Serene stepped aside and gestured to a laundry van parked by the main roller door. ‘I think we should get out of here, don’t you?’
The Outlaws hurried from the container over to the van, where Serene opened the back doors. ‘You’ll need to hide until we’re well away from this place.’
Inside the back of the van were piles of laundry bags, bed linen and towels.
‘In you go. They’re all clean,’ Serene said, eyeing Wren’s look of disgust.
The Outlaws clambered in and pulled sheets and towels over themselves.
• • •
Twenty minutes later, and once Serene was sure it was safe for them to come out of hiding, they pulled the sheets and towels off their heads and peered out of the van’s rear windows.
Jack caught glimpses of New York City as they drove over a bridge.
It was mesmerising, and even though he’d seen pictures, he hadn’t expected it to look quite so big. Some of the buildings in London were impressive, but this was something else – hundreds of concrete and glass skyscrapers all crammed together.
• • •
After travelling through what seemed like half of New York, Serene wound her way along a set of narrow streets.
Wren stared out of the window, her eyes wide. ‘Where are we now?’
‘Chinatown.’ Serene turned a corner.
Pell Street was crammed full of shops, restaurants and hair salons. Signs in Chinese hung everywhere, competing for attention.
Serene parked the van and the six of them clambered out. ‘This way.’
They walked into a narrow shop.
The walls were lined with hundreds of shoes and boots in neat rows.
An ancient Chinese woman stood behind a counter. She bowed as Serene led the way through a door at the back of the shop and into a storeroom full of shoeboxes.
On the far wall she opened another door, and beyond that was a spiral staircase. The six of them hurried up, twisting skyward until they suddenly found themselves in a huge open loft space.
With its high ceiling and polished wooden flooring, it was a stark contrast to the crowded shoe shop.
The loft was about the same size as the main area of the Outlaws’ bunker, only it was bright because of the large windows.
To the right was a sitting area with black leather sofas and chairs. Next to them was a set of glass doors that led to a garden terrace.
On the left-hand side of the staircase was a kitchen, and opposite that an office with a desk, chair and server cabinets.
Jack’s attention was drawn to the end of the room – the entire wall was made of glass.
Charlie moved slowly towards it, her eyes wide, her mouth hanging open.
Behind the glass was a brightly lit area with lots of cabinets and shelves.
Serene smiled as she noticed Charlie’s expression. ‘My gadget room,’ she said. ‘Would you like a closer look?’
Charlie nodded.
Serene glanced at the others. ‘Help yourself to food and drinks, and make yourselves comfortable.’
‘Can I call my mum?’ Slink asked.
‘Of course.’ Serene pointed to a phone on the wall. ‘Help yourself.’ She strode to the glass door of the gadget room and held it open.
Jack and Charlie walked through.
They peered inside the glass cabinets and examined the objects on the shelves.
In the first cabinet was recording equipment and cameras of various sizes and shapes – some disguised to look like smoke detectors, pens and other household items.
Another cabinet was filled with tracking devices, while the one next to it had remote-controlled helicopters like Shadow Bee and an object half a metre across with rotor blades in each of its four corners and a camera in the middle.
‘What’s that?’ Jack said.
‘A drone.’ Charlie was practically salivating. She moved on and stared at a set of night-vision goggles.
Jack walked to the back wall, where several bulletproof vests hung from hooks. ‘Do you need to wear those much?’ he asked Serene.
She inclined her head. ‘You can’t be too careful.’
He stopped in front of a strange suit made from metal rods, motors and pistons. ‘And that?’
‘Exoskeleton,’ Serene said. ‘Haven’t used that one yet.’ She looked over at Charlie. ‘So, what do you think?’
Charlie’s eyes were wide and she seemed like she’d reached heaven. ‘It’s amazing.’
‘I’m not as clever as you,’ Serene said. ‘I have to buy my gadgets.’ She smiled.
Charlie glanced at Jack. ‘My stuff doesn’t always work.’
