‘We’ve got to at least try,’ Jack said. ‘Look at what’s going on. See if there are any visible signs they’ve increased security since our break-in. We need that antidote.’
‘Fine,’ Slink grumbled. ‘Come on, Wren, let’s go.’
‘Wait.’ She looked at Jack. ‘What are you doing? How will we find you again?’
‘We’re going to find Noble, right?’ Charlie said to Jack.
‘Yeah.’ Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘We need to make sure he’s OK.’
‘Not to mention the fact that Noble is our best hope of getting any help now,’ Charlie added.
Jack lowered his hand and nodded. ‘Only problem is, how do we find him?’
‘The London Eye,’ Charlie said. ‘That’s where Noble always meets us when we do joint missions. If there’s trouble, I bet he goes there in the hope that we’ll turn up.’
‘You’re right,’ Jack said. ‘Of course.’ He shook his head, trying to clear the grogginess. ‘If you need us, we’ll be on South Bank,’ he said to Wren.
Jack turned away and strode down the road with Charlie.
An hour later, Jack and Charlie were standing at the bottom of the steps of County Hall, right next to the London Eye.
Tourists took pictures and queued for the ride, oblivious to the danger a few metres away from them in the form of two very sick kids.
Jack had an overwhelming urge to scream at them to stay away or to run in the opposite direction, but the Outlaws needed Noble’s help and causing a scene would be the worst thing to do.
Soon the London Eye would be closing for the evening, so at least there weren’t as many people around as in the daytime. Even so, Jack gestured for Charlie to pull back, keeping as much distance as they could from the tourists.
‘I don’t see Noble,’ Charlie said, standing on tiptoes to peer over the crowds. ‘What if we infect him too?’
‘We won’t,’ Jack said. ‘We keep our distance, understood?’
She nodded and both of them made sure their bandanas were securely in position.
‘Oh, thank God.’ Charlie pointed. ‘There he is.’
Noble had spotted them too and was making his way over to them. He was wearing a baseball cap and a long coat.
A huge wave of relief swept through Jack – Noble really was OK. But did he know about the warehouse? Did he know it was all Jack’s –
‘It’s not your fault,’ Charlie said, noticing Jack’s expression. ‘Hector burnt Noble’s place down, not us.’
‘It’s payback for what we did to Hector’s dad,’ Jack said. ‘If we hadn’t got involved with the Del Sarto family in the first place, none of this would’ve happened.’
‘No,’ Charlie said, ‘it would’ve been worse. You know that, Jack.’
Noble walked over to them, his concerned eyes taking in their bandanas and Jack’s purple hoodie.
Jack held up a hand. ‘Stay back. Not too close.’
‘Are you all OK?’ Noble asked, looking between the pair of them.
‘Your warehouse . . .’ Charlie said.
Noble sighed. ‘I know.’ He glanced about for a moment, his eyes scanning the crowds, then he looked back at them. ‘Tell me what’s happening.’
‘We have a virus,’ Jack said in a low voice. ‘Hector infected us.’
Noble hesitated, then said, ‘The Facility?’
Jack nodded.
‘OK,’ Noble said slowly, his face showing the deepest concern.
‘Medusa is a virus, and we caught it,’ Jack said.
Noble glanced over his shoulder, then turned back and let out a long sigh. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t see it coming.’
‘None of us did,’ Charlie said, before Jack could comment.
Noble seemed to be deep in thought. ‘Something doesn’t add up here.’
‘What do you mean?’ Jack said.
Noble looked at them both and kept his voice low. ‘Ordinarily, I’d tell you to turn yourself in to the authorities, that they stand the best chance of containing the virus and stopping the contagion.’
‘But it’s too late,’ Jack said, understanding what Noble was getting at. ‘We’ve already spread it about London.’
‘Yeah,’ Charlie said. ‘It was right after the Facility mission – way before we knew this was a deadly virus. We thought it was just a cold, and we went and got medicine and supplies. We started spreading the virus days ago.’
Jack and Charlie pulled back and turned their faces as a group of tourists scurried past them with their guide.
Jack’s heart sank as he thought of the fire again and he looked at Noble. ‘Your warehouse. I’m so sorry.’
