‘Which means that we could take down every Hunter within range if we destroy the transmitters,’ Rachel said.
‘In theory, yes,’ Stirling replied.
‘Assuming we can find them,’ Nat said.
‘You were lucky not to take more casualties this time,’ Jackson said. ‘We had no idea we were sending you into a Hunter nest. Not to mention the fact that the Threat are bound to have increased security around any other transmitters they’re putting up after what happened last night. That may have been our first and last chance to hit them like that.’
‘I agree,’ Stirling said. ‘I cannot justify another operation like that, no matter how tempting the target may be. However, there is another option. Now that we know that the transmissions from these towers are so vital to the control of the Hunters, we can try to find a way to block them.’
‘Easier said than done,’ Will said. ‘It was the strength of those signals that led us to that transmitter in the first place. To jam even one of them would require . . . well . . . a lot more power than we have available.’
‘Yes, William, you’re quite right,’ Stirling said with a nod, ‘which is why we won’t try to block the transmission of the signal; we block its reception.’
‘Limit the range and lower the power consumption,’ Anne said, nodding enthusiastically. ‘If the electromagnetic interference ratio is reduced . . .’
‘And this is where they start talking science at each other,’ Jay said with a sigh. ‘I don’t know about you guys, but I’m hungry.’
‘Yeah,’ Nat said, ‘let’s go and see what delights Toby’s prepared for breakfast today.’
‘If it’s tinned grapefruit again, things could get violent,’ Jay said with a grin as the pair of them walked out of the lab.
Sam and Rachel watched in silence as Stirling, Will and Anne continued their examination of the dead Hunter.
‘Listen,’ Rachel said quietly after a minute or two, ‘I’m sorry about losing my temper with you back there. I appreciate what you were trying to do. It was just . . . you know . . . with losing Tim like that. I just . . .’ She trailed off.
‘Hey, don’t worry about it,’ Sam said. ‘You were right. It was a stupid thing to do. I’m just so sick of running from the Threat, I wanted to stand and fight for once. Jackson’s right, though – we can’t fight them like that. If that charge hadn’t detonated when it did, I’d have ended up just like Tim. It’s like Jackson always says, frightened but alive beats brave and dead every time.’
‘True,’ Rachel said, ‘but I know what you mean about wanting to fight back. We can’t go on living in holes underground for ever.’
‘Maybe these guys will come up with something we can use to level the playing field slightly,’ he said, gesturing towards Stirling, Will and Anne, who were deep in conversation. Jackson stood to one side, never taking his eyes off the Hunter on the bench.
‘Well,’ Sam said, ‘I don’t think I’m going to be much use here, so I’m going to hit the mess hall for breakfast before Jay cleans the place out.’
‘Yeah, I’ll come with you,’ Rachel said, ‘but, I tell you, if Jay starts going on about bacon again, I’m going to shoot him.’
Sam thought back to the incident when Jay had spent five minutes talking with such passion about the smell and taste of bacon that it actually still made his mouth water just thinking about it.
‘Oh, if he does that again,’ Sam said with a grin, ‘you can use my gun.’
‘Well, you guys certainly stirred up a hornet’s nest,’ Adam said as he walked towards the other Ops Team members. Behind him Kate walked through and then resealed the heavy steel door that led out into the tunnel system. They had left on a scouting mission several hours ago and had only just returned.
‘What do you mean?’ Rachel asked as Adam unslung his rifle and handed it to Jack.
‘Well, Jackson asked us to go and take a look at what was happening around Wembley after last night and the place is absolutely crawling with Threat units now.’
‘There’s no chance we’re getting anywhere near that place again. We counted four Grendels patrolling the perimeter and Hunter activity is off the scale.’
‘But we destroyed the transmitter,’ Jay said, frowning. ‘How come there are still Hunters operating in the area?’
‘I have no idea,’ Kate said as she too passed her weapon to Jack, ‘but the whole area’s flooded with them now. We barely made it out undetected.’
‘Maybe they’ve already got another transmitter up,’ Rachel suggested.
