montag. ‘You can
go
now, Rob.'

Everyone stopped. Barnett raised his weapon slightly, but didn't seem to know where to point it.

Jordan caught my eye.

‘Bruce,' Montag shook his head. ‘You're not going to – How do you think Noah's going to react when he finds out –?'

Jordan stretched out the fingers on her left hand.
Five seconds.
I cringed, but started counting down.

‘When he finds out you were tragically caught in the crossfire as we took down Hunter and Burke?' said Calvin, grinning horribly. ‘Yes, I imagine he'll be quite upset. But I'm sure Dr Galton will be able to pick up –'

Barnett shouted in surprise as Jordan jerked sideways, rolling out from under him. He pointed his rifle down again, but she was already throwing herself into the back of his legs, dropping him to the ground.