Similar conversations were taking place all around them in the atrium area of accommodation block seven as the pupils clustered together in groups.
‘Well, according to Franz they’re going to announce that Nero was just an android duplicate and that Raven was actually running the school the entire time,’ Laura said in a conspiratorial whisper.
‘Really?’ Otto said. ‘Because I heard that they were both abducted by Nero’s identical twin brother, who is planning to take over H.I.V.E.’
‘That sounds somewhat unlikely,’ Wing said, startling Otto as he suddenly appeared next to him, having approached in total silence.
‘I do wish you wouldn’t do that,’ Otto said with a sigh. ‘There’s a reason nobody likes ninjas, you know.’
‘Oh, I think ninjas are kinda cute,’ Shelby Trinity said, appearing just as silently on the other side of Otto, making him jump again. Laura tried hard not to laugh as she saw Wing’s cheeks suddenly flush slightly red. Shelby insisted that she only flirted with Wing to ruffle his feathers a bit, but Laura was fairly sure that there was rather more to it than that.
‘For goodness sake,’ Otto said, sounding exasperated. ‘Spare us from people studying for advanced level Stealth and Evasion exams. It’s like living with a pair of ghosts.’
‘Wraiths, if you don’t mind,’ Shelby replied with a wink, a sly reference to her previous life before joining H.I.V.E., in which she had plied her trade as the international jewel thief the Wraith. ‘Anyway, you’re just jealous. How are things going in the basic Stealth and Evasion classes? They taken your training wheels off yet?’
‘There’s more than one way to sneak into a place, you know,’ Otto said, pulling his Blackbox out of his pocket and passing it to Laura. Laura glanced at the display, her eyes widening in shock.
‘That’s impossible,’ she whispered, not taking her eyes off the screen.
‘Apparently not,’ Otto said with a sly grin. ‘Want a copy?’
‘That would be cheating,’ Laura replied, handing the Blackbox back to Otto. ‘Of course I want a copy.’
‘A copy of what?’ Shelby said impatiently, trying and failing to grab the PDA from Otto.
‘Next week’s exam,’ Otto said quietly. ‘But I’m sure you’ll just be able to sneak in and steal one, what with you being so stealthy . . .’
Shelby looked half annoyed and half impressed.
‘How much?’ she said with a smile.
‘Well, there are a couple of things in the Science and Technology centre that I might like to borrow for a while,’ Otto replied.
‘I am surrounded by people of low moral character,’ Wing sighed.
Professor Pike looked around the room at the assembled teachers. The expressions on their faces left little doubt about what they were thinking. They had been summoned to this early morning meeting by H.I.V.E.mind and no explanation had been given as to why. The only member of staff who remained as impossible to read as ever was Ms Leon, but it was always difficult to read the look on a cat’s face. She simply stared at the Professor, something which he always found unnerving. The truth of the matter was that her situation was largely his fault: her consciousness had been transferred into the body of her cat during a disastrous failed procedure to enhance her own abilities with certain characteristics of the animal. Needless to say, the procedure had not gone exactly as planned and she had never truly forgiven him for what had happened. There was little love lost between them despite his ongoing efforts to find a way to reverse the process.
‘So, who is to be the new headmaster?’ Ms Leon asked calmly, the blue jewel on her collar flashing as H.I.V.E.’s computer systems provided her with a synthesised voice.
‘Number One did not say,’ the Professor replied, trying to keep the note of frustration from his voice. ‘Apparently they will be arriving shortly.’
‘I think we deserve more information than that,’ Colonel Francisco said angrily. His experience with the Contessa and Cypher the previous year had done nothing to improve his temper. It had taken some time for the Contessa’s forced mental reprogramming to be reversed and despite the fact that it had not been his fault the Colonel still clearly blamed himself, at least to some degree, for the part that he had played in the near destruction of the school.
