Chasing Stars Page 18

  ‘No. I know how to get from the administration entrance to her office, but that’s it. Antoine and I have only been there a handful of times.’

  ‘Eden, do you remember anything from when you arrived?’ asked Peg.

  ‘It’s such a blur,’ I said. ‘The inside of that place is a labyrinth.’

  ‘Damn,’ said Peg. ‘Antoine, is there any way you can get your mother to draw you a map?’

  ‘Sure. I’ll just tell her we need a map because we’re planning a break-in,’ said Antoine.

  Peg sighed. ‘I know that was a stupid suggestion.’

  ‘I’ll check through her computer,’ said Antoine. ‘It has a link-up with the Institute. Maybe I can find a map of the interior that way.’

  ‘Antoine, you’ll never be able to do that,’ said Belle. ‘The login and password security will be impossible to hack. Even for you.’

  ‘I’ll give it a try,’ said Antoine. ‘We can wait until she’s working. Then I’ll run into the office and tell Mom you’ve burned yourself or something. She’ll run out to make sure you’re OK without bothering to log off and I’ll go through the Institute file database.’ He smiled.

  ‘So I have to injure myself, while you just have to lie.’

  ‘Belle, who’s good with computers – you or me?’

  Belle rolled her eyes. ‘Fine. But I’m not deliberately burning myself.’

  ‘This entire conversation is stupid,’ said Lyra. ‘Even if you have a blueprint of the Institute and the grounds, how are you going to get him out of a locked cell? Or out of the building? Or off the grounds? It really is heart-warming that you all want to help Orion, but really?’

  ‘I don’t think it’s such a crazy idea,’ said Antoine. ‘It’s not a prison. It was never meant to be one. It has a few holding cells that are designed for short term stays. The main reason for security at the Institute is to protect VIPs from crazy gunmen and to protect information. It would be much harder if we were trying to bust him out of a real prison.’

  ‘That’s right,’ said Peg. ‘The Institute has public rooms and a residential wing. Lots of the building is designed for public access. I’m not saying it’ll be easy, but there must be a way.’

  ‘Is there any way we can get on to the grounds?’ I asked. ‘To look around?’

  ‘Sure,’ said Belle. ‘There’s a museum open to the public. If you visit the museum, you can also look around the grounds. They even have pedaloes for hire on their lake.’

  ‘I can do that tomorrow,’ I said.

  ‘I’ll come with you,’ said Peg.

  Lyra pushed herself to a standing position. ‘Eden, could you help me get some ice?’

  I grabbed the ice bucket from the table and held the door open for Lyra as she limped through it. She said nothing as we made our way along the corridor to the ice machine by the lift. I placed the ice bucket under the spout and she pressed the button for extra frozen.

  ‘Pegasus really likes you,’ she said.

  The machine clanked and shook as a torrent of white ice tumbled into the bucket.

  ‘I like him too.’

  ‘He likes you too much.’

  The ice torrent stopped. I cradled the bucket.

  ‘He’s trying to impress you,’ she continued.

  ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ I started walking back to my room. Lyra grabbed my arm and a couple of ice cubes spilled on to the floor.

  ‘I’ve seen the way he looks at you.’

  ‘You’re imagining things, Lyra. Ryan is his best friend. He wants to help him. That’s all.’

  ‘He’s always been reckless, but this is crazy. You can’t let him try to break Orion out of the Institute. It won’t work.’

  I ignored her and pulled free from her grip.

  ‘He’s expendable to you,’ she said. ‘You just see him as a means to an end. But if he gets caught, he’ll get the moon too. It’s not just a life sentence, Eden. The mines. They work them all day in heat like you can’t imagine. And the temperature at night is so cold, people die of hypothermia in their beds. It’s not a life sentence, it’s a death sentence. No one has ever lasted more than five years.’

  ‘Is that supposed to make me feel better?’

  She shook her head. ‘Peg will do whatever you ask him to. But you shouldn’t ask him to do this. It’s too much. Orion can’t be helped.’

  ‘God, Lyra, you went out with Ryan for a year. You must have cared about him once.’

  ‘Some people are a lost cause.’

