Fault Lines Read online

  Auntie Jo nodded. ‘Yes, he has. I used to worry about him when he was sneaking out at all hours but I have to say I worried more when he stopped going out. Still, knowing Luc he had good reason to lie low. He probably had some girl’s father after him with a shotgun.’ She rolled her eyes and set off round the side of the house, heading for the kitchen. The family rarely used the front door.

  Adam followed her more slowly. Sam and Morty, the family’s Irish wolfhounds, came bounding to greet him. They were working dogs, a gift from Uncle Paddy in Ireland. They would be going home for a visit the following day. Adam hadn’t been lying to Melissa when he said he had a family thing. ‘Uncle’ Paddy wasn’t technically his uncle, just as his children weren’t Adam’s cousins – but they would soon be family by marriage, when Adam’s sister Chloe got betrothed to Ciaron, Uncle Paddy’s eldest son.

  Adam paused at the back door, reluctant to enter the house. As soon as he stepped inside, his summer day with Melissa would be over. Life would be back to the usual never-ending grind of homework and Luman life. He turned and watched the sun slant across the garden, taking one last appreciative sniff of the barbecue-filled air.

  Then, sighing, he opened the kitchen door and went inside.

  Chapter 3

  he following morning Adam was sitting on the bus before most of the family were even awake. It had been another quiet night with only a couple of call-outs, which meant that for once Adam was bright-eyed, not bleary-eyed, as he made his way up the long driveway of Bonehill Charitable School.

  Bonehill had been founded by a philanthropist many years earlier and maintained by a trust. Places were awarded by lottery which drew a huge variety of pupils from all over London, regardless of their family’s background or income. It was generally considered a good school although the appointment of a former wrestler as a head teacher had certainly raised eyebrows in some quarters. Still, although The Bulb was terrifying he hadn’t actually wrestled anyone to the ground – although had he known the various ways in which Adam and his friends had humiliated him, he would have been sorely tempted.

  Adam grinned as he made his way to his form class. His friends weren’t exactly cool but they did have a rather unique set of skills that put them squarely at the top of The Bulb’s hit list. Archie could draw anything, including the perfect woman. Dan had occasional flashes of genius in between irritating everyone around him and Spike would probably end up on Wanted lists around the globe thanks to his computer wizardry.

  They had used those skills to good effect when The Bulb had cancelled their planned school trip to Japan and they had managed to get it reinstated. His whole year group would be heading away in just a few weeks. Now all Adam had to do was persuade his family to allow him to get a passport and go on the trip. As soon as they got back from Ireland his campaign could begin in earnest.

  He smiled as he reached his form room. Melissa was standing outside waiting for him, texting one of her friends. It was strange seeing her looking so formal in her uniform, when yesterday he had been lying beside her in the park. The memory sent his blood rushing off in various directions round his body and he had to think hard about The Bulb’s orc-like face to calm down.

  There was time for a quick kiss before their form teacher Mr Fenton came out into the corridor threatening stragglers with various atrocities if they didn’t hurry up. Once inside they were treated to one of Mr Fenton’s meandering rants, involving them being fifth formers and expected to work as they had never worked before unless they wanted to trigger a series of events culminating in the earth being thrown off course and smashing into the sun. As a thwarted astronaut Mr Fenton’s diatribes often took an astronomical turn.

  It was break time before Adam finally managed to go in search of his friends. He didn’t even have to think about where they would be; his feet set off on their usual path to the library. He grinned as he walked. He had barely seen his friends over the summer, pretending that he was away for most of their break. He let them assume that he was on holiday, rather than revealing that his trips around the globe had involved mopping up souls after a series of natural disasters.

  His friends were at their usual table near the back of the library, doing their usual things. Dan was laying out walnut pieces on the table to spell out a series of rude words. Archie was flicking through a manga book and offering helpful suggestions for new words to spell out. And Spike … well, as ever Spike was hovering behind his laptop. Adam’s smile faded a little. Things with Spike had been awkward for a chunk of last year. Would the summer have been enough to calm his friend down?

