Jack looked at Charlie and Wren.
They both nodded.
‘We need to get out of here,’ Charlie said, pulling her hood and bandana up.
Jack agreed. The fact that Slink’s coughing hadn’t drawn attention meant there was no one else around. The coast was clear. For now at least.
‘Come on,’ he said, cricking his neck and wishing the Shepherd had given them all something for their stiff muscles.
Together, they hurried to the black door at the end of the hallway and Jack opened it as quietly as he could.
Beyond was a flight of stairs.
‘Awesome,’ Charlie groaned. ‘Isn’t there a lift somewhere we could use?’
‘I feel fine,’ Slink said, although his pale face, bright red nose and puffy eyes told a different story.
They stepped through and were about to walk up the stairs when Jack spotted something on the bottom step.
He scooped it up and handed it to Charlie. It was the phone she’d taken from Talya’s warehouse.
Charlie frowned at it, then set the phone back on the stair.
‘What are you doing?’ Wren said.
‘I don’t trust it.’ Charlie looked at Jack. ‘Whoever’s helping us escape could’ve fixed it so they can track us once we’re outside using that phone.’ She glanced down at it. ‘God only knows what they’ve done to it.’
Jack hated to admit it, but Charlie was right.
‘Is the Shepherd doing this?’ Slink asked.
‘I think so,’ Jack said. ‘Who else would it be?’ He looked up the stairs and sighed. ‘Come on, let’s go.’
Jack’s muscles ached with every step they climbed, and halfway up he was gripping on to the handrail.
He could tell the others were suffering too. Wren’s face and hands were deathly pale; Slink was leaning more and more on his good leg; and Charlie’s rasping breaths echoed in the stairwell.
Finally, mercifully, they reached the top. They walked through another door and found themselves in a hallway identical to the one below except for a security guard sitting in a chair next to the exit at the far end. His head was bowed and he seemed to be watching a movie on his phone.
The Outlaws froze on the spot, staring at the man, but he didn’t look up at them.
Was the guy so engrossed in his film that he hadn’t heard the door open?
Jack doubted it.
He looked at the others, unsure how to proceed.
Wren sneezed loudly, making them all jump.
She clapped a hand over her mouth and turned to the others with a horrified expression.
Jack immediately looked back at the guard, but the guard’s eyes were still fixed on the phone in his hands. Jack’s gaze moved to the door on the guard’s right and the glowing exit sign.
There was nothing else for it – they had to try. He took a deep breath and signalled for Charlie, Slink and Wren to follow him.
Jack crept up the hallway, ready to run if the guard looked at them.
But, even as they got nearer, the guard still didn’t flinch. Now they were closer, Jack could see the man’s chest rising and falling as he breathed.
He was definitely alive. And his eyes were open, so he was awake too.
A shiver ran down Jack’s spine and he glanced at the other three Outlaws.
They looked as unnerved as he felt.
Wren stiffened as the guard suddenly moved, and they all stopped dead in their tracks, staring at him.
But, instead of looking up, the guard turned to his left, still watching his phone – and now facing away from the exit.
Now Jack knew the guard must have been paid off or ordered to look the other way.
The only question was, by who?
Jack gestured to the others and they reached the door. He opened it and ushered Charlie, Slink and Wren past, before backing through himself.
Once on the other side, he let out a breath. ‘Well, that was weird.’ He turned around.
They were standing in a small forecourt surrounded by a chain-link fence.
Charlie pointed. ‘Look.’
To their right was the unmistakable outline of the Secret Service building.
‘The Shepherd let us out?’ Charlie said in a hoarse voice. ‘Just like that? No catch?’
‘There’s always a catch. We just don’t know what it is yet,’ Jack said, fixing the makeshift bandana over his nose and mouth.
Slink and Wren did the same with their bandanas.
There was a loud buzzing sound and a gate opposite swung open.
Without any further hesitation, the four Outlaws hurried through it, down a short driveway and on to the street.
The road was jammed full of cars, all beeping their horns and jostling for position. Each car was crammed full of bags, suitcases and people.
‘They’re trying to get out of London,’ Jack said.
Charlie gasped. ‘Because of the virus? Is Hector doing this?’
‘I’ll explain everything in a bit,’ Jack said. ‘For now, we need to get somewhere safe.’ He gestured to a side path that steered them away from the mayhem, and pulled his hood up. ‘Let’s get out of here.’
Slink led the way. ‘Where are we going exactly?’ he called over his shoulder. ‘The cavern?’
The cavern was a meeting place and a short-term shelter for homeless kids. If any child in London needed an emergency place to stay, then the cavern was it. It had food, water, bedding, clothes – everything needed to tide them over for a while.