  I ignored her and strode back to my room, making sure she couldn’t keep up. I didn’t believe what she’d said about Peg. But even if it was true, I’d use anything I could to save Ryan.

  ‘Do you promise to help me?’ I asked Peg, as I came through the door, needing an answer before Lyra caught up with me.

  ‘I already said I would.’

  ‘But do you promise?’

  ‘I promise.’

  ‘Time to hit the road,’ said Antoine, as Lyra walked into the room. ‘I can give everyone a ride.’

  ‘Go without me,’ said Peg. ‘My car is outside.’

  Antoine nodded. ‘Shall we meet here tomorrow afternoon? See what we have?’

  ‘Meet at mine,’ said Peg. ‘Eden’s checking out of the Lakeview tonight and moving in with me.’

  ‘Moving in with you?’ said Lyra.

  Peg rubbed the back of his neck. ‘Yeah. She’s a minor. And – believe it or not – I’m now her legal guardian.’

  ‘Antoine,’ said Lyra. ‘Please take me home.’

  Chapter 16

  As soon as Peg was done with work, we drove to the Institute. For the sake of appearances, we took a quick tour of the museum and purchased some gifts in the shop. Peg picked up a pen with the Space and Time Institute logo on the side and I bought a snow globe, with the Institute sitting in the middle of a big green lawn.

  ‘Let’s buy ice creams,’ said Peg, as we set off across the real lawn.

  All around us families were sitting in the shade enjoying picnics, while little children ran around pretending to be spaceships.

  ‘I’m not hungry.’

  ‘It will look more convincing if we’re eating ice creams.’

  I let him buy me a vanilla cone, though I was much too nervous to have an appetite. Slowly we strolled across the neat green grass, heading towards its outer perimeter. I took a quick lick of my ice cream, but it was sickeningly sweet. Peg was eating his in large bites. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as my ice cream melted and then dripped down my hand to my wrist and inside the sleeve of my shirt.

  ‘You want mine?’ I asked, as he shoved the end of his cone into his mouth.

  He nodded, took the ice cream and waited while I wiped my hand clean on the grass.

  ‘Once we get him out of the building, we have to get him off the grounds,’ said Peg, looking around. ‘We can’t go through the main entrance because of the gate and security. We’d be stopped, obviously.’

  I looked around. The Institute was surrounded on all sides by a vast lawn which was bordered by forest to the east and west, a small lake to the north and a car park and guarded entranceway to the south.

  ‘It has to be through the forest,’ I said. ‘We can’t escape using a pedalo!’

  ‘Let’s go and check it out.’

  We continued walking across the lawn till the grass began to thin and we reached the edge of the forest.

  ‘Won’t it look a bit suspicious if we just wander into the woods?’ I said.

  ‘I don’t think so. This area is open to the public so we’re not doing anything wrong. We just have to look like we’re having fun, not checking out the grounds for an escape route.’

  The shade was a welcome respite from the thick humidity on the lawn. We walked deep into the trees until we reached a high metal fence and the lawn was just a hint of bright green in the distance.

  ‘Damn,’ I said, staring at the fence. ‘This could be a problem.’ />
  Peg leant close to it. ‘It’s electrified. Not good.’

  ‘So even if we get him out of the Institute, we can’t escape through the forest . . .’

  ‘Maybe there’s a break in the fence somewhere.’

  I sighed. Now we were here, a rescue attempt seemed such a long shot. ‘It’s a boundary fence,’ I said. ‘Obviously designed to keep people out. We’re not going to find a break in it.’

  ‘Come on. Let’s follow the fence towards the back of the Institute,’ said Peg, striding ahead.

  We continued north-west, heading towards the back where the lake and the service entrance was.

  ‘It makes sense that the service entrance will be easier to escape from than the heavily guarded main entrance,’ said Peg. ‘Maybe we could bring in a laundry truck or something as our cover. Get Ryan out through the service entrance and into the truck.’

  ‘There must be a particular company they use,’ I said. ‘For laundry. If we knew who they were, one of us could get a job as a driver with them and . . . damn! We need more time.’

  ‘We have to work with what we’ve got,’ said Peg. ‘Let’s see if we can get a bit closer to that service entrance.’

  Silently, we made our way through the trees towards the building. The closer we were to the edge of the forest, the harder my heart knocked in my chest.

