Nicola was sitting on a golden throne at one end, her ministers on the benches nearby. She called for quiet, explained the purpose of the meeting and then read out the names that DogNut had given her, adding a brief description of the lorry crossing the bridge.
A murmur went around the assembled kids and Nicola let them talk for a couple of minutes. It was soon clear, though, that nobody was going to jump up and say, ‘That’s me!’ or, ‘I know where they are.’ Slowly the noise died down and Nicola spoke again.
‘So nobody knows anything about any of these children?’ she asked.
There were shaking heads and mumbled ‘no’s all around. Courtney felt a mixture of disappointment and relief. She still couldn’t get her mixed-up feelings about Brooke and DogNut straight in her head. And then, to her surprise, she found herself standing up and calling out into the echoing space of the hall.
‘Did nobody even see what way the lorry went then?’
‘I saw it,’ someone shouted. ‘It just carried on going.’
‘There was some other boys walking with it,’ said Courtney. ‘Posh kids all in red with rifles. What about them?’
‘Everyone knows them,’ said a girl at the back.
‘What do you mean?’ Courtney looked confused.
A stocky kid with a shaved head stood up and called over to her.
‘You see their leader? Was he a weirdo called David?’
‘Yeah, that’s him,’ said Courtney. ‘You got it. He was in charge of them.’
‘He a friend of yours then?’ said the stocky kid.
‘Not exactly,’ said DogNut. ‘He was guarding the lorry. Wherever he is, the lorry ought to be too.’
‘They’re at Buckingham Palace then.’
A noisy hubbub of chatter broke out among the assembled kids. Nicola stared across at the new arrivals.
DogNut leant over and muttered to Courtney. ‘So David’s at Buckingham Palace. That makes sense. This lot have set themselves up as the government – David’s set himself up as the bloody king.’
Courtney laughed and DogNut straightened. ‘How far is it to the palace from here?’ he asked.
‘It’s only about ten minutes away,’ said someone sitting nearby.
‘Sorted!’ DogNut punched the air. ‘So do any of you mugs want to come with us? Show us the way? Keep us safe? We don’t know this area … Anyone?’
Nobody made a move to volunteer, and DogNut sighed.
Waste of time. This bunch might have been well organized, but they weren’t exactly the most adventurous kids in the world.
‘I have to ask you again,’ said Nicola. ‘What is your relationship with David?’
‘I don’t have no relationship with David,’ said DogNut with a smirk. ‘You calling me gay?’
A ripple of laughter spread among the seated children.
‘I just want to know what he is to you,’ said Nicola patiently.
‘He ain’t nothing to me,’ said DogNut. ‘He tipped up at the War Museum just before it all kicked off, looking for guns, yeah. When everyone had to get out on account of the fire, he kind of, like, volunteered himself to guard the lorry. Wanted a piece of what was on it, the food and that. Why you ask? You got a problem with him?’
‘You could say that. David’s always trying to take over here.’
‘He one of these raiders you told us about?’
‘No. He’s got a lot of kids at the palace. He wants more, though. Keeps trying to make a deal with us. But you can’t trust him. One of my promises when I was standing for government was that I wouldn’t ever have anything to do with him.’
‘Well, you telling us how to get there ain’t exactly gonna break no promise, is it?’
‘No. But I can’t let anyone go with you.’
Courtney shook her head and looked at DogNut.
‘What other promises did you make?’ DogNut asked. ‘Just so’s we know.’
‘My only other promise was that I’d never attack any other kids.’
DogNut laughed. ‘That why you took our weapons and set your soldiers on us then?’
‘That was self-defence.’
‘If you say so.’
‘So you ain’t none of you gonna help us?’ Courtney shouted angrily.
‘We’re not fighters here,’ said Nicola.
‘No, you’re talkers. And talking ain’t no use to us.’
Courtney left her place and headed for the doors, telling the others to come with her. They hesitated for a moment, then drifted after her. DogNut followed her and put a hand on her arm, slowing her down.
