Two Tribes, page 24
part #1 of Young Atlanteans Series
‘Don’t worry. The house will sub ya. You can owe me,’ Cooney said, slyly, to low chuckles around the table.
JJ had to school his face. Xavier would be thinking the same thing: Cooney sought to trap them into debt to him. The evening would be tricky. They’d need to win enough to pay back the house and not too big as to anger him. He had to keep face.
‘Deal,’ JJ said, with his most brilliant fake grin. A guy next to Cooney counted them each out a thousand pounds. He took the money and put a couple of hundred into the pot. ‘When will we get a chance to thank Mr Rasputin personally?’ JJ said.
‘How do you know he’s not here already?’ Cooney said with a sly smile.
JJ’s heart missed a beat at his obvious blunder. He absolutely knew there was no other Atlantean in the room, but Cooney didn’t know that. Does he know? he quickly threw at Xavier.
I don’t think so, Xavier flipped back. I think he’s just trying to unsettle us.
JJ relaxed a little. ‘Just a hunch,’ he said, looking at the idiots around the table and not hiding it.
Cooney chuckled, proving he was much cleverer than he looked.
‘I mean, no one looks particularly Russian,’ he added, just to cover himself.
Cooney studied him shrewdly.
‘You’re the quiet one,’ Cooney said, directly to Xavier.
‘Not always. Just observing,’ Xavier said.
‘The clever one,’ Cooney said, with a devilish look towards JJ.
JJ smirked. The divide and conquer routine would never work on them, they were too close. They would fight to death for the crown, but that was their personal business and no paltry human would ever come between that.
The game wore on. JJ made sure he lost bigger than he won and Xavier followed suit. All the while, Cooney was making jibes at their expense. JJ had become used to it in the human world. Men with fragile egos, seeing him as some rich, entitled kid who needed taking down a peg or two, to make themselves feel better.
However, after totting up in his head that they owed the house around three thousand pounds, he made sure he won the last hand. Then both he and Xavier stood up, leaving the pile of money on the table. ‘I believe that makes us square,’ he said, tipping his head towards it.
Cooney narrowed his eyes at being outwitted. His mind was already whirring on a much cleverer opponent than he first realized. Then he pointed and clicked his fingers over his shoulder. ‘I almost forgot.’
One of his men handed him a square, manilla-wrapped package. He threw it towards him on the table. ‘Your first job … Rasputin asked me to give you this.’
‘What is it?’ JJ asked, picking up the box about the size and shape of a book.
Cooney shrugged dramatically, protruding his bottom lip. ‘Dunno. He was just clear he didn’t want anyone else opening it.’
‘Who’s it for, then?’ JJ asked, turning it over in his hands in an attempt to guess what it could be.
‘Your father.’
JJ and Xavier immediately froze and locked eyes. Even though they had two of them, it could mean only one thing. This Rasputin was definitely the Atlantean they’d been sensing and they finally knew what he was after: he wanted contact with the king.
‘He stressed it was for nobody else’s hands but his.’
* * *
‘What do you think it is?’ Xavier said, as he and JJ stared down at it on the kitchen counter.
JJ shook his head. ‘I have no idea. It’s too light for a book.’
‘What if it’s explosives?’ Xavier said, the idea suddenly occurring to him. Their father was under constant threat from people who’d like to tumble the Atlantean monarchy.
JJ looked at him sardonically. ‘I think our mystery crime lord is too clever and too greedy to be a terrorist. No, he’ll want something from him.’
Xavier relaxed a little. JJ was right, although it was unsettling that the guy had managed to sniff out the royal children for his line of communication. So whatever it was, it was Atlantean specific. ‘I say we open it,’ Xavier said, looking JJ straight in the eye and seeing his greed and desire reflected there. He laughed. There was no way they weren’t going to open it.
‘Go on then,’ JJ said, pushing the brown package closer to him.
Xavier rolled his eyes, gingerly picked up the parcel and began to untie the string. ‘Will we still deliver it?’
