The administrator’s fixed smile didn’t waver.
‘The Director has not requested that she have her location disclosed.’
Salt decided to try another angle. ‘Fine. But I wouldn’t want to be in your boots when she finds out I tried to follow her orders and you got in my way.’
The android didn’t respond immediately. It wasn’t used to threats. Salt guessed it was running a full analysis of the situation.
He knew that as a machine, the robot had no sense of self-preservation or fear. It would, however, be programmed to avoid getting damaged. The Corporation liked to keep repair costs down. And if it had served at HQ for any length of time, it would know that annoying the Chairman’s hot-tempered sister was a sure way to get damaged.
As he had hoped, the administrator abruptly changed its tune. It had clearly found no specific instruction to keep Lanista’s whereabouts secret.
‘The Director is leading Peace Squad T-16 in an investigation into unauthorized activity in the disused sewer system,’ it informed Salt, still beaming. ‘I calculate that her probable destination is the West One Peace Keep.’
Salt felt a swell of anxiety. She was in the Old City sewers. She must have picked up Hoax and Oddball’s trail somehow.
This changed everything. His search for Tea-Leaf would have to wait.
‘Right. Thank you.’ He tried to remain outwardly calm. ‘In that case, I’ll need to get this armour to her there. I’ll need my travel authorizing. Can you do that from here?’
‘Since you are fulfilling a request from a member of the Board, that should not present a problem. What is the registration of the vehicle you will be using?’
‘I’ll take the Sieger. Plate AC5079.’
The android pulled a slim fibre-optic cable from its waist and plugged it into a port in the desk. A few seconds passed. Then it disconnected and addressed Salt once again.
‘I have successfully obtained clearance for that journey for you: shuttlecraft AC5079 from its current location – the Academy, Central Five – to the West One Peace Keep. Your return trip has also been authorized.’
‘Thanks,’ growled Salt. He swept up the spaulders from the desk in his bear-like arms and turned to leave.
‘Have a nice day!’ chirruped the administrator.
Salt gave a gruff snort. That was looking less likely by the second.
Chapter 12
Skirterville
HOAX HEAVED ASIDE the rusted cover above him then climbed two more ladder rungs to poke his head out of the airshaft. Blinking back the sunlight, he gratefully filled his lungs with fresh air. He had never been so pleased to see the sky – even if it was an unnatural one, masked by the green haze of the containment field.
‘Get a move on,’ said Oddball, prodding him from below. ‘If I spend any more time down here, I’m going to lose it.’
Hoax clambered out of the musty shaft, closely followed by his friend.
‘I thought we were stuck down there for ever!’ said Oddball. He stretched his long limbs gratefully.
The encounter with the sewer creature had badly shaken both boys. Their desperate flight along the tunnel following its attack had brought them to a second barred grille. It had taken Oddball several nerve-jangling minutes to cut through it. Hoax had spent every second expecting the monster to rear up out of the blackness and finish them off.
But their firework display had evidently left the creature more wary than they realized. They had made it past the grille without it putting in another appearance.
‘And it’s still trapped in that section,’ Oddball had insisted, as much to reassure himself as Hoax. ‘It’s way too big to get through the holes I cut.’
Nevertheless, they had pressed on through the tunnels with renewed haste. The glo-caps were all gone now, so they had been forced to rely on visor-vision to find the way. Their spirits had sunk on finding their planned route back to the surface blocked by yet another cave-in – until they discovered this alternative airshaft, rundown but passable.
Out in the open, Oddball checked his wrist-stat.
‘It’s taken us way longer than we hoped to get through. We’ve only got just over an hour till the others shut down the field zone.’
He scanned their surroundings. They had come up near the centre of the area enclosed by the energy field. Oddball could see the crumbling remains of the Epsilon power station just a few hundred metres to the north.
He slid open a panel in his suit and drew out the clockwork beetle.
‘I’ll check its departure coordinates again, so we can track down Griffin’s lot.’
Hoax was looking past his friend, a little anxiously. ‘Erm . . . I don’t think that’s going to be a problem . . .’