‘Ain’t so bad, gyal,’ he said. ‘We got us a lead. At least we know where David went. Can’t blame these kids for not helping more. They got problems of their own.’
‘Maybe.’
‘Wait a minute!’ It was Nicola, hurrying to catch up with them. She looked flushed and slightly embarrassed. Courtney gave her the cold shoulder, but DogNut waited for her.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘But you must understand. I’ve got to look after my people. It’s not far to the palace. You should be OK.’
‘Yeah?’
‘You’re welcome to stay with us here for a bit if you want. As long as you stick to our rules.’
‘Thanks but no thanks,’ said DogNut. ‘Is a cool offer, like, but we come up this way to find old friends. We ain’t gonna crash just yet. We gotta keep moving. So what’s it like round here? Many sickos?’
‘Sickos?’
‘Grown-ups. Mothers and fathers …’
‘Oh, them. We call them oppoes – short for the opposition.’
‘The enemy?’
‘Yes.’
‘They bother you any?’
‘There’s always some around. Less than there used to be. David’s actually done quite a lot to clean the streets up. And lots of them have just starved to death, I guess, or been killed by the disease. It’s not too bad in the day, but it’s certainly not safe out on the streets after dark.’
‘Sounds familiar,’ said DogNut.
The gap-toothed kid with the ponytail – he seemed to be Nicola’s deputy – had joined them.
‘We’ve tried to clear out the area as well as we can,’ he explained. ‘But they’re starting to come over the bridges again, from the south. Real mean ones. As Nicola said, we’re not really fighters here; we’ve fallen back on our defences instead. There are some gangs out there, though. Hunters. They wander the streets looking for oppoes. We sort of rely on them to keep us safe.’
‘If you bumped into a hunter gang out there, they might be able to give you some more information,’ said Nicola, trying to be helpful. ‘They cover a lot of ground.’
‘So you wouldn’t consider breaking your rules and borrowing us an escort?’
Nicola looked embarrassed.
‘I can’t order anyone to go with you. I can let everyone know that if they want to help I’m not going to stop them, but …’
‘But you ain’t fighters. You gonna stick behind your strong walls.’
‘I’ll give you your weapons back, and it’s our lunchtime in half an hour. I can offer you a meal and some water. How’s that?’
‘Deal. Then we on our way, sister.’
8
They were ready to leave. They’d had something to eat, picked up their weapons, strapped their extra belongings to their backpacks, put on their bits and pieces of armour and now they stood by the Sovereign’s Entrance in Victoria Tower.
Being in the Houses of Parliament, among the lush trappings of the old world, had felt like a dream. She had never realized just how big the place was. Almost like a small city within a city. They had only seen a tiny part of it. She had heard some of the kids call it the palace of Westminster. And it was a palace – full of paintings, and gold, and marble floors. More than ever Courtney felt like London had been turned into a giant playhouse and they were just silly toddlers dressing in their mum and dads’ clothes and parading about pretending to be adults. What hope d
id any of them ever have of building anything like this in the future? How would they even know where to start? Massive carved stone pillars rose above their heads, supporting arches and beams and statues and huge windows. Even the Lego buildings she’d tried to make as a kid had always collapsed. She remembered learning about the Romans at primary school (they always seemed to be learning about the Romans). About how when they left England everything had started to go wrong; all their fine buildings, with mosaics and central heating and toilets and murals and whatever, had fallen apart. The Brits went back to their old ways – living in mud huts, huddled round fires, eating crap – and everything the Romans had brought here had been forgotten. They called it the Dark Ages. Must have been a rubbish time. Well, they were in a new Dark Age now, weren’t they? That was for sure.
And the Romans had left them to it again.
Actually, no, the Romans hadn’t all done a bunk. Some of them had stayed behind. Some of them had become monsters.
Courtney looked around her little group. Apart from Marco and Felix who were having an argument about who had the heaviest backpack, they were silent and tense. Olivia was sticking close to Finn, comforted by his size. Al and Jessica were slumped against the wall, waiting for the off. DogNut was standing at the entrance, looking out into the thin spring sunshine. They’d all been eager to press on, but now they were holding back. Nervous. Unsure of what lay in wait for them out there.