‘I was kinda hoping it would take them a little bit longer than that to recover,’ Jay said with a sigh. ‘Just giving them a blind spot for a few hours is hardly worth the price we paid.’
‘You did more than that,’ Jackson said as he approached. ‘You demonstrated that we can hit them where they’re vulnerable. The scale of their response shows that. That’s why I sent Kate and Adam up there, so that I could get a better idea of just how badly we hurt them.’
‘Oh, I think it’s safe to say that we’ve got them pretty annoyed,’ Kate said. ‘That whole sector’s going to be a no-go area for a while.’
‘They’ve diverted their forces to defend one area, which means in turn that they’re going to be more vulnerable everywhere else,’ Jackson said with a grim smile. ‘Now all we have to do is work out where to hit them next and that’s exactly what Doctor Stirling is doing right now.’
‘Sounds good,’ Jay said, ‘assuming he doesn’t send us into another Hunter nest.’
‘You’re right, Jay, about the price being too high,’ Jackson said with a nod. ‘We all know that we can’t afford any losses. We are too few and they are too many.’
‘So where and when do we attack them next?’ Rachel asked.
‘When?’ Jackson said. ‘Soon. Where?’ He moved over to the map of London that was hanging on the wall and pointed at the huge circle in the centre of the city which represented the position of the Threat Mothership. ‘Right where it will hurt them the most.’
7
‘Here’s what we know,’ Stirling said, addressing the members of the Ops Team gathered in the briefing room. ‘The Mothership is the hub of Threat activity in the area. All of the Threat aircraft are based there and the material that is gathered by the enslaved humans is delivered directly to it. There is evidence to suggest that there are similar vessels located throughout the rest of the country and, indeed, throughout the world. My research into the transmissions from the vessel over London has led me to conclude that collectively these ships are all just nodes in one giant planetary network. That network was used to transmit what I call the Primary Signal, and it was this signal that allowed the Threat to take instant mental control of the vast majority of the Earth’s population. Thanks to the efforts of the Operations team in retrieving an intact sample of one of the Threat Hunters and destroying one of their command transmitters, we have begun to make significant progress in understanding exactly how the Threat forces are controlled. More significantly, we have also begun to understand how it might be possible to interrupt that control.’
‘Doc, this is all really interesting,’ Jay said, ‘but it’s not making the idea of half a dozen of us attacking a three-kilometre-wide Threat Mothership that just happens to be the heart of the entire Threat army in London sound any less insane.’
‘Thank you, Jacob,’ Stirling said, raising an eyebrow. ‘I was coming to that. An all-out assault would obviously be a suicidal act of madness. What I am proposing instead is an infiltration mission to access the mechanism at the heart of the Threat command and control network. If we succeed in gaining access to that system, we can then turn the Threat’s own weapons against them. That’s the only way we can realistically hope to defeat them.’
‘Are you seriously suggesting that not only do we have to actually get on board the Mothership, but once we do we just wander into their central command and control centre and blow the place up?’ Rachel asked. ‘I do
n’t mean to sound negative, but I’m still finding it hard to see how this plan doesn’t fall into the “suicidal act of madness” category.’
‘Oh, we won’t be blowing anything up, even though I know how much you enjoy it,’ Stirling said with a smile. ‘No, we’re going to be doing something more subtle than that. I’ve nearly perfected a new weapon, something that will finally allow us to fight the Threat effectively. If we can deliver that weapon to just the right place, we might finally be able to take back the city.’
‘So what is this weapon?’ Sam asked.
‘All in good time, Samuel,’ Stirling replied. ‘The first priority is to establish precisely how we’re going to infiltrate the Mothership. To do that we need to carry out a detailed reconnaissance of the area directly below the vessel where the enslaved humans bring the materials they gather for their masters.’
‘That’s not going to be easy,’ Adam said. ‘We’ve never got that close to the heart of Threat territory before. We’ll be walking straight into the lion’s den.’
‘I understand that it will be difficult and dangerous,’ Stirling replied, ‘but if we are going to find a way on to the Threat command vessel, that is the most likely route. The Threat must have a way of transporting the gathered materials to the Mothership and, whatever that mechanism is, it might just provide a way for us to get on board the vessel without being detected.’
