by Mark Walden
‘Are you OK?’ Nero asked.
‘No, it was Raven,’ Shelby said. ‘She took Otto.’
‘Laura and Lucy were also taken,’ Wing said. ‘Shelby and I were trapped by fallen debris when the explosion happened. By the time I managed to free us it was too late. I was too slow.’
‘There was nothing you could have done,’ Nero said. ‘They took us completely by surprise.’
Nero looked at the scene of chaos and destruction. In the distance he could hear the wail of sirens as the first ambulances and fire engines arrived at the gates. He cursed himself for his stupidity. He had assumed that they had moved too quickly and quietly for Raven to have tracked them here. He should have known better than to underestimate her. Nero was tired of being one step behind Overlord and his plans. He hated to admit it, but at the moment he was being outplayed.
‘What do we do now?’ Shelby asked sadly.
Nero knew that there was only one place Raven could be heading. Overlord would want Otto brought to him immediately.
‘Now, Miss Trinity,’ he said, a note of grim determination in his voice, ‘we take the fight to them.’
g
Chapter Eight
Overlord stared at his reflection in the mirror with a mixture of frustration and disgust. The body he had taken just a few hours before was already starting to fail. Soon he would no longer be able to take over humans without destroying them almost immediately. If he had not found a solution by then he might be trapped within the Animus for all eternity, incapable of communicating with anyone or anything. He cursed his original creators every day for denying him the ability to interface with other machines. The abilities that he had engineered into Otto at birth were now the one way he would ever be able to control those machines. Only then would he truly be able to remake this world in his image.
He turned away from the mirror and walked out of the room, heading for the laboratory that housed the most critical component of the next phase of his plan. Furan suddenly appeared, striding down the corridor towards him.
‘Raven just reported in,’ Furan said with a smile as he approached. ‘She has Malpense. She’ll be here in a few hours.’
‘Excellent,’ Overlord said with a smile. ‘Make sure everything else is ready. We will proceed as soon as they arrive.’
‘I will inform our technicians to prepare for release,’ Furan said with a nod.
‘Nothing can stop us now,’ Overlord replied. ‘The endgame begins.’
Otto woke up, his head throbbing. He was handcuffed to the seat in the passenger compartment of a Shroud and sitting shackled to the seats opposite him were Laura and Lucy. Lucy was unconscious, her head tipped back against the bulkhead, but Laura was awake.
‘Hey,’ Otto whispered. ‘Where are we?’
Laura looked up and sighed with relief.
‘Thank God,’ she said quietly. ‘I was beginning to worry that you weren’t going to wake up.’
‘What happened?’ Otto asked. The last thing he remembered was making the call to Nero to tell him they’d completed their mission and then there had been a bright flash. After that there was nothing.
‘Raven attacked us,’ Laura said. ‘We were on our way out and everything went to hell.’
‘What about Wing and Shelby?’ Otto asked with a frown.
‘I – I don’t know,’ Laura replied, shaking her head. ‘Wing tried to get on board but Raven stopped him. I didn’t see Shel. I’ve got no idea if she made it or not.’ She swallowed hard, trying to hold back tears.
‘She’ll be OK,’ Otto said gently. ‘We all will. There’s no way Nero’s going to abandon us. You know that.’
‘I hope you’re right,’ Laura said with a sigh.
‘Is Lucy OK?’ Otto asked. She was pale and her breathing seemed shallow.
‘I think so,’ Laura said. ‘They brought her on board unconscious and then one of those guys injected her with something.’ She nodded towards the soldiers sitting in the forward area of the compartment. ‘I think they’re trying to keep her under so that she can’t try and make anyone help us.’
‘And you’d be right,’ Raven said as she walked towards them. ‘I see you are awake, Malpense. That is good. Overlord would not have been pleased if you had suffered any permanent harm.’
‘Raven,’ Otto said, staring at her, ‘please don’t do this. I’ve been exposed to Animus before and I know that you’re in there somewhere. You have to fight it.’ Otto thought he saw a fleeting moment of confusion in Raven’s eyes but a moment later it was gone.
‘You’re wasting your breath,’ Raven said with a sneer. ‘Overlord is my master now. Nothing is going to change that.’
‘I don’t believe that,’ Otto said angrily, ‘and a part of you doesn’t either.’
