Becoming Zodiak Page 13

  Jimmy could not stop thinking about how he’d let his family down. There was no way they would say it, there was no way they would even think it, but it was at the forefront of his mind. They were due to arrive at any moment, Claire, Shane and Brian, and as much as he knew they would not want to hear any apologies, the first thing he wanted to do when he saw them was to throw his arms around them and say sorry.

  Then he heard the muffled voice at the door. “Jimmy, can I come in?”

  The last person he wanted to see right now was William Walsh, but, of course, given the day that he was having, Walsh was the first to appear.

  “I’m in my bedroom, Mister Walsh.”

  Walsh stepped through the doorway a moment later, a look of absolute dejection etched across his face.

  “Jimmy, my boy,” he said. “I am truly sorry.”

  He wanted to tell Walsh that he should be sorry, that Walsh had contributed to the confusion that had ruined Jimmy’s chances, but he didn’t. Brian had taught him better than that, and he understood that by not being able to clear his mind, he had been the architect of his own downfall.

  “How bad is it?” Walsh asked, grimacing at Jimmy’s visible injuries.

  “Not bad, really,” Jimmy replied. “I’ve had worse.”

  “I feel so very guilty.”

  And you should, Jimmy wanted to say, but he bit his tongue.

  “I’ve spent so much time replacing our camera crew over the last few days that I have neglected our friendship,” Walsh explained. “And for that I do feel guilty.”

  “You’ve been doing what?” Jimmy asked, unsure he’d heard right.

  “The film crew and all my editors, in fact,” Walsh continued. “They broke the rules about filming Zodiak, and then used what they’d filmed inappropriately. I’ve had a devil of a time with the unions, but it’s all done now. I’m just sorry I wasted my time on that when I could have been more supportive of you.”

  The color drained from Jimmy’s face. It was now his turn to feel guilty. He’d been so quick to think badly of Mister Walsh and then let it impact his own performance in the competition. He could feel shame heating his cheeks.

  “I’m sorry I let you down after all your help, Mister Walsh.”

  “You’ve done nothing of the sort,” Walsh said. “Now keep your chin up. Trust me, everything will turn out okay for you. Ah, here come your family. I’ll leave you to it.”

  Jimmy could hear Walsh talking with Brian in the living room as Claire and Shane came to join him in the bedroom. Claire gently hugged Jimmy close to her. Then she let him go and looked him right in the eyes.

  “I am so proud of you,” she whispered.

  “Unlucky, bro,” Shane said. “You did better than that loser Dale ever would’ve done.”

  Brian walked in. “You okay?”

  Jimmy scratched his head. “Yeah. No. I don’t know. I guess I was physically ready, but mentally, I lost it, Brian. I’m sorry.”

  Brian had a look on his face that Jimmy couldn’t quite decipher. “You say sorry if you get in trouble. You say sorry if you break a cup. You don’t owe us a sorry for trying your best. And we all saw you try your best.”

  Jimmy ducked his head. “Thanks. Thanks, all of you. I guess we head home now, huh?”

  “Actually, no,” Brian said. “Mister Walsh says we can stay as long as we like. There’s a spare bed at the hotel in Shane’s room, so Jimmy, you can stay there.” He squatted down in front of his family. “But Mister Walsh has also had a really good idea.”

  “What?” Jimmy asked.

  “He says we should watch the highlights show and talk about what you went through. It might make you feel better, he thinks, and I tend to agree.”

  “Are you saying watching Jimmy get his head blasted off…blasted off twice…is going to make him feel better?”

  “Shane!” Claire hissed.

  “You up to it?” Brian asked.

  Jimmy searched his foster father’s face for a quiet second, and then he gave a half-hearted nod. “Why not? Last chance to see myself in that arena.”

  Brian helped Jimmy out of bed and they crowded onto the sofas in front of the television.

  The opening credits were beginning to roll when the door burst open and Leo hurried into the room.

  “Jimmy! Have you heard the news?” she shouted, and was suddenly embarrassed to be met by the surprised stares of so many people. “Oh, I see you’re about to,” she finished coyly.

  “What?” Shane managed before Brian placed a hand over his mouth.