‘We gonna go then, or what?’ she said, approaching DogNut.
‘Guess so,’ said DogNut. ‘Let’s get rocking.’
They trooped down a wide row of steps towards the iron gates, DogNut and Courtney leading the way. Behind them came Al and Jessica with Olivia and Finn; bringing up the rear were Marco and Felix, seemingly the only two glad to be getting out of here. They hadn’t come along on the expedition to listen to a lot of chat and watch a bunch of snotty kids pretend they were the government. They wanted to explore and chase sickos and fight and have some good stories to take back with them.
At the Tower Jordan Hordern made them all do two hours’ military training every day, but they hardly ever got the chance to use any of their combat skills. Most of the sickos had been cleared out of the area around the Tower, apart from the no-go zone, of course.
But the thing about a no-go zone was that you never went there. That was the whole point.
A scruffy boy wearing a tall blue policeman’s helmet was waiting to let them out. The helmet was way too big for him and it hung down over his eyes, his hair sticking out untidily at the back and sides. He was nervously tapping his leg with a truncheon and as he saw the boat crew approaching he unlocked the gate and swung it open.
‘I like your helmet, boydem,’ said Marco, ‘but it don’t fit you too good.’
‘It’s not as cool as yours,’ the kid replied.
Marco was wearing a First World War German helmet with a spike in the top. As much for show as for protection. He’d found it at the Imperial War Museum and was never without it.
‘Ta,’ he said. ‘It’s a real babe magnet.’
‘Is it?’
‘What do you think? Has a girl ever said to you she really likes a man in a stupid helmet?’
‘Guess not. But there’s a joke in there somewhere.’
‘Save it.’
The boy was about to say something else when there was a sudden movement and he fell back.
DogNut stiffened like a hound spotting a rival.
‘What is it?’ asked Courtney.
A group of kids had appeared from a nearby hiding-place. They rushed the gates and barged past the kid in the helmet, throwing him to the ground. They were a dirty, mean-looking bunch, armed with metal bars.
They stopped when they saw DogNut’s crew. Getting the measure of them. Their leader stepped forward.
‘All right?’ he said. ‘We come to collect our tax.’
He had a dirty bandanna tied round his head, and wore a shirt with the sleeves cut off, long shorts and heavy boots with no socks. He was casually dangling a machete from a leather-gloved hand. His arms were lean and suntanned. He had the look of someone who had been living rough on the streets.
DogNut sniffed and stepped towards him.
‘You got something to say?’ said the kid with the bandanna.
‘This ain’t my beef,’ said DogNut.
The boy in the policeman’s helmet struggled to his feet.
‘Why don’t you all sod off?’ he said, and one of the marauders knocked his helmet off, then, as he bent over to pick it up, booted him in the backside, sending him sprawling into the iron railings.
‘Leave him alone,’ said DogNut.
‘Thought you said this wasn’t your argument,’ said Bandanna.
‘It will be if you keep dumping on that kid.’
Bandanna gave a little nod to one of his friends who gave the poor kid in the helmet a vicious whack in the side with his club. The kid groaned and curled up on the ground.
‘Don’t get involved,’ Courtney hissed at DogNut.
‘I am involved,’ he replied, and now it was his turn to nod at his team. Marco, Felix and Ugly Al came forward. Marco carried a short spear, Felix had a sword and Al was armed with a heavy mace. There were five guys with Bandanna, so he had a numerical advantage. It was clear, though, that if there was a fight it would be bloody. Someone could easily wind up dead. It wasn’t a risk any of them wanted to take. They stood there, taunting each other, hurling insults, and in the end DogNut went toe-to-toe with Bandanna. Their faces millimetres apart.
‘We’ll take you down, you skonky ratburger!’ DogNut yelled.
‘Yeah, well, I’ll cut you first.’
