Page 25

Alex

“You’re leaving?” Noah paused in the act of pouring himself a drink from the small bar area in his office and stared at Alex in disbelief.

“Yes.” Alex lifted his head, his jaw jutting out obstinately. “I want to develop my designs, and you’ve made it perfectly clear that’s not going to happen here, so I’ve found somewhere else.”

“So, what – you walked into a bank, and they agreed to hand over millions to you, of all people?” Noah raised a sceptical eyebrow.

“That – there – is precisely why I have to get out of this toxic environment and go somewhere I’m appreciated,” Alex said tightly.

“Why would anyone invest in the untried ideas of a complete novice?”

“Because I’ve found someone who believes in me, and, let’s face it, Dad, you don’t.”

“Who are you talking about? What have you got yourself into, Alex?”

“I’ve found an investor. I don’t need Lytton AV anymore.”

“Who is this investor?” Noah asked sharply.

“It’s none of your business.”

“Seriously – who would give you money? Who would take that risk, given your reputation? ”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake! It always comes back to that, doesn’t it? You look at me and see the kid who screwed up, and you never allow me to be anything else. I got a first-class degree in a subject I hated, I put in time on the factory floor, but nothing I do will ever be good enough for you.”

“That’s not true, but you haven’t earned it yet.”

“It is true!” Alex roared. “It’s always been about Charles for you.”

“Your brother applied himself to something. He worked hard, put everything into his rowing, and he wasn’t expelled from three different schools because of his bad attitude.”

“You and Mum were so busy with Charles that you wouldn’t have noticed I existed if I hadn’t been expelled.”

“So, this is all about getting my attention?”

“No! This is about me.”

“It’s always about you. You’re a selfish brat who thinks only of himself – you always have been, and you always will be.”

“No! That’s the box you’ve put me in, and I can see now that you’ll never let me out. Even when Mum was alive, you didn’t believe in me.”

“Don’t you dare throw your mother’s name at me when it’s your fault she isn’t here!”

For several long seconds they stood facing each other, in shocked silence. Then Alex felt a wave of icy calm sweep through him. “It’s George Tyler,” he said quietly. “He’s giving me the money to develop my designs.”

“Tyler?” Noah looked stunned. “You’ve got to be kidding me. George Tyler? You went to him , of all people?” He slammed his untouched glass of whisky onto the bar, causing the contents to spill everywhere.

“He believes in me, which is more than I can say of you.”

“Don’t be so na?ve. He doesn’t believe in you – he’s using you.”

“Is it so hard for you to accept that someone believes in me, even if you don’t?”

Noah grabbed him by both arms. “No, listen to me, Alex. Tyler would do anything to get back at me, and he’s using you for that.”

“So, it’s all about you now?” Alex gave a twisted grin .

“You don’t understand. You have no idea what you’re dealing with – Tyler hates me as much as I hate him.”

“Yeah, he told me about how you offered to take him on as an IS after you left university. I’m not surprised he turned that down.”

“Is that what he told you?”

“Is it a lie?”

“No, it’s true.” Noah released his grasp. “I did. I don’t deny I made some mistakes, but that isn’t why he hates me – or, at least, it’s not the only reason. He’s a bitter, envious man.”

“He’s rich, he owns a massive corporation, and he’s far more successful than you – why the hell would he be envious of you?”

“Because of your mother.”

“What?” That brought Alex up short.

Noah rubbed a weary hand over his forehead. “George was in love with her at university, but she chose me. He’s sure she only married me because of my family’s wealth, and he’s furious about that because he thinks my family built our fortune on the back of his father’s talent. He’s still bitter about it, even now.”

Alex stared at him. “I don’t believe you.”

“Well, it’s true. He hated me from afar while your mother was alive, in deference to her, I suppose, but since she died, he’s squeezed us every way he can. That’s partly why Lytton AV is suffering so much right now. He’s got influence, and he’s been using it against us. Yes, he’s a success, but he got there by being a ruthless operator.”

“I like him,” Alex said stubbornly.