  The WWW News logo faded and Paul Jordan’s face filled the screen. He did not look his usual lively and energetic self. Jimmy wondered if his suntan had started to fade.

  “There’s scandal tonight on ‘Becoming Zodiak’ as Duane Bullock is expelled from the competition for substance misuse.”

  A picture of Duane standing on top of the ‘Bull Ring’ platform replaced Jordan.

  “Bullock tested positive for an anabolic steroid after today’s events, and further medical examination found injection marks in his left ankle. We’ll be getting the views of Martin Bull in just a moment, but first...”

  “What does all this mean?” Shane asked Leo.

  Her eyes sparkled under her golden blonde hair. “It means Jimmy’s back in the competition.”

  33

  “I can’t believe how close I am,” Jimmy said, feeling a little breathless. “I thought I’d blown it.”

  “But now the world knows that Bullock was nothing but a drug cheat,” Brian confirmed. “You deserve your place, Jimmy. But so does Varsha. You may have been dazed, but she had you in real trouble up there.”

  Jimmy nodded. The memory was still a little bit fuzzy in his head, but the way she moved around him, made it impossible for him to land a telling blow, had been impressive.

  The family was gathered in Jimmy’s dressing room, the first time any of them had been allowed in there. They would be allowed to sit with Jimmy right up until he was ready to take to the arena for his final effort. A coin had been tossed earlier, and Varsha had elected to go first. They had wished each other luck both in front of the cameras and even when the recording was over.

  “We must show the world that fair play and honesty can succeed,” she told him.

  “And that whichever one of us gets into Zodiak does it with a clear conscience,” he had responded.

  Up above, each and every seat was filled. The final preparations had been put in place. Varsha would begin her challenge in less than five minutes time, and the indoor stadium had begun to reverberate with anticipation.

  “How is that bruise?” Claire asked.

  “It’s sore,” Jimmy confessed.

  “Maybe you should get Leo to kiss it better,” Shane said with his lips pursed.

  “What should I kiss?” Leo asked, walking into the room. Both Shane and Jimmy nearly turned purple.

  “Ignore those two. Pre-match nerves,” Brian said quickly.

  “If you say so,” she said, a little perplexed and red in the cheeks herself. “I just popped down to say good luck. Give it your all, Jimmy, all right? You’ve got a second chance at this. Don’t blow it. I believe in you.”

  “Thanks, Leo. I won’t.”

  “I’d better go,” she said, then rushed across and kissed Jimmy gently on his bruise. “I take it that’s what needed kissing?” she asked, but didn’t wait for a response.

  All noise from the auditorium ceased.

  The muted tones of Paul Jordan introduced Varsha Steer filtered down into the room, and then the countdown began. The ceiling and walls of Jimmy’s changing room began to vibrate, and then, at ‘zero,’ silence fell again. Jimmy looked at Brian, shocked, but the man could only shrug in surprise.

  Suddenly, smashes, crashes, shots and ricochets rang out and the fans growled their dissatisfaction at something. The growl turned to a roar, to a wave of excitement that peaked and fell away, rose and faded time and time again until, after a single
cacophonous boom, the crowd fell silent.

  “Jimmy Taurus, three minutes,” came the call through the door.

  Brian helped Jimmy pull his lightweight body armor on over his shorts and t-shirt.

  “I believe in you,” he said.

  “Me too,” Shane said, for once serious.

  “I’m coming to visit you, no matter where this secret base is hidden,” Claire said tearfully. “I’ll have to, because you’re going to do it, Jimmy.”

  A tap on the door made Jimmy jump. “We’re ready for you.”

  “Listen to the crowd,” said Brian.

  “I can’t hear anything,” Jimmy said.

  “Exactly.”

  34

  Jimmy walked down the long corridor to those familiar sliding doors alone. His heart beat quickly and he could already feel sweat starting to bead on his forehead. He expected to see the same friendly man in the overalls waiting for him, but instead William Walsh stood there, alone as well.

  “This is it, my boy,” Walsh said. “Just go out there with confidence and act like you’re already a part of Zodiak.”

