Tunnels 05 - Spiral

but really give it all you’ve got this time. Chester’s not the only Olympic champion around here.”
    “He’s not?” Elliott replied, her confusion obvious.
    “No, and if they had judo or aikido on
Britain’s Got Talent
, I’d win hands down. Come on, grumpy — try and hit me,” Stephanie urged. She waggled her fingers, beckoning Elliott toward her. “And do your worst this time.”
    Elliott attacked in earnest. Her full-bodied punch was aimed directly at Stephanie’s chin. But Stephanie deflected the blow, caught Elliott’s wrist, and threw her onto her back in a single, fluid movement. It didn’t end there — as Stephanie dropped to the floor beside Elliott, she had one of her arms in a lock. Elliott was pinned to the ground and completely in the other girl’s power. “Got you!” Stephanie said.
    “NO!” Chester cried from the doorway.
    The boy’s sudden appearance distracted Stephanie sufficiently that Elliott managed to twist free. She swung her legs up and caught Stephanie around the neck in a scissor grip. Then Elliott heaved her to the floor, where the other girl was trying all she could to break free. But now Elliott had her in an iron grip.
    Chester was reaching in to separate them. “Stop it! Stop it at once!”
    Elliott relaxed her grip, and they both sat up.
    “Nice move — wasn’t expecting that,” Stephanie complimented Elliott.
    “What do you think you’re both doing?” Chester demanded, huffing with concern as the girls stared up at him.
    “You sound like my dad.” Stephanie giggled.
    “It wasn’t for real,” Elliott said.
    “It looked real enough to me,” Chester came back. “Besides, you should watch out for your back,” he said to Elliott.
    “My back’s completely — ” she started to reply but stopped as Stephanie failed to stifle another giggle.
    “What’s so funny?” Chester demanded, becoming quite irate now.
    “You didn’t think we were fighting over
you
, did you?” Stephanie said.
    Blushing, Chester made an about-turn and fled from the room. Muttering to himself, he hunched his shoulders and stomped down the corridor.
    As he was approaching the elevator area, Will rounded the corner, a piece of paper in his hand. “I was just on my way to find you,” Will said. “I went up to the Hub and they’re all busy with whatever they’re doing, but I did speak to Sergeant Finch and . . .” Clearly excited about whatever was on the piece of paper, Will was about to show it to his friend when he sensed that all wasn’t well with him. “You don’t look very happy. Are you all right?” Will inquired.
    “Peachy . . . just peachy,” Chester spat, his face stiff with anger.
    Will caught Elliott’s and Stephanie’s animated voices, then Stephanie’s shrill laughter. “Wow! Am I really hearing that?” he said. “I never thought those two would ever hit it off. What are they laughing about?”
    Chester pulled a face. “I haven’t the faintest idea — they’re girls, aren’t they? What did you want me for, anyway?” he asked curtly.
    “This,” Will said, flashing the sheet of paper in front of his friend. “Sergeant Finch told me there are some interesting rooms on Level 3. We should go and have a look.”
    At Chester’s insistence, they took the stairs rather than the elevator. As they entered the new level, they immediately spotted a difference. There might still have been linoleum on the floor, but it was a rich blue, and the walls of the corridor were covered with a fine gold-and-green-patterned wallpaper.
    “What’s this all about?” Chester asked, looking around. “I thought we’d been given the luxury floor?”
    “You just wait,” Will replied, consulting his piece of paper as he walked ahead of Chester, checking what was on the doors. “Ah, here we are,” he announced, pushing one of them open and turning on the lights.
    Inside, there was a suite of four interconnecting rooms, two with four-poster beds, their canopies swathed with red velvet, and on the walls tapestries depicting hunting scenes. The antique furniture was incredibly ornate and looked expensive — it was in a different league from anything in their own quarters.
    “Was this for someone important?” Chester asked, running his eyes over the gilded chairs and a large divan.
    “You’re getting warm. It was for someone
really
important. Go on — have a guess,” Will challenged his friend as they passed into a small side room, which was very basic and