  ‘This is close enough,’ whispered Peg, when we were about ten trees’ depth from the edge of the forest. Beyond the trees here was not lawn, but a yard. A lorry pulled up outside a loading bay and we watched as two men began unloading sacks of rice and crates of carrots.

  ‘Looks like we’ve found the kitchen,’ said Peg in a low voice.

  ‘Maybe we could smuggle him out in a food delivery truck,’ I said. ‘What’s the name of the company? I can’t quite read it from here.’

  Peg stepped forward a few paces, squinting into the distance. ‘Norberry Foods,’ he said.

  ‘Can’t we bribe a driver to let us make the delivery or something?’

  ‘Maybe.’

  He didn’t sound convinced. I knew why. Even if we left through the service entrance, we’d have to drive through the security gate, possible roadblocks, not to mention a delivery driver who knew too much.

  ‘What do we do now?’ I asked.

  ‘Back to mine to see what Antoine and Belle have managed to find out.’

  Antoine and Belle arrived five minutes after we did.

  ‘You find out anything useful?’ I asked.

  Antoine unfolded a map. ‘Belle and I have studied the area. There’s a Forest Service road that runs along here.’ He pointed to a section of the map. ‘It’s about a mile away from the Institute. If we can get Ryan out of the building, through the forest to this track, one of us can be here waiting for him.’

  ‘There’s one slight obstacle,’ I said. ‘It’s a two-metre high electrified metal fence.’

  ‘Is it definitely electrified?’ asked Antoine.

  ‘’Fraid so,’ said Peg.

  ‘Did you check to see if there are any gaps in the fence?’ asked Belle. ‘Or gates?’

  ‘The only gap in the fence is where the forest meets the lake,’ I said. ‘So unless we want to escape using a pedal boat, or by swimming, we’re all out of luck.’

  ‘It’s going to have to be the main gate then,’ said Antoine.

  ‘It’s looking that way,’ said Peg. ‘I’m going to look into the companies that deliver to the Institute and see if we can borrow a truck.’

  ‘And then what?’ I asked.

  ‘If we get Ryan to the shipyard, and on to one of the little space hoppers, we can take him far away. Outside of the Federation even. He could fly the ship himself.’

  ‘And go where?’ asked Belle.

  Peg shrugged. ‘Anywhere. I’d say that’s the least of our worries right now.’

  ‘OK, so we have a sort-of plan to get him off the Institute grounds and out of the Federation,’ I said, ‘but first we have to break him out of the Institute. Did you manage to get a map, Antoine?’

  He closed his eyes and shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, Eden. I tried. We both did.’

  Belle held out her arms. She had a plaster around her left thumb, a bandage around her right wrist and another plaster on her elbow. ‘I managed to burn myself twice and cut myself with a knife,’ she said.

  ‘Three times Mum left the office to see to Belle. Every time she locked her computer,’ said Antoine. ‘I tried to hack my way in. But I couldn’t. I guess she’s more careful than I thought.’

  ‘We have to find a way to get a map of the inside,’ said Peg. ‘Or something. Even a rough sketch would be something to go on.’

  ‘Did you learn anything from inside the museum?’ asked Belle.

  ‘No,’ said Peg. ‘There were guidebooks, but they just had photographs of the public rooms. And you can’t access anywhere else from the museum.’

  ‘We need to find a way in,’ said Belle. ‘I wonder if we could get Lyra to interview a member of the kitchen staff? Maybe she could get a tour of the service level.’

  The doorbell rang. Peg jumped off the couch to answer it. He came back a few seconds later with a parcel.

  ‘It’s for you, Eden.’

  ‘What? Who would send me a parcel?’

  ‘Delivery guy said he tried the Lakeview Hotel first, but they told him you’d moved here.’

  ‘I left a forwarding address,’ I said, taking the parcel.

  I tore off the brown paper to reveal a white box with a lid. I lifted the lid. Inside was a long length of shimmering blue fabric, laid on a thick bed of white tissue paper.

  ‘It’s a dress,’ I said, lifting it out of the box.

  ‘God, it’s beautiful,’ said Belle, helping me hold it up.

  It was pale blue silk with a beaded bodice.

