Day of Deliverance Read Online Free PDF Page A

time.”
    “Hey – what about my bike?” Angus said.
    “The men will take care of it. I can assure you we have much more important business to attend to. Now, let’s go.”
    *
    The sun was in the west and hanging low in the sky. Angus and Jack peered from the helicopter as it swooped in above Soonhope High’s extensive playing fields. Jack was pretty sure no one had arrived at school in quite such style before. Pity there was nobody there to see it. They had a bird’s-eye view of the austere Victorian school building which sat in secluded grounds some way out of the town. Until ten years ago it had been empty. It was then redeveloped by an endowment from a charitable trust, which theynow knew, of course, had been a front for VIGIL. Since its purchase, the building had spawned a number of modern appendages around its Victorian core: the Science block and the gym and also the theatre, of course, where Jack would be appearing in Hamlet in two weeks’ time. It all seemed very normal. Just like all the other schools in the Borders, against which Angus regularly played rugby. There was one difference. Soonhope High housed the most advanced technology known to man: a working Taurus. A time machine. As a result, the site had tighter security than a US nuclear missile base. But it was completely unobtrusive. And that was the idea. Only a select few knew of the astonishing secret within the school walls.
    The helicopter touched down and Jack, Angus, the Rector and Inchquin climbed out.
    “Keep your heads down,” warned the Rector.
    In the distance, two familiar figures stood waiting to welcome them – their old friends, Tony Smith and Gordon MacFarlane. They waited at one of the school’s side entrances. Tony took up almost the entire doorway. Gordon stood beside him. He was shorter but still built like a tank. Officially, they were the school janitors. But Jack and Angus had learned their true identity six months before. Along with Belstaff and Johnstone, they were part of VIGIL’s elite security squad.
    “Gentlemen, please escort these two through Entrance B to the Situation Room. We will join you shortly.”
    “An escort? Good.” Angus replied. “You two should have blue flashing lights on your heads.”
    “That’s funny, Mr Jud. Look,” Gordon clutched his stomach with both hands, “I’m in stitches.”
    The Rector scowled. “Gentlemen, I would advise less levity. We have an extremely serious situation here. Do I make myself clear?”
    Gordon looked at his toes, sheepishly. “Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir.”
    Jack and Angus followed Tony and Gordon into the old Victorian part of the school.
    “Right, here we are,” Tony announced.
    They had reached a store cupboard halfway along one of the main corridors and Tony proceeded to take a large set of keys from his belt, jangling them loudly as he searched for the right one.
    “Isn’t that a bit low tech for VIGIL?”
    “Now, son,” Tony replied in a hushed voice, “you know better than to mention that name in an open corridor, even if no one else is here. Anyway, it’s all part of our image. You’re not supposed to see all the high-tech stuff.”
    Tony located the key, inserted it into the lock and opened the door. The cupboard smelled of, well… school. That stale, dusty smell of textbooks, old bits of computer equipment and stationery. Tony reached inside his pocket and pulled out a thin piece of plastic, a bit like a pocket calculator. He gently pressed a button on the device and the cupboard door closed automatically.
    “That looks more like it,” Angus said, knowingly.
    “I think this procedure will be familiar to you all. Step to the back, please,” Tony said, pressing the device in his hand a second time. Without warning, an aperture formed in the floor. Soon the entrance had opened completely and a steep spiral staircase appeared, leading downwards. It was lit by a ghostly blue glow, just bright enough to make out the position of the steps.
    “Okay