“Wes saved you,” Tremaine Fitch said. He was standing beside Od at the handrail on the Dominator’s starboard side. “After you blew up d’Arc’s aircraft, Wes used the thrusters to try and break your fall. All the way down he was doing his utmost to get you onto the deck of the submarine and give you as soft a landing as possible.”
“Will he be OK?” The Imperial was extending a crane arm out over the submarine in order to haul the Warsuit parts aboard.
“If the CPU’s intact, he will. The vital hardware components are ruggedized, but the suit still took a lot of damage. I’ll only know once I’ve got all the bits back at the lab at Selston and can run tests. But I won’t be starting work on that for a while.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’d rather spend a bit of quality time with you. When was the last time we did anything together, you and me?”
“Just today, when we took down a terrorist organisation.”
“Apart from that, smartass. Besides, you did most of the work. I’ve not been much of a dad to you lately, Od, and that has to change. There’s lots we have to talk about. Your mum, for starters.”
“But not now,” said Od. “Some other time.”
Od’s father looked at him. “You’re right. Another time. Let’s just savour this.” He put an arm around Od’s shoulders. “You did well, you know. Fantastically well. You should be proud of yourself. I know I am. Mind you,” he added, as a thought struck him, “seeing what you’ve done to my Warsuit, I’m wondering if I should ever let you learn to drive. I mean, if that is the way you treat an expensive vehicle, maybe you shouldn’t be allowed near a car. At least not till you’re much older.”
“Dad, your Land Rover is not expensive.”
“It has sentimental value. I’m very fond of that old banger, and I don’t think I like the idea of you being behind the wheel.” He chuckled. “Only kidding.”
Od chuckled too. Then suddenly he remembered.
“Ah. Yeah. That’s a point. Dad?”
Professor Fitch frowned. “What?”
“About the car…”
Author’s Note
This book is dedicated to Kate Paice, one of the most
enthusiastic and inspiring editors I’ve known.
I owe a huge debt to Beth Marshall and Rob Clark.
Both of them made brilliant contributions to the story,
fixing my very shaky grasp of physics.
First published 2012 by
A & C Black
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP
This electronic edition published in March 2012 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
www.acblack.com
Text copyright © 2012 James Lovegrove
The right of James Lovegrove to be identified as the
author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the
Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
eISBN: 978 1 4081 6356 6
A CIP catalogue for this book is available from the British Library.
All rights reserved
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
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