Hidden Depths

Chapter 26 - The Cavalry

Rich hadn't seen the Brethren's armoured van before, but it didn't take him long to work out that help had arrived. A side door slid open and four people got out dressed in dark blue coveralls. From their size, Rich could tell that it was the three other sixth formers and a fifth former, but he had no idea who was who, as their heads and faces were covered by grey checked headscarves. Rich thought that they would have looked just like Palestinian rebels, if it wasn't for the occasional glimpse of the futuristic-looking, silver-fronted face masks that were hidden beneath their traditional desert shemaghs.

Two of them came straight over to Rich and put Aarzam on a small black stretcher so that they could carry him carefully back to the vehicle. As he followed the stretcher, Rich saw that the other two were carrying some unusual looking equipment towards the stricken white van.

The first one was holding a metal frame that was about the size and shape of a small hula-hoop, the other was carrying a silver canister. As they reached the side of the van, the first one removed a rubber seal from around the edge of the hoop then stuck it to the side of the upturned vehicle.

The hoop was at floor height and fizzed and smoked for a few seconds, before a perfect circle of white metal fell to the tarmac. The second Brethren threw his silver gas canister in with slick and deliberate precision. Amazed by what he was witnessing, Rich had stopped following Aarzam and before he knew it, the two stretcher-bearers had re-emerged from the van.

Having swapped Aarzam for some thick, plastic cable ties, they ran round to the front of their van and released the end of a winch cable that was hidden behind the vehicle's massive bumper. Pulling the cable out behind them, they ran to join the Brethren by the white van and crouched next to them, while green smoke bellowed out of the freshly-made hole.

After a few moments, the boy who had thrown the canister pulled out a retractable, L-shaped torch, which was concealed in a small pouch on his chest. He shouted 'firing now!' at his companions, then pounced round the corner to blast the inside of the van with a dazzling light, which was so incredibly bright that it would have undoubtedly temporarily blinded everyone inside.

Releasing his torch and allowing it to retract back into his pouch, he grabbed four small cord nooses that were attached to his belt and sprang into the van. Within ten seconds, he was back out the hole again and quickly removing his belt so he could attach it to the winch's hook.

A smart thumbs-up to the black van gave the signal to operate the winch and, like a string of onions, the men were dragged out of the hole by their ankles. The disarmed gunman, who had been rolling on the grass like an injured footballer, took this as a sign that he should get moving.

He heaved himself to his knees and was staggering to retrieve his rifle when Rich stopped being a spectator and grabbed him by the belt and collar. But without warning, his captive pulled a knife from under his shirt and Rich released him - just in time to avoid a wild sloppy slash. A short struggle and broken wrist later, Rich again had the man by the scruff of the neck and frogmarched him to the matt-black van. Arriving at the same time as the Brethren and their captives, Rich briefly queued up while they sat the bound men in a caged and padded area, which was accessed through the back doors of the tank-like vehicle.

'Alright, Rich?' said one of the anonymous Brethren from behind his reflective mask. 'Let's get your little fishy dressed for the journey.'

The man Rich was holding cursed violently as his broken wrist was cuffed to the other, but he quietened once he'd sat down with the rest of his companions.

Realising they had totally blocked off the road, Rich glanced behind him to see that traffic was building. Looking forwards, he could see that the cars on the other side of the rolled van were also mounting up. As he wondered how long it would be before the police arrived, he noticed a face in the driver's window of the overturned van.

'What about the guy who's still in the cab?' asked Rich.

'Let's check him out,' came the reply.

The wounded driver hadn't had the time or strength to put his seatbelt on before the collision, so he was now lying, bleeding into the roof rather than the seat he had been sitting on. He was breathing heavily and staring up at the two of them, but he made no effort to attack or escape.

'This one needs a hospital,' said the masked Brethren. 'Police will be here in a minute, let's leave him to them.'

The two boys turned and ran back to the van, before jumping in the side door. It closed behind them automatically as the van turned round in the drive of one of the large, expensive looking, houses that bordered the military base. Their UAV, which had been circling above the van, was now re-tasked to check the route ahead. As it flew over the roof of the Brethren's van, it observed the vehicle slowly change colour from black to white then turn off the relatively quiet road to aggressively weave its way through the heavy London traffic.