Raze, Wilf and Domino checked the cavern daily and if any new kids turned up, they’d help them find their family, accommodation or anything else they needed.
The Outlaws often checked on it too and restocked its supplies, but, what with everything that had been going on lately, they’d hadn’t gone to the cavern for a couple of months.
‘There aren’t any computers or phones stored there,’ Jack said. ‘We have to get on to the Cerberus forum and check to see if there are any messages from Obi.’
‘We need a phone again?’ Wren said, looking exhausted. ‘Really?’
‘I’ve got somewhere we can go hide out for a while,’ Charlie said, putting her arm around Wren. ‘We can catch our breath there.’
Jack, Charlie, Slink and Wren dodged crowds of panic-stricken Londoners and eventually came to an industrial building. A peeling sign above it read, Caine Motors.
It was Charlie’s dad’s old workshop – a place Hector didn’t know about. There was no chance his goons would show up here.
A low, wailing siren sounded in the distance.
‘What’s that?’ Wren said.
‘It’s getting worse.’ Jack couldn’t believe it was all happening so quickly – the Shepherd hadn’t been exaggerating. He motioned to the door. ‘We’d better get inside before the real chaos starts.’
‘How could it get worse?’ Wren asked.
‘Don’t you get it?’ Slink said. ‘Someone’s told them all that there’s a deadly virus spreading around London, so people are starting to freak out.’
‘Get inside,’ Jack said, glancing around uneasily.
Charlie unlocked the door and flicked on the lights.
The workshop looked the same as when Jack had last seen it, minus the Ford Escort Charlie had modified for their Facility mission.
After Charlie had got them a glass of water each, they sat down in the small office.
On the desk was an antique computer with a large, old-fashioned CRT monitor.
‘Does that thing work?’ Jack asked.
‘Yeah, kinda,’ Charlie said. ‘It’s got an old modem-type connection, but I’ve kept paying the bills so it should be OK.’
Jack flicked on the computer, and once it had booted up he logged into the Cerberus forum. ‘Oh, thank God for that.’
‘What is it?’ Slink said.
‘Good news – a message from Obi. He says he’s fine. Still doesn’t know where he is though.’
‘How’s he managing t
o keep his phone hidden?’ Charlie said.
‘I have no idea.’ Jack smiled as he read Obi’s message, feeling relieved that he was OK. ‘He says he’ll be in touch whenever they leave him on his own for long enough.’ Jack read on and then frowned for a second. ‘I don’t believe it.’
‘What?’ Slink said.
Jack looked up at them. ‘Do you remember when he was going on about the coming apocalypse? All that end-of-the-world stuff?’
Obi had all sorts of conspiracy theories and often bored the other Outlaws with them.
‘Yeah,’ Charlie said. ‘I remember that one. He reckoned zombies would attack . . .’ She groaned.
Slink smiled. ‘Well, in a way Obi was right, wasn’t he?’
‘We’re not zombies though,’ Wren said.
‘Nah, not yet.’ Slink grinned. ‘But it’s still early days, isn’t it?’
‘So, what’s actually going on then?’ Charlie asked Jack.
‘Well, Obi’s not far off with his doomsday prediction.’ Jack nodded at the TV on top of the filing cabinet. ‘Does that work? I bet it’ll answer some of your questions.’
Charlie walked over to the TV and turned it on.
Sure enough, a large sign appeared across the bottom of the screen:
NEWSFLASH.
Charlie turned up the volume.
‘. . . being told to evacuate,’ a female reporter was saying.
Behind her, a display showed a helicopter’s view over London. Streams of traffic were leaving the capital like millions of ants.
‘All airports in and around Greater London have been closed,’ the reporter continued. ‘These include Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted, London City, Luton and Southend. The police and the army are advising that everyone remains calm.’
The screen divided, showing checkpoints with vehicles and people queuing to get through. Barbed-wire fences and the army held back crowds, while hundreds of medics checked civilians and led them to huge tents set up along the roadside.
‘We now join Sophie Knowles on the ground.’
The main screen of the news channel was filled with the image of a reporter wearing a surgical mask and gloves.
The camera view spun round, showing the crowds pushing against the makeshift fences, shouting and screaming, while soldiers, with their weapons raised, barked commands at one another.
The camera abruptly swung to the reporter as she stepped inside one of the tents. There were rows upon rows of beds with men, women and children lying on them, being examined by medical staff.
The camera zoomed in on one small girl sitting on her father’s lap as a nurse used a torch to look inside her mouth and behind her ears.
‘This is crazy,’ Charlie breathed. ‘This is all because of the virus?’
Jack didn’t respond. He couldn’t.
