The Black Sun Conspiracy

Chapter Nine

A whining, high-pitched buzz zipped past Nina’s ear in the darkness. Her eyelids were heavy, but the moment she heard that sound she was dragged back from the edge of sleep, her mind instantly alert.

“Really?” she muttered, swinging her legs round and reaching for the light switch. “It’s January. Why the hell are there mosquitos in January?” As she searched for something to swat the bug with, the glowing digits on her alarm clock caught her eye. 4.07. About the right time to be half-awake and anxious. Her gaze fell upon a newspaper she had bought in the hope of picking up a few more words of Italian. She rolled it into a cylinder, pulled on her slippers and crept across the cold tiles, hoping that she could murder the mosquito quickly and quietly.

Something flashed past her head. She followed the movement and saw the insect landing on the handle of her bedroom door. Trying not to move more than necessary, not to disturb the air and make the creature take off again, Nina made her way towards it. The mosquito stood unsuspectingly rubbing its legs together as she raised the newspaper.

Just as she was about to swat, she heard a soft click on the other side of the door. Nina held her breath. It sounded as though someone had just closed the door to the apartment behind them. ‘Going out or coming in’? She wondered, straining to listen. She thought that she could make out faint footsteps. ‘Could just be my imagination, though. Is it Sam? Bit late for Sam. He’s usually back before one, and he said he was giving up the late-night walks. Purdue? Could be… but would he be creeping around? He’d just walk in and go straight to his room, surely…’

The mosquito had taken flight. Nina reached for the door handle and pushed it down swiftly, pulling the door open so that the light from her room suddenly spilled into the sitting room.

The figure in the sitting room froze. It was definitely not Sam or Purdue. It was not Matteus. It was no-one Nina had ever seen before. Dressed in black, hair covered, face concealed under a balaclava. A little taller than Nina, but impossible to discern from its androgynous shape whether the figure was male or female.

As Nina stood poised and tense, waiting for the stranger either to attack her or to turn tail and run, the silence was broken by a low chuckle.

“A rolled-up newspaper?” The stranger’s voice fell infuriatingly between the sound of a low-voiced female and a high-voiced man, offering Nina no clues at all. “You were going to tap me on the nose, perhaps, like a badly behaved puppy?”

“Who are you?” Nina demanded. “What do you want?”

“Tell me where to find Purdue.”

“No.”

“Very well then…” The figure moved towards the nearest door, untroubled by Nina’s lack of complicity, evidently certain that Purdue could be found in one of those rooms.

Nina lunged forward, ready to shove the stranger out of the way. “Get out!” she screamed. The dark figure dodged, and then retreated. It hesitated for a second, caught between the bedroom doors and the apartment door.

“I’ll go,” the stranger said. “But tell him Renata is waiting, and she will not wait much longer.”

In an instant the figure was gone, slipping out into the stairwell. Nina heard the front door open and close, then jumped as the bedroom door that she had been guarding swung open behind her.

“Nina? Are you alright? What’s happening?” Sam took in the scene around them, looking for any signs of struggle or harm.

Purdue appeared from the other room a moment later, his dressing gown hastily thrown on, his thin face white. “Who was it, Nina?” he asked in an urgent whisper.

“I don’t know,” she replied, beginning to shake as the initial adrenaline rush wore off. “But whoever it was they were looking for you, and there was a message. Renata won’t wait much longer. What’s happening this—” She fell silent as Purdue waved a hand.

“No time for that now,” he whispered, his voice grave and his face ashen. “We have to leave at once. This place is no longer safe. Pack whatever you have, then come to me — separately — and I will tell you where to wait for instructions from Matteus. Go. Now!”

Sam and Nina did not argue. They dashed into their rooms and began to gather their few belongings immediately.