‘OK, so who gets to go and spy on the neighbours?’ Jay asked.
‘Normally I’d use Adam and Kate for a reconnaissance mission like this,’ Jackson replied, ‘but there’s a good chance this could very quickly turn from a quiet look-see to a full-on combat operation, so I’m going to send you and Sam.’
‘What about us?’ Rachel asked, sharing the same look of irritation as Nat.
‘You and Nat are staying here,’ Jackson said. ‘I don’t want to send you all on a mission like this. The key will be keeping a low profile and four people are twice as likely to attract unwanted attention as two. Besides, if this all goes wrong, and it might, I don’t want to lose the entire Ops Team in one fell swoop.’
‘Thanks,’ Jay said with a crooked smile. ‘It’s always nice to know that you’re expendable.’
‘I’m not suggesting you are,’ Jackson said, shaking his head, ‘but at the same time we do have to be realistic about the inherent risks in a mission like this.’
‘When do we leave?’ Sam asked, trying to hide the sudden twinge of nervousness he felt.
‘Tonight,’ Jackson said. ‘I know it’s short notice, but it’s best that we do this while the Threat are still distracted by last night’s events. With a bit of luck we’ll catch them looking in the wrong direction.’
‘Or they’ll have doubled their security measures,’ Rachel said, ‘and, if that’s the case, the more guns we have on our side the better.’
‘I understand your frustration, Rachel,’ Jackson said, ‘but I’ve made my decision and this is not and has never been a democracy. Do I make myself clear?’
‘As crystal, sir,’ Rachel replied with a frown, her tone icy.
‘Good,’ Jackson replied. ‘Sam, Jay, Doctor Stirling would like you to remain here – the rest of you are dismissed.’
The others filed out as Stirling beckoned the two boys over to the other side of the room.
‘I think that this might be a good opportunity for you to field test a new piece of equipment that we’ve put together,’ Stirling said, gesturing to a small metallic cylinder on the table behind him.
‘This is our new super-weapon?’ Jay asked, looking doubtful.
‘Oh no, this is something else,’ Stirling explained. ‘We got the idea when the Hunters attacked you last night.’
‘What is it?’ Sam asked, looking at the device curiously.
‘This is a short-range signal jammer that’s designed to block the electromagnetic signal used to control the Hunters,’ Stirling said, picking up the device. ‘You flip the lid open like this, and press the button underneath. Its range is only about ten metres and it only has enough charge for one use, but it should instantly disable any Hunters within range when activated.’
‘Should?’ Jay said with a frown.
‘Well, it is experimental,’ Stirling replied, ‘but the theory behind it is sound.’
‘I dunno, Doc,’ Jay said. ‘I’ve always found that my rifle’s pretty good at disabling Hunters. I think I might just stick with that if you don’t mind.’
‘Yes, I appreciate your fondness for firearms,’ Stirling said, ‘but they don’t work silently and they don’t disable however many Hunters happen to be in range all at the same time.’
‘He has a point, Jay,’ Sam said, taking the jammer from Stirling. ‘This would have come in very handy the other night.’ The image of the swarm of Hunters flying straight at him outside Wembley was still fresh in his mind.
‘All right,’ Jay said. ‘Can’t hurt to take it with us, I suppose.’
‘Remember, just one shot,’ Stirling said. ‘After that it’s useless.’
‘Got it,’ Sam said. ‘Thanks.’
‘Come on,’ Jay said. ‘I want to go and pick Adam and Kate’s brains about the best route to get us up close to that thing without getting spotted.’
Sam slipped the jammer into the thigh pocket of his combat trousers and the two boys headed for the door.
‘Good luck, gentlemen,’ Stirling said as they left. ‘Stay safe.’
‘Rachel really wasn’t very happy, was she?’ Sam said, his torch illuminating the pitch-black tunnel ahead of them.
‘That’s one way of putting it,’ Jay said with a grin. ‘Man, if looks could kill, Jackson would just be a smouldering spot on the floor right now.’
‘Can’t say I’d object to having the girls here too, though,’ Sam said. ‘Got a feeling that this might be the sort of job where two more pairs of eyes might come in really handy.’
