The Firebird Mystery Read online

  Jack thought she had never looked so beautiful.

  ‘I cannot argue with your patriotism,’ General Churchill said. ‘Our next stop will be the Paris metrotower. The French have given us permission to use their facilities during this crisis. You may travel with us that far, but I cannot allow you to go any further. That would be endangering your lives for nought.’

  ‘As you wish,’ Scarlet said. ‘Paris it is.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  The airship swayed as it came into dock at the metrotower. Jack could see little difference between the Paris tower and its London counterpart: the windows were smaller, and bronze gargoyles decorated some of the crossbeams on the exterior, but otherwise the towers were almost identical.

  The airship landed at a docking point high up the tower. Standing next to Scarlet on the observation deck, Jack felt both trepidation and a sense of disappointment. It seemed their adventure was coming to an end. Mr Bell and Mr Harker had gone ahead to make plans, leaving the rest of them behind.

  There was a small jolt and Scarlet balanced herself against the rail. ‘It seems we have arrived,’ she said.

  ‘Seems like it,’ Jack said.

  Scarlet turned to him. ‘Jack, there’s something I need to tell you.’

  ‘What’s that?’ Jack asked, suddenly nervous.

  ‘I hope you don’t think it too forward of me, but I think you’re one of the bravest young men I’ve ever known,’ she said. ‘I saw the way you saved Mr Doyle. He would have died out there on the snow without you. He is a great detective, but he’s not invincible. He still needs someone to look after him.’

  ‘You make me sound like a nurse,’ Jack said, proud and embarrassed at once.

  ‘Well, if you are, you’re the best around,’ Scarlet said. ‘I don’t think he has any family, does he?’

  ‘His son was killed in the war.’

  ‘I suppose you’re like a son to him now.’

  ‘I wouldn’t go that far.’

  ‘I believe I would,’ Scarlet said.

  A bell sounded. ‘Time to disembark,’ Scarlet said. ‘From here there’s only one direction.’

  He raised an eyebrow.

  ‘Up,’ she explained.

  They joined Mr Doyle, Lucy, General Churchill and Major Evans in the departure lounge. With the general in the lead, they wound their way through the structure to the elevators. Jack gazed about in wonder. Everywhere he peered, he saw French words. Along every corridor he heard people speaking in the strange French tongue. Jack had travelled to France with the circus when he was very young, but remembered little of the country or its people.

  Mr Doyle stopped to buy a variety of cheeses and filled his pockets. He turned to the others with slight embarrassment.

  ‘My apologies,’ he said. ‘Nobody makes cheese like the French.’

  They passed small groups of French troops. They were all kitted out with guns, bayonets and grenades. Many of the men were smoking. Occasionally Jack heard them break into strained laughter.

  ‘They’re ready for an invasion,’ Jack said.

  ‘They are,’ Mr Doyle said. ‘French and British troops are gathering at the border. Mr Bell and Mr Harker will be boarding the French ship, the Jeanne d’Arc, with a huge complement of military men and making their way to the Berlin Metrotower.’

  ‘So they’re attacking the tower?’ Lucy said.

  ‘They are giving the Nazis an ultimatum. Either they hand over the atomic weapons or it’s war.’

  Lucy’s bottom lip quivered. ‘Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.’

  ‘I hope not.’

  They wound their way past elevator shafts until they arrived at a tube close to the tower’s core. General Churchill led them inside. A railing ran about the circumference of the chamber. The general took a position next to Jack and gripped it.

  ‘We must all hang onto the railings during the ascent,’ Churchill warned. ‘It can be a bumpy ride.’

  The door closed. Jack heard a distant clanking sound and the elevator shuddered. It started to rise.

  ‘We now climb several miles,’ General Churchill said to Jack. ‘It’s quite a distance.’

  ‘Have you been up this tower before, sir?’

  ‘A few times,’ the general replied. ‘I was invited here when the tower was first built after the war.’ He leaned closer to Jack. ‘I understand you’ve had quite a few adventures with Mr Doyle.’

  ‘A few,’ he admitted.

  ‘We need men like you in the Army,’ the general said. ‘Young, strong, fit chaps with brave hearts.’

  ‘I’ll keep it in mind,’ Jack said, diplomatically.

