/Anne. Don't respond until I tell you to. Write this down./
Rachel almost fell out of her chair. She looked around the classroom as she grabbed a pencil. Miss Guthrie was still lecturing, successfully making her literature class hate any book she mentioned. Or perhaps that was just the views of teenage girls, most of whom looked close to sleep.
/Tell Christopher we'll meet at the Dorchester, normal time, next Friday. Let him know as soon as possible. Got it?/
/Got it./
/Good. The guests are well?/
/Yes. Wait - /
/Good./
Rachel looked at the paper in front of her. "Emma?" It was stupid speaking, as Rachel could feel that the psychic connection was gone, but how had Emma done it? How had she reached out?
"Did you have a comment, Miss Summers?"
Rachel looked up at Miss Guthrie, who didn't look as though she wanted to be in class either.
"No - I, ah, I feel very faint, miss. I think I'm going to - I don't feel well."
"Right. You look as white as a sheet. Miss Pryde, escort Miss Summers to the nurse's room, will you. I don't want her passing out in the hallway."
Rachel stuffed the piece of paper into her pocket, and Kitty took her by the arm, all eyes on them as Kitty carefully lead Rachel out of the classroom. Alone in the hallway, Rachel pulled the paper out.
"We need to get help."
"I know, I'm taking you to the nurse."
"No, that's not what I mean," Rachel said, shoving the paper in Kitty's hand.
"What is this?"
"I just got a telepathic message from Emma. How she got around the blocks I have no idea. I'm sure she's still across the Channel, and, well… She called me Anne, which is my middle name, and said this has to go to Christopher, which is Nathan's middle name, but - "
"It's also your dad's," said Kitty. "It's a code. This message, it's a code."
"Emma doesn't even like the Dorchester. Her favourite is Claridge's."
"I don't think this is about hotels," Kitty said, reading the note.
"We need to give it to dad. Right now. It's urgent. I can't psi-call him because of the blocks in his office. When's the next train?" Rachel asked, knowing that Kitty had the timetable memorised.
"We won't make the two-twenty-five, then there's the two-forty, but it's stopping all stations. We need to get there quicker."
"We don't have the money for a cab."
"Come on!" Kitty said, running down the hallway, Rachel at her heals. They ran up stairs, and stopped outside another classroom. "Wait there," Kitty said, knocking on the door.
"Come in."
"Excuse me, Professor," Kitty said, the most innocent expression on her face. "Deputy-headmistress has asked to see Miss Rasputin, please."
"Miss Rasputin," Professor Parker said, pushing his spectacles up his nose, "With Miss Pryde, please."
Waiting in the hallway, Rachel could feel the eyes of the class watching Illyana move through the tables, all wondering what she had done to be called to the deputy-headmistress's office, but was beginning to understand Kitty's plan.
"Kitty, what does - oh, hello Rachel."
"Hello Illyana," Rachel said.
"Illyana, we need to go to London. Right now," Kitty said.
"Westminster," Rachel specified, knowing just how big London was and how likely Illyana was to put them in the middle of the City, miles from where Scott worked.
"Do we have permission?" Illyana asked.
"Kind of?" Kitty said.
"Oh. Yes, then."
"Hats and coats first!" Kitty said, again taking off with a run. "We can't turn up in the capital in tunics and shirt-sleeves."
The girls ran down to the locker room to collect their belongings.
"London." Illyana said, pulling her sword out of what seemed like no where.
"Westminster," Kitty said, buttoning up her coat.
"Not in the Abbey, though," Rachel added, imagining the horror of materialising there.
Illyana waved her sword, and before they could blink, the school had disappeared, and the girls were standing in the middle of Westminster Square, the Abbey behind them, the Houses of Parliament to their right, and Whitehall straight ahead.
"Come on," said Rachel, grabbing her gloves out of her coat pocket and pulling them on.
"We look like school girls," Illyana observed, putting her sword inside her coat. Neither Kitty nor Rachel bothered to ask how it fitted or where exactly it went.
"We are school girls," Kitty said.
"Everyone is looking at us. There are a lot of men here. Does the King live near here?"
"Sort of," Rachel said. "Just up there a bit."
"Can we see him?"
"No."
"Are we going to see Mr Churchill? I like him on the wireless."
"We're going to my father," Rachel said.
"Oh. Will you not see him tonight?" Illyana asked. Rachel wished she'd just stop talking.
"Yes," Rachel said, "But we need to see him now. Tonight might be too late."
"We're on a secret mission," Kitty said.
"For the war?" Illyana asked.
"Yes."
"Do we get to save the day? That is what happens in stories."
"Perhaps," said Kitty. "That would be rather grand."
A couple of minutes later, and they stood out the front of the War Office.
"Now what?" Illyana asked.
"Hold my hands," Kitty said. Rachel and Illyana each took a hand. "Rach, you might want to - make us kind of invisible or whatever it is you do."
