Chapter 26 - The Kraken Gate
‘Some recommendations!’ I exclaimed.
Dr. Betz gave me a sympathetic look. ‘Well, just two actually.’
‘What was the other one?’ I asked, voice low.
‘A way to introduce poison gas into the portal chamber, in case something does get in.’
‘That sounds like a really dangerous idea. What gas, and how long will it take to clear the air in the chamber? It’s underground, with no windows.’
Dr. Betz looked unconcerned. ‘Professor Maddison gave it the green light. He said we can open the gate anywhere on Ganessa, and the low pressure there will suck all the air from the chamber.’
There were a great many things I wanted to say, but I bit my tongue until we were on the way back to the mansion. The strengthened glass windows to the control room was a good idea, but the gas was a chancy way to combat alien creatures whose biology was unknown, and its control lacked finesse. A stomach-full of bile tried to vent itself on the way back to the mansion. It was bad enough that they were making changes without my knowledge, but what had me really incensed was that Lieutenant Scott had seen the plans many days before the explosion at Winslow Hall, long enough that they had been able to change the entire viewing window of the control room, which meant that Harman was hiding something from me. I was furious. My team recognised the signs and wisely decided to stay silent.
‘Don’t worry,’ braved Ellen, when we were back at the walled garden. I was still seething, so I barely noticed the heady scent of the flowers and hoed earth. ‘We’re still in charge, and they’re not bad ideas, really.’
My rage seemed childish to me now. If Director Harman’s story about the Council’s desire to interfere in his project was true, then it was entirely likely that Chancellor Gordon had requested involvement of the marines some time ago. His reluctance to tell me was nothing more than pride. He was simply unwilling to appear to dance to anyone else’s tune, and it was only when the Winslow Hall had been levelled that the matter had gone beyond his control.
James saw me wavering and waded in. We’d all heard the Director’s views on the military. ‘Harman would never trust the stumps with our work. ’
I smiled at them both. ‘You’re right. I’m calming down now.’ We’d reached the mansion. Mahkran, Ankush and Inigo caught up with us. They’d been discussing the improvements at the facility.
‘We’re going to need to take turns to stand watch,’ I said, when I had their attention. ‘We’ll set up something later today, but for now, I just want you to pack anything you’ve already unpacked. I’ll go find the butler and ask for our cases and everything else to be moved down to the lodge. Ellen…’
‘You want me to get back to clearance checks?’
‘Yes please. Make a start, and I’ll come and help as soon as I can. I’ve got to look in on Na-Su, but first I need to speak with Rigsby about moving our things over to the lodge and sourcing logs to make stakes.’
Ellen nodded. ‘I’ll make an office of one of the spare rooms in the hunting lodge. Good luck with Rigsby!’
‘Thanks. I’ll need it.’
James, Inigo, Ankush and Mahkran looked at me expectantly. I felt a flush of pride. Perhaps it sounds slushy and weak, not what the head of a ruthlessly efficient private security company should admit to, but it was true. Every one of my team had qualities that made them unique and - in my view - gifted, but when we had a collective purpose, the whole really was greater than the sum of the parts.
‘Once your things are ready to go over to the hunting lodge, I want you to split up and walk the perimeter in opposite directions until you meet up. See if the wall is intact all the way around and make a note of anything interesting or unusual.’
‘That will take many bells.’ James frowned. I knew what was troubling him so I gave him my winningest smile.
‘Then you’d better visit the kitchens beforehand and get some lunch.’ The big man was visibly relieved. The others nodded too. ‘We’ll eat over at the hunting lodge tonight,’ I added. ‘We’ll sort out a rota for keeping watch. Also, we’ll decide how to protect ourselves from the Charg, and we’ll work out how we’re going to see this mission through, right?’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ came the response.
‘Inigo, a word?’ I stopped the lad as the others left.
‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘If you’re uncomfortable standing watch outside, you can do the rounds inside the lodge. We’ll need someone close-at-hand.’
‘You know, ma’am, it’s not as bad as I feared. I wonder if my condition was made worse because of what I was doing back then. When you’re living a carefree life, it’s the shadows that scare you. When your life depends on a clandestine existence, it’s the reverse. The shadows are your friends and the wide open expanses are terrifyingly exposed.’
‘It’s a good theory,’ I said, ‘but how do you feel about stepping onto a distant planet?’
‘I’m not sure, ma’am, but I know I’d like to try. This new life suits me.’
‘That’s music to my ears, Inigo. Perhaps you’d consider visiting my father on Exeter Stack when we go back to Emberly. He’d be delighted to hear how you’re getting on.’
‘I will, and I can thank him in person. I don’t know how long I would have lasted there.’
‘It’s good to have you in the team, Inigo. I know what you’re capable of, and with Tyrone and Edgar gone, I need you more than ever.’
Inigo nodded. There was nothing more to say, so we parted company and I went in search of Rigsby. When I found him, I asked if someone could take our luggage to the lodge. My request provoked no more than a raised eyebrow and a deferential nod. Lannerville Hall’s butler was less pleased when I told him that we might need a supply of lumber to make sharpened stakes. He appeared to struggle with a bout of indigestion as I explained what we needed and why. At the end he shook his head, as if I was a wayward child asking to borrow whale oil and matches.
‘Go speak with the head groundsman, Mr. Morten. We need firewood to keep the place warm in the winters you know, but if there’s any to spare…’ He shrugged, but gave me directions all the same.
