Free The Twisted by Joe Prendergast Page A

morning.
    â€œOK Giuseppe. What time is it?”
    â€œIt’s 10pm,”
    Paolo yawned. “I think I’ll go to bed.”
    â€œI’ll stay up and make arrangements for when we are away.”
    Paolo exited the room. He brushed his teeth quickly and washed his hands. Soon after, he flopped down on his bed and fell asleep.
    Giuseppe turned on the television. There was nothing really on – just Saturday night reality TV rubbish. Too much for Giuseppe’s liking so he sent a few emails deferring tour dates and supplying contact details, should anyone need to reach them while they were away. Then got ready and went to bed himself.

    Angeline Brackett was a hazel-haired, green-eyed, soft-skinned beauty who walked with a quiet elegance through arrivals at LaGuardia airport.
    A small automatic door appeared in front of her, between the white walls. This opened and she stepped through. There were 36 people with signs. She didn’t see her name on any one of them.
    â€œAngeline!” a familiar voice shouted and she whirled around to find Dave and Vivian smiling brightly. She laughed. She was giggly kind of person. Her long hair was slick and smooth and she had a smile like heaven, was what Dave said.
    â€œHello Dave,” she said and went to hug him but Vivian got in between them and Angeline picked her daughter up with a hug. Then all three of them hugged and the whole airport gave a sigh.
    â€œLet’s get going then. When you’re in a secret agency, there isn’t much time to waste.”
    And then Dave clicked his fingers and they were gone.

    The morning came quickly for Giuseppe. Paolo was asleep until 6:30am. They packed a few things then took their bags to the bus stop.
    The bus driver was a red-haired lady with a toothy grin. The bus went off at top speed – and they were there in 15 minutes approximately.

    Angeline’s stomach lurched and she went tumbling forward. The breath was taken out of her. All she could see were strands of black and white, moving around her, too quick for her.
    She made out a figure with long hair like her own. It was Vivian. Angeline tried to push herself forward. It worked, and she came up beside her. “What’s happening?” she shouted.
    Vivian moved her lips – but nothing came out. Suddenly they were both falling down a hole. Along the tunnel they were falling into, it was covered with memories.
    Angeline’s favourite china tea set when she was a girl, Dave’s favourite food – the apple pie his mother baked and Nino, the teddy bear that was Vivian’s best friend.
    Then they hit the ground.
    They had arrived in some sort of car park, overlooking a large castle. Angeline stood up and dusted herself off.
    When she looked up, she saw Vivian and Dave, smiling. They had landed on their feet while she had tumbled over.
    â€œWhat did we just do?” she asked.
    â€œWe just teleported here,” said Dave confidently.
    â€œNo! We couldn’t have!”
    â€œYes! We did. I’m magic, remember?”
    Dave waited for a reply. He didn’t get one. Angeline was still getting over her first teleportation. Her head hurt and her mind spun and she was sure that her heart was not beating at the correct pace.
    But when Vivian and Dave walked towards the old castle’s doors Angeline had no choice but to follow.

    The airport was busy enough. A few people had fallen asleep in chairs, so Paolo and Giuseppe made it to check-in first.
    In security, something very strange happened. A man, who was just walking along with his young son suddenly, disappeared. A hand – a very pale, white hand had reached out and grabbed him. It was a strange occurrence and it bothered the brothers but not as much as if they knew the truth, which was that, this was the hand of a monster and the same thing was happening in cities all over the world thanks to Richard Blake.
    The plane wasn’t full. It was one of those calm