by Nick Cook
Gem gave me a questioning look as I pulled away from her.
I tapped my earpiece. ‘Sentinel needs me for something.’
I couldn’t help noticing the sadness in her eyes as I broke away and headed for the house. ‘Just how serious are we talking here, Sentinel?’ I asked him when I was out of Gem’s earshot.
‘Very. It turns out that Hammond has been holding back from us. He has just authorised a military raid on a houseful of Shade operatives.’
‘Shit!’ I broke into a run.
Chapter Five
As I reached the mezzanine, Melissa handed me a headset.
‘Do you want me to get Captain Ericsson up here so we can ask permission to get involved with this?’ she said.
I shook my head. ‘You know what he’s like. It will only slow us down and it may be too late if it goes wrong like last time. I’ll assess the situation first within the Ember sim and we’ll only get involved if absolutely necessary.’ I dropped into the seat and raised my face towards the monitor. ‘So what’s it this time, Sentinel?’
‘It turns out that the Ministry of Defence is keen for General Hammond to try out a new weapon they’ve been secretly developing for use against the Shade. Apparently it’s some sort of supercharged taser called a Voletar. Your authorities need to be far more honest with us about what they are up to. That aside, it seems that your new prime minister has just given General Hammond permission to field-test it during an SAS raid. A high-level meeting of Shade agents that the MI5 have been tracking for several months is happening in that house right now.’
‘And why is this the first we get to hear about it?’ I asked.
‘I think it’s become a point of pride for General Hammond to prove to the government that the armed forces can hold their own against the Shade without any Awoken help.’
Melissa sighed. ‘I wish he’d just accept that we’re all in this together.’
I nodded. ‘You know what he’s like.’ I gazed at her and turned a thought over in my head. To say Melissa was dedicated would have been a massive understatement. She’d worked flat out in her training and was almost ready for her first real mission. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to involve her in this as a taste of what was to come. She’d more than earned it. I tilted my head to one side. ‘Fancy joining me on a recognisance mission, Melissa?’
‘You bet! Especially if it means I get to see a real-life Shade, even if it is only in a sim.’
I smiled. ‘Be careful what you wish for.’
She grinned at me as she dropped back onto her couch and pulled her headset on.
‘Sentinel, please enable the kill switch code.’ We couldn’t take any chances, and the kill switch meant we could save ourselves in case the Shade tried to pull any stunts like they’d done back in Big Ben when they’d put Chloe into a coma.
‘Already activated, Jake, and if there’s even a hint of anything suspicious, my new safety measures will kick in and return your consciousnesses to your bodies automatically. However, I should warn you that it won’t be pleasant experience and will leave you with a serious headache.’
‘But at least it won’t leave us in a coma,’ I replied.
Chloe hadn’t been so lucky, when it had happened to her. Fortunately we’d been able to rescue her – eventually.
‘Er, yeah,’ Melissa added with a grin.
I put my headset on and adjusted it. ‘In that case, jack us both in, Sentinel.’
The room blurred away and once again I was hurtling up and out over the sea towards the coastline of England, but this time with Melissa’s avatar by my side. I kept the orange direction marker in the centre of my HUD centre and within seconds I was speeding over the Norfolk coastline. Melissa and I descended fast until we came to a hovering stop several hundred metres in the air.
Beneath us a lane curved through the flat Norfolk countryside where a convoy of green military Land Rovers and lorries had parked up. In the distance, a huge manor house sat in the middle of sweeping landscaped grounds, with a long tree-lined driveway and a helipad next to the house. Whoever owned this place had big money, obvious by the array of exotic supercars parked outside. The Shade agents inside had clearly developed a taste for the luxury human lifestyle.
‘So this is where General Hammond and his men are about to storm?’ I asked Sentinel.