‘I know what you’re about to say,’ Noble said. ‘It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I should never have shown Hector the warehouse. My mistake. We all thought he was a good guy.’
Jack was about to say something more, but Noble cut him off. ‘I’ve been trying to call all of you. You don’t have your phones, do you?’
‘No.’
‘I thought not. In that case, I just need to tell you that Obi is fine.’
Charlie gasped. ‘Oh, thank God. You’ve heard from him?’
‘Yes. He sent me a message through the Cerberus forum. Somehow Obi’s kept his phone without Hector knowing about it.’
‘Where is he?’ Jack asked.
‘He doesn’t know. He said that Monday has him.’
‘What else?’
‘All Obi said was that they’re keeping him in a locked office. He was blindfolded, so he has no idea where they took him, but he’s pretty sure he’s still in London. He says he knows Hector and his father aren’t there because he’s heard Connor talking to Hector on the phone.’ Noble looked around then refocused on them. ‘How did they get Obi? And why don’t you have your phones?’
Charlie glanced uneasily at Jack.
Jack took a deep breath, opened his mouth and hesitated. ‘We . . .’ He sighed. ‘I’m sorry, Noble. I lost the bunker.’
Noble’s face dropped. ‘No. You’re joking?’
‘I wish I was.’
‘It’s been raided,’ Charlie said. ‘Armed men. We didn’t stand a chance. Happened too quickly.’
Noble looked at them in shock. ‘Hector again?’
‘Yes.’
‘And what’s your next move?’
Jack cleared his throat. ‘We think the antidote is at the Facility. Somehow we’re gonna break in again.’
Noble nodded. ‘A lot of lives, including your own, depend upon it.’ He pursed his lips and held out his phone. ‘Take it.’
‘No,’ Jack said. ‘We can’t do that. You need it. We’ll have to find –’ He stopped. ‘What the – ?’ Jack stared, incredulous, as Slink and Wren hurried over to them.
‘Noble,’ Wren cried, obviously relieved he was OK. She rushed forward to hug him, but stopped herself and readjusted her bandana instead.
Noble smiled. ‘Hi.’ He looked at Slink. ‘Are you all right?’
Slink shrugged.
‘What’s going on?’ Charlie said. ‘We thought you guys were going to the Facility?’
‘We’ve been,’ Wren said.
Charlie’s eyebrows rose. ‘That quick?’
‘It wasn’t there,’ Slink said, crossing his arms. He looked at Jack. ‘You remember that grey building?’
Jack nodded. The grey building housed the first security office that led to the underground Facility.
‘Well,’ Slink continued, letting out a breath, ‘it’s rubble now.’
‘It’s what?’ Charlie said.
‘It’s been bulldozed,’ Wren said. ‘There’s nothing left. The whole oil refinery is closed too. There’s even a padlock on the front gate.’
Jack stared at them both. ‘This just keeps getting worse.’
‘Looky, looky,’ a loud voice chimed.
Jack spun around.
Skin – a scrawny kid with a bald head, Talya’s right-hand man – grabbed hold of Wren and pressed a k
nife into her side. ‘Don’t nobody move,’ he warned. ‘We wouldn’t want this little one to get hurt.’
Slink went to lunge for him, but Jack grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.
‘Very wise of you, Jacky.’ Skin grinned and looked at them all. ‘Everyone, be calm.’
Behind him stood six other members of Talya’s army, all glaring at Jack.
‘Lovely night for it.’ Skin looked at each of the Outlaws in turn, then at Noble. ‘Who are you, Grandad?’
Noble stared back at him and remained tight-lipped.
‘Too old to talk? Your tongue shrivelled up with age?’ Skin looked at Jack, still grinning like an idiot.
‘What are you doing here?’ Charlie asked.
Skin gestured at the crowds of tourists. ‘These are rich pickings. And you’re on our turf ’ere.’
One of the other kids smirked, held up several wallets and a purse then slipped them back into his pockets.
Skin looked at Jack. ‘Persephone’s been asking after you, Jacky.’
‘Who?’ Slink said.
‘It’s Talya’s nickname,’ Jack replied, not taking his eyes off Skin.
