Lockdown

by Peter Jay Black

  Jack turned his head and his gaze followed the aim of the beam until it stopped at a camera mounted high on the wall of an abandoned building.

  Jack glanced at Charlie. ‘Ready?’

  She adjusted her mask and nodded.

  The two of them walked along a broken path and stepped into view of the camera, making sure it got a brief look at their faces.

  Charlie set down her bag just out of the camera’s range and opened it. Next she pulled out a small air pump attached to a high-capacity battery.

  Jack took out two bundles of clothes from the duffel bag and set them on the ground next to her.

  Charlie connected the hose from the air pump to a valve that stuck out of the clothes.

  She pressed the button on the air pump and it started up.

  Jack spoke quietly into the headset. ‘Obi?’

  ‘As far as I can tell, Hector is still watching the others.’

  Jack stood and moved in front of the nearest camera’s view again. He paced back and forth, glancing at his watch, as if waiting for the Outlaws.

  ‘How are they getting on?’ he whispered.

  ‘I’ll patch you in.’

  The image in the corner of Jack’s vision changed to the view from one of Hector’s cameras.

  Drake, Lux and Wren were crouched down by the wall of the main building. Above their heads was the small window to the power room.

  Drake was taking his time, tying knots into a rope with a hook on the end.

  So far everything was going to plan. Drake, Lux and Wren would never have to climb through that window. All they needed to do was stall for long enough so that Jack and Charlie could set everything up.

  Jack turned back.

  Charlie had inflated one set of clothes and was just finishing with the second.

  She looked up at him and smiled.

  There were now two dummies. All they needed were the finishing touches.

  Charlie reached into her jacket and pulled out another two masks. Another Lux and another Drake. She put the Lux mask on a dummy and topped it with a pair of fake AR glasses. Then she carried the dummy to the edge of the camera’s field of view, just out of sight.

  Jack walked under the camera, as if he was still pacing back and forth, waiting. ‘OK, Obi,’ he whispered.

  Obi brought up an image of the camera next to them. ‘Ready, Charlie.’

  Charlie eased the dummy of Lux forward a centimetre at a time until it just showed at the edge of the camera’s view.

  ‘Right,’ Obi said. ‘That’s enough.’

  Charlie tied the wrist of the dummy to a tree trunk, then carefully stepped back.

  Jack smiled. From Hector’s screen, it would look as if Lux was standing there.

  ‘Now you,’ Charlie whispered.

  She scooped up the second dummy and hurried around to the other side of the camera as Jack casually walked out of its view.

  Charlie fixed the second Drake mask and glasses under the dummy’s hood and passed it to him.

  Jack walked back to the camera. ‘Tell me when, Obi.’ He edged forward.

  ‘Wait.’ Charlie disappeared into the darkness and returned a minute later, carrying a heavy log. She dropped it at Jack’s feet and took the dummy from him. ‘It will look odd if they’re both standing still.’

  Jack understood.

  He rolled the log with his foot and nudged it into the camera’s field of view. Then he stepped back and held his breath. ‘Obi?’

  ‘Hector hasn’t moved.’

  Jack turned around.

  Charlie had used string to tie the dummy into a sitting position.

  ‘We need a distraction,’ Jack said. ‘It’s too obvious.’

  ‘On it,’ Wren said.

  The image in the corner of the AR Glasses showed Wren slipping off her backpack and removing some kind of device. She switched it on, LEDs blinked and she waved it over the building’s wall, as if scanning for something.

  ‘Well done, Wren. It’s working,’ Obi said. ‘Hector’s leaning in to his screen and he looks well confused.’

  ‘Quick,’ Jack said to Charlie.

  They each took an arm of the dummy, sat him on the log in front of the camera and pulled back again.

  ‘Well?’ Jack asked.

  There was a short pause, then Obi said, ‘All good. Hector still seems to be distracted.’

  Jack looked at the image of Wren. She was waving the device over the wall. ‘What is that?’

  Wren held it up as if checking a readout. ‘It’s that game Serene gave me – Hamster Escape.’ After a moment more, she slipped it back into her bag.