  “I will, Mister Walsh. I won’t let anyone down this time.”

  “I know, Jimmy. Good luck.” Walsh patted him on the back and walked away without another word. Jimmy cursed himself for ever doubting his new friend.

  Paul Jordan announced his name and the doors slid aside. Jimmy stepped out into the arena and, for the first time, was met with deathly silence. Scattered across the floor in front of him were dozens of different weapon. Some were handguns, others were rifles, but most looked overly complicated and Jimmy doubted he’d be able to handle any of them properly.

  The countdown to zero began and finished, but the crowd remained impassive. Jimmy spotted the paintball gun he’d used in ‘Bull’s Eye’ and sprinted towards to it. As he bent over to retrieve it, there was a whoosh to his left, and he saw Scorpio hurtle past on his motorcycle. Before he had chance to aim his gun, Leo’s hypercar throttled by on his right, the horn blaring. Both sped away to the far end of the arena and turned to face him. They paused, gunning their engines as Jimmy pointed his weapon at them in turn.

  From the darkness beyond the two vehicles, Gemini and Sagittarius ran forward. Gemini held a handgun while Sagittarius’ crossbow was trained in Jimmy’s direction. Next, the water team’s amphibian vehicle rolled into the arena, Aquarius in position on the water cannon with Capricorn and Aries flanking the craft. Jimmy guessed that Pisces was piloting.

  He froze. He didn’t know whether to attack, who to target first, or whether he should wait and see which of them made their move.

  And then it got worse.

  The arena began to vibrate as something massive began to make its way inside. Each stomp was preceded by the double hiss of a hydraulic drive.

  Phush-Phush-BOOSH.

  The terrifying sound echoed across the Dome.

  Phush-Phush-BOOSH.

  And then Jimmy saw Lord Crabbe’s exoskeleton ‘crab-craft’ stride its way into view. It was fully armored with four giant pincer arms. It looked like—as it was meant to—a robot crab rearing up on its hindmost legs. Rockets were mounted on its shoulders, and sat in the heart of it was Lord Crabbe, his hands on two joysticks that controlled the craft’s movements. He guided it into place next to Leo’s car and Jimmy braced himself for attack.

  And then he remembered:

  Act like you’re already a part of Zodiak.

  Jimmy threw his gun to the floor.

  The crowd, finally shocked out of their silence, gasped in unison.

  “I’m not going to fight you,” Jimmy shouted as loud as he could. “I’m not going to fight against Zodiak. I want to fight with Zodiak!”

  The fans exploded with yells of his name, with cheers, with roars of approval.

  The noise was only matched by the sound of Scorpio’s motorcycle. He blasted his way towards Jimmy and skidded to a stop inches away from him. The protective shell peeled back.

  “Great to have you on board. Now grab a weapon,” he said. “Because we’ve got to defeat that.”

  He pointed back towards the door through which Jimmy had entered. Jimmy turned and looked just as a squat and heavily armored robot rolled into the arena on its massive tank tracks. It’s two ‘arms’ were giant machine guns, and atop its head was a red sensor that tracked back and forth. The sensor locked on Jimmy and Scorpio and it opened fire.

  Jimmy leapt to the side, snagging the paintball gun as he dived and rolled; he wondered what good this puny weapon was meant to do against something like that, but then he saw it. The robot was firing paint too.

  The middle of the arena, where Jimmy had been stood just seconds before, was now plastered in red goo. He got to his feet and sprinted for safety as the amphibian cut off the path between him and the approaching enemy. Aquarius wasted no time and unleashed the water cannon at the robot’s head.

  The robot slowed its advance and the water seemed to interfere with its sensor. As Scorpio and Leo began to circle the robot in their vehicles, Jimmy was struck by an idea.

  “Sagittarius!” he screamed over the noise. “Aim for the sensor! We can blind it!”

  But before Sagittarius was able to line up her shot, Jimmy unleashed a volley of paintballs that hit their targets, splattering across the head of the robot and covering the red sensor with green paint. Sagittarius followed up with a bolt straight into the middle of the biggest target Jimmy’s paint had created, and the ‘face’ of the robot exploded outwards.

