Jude Watson - A King's Ransom

Atticus read it aloud in a nervous voice.

“There’s that G again,” Amy murmured. “Grace?”

“No,” Atticus whispered. “Guardian.” He seemed to be in a daze, staring down at Jane’s note.

Before Amy could ask him what he meant, Dan broke in impatiently.

“C’mon. Let’s see what the parcel is.”

“Right.” Atticus unfolded the parcel and spread it on the desk. Amy recognized it immediately.

“It’s the de Virga!” she exclaimed. “Thank you, Jane!”

“It’s amazing,” Atticus breathed.

It just looked like an old map to Dan, but he leaned over to study it. “What’s that?” he asked, pointing to a spot.

“That’s the compass rose,” Atticus murmured. “Shows the direction of the compass. It’s right over Central Asia. The detail on this thing is amazing. Look at the coast of Africa!”

A light began blinking red over their heads. Amy looked up just as the siren went off. “Great. What a time for a fire drill.”

“We’ve got to conceal the map somehow,” Dan said.

“Wait a second,” Atticus said. “You guys are going to steal it ?”

“We have to,” Amy told him.

“But Jake said – ”

“Never mind Jake. Dan, can you get it under your sweatshirt?”

“Under his sweatshirt? Are you crazy?” Atticus cringed as Dan folded the parchment.

“Believe me, A, we’ve got a good reason,” Dan told him.

“Atticus, can you go find Jake?” Amy asked. “We’re right behind you. Whatever you do, keep Mavel away from here. And, um, there’s no need to tell Jake that we stole the map. Yet.”

Amy crossed to the window in the door. Library patrons packed up and were leaving in an orderly fashion. Suddenly, she spotted two tall blond young people. Casper and Cheyenne stood in a corner, watching. What were they doing here? Her pulse hammered out a frantic beat.

“Atticus, I need you to go now,” Amy said, making sure her voice was level. “We’ll explain everything outside. Tell Jake … tell him he has to trust me.” Not that he would. But Amy couldn’t put Atticus in danger.

Amy took a firm hold of Atticus’s arm. She opened the door and gently shoved him out, then closed it.

To her shock, she heard the lock click. The automatic lock had engaged.

Atticus pulled frantically on the door. Amy tried to open it from her side. It wouldn’t budge.

The halon gas!

She whipped her head around to spy the fire panel.

HALON GAS ACTIVATED!

OXYGEN LEVEL 20%

This was no drill. This was really happening.

As she watched, the indicator beeped.

OXYGEN LEVEL 19%

Atticus took off at a run.

“Dan?” Amy’s voice shook. “We have a problem.”

“We sure do,” Dan said, adjusting his shirt. “This parchment is really itchy.”

OXYGEN LEVEL 18%

“I just saw Casper and Cheyenne outside. This isn’t a drill! The halon gas suppression system has been activated! And the door is locked!”

Dan looked at the oxygen level, then made a run at the door. He pulled at it. Just then Casper Wyoming’s face appeared at the glass panel. He waved and mouthed “Bye-bye.”

Then he kept on walking.

“Atticus saw what happened,” Amy said, her voice trembling. “He’ll do something… . He’ll get Jake!”

“With Casper and Cheyenne around? Don’t count on it. We have to do something.”

OXYGEN LEVEL 16%

Amy felt her pulse race. Was it the dropping oxygen level, or her own fear rising?

Dan began kicking at the door. Amy pounded on the glass.

There was nobody to hear. The building had been completely evacuated. Smoke was now billowing out of the stacks at the opposite end of the wide room. Amy saw orange licks of fire.

“We have to do something!” Amy’s breath was short. The effort of pounding against the glass had exhausted her. That wasn’t a good sign.

“The computer,” she said to Dan. “It’s hooked to the server. You could hack in – disrupt the alarm!”

Dan hurried over to the computer.

OXYGEN LEVEL 13%

“We have to hurry,” Amy said. “Oxygen depletion affects your brain. You can’t think… .”

“I’d have to get past the fire wall… .”

Amy felt her temples pound. “What was it that the hacker taught us? The back door option … you can get into their e-mail and go on from there… .”

“I remember, but I’m no Evan.”

“You’re just as smart as he is,” Amy said firmly. “You can do it.”

Dan began punching out a string of code.

OXYGEN LEVEL 11%

Looking over his shoulder, Amy tried to concentrate on Dan’s numbers. It seemed like an incredible effort. Dan made a mistake and had to back up.

OXYGEN LEVEL 9%

“I’m in!” Dan leaned forward. “Now to get Att … Attleboro… .” His breath was quick, and he wiped at the sweat on his forehead. “I’ve got Evan!”

Amy watched as Dan typed out HALON GAS CZECH LIBRARY SYSTEM HELP

It took a moment. Then they saw the words appear I’M ON IT

“He’ll … have to … hack into the system through this terminal,” Dan said.

Amy clutched the chair back as a wave of dizziness washed over her. “Dan …”

He looked over his shoulder at her. Perspiration streaked his face, and his eyes were glassy.

OXYGEN LEVEL 7%

They were close to passing out. Amy slid down to the floor. Dan slumped down next to her. She felt his hand reach for hers. If it was over, they’d go together.

Jake was out. Stretched on the ground, a lump on the back of his head and the world swimming in front of his eyes. One minute he was running after Atticus, the next, he was down. Some Nordic-looking guy had been next to him and suddenly managed – Jake wasn’t sure how – to check him right into a wall.

He forced himself to his knees. He saw a screaming Atticus being held by a blond young woman. She appeared to be trying to hold him back from running back into the burning building. But she was grip- ping him too tightly… .

Atticus met his gaze. “DAN AND AMY!” he screamed.

The blonde pressed Atticus’s head against her chest as if to comfort him. Jake saw with horror that she was actually muffling his scream.

He struggled to his feet. He had to get to his brother. But Dan and Amy were still in the library! Through the pounding pain in his head, he pushed forward, even before he knew which way to go.

Amy felt sick.

Dan’s voice was weak. “He’ll … do it… .”

She looked over at the oxygen indicator.

OXYGEN LEVEL 6%

The siren stopped. From somewhere far away she heard a click. The lock!

Fighting her nausea and weakness, Amy crawled to the door and reached up for the knob. It seemed so impossibly high. Her fingers grabbed at air. Finally, with an enormous effort, she raised herself up and gripped it. The door felt as heavy as iron. She yanked at it with all her strength, and it opened.

She fell forward into the hallway outside. She took a breath. It was smoky and it made her cough, but it was air. As oxygen filled her lungs, she felt stronger.