The stable block wrapped three sides of a flagstone courtyard at the northern end of the Great Lawn, a short distance from the hunting lodge. Metal chimneys, rising to twice the height of a person, stood on either side of the entrance to the courtyard. I found Mr. Morten where Rigsby had said he would be, in a workshop that took up one side of stable block. The head groundsman was bent double with the weight of years and only managed to keep himself from toppling over with a sturdy cane of polished redwood, but he was far more accommodating than Rigsby had been. When I asked him what the chimneys were for, he turned his head sideways to look up at me and fixed me with clear bright eyes from under the bushiest eyebrows I’d ever seen.
‘Air has to get in and out of them chambers below,’ was all he said, his manner making it clear that he neither knew, nor cared enough about Harman’s project to be worth cross-examining on the subject. So instead, I described what we needed again. I was concerned that my request would be the one that finished the old man off for good, but when I was done, he cackled briefly and dismissed my evident concern with the wave of a hand.
‘No problem, young lady. No problem at all. Give me a few days and I’ll have the lads find what you need. Heh! No problem. I’ll have them whittle them just right and pile them where you can get them.’
Flushed with my success, I went to find Na-Su. To my surprise she wasn’t in the infirmary. Nurse Vanning gave me a disgusted look and told me the Omolit woman had discharged herself a short while earlier. She pulled at the knot holding her greying hair back, as though determined to wrench her entire face around to the back of her head.
‘She shouldn’t have gone. She’s lost a lot of blood. I shall not be held responsible if she takes a turn for the worse.’
I left, promising the woman that I would assume responsibility for my employee’s recovery. Na-Su was in her room sitting in an armchair. Her left arm was in a sling. She was looking through a sheaf of papers. She looked wan, but managed a grin when she saw me.
‘Sorry, boss,’ she said. ‘I could not be with that doctor-lady. She made too much fuss. Very annoying.’
‘Yes. I didn’t think you two would ever become best friends. What’s that you’ve got there?’
‘Inventory and some design drawings.’
I gave a quizzical look.
‘For the order I placed before we left Emberly,’ the Omolit explained.
‘Right, the weapons you designed. Who did you give the commission to? Verstadd Mech, FRG?’
‘Harland and Coates.’
I whistled. ‘They will be costly!’
‘Yes, sorry boss. I didn’t have time to tell you. They also smaller company…maybe more discrete. You so busy, and then attacked at home. I didn’t want to trouble you.’
‘You spoke with Ellen?’
‘Yes. She authorised. Said she would speak with you later.’
‘That’s fine,’ I replied. ‘She did.’ It was a lie. Ellen must have forgotten to mention it to me. To be fair, we had travelled here separately and been here less than a day. It didn’t matter. Ellen was exceptionally competent, so if she thought we could persuade Harman to foot the bill then that was good enough for me. ‘When do they arrive?’
‘Twenty-one days.’
I winced. If the Koulomb Gate was set for its first trial run in seven days time, Harman would surely be pushing for our mission to take place shortly afterwards.
‘Is there any way to speed that up?’
‘Maybe, boss. We split delivery. Leave more complicated items until the second shipment. It will cost more.’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ I said. ‘Please write a note to Harland and Coates. I will speak with Ellen and then write to Director Harman to authorise the additional spend.’
‘I write it now.’
I nodded. ‘We don’t have time for the postal service to dispatch it. I’ll get the message sent by heliogram. There’s a Post Office in the town.’ I suddenly became worried about the shipments reaching us safely. There could be no doubt about the determination of whoever had tried to have us killed yesterday. They knew where we were headed and when. Why wouldn’t they seek to intercept anything being delivered to us here?
‘Na-Su.’
‘Yes, boss?’
‘What shipping address did you give to Harland and Coates?’
‘This one here, of course.’
‘Tell them to change it, but leave a blank space for me to write it in. I’ll find a haulage company in Lannerville town who can take delivery on our behalf. If they’re stated as the ultimate destination it will make it harder for anyone looking for a connection to us, or to this place.’
I told Na-Su we were relocating to the hunting lodge. If she was concerned about our proximity to the failsafe we would shortly be installing, she didn’t show it. I packed her belongings while she wrote the letter. Afterwards, I took the envelope from her and we went downstairs, her with the help of a walking stick while I carried her cases. When we reached the ground floor, she was breathing hard, and a sheen of sweat had broken out on her forehead. She looked hard at me, her eyes dark in-between narrow lids.
‘They come for us again,’ she predicted, then glanced around at the polished panelling and ornate plaster coving. ‘They not stop just because of this fancy house.’
‘I know, Na-Su. I’ve been wondering who is behind these attacks. Nallia is the most likely answer, but it could be someone with a grudge against Harman.’ I waited as a chambermaid hurried past. The sound of her shoes on the flagstones receded. ‘It could be politically motivated, maybe even the chancellor. Those two don’t like each other at all.’
‘Why would the chancellor send men when he fix for soldiers to be with us? He just wait until soldiers here then…’ The Omolit made the sound of a breaking neck.
‘You’re right, that doesn’t make much sense. I guess we’ll know soon enough if that’s the plan. It’s another good reason to be in the hunting lodge. It’s smaller and easier to defend. The marines will bunk here, so we’ll see them coming as long as we remain watchful.’
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