Counterstrike

by Peter Jay Black

  Charlie rammed her foot hard to the floor, reached the end of the row of houses and yanked up the handbrake, spinning the Escort around and accelerating back towards the main gates.

  The guards had just got to their feet again. When they saw the car tearing towards them, they jumped clear for a second time, one of them throwing himself over a low fence.

  Charlie sped out on to the main road and raced away.

  When she was sure they weren’t being followed, she slowed the car to a more conventional speed.

  Well, for her at least.

  Jack glanced back at Slink. ‘What just happened?’

  Charlie turned right on to a busier road and merged with a stream of traffic. ‘The guards chucked a chair through the gatehouse window,’ she said. ‘So I went to get the car.’

  Jack’s eyes widened at this.

  ‘I tried to stop them taking Charlie’s hacker thing off the wall,’ Slink said, ‘but they were too quick. That’s why the security came back on.’

  ‘Did you find the director bloke though?’ Charlie asked.

  Jack turned back in his seat and sighed. ‘He’s dead and we didn’t have time to search for any other clues.’

  This was greeted by a few moments of silence.

  Finally Slink said, ‘Wait a minute – does that mean we have no way to find out what’s in that mystery room then?’

  Jack nodded.

  Right now, things couldn’t get any worse.

  His phone beeped.

  He looked at the display and instantly wished he could take back that last thought.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Jack sat opposite Talya in the top level of one of the double-decker buses.

  Skin hovered by the door, as if ready to pounce and cut Jack to shreds if he made any sudden moves.

  Talya, however, looked her usual calm and cocky self. She held up an envelope. ‘This is what you was wanting, Jack.’

  Jack’s eyebrows rose. ‘That was quick work.’

  Talya smiled, revealing yellowed teeth. ‘We can do anything we want when we put our minds to it.’ She winked at Skin.

  Skin chuckled.

  Jack went to take the envelope, but, predictably, Talya snatched it away.

  Here it comes, Jack thought. The bit he’d been dreading.

  ‘Now, now, Jacky boy,’ Talya said with a smirk. ‘You’ve got a promise to keep. I’ve got my own note to give ya.’ She reached down by her wheelchair and pulled out a sheet of paper.

  Jack’s stomach churned as he took it and he did his best to detach himself from the situation. Whatever was written on that paper, he’d do with cold emotion. He’d get it done and move on. Forget about it. Simple.

  With trepidation Jack read. After a minute he looked up. ‘Is this serious?’

  Talya sat forward in her chair. ‘Deadly.’

  Jack read it again. ‘We’re going to need a team.’

  ‘What about your team?’ Talya said.

  ‘No. That wasn’t the deal. I said I’d help you – I’m not involving the others.’

  Talya considered him for a long while, then sat back. ‘All right, Jack. Have it your way. What do you need?’

  ‘I need your gang to get me inside.’

  ‘Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?’ Skin said. ‘I thought you was an expert or somefink.’

  Talya held up a hand. ‘Shut it.’ Her eyes hadn’t left Jack’s face. ‘We’ll get you inside. Don’t you worry about that.’

  Jack nodded.

  ‘You’re on board?’

  ‘Yeah.’ Although he really wished he wasn’t.

  Talya smiled. ‘Knew you’d see sense.’

  ‘When do you want to do it?’ Jack asked.

  ‘Now.’

  ‘What? No, look, I’ve only got a few hours –’

  ‘You’re doing it now, Jack,’ Talya snapped.

  Jack stared at her a moment and let out a breath. ‘Fine. But I need to pop back to the bunker first. OK?’

  Talya eyed him. ‘No tricks.’

  Jack glanced at Skin. ‘No tricks.’

  • • •

  Back at the bunker, Jack marched towards the corridor that led to the bedrooms.

  ‘Where are you going?’ Charlie asked.

  ‘I need to finish planning,’ Jack said.

  ‘What are we going to do about the mystery room?’ Wren asked.

  Truth was, right at that moment, finding out what was in the mystery room was the least of his worries.

  ‘We’ll, err, wing it.’

