London Belongs to the Alchemist (Class Heroes Book 4) Read online

  Moments later, Lolly’s phone pinged. It was a text from Nicky Cairo.

  ‘Follow the road to the back of the site.’

  The rain had formed orange puddles in the dirt track. The four-by-four bumped over the uneven ground, past rows and rows of cars. Some old, some new, some clearly write-offs, all lumped together like a huge mass of jellied sweets left in the sun.

  She rounded the track and saw that she was close to the rear perimeter fence. Beyond it there was yet more wasteland, although at least there she could see patches of grass.

  She drove on another 30 metres and then she saw the intended meeting point. A large grey Mercedes and two similar black saloon cars were blocking the track.

  As she approached, Nicky Cairo got out of the grey car and leaned against the door. He was dressed like Frank Sinatra in a black suit, white shirt and black tie. Nicky’s friend, the flash one — Zak — got out the other side. His pale blue suit made him look like an Armani model. No movement from the two black cars.

  Lolly stopped the four-by-four. Her phone pinged again. She checked it. To her surprise, it was a text from Samantha.

  ‘Cup cakes r really nice thnk u. And my brother likes you. So guess ur not all bad :-|’

  Lolly sighed. An olive branch. Her heart felt heavy.

  She put the phone in her bag, left the bag in the car and climbed down onto the dirt track. Her heels sank into the soft ground. The rain, heavier now, plastered her hair to her face. She just hoped Daddy would be grateful for the hell she was going through to free him.

  “Good morning, Miss Rosewood,” called out Nicky, cheerfully, but Lolly was wary. He looked even more strained than on the previous two occasions that she had met him. His brow was furrowed, his skin looked greyer, his jaw quivered, as though it had been permanently clenched.

  “Couldn’t you have picked somewhere nicer for a meeting? I know some lovely hotels,” said Lolly, picking her way towards him through the mud and puddles.

  “I’m sure you do, but when we’re conducting business as delicate as this, the more remote and uninviting a place, the better. Believe me, nobody comes here out of choice.”

  Lolly did believe him.

  “Did you think you were going to a nightclub?” asked Zak. “Your father know you’re out dressed like that?”

  “Bit too classy for you, flash boy?” asked Lolly.

  Zak just laughed.

  “That’s a big car for a little girl,” he said. “I hope it’s got our gear in it.”

  “And what about your side of the bargain?” asked Lolly.

  Nicky looked at Zak, who beckoned Lolly over to a dented red estate car, which formed part of this weird exhibit of automobile decline. Lolly could make out a red-headed woman, bound and gagged, in the back of the vehicle. A large guy in a shiny suit sat in the front seat, although he was turned around so he was facing the woman.

  The woman was definitely Stannard, the agent who had come to the Blakes’ house. Nicky had done well.

  “I’m impressed,” said Lolly.

  “Not the biggest compliment I’ve ever had, sweetheart,” replied Nicky, impatiently. “I just want what I’m owed. Hand over the drugs.”

  “I want to talk to the woman,” said Lolly.

  Nicky shook his head.

  “Drugs first.”

  Lolly considered. She paced unsteadily back to the four-by-four, reached into the passenger seat and grabbed the bag of Super D. She threw it over to Nicky Cairo. He inspected it.

  “I got your word this is the real stuff?” he asked, cautiously.

  “It is,” said Lolly.

  It was now Nicky’s turn to look like he was weighing up his options. To Lolly’s surprise, he put a hand into the bag, took a pinch of red powder, and dropped it into his mouth. She had tagged Nicky Cairo as a man cautious to the point of paranoia. He’d got an underling to sample the Super D the other day, and here he was taking some himself without checking. Why the change? Was he really that desperate?

  Nicky threw the bag to Zak. Zak went through the same routine that Nicky had just performed.

  Moments later, they looked at each other in surprise. Nicky loosened his collar and tie and ran his hand through his jet black hair, like he’d been possessed by a fever. Was he having trouble breathing? Lolly hoped the guy wasn’t going to die on her, at least not right away. All the test subjects that Super D had been successfully tried on were under the age of 25. Above that, subjects had a tendency to suffer heart attacks and die. Nicky must be 40, although he was a fit 40. Lolly suspected he would be dead within a week.