"Understood," Rachel said, and removed the three girls from the thoughts of those in the street around them.
"This might feel a bit odd," Kitty said, as they walked straight at - and through - the solid closed doors. Inside was a large foyer, and big staircase.
"Where is Mr Summers?" Illyana asked.
"His office is upstairs," Rachel said, "Come on."
As they walked towards the stairs, Rachel could feel people watching them, her telepathy no longer working inside the building.
"Look like we're supposed to be here."
"We're not. We look like school girls, who should be at school."
"Yes, thank-you, Illyana," Rachel said, "It's so annoying that the building's protected. I get why Emma works up in Marylebone."
"So what do we do?" Kitty asked.
"Walk faster."
The girls started up the stairs, when someone called after them. "Hullo! What are you girls doing in here? Hey! You girls!"
"Run!" Kitty said, and they broke into a run, Rachel taking the lead towards Scott's office as fast as she could.
"Get back here! Someone catch those girls."
"Dad!" Rachel called, a name to which three-quarters of the men seemed to answer to, turning as they heard the name. "Dad!"
Rachel could hear heavy footsteps behind them, and wished they'd had more time to come up with a better plan than just walk straight into the War Office. She took a sharp left into the corridor which lead to Scott's office. "Dad!"
The door opened and Rachel ran right into him.
"Rachel?"
"Dad!"
"Katherine. Illyana?"
"Good afternoon, Mr Summers."
"Mr Summers, sir, these girls here, sir, they, they - "
"They're my daughters," Scott said.
"All of 'em, sir?"
"Well," Scott said, quite confused and oddly embarrassed. "Not the blonde one. And Katherine's - yes. Yes, they're mine."
"They broke into a secure government building, sir. They - "
"I got a message from Emma," Rachel said.
"Very good. Thank-you for your diligence, Mr Toynbee," Scott said, ushering the girls inside his office, and closing the door to Mr Toynbee.
"From Emma?" Scott asked.
"Yes. A psi-message. She reached out," Rachel said.
"Are you all right?" Scott asked.
Rachel nodded.
"Is Emma?"
"Here," Kitty said, pulling the piece of paper out of her pocket.
"It's a code," Scott said, reading the message. "Emma would never go to the Dorchester."
"She prefers Claridge's," Kitty said.
"Exactly."
"Do you know what it means?" Kitty asked.
"Hang on," Scott said, sitting down at his desk, and opening his second draw and rummaging through the papers there. "Don't think that you're not in trouble for skipping school. You are. Lots of trouble. All the trouble. Very naughty. But I'm very proud and you've done the right thing and Emma would be very proud and, ah. Here it is." Scott unfolded the piece of paper and compared the two.
"'Next Friday' means tomorrow morning," Kitty said, reading upside down.
"Oh dear," Scott breathed.
"What?" Rachel asked.
Scott folded up the paper before Kitty could work out the rest. "Girls, I - you need to go back to school. Come on." Scott stood up and headed for the door.
"Illyana teleported us here. We've only missed half a class," Rachel said, hoping that Scott wouldn't send them back.
Scott looked at them. "Can you teleport out of here, then?"
"Yes, Mr Summers, sir," Illyana said, opening her coat and pulling out her sword.
"Huh," Scott said, a small smile on his lips having not seen Illyana's sword before. "I wondered how you three were always going off on adventures. Always be surprising, girls. Miss Rasputin, thank-you for assisting today."
"It is more fun than maths. Later we will meet the King."
Scott raised an eyebrow.
"Never mind," Kitty said. "Lost in translation."
Scott nodded. "Back to school."
"What's happening?" Rachel asked, noticing an atmospheric change in the room.
Scott kissed Kitty on the head, then Rachel. "I'll call later."
"Dad!"
"Ray, please. Please go back to school."
"Is Emma in trouble?"
"Rachel…"
"Because we can help, I can - "
"Rachel, you already have. More than you know. Please, please trust me," Scott said, looking between Rachel and Kitty.
Rachel sighed and nodded. Scott stepped back as Illyana waved her sword, and a moment later, they were standing back locker room. No one spoke for a few moments.
"I guess I better go back to class," Illyana said, taking off her coat, and headed back up the stairs.
"Let's go and see Nurse Reyes," Kitty said, "Just so our alibi checks out."
Rachel nodded, and followed Kitty down the hallway, a knot forming in her stomach. "He's going to save Emma and the others."
"I know," Kitty said. She slowed down until Rachel walked beside her, then put her arm around Rachel's shoulder, "And he can only do so because of us."
"I just don't want my family hurt."
"I know."
"It's not fair. We could help."
"I know," Kitty said, "Believe me, Rachel, I want to help too, but it's out of our hands."
"We just have to hope the grown-ups can pull it off."
Kitty chuckled, "Something like that. But they'd be lost without us."