  Once in his bedroom, Jack opened the wardrobe and pulled out a clean hoodie and a long black coat.

  As he got changed, there was a soft knock at the door.

  ‘Yeah?’

  Charlie came in and she looked concerned. ‘Are you OK?’

  Jack slipped on the coat and avoided her gaze. ‘Yep. Why?’

  ‘You just said . . . You just said, “We’ll wing it.” ’

  Jack glanced at her. ‘So?’

  Charlie looked confused. ‘I have never, in all the time I’ve known you, heard you say anything like that.’ She leant against the door frame. ‘I did get you right – you were meaning we’ll do the mission without knowing what’s in that mystery room, yeah?’

  Jack nodded.

  ‘No more plans?’

  ‘Well, just one,’ Jack said, finishing with the buttons on his coat. ‘Slink’s gotta practise the climb.’

  ‘But no more after that?’

  ‘We don’t have time. We were supposed to go tonight, remember? Now we’ll have to go as soon as it gets dark tomorrow.’

  Charlie continued to stare at him, confusion now giving way to suspicion.

  Jack just wanted to be left alone. He tried to pass her, but she didn’t move out of the way. ‘What’s going on?’ she said.

  He stepped back. ‘What? Nothing.’

  Charlie crossed her arms. ‘How long have I known you?’

  ‘What’s that got to do with anything?’

  ‘Where have you just been?’ Charlie continued to stare. ‘Tell me what’s going on, Jack. Please.’

  Jack tried to think of a way out of this conversation, he really didn’t have time for this, but he couldn’t think of a good excuse.

  ‘Jack?’

  He stared back at her. ‘I can’t tell you. I’m sorry.’

  ‘Wait. What?’ Charlie looked shocked. ‘So there is something going on?’

  ‘Do you trust me?’

  ‘Of course. With my life.’

  ‘Then please trust me now,’ Jack said. ‘I have to do this alone. OK?’

  Charlie looked him up and down, her frown deepening. ‘You only ever wear that coat when there’s serious trouble.’

  Jack stepped around her, opened his bedside table and pulled out a laptop. ‘That’s not true. I like this coat.’ He shoved the laptop into his bag.

  ‘The last time you wore that coat was when we went to . . . y’know . . . to see . . . Scarlett.’ Charlie breathed the name as if it could trigger World War Three.

  Jack’s blood ran cold and he looked at the floor.

  ‘Sorry, Jack,’ Charlie said quickly. ‘I didn’t mean to bring her up.’

  He raised a hand. ‘It’s all right.’

  Truth was, it had been a long time since any of them had spoken about her.

  Scarlett had been the closest thing to a girlfriend Jack ever had. The Outlaws met her through Raze. She was amazing at hacking. In fact, apart from Noble, she was probably the best Jack had ever known or heard of. There were very few things that she couldn’t do, and Jack had learnt a lot from her.

  Scarlett had helped with several missions and she’d always had a cool head. Nothing fazed her. There was no such word as ‘impossible’ in her vocabulary.

  As the months rolled on, Jack and Scarlett spent more and more time together. He’d even invited Scarlett to see the bunker, and the others had wanted to make her the next member of the Urban Outlaws.

 
; But fate had other ideas.

  She was killed on a mission for Talya.

  Jack blamed himself. If he’d known what Scarlett was doing, he would’ve warned her to steer clear of Talya. Or Jack could’ve gone with her. Maybe he could’ve done something. Maybe he could’ve saved her . . .

  That was another reason he hated Talya and her gang of thieves. Jack balled his fists.

  Finally he got control of himself. He had a job to do. He looked up at Charlie.

  Her expression had softened. ‘Can we help with whatever it is you’re doing?’

  ‘I have to do this one alone.’ Jack took her hands and looked her square in the eyes, trying to convey his sincerity and gratitude for the way she cared so much about him. After all, the feeling was mutual. If anything happened to any of the Outlaws, he’d never forgive himself. ‘I promise,’ he said, slowly, ‘I will tell you all about it once it’s over. OK?’

  Charlie hesitated, then her shoulders relaxed. ‘OK.’

  Jack released her. ‘There is one thing I need.’