‘I believe that Number One would tell us that we deserve nothing and that we should be grateful for the information that he gives us,’ the Professor replied. ‘So I suggest that in the short term we just worry about the consequences of announcing this to the students.’
‘Are we sure that we need to announce it at all?’ Ms Leon asked. ‘Surely this is something that would be better dealt with by the new principal, whoever they may be?’
‘Number One made it quite clear that the news of Nero’s capture and Raven’s death was to be announced before the new headmaster arrives. I suspect that he does not want such negative news to be the first thing that they have to announce.’
‘And they are certain that Raven was killed?’ Colonel Francisco asked. ‘It wouldn’t be the first time that people have thought that and been wrong.’
‘Certain enough,’ the Professor said quietly. ‘Like all of you, I am sure, I hope they are wrong but the fact that we have heard nothing from her in three months would seem to support that conclusion.’
‘This will cause a great deal of unease,’ Ms Tennenbaum, head of the Finance and Corruption department, said with her usual lack of emotion. ‘We should be prepared for the pupils to cause a certain amount of disruption.’
‘Patrols will be increased accordingly,’ the Professor replied. ‘I have already discussed it with the Chief of Security and he assures me that his men are ready for any disturbance.’ The Professor tried to sound as confident as possible.
‘Let us all hope he is right,’ Ms Leon said, ‘for all our sakes.’
Otto, Wing, Laura and Shelby made their way along the corridor filled with pupils filing towards H.I.V.E.’s central meeting hall. On these rare occasions Otto found it fascinating, even amusing, to see the groupings that the children surrounding him naturally fell into. Of course, it was even easier to see what people’s specialities were from the colour of their uniform overalls: white for the Technical stream, blue for the Henchman stream, grey for the Political and Financial stream, and finally black for Otto’s own group, the Alpha stream. It might have appeared to be a curiously vague label but it did not take a genius to work out that Alpha was shorthand for leader. Otto had often wondered if it was right that he and his fellow students should have been so thoroughly categorised from the day that they arrived at H.I.V.E. and he knew from personal experience that many of the students still disliked those in the Alpha stream, feeling, perhaps not without justification, that they were given preferential treatment.
Otto recalled the day that he had asked Nero about this during one of their Villainy Studies lessons and how Nero had explained that being a leader was not something one should do if one wished to be popular, and that all great leaders throughout history had known that it didn’t matter if the people who worked for you liked you, just as long as they respected or feared you. Otto could see the logic in that but deep down he felt there had to be more to it than that.
‘Penny for them,’ Laura said, noting the faraway expression on Otto’s face.
‘Oh, nothing important. Just wondering what all this is about,’ Otto replied. It was a lie but he doubted that Laura really wanted to hear about his doubts concerning the hierarchy within the school.
‘Well, we’ll find out soon enough,’ she said as they filed through the entrance to the central hall. The polished black marble floor was rapidly filling with the massed students, who were being directed into neatly ordered sections by H.I.V.E. security officers in their distinctive orange jumpsuits.
‘There are more guards than usual,’ Wing observed quietly.
‘Yes, almost like they’re expecting trouble,’ Otto replied. Again he felt a creeping feeling of unease.
<
br /> ‘Hey, have any of you guys seen Franz?’ Nigel Darkdoom asked urgently as he ran towards them through the crowd. Never one of the more relaxed students, Nigel looked even more stressed than usual. ‘He was supposed to meet me outside the hall. He said that there was no way that he was missing breakfast for this assembly and that there was plenty of time to get here after having something to eat.’
‘But the dining hall is closed until after the assembly, isn’t it?’ Laura said.
‘Yeah, I know,’ Nigel replied, looking quickly around the room as the group were steered into position by a stern-looking security guard, ‘but Franz has a secret stash of food somewhere and the last time I saw him he was on his way there. That was half an hour ago.’
‘Well, wherever he is he’d better hurry up,’ Otto said. The last few students were being ushered into the hall and he had little doubt that security teams would probably be conducting a sweep of the accommodation blocks to gather up any stragglers right now.