  Dan looked up and grinned. ‘All right, Adam?’ He gestured at the word on the table. ‘Is there a “k” in knobhead or not?’

  Adam blinked. ‘I’ve never really thought about it.’ He sat down in his usual place and nodded at the other two.

  ‘I’ve decided she’s the one I’m going to look for in Japan.’ Archie held out his manga novel and pointed to a character with enormous eyes and very small items of clothing. ‘Without the cat ears and the tail obviously. That would just be weird.’

  ‘You do realise she isn’t real, don’t you?’ Spike didn’t bother looking up from the screen. ‘I mean, sorry to disappoint you, but you’re not going to find her strolling round Tokyo.’

  ‘You might if you come to the World Role-playing Game Exhibition.’ Dan’s eyes were shining with anticipation. ‘I mean, people take the costumes really seriously. There will probably be people there who’ve gone to South Korea and had tails and stuff grafted on!’

  Archie looked queasy. ‘People actually do that?’ At Dan’s nod he shuddered. ‘You lot are far too literal. I don’t mean she has to be exactly like Super Catnami. She just has to have similar … assets.’

  Spike rolled his eyes and turned to Adam. ‘So, good summer?’

  ‘Yeah. What about you?’

  ‘Yeah, it was all right. I went and worked in my mum’s office, updating all their virus protection stuff. She’s friends with the boss there. It was easy money. I got a new computer.’

  ‘Cool.’ Adam didn’t know what to say. Spike seemed standard Spike but things had been very different last term. He wished he could just blurt out his thoughts. Tell me, Spike, did you ever get anywhere with hunting down the mystery guy at the bombing in Trafalgar Square? And did you know – you were right? I was something to do with it. And I did delete the photo you found that might have linked my family to the whole thing. So even though I told the other two you were being crazy and paranoid, you weren’t. You were right.

  ‘I got my new passport through.’ Dan broke the awkward silence. ‘I had about ten different photos taken before I got one I liked. We have two weeks to get them in.’

  Adam’s good feelings plummeted. ‘Two weeks?’ He’d known it would be soon but not that soon.

  Spike nodded. ‘There’s loads of paperwork for the visas. I heard Lumpton talking about it.’

  ‘She’s not coming is she?’ Archie made vomiting noises in his throat. ‘Trust The Bulb to turn our trip into some kind of dirty week away with Lumpton.’

  There were groans of protest at the various mental images this conjured up. ‘Bleach. I need bleach for my brain,’ Dan whimpered. He turned to Adam. ‘Is Melissa going?’

  Adam shrugged. ‘I think so. I mean it’s not like we’re having to pay much for it.’ The trip was being sponsored by a former pupil at the school who had returned to Japan and built up an electronics empire. Because he was funding it their whole year group had been offered a chance to go, for only a token admin fee.

  Archie was leering at him. ‘Lucky we’re sharing a room with you. You can tell Melissa’s friends we’ll keep them company.’

  Adam snorted. Melissa’s friends had only just thawed out with him. Of course that might have had something to do with him standing her up, disappearing mid-evening and throwing up on her on their first few dates. Still, he doubted Archie’s perving would endear Adam to them.

  There wa
s a disturbance over by the door. Michael Bulber was walking into the library and like a shark swimming into a pond full of guppies a ripple of fear permeated through the room. Mrs Nostel, the teacher who ran the library, put down her mug of herbal tea. ‘What are you doing?’ Her voice was sharp. Adam felt a warm wave of gratitude. Mrs Nostel might be a bit of a hippy but she was one of the few teachers who wouldn’t take any nonsense from the Beast. The library was her domain and she was protective of her usual inhabitants.

  But Michael Bulber wasn’t alone. ‘Just showing some visitors around, miss.’ He gave the librarian his most charming smile. ‘Lucy might be coming to Bonehill so I’m just showing her and her dad around.’

  Adam watched his nemesis sourly. He was acting so normal with the visitors, probably because Lucy was pretty and smiley and didn’t know that her tour guide was evil incarnate. Adam had a feeling that very few people knew how vicious Michael Bulber really was. He was bad enough at school but out in the real world with no one to stop him the Beast had managed to find friends who were even worse than he was. Adam had encountered them once and hoped never to do so again.

