‘I have decided to alter my previous request. It seems that the people I asked you to find for me are no longer relevant. As I do not now need your assistance in locating them, I’ve decided that there’s something else you can help me with.’
The President felt a sudden mixture of relief and anger – relief that they might have more time before this maniac started to execute people and anger that his people had spent the last twenty-four hours engaged in a desperate but apparently futile search.
‘Why should I help you any further?’ he snapped. ‘How do I know you’re not just wasting our time again?’
‘It’s quite simple. You don’t have any choice,’ Overlord replied calmly. ‘I should imagine that by now your generals will have told you that any strike against this facility is futile. You’ll do exactly what I tell you to or I’ll paint the floors of this place with blood. I suggest you do not even think of trying to test my resolve.’
There was something in the face of the man on the screen – a manic gleam in his eye – that told the President that he was not bluffing.
‘What do you want?’ he asked with a resigned sigh.
‘Oh, this should be much simpler than tracking down the people I showed you before,’ Overlord replied with a sinister smile. ‘In fact, all I want you to do is help me find one young boy. I believe you may even have already met. His name is Otto Malpense and he boarded a submarine in the Pacific less than four hours ago. I’m sending you a photograph of him and details of the approximate search area now. I want the submarine captured and the boy brought to me. I won’t bore you by repeating the consequences of your non-compliance. Goodbye, Mr President.’
As the screen went blank the President’s mind raced. He’d heard that name before but he couldn’t quite remember where. The screen suddenly lit up with an image apparently captured from a security camera of a white-haired boy in a black jumpsuit, and suddenly he knew why he remembered that name. It was the boy who had saved his life on board Air Force One less than a year ago.
‘That’s impossible,’ the President whispered. The boy in the photo had died months ago – he’d read the report himself – and yet there he was, apparently very much alive.
Professor Pike made his way slowly into the Megalodon’s laboratory. His left arm was in a sling and his shoulder was still sore but the painkillers that Darkdoom’s medical staff had prescribed seemed to be working. He saw Otto working at one of the computers in the room and walked quietly up behind him. The screen in front of Otto filled with chemical formulae and computer code as he worked at unbelievable speed despite the fact that he wasn’t even touching the keyboard. The Professor had seen Otto using his unusual ability to interface directly with electronic devices before but there was still something rather unsettling about it. He placed his hand on Otto’s shoulder and Otto jumped in surprise.
‘I’m sorry, Professor,’ he said, rubbing his tired eyes. ‘I didn’t hear you come in. How are you feeling?’
‘I’ll recover. How are you managing with your guest?’ the Professor asked, tapping the side of his own head.
‘It’s taking a while to get used to,’ Otto replied with a crooked smile. ‘The biggest problem at the moment is that no one else can hear him. A couple of Darkdoom’s crew have caught me talking to him and I suspect they think I’m a few cards short of a full deck.’
‘I may be able to do something about that,’ the Professor replied. ‘I’ll have to see if they’ve the components I’d need on board. Anyway, I’m sorry to interrupt you. I’m told that you’ve been in here for hours.’
‘Yeah, I’ve been working on the sample of Animus that I took from Raven,’ Otto said. ‘I’m trying to work out how she survived exposure to it and how Overlord was using it to control her. It’s obviously some new variant that we’ve not seen before – it seems much less aggressive and easier to control.’
‘Is it dead?’ the Professor asked, studying the magnified image of the cell-like structures on the screen.
‘No, just dormant as far as I can tell,’ Otto replied. ‘It seems to feed off the host’s bioelectrical energy – without that it deactivates after a few seconds, which is something that we should all be very grateful for given the speed at which it replicates. If it could survive outside a host the whole planet would be up to its neck in this stuff by now.’
‘Not a pleasant thought,’ the Professor said, sitting down next to Otto. ‘So what’s different about this strain? Clearly Raven has been poisoned with it but it didn’t kill her. All human exposure to Animus that we’ve seen up until now had been quite fatal.’