‘Not to mention two more rifles,’ Jay replied.
‘I dunno,’ Sam said, ‘that close to the Mothership, if we end up in a shooting match, I think we’re going to find ourselves outgunned very quickly.’
‘Yeah, right, let’s just try and keep things nice and quiet.’
‘So where does this tunnel bring us out?’
‘Right underneath the Houses of Parliament,’ Jay said. ‘Hey, I’ve just realised, we’re gonna be just like Guy Fawkes, just with C4 instead of gunpowder.’
‘Probably best if we don’t actually blow anything up, though,’ Sam said with a chuckle. ‘Seeing as how we’re trying to avoid detection and all that.’
‘You’re starting to sound almost as boring as Jackson,’ Jay replied. ‘You didn’t seem to mind a little bit of explosive destruction at Wembley the other night.’
‘True, but it was either that or being ripped to pieces by a swarm of Hunters, so I think it was probably OK under the circumstances.’
‘If you say so. Personally I reckon you like blowing stuff up just as much as I do.’
‘Shhh,’ Sam said suddenly, holding a finger to his lips. ‘Do you hear that?’
From somewhere in the darkness ahead of them they could hear a low throbbing rumble.
‘Yeah, I hear it. What is it?’ Jay asked.
‘No idea,’ Sam said, crouching down and placing his palm flat on the dusty tunnel floor. The ground was trembling very slightly, the vibrations increasing and diminishing in time with the sound. They continued walking for another few minutes and began to feel the vibrations through the soles of their boots.
‘How far to the exit point?’ Sam asked.
‘I’m not sure. Can’t be more than half a kilometre or so. It was only eight hundred metres from that last junction,’ Jay replied.
‘OK, let’s keep moving,’ Sam said, starting to feel nervous again. ‘We want to keep it quiet from here on in. Kill the torches and switch to your NV goggles.’
Sam switched off his light, turned on his night-vision goggles and the tunnel ahead of them was ill
uminated in a gentle green glow. They moved quickly and quietly until they reached an iron gate that was secured with a heavy padlock.
‘It’s all right,’ Jay said. ‘I’ve got a key.’ He took his backpack off and rummaged around inside before pulling out a pair of heavy bolt cutters. A couple of seconds later the padlock clattered to the ground and Jay pulled the gate open, its hinges squeaking in protest. They passed through the gate and found themselves in a circular chamber with other tunnels leading off from it in all directions.
‘Where now?’ Sam asked.
‘Your guess is as good as mine,’ Jay said, looking around the room. ‘The maps we’ve got cover most of the tunnel system under the city, but there are no maps for some places, especially high-security locations like this.’
Sam looked around the chamber and spotted the security cameras and motion sensors mounted on the walls. They reminded him that the Parliament building above them would have once had some of the heaviest security in the country. Long dead and useless now, of course.
‘Well, I guess we just follow our noses, then,’ Sam said, and set off down the tunnel straight in front of him. They passed numerous doors set in the walls, all labelled with the titles of various high-ranking government officials. Doubtless these offices would have once served as a secure location for ministers and their aides during times of crisis or threat. Nobody had considered the possibility that the whole mechanism of government would be rendered irrelevant in the blink of an eye, that all these ‘powerful’ men and women could be reduced to mindless slaves in the space of a heartbeat, no different to anyone else. They rounded a corner and Sam was relieved to see that at the far end there was a metal spiral staircase leading upwards.
‘Up we go,’ Sam whispered. ‘Keep your eyes open. Remember, we have no idea what’s waiting for us up there.’
They crept up the stairs, which led up to a solid-looking wooden door that was closed but thankfully unlocked. Sam opened the door a crack and looked through. There was no sign of anyone or, more importantly, anything on the other side of the door and he pushed it open and headed through. They found themselves in a grand corridor with a tiled floor and ornately carved stonework on the ceiling and walls. Perhaps more than any other place that he had been since the arrival of the Threat, these echoing empty corridors in all their grandeur gave him the sense of how completely the alien invaders had stripped humanity of its power to determine its own future.