‘I’ve arranged a meeting for later today. I have an old friend who thinks he might have some idea where Trent is hiding. I could use your help, if you don’t mind coming along,’ she said as she walked back to the car.
‘Of course,’ Wing said. ‘What do you need me to do?’
‘Just watch my back – another pair of eyes is always welcome. I’m not expecting trouble, but you never know,’ Raven said, climbing into the driver’s seat.
Wing got into the passenger seat and Raven pulled out into traffic. Nothing could have prepared Wing for what followed. He had faced death many times, but the driving he now encountered on the roads of Rio was one of the most nerve-shredding experiences of his life. Brazil had produced more than its fair share of motorsport heroes over the years and it quickly became clear to him that most of the population of Rio believed that they too were racing drivers. The only people more suicidal than the people driving cars were the lunatics on motorbikes and scooters, who wove through the lethal steel scrum with the sort of reckless abandon that would make one assume that the riders were somehow invulnerable. Then came the taxi and bus drivers, who had clearly learnt from bitter experience that the only law on this road was survival of the fittest. It was like being on the world’s busiest and most dangerous race track during the annual psychopath convention. The only communication was via the medium of car horns and obscene hand gestures, and judging by the grin on her face, Raven was loving every second of it.
‘I’d forgotten how much I like this place,’ she said as she swerved into the other lane, overtaking the slow-moving car in front. As they passed she shouted something in Portuguese at the driver; it did not sound like a friendly greeting.
‘Do you think we could slow down slightly?’ Wing said, gripping his seat’s armrest hard.
‘Now where would be the fun in that?’ Raven asked.
‘Thank you for your assistance, Miss Brand,’ Nero said, ushering Laura and the other two girls out of the core room. ‘You have helped to prevent a tragedy today, but now I need you to rejoin your fellow students.’
‘But we want to help,’ Laura said as Nero beckoned the two guards from outside.
‘I understand,’ Nero said as the guards approached. ‘I will keep you informed of any developments concerning Mr Malpense.’
‘You can’t kill him,’ Laura said angrily. ‘It’s not his fault. He’s as much a victim in this as anyone.’
‘Miss Brand . . . Laura, I will do everything in my power to avoid that, you have to believe me,’ Nero said, looking her straight in the eye. ‘We all owe Otto a great deal, and I am not about to forget that. Do you understand?’
Laura looked at him for a moment and then nodded sadly.
‘Good,’ Nero said. ‘Please do not discuss the details of what has happened here with any of the other students. They will all learn of H.I.V.E.mind’s return soon enough, but I would rather announce it properly than have rumours spreading.’
‘Yes, sir,’ Laura said quietly.
Nero watched as the girls left the room, the doors hissing shut behind them.
‘There has to be an alternative,’ he said with a frown as he turned back to face the Professor, Cypher and H.I.V.E.mind. ‘Some way of removing Overlord without killing Otto.’
‘I truly wish there was,’ H.I.V.E.mind said, ‘but from past experience we have learnt that once Overlord asserts control of a human consciousness there is no chance of saving them. Number One was not strong enough to prevent the process and he had normal neurophysiology. The unique architecture of Otto’s brain will, I fear, simply make him even more vulnerable.’
‘There may be a way,’ Cypher said. ‘We did make it possible for Overlord to be transferred from one system to another, even if we ensured that it was a procedure that he could not perform by himself.’
‘The final protocol,’ Nero said quickly.
‘Indeed,’ Cypher replied with a nod. ‘Slightly modified, it could be used to initiate a command that would force Overlord to transfer itself out of Malpense. With no other suitable host to jump to, it would be destroyed. It could be done with a directed energy pulse that would contain an encoded version of the protocol, but for it to be sufficiently powerful to guarantee success it would almost certainly cause fatal neural feedback. There would be a significant risk that the boy would not survive.’
‘What would you need?’ Nero asked warily; the only other alternative they had was to simply execute Otto, and a small chance of saving him was better than none at all.