JJ frowned. ‘Depends what it is.’ He nodded towards it to hurry him along. ‘All the while this guy is waiting for us to do it, we have the upper hand.
JJ was right. He ripped off the last of the paper to reveal an old green and burgundy, patterned wooden box. On closer inspection, it had been painstakingly painted with fern leaves edged in deep red. A work of art in itself.
‘Open it,’ JJ urged, nudging his arm.
Xavier clumsily lifted the lid off the box. The whole thing felt very old and flimsy. Inside was a yellowed envelope with a blood-red wax seal. ‘Now what do we do?’ Xavier said, knowing full well if they opened it, they’d need to crack the wax and there would be no way of recreating the seal. It would have been pressed from a ring or a stamp somewhere and was exactly why the method was created, i.e., their father would know it had been opened.
‘To hell with it,’ JJ said, walking away and then back again in frustration.
Xavier lifted it up to his eyeline to look closely at the wax.
‘What is it?’ JJ said.
‘This was sealed a very long time ago. The wax is crumbling slightly, see?’ Xavier held it up so JJ could move in closer to see it.
Xavier wasted no more time. He passed JJ the envelope, took out his keys from his pocket, found the small penknife and opened it quickly. Then he took the envelope and, placing it on the kitchen side, very carefully and painstakingly slid the blade under the thick wax. It took no time at all to separate it from the paper underneath. The triangle opened, temptingly. ‘Go ahead,’ Xavier said, not wanting to be the one who actually looked at it first. ‘It might be cursed.’
JJ tutted, opened the leaf and pulled out the folded piece of delicate, browned paper.
‘What does it say?’ Xavier said, bumping his shoulder to see.
There was a green and red crest, with similar leaves to the design on the box, and symbols in rows going from top to bottom that looked like stick men and circles. His heart began to slowly sink. He’d seen this type of writing before, in the library at home. Neither of them had been good students of Atlantean Antiquities, which meant that they couldn’t read it. And to enlist someone who could, would immediately expose what they’d done. ‘What shall we do?’ Xavier said, wanting to throw it at the wall in frustration.
JJ shook his head, looking as disappointed as he was. He went to the drawer and took out a candle.
‘What are you going to do with that?’ Xavier said, alarmed.
JJ lit the burner on the stove and put the candle under the flame. ‘Put the letter back in the envelope.
Xavier, seeing where he was going with it, slipped the paper back inside. JJ placed it back on the countertop and very carefully dripped two small drops of wax in the place where the seal had joined to the envelope. It was clear to see as it had left a red stained ring. Then he pushed it down and held it for a full minute.
It worked. He held it up to his eyeline with a grin. ‘See? Good as new. We can deliver it and no one will know it was opened.’
Xavier smiled, unconvinced. He felt a gnawing pain in the bottom of his stomach. There was something far deeper going on here than organized crime.
* * *
JJ worked with Xavier on their proposal to the Department for Education after that. It had to be watertight to convince Dr Henry. It was long and complicated and had to include a good business plan to fund it through a dummy corporation. Then they had to work out how to make real money after that. There was only so long before their father would demand to know where huge sums of his money were being syphoned off to.
After many after-hours hypothetical questions to their father’s legal team and accountants, and working way into the night, they finally emailed their proposal to Dr Henry and eventually slept. In fact, they stayed in bed for most of the next day. JJ’s eyes strayed to the re-wrapped package a few times from his makeshift bed on the sofa. ‘Do you think Dad will know him?’ he said, when he sensed Xavier was awake too.
‘Hard to say,’ he replied, straight away. Proving it was on his mind as well. ‘He might have heard of him.’
‘We don’t even know what that is,’ JJ said. Still not believing the guy was sponsoring their new lifestyle and they had no idea who he really was.
JJ’s new bed came later that day and he placed it at the opposite end of the loft to Xavier. It was in the next best place. Partitioned off, behind a wall of glass bricks, close to the large walk-in shower and dressing room. He went back to bed after that and went into a heavy sleep, where a faceless male watched from the shadows and moved just out of his reach.