“He’s using you to get back at me. First, he targets my company, and now he wants to take away my heir. That’s what this is all about – not your designs. Sorry to disappoint you, son.”

Alex shook his head, vehemently, refusing to believe it. “I’m not giving this up.”

“I’m not surprised.” Noah gave a rueful smile. “For all your faults, nobody could ever accuse you of lacking tenacity. I can only tell you that it’s a mistake.”

“I don’t care,” Alex said defiantly. He wanted this, and he was going to make it work, regardless of Tyler’s motives. “I’m still going ahead. I’ll move out of the flat, of course. ”

Noah sighed. “There’s no need for that.”

“Why, so you can continue to use Neil to spy on me?”

His father had the grace to look embarrassed. “I wanted him to be your friend. I thought you liked him.”

“You thought wrong.”

“I’m sorry about that. I hope you’ll stay on in the flat, though, because I want to know you’re safe, and that you have a roof over your head when it all goes wrong.”

“It won’t.”

“If it does…” Noah waved a hand tiredly, as if all the fight had left him. “Also, I want you to know that you can always come back to Lytton AV.”

“That’s never going to happen.”

“Fine.” Noah slumped down in his chair. “Take care, son, and don’t be a stranger; you’re always welcome at The Orchard. Charles enjoys your visits.”

“But not you.”

“Not if we’re going to argue all the time.” Noah shrugged. “So maybe you leaving is for the best.”

Alex rocked back on his heels. “Maybe it is. We keep letting each other down. Maybe we should stop pretending and call it a day.”

“I don’t think I’ve let you down, but you clearly do, so…” Noah spread his arms wide in a gesture of futility.

“Yes, you have, Dad,” Alex said quietly. “You’ve been punishing me for Mum’s death for years, and I can’t keep on taking it. I have to go.”

“Fine. Then go.”

They stared at each other for a moment, and then, turning on his heel, Alex strode out of his father’s office.

That hadn’t gone the way he’d planned. He’d wanted this to be his moment of triumph, sweeping out against his father’s will to go where he’d be liked and appreciated. Instead, Noah had made it clear he was glad to be rid of him and would only accept him back if he came crawling on his hands and knees.

“Fuck!” he roared, kicking the door of the outer office as he left. He briefly registered Spencer’s shocked look before storming out.

Heading back to the flat, he retrieved one of the packets of croc Solange had given him. He inhaled it so quickly that he almost choked and then threw himself on the bed, trying to rid himself of the image of his father’s wounded, defensive stare.

He fished out his mother’s scarf from under his pillow and inhaled what remained of her scent. He’d taken it to her funeral, stuffed into his jacket pocket, and now the memory of that day flashed vividly into his mind.

His father didn’t say a word to him on the journey there. They both sat stiffly, side by side, gazing out of their respective windows. The press were at the crematorium in force, crowding around as he left the AV.

“Alex – how’s Charles?”

“He’s doing okay, thanks,” he said, trying to push his way through.

“But he’s not well enough to be here today? How does he feel about missing his mum’s funeral?”

Alex didn’t know what to say. He was anxious about the amount of people pressing in on him, waving their microphones in his face. He’d never liked crowds.

“Leave the kid alone!” one of the funeral directors bellowed, coming to his rescue. “For Christ’s sake – he’s only seventeen, and it’s his mum’s funeral. Have some respect.”

The man helped him fight through the scrum and into the safety of the crematorium. Family, friends, and complete strangers turned to look at him, and he wondered if he’d ever get used to being scrutinised so closely. Some of them gave him disapproving stares, while others shot him pitying smiles. He wasn’t sure which was worse. Nobody came to speak to him; maybe they didn’t know what to say.

He took his seat beside his cold, silent father and put his hand in his pocket, searching for his mother’s scarf. It was his lifeline throughout the day as he tried desperately hard not to cry.

His father didn’t say a word to him during the service, or afterwards, as they walked back to the AV. The press pounced on him again, and this time the funeral director wasn’t there to protect him .

