Tunnels 06 - Terminal

careless,’ Parry said as he watched the doors of the Bentley being flung open. ‘Look at them – they can’t have any idea we’re up here. They’ve grown overconfident,’ he whispered. He was itching to give the command to his men to open fire, but instead he continued to assess the situation. ‘We’ve got ourselves a full house – the Old Styx, the Rebecca twin, the Styx woman, and …’

    Hermione dragged someone from the back of the car. His face was puffy and bruised, and his eyes barely open. ‘Make an effort, will you?’ Hermione mocked him as she propped him up against the car, his head lolling drunkenly.
    ‘My God! It’s Will!’ Parry whispered. ‘So at least some of them made it back. But he’s been badly roughed up. Just hope he didn’t bring any of that supervirus back with him from the inner world if it was released. That would really put the cat amongst the pigeons with the Yanks.’
    ‘I heard that,’ Bob said indignantly over Parry’s headset. ‘What supervirus?’
    ‘If you’re going to listen in, keep it zipped,’ Parry told him. ‘Now I want all stations to report to me.’
    Parry’s earpiece crackled. ‘Confirmed head shot on Styx woman,’ the first of the soldiers said. Then, one by one the other snipers on the rooftops all around the cathedral began to update Parry.
    ‘Okay, but fingers off triggers,’ he said when they had finished. ‘No action to be taken yet – I repeat – no action,’ he told them over the radio. ‘Just make sure you stay zeroed in on those targets, and await my word.’
    ‘Parry,’ Eddie prompted him. Two Limiters had appeared from nowhere. They caught Will as Hermione pushed him away, then began to drag him in the direction of the cathedral.
    ‘They’re going to parade Will. That means that there must be others from the team in the tank. They’re going to use the boy to bargain with, aren’t they?’ Parry asked, lowering his binoculars to look across at Eddie.
    The former Limiter nodded. ‘That’s what I would do.’
    Strutting around by the car, Hermione began to shout at the cathedral. ‘Hello, hello! Come out to play!’
    Inside the tank, they all heard her voice, and were lookingat each other.
    ‘Listen to that. It’s Big Bug, isn’t it?’ Jiggs said. ‘They want a parley. You were right on the money, Drake.’
    ‘I know you’re there,’ Hermione called. ‘We’ve been tracking that radio signal you’ve very helpfully been putting out.’
    Elliott’s eyes flicked around the floor of the tank until they fell on Will’s Bergen. ‘I’m such an idiot! That’s how they found us so quickly. I forgot the beacon was still switched on.’
    As he continued to peer through the tank’s periscope, Jiggs suddenly gave a small whoop. ‘Yes! I’ve got eyeballs on that Styx woman – the one who escaped before we hit the warehouse. Come on, Drake – if I roll this heap forward a bit, we can do what we failed to do last time, and blow her into next week.’
    Drake had managed to get to his feet so he could take Elliott’s place in the commander’s seat. Before he could say anything, Jiggs swore. ‘Nope, I’ve lost her. That was a golden opportunity,’ he said. He was still peering through his periscope as he breathed in sharply.
    ‘Oh, no,’ Drake mumbled.
    ‘What is it?’ Elliott asked. There was an ominous silence as she waited for one of them to answer.
    ‘Tell me what it is!’ Elliott burst out, not able to stand the suspense any longer.
    Drake took his face away from the periscope, and simply looked at her. ‘Bad news, I’m afraid,’ he said.
    Elliott pushed Drake aside to see. Will was being supported by one of the Limiters, while the other was staring at the tank over the heads of the Armagi. ‘What have they done to him?’ she said.
    ‘Don’t be bashful. Join me out here, won’t you?’ Hermioneshouted. ‘Will is dying to see you.’
    Elliott lost sight of Will as the Limiters took him away.
    ‘They’ve moved him,’ she said to Drake. ‘We have to find out what the Styx woman wants.’
    ‘Don’t be daft,’ Drake said. ‘There’s no way I’m letting you put a foot outside this tank, let alone outside the cathedral.’
    ‘They’ve got Will out there!’ Elliott yelled at him. She couldn’t stop herself from crying, but then took a breath as she tried to gain control of herself again. ‘The Styx woman might be prepared to do a deal. They always want to do deals.’
    ‘Sure, and they