‘That’s correct,’ the AI’s disembodied voice replied. ‘MI5 picked up the trail of Reece Johnson, the former minister of education, and followed him to this location. They seem to have hit the jackpot based on their research, as it looks as though some sort of high-level Shade meeting is in progress.’
‘And still they didn’t call us in to help,’ Melissa said.
‘Same old,’ I replied. ‘So where is General Hammond anyway?’
A green arrow appeared in my HUD.
‘Just follow that and it will take you right to him,’ Sentinel replied.
Melissa and I began to descend further, following the arrow towards a group gathered at the rear of one of the Land Rovers. Hammond was standing in the middle talking to an SAS operative in black gear, who was holding a rugged military tablet displaying a map. Williams, Hammond’s assistant, was standing next to the general and wearing a sergeant’s uniform. I’d only recently learnt that Williams had once been part of Hammond’s squad back in the day and had carried on working for him after the general had retired. Little wonder that he had followed Hammond back into the army when the general had been pulled out of retirement to deal with the Shade threat.
Although I knew that no one on the ground could see us as we were simply projecting our consciousnesses using Ember, I still found myself taking a mental breath as our avatars landed next to the group. Of course, no heads turned round to stare at the simulations that had just materialised next to them. But once again, as at Carl’s flat, everything was playing out in silence before us.
‘Sentinel, we really need to hear what’s going on – anything you can do to help with that?’ I asked.
‘I can see what you can, so if you both concentrate on their lip movements as they speak, I can run some analysis algorithms and convert it into speech for you.’
‘Great, then please do it,’ I said.
‘Just give me a moment…’
Melissa and I took up different positions to make sure we had every angle of their faces covered between us.
A moment later a much synthesised version of General Hammond’s voice filled the air.
‘This is a perfect opportunity to test the new Voletar weapons,’ Hammond was saying. ‘After months of chasing dead ends, these are the last remaining high-level Shade operatives that MI5 are aware of in this country. We will never be presented with such a good opportunity to take them out with one surgical strike.’
‘And as I keep telling you, General,’ the soldier holding the tablet said, ‘I’d feel much happier if we did some more reconnaissance first before going in guns blazing, not to mention getting the Awoken involved in this mission too.’
‘At least someone around here is talking some sense,’ Melissa said.
‘Captain Jacobs, we need to be able to learn to stand on our own two feet when it comes to the Shade. As impressive as Jake, Chloe and the other Awoken are, the new Voletar weapons should mean we are more than able to hold our own in a fight with the Shade. This will be a test of that ability.’ Hammond gestured towards one of the boxy-looking rifles being held by one of Jacobs’s squad. ‘If I were you, I’d show a bit more belief in this new hardware. Those weapons have a hundred times the charge of a taser. And you know from your own experience that when field-tested against a Shade agent they completely destroyed the parasite controlling the host.’
‘Not to mention killing the person as well,’ Jacobs replied.
‘No one is happy about that, but needs must, Captain, and this is war. With your service record, you of all people should be able to appreciate that.’
‘And you should appreciate that I have a duty to the men under my comman
d to make sure they don’t throw their lives away on a badly prepared mission.’
I was already warming to Captain Jacobs.
Hammond scowled at him. ‘Are you questioning my judgement, Captain?’
‘Just pointing out the risk involved,’ Jacobs replied.
Hammond looked off into the distance before slowly nodding. ‘I know this isn’t an ideal situation, but it is the best way for us to test these new weapons. Besides, we can’t let the Shade operatives inside that building slip away – we may never get as good an opportunity as this again.’
‘I would still like it on record that I’m not happy about this,’ Jacobs replied.
‘Duly noted.’
‘Then I’ll brief my squad, General. We should be ready to go in five minutes.’ Jacobs snapped Hammond a salute.
I shook my head. ‘Talk about misguided. Hammond obviously still believes that the military can tackle the Shade with guns, the old-fashioned way.’