‘Works most of the time.’ Jack gestured to a large crate – two metres long, one metre wide – sitting in a corner of the room. ‘What’s in there?’
‘Ah, yes, you’ll like this.’ Serene strode over to the crate and lifted up the lid. ‘See for yourself.’
Lying inside, secured with thick straps, was a large cylinder jutting out of a metal box. It reminded Jack of a cannon.
He frowned. ‘What is that?’
‘It’s a secret military prototype called the “Stinger”,’ Serene said. ‘It fires two hardened prongs hundreds of metres.’ She pointed at the back of it. ‘In there are two spools of wire.’
Charlie frowned. ‘Really? What’s it for?’
‘They were experimenting on enemy tanks and other vehicles. Using the Stinger to fry their electronics.’
‘How did you get hold of it?’ Jack asked.
Serene gave him a sly smile. ‘Someone owed me a favour. A very big favour.’ She shut the lid and went over to a bench on the opposite side of the room. ‘I have this set up for you, Charlie, should you need it.’ She pressed a button and plug sockets rose from hidden compartments as Serene turned to a cupboard and opened it.
Inside was a soldering iron, various thicknesses of cable on reels and a full set of tools. Everything Charlie might need to make one of her custom gadgets.
Jack had never seen Charlie look so excited and stunned all at the same time.
Next to the cupboard was a 3D printer.
‘That’s awesome,’ Charlie said.
Jack could almost see the cogs in her brain churning over with the million ideas she had for it.
‘And this is called a Think Desk.’ Serene waved her hand and an interface appeared in one corner. ‘It’s an interactive workstation. I use this to examine items and create mind maps.’
‘I’ve seen one of those on the internet.’ Jack let out a puff of air. Serene’s gadget room must have cost her millions.
Serene waved her hand again and the Think Desk turned off. ‘Now, you must be starving.’
• • •
An hour later and their stomachs were all full. Serene had prepared homemade hamburgers and French fries, followed by chocolate ice cream.
Obi, Wren and Slink had two helpings of everything to make up for the lack of food during their flight.
Serene explained that she had bought them all toiletries and several changes of clothes, which they would find in the linen cupboard. Also, there were five camping mattresses rolled up under the sofas in the seating area.
She had thought of everything.
‘I need to warn you that I will have to go away at short notice. Could be in the next day or so.’
Jack nodded. ‘OK.’
‘I’m sorry, but it’s an important mission and I can’t get out of it.’
‘What are you doing?’ Wren said.
Charlie shot her a look. ‘You can’t ask something like that. It’s private.’
‘It’s OK.’ Serene smiled at Wren. ‘Let’s just say a very bad man is about to get his karma delivered to him.’
Wren grinned back at her.
Once, when Serene had come over to England, the Outlaws had managed to help her out by breaking into some guy’s flat and recovering a stolen phone. Though she hadn’t been too forthcoming with information, Jack had later learned that t
he phone had belonged to a terrorist.
‘That reminds me.’ Serene went into her gadget room and returned a minute later carrying a strange-looking device. It was only a centimetre or so thick, about fifty centimetres square, had six buttons and a large screen.
She handed it to Wren. ‘This is for you. I’ve heard you’re good at games.’
Wren took it from her and examined the device. ‘What is it?’
‘It’s called Hamster Escape. I’ve been trying to complete it for months.’ Serene sat down. ‘Ironic thing is, I actually programmed the stupid thing myself.’
Wren’s eyes widened. ‘You did?’
Slink huffed. ‘Wren’s not that good at games.’
Wren scowled at him. ‘I beat you every time on that racing one back at the bunker.’ She switched on Hamster Escape and started playing. After a few seconds, she looked up at Serene. ‘It’s awesome. Thanks.’
Serene waved her away. ‘You think it’s cool now – wait until you get to level seventeen.’
Jack glanced over at Serene’s office. ‘Can I borrow your computer?’
‘You want to get to work tracking down your friend?’
Jack rose from his chair. ‘Yes, please.’ He strode towards the glass office door.