  For the time being though, Nicky and Zak were tramping around in the mud as though they were desperate for the toilet or performing some kind of odd mating ritual. Finally, Nicky straightened up, marched towards one of the derelict cars, placed his hand on the bumper and lifted it with ease.

  He laughed.

  Spurred on by his buddy, Zak did the same, except he went one better. With a sharp sweep of his arms, he sent a car spinning through the air until it crash-landed on its bonnet.

  Lolly watched, bored, as Nicky tried out his new strength, with increasing delight, on a variety of metal objects. He punched through car doors, ripped tyres apart and flipped a van through the perimeter fence.

  “You should get out more, Nicky,” taunted Lolly.

  As if suddenly conscious that people were watching him, Nicky put down the battered transit that he had lifted up by the bumper, straightened his suit, and jogged back towards her. He was laughing, but it came across as an animal-like baring of the teeth, betraying a feral cunning.

  “You’re an amazing creature, Miss Rosewood,” he said. “Is the coke in the car too?”

  “Yes,” Lolly lied. “But before I hand that over, I want to talk to the woman. I want to make sure she has the information I need.”

  Nicky shrugged magnanimously and gestured towards the red estate car. As she passed one of the black saloons that were blocking the track, Lolly could see that there were four men inside, eyes following her. No doubt the other car had four guys in it, too. So including Nicky, Zak, and the guy guarding Stannard, that was at least eleven thugs — and her. Nicky wasn’t taking any chances.

  Chapter 41

  Lolly opened the back door of the red estate car and sat in the seat beside Stannard. The woman’s hands were tied and she had tape over her mouth. She was dressed in faded blue jeans and a torn black sweater. She looked scared but stoic.

  Lolly removed the tape from across the woman’s mouth but left her hands bound behind her back.

  “I heard you were looking for me,” said Lolly. She then addressed the big gorilla who was sitting in the front seat.

  “Get out,” she ordered. “This is a private conversation.”

  The guy didn’t look happy about it, but he obeyed.

  When they were on their own, Stannard spoke first.

  “Go to hell, Lolly,” she said.

  “I only need one thing,” said Lolly. “I’m not going to hurt you, but I want my father back. Tell me where MI5 are keeping him.”

  The woman turned away, with a slight, bitter laugh.

  “How did you manage to persuade the Blakes to hide you?” she asked.

  “They didn’t,” lied Lolly. “They threw me out. I went back to kill them, but eventually decided against it.”

  The woman met Lolly’s eyes. She wasn’t sure whether to believe her, but Lolly had at least planted a seed of doubt which might help the Blakes.

  “You need to give yourself up, Lolly. We have your father. Who else do you have? You’re just a lost kid.”

  “That’s why I need my father back. So please don’t waste time. Tell me where he is.”

  “Or what?”

  “Nicky Cairo will kill you.”

  Stannard smiled grimly.

  “A few days ago you’d have killed me yourself. You killed our agent didn’t you?”

  “It was an accident,” said Lolly, involuntarily. Then she w
ondered why she was on the defensive.

  “Do you know what I think?” said Stannard, looking her in the eye. “I think you have been staying with the Blakes. I think they took pity on you for some reason, and they’ve domesticated you. You’ve lost your nerve.”

  Lolly winced.

  “I think you see the Blakes as a surrogate family. That’s why you were so quick to deny staying with them. You want to protect them. It also implies that you don’t want to kill me, because if you were going to break my neck, then it wouldn’t matter if I thought they had sheltered you or not.”

  This interrogation was going badly. The woman could see she had the upper hand and she was pressing ahead.

  “I know Samantha and James have an incredible ability. The same as you and your father. I also know they aren’t the only ones. Remember, I stole the files from your father’s computer at G-Netik. I know a whole lot more than you think I do.”

  “So?” asked Lolly, her mind buzzing.

