The Lure Part 25

'That he was communicating without our knowledge.

'So? Maybe he was trying to bargain for our lives.

'No. Shtyrkovs voice was quiet but emphatic. 'I heard him earlier. He was talking to Sangster. He was informing his lords.h.i.+p that we are deeply suspicious, that we would like to flee the castle but can see no way out and that we are nevertheless continuing to work on the signal.

Freya said weakly, 'That makes him a traitor? Its no more than the truth.

'Oh, young Freya, I love you for your innocence. Shtyrkov managed a grin, but his face showed pain and there was a purple rim round his lips. 'If I were thirty years younger ... But no, Hannings tone was that of an informant. He is reporting back to Sangster and that has only one interpretation. The man is what you call a mole.

Petrie said, 'd.a.m.n. 158 Rock Walk.

Shtyrkov looked bewildered, and Petrie continued: 'Somebody sent me a warning. It reached me in London on my way here.

'I remember. It worried Charlie.

'It was lightly encoded, I cracked it in minutes but it wouldnt have made sense to a casual reader. Vas.h.i.+slav, it can only have come from someone in the UK government who had access to your ET suspicions.

'More than that, my friend, someone who antic.i.p.ated the possible reaction of your government. Someone close to your Prime Minister.

'That settles it, said Petrie. 'Hannings a traitor in our midst.

Freya asked, 'Does it matter now?

'It matters very much, my dear, if we think of a way to escape. He tells your fine English lord, the lord tells your Prime Minister, he tells the President of Slovakia and then... Shtyrkov made a throat-cutting gesture.

'But even if youre right, what harm can he do? We have no way out. You said it yourself.

'I gave a good performance, did I not? "There is no prospect of escape." I spoke with such bravura, such conviction!

Petries heart lurched. 'What are you saying, Vas.h.i.+slav?

'Englishman, your life may depend on keeping your voice down. Shtyrkov flopped down next to Petrie on the bed. The mattress sagged under his weight. He took some breaths before continuing: 'There is a way out, just possibly. Very likely to be terminal, and only for the desperate.

'Vas.h.i.+slav, stop playing games.

'Games, my friend? With the signallers waiting for our answer?

Freya said, 'Vas.h.i.+slav, for G.o.ds sake, were condemned prisoners. A desperate plan will do nicely.

'Yes, young Freya. But listen, here is the word on my escape route. One. It is very dangerous. Two. It cannot work if Hanning knows we suspect him. And Three, the worst bit.

They waited while Shtyrkov once again caught his breath. Then, 'The route can only be taken by two of us. We will have to decide who goes and who stays.

'Well? Freya asked.

'In the morning, young lady. This must be discussed by all of us together.

30.

Hanning Sunday morning brought a blue sky with a light trace of high cirrus. The air was cold. Shtyrkov, Gibson and Petrie climbed the stairs to the high tower, slowly out of deference to the Russian. They looked out over the panorama. Hanning was already on the terrace below. He had his back to them and was handling two piles of papers, weighed down by books to keep them from fluttering away. It was impossible to believe that they were in their last hours, perhaps their last hour. Impossible to believe they couldnt just walk away from the castle, across the sunlit fields.

'Whats he doing? Petrie asked.

'Still trying to match our downloads with pictures of known viruses, Gibson said. 'That should keep him occupied for hours.

'Not outdoors, Shtyrkov suggested. 'Its freezing.

'Hes a public school type, Petrie said. 'Brought up on cold showers and running around naked at sunrise.

Shtyrkov looked at Petrie with some wonder. 'Sometimes I think the English are a strange people.

'Where can we talk? Gibson asked.

'Here, Shtyrkov proposed. 'We can keep an eye on our English gentleman while we do so.

'Ill bring the ladies up, Petrie said, making briskly for the door.

Petrie found the women in the kitchen. The air of normality was weird, even surreal. Freya was pouring herself cereal, and Svetlana was bringing a pot of water to the boil. His invitation to join the others in the tower was delivered quietly, as if Hanning was listening at the door.

'I wondered where youd all got to, Freya said.

'Why the tower? Svetlana asked. 'And what about Jeremy?

'Were keeping him out of it and we dont want him to know were having a meeting.

Svetlana looked puzzled. Petrie added, 'We dont trust him. Ill explain as we go.

To reach the tower from the kitchen, they had to pa.s.s French windows leading to the terrace, in full view of Hanning. Petrie took Freyas arm and they strolled past as if in conversation. Hanning looked up and nodded. They waited at the steps. A minute later Svetlana walked purposefully past, head bowed and looking neither left nor right. 'He didnt notice me, she said quietly on the stairs. 'Whats this about?

'Vash will explain.

Shtyrkov explained. They stood back from the edge of the tower, speaking in low, conspiratorial voices although there was no chance of being heard from the terrace below. Petrie glanced out from time to time, but Hanning was single-mindedly concentrating on his papers.

As the Russian talked, Gibson occasionally shook his head in disbelief, and once had to suppress a derisive laugh. Then he turned up the collar of his jacket and paced to and fro for a minute. Finally, he seemed to reach a decision. He stared from Shtyrkov to Petrie and back to the Russian again. 'I guess its all we have.

The Russian spoke the words they had all been thinking. 'Now we have to decide who goes.

Petrie added, 'And what were going to do about Hanning.

Shtyrkovs face became ghoulish. 'I have no problem with that.

'Somethings missing. Petrie was coiling pink mustard on to his plate from a tube, next to a broken-up boiled egg. He was unshaven and haggard. Svetlana sipped at her tea and looked at the mixture with distaste.