* * *
By the time Monday came and they rode the short distance to school in Xavier’s shiny new car, they were ready to make their pitch to the headmaster. He would have studied their business plan, which, long term, meant changing the school to opt into the independent system and they arrived thirty minutes before school for their appointment with Dr Henry.
They parked just around the corner which still raised a few eyebrows. JJ had insisted on not parking in the teachers’ car park. Students just didn’t drive to school at all and teachers drove small, sensible hatchbacks with miles on the clock.
‘Way to be conspicuous,’ JJ said, getting out and trying not to catch anyone’s eye. Xavier laughed. ‘Oh chill out, JJ. It’s time we came out of our shell.’
CHAPTER 27
‘Ah, boys. Sit down.’ Dr Henry stood and held out his arm to indicate the two chairs facing him on the other side of the desk. JJ had forgotten just how tall and rotund he was.
While he spoke, he appeared to be searching behind them for someone else. ‘I read your proposal. Very interesting indeed. I was hoping your father would be with you, given what you said you wanted to discuss. Finance can be tricky waters to navigate,’ he said with a nervous laugh that didn’t sound promising. Like they were about to get the ‘come-see-me-in-ten-years’ conversation.
JJ and Xavier exchanged a look. ‘We’ve come up with some ideas to help the school ourselves, sir,’ JJ said, turning and facing him directly, crossing his leg over his knee as he’d seen his father, Jay, do all the time, when he wanted to show he was relaxed and confident.
Dr Henry caught it and any discomfort at letting them down gently changed to mildly amused. ‘Well, I’m all ears,’ he said, leaning back in his chair, clearly humouring them.
JJ hid his rising frustration and went for painting a picture of their overall vision. He was hoping to light an ember in Dr Henry that, with minimal powers of suggestion, would get him on their side. ‘We want to create a school in the heart of South London, where children young and old, from parents, no matter how poor, can enjoy good facilities, great teaching, school trips, books … everything they need to go on and become anything they want.’
Dr Henry let out an exasperated breath and couldn’t hide his impatience. ‘Yes, that’s all well and good, but this is the real world, boys. Camberwell. What you propose will take money.’
JJ wanted to build it up slowly, logically, so their takeover happened naturally. They needed to not only get it past Dr Henry, but also win over the parents and not alert the governors and authorities overseeing the school, so mind control on its own would never work. Funding had to appear to have a watertight business front from seemingly genuine companies. His father’s legal team were already on it, moonlighting for them at a profit, with client confidentiality, of course. So while JJ very carefully entered Dr Henry’s mind creating positive responses, he laid out their very feasible plan aloud. ‘After the initial cash injection from some of my father’s companies, we have a number of ideas we’d like to introduce over time, but we thought we’d start with a shop. One that sells everything a kid needs to go here: uniform, stationery and even snacks.’
‘And a crèche,’ Xavier added. ‘For mothers connected with the school who work, older siblings, even some that go here, you know.’
JJ looked at him, feeling like he’d seen him for the first time. They’d lightly tossed the idea between them, but it was obvious Xavier had given it a lot more thought and it was clear who it was for. Paige. Another painful twist in his chest. He faced Dr Henry again as he was speaking, but his mind was still on Xavier.
‘Well. I have to say, I’m impressed. I applaud your industriousness. But tuck shops have been tried before and rarely turn over the kind of revenue you’re talking about.’
‘Not like this, sir. It could go in the old gym store, sir. It would be a lot bigger than any school as ever seen. Eventually, it could be like a small mall. Employing parents. Giving back to the community.
Dr Henry looked impressed, but, JJ could tell, he still thought it was all a pipe dream. ‘And the crèche. There are strict laws governing that type of thing.’
‘And we will learn them,’ Xavier said, making JJ stare at him again. ‘The old drama block has been out of use for some time. It’s single story, separate from the school for the noise. Instead of being demolished, it could be easily renovated, fenced-off, gated and kid-proofed to all the specifications.’