‘Pretty tough with that chopper in your fist, ain’t you?’
‘All right!’ Bandanna dropped the machete and threw his arms wide. ‘You want some of me? Come on then! Take it!’
DogNut couldn’t believe the guy was being so stupid and quickly punched him hard in the throat before he had a chance to defend himself. Bandanna gasped and collapsed. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly saw their opening and rushed forward, crowding the rest of the gang out. Then, with threats and shoves and raised weapons, they hustled them through the gate, two of the intruders holding up Bandanna, who was struggling to breathe.
As they retreated down the road, DogNut picked up the machete and hurled it after them.
‘Take your pencil sharpener with you!’ he shouted, and laughed as they danced out of the way of the whirling blade. Bandanna wrenched himself from the hands of his friends and croaked hoarsely at DogNut.
‘You shouldn’t of done that. We’ll be back. And there’ll be more of us next time. The taxes have just gone up!’
‘Yeah? Tax my arse!’ DogNut shouted, and waggled his rear at them.
They helped the local kid to his feet and he straightened his helmet, thanking them over and over.
‘Who were they?’ Courtney asked.
‘Kids from the park,’ said the boy. ‘They’re raiding us more and more lately. They wait for an opening then steam in. I thought it was all clear, but they must have been hiding behind one of the old security barriers. Basically they get inside and try to get hold of food and stuff. The kid you punched out’s called Carl, one of their gang leaders. I guess I owe you one.’
‘Save it,’ said DogNut. ‘You want to help us you can tell us the best way to Buckingham Palace.’
The boy scratched an armpit and pointed with his truncheon.
‘Across the square and straight up Birdcage Walk. That’s the way I’d go.’
‘Cheers.’
‘You’d have to be stupid to go my way, though,’ the boy added.
‘Why’s that?’
‘Cos Birdcage Walk runs along next to St James’s Park, which is where your new best mate, Carl, and his crew came from.’
‘So why’d you say you’d go that way, then?’ DogNut asked.
The boy made a dismissive farting sound with his lips. ‘Dunno. I always get
things wrong on behalf of I’m a bit thick.’
‘What’s your name?’ Courtney asked him.
‘My mates call me Bozo.’
‘Why that?’
‘Told you. Cos I’m a idiot.’ Bozo hit his helmet with the truncheon, hard enough for it to make a loud thwack. He went cross-eyed.
DogNut pressed him. ‘Do you want to tell us the best way or not?’
‘If you were cleverer than me you’d go up Victoria Road and swing round to hit the palace from the side. Is a bit further, but you’d avoid the mugs in the park.’
‘We’ll go the clever way then,’ said DogNut.
‘Thought you might,’ said Bozo. ‘But be careful. I was at the palace before I came here. David’s bad news. He’s a creep. He don’t like anyone to disagree with him. Keeps everything locked down. It was well hard to get away, I can tell you. And he keeps trying to get children from here to go and join him. You know, like Facebook? Everyone used to try and have the most friends. It’s like that. He wants the most followers.’
‘Kids like David don’t bother us,’ said DogNut, leading his gang out of the gate. ‘We’ll be fine.’
Bozo saluted them and wished them luck.
‘Dick,’ said Felix as they marched off across the road. DogNut laughed and led them round the great bulk of Westminster Abbey and on to Victoria Street, the wide road on the other side. They kept to the middle and formed into a loose bunch, with nobody really taking the lead. None of them seemed to want to be the one out in front.
Marco and Felix were the most relaxed, they chatted to Finn, who carried Olivia on his shoulders.
‘What did you reckon to the talent back there?’ Felix asked.
‘Didn’t really notice,’ said Finn. ‘Other things on my mind.’
‘Tell you the truth, man,’ Felix went on, ‘the main reason me and Marco come along on this trip in the first place was to see if we could find us some new wifeys. Know what I mean? The maths ain’t so good back at the Tower. There’s way more boys than girls.’
‘I’m a girl,’ said Olivia.
‘You don’t count, darling.’