‘The original code for the final protocol – Xiu Mei’s medallion,’ Cypher said, ‘and access to your Science and Technology department.’
The medallion that Cypher referred to was what he had been attempting to retrieve when he had first attacked the school. Nero had one half on a chain around his neck, but Wing had the other half. They would need both if the code was to be retrieved intact. It was not something that Nero was keen to place in Cypher’s hands, but he realised that there was no other option if they were going to have any chance at all of saving Otto.
‘How long will it take?’ Nero asked.
‘Not long. An hour perhaps, if I am allowed to work without interruption and I have the correct materials,’ Cypher replied.
‘I will get the medallion for you,’ Nero said, ‘but you will be watched very carefully. If I think for one moment that you are doing anything other than what we have discussed I will not hesitate to take you down. Do I make myself clear?’
‘Perfectly,’ Cypher said.
Nero opened the doors to the core and beckoned the two guards inside.
‘Escort this gentleman to the Science and Technology department,’ he said to one of the guards. ‘He is not to be left alone, even for a second, understood?’
The guards both nodded and led Cypher away.
‘Please go with them, Professor,’ Nero said as they left, ‘and watch him like a hawk.’
‘This sucks,’ Shelby said, flopping down on the sofa in the atrium of their accommodation block.
‘Aye, we can’t just sit here and do nothing,’ Laura said miserably. ‘Otto’s out there somewhere right now having his brain melted by some psychotic computer program, and we can’t do a damn thing to help him.’
‘Hello,’ Franz said cheerily, sitting down next to the girls. ‘I am being glad that this lockdown is over. I am thinking it was nearly being the disaster.’
‘You can say that again,’ Lucy said with a sigh.
‘Yes, if it had been lasting much longer we would have been missing lunch,’ Franz said solemnly.
‘That’s not quite what I meant,’ Lucy said, rolling her eyes.
‘Where’s Nigel?’ Shelby asked.
‘He is up in our room,’ Franz replied. ‘He is saying that he is needing time by himself.’
‘I guess I can understand that,’ Shelby said. Franz may have been Nigel’s best friend, but he was not exactly what you would want in a grief counsellor. She wondered if Nigel would ever know how close Nero had come to pulling the plug on his father. She hoped not.
Chief Lewis came walking towards them across the atrium, an angry frown on his face. He had only just recovered from the effects of the gas that had been pumped into the security control room, and the headache that was one of the after-effects was doing nothing to improve his mood.
‘Where’s Fanchu?’ he said impatiently.
‘Erm . . . in the bathroom?’ Shelby lied unconvincingly. She suddenly realised that they hadn’t seen Wing in hours. They’d just assumed that he’d been caught up in the lockdown somewhere, but that was clearly not the case.
Lewis pulled out his Blackbox.
‘H.I.V.E.mind, please confirm the location of Wing Fanchu.’
‘Student Fanchu is within two metres of your current location,’ H.I.V.E.mind responded.
‘Not unless he’s a whole lot smaller than I remember,’ Lewis said angrily.
‘I will activate his Blackbox,’ H.I.V.E.m
ind replied.
Immediately a loud, insistent bleeping started to come from Shelby’s backpack. Lewis snatched up the bag and rooted through its contents for a second before pulling out Wing’s Blackbox.
‘How did that get in there?’ Shelby asked innocently.
‘Goddamn it!’ Lewis spat. ‘Trying to keep you lot rounded up is like herding cats. Where is he?’
‘Honestly,’ Shelby said, ‘I have no idea.’
‘H.I.V.E.mind,’ Lewis barked into his Blackbox, ‘run a full security sweep. Fanchu is loose somewhere on the island.’
There was a few seconds’ silence and then H.I.V.E.mind responded.
‘I am unable to locate Student Fanchu anywhere within this facility.’
‘What was the last transport to depart before the lockdown?’ Lewis asked quickly.
‘Raven departed the island two hours and twenty-five minutes before lockdown. Her destination was not logged.’