  “Aries! Aquarius!” Lord Crabbe instructed. “Blow out those tank tracks.”

  Aries sprinted across the arena, twisting the dial in her glove as she ran. The robot couldn’t see her coming and she was able to safely place her hand right against the tracks. A large puff of smoke billowed up into the arena and the robot began to spin in wide, lazy circles, its one side completely disabled. Aquarius put a stop to that by throwing a Frisbee-like disk at the other functioning tracks. It attached magnetically and then exploded, leaving the robot motionless.

  “The arms!” Crabbe shouted, and he hit a red button on his control console.

  A missile detached itself from the crab-craft and veered straight at the robot. At the last second, the rocket fell apart and released a huge net that engulfed the contraption, snaring its arms against its sides and dragging it onto its front, pinning it to the ground. With a final weak growl, the machine died on the floor of the arena in a pool of its own oil.

  Paul Jordan’s voice sounded out immediately across the loudspeakers within the Dome.

  “And the person joining Zodiak tonight is Jimmy Taurus!”

  Jimmy let go of the paintball gun—he was unable to hear it clatter to the floor beneath the mounting wave of noise in the arena. He raised his two fists in the air, soaking up the adoration of the crowd. In that moment, wrapped up in his exhilaration, he found a moment to picture his mother’s face and hoped that, somehow and somewhere, she was proud of him.

  35

  “You have proven yourself physically capable of being a member of Zodiak,” Virgo told a very nervous Jimmy. “But are you worthy in your heart?”

  Jimmy steeled himself, took a deep breath, and began to prepare an answer in his mind. Sweat ran down the sides of his face. His fingers trembled. After all he had faced in the arena, sitting here in his room with Virgo was by far the most nerve-wracking experience. For all of the talk of her being weak, Jimmy had never been near someone who was so intimidating. An aura of strength, of power, surrounded her, and the air seemed to buzz and crackle when she walked through a room. Her eyes were the brightest blue Jimmy had ever seen, and it was on those that he focussed, rather than the age-ravaged body that carried them.

  Jimmy opened his mouth, but Virgo raised a single finger to silence him.

  “Words can mask a multitude of shortcomings, young one,” she said, and then grasped Jimmy’s head in both her hands.

  The authority in her grip took him by surprise, an
d he almost jerked away, but Virgo’s eyes implored him to relax as a gentle smile played across her face.

  “Relax, my child,” she whispered.

  Jimmy felt a surge of energy pulse though his body. It filled his soul with something akin to a bundle of warmth, and he had a momentary flashback to sitting on the sofa with Claire and Shane, Brian stood behind them, watching the WWW News coverage of the selection programme.

  He could not take drag his eyes from Virgo’s. Her hair, as if charged by static, began to rise up and the lights of his room flickered.

  And then, as quickly as the sensation had begun, it was gone. Virgo’s hair fell to her shoulders and the room seemed to grow dim. She closed her eyes and released Jimmy’s head.

  “You are worthy,” she said, eyes still shut. “But never forget the commitment you make. You serve the light now. There can be no place in your heart for darkness.”

  “I will never let you down,” Jimmy said, his eyes moist with tears he hadn’t realized were there.

  She sat in silence for a few moments, and then she opened her eyes.

  “I believe that is so,” she said.

  Within an hour, Jimmy’s room at the top of the Dome had become, it seemed, the centre of the universe. As one of William Walsh’s film crews left after interviewing Jimmy, the man himself arrived with a bouquet of flowers for Claire and a bottle of champagne for Brian.

  “Jimmy’s success is in no small part thanks to you,” he said earnestly. “And Shane?”

  “Uh?” Shane looked shocked to hear his name. He was so focussed on the highlights show that he’d not even seen Walsh enter.

  “I’ve not forgotten you, Shane,” Walsh continued. He handed Shane a gold credit card. “That will give you free access to any of WWW’s studios. And that includes live sport.”

  Shane was gobsmacked, and his mouth dropped open in a big, drooping ‘O.’

  “Now that’s the biggest ‘thank you’ anyone could ever get off Shane,” Brian explained. “But from all of us, thanks for everything.”