Airship City

Chapter 8

The standoff continued, Vanross evidently trying to call Churchill’s bluff. But the older man simply remained staring at him, an expectant look on his face. A sheen of sweat appeared on the brow of Vanross.

Then Betty stepped forward, smiling tightly. “I’m sure that Mr Hughes must have gone to the control room.” She turned to Vanross. “What do you think, Blake?”

He glanced at her, narrowing his eyes, then dropped his gaze. His shoulders slumped. “Yes, I think that’s right.”

“Very good,” said Churchill. “Would you like to take us to the control room, then?”

“Very well,” Vanross said, bowing his head. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to Mr Hughes.” He led the way across the floor, his head held stiffly erect.

They walked across the round floor and through an archway in the far wall. By the time Joseph brought up the rear, Vanross was standing facing a set of closed sliding doors and inserting a key into a slot next to the doors. Seconds later they slid open, and the group hurried through them. Joseph saw that they were in one of the lift gondolas. The doors closed, and the lift zoomed upwards, making Joseph feel heavy on his feet. 

Although he was at the back of the gondola, he was able to see over the heads of the others due to his height. Through the glass walls of the lift he could see the central core flash by. Below was the base, rapidly diminishing. The wall of the shaft was punctuated by windows, and he caught glimpses of each level as they passed. At first he saw machinery, pipes, tanks, and steel catwalks. Then came what looked like administrative levels, with plain carpeting and painted wood panels. As the elevator began to slow, Joseph saw more opulent levels, with plush carpeting or marble on the floors, and walls lined with flocked wallpaper or rich wood paneling. 

At last the lift slowed to a stop, and the doors opened onto a functional-looking lobby walled in polished aluminium. Through the round portholes in double doors opposite the lift, Joseph glimpsed a dazzling vista of sky and cloud. 

Vanross pushed through the doors, and the group followed him into a wide room that was flooded with light from curved glass outer walls. Joseph’s eye was irresistibly drawn to the view through those immense windows. Below he could see the disc of Aeropolis’ main deck, and beyond it, London lay resplendent in the mid-morning sun. Tower Bridge was clearly visible, while St Paul’s dominated the City skyline. Further up the Thames lay the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, and he thought he could even glimpse Buckingham Palace, next to the open green space of Hyde Park. 

But Vanross continued to walk along the gallery that ran around the rear of the room, behind a row of curved desks. Each desk had a radio operator, equipped with headphones and a microphone, sitting in front of panels full of switches, dials and knobs. There was a constant low murmur of calm voices, and the distinctive smell of warm radio tubes.

It became obvious to Joseph as he followed Vanross that the control room encircled the entire top of the Core. After they had gone around nearly half way, they came upon a small group of men standing in the gallery. One of them was Howard Hughes. When he spotted them approaching, he detached himself from the group and walked over to meet them.

He scowled deeply at Vanross as he approached, and seemed about to say something to his assistant. But then he controlled himself with a visible effort, and turned to his guests. “I’m sorry you got caught up in this.”

Churchill inclined his head slightly. “So am I. Although I am not entirely certain of what exactly I have been caught up in.”

Hughes frowned at him. “Well, what does it look like? A simple accident, that’s all.”