  Jack smiled. ‘That was clever.’

  ‘Thanks.’

  He looked at the dummies in front of the camera, then at Charlie. ‘We have to be quick.’

  She nodded and, now they were free to move on, Jack and Charlie circled the camera, keeping out of its vision, and picked their way between the trees.

  They followed the green arrow on the AR Glasses until they reached a clearing.

  Ahead was another camera, the glasses’ golden cone shape showing its field of view.

  ‘I hope the drone mapped this accurately,’ Jack whispered to Charlie.

  An error of even a few centimetres might lead to Hector spotting them. Jack took a deep breath and he and Charlie followed the green arrow around the edge of the clearing.

  Finally they made it to the end wall of the main building.

  Above them, on the first floor, was a small window. By the looks of it, its glass and frame had fallen out a long time ago.

  Jack looked at the image of Drake, Lux and Wren in his AR Glasses. Drake had finished tying knots into the rope and was now swinging the grappling hook on its end back and forth, ready to try to grip the window above.

  He couldn’t keep on stalling for ever – Jack and Charlie had to get a move on. Jack looked up at their target window. Now they were there, it looked higher than he’d expected. He glanced at her. ‘Can you make it?’

  As if in answer, Charlie stepped forward, gripped the brickwork and started to climb.

  Jack watched for several anxious minutes as Charlie made her way up the wall of the building.

  Soon she reached the window ledge and peered down at him as if to say, Who needs Slink?

  Jack nodded. ‘Nice one.’

  Charlie lowered a rope, which Jack fixed to his harness and started to climb.

  He was surprised how quickly he got tired.

  By the time he hauled himself over the window frame, he was out of breath and his arms were burning. Suddenly he had a newfound respect for Slink’s skills. He made it look so effortless.

  Jack untied the rope, slipped it into his backpack and turned around. They were standing in a hallway. The floorboards were broken and in an advanced state of decay.

  The green arrow on the AR Glasses pointed straight ahead.

  Jack signalled Charlie to follow him and to watch her step.

  Staying close to the wall, they made their way slowly up the corridor until they reached a door on the right. The green arrow was telling them to go inside.

  Jack glanced back at Charlie, then opened the door and stepped into the room.

  The space beyond was only a few metres on each side and almost the entire centre of the floor was missing.

  In the room below was a power generator, its motor chugging. Charlie had been right – there was a cage surrounding the generator and a security camera pointed at it. If either of them tried to get near it, Hector would know. But, if Charlie’s plan worked, they wouldn’t have to.

  Jack knelt down by the hole and pulled out the coil of rope from his backpack. He clipped one end to the harness under his clothes then lay on the floor.

  Charlie sat on the edge of the hole and clipped the other end of the rope to her own harness. With care, Jack lowered her down just beyond the camera’s view.

  After a minute Charlie’s feet touched the floor below. She looked up at Jack
and gave him the signal that she was OK.

  Jack unclipped the rope, stood up and took several deep breaths, preparing himself for the next part of the mission.

  Finally ready, he left the room, but instead of climbing back through the window he went to the other end of the hallway and down a flight of stairs.

  At the bottom, he peered around the corner.

  He could see the door to the room with the glass box.

  The cold barrel of a gun pressed against his neck.

  ‘Don’t move,’ Connor snarled in his ear. He grabbed Jack’s arm and, keeping the gun pointed at his head, marched him through the door into the main room and over to the glass hexagon.

  Cloud opened the door and they went inside.

  Hector had a satisfied smirk on his face as Connor removed Jack’s backpack and tossed it into a corner.

  Hector walked over to Jack and ripped the mask and AR Glasses off his head.

  He stepped back and held up the mask. ‘You really think I’m that stupid?’

  Jack thought it best that he didn’t respond to that question.

  Hector grunted in disgust, dropped the mask to the floor and stamped on it.

  Connor holstered his gun and forced Jack into a chair next to Slink, tying him to it with rope.

  Slink nodded at Jack. ‘All right, mate?’

  Jack kept his eyes on Hector. ‘Yep. You?’