  “It’s something I have kept to myself. I don’t want to see any harm come to the Blake children. Your father is a different matter. He does need to be locked away. My people know about his ability and they’re going to find out how he got it. I don’t want to see that happen to the Blake twins, but if I don’t report in…” she left the words hanging.

  “What?” demanded Lolly.

  “My disappearance will have been noted. They’ll be looking for me. They’ll check my private files. When they do, they’ll get the names of the Blake family. If I’m not there to protect them, then their secret is out too.”

  Lolly hadn’t considered any of this. Her head was swimming. She wasn’t sure of anything any more.

  There was a bang on the roof of the car. Nicky Cairo stopped by the window and leaned in.

  “Is she not being very cooperative?” he asked, still with that fixed, tense grin on his face.

  “What’s she paying you, Nicky?” asked Stannard. “Whatever it is, is it really enough to go to war with the Security Service? My department will delete you from history. You’ll never have existed.”

  “You’re kidding,” Nicky snorted. “You just saw what I did with those cars, right? And that’s all thanks to Miss Rosewood here. I ain’t got anything to fear from anybody.”

  “The drug that her father created?” asked Stannard. “You won’t get any more of that from her. She doesn’t have it. Her father won’t be making it, the formula is lost and the production line is finished.”

  “You know nothing, sweetheart,” said Nicky. “Now tell her what she wants to know, or you can say goodbye to your husband.”

  “What?” Stannard’s whole body convulsed, like she’d been stung. The bravura and confidence that had built up in her conversation with Lolly evaporated in an instant.

  “That’s right,” Nicky taunted her. “You thought he was away at a conference in Leeds? Well, at great expense, I’ve had him brought here.”

  Nicky waved at Zak, who opened the door of the grey Mercedes and marched a bewildered, blindfolded man dressed only in pyjamas, across the muddy ground. Zak manhandled the guy into a battered green car that was on its own further down the track.

  “What’s he doing?” gasped Stannard, as Zak took out a petrol can and started dousing the green car.

  “You know what he’s doing,” said Nicky. “It’s very simple. He’s going to give your husband a Viking funeral unless you tell Miss Rosewood where her father is.”

  Lolly swallowed. Her conscience was pricking again and she didn’t like it. She had employed far worse methods than Nicky Cairo to get what she wanted, and yet she couldn’t get the image of herself and Yvonne Blake, baking and laughing, out of her head. Yvonne had chosen to believe that Lolly was a good person at heart.

  “Please,” begged Stannard. “My husband has nothing to do with this. He’s innocent, he’s a good man, please don’t do this.” She struggled with her bonds and looked pleadingly from Nicky to Lolly.

  “Then tell me where my father is,” snapped Lolly, more out of desperation to stop Nicky going through with his threat than to get the information.

  “I can’t,” whimpered Stannard. “Nicky, he’s a dangerous man.”

  “I’m a dangerous man,” hissed Nicky. “And a very busy man, so tell me.”

  Zak was making a big show of lighting up a cigarette, which he then held out towards the car, and made a cupping gesture to his ear, as if to say he was waiting for the word.

  “There’s a house in St John’s Wood,” babbled Stannard, eventually. And it all came out — the exact address, how long he’d been held there, and what they were doing to him. He’d been treated well, but they were still debriefing him about his activities at G-Netik and how he and Lolly had got their abilities.

  “What abilities?” asked Nicky, confused.

  Stannard laughed bitterly.

  “You know nothing about this girl, Nicky. She can do things you can’t even imagine, and it’s not because of Super D.”

  “What do you know about it?” asked Nicky, interested.

  “I know that this girl is more dangerous than you and all your petty thugs. Let me go and give her to me. I can give you immunity. I’ll forget about what you’ve done to me. You’ll be the hero who captured Lolly Rosewood. My department will be very grateful.”

  Nicky almost looked tempted.

  “Sorry. A deal’s a deal. I think Miss Rosewood is worth more to me as a partner.” He faced Lolly. “Ok, princess, you got what you want, give me my cocaine.”

  “I want to make sure she’s telling the truth first,” bluffed Lolly.

  “What?”