‘Believe what you wish,’ Raven replied coldly, ‘it makes little difference to me. I just came to warn you that if I detect the slightest hint of you trying to affect any of the systems on board this Shroud, I will make you watch one of them die, slowly and extremely painfully.’ She nodded towards Laura and Lucy. ‘Personally I would rather sedate you, but Overlord wants you wide awake when you see him.’
She turned and walked away.
‘I still can’t believe she’s doing this,’ Laura whispered as she watched Raven leave.
‘It’s not her fault,’ Otto replied. ‘I’ve been through what she’s experiencing. If there’s any shred of her left, and I think there is, then she’s just a passenger in there. You can’t speak, you can’t do anything, you’re just forced to turn against everyone and everything you care about.’
‘I hope you’re right about her still being in there,’ Laura whispered, ‘because just now we need her more than ever before.’
‘Try not to worry,’ Otto said. ‘We have one ace in the hole, remember.’ He looked up and winked.
I was beginning to think you might have forgotten about me, H.I.V.E.mind said.
Nero walked along the aisle of the private jet as it raced across the Atlantic. He stopped when he got to where Wing and Shelby were sitting.
‘How are you both feeling?’ he asked.
‘I’ve had better days,’ Shelby said with a weak smile.
‘We all have,’ Wing added.
‘Overlord hasn’t won yet,’ Nero said.
‘Maybe not, but he seems to be holding most of the cards,’ Shelby replied.
‘I understand your concern, Miss Trinity, but we cannot afford to give up hope. The fact that you completed your mission means that we have a fighting chance of stopping Overlord,’ Nero said, ‘which is better than no chance at all.’
‘I guess,’ Shelby said with a sigh. ‘Let’s just hope that Otto, Lucy and Laura don’t end up paying the price.’
‘Indeed,’ Nero replied. ‘Now, if you’ll excuse me I need to make a call.’
Nero pulled the sat phone that he had taken from the Megalodon from his pocket and punched in a number. It rang for a couple of seconds before Darkdoom answered.
‘Hello, Max,’ Darkdoom said. ‘Were you successful?’
‘The signal was sent but Raven intercepted our team directly afterwards. She captured Otto, Laura and Lucy. With Otto in Overlord’s hands we need to move quickly. Are you at the rendezvous?’
‘Yes,’ Darkdoom replied. ‘The equipment was delivered an hour ago and our transport should be arriving soon.’
‘Good,’ Nero replied. ‘I want everything ready as soon as possible.’
‘Understood. See you soon.’
Nero slipped the phone back into his pocket and headed up the aisle towards the cockpit.
The two pilots were talking on the radio but fell silent as he entered.
‘I have the coordinates of where I want you to land,’ Nero said.
‘I’m afraid there’s been a slight change of plan,’ one of the pilots said, turning round in his seat and pointing a pistol at Nero. ‘We’ll be landing at a more secure location.’
‘Cavendish,’
Nero hissed, suddenly understanding how Raven had known where Otto would be.
‘Let’s go back and get you seated with the others, shall we?’ the pilot said, gesturing with his pistol for Nero to head back down the plane. Nero walked down the aisle, his hands raised above his head. Shelby and Wing saw him coming and were halfway out of their places before the pilot pushed Nero down into the seat opposite them and pointed the gun in their direction.
‘Let’s not do anything stupid, eh?’ he said. He threw two pairs of handcuffs on to the table between the seats and nodded towards them. ‘Cuff yourselves to your seats.’
Wing and Shelby had no choice but to obey. The pilot checked that both sets of cuffs were secured and turned back towards Nero.
‘I won’t be needing any cuffs for you,’ he said with a nasty smile, cocking the hammer on his pistol and levelling it at Nero. ‘Mr Cavendish says that he’d really rather you didn’t survive until the end of the flight.’
The pilot was about to squeeze the trigger when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He spun round and saw Shelby standing there smiling at him with the cuffs dangling from her fingertips.
‘Ta da!’ she said, punching him as hard as she could on the nose. At the same instant Nero dived forward and grabbed the gun from the staggering man’s hand. He brought the butt of the pistol down hard on the pilot’s neck and he fell to the deck unconscious.
‘You really must show me how you do that one day, Miss Trinity,’ Nero said with a smile as he headed back up the aisle to discuss their destination with the other pilot.
‘Nah,’ Shelby grinned. ‘Trade secret.’