  The journey seemed to take forever. After a while Jack closed his eyes, concentrating on the continual rattle as they rose higher and higher.

  He wondered how far up they were now. Many miles, he imagined. Not that he was worried. He had lost his fear of heights as a young child. His parents taught him not to be afraid of falling. Only then could they teach him to soar and fly through the air. He hoped they would not fall from here. It was a long way down.

  The elevator jarred. Jack snapped open his eyes. Major Evans glanced up at an indicator above the door.

  ‘We’re almost there,’ he announced. ‘Just another minute or two.’

  Jack stifled a yawn. Had he been asleep? He focused on Mr Doyle. The great detective looked tired as well. The last few days would have been exhausting for anyone—let alone an older man like Mr Doyle. He really did well for his age.

  The elevator jolted to a halt. They exchanged glances before the door eased open with a puff of steam.

  ‘We have arrived,’ General Churchill announced.

  They stepped into an open area with tables and chairs. Some people were sitting around drinking tea. A maid carried a tray over to them. Windows revealed the earth beneath them. The structure arced away, disappearing into cloud miles below. Entire continents and oceans spanned the surface of the globe like an enormous map. The space beyond was the deepest night Jack had ever seen. He wanted to stay and look out, but the general urged them onwards.

  ‘Must keep moving,’ he said gruffly.

  They walked into a crowded passage. People were everywhere. A group of nurses strode past with determined expressions on their faces. Soldiers stood about in groups, smoking and chatting. A woman handed out food and refreshments.

  ‘The steamers are still boarding,’ Major Evans explained. ‘There’s quite a backlog.’

  ‘How many ships are there?’ Jack asked.

  ‘Three French and four British ships,’ he said. ‘The Nazis will have to listen to reason, else they’ll have an invasion on their hands.’

  Jack swallowed. They made their way to an enormous waiting area, which reminded him of the departure lounge for a sea-going vessel. It was filled with hundreds of people. Some of them studied their watches. Others sipped drink from tightly held flasks. There was a tense mood in the air.

  As they drew closer to the windows, Jack saw a steamer outside. Hundreds of feet in length, the vessel looked like a sea-faring battleship with the top lopped away. The bridge was a slim shoebox-shaped structure in the middle of the main deck. The iron hull was riveted together with thousands of bronze-coloured studs.

  A dozen barrel-shaped propulsion nozzles, pointing towards the rear, ran along the bottom. The stern was one enormous exhaust housing; it provided most of the forward propulsion. The dry dock the ship sat in was shaped like two horizontal arms. They supported the vessel under its main deck.

  ‘That’s the Jeanne d’Arc,’ Major Evans said. ‘It’s one of the largest ships in the French Navy.’

  ‘What’s that strange colour on the underside of the hull?’ Jack asked, referring to a green tinge.

  ‘That’s Levaton,’ the major explained. ‘A bacterium engineered by the Darwinists to keep vessels afloat at high altitudes. It thrives at extreme heights.’

  ‘A good thing too,’ Mr Doyle said. ‘We’d all float off the pla
net if it survived at ground level.’

  Square frames were positioned at regular intervals along the length of the steamer.

  ‘What are the panels on the side?’ Jack inquired.

  ‘Those are the cannons,’ Major Evans replied, stroking his handsome jaw. ‘Three decks of them. Twenty-one on each deck. A steamer can fire all sixty-three at once.’ He nodded confidently. ‘Our British steamers are rather larger. The Nelson has four decks of cannons. A total of one hundred in all.’

  ‘What about the Germans? Don’t they have steamers too?’

  The major pursed his lips. ‘They do, my boy.’

  Scarlet peered down through the window. ‘I had always believed we would be weightless at this height.’

  ‘That’s a misconception,’ the major said. ‘The gravity is almost the same here as it is on earth. That weightlessness you’ve heard about is when ships are fired at great speed around the planet.’

  ‘I believe it’s a type of freefall,’ Lucy said. ‘Similar to the sensation you get at the apex of a roller-coaster ride.’

  ‘Exactly.’

