Читать книгу The Darkening King - Justin Fisher, Justin Fisher - Страница 17

ell?” urged Ned’s mum.

“Yes, who? Who knows?” reiterated his dad.

Mr Fox looked rather awkward. It was clearly a state which he was not unaccustomed to being in.

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you.”

At this point both of Ned’s parents, and in truth Ned himself, became more than a little irate.

“You don’t trust us?!” said Olivia Armstrong in a dangerously quiet voice. “Well, of all the … First of all, you blow our mission moments before it comes good, then you kidnap us, then you lead us round your base and show us all this intel and now – if I’m hearing you right – you aren’t going to actually tell us anything USEFUL!”

Olivia Armstrong was seething and Ned had no doubt that she was about to fly into another arm-bashing tirade.

“Madam, first of all I would like to remind you that, though Benissimo is indeed in charge of this operation, you are standing in the base that I built, and I am not one for emotional outbursts, unless coming directly from my superiors in the BBB, of which there are only two. More importantly, however, I am unable to tell you who holds the knowledge, because your unkillable friend here has not actually told me.”

Ned’s mum quietened. “Oh.”

Benissimo signalled to Tinks and the network’s screen turned black.

“It’s not ideal, but the more people that are kept in the dark, the wider the chink in my brother’s armour. Atticus is still trying to manipulate the Twelve and its pinstripes, though they’re beginning to see through his lies, and the Hidden are more vulnerable than ever. We are on a knife edge – everything, and I do mean everything, depends on the secrecy of our operation. Barbarossa’s arrogance is our best weapon, and the weaker he believes us to be, the better our chances. The Hidden have split into untrusting pockets, barely threaded together by their leaders. I’ve spent months reaching out to them in secret and few of them know what the plan of attack will be once they’re called.”

“Then who actually does know?” asked Ned.

“Me,” said Benissimo.

At that Mr Fox looked slightly, if not openly, irritated.

Benissimo continued, “I leave tonight, and if this informant of ours is right, we will have ourselves a route to victory.”

“And what are we supposed to do till you come back?” asked Ned’s dad.

“Nothing, old friend, for now. When I return, if I return, I will – and not for the first time – be asking you all for everything.”