JJ watched his brother, amazed as Xavier got out some papers from a folder he was carrying, obviously prepared. ‘I took the trouble of having these plans drawn up, sir. There isn’t too much structural work needed. A lot of it is superficial.’
JJ was literally gobsmacked, but so impressed. This was what love could do for a person. He’d never seen Xavier so enthused and interested in anything, let alone kids. He was moved and happy for him. Still, as he turned and faced Dr Henry again, JJ hardened. Kids, love and a happy ever after, were not in the story for him, so he refused to give it head space. It was much more productive to think of how perfect a crèche would be to pave the way for some of the more dubious things they had planned down the line – ideas they wouldn’t be telling Dr Henry about. Then, by the time he found out, they’d be in too deep to change anything.
‘Tell me honestly though, boys, how far is your father backing you in all this?’ Dr Henry asked, narrowing his eyes.
Xavier jumped in again, just as JJ was about to open his mouth. ‘This is our venture, our ideas, but our father’s initial capital through several of his companies, so you have no worries there. He is keen for us to show him our business acumen.’
JJ faced Dr Henry again, raising his eyebrows as if to say, ‘like he said’. The truth was, he felt bewildered and unprepared in comparison. As if he didn’t know his own brother at all right then. They’d clearly grown further apart than he thought.
Dr Henry’s chair creaked as he hoisted up his weight and began a slow stroll around the room with his hands behind his back. He went over to his window and watched the lines of children filtering into the school. ‘I just don’t know, boys. Your ideas are admirable—'
‘Don’t you want to be the headmaster who really makes a difference around here?’ Xavier said, turning in his seat to watch him.
JJ was still in a daze at his brother’s behaviour, but shook himself out of it to speak up. ‘It’s a big step, Dr Henry, we know. But we promise you that if you put the application in, the money will come, one way or another.’
‘Our father would never allow the school to flounder,’ Xavier added.
JJ looked from his brother back to the headmaster and nodded. It was true, their father wouldn’t, but they’d never let it get to the point where their father had to take over. Then he gave Dr Henry the final mental nudge he needed.
The effect on Dr Henry was immediate and obvious. He came back around to his side of the desk, took a piece of paper and began scribbling numbers, doing the math.
‘It can really work, sir,’ JJ added while he wrote.
He finally stopped writing and looked up and studied them both, staring at him expectantly. Then he let out a long breath and shook his head. ‘I’m going to say, maybe. Let’s send in the application to change the school’s status, and if you can get me some more solid information about the finance from your father – better still, a meeting with him, himself, then we’ll go from there. OK?’
JJ and Xavier both laughed delightedly, got to their feet and shook Dr Henry’s hand. They could iron out those wrinkles later.
Dr Henry’s loud laughter boomed along with them. He was a true educator. JJ already knew from his little venture into his mind that there was no self-aggrandisement here. This was all for the good of the kids and the school to him. What can I say, boys, I’m so impressed. How did you come up with it all? What inspired you?’
JJ relaxed a little. He prided himself on being a good judge of character and Dr Henry was one of the good ones. He’d know it even without the soft pulsing tones in his aura. It was the way he hadn’t once mentioned profit, only what could be done. ‘We came from a very privileged school before here, sir.’
‘We decided we want to improve the school environment for everyone,’ Xavier added.
JJ studied his brother as he went on about the disparity between the classes and what he was saying wasn’t wrong. And it was true, their father was trying to teach them something, only it wasn’t to carve out their kingdom just yet, in South London.
‘Very well,’ Dr Henry said, hauling his weight out of the chair again. He came out from behind his desk, walked to the door and opened it for them. ‘Let me look into it. Make a few enquiries about permits and the legalities of it. And if your father’s people can contact me, hopefully I’ll have more answers for you by the end of the week. Then he shook both their hands jovially as they left. JJ wasn’t sure if he felt happy or not.