  “I’m going to visit that house and get my father. If he’s there, you can have all the coke you want.”

  Nicky shook his head slowly.

  “Sweetheart, do I look retarded to you? That’s not how it works. I want that coke and I want it now, otherwise you ain’t leaving this junkyard.”

  “As it happens, yes, you do look retarded.” She wanted to affect her usual disdainful manner, but as she spoke, there was a horrible pain in her stomach, which made her wince. She felt momentarily faint. “I’m going to take the woman and her husband with me, so they don’t tip off their bosses, and then I’m going to get my father. You’ve already had a big down payment. You get the rest when I’ve got what I want.”

  Nicky bared his teeth again.

  “She’s like a panther, Nicky,” warned Stannard. “Turn your back on her and she’ll maul you. She doesn’t even have what you want. There’s only one person who can get you what you want, and he’s somebody who’s got powers, too.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” asked Nicky.

  Lolly gulped. Stannard knew about Al? Of course she did. The idiot had posted that video on YouTube.

  “Found your car yet, Nicky?” managed Stannard. “No? Because somebody turned it into a pool of cheap champagne. Don’t you look at YouTube?”

  Before Stannard could say any more, one of Nicky’s thugs called out to him. Lolly looked over her shoulder. A large, unhealthy-looking guy in his fifties, with ragged curly hair, was standing next to the stolen four-by-four. All the doors were open.

  “Nothing here, Nicky,” he shouted. “She’s screwed us over.”

  Nicky Cairo glowered, and took a gun out of his pocket.

  Chapter 42

  Stannard laughed, bitterly.

  “I warned you, Nicky. She hasn’t got the drugs. She destroys things. You want the person who can create things.”

  “You shut your mouth,” ordered Nicky.

  Lolly got out of the car. Things were getting ugly and she didn’t want to be stuck in a confined space if it became physical. She slipped off her shoes, and cursed herself for the ill-advised choice of the mini dress. Daddy was always telling her she put fashion before pragmatism

  Displaying a confidence that she didn’t feel, Lolly strode around to the other side of the car and brushed Nicky out of the way. She opened the car do
or and helped Stannard out.

  “You’ll get your drugs, Nicky, but only once I’ve got my father.”

  Nicky grabbed hold of her arm. His fingers dug painfully into her flesh.

  “She was never going anywhere,” said Nicky, pointing at Stannard. “Are you stupid or something? She can identify me. Nobody will ever know who took her, and nobody will ever find her. No comeback.”

  Lolly hadn’t thought about that. Stannard was the only ally the Blakes had, she couldn’t let Nicky kill her.

  She shook her head.

  “Once I’ve got my father, I’ll kill her myself.” Lolly hadn’t got the words out before Stannard, taking advantage of the attention being off her, started running. The idiot. With her hands bound and the place crawling with Nicky’s thugs, the woman didn’t stand a chance. Worse, she had spoiled Lolly’s bluff and perhaps her only chance of making it out alive. Stannard ran towards the car where her husband was being held.

  Zak, still holding the cigarette, looked unsure of what to do.

  And then there was a loud bang, close to Lolly’s ear. She nearly jumped out of her skin. A microsecond later and Stannard plunged head first into the mud.

  Lolly gasped. Nicky Cairo released her arm. His other hand was holding a smoking gun.

  “You idiot!” screeched Lolly, partly out of concern that Stannard had lied to her about the location of her father, and partly because she was stunned that Nicky had gunned the woman down so callously.

  Lolly ran to Stannard. The woman was still alive, but her back was covered in blood.

  “I’m sorry, so sorry,” babbled Lolly, at the sad, disbelieving eyes. “I never meant for this to happen.”

  “Please…” managed Stannard. “Please save my husband.”

  “I will,” Lolly vowed, choking. “Trust me, I will. I promise.”

  The woman’s eyes closed. She was dead, of that Lolly was sure.

  “Torch the car,” Nicky ordered Zak.

  “No!” thundered Lolly, but Zak ignored her and threw the cigarette into the car. It caught alight instantly. In less than a minute, any fuel in the tank would explode and the man inside would be vaporized.