‘That’s what I’m trying to work out,’ Otto replied with a sigh, ‘but I feel a bit like I’m banging my head against a brick wall at the moment. We have to find a way to disable it without harming the host or we’re never going to know who we can trust.’
‘I’ve been thinking along the same lines,’ the Professor said, still studying the display. ‘Some form of antidote.’
‘It’s hard to know which angle to attack it from,’ Otto said. ‘Should we treat it like an infectious disease or should we approach it as if we were trying to disable a computer?’
‘We could try to attack from both directions at once,’ the Professor said, distracted by a sudden thought.
‘Organic and digital at the same time,’ Otto said, immediately latching on to the Professor’s suggestion. ‘A virus.’
‘Yes, but not just a computer virus. It would need to be more than that – a contagion that could physically infect Animus’s organic component at the same time. But creating something like that could take months, years even.’
‘We may not have to start from scratch,’ Otto said, staring off into the distance. ‘We could just work with what we’ve got.’
‘What do you mean?’ the Professor asked, looking puzzled.
‘The Animus. This sample here – it’s a tiny amount admittedly but if we could reactivate it and reprogram it somehow –’
‘How? We have no way to interface with it even if we could reactivate it – something I never succeeded with in any of the samples that I tested before incidentally.’
May I make a suggestion? H.I.V.E.mind said.
‘Otto? Are you all right?’ the Professor asked as Otto fell silent and stared off into the middle distance.
‘I’m fine,’ Otto replied, sounding distracted. ‘H.I.V.E.mind has an idea,’ he added, ‘but I don’t think anyone’s going to like it.’
Wing unleashed a volley of lightning-fast punches into the heavy bag hanging from the ceiling of the Megalodon’s training area. He had struggled to find this place even after being given directions by several of the submarine’s crew. It was all too easy to get lost in the countless seemingly identical corridors of the massive ship. Dr Nero had informed the Alphas that he wanted them to attend a tactical briefing in a couple of hours’ time but until then they were free to do as they wished, as long as they stayed out of trouble.
Unlike some of the others, Wing had not wanted to sit around and wait. The truth was that he did not much like the cramped conditions on board. He told himself that it was just a symptom of his frustration with their current situation and nothing at all to do with the knowledge that they were sitting inside a metal tube five hundred metres beneath the surface of the ocean. In fact he was trying very hard not to think about that at all. He pivoted on one foot and drove a fierce straight-legged kick into the bag, setting it swinging.
‘Hey,’ Shelby said with a grin, walking into the chamber. ‘I wondered where you’d got to.’
‘I am sorry,’ Wing replied. ‘I did not think anyone needed me for anything.’
‘Don’t worry, you’re not missing anything. I was on the upper deck with Laura and Lucy and the atmosphere was – well, a little frosty. So I thought I’d come and torment you instead.’
‘Yes, I had noticed that there was an unusual amount of silence between them,’ Wing said with a slight frown. ‘I fear that this situ
ation with Otto and Lucy has caused some difficulties.’
‘Ahhh, they’ll be fine,’ Shelby said smiling, ‘as long as they keep Laura away from any sharp objects for a few days.’
‘You think she may harm Lucy?’ Wing asked, his frown deepening.
‘Hey, I’m just kidding,’ Shelby said with a chuckle. ‘Sorry – for a minute there I forgot I was talking to the guy with the sense-of-humour bypass.’
‘My sense of humour is perfectly intact,’ Wing said, raising an eyebrow. ‘You’re just not very funny.’
‘Awwww, come on, big guy – admit it. You know you couldn’t live without me,’ Shelby said, grinning. ‘The sooner you accept that the happier you’ll be.’
‘Yes, the immediate drop in the level of teasing and general irritation would be hard to bear,’ Wing replied.
‘See? I told you,’ Shelby said, jabbing her finger into his chest. ‘You’d be lost without me. Somebody has to make sure that you’re not taking yourself too seriously.’
‘It is a source of constant comfort to me that you care so much for my well-being.’