Oddball turned. Several rather wild-looking men and women had appeared from nowhere. They were closing in on the boys in a semi-circle. All were weather-beaten and dressed in scruffy, worn-out clothes. But they had the look of people whose hardship had only made them tougher. Most were armed with weapons made from cleverly adapted pieces of junk.
The exception was the man leading their advance. He was tall and striking, with broad shoulders and dark skin and hair. The left cheek of his stubbled face was marked with a long pale scar. And he was brandishing a genuine weapon – a heavy, two-handed Gladiatorial sword.
Hoax looked at the several makeshift bows aimed in his direction.
‘Whoa! Don’t shoot!’ He hastily raised both hands in the air. ‘We’re friends!’
The scar-faced man looked them up and down, clearly aware of the armour they were wearing. He eyed them suspiciously and didn’t lower his weapon.
‘We’ve got a message for you,’ Hoax pressed on, ‘from Salt!’
‘You’re friends of Salt?’ The man’s voice was deep and rich.
‘Are you kidding?’ Hoax grinned nervously. ‘He’s like family, the big ol’ softy!’
The man looked less than convinced by Hoax’s description.
‘Prove it.’
Oddball quickly held up the clockwork beetle.
‘How about this? It sought out Salt last night. From the message it carried, we figured it came from an old friend of his. Someone in trouble who needed a helping hand.’
The man looked at the beetle. A moment later, his stern expression dissolved into a warm smile. He sheathed his sword.
‘You were right on both counts.’ He bowed his head formally. ‘I’m Griffin. Welcome to Skirterville.’
Hoax returned his nod, but gave no name.
Oddball was still clutching the beetle. ‘I’ve gotta ask,’ he blurted. ‘Which one of you made this? It’s an absolute masterpiece!’
Hoax looked apologetically at Griffin.
‘Sorry. He’s a bit of a techno-geek.’
Griffin smiled, then answered Oddball.
‘The beetle was built by one of my comrades. A man called Tock – our techno-geek. He crafted it some years ago. It has carried many messages in its time, but none so urgent as the one I sent Salt yesterday.’
His expression became grave.
‘Unfortunately, Tock was badly injured during the beetle’s dispatch. To make sure it penetrated the containment field, he had to get up close. He was trying to make his way back when a White Knight picked him off. We got him back to base camp, but he hasn’t regained consciousness.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ said Oddball. ‘Judging by this, he’s a genius.’
Griffin nodded. ‘And a good friend. He’s also the only one of our group with enough technical know-how to get the Inimitable off the ground. Without Tock, I fear our escape plans are futile.’
‘The Inimitable?’ queried Hoax.
‘Our ship,’ explained Griffin. ‘The “wings” I mentioned in my message. We’ve been building her over the last few weeks – ever since we suspected that the Corporation had located our base. We knew they’d come after us and that we needed to get clear before they did. But we hadn’t bargained on this blasted cont
ainment field . . .’
‘Don’t give up just yet,’ said Oddball. ‘If things are going to plan, our friends are making a few adjustments to Decimal’s precious field right now. With a bit of luck, you should have your escape “door” in precisely . . .’
He consulted his wrist-stat once more.
‘. . . seventy-three minutes. So you’d best get me to this ship of yours. I can’t promise that I’m a match for your friend Tock, but I’m fairly handy with a toolkit. Show me where she is and I’ll get her in the air somehow.’
Griffin looked a little doubtful.
‘He’s not kidding,’ Hoax assured him. ‘If it’s a machine, he’ll get it working. Like I said, he’s a real techno-geek . . .’
Griffin hesitated, then nodded.
‘All right. If Salt sent you to help, I must trust his judgement. And I believe I recognize his handiwork in the armour you wear . . . Follow me.’
And he turned and strode away towards the derelict buildings.
Fifteen minutes later, the boys were back underground. The Skirters had first led them to the ground-level ruins of the old reactor hall, which had once housed the Epsilon power station’s main control centre. There wasn’t much of it left. The roof was entirely missing. But an elevator in one corner of the hall had recently been restored to working order. It had carried Griffin and the cadets down into a large chamber below, where the reactor itself had once stood. Right now, the chamber held something altogether different – a giant, ramshackle airship.
