Black Feathers

75

“Unfortunately, it has taken our ex-colleague, Wardsman Knowles, several days to share his knowledge with us.”

Skelton addressed the assembled Wardsmen he’d brought with him from London and those from the Monmouth substation.

“More unfortunate even than this, it transpires that the man had little more information for us than the boy’s family. We can now be fairly sure that Gordon Black did enter the disused railway tunnel and that he did find a way through the blockage. Knowles told us that the boy was in receipt of letters written by both his parents and that these letters, given to the boy by Knowles when they met at the mouth of the tunnel, instructed the boy to run and not turn himself in. Knowles also gave him one of the more telling scrapbooks from the prophetic archive.”

Pike stood to Skelton’s left, waxwork-still with his slab-like hands clasped in front of him. The only clue he was alive; an occasional blink of his sunken eyes.

“We can therefore reasonably assume a couple of things. First, Gordon Black has run as far away from here as he can. We now have to make this a nationwide search and ask for assistance from other substations around the country. Second, if he wasn’t aware of the Crowman prophecies before meeting Knowles, he certainly is now. How the knowledge will affect him is impossible to predict. If we’re lucky it may make him unstable and he may be easier to bring in. In the worst-case scenario, the stories of the Crowman will boost his confidence, perhaps give him some kind of goal to work towards.

“We can take nothing for granted now, in any case. The boy is dangerous and determined. The days of a simple capture and swift conclusion to this problem have passed. We’re into a long phase now. What works in our favour is that Gordon Black doesn’t have anything like the amount of data that we have – we know his family, much of his personal history and possibly some of his future. He, on the other hand, is travelling blind. He is but one against many. What works against us is that he may be just another boy on the run. We’ve caught enough of those already to know that red herrings are everywhere. But the more we’ve watched Gordon Black and the more… dealings we’ve had with him, the more certain I’ve become that he is the one whose capture may mean an end to the cataclysm the prophecies predict.

“From now on, most of you will take alter egos and work under cover. If that boy sees a speck of grey he’s going to run. Pike here is going to hand out reports and instructions. Each pair of you going out will take different directions and link with different operatives dependent on the counties you pass through. You’ll go on foot as we can no longer afford the number of vehicles necessary to do this the easy way. In addition, as you all know, all mobile phone networks are suffering interference at the moment. Should it become necessary, I will expect you to write your reports and deliver them by hand. According to the Met Office, the sunspot activity is set to worsen.

“One final thing. The ideal scenario will be to find him before he hits puberty. A high proportion of the prophetic texts we’ve gathered point to the child’s boyhood as a crucial and therefore vulnerable time. The quicker we do this, the better. I only hope we’re not too late.” Skelton appraised the silent faces. “Any questions?”

One hand went up.

“Yes, Jones.”

“If we find the boy and he puts up a fight, what lengths can we go to bring him in?”

“You may use any means at your disposal. But he must be brought in alive or you’ll join him in Hades. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Anything else?”

There were no other raised hands.

“In that case, I wish you all the luck in the world. After all, the world now depends on you apprehending Gordon Black.”