  ‘Who the hell would send me a dress?’ I said, confused.

  ‘There are shoes in here too,’ said Belle, looking into the box. ‘Heels.’ The shoes were the same blue colour as the dress. ‘And a letter,’ said Belle, passing me a small blue envelope.

  I ripped it open. Inside was a simple handwritten note.

  Be my date for the Late Summer Ball? CW

  I laughed. ‘I can get inside the Institute.’

  Everyone looked at me.

  ‘If I go to the Late Summer Ball with Clarence Wolfe tomorrow.’

  Chapter 17

  Peg opened the door.

  ‘Can I come in?’ I heard Clarence ask.

  ‘Sure.’ Peg turned and winked at me.

  Clarence was dressed in a cream linen suit with a silk bow tie the exact same colour as my dress.

  ‘I knew that colour would suit you,’ he said, running his eyes slowly up my body, from the blue heels to the plunging neckline.

  ‘What time are you planning on bringing her home?’ asked Peg.

  Clarence raised his eyebrows. ‘Pegasus, I know you’re now her legal guardian, but that doesn’t give you an excuse to act like her father.’

  ‘If you touch her . . .’

  ‘What?’

  ‘She’s sixteen.’

  ‘Peg, I’ll be fine,’ I said, glaring at him.

  ‘Last time I checked she was over a hundred years old,’ said Clarence with a smirk.

  He took my arm and we walked – slowly, me tottering, despite an hour of practice in the living room – down the stairs and across the street to the waiting car. Someone must have tipped off the press because the number of photo­graphers was ten times the usual number that loitered outside the entrance.

  ‘Just look down and let your hair fall in front of your face,’ said Clarence. ‘Don’t let them get a good shot.’

  He held the door open and then climbed in the back of the car with me. A driver in a white uniform and hat checked that we were ready to leave and then pulled out into the traffic.

  ‘We’ll have to do the red carpet,’ said Clarence. ‘It’s just five minutes of posing for photographs and shaki
ng hands. And then I’ll introduce you to my family, because they’ll expect to meet my date. But the rest of the evening will be fun, I promise.’

  The car drove right up to the barricades around the red carpet. The driver opened the door for us, and Clarence – thankfully – lent me a hand so I could get out without revealing too much thigh. My shoes were pinching the skin of my foot, right where the ankle met the heel, so I walked slowly, clutching Clarence’s arm and trying not to limp, determined not to broadcast my high-heel inexperience to the whole world.

  After shaking hands with a few people, he guided me to the middle of the carpet to pose for photographs. He put an arm loosely around my waist. Cameras flashed from every direction, but the questions were gentler than what I was used to.

  ‘Such a beautiful dress, Eden. Who is the designer?’

  ‘Did you pick it yourself?’

  ‘How long have you known Clarence?’

  ‘The designer is Miller,’ said Clarence. ‘Eden and I met through mutual friends. I knew her friend Orion Westland.’

  The main entrance of the Institute had been transformed. A wooden arbour had been constructed in front of the white stone doorway; hundreds of red and pink roses were twined around it. The scent from the flowers was overpowering.

  Once inside, a welcoming party of the Guardians and their spouses – all except the Westlands – awaited us.

  ‘It’s OK, they won’t bite,’ Clarence whispered.

  Clarence introduced me to just one couple: his parents.

  ‘Mother, Father,’ said Clarence with exaggerated politeness, ‘may I introduce Eden Anfield.’

  Clarence’s mother – a petite blonde with bright red lipstick and unnaturally white teeth – almost curtseyed. ‘How lovely to meet you in person.’

  Admiral Wolfe shook my hand. ‘I’m pleased to see you’ve settled into life in Lakeborough,’ he said tonelessly.

  I smiled at the man who had determined my life was nothing more than collateral damage. ‘I’ve found the locals to be exceptionally friendly.’

  We walked into the room. It was a formal hall, the sort of thing I’d only ever seen in stately homes in England, though they probably existed in palaces and official buildings all over the world. The ceiling was as high as three floors and the dimensions of the room were as big as a football pitch. The walls were the same white stone as most of the Institute, but tonight they glowed a warm pink – the result of thousands of fairy lights strung around the walls.