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘The lock on the door in the glass corridor. You said you could do something about it?’

  ‘Yeah, but not without being seen.’

  ‘Well,’ Jack said, ‘the workers’ lines of sight will be partially obscured by their monitors. They won’t be able to see all the way down to the floor. Can you come up with something?’

  Charlie smiled. ‘Yeah.’

  ‘You can do it?’

  ‘I can’t – I’m too big,’ Charlie said. ‘But I know someone who can. I’ll teach her what to do while you’re gone.’

  Jack offered her a weak smile in return. ‘Thanks. Can you start now?’

  ‘Sure.’

  They left the room and followed the corridor.

  When they got back to the main bunker Jack swore. ‘Forgot my bag.’

  He spun on his heels and marched back down the hallway.

  Instead of turning right at the end, he went left and slipped into Charlie’s workshop.

  He needed to be quick.

  At the far end of the room, Jack threw open a cupboard and took out a metal tin.

  Inside were various tools. He removed the one he needed, then put the tin back in the cupboard and rushed from the workshop.

  He hated taking something from Charlie, but he had no choice. He would apologise later.

  • • •

  Jack returned to Talya’s warehouse and paced back and forth while Skin gathered ten members of their gang.

  Jack looked at his phone – he had to get this over with as quickly as he could and return to planning the Facility mission.

  ‘OK,’ Skin finally said to the group. ‘You lot listen to Jack here. Tal– Persephone says you’re to do everything he tells ya, right?’

  They nodded.

  Jack stopped pacing and looked at the rough and dirty group of young criminals.

  Jack held up a picture. ‘Everyone recognise this place?’

  They nodded again.

  ‘I need you to get me inside.’ He lowered the picture. ‘Who’s good with locks?’

  The entire group put their hands up.

  What a surprise.

  Jack cleared his throat. ‘What I mean by that is not, who can smash a lock open, but who’s got the skills to pick one?’

  All hands but one went down, apart from a short kid of around thirteen years of age with dreadlocks.

  ‘What’s your name?’ Jack asked him.

  ‘Pea.’

  ‘OK . . . Pea. I need you to pick the lock on the back door. Understood?’

  ‘’K.’

  Jack then spent the next ten minutes explaining what he wanted each of them to do and how they were going to do it.

  He had to repeat himself what felt like a thousand times before the looks of confusion subsided.

  Finally Jack clapped his hands together. ‘We’re as ready as we’re going to be. We go in five minutes.’

  They grunted and disbanded.

  Skin walked over to Jack, a huge grin on his sunken face. ‘This is gonna be fun, Jacky.’

  ‘Then your sense of fun is different from mine.’

  ‘What’s the matter?’ Skin asked. ‘Your Outlaws are always pulling this kind of stuff.’

  ‘No,’ Jack muttered. ‘Not even close.’

  The rickety lift lowered Talya to the ground and she wheeled over to Jack. ‘Everything to your satisfaction?’

  ‘Not really.’

  ‘Oh well. You’ll have to make do.’ Talya glanced around, then back again. ‘Skin will be in charge on this, right?’

  Jack went to answer, but Talya cut across him. ‘I said, Skin will have final say. Right?’

  Skin stepped forward, his smile broadening.

  Jack let out a breath. ‘Fine. Whatever.’

  Talya gestured at her wheelchair. ‘Shame I can’t go with you, Jack – cos I’d like to see this.’

  Jack turned from her.

  If this actually worked, with this bunch of delinquents as his team, and he still made it back in time to do the Facility mission, it would be a miracle.

  • • •

  Half an hour later Jack and Skin were hunched down behind a skip, opposite a corner shop in Camden Town.

  Jack looked left and right. There was no one else around and the road was quiet. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the rest of Talya’s gang crouched in the shadows, waiting.

  Jack turned back and refocused on the shop – it was open late and he could make out an assistant sitting behind the counter, but there were no customers inside.

  Perfect.

  It meant they could do this cleanly.

  Jack ran through the plan in his head. Two of the gang would go into the shop and distract the assistant while the kid – Pea – went round the back and opened the door.