‘I know,’ Nigel said plaintively. ‘I tried to warn him that the punishment for missing assembly was detention with Colonel Francisco but he still insisted that there was plenty of time.’
Lights suddenly illuminated the vacant lectern that stood in front of the giant statue of the G.L.O.V.E. fist and globe symbol at the end of the hall. The G.L.O.V.E. motto was clearly visible on the base of the statue: ‘Do Unto Others.’
A hush fell across the hall, a silence that was suddenly broken by a loud voice behind them with a thick German accent.
‘But I was on my way!’ Franz squealed. The heads of the collected pupils of H.I.V.E. all turned in his direction as one. He was still in his pyjamas and was being frog-marched by a very angry-looking Colonel Francisco towards the rest of the assembled Alphas. His face was taking on a particularly vivid shade of crimson as everyone in the hall started sniggering and whispering.
‘Oh no,’ Nigel said quietly as Franz was marched towards them.
Francisco pushed Franz into position and then leant towards him, putting his face only a couple of inches from Franz’s.
‘Oh, I’m going to enjoy our time in detention together, Mr Argentblum,’ he said in a vicious whisper. ‘I’m going to enjoy it a great deal.’
Franz swallowed hard and went pale. It was not common knowledge around the school but Franz had taken Colonel Francisco down while he had been under the effects of the Contessa’s mind control. His actions may have saved H.I.V.E. but it had still been rather humiliating for the Colonel. Detention, it appeared, was going to be payback time.
‘Would it be making any difference if I was to be saying I was sorry?’ Franz said weakly.
‘No difference at all,’ the Colonel replied with an evil smile. ‘I’ll see you after classes. I hope you like push-ups.’
Franz moaned softly.
All of the heads that had turned to watch the show when Franz and the Colonel had entered turned quickly back to the stage as the lights in the main hall dimmed. Professor Pike took his place at the lectern and Otto felt a twinge of disappointment. He had been secretly hoping that this assembly may have been called to mark the return of Nero. Otto would never have admitted it to anyone but he was beginning to miss the man; he had been one of the few teachers that had regarded some of the pupils, Otto included, as something approaching equals. The Professor cleared his throat, took a firm hold on each side of the lectern, and began to speak into the microphone.
‘I have gathered everyone here today because I have grave news,’ the Professor began. ‘Many of you will have noticed that Doctor Nero has been away from the school for some time. I am sorry to inform you that a serious situation has arisen, a situation that makes it highly unlikely that Doctor Nero will be able to resume his duties as headmaster of H.I.V.E. I believe that the easiest way to explain this situation is if I play for you a video file that we received early this morning.’
The Professor gave a small nod to someone off to one side of the stage and an enormous video screen on the wall above the lectern lit up. The screen was suddenly filled with a stylised logo of an angel wielding a sword, with the word H.O.P.E. below it. The logo faded out and was replaced by the sharp-featured face of a man with no hair, save for neatly clipped patches above each ear. He stared at the camera for a moment and then began to speak.
From where the Professor was standing he could see the faces of the assembled students, lit up by the glow from the enormous screen, and as the man spoke he watched their expressions change. First curiosity was replaced by confusion, then shock, anger and finally dismay. It was a familiar progression of emotions to him; it was exactly the same as he himself had felt when he had first seen the transmission.
Otto barely heard the gasps and whispers all around him as the video ended and the H.O.P.E. logo once again filled the screen. Part of it was shock, but another part of it was the bit of his brain that he seemed to have little conscious control over already running through hundreds of different scenarios, analysing situations that might come about as a result of this development and unconsciously creating multiple responses to each of them, just in case they should be needed. It was something he’d always done, almost without realising he was doing it, but in the past it had always happened in response to imminent danger. Whatever else he may have thought about this devastating news, he couldn’t understand why it would signify an immediate threat.
The Professor held up both his hands for silence and slowly the hundreds of urgent whispered conversations that were taking place around the hall subsided and he began to speak again.
