Tunnels 04, Closer

said, patting Elliott's shoulder.
    "That makes you a very important person," Chester added, looking at Elliott in her bathrobe.
    "Thought I was, anyway," she complained.
    Drake wasn't listening to the three of them as he considered the implications. "Of course, by crippling our Topsoil facilities, the board will be cleared for the Styx. You can bet they've got more surprises up their sleeves -- some more nasty diseases to spread -- because that's exactly what they've been doing to us for centuries."
    "But if the Prime Minister really pushed this decision through, do you think he himself has been Darklit?" Mrs. Burrows posed. Her question was never answered as Parry waved his cane at the television.
    "Here we are," he announced, as the report on the hospitals was interrupted. And BREAKING NEWS appeared at the top of the screen.
    Will frowned. "You mean the thing about the hospitals wasn't why you called us in here?" he asked.
    Drake shook his head. "That was the first we'd heard of it."
    "Quiet everybody!" Parry barked. "Here it comes."
    Will and Chester gave each other baffled looks, then watched the television screen as the picture broke up for a second before a reporter appeared. It was evident that she wasn't in the studio, and that the incident was being covered by a hastily-arranged outside broadcast.
    The reporter was in a street lined with tall glass buildings, while behind her frightened-looking people were running in all directions. Most of them were office workers, but there was also a handful of armed policemen. The reporter seemed flustered and unprepared as she spoke. "I'm... I'm here in the City of London -- at the heart of the financial district -- and no more than half a kilometer away, at the Bank of England itself, it appears that a gun battle is under way." Somebody off-screen spoke to her. "And I've just been told we've obtained a film taken by a member of the public on their mobile phone."
    A jerky and rather poor quality clip began which showed a street blocked by police cars. With the sound of automatic gunfire, policemen hastily took shelter behind their vehicles.
    Then the camera zoomed beyond these vehicles, to the normally busy intersection right in the very center of the City, where the Bank of England was based in a building called the Royal Mint. All of a sudden, there was a massive explosion, and windows were blown out of the building, accompanied by the sound of more gunfire. The reporter began to speak over the remainder of the clip, which showed smoke billowing across the deserted street. "This film, taken less than twenty minutes ago, appears to show an attack on the Bank of England by a gang of armed gunmen."
    The reporter was back on the screen again. "We are also hearing that fighting has broken out in several other locations in the City, and that--"
    There was another explosion and the reporter ducked. Then the screen was filled with static until it went blank. A second later, the news presenter in the studio came on again.
    "We seem to have lost the link with our OB van. I hope Jenny is okay," he said, frowning. Clearing his throat, he pretended to glance at his papers as he collected himself, then looked up. "So for any viewers that have just joined us, we are receiving numerous reports of armed attacks on the Bank of England and in several nearby locations, and of at least two major explosions." He held his hand to his earpiece. "I've just been informed that a meeting of the Governor of the Bank of England and his senior advisory committee was sitting in the Bank at the time the attack began... and that numerous casualties are expected, which may include the Governor himself. Although I should point out that this is unconfirmed at the present time."
    Drake shook his head. "So this is the start of it all. The Styx are attempting to destabilize the country by attacking its major City institutions," he said quietly. "This could tip us into another doozy of a recession, like nothing we've ever seen before."
    The news presenter continued. "These are some enhanced CCTV stills just sent to us by the police. They show the occupants of two separate vehicles who entered the City just prior to the incidents. The police are asking for anyone with information about these men to come..."
    "Colonel Bismarck!" Elliott burst out. "Will, look, it's the Colonel!"
    Stepping forward, Will stared at the slightly fuzzy images of two faces taken through vehicle windscreens. One of the men meant