Night School: Resistance (Night School 4)

It was dim and cool inside the church. Allie squinted into the shadows.

Dust motes danced in the faint light trickling through the stained-glass windows. A single breath could send them spinning.

She could make out the medieval paintings on the walls but it was too dark to see the damage Nathaniel’s knife had done the previous winter.

A small group had gathered on the front pews near the altar. As her eyes adjusted, she saw Zoe and Isabelle. Raj Patel stood nearby with a woman she couldn’t remember seeing before.

Allie’s brow creased. She turned a slow circle as if expecting to see more people in the dusty corners, but the small chapel was otherwise empty.

Could it be that Isabelle trusted so few people? Behind her, the church door crashed open. Everyone fell silent as Carter and Nicole stumbled in. Nicole’s hair blew around her face in a dark cloud as Carter pulled the door shut with effort.

‘The wind’s really picking up,’ Carter said over his shoulder as he forced the door into place. ‘I think it’s about to storm.’

Allie’s eyes were drawn to the words painted above the door behind him in gothic lettering. It was the school’s motto.

Exitus acta probat.

The result justifies the act.

‘Everyone is here.’ Isabelle’s voice echoed off the stone walls, forcing Allie’s attention to the front of the chapel. ‘We should begin.’

They filed into the pews like churchgoers; the headmistress stood by the altar, a huge iron candelabra towering over her left shoulder, unlit. Through the windows, Allie could see the trees swaying beneath swirling clouds. The air felt pressured. Heavy with anticipation.

Isabelle began without preamble. ‘Lucinda has been in touch to say Nathaniel is increasing his efforts to force the board into a no-confidence vote. Our supporters have received threatening phone calls, their children have been harassed. One MP who supports her was denied a seat in Cabinet.’ Her serious gaze swept the small gathering. ‘The Chancellor has openly joined with him now and, although the Prime Minister is hedging his bets, he’s stopped taking Lucinda’s calls.’ She sighed. ‘I must be honest with you. It looks bad.’

Nobody seemed surprised by this. Her next words, though, caused a stir.

‘It would appear Nathaniel is aware that Allie has returned to us. He’s contacted Lucinda directly asking for a parley.’ She hesitated, as if deciding how much to reveal. ‘For a variety of reasons she has declined. This may be why someone attempted to break into the school grounds last night.’

Allie’s heart stuttered. Next to her, she felt Sylvain’s body stiffen.

‘Are you serious?’ Carter’s tone was sharp.

Isabelle nodded. ‘Very.’

Concerned voices swirled around Allie, but she tuned them out. She thought of the person she’d glimpsed in the woods. How some part of her had been disappointed it wasn’t Nathaniel. Wasn’t someone she could fight.

Even now she knew she should be afraid, and she was. But she was also eager. Ready to fight back.

‘What exactly happened?’ Nicole’s French-accented voice pulled Allie back to the conversation. ‘How close did they get?’

‘Raj,’ Isabelle said. ‘Please explain.’

The security chief stepped forward. His familiar face made Allie feel better instantly. Rachel’s father was the kind of man who exuded calmness in all situations. The more severe the crisis, the calmer he seemed.

‘There was an attempted intrusion last night, just after two in the morning.’ The Yorkshire accent he’d never lost stretched every word. ‘Someone tried to open the gate using a remote electronic device. Luckily, before any damage could be done, the hack was blocked by Dom, here.’ He gestured at the woman Allie had noticed earlier. She sat on the front row with her back to the rest of the group.

She leaned forward to get a better look at her.

The woman was younger than she’d first thought, probably no more than twenty, and slim, with short-cropped black hair, smooth skin the colour of coffee and stylish narrow glasses.

As Raj talked, she sat, legs crossed, in a relaxed posture, but Allie noticed she tapped her fingers in a subconsciously nervous gesture.

At the front of the room, Raj was still talking. ‘When we reinstituted tech a few months ago, Dom thought to put a block on every electronic device on the grounds, including the front gate. They all respond only to signals directed to them from inside the school building,’ he explained. ‘At the same time she programmed a tracker into them, so any attempt from outside the school is logged and traced. Thanks to her, we know which device was used, and where the signal came from.’

‘Awesome,’ Zoe whispered approvingly.

‘Where did the signal come from?’ Carter asked.

Raj motioned for Dom to answer.

Thunder rumbled in the distance.