‘It’s all someone like him understands,’ Melissa replied. ‘But before they go storming in there, let’s look inside that manor house and find out what’s waiting for them. Worst case, we can get a team of Awoken to teleport here if it’s looking a bit dodgy for Jacobs and his squad.’
‘Now that sounds like a much better plan,’ I replied.
Melissa smiled at me. ‘Here to help in any way I can.’
Together we floated up around thirty metres and skimmed away along the driveway towards the grey-stone manor house.
As we neared, I began to dial in some X-ray over my vision of the Real, our name for our normal, everyday world. The Shade themselves might have been invisible within that wavelength, but the skeletons of their human hosts would still stand out like spotlights. Sure enough, I could see a group of people sitting round a large table in a large room on the first floor.
Melissa was also staring directly at them, no doubt having used the same trick to locate them. Electromagnetic frequency shifting training was a standard part of an Awoken’s training programme back at Eaglehurst.
‘So what do you say to us crashing this party?’ Melissa said.
‘Sounds good to me.’
We did our ghost routine and slid through the solid walls into the room the group was gathered and I dialled back fully into the Real. I recognised most of the twelve men and women in there from previous intelligence briefings with Hammond.
Publicly, these people were all former members of Alexander Langton’s original Cabinet, who had all mysteriously vanished after St Pauls had been wiped from the face of London. Hammond had said that MI5 was reasonably certain that Langton’s Cabinet were all Shade agents, but their presence at this meeting confirmed it.
Reece Johnson, universally loathed as education secretary by my tutors back at Stoneham sixth form, was sitting at the head of the table and looking as if he were in charge.
In the middle of the table sat a small black featureless cube. It looked as if it had been carved out of solid stone. Whatever it was, the Shade agents were all staring at it.
‘What’s that stone box thing, Sentinel?’ I asked.
‘I have a suspicion, but to confirm it I’d like you to shift into the infrared spectrum for me.’
‘No problem.’ I tuned into the thermal wavelength that Chloe and I had nicknamed the Shadowlands.
At once, I spotted a swirling mass of black vapours over the cube.
‘I’m seeing dark energy all over the device,’ I said.
‘Me too,’ Melissa said.
‘Sentinel, are you getting all of this?’
‘Yes, and that confirms it. The device is a Shade communication tool known as a Lodestone.’
‘OK, so if this is some sort of conference call, who’s at the other end of that line?’ Melissa asked.
‘Someone significant enough to bring together so many Shade agents,’ I replied. ‘Sentinel, we need you to weave your magic again so we can listen in.’
‘All right, but once again I will need you to position yourselves so you can see their lip movements.’
‘No problem,’ I said.
Melissa moved to one end of the table and I went to the other. I concentrated on Johnson, who seemed to be talking directly at the cube. After a few seconds, his words were synthesised by Sentinel.
‘Operations here have been concluded, my lord,’ Johnson was saying. ‘The decoy plan within St Pauls, not to mention the corruption of this country’s government, have kept both the Awoken and the authorities distracted long enough to ensure their attention has been away from our real project.’
The air locked in my chest. ‘Are they really saying that the DEC Mathews set off in London, which nearly destroyed the whole city, was just a bloody distraction?’
Melissa chewed her lip. ‘Sounds that way to me.’
‘So what the hell is their real plan then?’
‘Hopefully we’ll find out if we listen.’ She put her fingers to her lips.
A shape began to form from the dark energy vapours above the cube and my heart clenched at the face of nightmares made from nothing but shadows. It was Archios himself.
‘Excellent work,’ Archios replied, nodding. ‘Then everything has gone as planned, although at some cost with the notable loss of Mathews when Gem managed to kill him using her Awoken powers. But it was a noble sacrifice – without his efforts, they might have discovered Dark Sunset. Fortunately, everything is on track for our real plan and our moment of victory is almost within our grasp.’
If St Pauls was just a sideshow – one in which seventeen million Londoners had almost been wiped out – then whatever Dark Sunset was had to be something far, far worse.