  They followed the General to a docking bay where they caught up with the girls’ fathers. A long deck jutted out to the French ship. Jack felt a little awkward. They had come all this way to say goodbye to Mr Harker and Mr Bell. Both men were headed off on a dangerous mission and might never return. The girls tenderly kissed their fathers on the cheek, Scarlet dabbing at her eyes. Jack and Ignatius Doyle shook their hands and wished them luck. They gave a final wave and walked through the departure doors.

  Nobody said anything. Both Scarlet and Lucy seemed very upset. Jack tried to think of something comforting to say, but nothing sprang to mind. Mr Doyle gazed at the steamer.

  ‘Time for the major and me to go,’ General Churchill declared. ‘And for all of you to head off to the safety of home.’ He held out a hand to Mr Doyle. ‘Well done, Ignatius. We would never have come this far without you.’

  Mr Doyle shook his hand. ‘You must thank Jack as well. He risked life and limb for us.’

  The general clasped Jack’s hand. ‘Don’t forget what I said about soldiering. It’s a wonderful life and we need brave men such as yourself.’

  ‘I won’t forget,’ Jack promised.

  The entire building shuddered. An alarm started to ring.

  ‘Wait here,’ the general ordered.

  He hurried through the anxious crowd and spoke to a military man standing at a desk. They had a swift conversation.

  ‘We’re under attack,’ Churchill reported. ‘The Nazis have approached the tower with a fleet of airships and they’re firing artillery rounds into the structure. We are now in danger of collapsing. The entire structure is being evacuated.’

  Again, the tower shuddered ominously beneath them.

  Lucy’s face was black. ‘Are the Nazis insane?’

  ‘Is there time to get down?’ Scarlet asked.

  ‘We’re not going down,’ the general replied. ‘We’re leaving on the Jeanne d’Arc.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Five minutes later Jack found himself squeezed into a cabin with Scarlet and Lucy. Ignatius Doyle had gone with the general and Major Evans to evaluate the situation. Jack pushed his face against the porthole. An endless line of people crowded the covered gangway to board the ship.

  Lucy clenched her fists. ‘They have no right to keep us locked up in here!’

  ‘I suppose they are still trying to get everyone aboard,’ Scarlet said.

  ‘How can they?’ Lucy asked. ‘There are thousands of people inside the tower. We need to leave while we can.’

  Mr Doyle entered the cabin. ‘We should be departing in the next few minutes.’

  ‘What about the people on the tower?’ Scarlet inquired.

  ‘The Nazis have been chased off by a fleet of French airships. They’ve done some damage, but it appears the tower is not about to fall,’ he said. ‘As a precaution, everyone under the point of impact is being evacuated to lower levels. Anyone above is moving to the top.’

  ‘Why did the Germans attack?’ Jack asked.

  Mr Doyle gave him a nod. ‘That’s a good question, my boy.’ He sat on a bunk. ‘General Churchill believes their targets were Mr Bell and Mr Harker.’

  ‘Because they know how to find the bombs?’ Lucy asked.

  ‘Yes. And they know how to defuse them.’

  ‘So where is the Jeanne d’Arc heading?’ Scarlet asked.

  ‘We’re going into battle,’ Mr Doyle said. ‘The assault on the Paris Metrotower has forced our hand. We will be attacking the Berlin tower within the hour. A coalition of countries will make a simultaneous ground invasion into Germany.’

  ‘Which countries?’ Jack asked.

  ‘Many of our allies are involved,’ Mr Doyle explained. ‘The Prime Minister is asking world leaders for assistance. So we have troops from Spain, France, Holland and Russia. Australia may even send troops.’

  It’s war, Jack thought. How horrible.

  ‘I wonder what Germany will make of all this,’ Lucy said.

  ‘The allied troops will use minimum force, unless provoked,’ Mr Doyle explained. ‘Most of the German people are outraged that the Nazis have taken control without elections. Many of their troops are refusing to fight. Others have taken to fighting each other. We expect to reach the Berlin Metrotower with little opposition.’

  ‘So our job is to attack the top while the land troops attack the base,’ Jack said.

  ‘Very astute,’ Mr Doyle congratulated him. ‘The military men are hoping to catch the Germans in a pincer movement and seize the bombs.’

  A bell rang.

  ‘It sounds like we’re departing,’ Mr Doyle said.

  Jack went to the window. ‘There’s still a line of people.’