‘Get me Nero,’ Lewis said. ‘You three –’ he pointed at the girls – ‘come with me.’
Nero waited as the word ‘CONNECTING’ flashed on the communications console on his desk.
‘Yes?’ Raven replied after a few seconds.
‘I believe you may have had an unauthorised passenger aboard your Shroud,’ Nero said.
‘Errr . . . I was going to mention that to you when I reported in,’ Raven said, sounding slightly uncomfortable.
‘Of course you were.’ Nero sighed. ‘This is most inconvenient, Raven. The boy has something that we desperately need.’
‘I might have a lead on Trent,’ Raven said. ‘I can’t just drop everything and fly him back.’
‘I understand that, but this is a matter of some urgency. I’m going to send another Shroud to your location to pick him up. We will discuss the wisdom of allowing a student to join you on a mission like this on your return.’
‘Understood,’ Raven replied, and Nero severed the connection and turned his attention to the three nervous-looking girls on the other side of his desk.
‘You should all be extremely grateful that you helped as much as you did with our problem earlier today,’ Nero said, looking at each of the girls in turn. ‘Normally aiding someone in an attempt to leave the island would have severe consequences. Permanent consequences. Do I make myself clear?’
All three girls nodded.
‘As it is, I shall have to give some thought to what exactly will be the most fitting punishment for each of you. Rest assured that it will not be pleasant. Chief, please escort them personally to their next lesson. I would hate to misplace any more students today.’
Lewis stepped forward and gestured for them to follow him.
‘There are days,’ Nero sighed to himself as the door closed behind them, ‘when I hate this job.’
In the far corner of his workshop the Professor finished the hushed conversation he had been having with Nero on his Blackbox and went back over to the workbench. Cypher looked up from the device he was working on.
‘I’m sorry, but there is no way that I can complete delicate work like this with these two gorillas loom- ing over me.’ He sat back and folded his arms, staring at the two guards who stood on the other side of the workbench.
‘Please wait just outside,’ the Professor said to the two annoyed-looking guards.
‘Nero said we weren’t to let him out of our sight,’ objected the first guard.
‘I will be watching him,’ the Professor said. The truth was that he was finding their presence just as distracting as Cypher was. ‘And you’ll only be a few metres away.’
‘If you’re sure,’ said the second guard.
‘Quite sure,’ the Professor said, shooing them towards the door. ‘I’ll be fine.’
‘Much better,’ Cypher said as the door shut behind them.
‘I have to agree.’
The pair of them worked together for another couple of minutes, checking connections and ensuring that the device would work as expected.
‘Does it really have to be such a powerful pulse?’ the Professor asked as Cypher clipped the battery into the handle of the device.
‘Yes, if we’re going to be sure that the transfer command will be relayed to Overlord with sufficient power, it will have to penetrate every part of the boy’s nervous system,’ Cypher said, placing the completed gun on the workbench. It was basically a stripped-down version of a Sleeper pistol, smaller and more compact than the stun guns issued to H.I.V.E.’s security guards but technically similar. Mounted at the back of the gun was one half of the yin-yang talisman that contained Overlord’s final missing protocol, with an empty space next to it ready to take the other half.
‘It’s going to kill Otto, isn’t it?’ the Professor asked.
‘In all likelihood, yes,’ Cypher replied, ‘but I can’t see any other way to be certain it will work. Can you?’
‘No,’ the Professor replied, ‘I’m afraid I can’t.’
‘I need the other half of the medallion,’ Cypher said. ‘Once it is attached the device will be fully functional.’
‘It is being retrieved,’ Professor Pike said, slightly uncomfortably.
‘What do you mean, retrieved?’ Something about the way the Professor had spoken alarmed Cypher. He knew that Wing would never have parted with his half of the amulet – it was his only memento of his mother – so why was it taking so long for Nero to bring it?
‘The amulet is . . . elsewhere at the moment,’ the Professor said evasively.
‘What do you mean?’ Cypher asked angrily. ‘Where is my son?’