Oh shit!
‘Sentinel, please relay this information to Hammond immediately,’ I said. ‘We need him to hear about Dark Sunset before Captain Jacobs and his squad make their move.’
‘I’m afraid it’s too late for that, Jake. Hammond has already given the order to commence the mission.’
‘Damn his impatience,’ Melissa said.
‘I know, but if we can’t stop them, let’s at least learn what we can before the military come steaming in here,’ I said. ‘Then we can work out how to save their arses.’
Reece Johnson cupped his hands together and gazed at Archios’s holographic face. ‘So what are your orders, Archios?’
‘You can wind up all operations in England and then join us for the final preparations for Dark Sunset. We will need every Shade who is already on this planet to make this—’ Archios suddenly fell silent, and he and every Shade agent in the room turned to stare at the large arched windows running along the right-hand wall.
The convoy of vehicles was screaming along the driveway, straight towards the house.
‘We have been discovered,’ Archios said. ‘You know what steps to take – use whatever force you need to stop them, Johnson.’
Johnson nodded and stood. ‘Hunters, to me!’ he shouted.
The double doors banged open and a group of people rushed in. At the front was a burly teenager with grey eyes.
A chill rippled over my skin as I stared at Gavin. The last time I’d seen him had been at St Pauls, just before it had been destroyed. But here he was standing in the room – still a puppet of the Shade.
‘What is your command?’ Gavin asked.
‘Form a suitable reception committee for our unexpected guests.’
Gavin gave a sharp nod and he and the others rushed from the room.
‘Prepare yourself, everyone,’ Johnson said.
The Shade agents all turned towards the windows and raised their hands. Dark fog erupted from their fingers and billowed out through the glass. It swept out towards the vehicles, growing rapidly as it approached the convoy.
Johnson dropped his head and began a strange guttural chanting.
‘Good luck and good hunting,’ Archios said as his image above the cube evaporated.
Melissa shook her head. ‘I don’t care how big Hammond’s new guns
are, Captain Jacobs and his squad are going to be seriously outmatched here.’
‘Agreed,’ I replied. ‘So we have to forget what General Hammond thinks – let’s go and call the cavalry before it’s too late.’
‘Damned right,’ she replied.
Moments later, we were back in Eaglehurst’s tower. I yanked my headset off and rushed over to the cross marker in the middle of the floor. ‘I’m teleporting straight back there, Melissa.’
‘Then I should go too. You know I’m more than ready for an actual mission,’ Melissa said.
‘No – you’ve not had any combat experience. I don’t want you putting your life on the line before you’ve been fully trained to handle something like this.’
‘With all due respect, Jake, whether or not to risk my life is my decision. Anyway, the only way I’m going to gain combat experience is by actually crossing that bloody line. And however powerful your gift is, even you can’t do this alone.’
‘I haven’t got time to argue about this, Melissa.’ Despite my annoyance I was also impressed at her determination. ‘Just go and grab Chloe, Ethan and Gem, and ask them teleport over to join me.
Melissa spread her hands wide. ‘Please, Jake…’
‘Listen, I more than understand what you’re feeling right now – that you’re itching to get into the fight. But you need to sit this one out. Next time, I promise.’ I turned away from Melissa as her face crumpled. ‘Sentinel,’ I said to the monitor, ‘can you display the target on my phone?’
I took my mobile out of my pocket and my phone’s screen – normally permanently turned off because of the security clamp-down – burst into life with an aerial view of the manor and the cars parked outside it. I focused on the image, making it as real as possible in my imagination, and closed my eyes.
It felt as if an ocean was surging through my body as the world went white. Then I was standing in front of the manor house blanketed by dark fog.
The silhouettes of the convoy vehicles were just visible in the gloom. A number of the SAS had already turned their Voletar guns towards me.
I waved my hands at them. ‘Don’t shoot – I’m an Awoken!’