“How was the service, Alex? How are you holding up?”

“When’s the court case, Alex? Are you pleading guilty?”

“Is it true you were off your head on croc when you crashed the duck, Alex?”

They swarmed in on him, and he looked around for help. Noah had escaped into the waiting AV ahead. Maybe he didn’t know his son was trapped behind him, cornered by the press.

“Dad! Wait… Dad. Please…” he called. But his father sat in the AV, looking straight ahead, ignoring him.

Tripping over someone’s foot, he fell onto one of the cameras and cut his lip, hurting his injured thigh as he went down. Yelping, he pressed his hand over it, trying to ease the pain. Hauling himself up, he limped pathetically over to the AV. He saw people he knew, friends of his mother, clustered over to one side, watching, but none of them came to his aid.

He put his hand in his pocket and clutched the scarf tightly, the familiar feel of the silk steadying him. He battled the last few yards to the waiting duck and climbed inside.

“Didn’t you hear me calling for help?” he asked his father, pressing his handkerchief to his bleeding lip as he sat down.

“You have to get used to the press,” Noah replied impassively. “They’ll be like this until the trial – and probably after, as well – until all the fuss has died down.”

“I won’t go out unless I have to, then.” He knew that he’d lost any right to his father’s affection, but he resolved to win it back, no matter what. “I’ll stay inside and study. I’ll pass all of my exams – I’ll get good enough grades to do that art and design degree at Oxford so I can become a designer at Lytton AV. I’ll work really hard, I promise.”

His father shot him a withering stare. “That degree is a waste of time. You’ll study business.”

“You promised me I could study art and design.”

“And you promised me that you wouldn’t take croc,” Noah snapped.

Alex swallowed hard and grasped his mother’s scarf tightly in his fist. “Okay. Business. That’s fine. I can be good at that, too.”

Noah gazed at him stonily. “We’ll see.”

Now, Alex could see that no matter how hard he tried, his father was never going to forgive him for the accident. In return, he was never going to forgive Noah for abandoning him to cope with his mother’s death alone. Their relationship was over, had been for years – he was simply waking up to that fact now. He wiped away the crocodile tears with his sleeve. His father belonged to the past – George Tyler was the future.

Tyler’s workshop was a massive, hangar-like space near his house in Lewes. He was waiting there with a bottle of champagne when Alex arrived for his first day. A team of engineers, all wearing smart black livery overalls and Tyler Tech ID tags, stood to one side, like an army of worker ants.

“Welcome!” Tyler gestured at his workshop. “It’s good to have you here.” He popped the champagne cork, poured out two glasses, and handed one over. “Here’s to the flying duck,” he said, holding up his drink.

“It doesn’t actually fly,” Alex protested as he chinked his glass against Tyler’s.

Tyler winked. “You will, though, Alex – you’ll fly here; I’ll make sure of that. Now – firstly… this is for you.” He gave Alex a pad.

“I’ve already got a nanopad,” Alex said, frowning.

“Nanopads are the past. This is a holopad.” Tyler grinned. “They won’t be available to buy for another year, but I pulled some strings to get this one for you.”

“What does it do?” Alex asked, intrigued. Tyler clicked, and a hologram emanated from the pad and hovered in the air in front of him.

“It’s a little bigger than a nanopad, but worth it to live in a 3D world.” Tyler announced.

Alex was entranced – holotech had been steadily progressing for the past few years, but this was on another level, creating realistic 3D images from a relatively small device .

“Thank you,” Alex said sincerely.

“I’ve loaded it with specialist Tyler Tech software, so you can keep me updated on your progress.” Tyler showed him how it worked. “Also, we can holochat; the picture quality is almost as good as if we were in the same room.”

“Wow.” Alex was suitably impressed, but he was itching to get started on the duck project and looked around eagerly.

“I can see your mind is elsewhere.” Tyler laughed. “Come on, then – let me introduce you to everyone.”