‘That’s right,’ Skin said. ‘She really wants to ’ave a chat with ya. She’s all eager about it. Won’t shut up. “Find Jacky,” she says. “Find ’im. Now.” We’ve had scouts on the lookout for ya night and day. We’d just about given up when . . .’ He smiled and spread his arms. ‘Lo and behold, look who should walk straight into our path.’
Skin’s cronies chuckled.
‘So,’ he continued, slapping his hands together, ‘we’re all gonna go visit Persephone. Nice and quiet, like. No sudden moves. Got it?’
Jack looked at Noble. ‘We’ll see you later.’
‘Oh, no, no, no, Jacky,’ Skin said. ‘Grandad’s coming with us. Any friend of yours is a friend of ours.’
‘No way,’ Charlie said, stepping in front of Noble.
Skin pressed the knife harder into Wren’s side and she winced. ‘I insist, darlin’.’
Noble rested a hand on Charlie’s shoulder. ‘It’s OK.’
She flinched from him, worried about infection.
Skin scowled at them. ‘Move. Now.’
The four Outlaws and Noble, with Skin and Wren in the lead and Talya’s six army members behind them, walked from the London Eye into a whole lot more trouble.
Talya operated out of a dilapidated warehouse in an old industrial estate not far from Battersea Power Station.
Skin and his fellow gang members marched the Outlaws and Noble in through the front door. It took a few seconds for Jack’s eyes to adjust to the gloomy interior.
To their right was a desk. On it were several shoeboxes filled with items Talya’s army had stolen from around London – wallets, mobile phones, jewellery – all picked from victims’ pockets.
In the far left corner of the warehouse was a projector screen, with sofas in front of it, playing a comic-book movie. Explosions erupted, lighting up the walls in flashes of yellow and orange.
Much of the main floor was taken up by tents of various sizes and colours, with washing lines strung between them. Dominating the back of the warehouse were two double-decker buses parked next to each other. A bridge connected the upper decks and a lift was fixed to one side.
‘This way,’ Skin growled, and they followed him up the stairs of one of the buses.
On the top deck, Jack, Charlie, Slink and Wren sat squashed together on a sofa, while Skin shoved Noble into an armchair.
‘You touch him again,’ Slink snarled, ‘and I’ll make sure you never –’
‘Ah, look what we have here.’ Talya, a punky girl with spiky multicoloured hair and a crooked nose, wheeled herself across the bridge from the other bus. ‘Wacky Jacky and his band of merry misfits.’ Her wheelchair had gold-plated rims that glinted in the light.
Skin laughed. ‘Good one, Persephone.’
‘It must be Christmas already . . .’ Talya spread her arms wide. ‘Noble.’
Noble gave her a curt nod. ‘Talya.’
‘You know Grandad?’ Skin asked her.
‘Yes, I know him.’ Talya looked at Noble again. ‘I’m quite hurt,’ she said, leaning back in her wheelchair. ‘I ain’t seen ya since . . .’ she glanced at Jack, ‘that mission.’
‘You mean the one where Scarlett died,’ Charlie said.
‘Yeah, that one.’ Talya smirked. ‘Well, you gotta expect some losses, don’t ya?’
Jack’s blood ran cold. The truth was, nothing would ever make up for the fact that Talya had sent Scarlett on a mission so dangerous it had killed her – and he hated Talya for that.
Scarlett had been the only one to come close to becoming the sixth member of the Urban Outlaws. Her skills were legendary – she was one of the best hackers Jack had ever known. She had understood instinctively how technology worked, she was an amazing actress and she was absolutely fearless. In fact, Scarlett was like all five Outlaws rolled into one and there could never be anyone else like her. Jack missed her so much, and it was because of Talya that he’d never see her again.
‘Now then,’ Talya said, eyeing them. ‘What’s with the bandanas? I wanna see your pretty faces.’ She winked at Charlie. ‘Especially you, princess.’
When none of them moved, Skin took a step towards them.
‘We have the flu,’ Jack said, and sniffed.
Talya frowned and wheeled her chair back from them.
Skin hesitated, then he took a large step backwards. ‘Serious?’
‘Yeah,’ Jack said. ‘Deadly.’
They sat in silence for a long while, just staring at one another.
Jack finally opened his mouth to say something, but Talya cut him off.