‘Clearly this leaves us with many more questions than answers, but I can assure you that all of the resources of this school and G.L.O.V.E. as a whole are being diverted towards finding those answers. As far as we are aware at this time there is no threat to the security of H.I.V.E. However, we must be prepared for any eventuality and I expect each and every one of you to do their best to ensure the smooth ongoing operation of the school. There will be opportunities for you to discuss this situation with your tutors during the course of your normal lessons. The most immediate change will be the appointment of a new headmaster. I do not know yet who will be filling this position or when they will be arriving, but I do know they will be here soon. It goes without saying that I expect all of you to extend your fullest cooperation and respect to the new principal.’
The Professor did not need to explain further just how unpleasant the penalties might be for anyone who chose to ignore this instruction.
‘This is a very sad day for H.I.V.E.,’ the Professor continued, ‘but Doctor Nero himself said to me on many occasions that the school is more important than any one man and so we will endure, just as he would have wanted us to.’
The Professor walked away from the lectern and the lights in the hall slowly came back up.
Otto turned to Wing as the security guards began to usher the assembled children back towards the exits. Wing’s expression was as difficult to read as ever, but Otto had become increasingly adept at spotting the subtle clues in his friend’s face and he recognised signs of anger when he saw them.
‘I do not believe it,’ Wing said firmly.
‘I wish it wasn’t true just as much as you,’ Otto replied, ‘but they wouldn’t have shown that to the whole school unless they were certain it was genuine.’
‘Raven would never have allowed Nero to be captured,’ Wing said, looking Otto straight in the eye. Wing had spent many hours receiving personal combat training from Raven and it had been clear to all of them that a strong master–student bond had developed between them.
‘Yes, you’re right,’ Otto said softly. ‘She would have prevented it . . . or died trying . . .’
Otto let the words hang in the air for a moment. The anger that he had seen in Wing was suddenly replaced by something quite different: resignation.
‘I simply wish that there was something we could do. We owe them both our lives.’
‘You two OK?’ Laura asked as
they began to file slowly out of the hall.
‘Yeah,’ Otto replied quietly. ‘Just can’t quite believe it.’
‘I know what you mean,’ Shelby said, putting her hand on Wing’s shoulder. ‘You all right, big guy?’
‘Yes,’ Wing replied, ‘but I should very much like to meet this Sebastian Trent.’
‘Wouldn’t we all,’ Otto said angrily. ‘Wouldn’t we all.’
.
Chapter Three
Nero sat on the edge of the solid concrete slab that passed for a bed in his cell. His eyes were closed but he was very much awake, his mind occupied by the questions that had filled his every waking moment since he had been brought there. What had became of Raven? How had H.O.P.E. learnt of his meeting with Gregori, a meeting that had been arranged with a level of caution and secrecy that should have made it impossible for anyone to have laid such an elaborate trap for them? And how was he going to escape from his current incarceration? His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of his cell door being unlocked and he opened his eyes. Sebastian Trent walked into the cell, flanked by two guards carrying compact, black sub-machine guns.
‘Good morning, Maximilian,’ Trent said with a smile. ‘I trust that you remain uncomfortable.’
‘What do you want, Trent?’ Nero said quietly. He had endured what must have been many days of interrogation at the hands of this man and his only remaining satisfaction was that he’d given him nothing.
‘I just thought that you’d like to know how famous you’ve become,’ Trent replied and tossed several newspapers on to the floor at Nero’s feet. All of the front pages appeared to be carrying exactly the same image: Nero in the bright orange jumpsuit that he had been forced to wear since the day of his capture. The headlines left little room for imagination. ‘The Emperor of Terror?’ one read; ‘Evil Unmasked’ said another.
‘I’m not sure we got your best side,’ Trent grinned evilly, ‘but I think you’d find that you’d be quite quickly recognised if you ever left this place – which, of course, you won’t.’