‘The password is Firefly.’
‘Thanks.’ Jack pushed the door open and went inside.
The office was sparse – just a desk and chair against one wall. Next to the desk was a door that Jack assumed led to Serene’s bedroom.
He sat down and turned in the seat to look at the servers behind him. They were humming quietly. They were the best – Ryalls Eighty-Six – no expense spared.
Jack looked at the monitor, nudged the mouse and typed in the password.
Serene had programmed her own operating system and it ran smoothly, better than he could’ve hoped for. The internet connection was fast, and she had also created some superb firewalls and proxies to protect her anonymity.
Jack opened a dialog box and spent the next few minutes checking the IP address of Hector’s last known location. Finally he brought up a map, stood and opened the door.
‘Serene?’
She strode over to him. ‘Everything OK?’
‘Could you help me out a minute?’ Jack pointed at the screen. ‘Do you know where that is?’
She nodded. ‘It’s an apartment building near the park. Very exclusive. Why?’
‘That’s where the virus is.’
Charlie, Obi, Slink and Wren came over to see what Jack had found.
‘We need to do a recon mission,’ Jack said.
Obi groaned. ‘Now? Can’t it wait till tomorrow? I’m tired.’
‘No,’ Jack said. ‘We have to act quickly.’
Obi’s shoulders slumped.
‘You’re always tired,’ Slink said.
‘You’re always annoying,’ Obi mumbled back.
‘And sarcastic,’ Wren said with a grin.
Slink gasped. ‘I am never sarcastic.’
Charlie turned to Jack. ‘What do you want us to do?’
• • •
Charlie loaded up with gadgets she thought they might need, and thirty minutes later Jack, Charlie, Slink, Wren and Serene pulled up in the van on Fifth Avenue and 79th Street.
To their right was Central Park and to their left was a building with concrete columns, twelve storeys high.
Jack peered up at it.
‘The Hindleton Building,’ Serene said.
Charlie leant forward in the passenger seat. ‘Hector’s here?’
‘Yep.’ Jack looked around. ‘He must have rented one of the apartments.’
‘Which one?’ Slink said.
Jack let out a breath. ‘No idea.’ He pressed a finger to his ear. Serene had lent them all a set of low-profile earpieces, connected to phones. ‘Obi?’
‘Commander Obi, receiving.’ He was in Serene’s office.
Jack fought the urge to snap at him. ‘Have you got into the CCTV systems yet?’
‘I have visuals from three cameras in the surrounding roads,’ Obi said. ‘This set-up is amazing. Took me under thirty seconds to get in. One camera is two buildings down and I can see the front of the apartments.’
‘Any sign of Hector yet?’
‘No. Since I’ve tapped in, no one has gone in or out.’
‘OK. Thanks. Keep us updated.’ Jack sat back, mulled over various plans for a moment, then glanced at Charlie. ‘I think we should move.’
‘You have a plan?’ she said.
Jack nodded and turned to Wren. ‘Up for playing the “little lost girl”?’
Wren beamed at him.
‘I’ll take that as a yes.’
‘What do you want me to do?’ Slink said.
‘Nothing at the moment,’ Jack said. ‘This is just recon.’
Jack, Charlie and Wren climbed out of the van and Jack glanced up and down the street. It was busy with cars and pedestrians.
He looked across the road, at the trees and Central Park beyond. If they needed to physically watch the building without using CCTV, there were plenty of places to hide.
They walked to the front of the apartment building. The doorman’s eyes narrowed as they approached, but he opened the doors for them anyway.
‘Thanks,’ Jack said, following Charlie and Wren inside.
The lobby was lavish, with marble floors and a crystal chandelier. A woman in a dark blue suit with gold buttons was standing behind a mahogany desk. She looked up and a frown creased her brow.
‘Excuse me, miss,’ Charlie said, laying the British accent on nice and thick. ‘We found this girl outside.’ She pointed to Wren.
Tears streamed down Wren’s face and she sniffed.
The woman studied her. ‘Go find a policeman in the park.’