Oddball let out a low whistle.
‘I can see why you call her the Inimitable,’ he said. ‘I’ve certainly never come across anything quite like her before!’
Griffin gave a wry smile.
‘She’s a bit . . . unusual, I’ll admit. Built entirely from parts scavenged from the Dumps. Tock put her together around an old FF1 Flying Fortress hull we dug up – a wreck from the Wars, I think.’
‘How did you ever get her in here?’ marvelled Hoax.
‘A piece at a time,’ answered Griffin. ‘Tock’s team stripped down the hull, then assembled her here, component by component.’
‘More to the point,’ said Oddball, ‘how do you plan to get her out? Assuming we can get her off the ground, that is.’
Griffin gestured to the chamber’s heavy ceiling.
‘The roof was originally designed to slide back – so that the reactor could be lifted out for upgrading. Tock managed to repair the mechanism so the roof doors work again – with a bit of coaxing.’
‘OK,’ said Oddball purposefully. ‘I guess I better see what I can do with her.’
He checked his wrist-stat again. ‘We really haven’t got long now. Mister Griffin, sir, can you round up your people and get them on board? I’ll try to get her air-worthy before our time runs out . . .’
With that, he clambered up onto one of the Inimitable’s stubby wings, yanked off an engine hood and began examining the mechanism within.
Hoax hurried back to the elevator with Griffin. Up in the hall above, they set about gathering together the fifty or so Skirters. Griffin instructed them to collect their belongings and go down to the reactor chamber to board the ship. Several were injured and had to be carried on board.
As they were checking the area for the final time, to be sure they hadn’t missed anyone, Hoax asked Griffin why the Corporation was so keen to get rid of him.
‘My comrades and I stand for the things the Corporation hates,’ replied the exiled Gladiator. ‘Freedom of thought and speech; justice; equality. Just like you and your fellow Armouron.’
Griffin smiled at Hoax’s look of surprise.
‘Yes, my young friend – I recognize the emblem on your breastplate. You serve a long and noble tradition. Salt has done well to revive your order. Earth needs the Armouron now more than ever.’
He returned to Hoax’s question.
‘It’s not just that, though. The Chairman and his sister have their own reasons for wanting me dead. Lanista never forgave me for defeating her in the Arena. And for a long time I have done my best to cause her brother as much embarrassment as I can.’ He gave another smile. ‘I suspect that this campaign is personal.’
‘Oh, it’s personal all right, you lowlife!’ shrieked a menacing voice.
Hoax and Griffin spun round.
On the far side of the hall, flanked by four filth-spattered White Knights, stood the bedraggled, wild-eyed figure of Lanista.
Chapter 13
Fighting Time
‘GARRGGHH!’
Rake let out a snarl of frustration. He gave the thick bundle of cables that spewed from the ducting an angry slap.
‘Anything I can do?’ asked Snow from below.
Rake swung his legs over the ducting and dropped to the floor beside her.
‘It’s driving me nuts! I’m ninety-nine per cent certain I’ve found the wiring for the right shield zone,’ he said. ‘The one that Hoax and Oddball are expecting us to shut down. But I can’t figure out a way to do it temporarily.’
He checked the dial of the tiny, super-accurate clockwork timer in his suit’s forearm guard.
‘And we’re running out of time – fast!’
He looked back up at the cables dangling above him. He traced their ducting back to where it joined a large barrel-shaped power cell on the far side of the room.
‘Maybe we should just take the direct approach and knock out the main cells permanently.’
‘Master Salt insisted that we shouldn’t leave traces,’ said Snow. ‘I guess that was why he’d put Tea-Leaf in our team. She’s the one with the real knack for this sort of thing – hacking systems invisibly.’
‘Yeah, I know,’ said Rake, a little irritably. He didn’t need reminding that his quarrel with Tea-Leaf now looked like jeopardizing the success of the mission.