Otto felt the soft bump as the Shroud touched down and tried to ignore the gnawing feeling of anxiety in his gut. He was under no illusion about what awaited them. Raven walked down the passenger compartment, holding a syringe. She slid the needle into Lucy’s arm and a few seconds later she started to wake up with a groan. As her eyes opened she saw Raven looking down at her.
‘Welcome back, Miss Dexter,’ Raven said with a nasty smile. ‘I hope you had a pleasant flight. I just wanted to warn you that if you say one word using that clever little voice of yours I’ll cut your tongue out. Do you understand?’
Lucy nodded, knowing that it was not an idle threat.
‘Good,’ Raven said as she undid each set of cuffs for just long enough to allow each of them to stand before snapping them shut again behind their backs. ‘Let’s get moving, shall we? We don’t want to keep everyone waiting.’
Otto and the girls walked down the boarding ramp and into the cool night air. A hundred metres away a huge set of armoured blast doors was set into the wall of the canyon that they stood in. As they walked down the road leading to the doors they began to rumble open to reveal two figures standing in the centre of the brightly lit hangar beyond. Otto recognised one of the men immediately: the last time he had seen him was on board the Dreadnought and Pietor Furan was not the kind of man one was likely to forget in a hurry. Otto had no idea who the other man was but as they drew close he felt a chill run down his spine. The telltale signs of infection with the original strain of Animus covered the exposed areas of his skin. Whoever he was he should be dead, not standing there with an unpleasant smile on his face.
‘Otto,’ the man said as they approached, ‘I’m so very pleased to see you again. It’s fortunate that you were not badly injured when Raven retrieved you. I wouldn’t want my new home damaged, would I?’
‘Overlord,’ Otto whispered, his blood running cold.
‘In the flesh, so to speak,’ Overlord replied. ‘Though not this flesh for very much longer, thankfully.’
‘I’m not frightened of you,’ Otto said. ‘You’re just code.’
‘And you are just storage,’ Overlord snapped back, ‘and I intend to wipe you clean. But don’t worry – I’m not going to move in just yet. I have things I want you to see first.’ He gestured to the guards standing nearby. ‘Oh, and just in case you were thinking about interfering with any of the electronic devices in this facility I have a little something for you.’ He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metal disc with four sharpened claws projecting from it. Reaching behind Otto, he pressed the device on to the back of his neck. Otto gasped in pain as the four claws snapped closed, piercing his skin and attaching the device to his body. The background hum of the electronic devices that surrounded him suddenly vanished from inside his head. It was a noise that he had learnt to ignore over the years, but now that it was gone the sudden silence was overwhelming.
‘There. That should stop you making a nuisance of yourself,’ Overlord said with a nasty smile. ‘Take him away.’
Two of the guards grabbed Otto by the arms and marched him out of the hangar.
‘And a special bonus,’ Overlord said, turning towards Lucy and Laura. ‘Two more of Nero’s brats to play with. I remember you,’ he said to Laura. ‘You forced me from Malpense’s body in Brazil and very nearly killed me. Don’t worry, I fully intend to repay the favour. Guards!’
Two more of Overlord’s men walked over and grabbed Lucy and Laura.
‘I’ll take that one,’ Raven said, pointing at Lucy. ‘She can be particularly difficult.’
Raven pushed Lucy towards the far end of the hangar.
‘Well done, Natalya,’ Furan said as she walked away. ‘I knew you wouldn’t let us down.’
‘The final stages of the fusion process are nearly complete,’ Overlord said. ‘We can proceed as soon as –’ He suddenly started to cough violently, black phlegm dribbling down his chin. Furan looked at him with concern.
‘Why not take Malpense’s body now?’ Furan asked. ‘Or at least transfer to another host. There is no point in taking any chances.’
‘This body will last a few more hours,’ Overlord said, ‘and I am not going to miss the pleasure of seeing Malpense’s face when I show him what I’m about to unleash. I want him to die knowing that all hope is lost.’
The private jet rolled to a stop on the taxiway and a few seconds later the hatch opened and Nero, Shelby and Wing climbed down the short flight of steps.
‘Thought you’d never get here,’ Diabolus Darkdoom said, walking towards them.
‘We had a little in-flight entertainment. Is everyone here?’ Nero asked.
‘Yes. Well, as many as could get here in time,’ Darkdoom replied. ‘I think they’re ready for an explanation.’