  ‘All gravy, baby.’

  ‘Shut up.’ Hector examined the AR Glasses.

  As he slipped them on, Jack hoped that Obi had disengaged the map overlay.

  Hector turned his head from side to side. ‘These are very impressive.’ He took the glasses off and examined the arms, where the microcomputer and transceiver were housed. ‘Where did you get them?’

  ‘A toy shop in Times Square,’ Slink said, before Jack could come up with his own answer. ‘We bought it on clearance for fifty quid.’

  ‘Dollars,’ Jack said.

  ‘Yeah, right – dollars. Fifty dollars.’

  Hector sighed, placed the glasses on the desk next to several chewing gum wrappers folded into origami animals and looked at Connor. ‘You can go and round up the others now.’ He glanced at one of the monitors in front of him. ‘They’re by the outer wall.’ His gaze moved to Jack. ‘Still stalling for time, are they?’

  ‘What about the girl?’ Connor said.

  Hector frowned at the displays. ‘She must be in the building somewhere. Go find her after you have the others. She can’t do any damage – the generator is protected.’ He clicked a mouse and brought up an image of the generator room.

  Jack let out a small breath – Charlie had managed to keep out of sight of the camera.

  But Hector had noticed Jack’s reaction. ‘I assume she’s hiding somewhere,’ he said in a flat tone. ‘What was the plan, Jack?’

  Jack shrugged and looked away.

  Connor gestured for Monday to follow him, and the two men left the room.

  Cloud stood behind Jack and Slink as Hector paced back and forth for a moment.

  The stupid smirk on his face wouldn’t go away. ‘I’ve enjoyed the past few hours, Jack – our little game.’

  Jack stared at him. ‘Game? What game?’

  Hector stopped pacing. ‘Oh, come on, you are such a sore loser. Our game.’ The smirk grew wider. ‘The way that I pretended to leave a gap in the security like that.’

  ‘Pretended?’ Jack said, incredulous.

  Hector rolled his eyes and turned the monitor so they could all see it properly. He brought up a complete map of the island, showing the camera positions and laser trip wires.

  Hector clicked the mouse and a green line appeared. ‘This is the path I left open through the security,’ he said, as if talking to a child.

  He pressed a button on the keyboard and the line vanished as several more cameras and trip wires engaged. Hector looked at Jack. ‘The island is now on lockdown.’

  A ring of red dots appeared, circling the island.

  ‘And these are explosives, Jack. You try and escape, you’ll trigger them and blow your legs off.’ He turned the monitor back. ‘Oh, and if you were wondering about the target I left for you . . .’ He looked at Cloud. ‘Show him.’

  Cloud left the glass box and followed the power cables to the side door. She opened it wide enough for them to see inside. The cables ended and, as Jack had suspected, there was no generator.

  But what did surprise him was that, apart from the narrow window high on the wall and a broken chair in the corner, the room was empty.

  ‘Ta-da!’ Hector grinned. ‘There’s nothing in there.’

  ‘I didn’t expect there to be,’ Jack said, as Cloud returned.

  Hector waved a finger at him. ‘Yes, you did. You thought I’d set a trap, didn’t you? Come on, Jack, admit it.’

  Jack pressed his lips together.

  Hector waved him off. ‘You’re so proud, aren’t you? So . . . arrogant.’

  Slink struggled against the ropes and tried to stand up, but Cloud grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back down.

  ‘So,’ Jack said to Hector, ‘you’ve got us. What now?’

  ‘Oh, I’m going to kill you,’ Hector said, as if stating a simple fact.

  Jack pretended to stifle a yawn. ‘Is that all?’

  Slink chuckled.

  Hector’s eyes flickered, but he kept his composure. ‘I have something very special lined up for you.’

  ‘Let me guess,’ Jack said. ‘You’re going to make it look like some horrific accident.’

  ‘No. I am going to get Connor to shoot you all in the head.’

  This caught Jack off guard.

  Hector’s smirk returned. ‘You and your little friends have been missing for years in London. So why would anyone notice you’re gone now?’ He glanced at Cloud, then back to Jack and Slink. ‘Besides, no one here will even know who you are, even if they do eventually find your bodies.’