‘What if we tried to short-circuit the—’
‘LOOK OUT!’
Snow gave Rake a sudden two-handed shove in the chest. As he staggered back, a bolt of red energy fizzed narrowly past him.
A pair of White Knights were patrolling the field generator’s unmanned areas. They had stumbled on the young Armouron. As the first android prepared to fire another shot, the other reached for its throat, to activate its comlink and report to control.
Rake and Snow moved like lightning. Rake’s shortsword was out of its scabbard and slicing down onto the first android’s blaster arm in the blink of an eye. Arm and blaster tumbled to the floor.
Snow whipped out her T-shaped tonfa fighting stick. She delivered a ferocious jab to the other Knight’s neck, crushing its communicator. A second fierce blow left a deep split in the android’s armoured visor.
But the robots were fast too. The one fighting Rake managed to grab the cadet’s sword arm with its remaining hand. It gave it a violent twist. Now it was Rake’s weapon that clattered to the floor.
Snow’s opponent smashed a metal fist into her breastplate, sending her sprawling across the floor. She struggled back into a sitting position in time to see the White Knight draw its blaster and take aim at Rake, who was still grappling with the other android.
In a desperate bid to save her friend, Snow aimed her tonfa and pressed its release catch. A length of rope shot out from the stick’s end. It wrapped itself round the White Knight’s blaster arm. Snow gave the rope a sharp tug. The android’s arm jerked to the side, sending its shot off target. The red energy bolt struck its partner. The robot slumped forward – trapping Rake beneath its lifeless body.
The second android raised its left hand. A thin blade flicked out from its edge. The White Knight sliced through Snow’s rope, then strode to where she was hurriedly getting back to her feet. It lashed out at her tonfa arm with a fierce kick. There was a sickening crack. Snow screamed – and fell back on the ground.
The White Knight turned its attention back to Rake. He was still struggling to get out from under the heavy robotic body pinning him down. There was nothing he could do as the sec
ond android strode to stand over him and took careful aim at his head with its blaster.
There was a fssssh-thunk and a ten-centimetre-long metal bolt suddenly appeared in the split in the White Knight’s visor. The android went down like a sack of potatoes, with sparks crackling from its head.
Rake craned his neck to see where the life-saving shot had come from.
Tea-Leaf was standing in the doorway. She was holding her crossbow.
She hurried to where Rake lay, crouched down and helped roll the slumped Knight off him.
‘You OK?’
‘Yeah, I think so,’ said Rake. He sat up slowly. ‘Thanks.’
There was a low moan from the other side of the room. Snow was sitting up, nursing her right arm. Her face was pale and clammy. Tea-Leaf and Rake hurried to check on her.
‘I think that kick dislocated my elbow,’ she murmured. ‘My armour contracted around it and it popped back.’ She gave a brave smile. ‘It’s not too bad now. If I set my suit to keep it immobilized, I’ll be OK.’
The others helped her to her feet. Rake looked at the two wrecked androids and the damage caused by their brief fight. He gave an ironic chuckle.
‘So much for us not leaving any evidence behind!’
‘Kettle patrols check in with control at regular intervals,’ said Tea-Leaf. ‘We’ve got maybe ten minutes before they send backup, if we’re lucky.’
Rake checked his timer again.
‘And even less than that before Oddball and Hoax are expecting the field to be deactivated.’
He suddenly became all action.
‘Let’s face it, we’ve blown the softly-softly approach. There’s no reason now why we shouldn’t just cut the main power feeds and take out the whole field.’
He reached for his sword. But Tea-Leaf grabbed his arm.
‘No!’ she urged. ‘You mustn’t! It’s booby-trapped! If you cut the power, the field will implode – the entire dome will collapse inward. There’s enough energy in it to frazzle everything and everyone inside it!’
‘How could you know that?’ said Rake, puzzled.
Tea-Leaf looked sheepish. ‘I hacked into the network in the West One Keep. I was trying to shut off the field zone from there. That’s when I found out that the system is designed to be tamper-proof.’
The Caged Griffin Page 6