  Dan shuddered. ‘Look at him pretending to be nice. We should warn her that he’s horrible.’

  ‘We should stay out of it and not say anything because we don’t want to die screaming,’ Spike muttered.

  ‘He must be looking for a replacement for Bella the Wonderfish,’ Archie said cheerfully – and far too loudly. The Beast was standing just across from them, showing the visitors the banks of computers, but Archie’s voice had carried and he turned sharply. His eyes roamed across the group. Archie’s mouth was hanging open, dumb-struck with terror – but the Beast moved on until his eyes locked with Adam.

  Lucy asked him a question, forcing the Beast to turn away and answer but the damage was done. Adam’s friends fell silent, pretending to be absorbed in their own activities. Adam glared at Archie, who wasn’t daring to lift his head from his sketchbook. Great. This was all he needed. Operation Wonderfish had been one of their more successful schemes, designed to distract the Beast from Melissa so Adam could go out with her in peace. It had worked too – worked better than Adam could have dared to hope. He had been off the Beast’s radar for ages as he moved on to fresh victims.

  Still, a new year brought new opportunities. Michael Bulber had finished his tour and as he ushered the visitors towards the door, he made a detour past Adam, batting him swiftly round the back of the head, and said softly, ‘I’ll be having a word with you later, you little prick.’

  Adam’s stomach dropped. He watched the Beast laughing and joking with Lucy as they left the library and turned ferociously on Archie. ‘Seriously? What the hell was that?’

  Archie was scowling but his guilt was all over his face. ‘I was only messing! I didn’t know he was going to hear me!’

  ‘Nice one,’ Spike said. ‘Why not just gut Adam like a fish right now? Cut out the middle man.’

  ‘She was my drawing!’ Archie was glaring at them. ‘The Wonderfish. I made her up. He would never have left you alone in the first place if I hadn’t drawn her! You should be grateful the plan worked at all.’

  ‘Yeah, but why ruin it when it worked?’ Dan crunched gloomily through his walnut pile, although not before using the remnants to spell out D-E-A-D.

  Archie swore, grabbed his bag and sketchpad and stormed off before anyone could say anything. Adam sighed and stared at the table top. Great. Just as things were off to a good start everything had to go down the toilet. It had been brilliant not having to worry about the Beast, especially because school hours were pretty much the only time he got to see Melissa. Now he was going to have to watch his back again. He groaned. ‘Why did he have to say that?’

  ‘He didn’t mean anything by it.’ Dan threw the last handful of nuts into his mouth, spraying them lightly with walnut shrapnel as he talked. ‘Anyway, it doesn’t mean anything really. The Beast was telling everyone about Bella. We just pretend that we heard about it from other people and then heard she wasn’t coming here after all. It’s not like the Beast can prove anything.’

  Spike looked at him like he was mad. ‘Since when has the Beast ever needed proof of anything? He’s not exactly going to hold a fair trial. He’s jury, judge and executioner rolled into one.’

  Adam was trying to think things through but he didn’t especially want to rake over his row with Spike last term. He picked his words carefully. ‘How did you leave things with the Beast? You know, after we came back after Easter?’ And silently he added, You know, when you wouldn’t speak to me for a month because you thought I had sabotaged your computer. And then after a while you gradually went back to normal but I know you haven’t forgotten. Because you never forget about ANYTHING.

  Spike played it cool as usual. ‘I didn’t do anything for a while.’ He stared at Adam, daring him to say something about their fight, then shrugged. ‘But Bulber kept emailing and sending pictures so in the end I dragged it out a bit until he was doing exams and then Bella emailed to say she wouldn’t be moving to England after all.’

  ‘And what did he say?’

  ‘He wasn’t very happy so he called her a lot of names. Then Bella reminded him about all the pictures he had sent her. He shut up after that.’ There was a gleam of triumph in Spike’s eyes.