Charlie visibly bristled at the woman’s attitude, but recovered herself. ‘She says she lives here.’
The woman’s pencilled eyebrows rose. ‘Oh, really?’
Wren nodded and wiped her nose on her sleeve.
A man in a suit and long coat walked in through the main doors.
‘Good day, Mr Granger,’ said the woman behind the desk.
He nodded and walked to a door to the right. Jack assumed this led to the stairs and lift.
The woman typed a code into the computer next to her and the door buzzed.
Jack glanced at the back of it, but there were no network cables that he could see – which meant it was on an isolated system.
The man pushed through the door without a backward glance.
Next, Jack scanned the walls and ceiling of the lobby, but couldn’t see any signs of cameras.
The woman sighed and looked at Wren. ‘What apartment number?’
‘I don’t know,’ Wren said through heavy sobs.
‘I can’t help you then.’ The woman waved her away.
A smartly dressed man and woman strode through the main doors.
Wren’s crying burst into loud sobs.
The woman behind the desk glanced uneasily at the man and woman as they stepped to the door. She typed in a code and they walked through. ‘Right,’ she said in a low voice, once they’d gone, ‘what’s your name?’
‘Jennifer Del Sarto.’
The receptionist crossed her arms. ‘Del Sarto?’
‘Yeah,’ Charlie said. ‘She said her brother’s name is Quentin.’
‘Get out.’
‘What?’
‘The Del Sarto family have been with us for many years,’ the woman snapped. ‘They are our most valued tenants and I know for a fact that Master Del Sarto does not have a sister.’
‘Yes, he does,’ Wren said.
The woman scowled at her and picked up the phone. ‘Would you like me to call the police?’
Wren instantly stopped crying. ‘No.’
The woman slammed the phone down and thrust a finger at the main doors. ‘Get out.’
Charlie opened her mouth to reply, but Jack took her arm.
‘Come on,’ he said. ‘Let’s go.’
Outside, Jack, Charlie and Wren hurried back to the laundry van and climbed in.
‘How did you get on?’ Serene said.
‘Don’t ask,’ Charlie mumbled.
Jack looked at Slink, who was now wearing a New York Yankees baseball cap. ‘Where did you get that?’
‘Found it in a bag while I was waiting for you lot. Serene said I could have it. I wanna blend in with the locals.’
‘Well,’ Charlie said, as Serene pulled the van from the kerb, ‘that was a disaster.’
‘No, it wasn’t,’ Jack said.
Charlie frowned. ‘Huh?’
‘Now we know Hector is definitely staying there.’
Charlie’s confusion gave way to a cheeky grin. ‘You’ve got a new plan?’
Jack nodded. ‘Yep. And this next mission is going to be a challenge.’
Slink rubbed his hands together. ‘Bring it on.’
CHAPTER FIVE
It was getting dark by the time Serene parked the van down a side street in Chinatown. Jack felt jet-lagged and disorientated, and his brain refused to accept what time of day it was.
The others looked tired too, and as they climbed out of the van and were about to go into the shop, someone called, ‘Serene?’
A hooded figure, wearing a leather jacket with straps on the arms, gloves, black trousers and heavy leather boots with metal caps, jogged up to her.
‘Lux?’ Serene said. ‘Is that you?’
‘Yeah, it’s me.’ The girl pulled down her hood. She had light blonde hair, pale skin, blue eyes and several piercings – five in her right ear, four in her left and one in her nose.
Jack thought she was beautiful. He glanced at Slink, and by the look on his face, he thought so too.
Charlie noticed their gormless expressions and rolled her eyes.
Serene looked up and down the street, took Lux’s arm and huddled in the doorway to the shoe shop. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Huge trouble.’ Lux’s suspicious gaze moved to the others.
‘It’s OK,’ Serene said. ‘They’re with me.’ She opened the door and ushered everyone through.
Once up in Serene’s loft, they all slumped on the sofas.
‘This is Jack, Charlie, Slink and Wren,’ Serene said.
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