  ‘Noble will know we’re gone,’ Slink said. ‘He’ll come find us. He’ll work out what happened.’

  ‘I will sort out that old man,’ Hector said, looking at the computer on the back wall. ‘Don’t you worry – it’ll all be taken care of.’

  No doubt Hector was planning to set up Noble and get him put in prison for hacking or some other crime he didn’t commit, Jack thought.

  ‘What is it you’re trying to do?’ he said. ‘Steal secrets like your dad started doing?’

  Hector pulled his gaze from the computer. ‘I’m not telling you my plans.’

  ‘Why?’ Jack said. ‘Afraid we might put a stop to them?’

  Hector shook his head. ‘Far from it. I don’t see the point in wasting any more time on you. You’ve been an irritant, but now it ends.’

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Jack and Hector stared at each other and the only sound came from the humming computer on the far wall.

  Hector was so conceited – the way he thought everyone was under his control. Just like his father.

  Something on the monitors caught Hector’s attention. He smiled for a moment as he watched the screen, then looked up again. ‘What do you think of this place?’ he said, gesturing around him. ‘The security is amazing. You have to admit that, at least.’

  Jack shrugged. ‘It isn’t bad.’

  ‘Isn’t bad?’ Hector’s eyebrows rose. ‘Come on, it’s genius. Every angle covered.’

  ‘Not every angle,’ Jack said.

  ‘Are you talking about the window you and your girlfriend climbed through?’ Hector said. ‘The way you set those dummies up and then danced between the cameras? You think I didn’t leave that path deliberately for you to follow?’ He balled his fists. ‘You walked through the gap in the security that I’d left, Jack. Don’t you get it? Once you were inside the building, I had Connor wait for you. That was the trap.’ Hector drew in a deep breath and puffed out his chest. ‘There was no other way in here.’

  Jack held out his hands and gestured. ‘And yet, here
I am. Inside your top-secret room.’

  Hector let out a short laugh. ‘But I let you in here.’

  Jack nodded. ‘Yeah.’ He glanced at the AR Glasses on the desk and the bag in the corner of the room. ‘Everyone makes mistakes.’

  Hector’s face dropped. ‘What?’

  Jack drew in a breath, enjoying the moment. ‘You say this is a game, Hector. Well, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but we’re going to win it.’ He glanced at Slink. ‘Again.’

  Slink grinned and winked.

  Hector’s eyes narrowed. ‘No, you’re not.’

  ‘Hmm, yeah,’ Slink said, ‘we really are.’

  Hector’s jaw muscles flexed. ‘I am going to enjoy watching you die first. You are very irritating.’

  ‘I know,’ Slink said. ‘I work hard at it. But I’m afraid you’re going to be in for a long wait.’

  Hector glanced at Cloud.

  Jack was sure he spotted the slightest flicker of self-doubt.

  Jack lifted his chin and called out, ‘Origami’.

  The room plunged into darkness.

  Hector roared.

  Jack twisted his wrist and a blade shot out of his sleeve. He sliced back and forth a few times and cut through the rope, releasing his hands. He tapped Slink’s leg, signalling him to stay put, then quickly cut the rope on Slink’s wrist too.

  Once free, Jack stood up. He listened for Hector as Cloud as they stumbled about, banging into things.

  The room was pitch black, but he concentrated on the memory he’d spent the last few minutes building. In his mind, he could see his surroundings clearly and could picture the distance to each object.

  Jack took two large steps forward, reached Hector’s desk and went to grab the AR Glasses.

  ‘Wait,’ Hector snapped.

  Jack felt a movement of air in front of his face and he jumped back. He took four quick steps to his left, getting out of the way of Hector and finding the nearest wall.

  ‘Haven’t you got a torch or something?’ Hector shouted.

  ‘No,’ Cloud said. ‘Wait, I can use my phone.’

  Jack dropped to his knees as a faint light shone.

  Slink leapt to his feet, snatched the phone from Cloud’s hand and the room fell back into darkness.