Children's Crusade

Chapter Nineteen

It didn't take long for Wilkes and Tariq to start arguing.

"I've been trained for this, mate."

"In peace time. I led the resistance against the American Army in Iraq. I have experience that you don't."

"Of getting everyone under your command killed."

"John delegated command to me if he didn't make it."

"You aren't the boss of me, mate."

"I'm not your fucking mate."

And so on until eventually Caroline shouted: "Oh why don't you just whop your cocks out right now and we can see who's biggest?" which made Jack snigger but didn't exactly help.

"Listen," I said to the council of war gathered around the fire. "We all agree we need a clear chain of command. Yes?"

Wilkes, Ferguson, Tariq, Jack and Caroline all nodded. Green just stared into the flames.

"And we all agree that if my dad were here, we'd be happy to let him lead us because of his experience and training?"

Again they all nodded.

"So we should make finding him our first priority. We know he was on his way to Hammersmith to meet up with Caroline. For some reason he never got there. We have to track him down. We can't win this fight without him."

"Lee, we have no idea where he is or what happened to him," said Tariq. "I want to find him as much as you do, but we have no leads and we don't have any more time. Jane is on the inside and God knows what they're doing to her. We have to get her first."

"Don't you think I want her safe?" I countered. "But we have no chance if we keep fighting amongst ourselves like this. We need a strategy and a leader. Dad's the only one we would all agree on."

"We could vote," said Jack.

"What?" asked Wilkes, incredulous.

"He's right," said Caroline. "We could vote. Elect a leader."

"I won't take orders from him," said Tariq more apologetic than angry.

"Then we don't vote for a leader," continued Jack. "We vote on a plan. Chances are we're going to need to break into at least two forces anyway. As long as each group has a leader who agrees to the plan, we're fine."

"I'm not going into battle with a strategy voted for by children," said Wilkes.

"We may seem like children to you," I said, trying to keep the anger out of my voice, "but between us we've seen more combat than you."

"Do you have a better suggestion for breaking this deadlock?" asked Caroline.

Wilkes considered for a moment, then shook his head. "What do you think, Pat?"

"If we can come up with a plan we all agree on, it sounds sensible to me," said Ferguson.

I leant over and whispered in Jack's ear. "Well done, Your Majesty, you just convened your first Parliament."

We took the discussion inside then, to one of the lecture halls of the old college. Ferguson drew a map of the enemy stronghold on the whiteboard. His attention to detail was impressive. He picked out the fences, minefields and gun towers, as well as various internal details such as where the children were being kept, and the location of the Lords' brothel.

There came a point where the level of detail began to disturb me.

"Question," I said as he picked out Spider's sleeping quarters. "How the hell did you get inside, collect all this intel and then get out again without being caught?"

"With great care and a little help."

"From?" I tried not to sound too suspicious, but failed.

"Once the lorries arrived at Westminster I got straight out and ran inside, shouting that I needed the loo. If I'd hung around, they'd have realised I wasn't their man. I'd been in the Palace of Westminster once before, on a tour, so I vaguely knew where I was heading. I made straight for the Lords." He looked expectant, waiting for us to realise something. When none of us did, he said: "The brothel."

"Jesus, Pat," said Wilkes.

"If I'd tried to hang around making sketches and stuff, I'd have been caught," Ferguson explained. "The only chance was to get in and out as quickly as possible. So I went straight to the brothel and told the guard on the door that I was a new recruit and I'd been waiting all week for some loving. He let me in, no problem."

"You sick…" began Caroline.

"Let him finish," said Tariq.

"There's about twenty women in there. Well, women and girls. They have these kind of bunks set up on the benches. Some of them got up and came over to me, but most just lay there hoping I wouldn't pick them out. I pushed the eager ones aside and picked out the youngest and most frightened girl there. I figured maybe the confident ones may not have been exactly trustworthy. The girl led me to a little nook behind the speaker's chair where there was a mattress.

"Her name was Tara.

"And there, in total privacy, where no-one would disturb us, I got her to tell me everything she knew about the snatchers' operation. Layout, routines, names — everything. I got lucky picking her; she paid attention.

"When she'd told me all she could, I went out the main doors again. I found an office overlooking the river — luckily it was low tide, so I climbed out and down to the shore."

He noted my look of disbelief.

"I used to be a rock climber, okay?"

I hold up my hands. "Ok."

"I was inside for forty minutes at the most. Then I waited 'til nightfall, found an eyrie in one of the buildings on Parliament Square, and spent a day mapping the external defences and noting their patrols.

"Big Ben still chimes, you know. All their scheduling hangs off it.

"Happy?"

I nodded. "Sorry. Force of habit."

"Don't worry about it," he said, and went back to giving us the lowdown.

It was sundown again before we all agreed a plan of action. After that there was nothing to do until morning. Tariq came and found me as I lay on a hospital bed, failing to sleep.

"So what do you think?" he asked as he sat on the next bed.

"I think it's a crazy plan, but it just might work!"

"Ha, yeah, reckon that's about it."

"What do you think, Tariq?"

He bit his lower lip and held my gaze. "I think it's the best we can do in the circumstances."

"But…?"

"But I wish John was here. What do you think can have happened to him?"

I shrugged. "God knows. Caroline says he never reached them, so somewhere between Thetford and Hammersmith something went wrong. As soon as we're done with the snatchers, I'm going to retrace his route. For all we know, he could be lying in a ditch with a broken leg or something."

"Why not go now?" asked Tariq. "We can handle the assault. You go find your dad."

I regarded him coolly. "Still don't trust me in a fight, huh? Still trying to get rid of me."

He hesitated a moment, choosing his words carefully. Then he said: "Do you remember when we rescued Jane back at Groombridge, the day John was shot?"

I nodded.

"You were… I don't know what you were like. Those Yanks were shooting at you and just walked towards them like you were bulletproof."

"So?"

"You're not bulletproof, Lee. And neither am I. I stood with you, followed your lead because I had no choice — it was either that or leave you to die. But I was sure we were dead men."

I shook my head, unsure exactly what he was getting at. "We weren't though," I said. "We won that fight."

"God alone knows how. We should have been killed a dozen times over that day. Luck like that doesn't hold, Lee. Sooner or later it runs out. You acted like a mad man. That's fine if it's only your life you're risking. But it was mine too."

"What's your point, Tariq?"

"My point is that tomorrow you're going to lead a team of children into battle against the fucking SAS and I want you to realise that you're not invincible. If you go wading in there like the Terminator, it's not just your life you'll be throwing away."

"Did I ever tell you about Heathcote?" I asked. Tariq shook his head. "He was one of my school mates. The Blood Hunters held him captive during the siege. I took a knife and slit his throat just for a chance to get close to one of the bad guys. Sacrificed him in cold blood. I'd do that a hundred times over if it meant winning."

Tariq stared at me, his face a mask. I couldn't tell if he pitied me or feared what I might do. Then he stood up and walked away without a word.

I lay back down on the bed and closed my eyes, willing myself to sleep.

But the sound of Heathcote's screams, and the hot slick feel of blood between my fingers, kept me awake 'til dawn.