'I agree with Thomas, Vas.h.i.+slav declared. 'He has decoded a big hunk of energy desert, somewhere between the X and W bosons. It is wonderful. What people have called the Higgs particle turns out to be just one point in a spectrum of I cant even call them particles, they are ent.i.ties...

'Maybe we just didnt record it, Gibson suggested. He was adding milk with microscopic care to a coffee.

The Russian said, 'No, we picked it up all right. It must still be on the second SCSI drive, in the cavern.

Hanning looked up from a mug of tea; his voice was tinged with surprise. 'What are you saying, Vas.h.i.+slav?

'Didnt you know? Gibson said, taking a sip. 'Yes, we have a second hard drive as a matter of course. One stays behind while we remove the other for a.n.a.lysis, in case particles come in, in the meantime. Clearly so much information came in that some of it was automatically shunted over to the number two drive.

'We need to get hold of it. Vas.h.i.+slav was being a.s.sertive.

'With the time we have left forgive me surely you have more than you can handle here. Hanning was being casual.

Vas.h.i.+slav smiled tolerantly. 'You dont understand, Jeremy. There is a critical area beyond the energy of our particle accelerators and short of the unimaginable energies of the Creation. We know it only as a desert, but its span is immense, over thirteen powers of ten. There must be oases in this desert, new force fields we know nothing about, new forms of energy beyond anything we can visualise.

Petrie was scooping up the pink gunge with bread. 'If we had the hard drive here we could a.n.a.lyse it in a few hours. The decipherment patterns been cracked.

'Centuries of knowledge in a few hours. Vas.h.i.+slav turned to Gibson, appealing. 'What do you say, Charlee?

'Its the biggest gap, Petrie said. 'Weve enough genome stuff on site to keep the biochemists busy for a generation.

Gibson pretended to count. 'Were three hours from the Tatras, another three back, say half an hour to penetrate the cavern and another half to dismantle the drive. Seven hours.

'I could be back late this evening and work overnight on it.

'This is our last full day, Gibson lied.

'The b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. Svetlana was looking down at the table.

Hanning was smooth. 'Not that I go along with your paranoid fantasies, Tom, but it could be an opportunity for you to escape.

Petrie shook his head. 'A fact which will occur to my military escort. Its not even worth thinking about.

'Still, if an opportunity should arise. The civil servants voice was still casual, but he was peering closely at the mathematician.

He suspects something. Petrie shrugged dismissively. 'Sure.

Gibson turned to Hanning. 'Jeremy, can you explain to his lords.h.i.+p that there is vital information still stored in the cave and that we need to retrieve it in short order. Might give particle physics a jump start of a few hundred years, with G.o.d knows what outcome.

'Take someone with you, Shtyrkov said to Petrie. 'Youll need an extra pair of hands to dismantle the drive.

'Can I come? Freya asked. 'I want out of here, even for a few hours.

'Sure. Petrie thought, Everyones being so b.l.o.o.d.y casual. Svetlana was playing her part, sitting quietly, still staring at the table. At that moment Petrie was overwhelmed by her quiet courage, felt utterly inadequate against it.

'You know how to do it? Hanning asked, turning at the refectory door. 'Get this drive thing out?

'Of course, Petrie lied, with a grandiose wave of the arm.

Hanning looked around at the scientists, then left.

'Did he buy it? Gibson asked in a low, urgent voice.

'He was suspicious, Freya suggested.

'I thought so too, said Svetlana.

'Who cares? Vas.h.i.+slav said. 'So long as it gets Tom and Freya to the cave. Remember the count, Freya and Tom.

'Fifteen.

'Its critical. Not fourteen, not sixteen. Apply the brakes fifteen seconds into the fall. If that works, if it stops you at the entrance to the Styx, then you have a chance.

'Split up as soon as you get away, said Gibson. 'Take different routes. That way youll double the chance of success.

Svetlanas face was ashen. Petrie stretched over to her and held her hand, without saying a word. She looked at him, managed a smile. 'Youll make it, Tom? Youll do it for us?

He returned the squeeze of her warm, small hand. 'If its humanly possible.

Something about Hanning.

Petrie climbed the stairs to his room, locked the door and pulled out a sheet of paper from his rucksack.

Arthur Jeremy Winterman Hanning. Eldest son of Edward George Hanning, gentleman farmer, and Agnes Strathairn nee Forsyth. Education Leatherhead, Winchester, Greats at Oxford. Began career as HEO in the Agricultural Research Council. Transferred to Central Office, attained Grade 6, transferred over again to MAFF. At age forty became Secretary to the Minister for Science, in which capacity Lord Sangster was the second minister he had served.

That much he had pulled down from the Net within an hour of Hannings arrival at the castle. No woman in the mans life, no interests or hobbies, no recorded scandals or peccadillos; just a bog-standard Civil Service career route.

But now, without warning, something jumped into his head. He had no rationale for it, but it was suddenly, obviously, blindingly true. That man isnt Hanning. Hes our a.s.sa.s.sin.

31.

Tatras Ride Up the stairs, running. Petrie stays at the foot.

Freya, gasping, reaches the top first, followed by Gibson and Svetlana. She stops at the corner of the corridor, waving them past, looking back down the stairs.

Gibson and Svetlana run to the far end of the corridor, turn right. Hannings door first left.

Locked.

Gibson has the master key. In his excitement it jams. Svetlana impatiently pulls his hand away, takes the key out, starts again and opens the door.