  Then he and Jack would sneak inside, hide in the storage room and wait – Jack checked the time on his phone – thirty-five minutes for the guy to close up the shop.

  Jack had marked positions on a map for the rest of the gang – strategic vantage points to keep an eye out for cops or trouble.

  Then, allowing a few more minutes to make sure they were clear, Jack would make his way through to the front of the shop and set to work. Should take him another twenty minutes or so.

  Once his part was done, and barring any problems, Jack would double-check he’d made no mistakes, then Pea would get them back out the way they’d come.

  That meant they should be done within the next couple of hours and Jack could get back to the bunker and start the Facility mission.

  He sighed.

  It sounded so simple, but there were a million things that could go wrong – especially with this bunch of idiots. That’s why he’d kept the plan simple.

  ‘What you doing?’ Skin growled. ‘What you waiting for?’

  Jack tried to keep his temper level. ‘I’m scoping out the area. Double-checking this is the best way to do it. And I told you, we have to wait –’

  ‘Persephone told me to make sure you hurry up.’ Skin shoved him. ‘So hurry up.’

  Jack turned to face him. ‘This has to be done right, Skin. If we get caught –’

  ‘You said that we just gotta get you in, right? That you’ll do the computer stuff, right?’

  ‘Yes, but –’

  ‘So,’ Skin said, standing up, ‘we’ll get you in.’ He whistled.

  Suddenly the kids behind Jack all leapt to their feet and sprinted across the road, screaming as they went.

  Jack stared, wide-eyed, as they ran into the shop.

  Skin smirked. ‘That’s the best way.’ He grabbed Jack roughly by the collar and pulled him to his feet. ‘Now, do your bit.’

  Skin hauled Jack across the road while the other members of Talya’s army caused havoc – smashing windows, grabbing stock from the shelves and loading their bags.

  By the time Jack and Skin entered the shop itself, half of it was already
wrecked and the poor assistant was lying prostrate on the floor, with his hands covering his head, while a couple of the kids threw cans of soup and packets of mashed potato at him.

  Skin dragged Jack to the back of a cashpoint that was mounted in the wall behind the counter. ‘Get on with it.’ He glanced around. ‘I’d say you’ve got about five minutes before the cops show up.’

  ‘It’s not enough time,’ Jack said.

  Skin snarled. ‘Do it.’ He shoved Jack forward. ‘Now.’

  Furious, Jack examined the fixings on the back of the cashpoint and, as he’d hoped, they were all the same. That was good news because Charlie had made a special tool just for the job – the one he’d borrowed from her without her knowing. Though they’d never used it before and she would be furious with him if she knew.

  A bottle ricocheted off the wall above Jack’s head.

  ‘Hurry up,’ Skin shouted at him.

  Jack set to work, ignoring the formidable lock and quickly removing several covers from the back of the machine, exposing part of the door’s mechanism and hinges, which he swiftly took apart.

  He had to be careful here. He couldn’t leave any sign that the machine had been tampered with, not so much as a scratch, despite the absolute pandemonium going on inside the shop.

  He looked over at the assistant, but the kids were keeping him distracted – he hadn’t seen what Jack was up to.

  Jack turned back to the machine and swung the rear panel of the cashpoint open, revealing the inner workings and circuit boards beyond.

  Sirens sounded in the distance.

  ‘Better get a move on,’ Skin growled in his ear.

  ‘Are you kidding me?’

  ‘Do I look like I’m clowning around here, pal?’

  Jack took a breath and focused, blocking out the noise of the mayhem around him.

  He fixed several connectors and wires to the cash machine’s maintenance panel, then sat cross-legged on the floor. Next he opened the laptop and plugged the other end of the wires into the USB port.

  It took five seconds for the program to boot up, and then another three or so to allow him access to the cash machine’s software.

  Jack was surprised by how simple each part of the system was, but the multi-layers of algorithms and security still made it formidable.

  But, to his relief, nowhere near impossible.

  Jack frowned at the screen for a moment.

  If he was going to hide a piece of code in here, he’d have to be careful because the machine was permanently connected to the bank. One false move would alert them.