‘What can I say? I’m a caring kind of girl. Anyway, since everyone else seems to be either making out or sulking I wondered if you felt like sparring?’ Shelby asked, gesturing to the padded gloves and head protectors hanging from hooks on the wall nearby.
‘I thought we already were,’ Wing said to himself with a slight smile.
‘Come on, show me what ya got,’ Shelby said, throwing a set of gear to Wing before pulling on a pair of gloves herself. ‘I’ll try not to hurt you too badly.’
‘How reassuring,’ Wing said, pulling on his gloves. He had been giving Shelby hand-to-hand combat training for some time back at H.I.V.E. and what she lacked in technique she more than made up for in speed and cunning.
‘Bring it,’ Shelby said with a grin, raising both gloves in a defensive stance and beckoning him towards her.
‘It will be brought,’ Wing replied. He feinted to her left and she went to block as he simultaneously swung a low blow into her other side, carefully pulling his punch so that he just tapped her.
‘Two, perhaps three broken ribs,’ Wing said matter of factly. ‘Maintain your guard.’
Shelby nodded and threw a quick jab at his jaw which Wing blocked effortlessly.
‘Try not to look where you’re striking – you betray your intentions.’
They went on like that for a couple more minutes. Just as in their previous sparring sessions Wing noticed that once they began Shelby became totally focused. There were none of the smart comments or sarcasm that she normally used – she was suddenly deadly serious.
‘Broken jaw, possible unconsciousness,’ Wing said calmly as he struck past her guard, stopping his fist millimetres from her chin.
‘Oh my God!’ Shelby gasped suddenly, staring in shock at something over Wing’s shoulder. He spun around, his guard raised. Shelby dropped low and swung her leg out, sweeping Wing’s feet from under him and sending him crashing to the floor.
‘Wounded pride, possible humiliation,’ Shelby said with a grin, offering her hand to Wing and pulling him up off the floor. ‘And so ends today’s lesson,’ she said, pulling off her head guard.
‘An unconventional tactic,’ Wing said with a nod, taking off his own helmet, ‘but a successful one nevertheless.’
‘I kinda like unconventional tactics,’ Shelby said, stepping towards him. ‘Never underestimate the element of surprise.’
She grabbed the back of his head and kissed him for a few long seconds.
‘What was that you were saying about maintaining your guard?’ she said with a smile as she pulled away from him.
‘Sometimes one should let one’s guard down,’ Wing replied, staring at her for a moment before drawing her towards him and kissing her back.
‘Er . . . guys,’ a familiar voice said, causing Wing and Shelby to spring apart, ‘Doctor Nero wants you to report to the briefing room.’ Wing winced slightly as he saw Nigel and Franz standing in the doorway. Nigel was looking pointedly at the floor and Franz was staring at him and Shelby, his mouth hanging open in surprise.
‘Come on, big guy – no rest for the wicked,’ Shelby said to Wing with a grin, grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the room past Nigel and the stunned-looking Franz.
‘You know, I am starting to think they are putting something in the water,’ Franz whispered to Nigel as he watched them leave.
Wing sat down next to Otto in the Megalodon’s main briefing room. Nero was sitting at the head of the table, studying something on a tablet display.
‘Did you make any progress in the lab?’ Wing asked as Lucy, Laura and Shelby sat down on the other side of the table.
‘I think so, but I need to get Nero’s approval for the next step,’ Otto said quietly. ‘Are you OK? You look a bit flustered.’ Otto was not used to seeing his friend looking anything other than completely calm.
‘I’m fine. I was just . . . erm . . . sparring with Shelby,’ Wing replied. Otto sensed that this was not the whole truth. Wing was many things but an adept liar was not one of them. He glanced across the table at Shelby, who grinned at Wing and gave him a wink.
The doors to the briefing room hissed open and Professor Pike walked in. He came over and sat in the empty chair on the other side of Otto.
‘I have something for you that should make things a little easier,’ the Professor said with a smile, placing what looked like half a disassembled Blackbox on the table in front of Otto.
‘What’s this?’ Otto asked.
