The Kidnapping King

LONDON'S UNDERGROUND

LONDON, ENGLAND - 1917 

 Jack stumbled, then quickly regained his footing as he materialized into an unexpectedly warm London day. Fortunately, he landed in a mostly unpopulated, grassy area, the telescope dropping from his hands and rolling a few feet away from where he stood. Glancing around to make sure no one had noticed him, he reached into the coat pocket, locating the leather gloves Bunko had given him, and pulled them on. Then, carefully, he bent over and reached out to grasp the scope. Success. He was able to pick it up, no problem, and he carefully tucked it into a deep, inner pocket in the jacket. Then, confident his sudden appearance went undetected, he took a moment to straighten his hat, and smooth the woolen coat into place, making sure the telescope didn't bulge out too much. He was grateful now, for it's over-large size, and the fact that it could effectively conceal the strange-looking object. He bent down to tie the lace that had come undone on his brown leather wingtip shoes before further observing his surroundings.

Gazing at the landscape, he could see a large river with a wide, open bridge, dotted with lamp posts crossing over it and lots of people in hats wandering along the waterfront. His ears were assaulted by city sounds unfamiliar to him; strange car horns and the clip-clop of horse hooves on pavement as he walked toward the river to get a better look.

Ding dong ding dong -

Jack was physically shaken by the resonant sound of bells ringing immediately behind him. He spun around and was confronted by an enormous, yet vaguely familiar structure;

ding dong ding dong - dong, dong, dong, dong

Tipping his head backward to view the top of the building, he drew in a sharp breath as he saw the huge face before him; Big Ben.

Jack slapped both hands over his ears to protect them from the loud noise, but continued to gaze up at the enormous clock. Glancing around he observed many other people on the street stopping and gazing up at the same display. Then, once the bells stopped their gonging, everyone immediately re-animated and went back to what they had been doing before. Jack thought it was as if time stood still for a moment.

Ok, so that river must be the Thames he thought to himself. Lifting the bulky coat enough to dig into his back jeans pocket, he retrieved the hand-written map and instructions Grandma Lydia had provided him. Unfolding it, he turned the map so that the river was aligned with his current position.

So, that means I need to turn left right up here at that bridge road and I should see a Tube station right across the street, he thought, refolding and tucking the map back into his back pants pocket.

Jack walked to the road and stopped, looking both directions. A large grin turned up the corners of his mouth when, on the other side of the street and to his left, he saw a large sign with the words Westminster Station posted above a wide open doorway.

Yes! He exclaimed, making a fist with his right hand and pulling it down in the air in front of him.

To his surprise, there were no intersections with cross-walks, like he was used to using in Portland, and there was lots of crazy traffic; old-fashioned motor cars and two-decker buses, right alongside horse-drawn carriages and delivery trucks. People were crossing the street, willy-nilly, wherever and whenever they could find a break in the traffic, so Jack decided he'd have to try doing the same thing. Cautiously he stepped out into the cobblestone street, zigging and zagging, and gingerly leaping over a big pile of horse manure, before safely arriving at the sidewalk on the other side.

Shaking his head back and forth and wiping his bangs away from his sweaty brow beneath the knit hat he wore, he started toward the opening when he stopped, aware for the first time, of the numerous men in uniform lining the walkway. Some appeared to be police officers dressed in dark blue uniforms with round-topped hats, posted strategically in front of businesses. Others seemed to be military men wearing brown knicker-style pants tucked into knee-high boots, with matching, belted jackets and flat-top hats and insignia and rank displayed on their shoulders and chests.