Alex’s first couple of weeks whizzed by. He’d never been so busy, going over specs, ordering parts, and getting used to the engineers working on the project. He felt more intimidated by these seasoned old hands than he showed, trying to keep up with their technical jargon by working hard all day and then spending half the night reading up on the Tyler Tech Aquacruise range.

The chief engineer, Mark Trent, was a dark, dour man, who showed no emotion whatsoever. Alex tried not to take his lack of enthusiasm personally, but it was hard to bounce ideas off someone so downbeat. Aware of his own inexperience, he’d hoped for a manager he could lean on, but it soon became clear that Trent wasn’t that person. Alex would have to shoulder ultimate responsibility for the project alone.

Tyler dropped by every few days, but Alex was wary since his conversation with Noah. Every time Tyler visited he asked him to dinner, and every time Alex refused. He kept his head down and got on with the job, keeping the relationship brisk and business-like.

At the end of the third week, Tyler flew in on his private helicopter from a business meeting in Spain. Striding into the workshop, he looked tanned and fit, wearing a sharply tailored suit, his crisp black shirt offset perfectly by a crimson silk tie. He was clearly dressed for going out. “Have you eaten?” he asked. “It’s getting late.”

“No time,” Alex grunted, gazing intently at the holodesigns he was working on.

“Hmm, you know what they say about all work and no play?”

“It makes Alex a rich boy?” He raised an eyebrow.

Tyler gave a snort of laughter. “Well, maybe it will, one day, but everyone needs to take a break sometime. Also, I’d like an update, so why don’t I take you somewhere nice for dinner, and you can fill me in on how it’s going.”

“I really should finish this.”

Tyler gave him an assessing look. “Are you avoiding me, Alex?”

Closing down the holodesigns, he tried to work out how to deal with that question. “No, I just want this to work. I don’t want you regretting your investment in me.”

Tyler laughed. “I don’t think that’s going to happen, but you need a break. Come on – let’s go. I insist.”

Alex sighed, but decided to follow him. Maybe it was time to find out the truth about Tyler’s feud with his father.

It was thrilling riding in Tyler’s helicopter. The man’s wealth was off the scale. “Where are we going?” he asked as they flew over the dark water of a lost zone.

“Well, as I’ve invested rather heavily in this new floating city technology, I thought you might want to take a sneak peek at what we’re constructing. It’s almost finished now.”

As they drew closer, Alex saw a cluster of bright, shiny new buildings, seemingly suspended in the middle of a vast lost zone. When they landed, he gingerly tested the ground with his foot.

“It’s safe!” Tyler laughed at him. “Here – come with me.”

He led Alex to the edge and pointed across the water and down, into the depths below. Alex craned his neck and could just about make out the outline of a huge submerged wheel, lying on its side, its silver body glimmering in the inky depths.

“Do you know what that is?” Tyler asked.

“I’ve seen pictures, but I’ve never been up close. It’s the old London Eye, isn’t it?”

“Yup. Tourists used to go around in it to get the best views of the city. It fell into the water years ago, and since then it’s become something of a landmark. Earned itself the name Ghost Eye. Looks a bit ghostly, doesn’t it?” He grinned at Alex, clearly hoping to spook him.

Alex looked down at the ruined Eye, shimmering beneath them, and shivered. “It does a bit.”

“That’s why we decided to name this place Ghost Eye City.” Tyler beamed. “It’s slap bang in the middle of London – or, technically speaking, I should say Old London.”

“No – Lost London,” Alex amended softly, looking out across the water to the rooftops of the old Houses of Parliament, with the crumbling old Big Ben bell tower poking up forlornly through the water.

“One day, we’ll build enough floating cities linked by enough floating roads that New London will be a small part of a great new metropolis.” Tyler announced.

“If floating roads happen, then who’ll need ducks?” Alex asked.

“Oh, it’ll take years to create enough floating roads to make ducks obsolete.” Tyler laughed. “The emphasis is on building enough floating cities first. I just wanted to show you where determination and drive can lead you, if you have a vision.”

“You had a vision, didn’t you? When you started Tyler Tech?”