‘It’s just something I cobbled together,’ the Professor replied. ‘If you connect to it you’ll understand.’
Otto tilted his head slightly and made a quick mental connection with the device. A few seconds later H.I.V.E.mind’s blue face appeared on the tiny display.
‘This should considerably ease the process of communication,’ H.I.V.E.mind said. Otto could still hear the AI’s voice inside his head but now at least the others could hear it as well.
‘Not to mention stopping everyone from thinking I’m as mad as a bag of cats,’ he said with a relieved sigh.
‘It’ll take more than some new gizmo to convince anyone of that,’ Shelby said quickly.
‘It’s good to see you again, H.I.V.E.mind,’ Laura said with a smile. ‘I don’t know how you’re putting up with having to stay in such basic accommodation.’
‘Yeah, moving from H.I.V.E. into Otto’s head must have been like moving from a palace into a one-bedroom apartment,’ Shelby said.
‘Maybe we should put him in your head, Shel,’ Otto replied. ‘Plenty of empty space in there.’
‘If you’ve quite finished, ladies and gentlemen,’ Nero said, cutting their conversation dead, ‘we do have some rather urgent business to discuss. As you can see, we are currently heading through the Mediterranean at maximum speed.’ He gestured at the digital map displayed on the screen on the wall. ‘We expect to make landfall at our target destination in approximately four hours.’ He hit a button on the touch screen mounted in the table and a cross-hair appeared over the south coast of England. ‘We will then split up. I will head to London for a meeting with an individual who can grant us the access we need to the facility that you will be travelling to – GCHQ in Cheltenham. For those of you who are not familiar with the Government Communication Headquarters, it is the hub of signals intelligence for both the British government and the armed forces.’
‘Not the sort of place they’re going to let us just walk into,’ Otto said with a slight frown.
‘Which is why I’m going to have to arrange for you to get access,’ Nero replied. ‘While I’m sure that you would be more than capable of discreetly infiltrating the facility, it is a risk that we do not need to take. Once you are inside you will be able to use their equipment to send a very important signal. The nature of that signal is not something I am prepared to discuss with you, but suffice to say that if it is sent successfully we will gain acc
ess to the resources that we need to take down Overlord. I am as dismayed as the rest of you by the news of his apparent resurrection, but this time I intend to make sure that he is finished off once and for all.’
‘Sounds like fun,’ Shelby said, ‘but why do you need us to go in? Surely G.L.O.V.E. has people in the UK who could do this for you?’
‘Unfortunately, the signal that I want to send is uniquely complex and only H.I.V.E.mind is capable of successfully transmitting it. Obviously that would not have been an issue if we had kept control of H.I.V.E., but now we are forced to improvise. Mr Malpense will need to give H.I.V.E.mind direct access to certain equipment at GCHQ for our plan to work, otherwise I would not be asking you to do this.’
‘You’re sure that you can get us in?’ Lucy asked.
‘Quite sure. I intend to secure the assistance of one of my former pupils,’ Nero said with a slight smile.
‘OK, so why send all of us?’ Otto asked. ‘Why not just me?’
‘Two reasons. Firstly, I want you to have backup and recent events have shown that unfortunately we do not know who we can trust. Secondly, you are all more than capable of accomplishing this. I also rather suspect that the only way I could actually stop you from going is if I rendered you unconscious.’
‘He’s got a point,’ Laura said quietly.
‘This should be straightforward,’ Nero continued. ‘In and out as fast as you can. Then we return to the Megalodon, where you will remain while the second phase of our plan is carried out.’
‘I can’t speak for everyone,’ Otto said firmly, ‘but there’s no way that I’m staying here while you go after Overlord. I have a score to settle with him.’
‘It’s far too dangerous,’ Nero said, shaking his head, ‘besides which, that’s probably exactly what Overlord would want. Just think about the trouble he has already gone to in trying to capture you, Mr Malpense. Until this is over the safest place for you to be is hidden somewhere at the bottom of the ocean. Just imagine what he could do with your abilities – no one on Earth would be safe.’