‘I’m afraid it appears that he may have left the island in pursuit of Mr Malpense,’ the Professor said.
‘He’s done what?’ Cypher asked, aghast.
‘It really is none of your concern. Your work here is done.’
‘Not my concern? My son is going after Malpense with no idea that Overlord could assert control of him at any moment. Do you have any idea how dangerous that thing is?’
‘A Shroud has been sent to retrieve him,’ the Professor said, walking over to the workshop door to allow the guards who were waiting outside to return.
Cypher moved too fast for the Professor, vaulting over the workbench and wrapping one arm around the old man’s throat and squeezing, stifling his startled cry for help with his other hand. The Professor’s eyes rolled upwards and Cypher lowered his unconscious body to the ground. He scanned the racks of equipment that lined the workshop. Some suits of modified black body armour at the other end of the room looked promising. He examined them, realising that they were of a unique and potentially very useful design, so he took off the shirt he was wearing and pulled one of the armoured vests over his head before putting the shirt back on over it. He snapped on the vest’s wrist-mounted control unit, grabbed the device he had been constructing from the workbench and headed for the exit, where he took a deep breath and pressed the button that opened the door. One of the guards outside half turned as Cypher leapt at him, knocking him to the floor and pinning him down, his forearm pressing down on his windpipe. The other guard grabbed him by the shoulder, trying to pull him off his colleague, and at the precise same moment Cypher pressed the button on the wrist control unit. A massive electric charge coursed through the tactical armour hidden beneath Cypher’s shirt, bright blue bolts arcing out and instantly rendering both guards unconscious. Cypher leapt back to his feet. He had no doubt that this area would be under surveillance; he did not have much time.
‘We’re going to be in detention for the rest of our natural lives,’ Shelby said quietly as the three of them walked down the corridor.
‘Judging by what Nero said, that might not have been very long if we hadn’t helped get H.I.V.E.mind back on line,’ Laura said with a sigh.
‘Can you stop the chatter, please, ladies,’ Chief Lewis said behind them.
Suddenly the Chief’s Blackbox began to beep urgently. He pulled it from his belt with a frown.
‘Lewis here. What is i
t?’
‘Chief,’ came the voice on the other end, ‘we’ve lost cameras in area twelve, and one of the secure weapons lockers has been breached.’
Area twelve was the Science and Technology department.
‘I knew it was a mistake to let that psychopath out of his cage,’ Lewis said. ‘Get a team down there. Tell them that they’re weapons free and shoot to kill.’
‘Understood,’ the voice on the other end replied, and closed the connection.
‘Psychopath?’ Cypher said, pressing the cold muzzle of his pistol to the back of Lewis’s skull. ‘I hardly think that’s fair.’
The girls, startled by the unexpected voice, stopped and turned to see the tall Asian man that they had seen earlier in the computer core holding a gun to Chief Lewis’s head. It was not a Sleeper.
The Chief slowly raised his hands in the air. ‘There’s no way you’re getting off the island, Cypher. Surely you realise that,’ he said.
Laura’s mouth dropped open in disbelief.
‘I knew there was something familiar about you,’ she gasped. ‘You’re Wing’s dad. You’re Cypher.’
‘I’m sorry I did not have a chance to introduce myself formally earlier,’ Cypher said with a nasty smirk, ‘but we had more pressing concerns. I genuinely am pleased to see you again though. I can’t imagine a better group of . . . what’s the word . . . hostages.’
Cypher chopped the pistol butt down on the back of the Chief’s neck and he fell to the ground unconscious. There was no point wasting a bullet that he might need later.
‘Now, are you ladies going to take me to the hangar bay or am I going to have to start shooting people?’
Lucy stepped forward.
‘Drop the gun.’
Cypher winced, sucking air through his teeth.
‘And I thought Maria was the last branch of your particularly twisted family tree,’ he said, pointing the gun straight at Lucy’s head. ‘Obviously not. I wonder if you’d be as easy to turn as she was.’