  Adam didn’t share his happiness. ‘So what am I going to do now? What if he starts going after Melissa again?’

  Spike looked up and for just a second Adam saw him smirk. ‘Dunno. But you didn’t like my last plan. So, unless you’ve got your own idea I guess you better stick to the art rooms if you don’t want to be slaughtered.’

  After a promising start Adam’s day had gone downhill rapidly. He had managed to persuade Melissa to stay in the art room at lunchtime but it had been difficult on such a lovely, sunny day. He couldn’t explain why because Melissa had never known anything about Operation Wonderfish. She thought the Beast had just given up on her. The last thing Adam needed was an indignant Melissa telling Bulber to back off.

  Adam was filled with gloom, not just because he was back in the Beast’s sights but because Spike’s reaction had confirmed what he already suspected: his interference with Spike’s computer search had been neither forgiven nor forgotten. By an extraordinary piece of bad luck, Adam had been caught on camera when he had used his doom sense to thwart a suicide bomber in London six months earlier. Spike had made it his mission to track down the bomber and his mystery companion. Adam’s one piece of good luck had been that he was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses and had been turned slightly away from the camera which had captured him.

  However, Spike had managed to modify an ingenious piece of facial recognition software, which hadn’t identified Adam but which had found a picture of some of his family. Adam had managed to delete the photo but not without Spike realising. Spike had guessed that Adam was hiding something in relation to the bomber. Adam knew that he wasn’t a suspect himself as far as Spike was concerned – but his interference had encouraged Spike to start digging into Adam’s life. After all, they had been friends for four years but Spike had never once been to Adam’s house and they rarely met up outside school. Anyone would get suspicious at that, never mind a bloodhound like Spike.

  All in all, it hadn’t been the spectacular start to the new school year that Adam had hoped for. Now he had the prospect of a family weekend in Ireland to look forward to, complete with hiding his various breaches of Luman Law. He was feeling like a bit of a pariah these days, both at home and in school.

  It was almost a relief when the final bell sounded. Adam had been given a special dispensation to swoop home after school, rather than hold the family up any more. He was glad none of his friends got his bus as he lurked in a quiet corner, waiting for the after-school rush to pass. Once the corridors were quiet he scuttled towards the toilets, planning to step into an empty cubicle and make a speedy exit.

  ‘Oi, dickhead!’ Adam turned and to his dismay saw the all too
familiar face of Michael Bulber and his gang of minions. He didn’t know why they were so late leaving but they didn’t seem to be in a hurry. They always made time for a bit of entertainment, aka tormenting younger pupils. Adam took a quick glance along the corridor, confirming what he already knew – there was no one around to help him. He was on his own.

  He also knew that he didn’t have time for the Beast – and that he wasn’t turning up at a Luman house party with black eyes and missing teeth. He turned and kept walking, quickening his pace. If he could just get round the corner he could disappear.

  ‘Did you hear me, you little prick? I’m talking to you.’

  Behind him Adam heard a lot of footsteps. He didn’t want to run but he could hear that the Beast and his friends were speeding up. A couple of them were laughing and someone (probably Weasel, the Beast’s most trusted minion) said, ‘I don’t think he heard you, Michael. We’ll get a bit closer and then he’ll hear us.’

  Adam gritted his teeth. Someday he was going to think of something bad enough to do to Michael Bulber and his group. It was going to be painful or humiliating – or even better, both. He was going to make them sorry that they had spent so much time picking on people. They would think twice before they did it in future.

  But today was not that day. Adam tried to look casual until the last minute but someone stamped hard behind him and he threw caution to the winds. He took off like a hare along the corridor, gaining a couple of seconds of surprise element before the pack recovered and started chasing him. As he ran Adam reached inside his shirt collar, groping for his keystone – and closed his fingers on thin air.

  His keystone wasn’t there. If he’d lost it Nathanial would kill him – assuming he survived the next twenty seconds. There was no time to think. He hurtled round the corner and ducked into the girls’ toilets to buy himself time. Thankfully no one was inside. He ran straight into one of the cubicles, loosening his tie and fiddling to get his top buttons undone.