  ‘Other ships are arriving to take on passengers.’

  Mr Doyle was right. A fleet of steamers had assembled to evacuate the Paris tower.

  ‘And this is all because of those bombs,’ Jack said. ‘What a lot of bother over a couple of weapons.’

  ‘Those weapons mean power,’ Lucy said. ‘Absolute power.’

  ‘Well, you know what they say about absolute power,’ Mr Doyle said. ‘It corrupts absolutely.’

  Another bell rang out. The entire vessel shook as it surged away from the dry dock. Jack peered out the window. The tower arrowed down to the planet like an iron needle stabbing the earth. Smoke poured from a point midway.

  ‘I can see where the airships attacked,’ he said.

  The others grouped about the porthole.

  ‘It’s more a bee sting than an assault,’ Lucy said.

  Another alarm signalled.

  ‘What now?’ Mr Doyle wondered. He opened the door to the corridor and grabbed a passing sailor. ‘What’s the meaning of that alarm?’

  ‘That’s general quarters,’ the sailor yelled. ‘It means we’re about to attack.’

  ‘Already?’

  The sailor raced along the passage, shouting over his shoulder, ‘The German steamer Bismarck is on its way. It’s brought the war to us.’

  He disappeared from sight. Mr Doyle turned to the others. ‘It seems all hell is about to break loose. I suggest we make our way to the main lounge.’

  They started from the chamber. As they headed out, Jack saw a metal shutter dropping over the window.

  ‘They’re closing all windows,’ Mr Doyle explained. ‘To shield us from cannon fire.’

  Jack and the others headed down a corridor and took stairs to the upper decks. Two floors up, they turned along a passage and entered a hall with tables and chairs bolted to the floor, an open galley at the other end. A group of passengers was seated at the tables. An elderly lady clutched her handkerchief while a tall fellow with a long white beard stood gripping a chair.

  ‘I demand you turn this vessel around,’ he said.

  Jack heard the kitchen hand offer his apologies.

  ‘Do you know who I am?’ the stranger de
manded. ‘I’m Charles Hogan the Third. I earn more in a day than you do in a year.’

  Scarlet pushed past Jack. ‘I understand you’re not happy,’ she said to Mr Hogan.

  ‘I am most displeased,’ Hogan replied.

  She waved a finger at him. ‘I’ll have you know there are fighting men and women aboard this ship willing to sacrifice their lives for our country!’ she snapped. ‘And they don’t need complaining old men like you.’

  ‘How dare you!’ Hogan said, his face turning red.

  ‘She dares very much,’ Mr Doyle said, joining her. ‘The young lady is correct. We must stand together, now more than ever.’

  An enormous boom rang out. Hogan went pale. ‘What was that?’

  ‘I believe we have opened fire,’ Mr Doyle said.

  The shooting increased. Some ladies at the tables covered their ears in terror. Mr Doyle took the frail Charles Hogan by the arm and steered him back over to them. A series of thuds from the hull echoed through the vessel. They sat down quickly.

  ‘I imagine the Germans are returning fire,’ Mr Doyle said.

  It’s like being in a tomb, Jack thought. A huge, metal coffin.

  Once, when he was very young, he and his parents had gone wandering through an old cemetery. They had happened upon an ancient mausoleum. Someone had broken the lock on the door. Out of curiosity, they had followed the staircase to the crypt below. There had been nothing to see as the coffins were sealed behind walls, but while they were there a storm blew up. Jack had stood between his parents, each holding one of his hands as they stared out at the tempest. Lightning had flashed as thunder echoed around the damp chamber.

  That’s what the cannon fire sounded like now.

  The battle raged. The Jeanne d’Arc fired and there was the resounding thud of the Bismarck’s cannonballs striking the hull. Lucy, Scarlet and Jack exchanged glances. ‘We’ll be fine,’ Mr Doyle said. ‘I’ve been through much worse in the war.’

  The ship swayed and the globes on the gaslights trembled. A glass smashed in the galley. A lady started to weep. The steamer gave a lurch, and another lady fell to the ground. Jack leapt to his feet and hurried over. The vessel tilted, and he grabbed her arm, helping her back into her seat. Several of the women now wept in terror. Old Mr Hogan’s face had turned pale.