The Secret Rebellion (Book 3 in The Secret Series)

Chapter 10: En Route to the Apartment

Chapter 10: En Route to the Apartment

The club was abandoned as we hurriedly crossed the dance floor and ran up the stairs. A heavy-fisted person was hammering loudly on the entrance doors, sounding impatient. Praying that there weren’t any Frost Giants around the back of the building yet, I followed Steve cautiously, Mel and Tony behind me.

The white-haired mutant was long gone, leaving the back door open and swinging slightly in the breeze. The sky was black when we left the warmth and light of the building; the only noise came from around the front of the club where the Frost Giants were grunting to each other.

No one dared speak. There was an alley behind the club, leading away from the building and towards a dark main street. Steve hastily led us down it, disregarding the possibility that the Peace-Keepers might already be stalking the street we were heading to.

Luckily, the road was empty. Although I knew London relatively well – though I hadn’t been to the city in over four years – I didn’t recognise the street in the darkness. As well as the lack of light, the shop-lined street had been distorted from its past glory, the majority of the shops having closed down. The windows were harshly boarded up, leaving the buildings looking derelict and disfigured. It was a sorry sight, and my heart went out to the mortals; they’d lost so much.

“I need to get to my apartment,” Tony said suddenly, and Steve frowned.

“Why?”

“Well, for starters, Bruce is there. Fury wants both of us, right?”

“Yes…”

“Then we need to go get him. Also, I want to get my stuff before I leave London – I’ve been working on new AI software for JARVIS that can-”

“Yeah, yeah – we get it,” Steve said hastily, saving us all from some tech-talk. Tony rolled his eyes.

“Sorry, grandpa, I forget that you’re a technophobe.”

 “Right. Stark, you and Eldrid go to your apartment and get Bruce and your “stuff”. Mel and I will draw off the Peace-Keepers. I’ve already let Director Fury know that we’ve found you.”

“Did he explain how in Odin’s name we’re supposed to escape a city crawling with Peace-Keepers and get back to the Helicarrier – which, I’ll remind you, is in Scotland?” I asked agitatedly, and Steve looked troubled.

“No, he didn’t.”

Mel suddenly smiled, determination flashing in her eyes. “Don’t worry about that. I’ve got it covered. What’s the address of your apartment?”

Tony told her, looking fairly sceptical that she could get the five of us out of the city in one piece.

“Steve and I will meet you there in an hour. I think I hear them coming; you’d better hurry,” she said, glancing back down the alley.

Looking at the two of them, I realised how dangerous this was, especially for Mel. Steve didn’t have his shield, and Melody was just an average human. I dithered, wanting to say something, but I couldn’t find the words. Steve smiled.

“Go. We’ll be fine,” he assured me, before he and Mel disappeared back down the alley.

Tony led the way, his pace fast. He was muttering to himself as we hurried down the street, hitting several different spots on his arm and looking impatient.

“I thought I’d fixed this,” he grumbled, and slapped the same spot on his arm again.

“… What are you doing?” I asked, caught between concern and curiosity – as well as mild amusement.