Biggles Married II Chapter 10.

By Sopwith

Disclaimer: I do not own, or claim to own, any of the Biggles series characters used in this work. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered part of the official storyline.

Warning: Non canon type fan fiction works may contain severe time mix-ups and character deviations. 

Not for nothing had Algy fought in two world wars and many smaller ones. His lightning reflexes took over and before the butt of the gun could connect with his head, he had twisted aside and kicked Lyle’s legs out from under him.

Lyle tumbled to the ground with Algy on top of him. The gun went flying through the air, landing a few feet away. Lyle struggled, fighting to get to the weapon. Algy elbowed him in the face. He saw no reason to treat the man gently. Lyle cursed, punching Algy in the stomach. Algy grunted, momentarily stunned by the pain. Lyle crawled forward, reaching for the gun, but Algy kicked him, hard, and Lyle fell back, groaning, as Algy crawled over him and grabbed the gun.

“Oh, no, you don’t!” snapped Algy, as Lyle attempted to snatch the weapon from him. “Stay back. I don’t want to shoot you, Lyle, but I will if I have to.”

“You’re faster than you look, Mr. Lacey,” said Lyle, speaking with a slight lisp, through a bleeding lip. “Congratulations.”

Algy pointed the gun straight at Lyle’s head. “How were you planning to blow up this island?”

Lyle said nothing.

“Come on. I’m not a patient man by nature, and I’m certainly not in the mood to be patient now, after what you just did to me. I’m going to count to three, and if you haven’t told me what I want to know by then, you won’t be doing any more talking, ever, do you understand?”

“Bomb in the basement of the laboratory,” blurted Lyle, before Algy even had time to count to three. “It’s set to go off in two hours.”

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” said Algy, wiping blood off his face with the back of one hand. “How do I defuse it?”

“You can’t.”

“I beg your pardon?” said Algy, in a very dangerous tone of voice.

“I meant, you need someone with expertise to do it,” said Lyle, speaking very quickly. “Someone who knows their way around a bomb.”

“I assume that you know someone on this island who has the necessary expertise?”

“Bartlett.”

“Good,” said Algy.

“And now you’re going to let me go?” asked Lyle, the relief evident in his voice.

“Of course not,” said Algy. “You’re coming with me. If I can’t defuse this bomb in time, you’re going up with all of us.”

“But…”

“Come along now. Let’s get this bomb defused. It’s your life on the line along with all of ours. If that isn’t incentive, I don’t know what is.”

&&&

“It’s done,” said Bartlett.

“Are you sure?” asked Algy, giving Lyle a very cold look.

Lyle, who had been tied to a nearby chair, said nothing.

“Yes. I’ve removed the wires connecting the bomb, and taken out the section containing the explosives. It won’t be blowing anything up.”

“Good,” said Algy. “Sir-” to the general, who sat silently at the other end of the table where Bartlett had placed the defused bomb. “I believe my work here is done. I suggest you take Lyle into custody and keep him somewhere safe until the proper authorities can take him where he belongs.”

“Thank you,” said the general quietly. “You don’t know what a weight has been lifted from my mind. So it was you all along, Lyle. I should have known there was something suspicious going on—”

“You could never see anything that wasn’t right at the end of your nose,” sneered Lyle.

The general’s face hardened, but he said nothing further to his former secretary. “And where will you go now?” he inquired of Algy.

“I’m planning to take my plane and fly home to get some much needed rest, sir,” said Algy.

The general smiled. “In that case, I won’t keep you. And again, thank you for your help.”

“It was a pleasure, sir.”

&&&

Algy was whistling as he ran up the stairs to the Mount Street flat.

He had had a long flight and was looking forward to a long hot bath and, after that, a square meal and a nice warm bed.

There was no one about as he unlocked the door and strolled into the dining room, but, as it was almost midnight, he was not too surprised at this.

“I suppose it’s too late to wake Mrs. Symes,” he concluded regretfully, checking his watch. “Oh, well. Let’s see what I can do. Better put the kettle on first.”

He was just adding milk to his tea when he heard footsteps behind him. Turning, he saw Biggles behind him. “Hello,” he greeted cheerfully. “Sorry. Did I wake you?”

“What are you doing here?” asked Biggles.

Algy grinned. “I live here, remember?”

“No,” said Biggles. “You don’t. Not anymore. Remember?”

Algy’s grin vanished. “What?”

“Didn’t the others tell you?” Biggles asked, falteringly.

Algy frowned. “Tell me what? I’ve been…away…for the past few days. I haven’t seen the others since I’ve been back. What’s going on? And are you all right? You look as if you just swallowed something the wrong way.”

“Algy,” said Biggles, very gently. “You don’t live here anymore. Nor do Bertie and Ginger. They’ve already moved out.”

“What?”

“I thought they told you. I told them to tell you.”

“Is this some sort of a practical joke?”

“Algy.” Biggles spoke slowly, as if speaking to a small child. “Jane and I are going to be living here. We’re married. We need a place of our own.”

“But…” Algy looked as though someone had just hit him with something very hard. “Where am I supposed to go?”

“Well, you can stay here tonight, of course, and tomorrow you can call Bertie and Ginger and see where they’re staying, and perhaps you can stay with them for a bit. You can keep your things here for a few days until you find a place to—”

Algy staggered back as if he had been shot and gave Biggles a look not unlike that of a faithful dog who knows its master is about to have it put down. He did not speak. Abandoning the tea, he grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair where he had carelessly discarded it on his entrance into the flat.

“Where are you going?”

“Out. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”

“Algy, don’t be stupid—”

“Oh, so I’m stupid now, am I?”

“Algy, this doesn’t mean anything. We can still see each other—”

“No,” said Algy, without a backward glance. “We can’t.”

And on that parting shot, he slammed the front door shut behind him and walked out alone into the cold dark night.

THE END

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