‘To save your silver tongue the trouble of trying to talk yourself out of this mess, Jack, I’m gonna ask you a question.’ She held up an index finger. ‘One tiny, teeny, simple question. If you answer it honestly – like, real honest – and I believe you, then you and your . . .’ her eyes roamed over Charlie, Slink and Wren, ‘. . . little mates here might just live another day.’
Jack took a deep breath and waited.
Talya leant forward in her wheelchair and fixed him with a cold gaze. ‘Did you deliberately do something to that cashpoint?’
Jack had been expecting the question, and for Talya to catch up with him sooner or later, but the timing was terrible.
He stared back at her and considered lying, but Jack knew she’d see right through it.
‘Yes,’ he said.
‘What’s she on about?’ Charlie asked. ‘What cashpoint?’
‘You mean to say you haven’t told your little mates here, Jacky?’ Talya smiled. ‘Yet you bang on, giving us the high-and-mighty act about how you’re all so close.’ She made quotation marks with her hands as she said, ‘We’re family.’
Skin laughed and waved a finger. ‘Naughty, naughty, Jacky. You don’t keep secrets from family, do ya?’
Charlie turned to face Jack. ‘What is she on about?’
Jack hesitated. He’d planned on telling the others at some point – it was just that the opportunity hadn’t come up yet.
‘Spill it,’ Talya said to Jack. ‘Tell them what you did.’
Jack stared at the floor and sniffed. ‘In exchange for a favour, I used a piece of software to hack a cashpoint machine.’ He looked up at Charlie and braced himself.
Charlie frowned for a second, then her mouth fell open. ‘Please tell me you didn’t use that tool I made?’
Jack winced. ‘Yeah. I did.’
Slink crossed his arms. ‘I don’t get it. What exactly did he do this time?’
Jack shuffled in his seat. ‘I planted a special code so that any of Talya’s army members could take as much cash as they wanted.’ He looked between them all then his eyes rested on Charlie. ‘It was the only way to get that confession from your dad’s killer,’ he said in barely a whisper.
Charlie scowled at him. ‘Jack, I know you thin
k you were doing the right thing, but –’
Jack held up a hand, cutting her off. ‘That’s not all.’ He took a deep breath and continued, ‘I also embedded another program in the cashpoint. I planted an extra code that called the cops any time one of Talya’s gang tried to use it.’
Wren chuckled. ‘I knew you wouldn’t let her get away with it.’
Talya leant forward, her eyes intense, balling her fists. ‘That is very unfortunate for you, Jack,’ she said through gritted teeth. She paused a moment then looked at Skin. ‘Kill ’em,’ she snarled. ‘All of them. Noble too.’
Skin pulled the knife from his belt and stepped towards them, the other gang members doing the same.
CHAPTER THREE
Talya’s cronies gathered around Jack, Charlie, Slink, Wren and Noble.
‘Get up,’ Skin snarled, waving his knife.
Jack looked at Talya. ‘You’re making a huge mistake.’
‘Oh yeah? How so?’
‘Because I can offer you something a lot bigger, and you might want a piece of the action.’
Talya hesitated a second, then gestured at Skin.
He took a step back, looking extremely disappointed.
Talya nodded at Jack. ‘Go on.’
‘I can offer you something. Bigger than any cashpoint hack.’
‘Why should I trust anything that comes out of your mouth?’ Talya said.
‘Morals,’ Noble said.
Skin held up his knife. ‘What you on about, Grandad?’
‘Please,’ Noble said, waving him off. ‘Your threats don’t bother me.’
Skin stepped towards him, knife flashing. ‘They should,’ he said, his jaw clenched.
‘Enough,’ Talya snapped.
With obvious reluctance, Skin stepped back again and tucked his knife into his belt.
Talya looked at Noble. ‘Quit the riddles, old man. What are you goin’ on about?’
Noble took a deep breath before speaking. ‘You just asked why you should trust Jack ever again. And I said, “Morals.”’ Noble’s eyes intensified. ‘If you took the time to understand Jack’s actions, you would realise when he’s forced to lie, and why he has to do it. You can then turn that knowledge to your advantage. He lied to you about the cashpoint in the name of justice and what is right. This situation is different. He has no reason to lie now.’
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