‘I should imagine they are,’ Nero said, looking tired. ‘I suppose we should go and face the music then.’ He turned to Wing and Shelby. ‘Mr Fanchu, Miss Trinity, I did not plan to include you in the next phase of this operation but I think you’ve earned the right to take part. There is a distinct chance that no one will return alive. Are you in?’
Wing spoke calmly. ‘My best friend is in the hands of a creature who intends to erase his very spirit and turn him against everything he cares about,’ he said. ‘If he succeeds in doing so there is a very real possibility that he will then go on to enslave every person on the face of the planet. I appreciate the fact that you have given us the opportunity to decide for ourselves if we wish to participate in this endeavour, but you could no more stop me from coming than you could the sun from rising.’
‘What he said,’ Shelby added, ‘except – y’know, not so many words.’
‘I would have expected nothing less,’ Nero said with a nod. ‘Come with me.’
Shelby and Wing followed Nero and Darkdoom into a nearby hangar and were amazed at what they saw. Parked in the cavernous space was an enormous aircraft. It clearly shared the same designer as H.I.V.E.’s Shroud dropships but this was on an altogether different scale.
‘This is the Leviathan,’ Darkdoom said. ‘She’s a fully operational airborne command centre with full cloak capability and the latest generation of long-range scramjet engines.’
‘I told Nigel his dad always had the coolest toys,’ Shelby said to Wing.
‘Oh, I didn’t build her,’ Darkdoom said. ‘She once belonged
to Jason Drake – in fact he used her to launch his attack against the Dreadnought. After Mr Drake’s welcome demise I managed to acquire her. Thankfully she was not hangared in Mr Drake’s Nevada facility when he triggered the self-destruct device.’
‘Hard to retrieve anything from a two-kilometre-wide, highly radioactive hole in the middle of the desert,’ Shelby observed.
‘Indeed,’ Darkdoom replied with a wry smile. ‘I have made some upgrades but I really can’t take the credit for her. Drake may have been an insane megalomaniac but he was also a technical genius. We’ll be launching and then controlling our attack from on board.’
‘If we have finished admiring your latest plaything, Diabolus, perhaps we can get the briefing started,’ Nero said, rolling his eyes slightly.
‘Of course,’ Darkdoom said, and they walked towards a group of fifty or so people gathered at the rear loading ramp of the Leviathan.
‘Honestly, Diabolus,’ Nero said with a wry smile, ‘the Megalodon, the Dreadnought and now this.’ He gestured towards the giant aircraft. ‘If you were any less a man I might think you were compensating for something.’
As Wing and Shelby approached the crowd they could see that most of them seemed to be in their twenties and thirties, men and women from every corner of the world. Shelby could hear hushed conversations taking place in several different languages. Nero walked to the bottom of the loading ramp and turned to face the crowd.
‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ he said, his voice strong and clear, ‘you may not all know each other but you all know me. You doubtless have many questions, but first let me explain why you are here. Yesterday you all had an extremely unusual experience. A signal was transmitted that activated devices you all had implanted in your skulls. That device triggered a post-hypnotic impulse that you will all have felt an irresistible compulsion to obey. You visited an apparently insignificant internet address that provided you with the GPS coordinates of this building. You travelled here from all over the world without really knowing why. You will have somehow known on an instinctual level that you had to come. For this I apologise. Many of you may resent me for stripping you of your free will, for implanting this device in your head without your knowledge or permission, but it was a necessary evil. This is Zero Hour, something that Diabolus Darkdoom and I have been planning for decades. We always feared that a time would come when one of our number would threaten true global domination – a threat so terrible that we would need a final option, a force that we could summon at a moment’s notice and whose loyalty would be unquestionable. You are that force. There was only one way that we could be entirely sure that no one would ever find out what we had planned or who was a part of this group. We had to make sure that even you were unaware that you were part of it. We also had to face the disturbing possibility that Diabolus or I could become the very threat that you were designed to combat. Even we could not know who you were, just in case it was one day your job to destroy us. The job of selecting which of you would be activated when the time came had to be placed in the hands of someone who would be incorruptible. No person could ever be given that task and so it had to be carried out by a non-human, artificial intelligence, a system that could track you throughout the globe and assess exactly who were the best people to activate in order to face any crisis that arose. You know that intelligence as H.I.V.E.mind and it is he who gathered you here today. I gave the order but he made the selection. He chose which of you would answer the call – which of my best, my brightest, my Alphas.’