The virus was disrupting people’s lives and causing widespread panic. How long would it be before people were really hurt or killed?
The girl and her father were given tickets with numbers on them, then they stood up and the nurse led them from the tent.
The reporter and cameraman followed.
‘Once preliminary checks are done,’ the reporter said, ‘people are taken into quarantine.’
The girl and her father were escorted to a large field surrounded by tall, makeshift fences. Thousands of other people were already crammed in.
‘After one hour has elapsed,’ the reporter continued, ‘the potential evacuees are rechecked. If there are no signs of the virus present, people are then free to leave the city.’
Suddenly, the screen filled with the image of 10 Downing Street. The famous black door opened and the prime minister stepped out. He straightened his tie, walked into the road and stood in front of a bank of microphones.
He cleared his throat and read from a sheet of paper. ‘I will be taking no questions at this time. As you can appreciate, we need to act fast. We urge everyone to stay calm during this national emergency. If you or your loved ones show any signs of having the virus, you will be taken into quarantine. Rest assured that we have hundreds of the world’s best biologists working on a viable antidote.’ He took a breath. ‘We ask those of you who clear quarantine to proceed from the city in an orderly manner. Any sign of aggression will be met by force.’ The prime minister cleared his throat again. ‘We are unsure about the exact details of how this outbreak occurred, but we do know that a group of local terrorists are responsible. They call themselves the Urban Outlaws.’
The Outlaws gasped as an image of each of their faces appeared on the screen, including Obi’s. The photos looked like they were taken from CCTV recordings at the time the Outlaws went to North Brother Island in New York.
‘Hector’s cameras,’ Charlie said. She looked at Jack. ‘He planned this all along.’
Jack felt sick and he was pretty sure it wasn’t the virus making him feel that way.
The prime minister continued, ‘If you see any one of these individuals, you are to consider them extremely dangerous. Do not approach them, but phone the hotline number that’s scrolling along the bottom of the screen. There is a reward of five hundred thousand pounds for any information that leads to their capture.’
‘Five hundred grand?’ Slink said, wide-eyed. ‘For that kind of money I might turn us in myself.’
The prime minister went on, ‘We are working with the World Health Organization and many other countries are lending their full support in this critical time – this includes both medical and military assistance.’ He looked directly at the camera. ‘I do urge everyone in London to come to the border and have a health check. We’ve also set up several camps outside the main quarantine zone if you have no place to go. The army will patrol London, escorting any remaining citizens who are unaware of the situation to the quarantine border.’
‘That’s enough.’ Charlie flicked off the television and turned to Jack. ‘I can’t believe this is happening. It has to be a nightmare.’
‘My mum,’ Slink said. ‘I need to use that.’ He waved a finger at the computer. ‘Gotta tell her we’re OK and make sure she doesn’t go out.’
Charlie got up and let him sit in front of the keyboard.
As Slink typed, Jack stood up and started pacing the room.
‘What are you thinking?’ Charlie asked.
‘I’m thinking we’ve got a lot of work to do. First, we have to find Obi and get Noble back from Talya, because we need all the help we can get to go after Hector and the antidote.’ Jack gestured at the computer. ‘And, no offence, if I’m gonna figure out where Hector’s hiding, that thing is just too slow.’
‘But I thought we had to break into Trent Myer’s computer to find Hector?’ Charlie said.
‘We do,’ Jack said. ‘But we have to find him first, and I need a decent computer to get the tracer working.’
‘From the program that you put on Raze’s laptop?’ Wren asked.
‘Exactly,’ Jack said. ‘I need to send a signal to activate it. And in order to do that, I also need a fast internet connection.’
Slink sneezed, wiped his nose then moved away from the computer. ‘Mum’s fine.’ Despite looking exhausted, he smiled. ‘She reckons this virus is a load of rubbish. Says she ain’t got a rash behind her ears or nothin’. I told her to stay put until I say otherwise.’
Jack felt relieved she was OK and hadn’t caught the virus. That was one less thing to worry about. He supposed it was because she spent quite a bit of time in her apartment and had minimal contact with other people.
‘So,’ Slink said, leaning against the filing cabinet. ‘Can you lot explain what you’re talking about?’
Jack turned to him. ‘In order to activate my tracer program on Raze’s laptop and get into Trent Myer’s private network, I need a proper, fast internet connection. I’m going to have to do a serious hack to get past his security. Noble will know how to help us do that. Which means that right now our only hope is getting him away from Talya.’
Charli
e frowned. ‘How are we going to do that?’
‘And what about Obi?’ Wren asked.
Jack held up his hands. ‘We’re gonna sort out both at the same time – my plan will get Obi and Noble back.’
‘But how?’ Charlie asked.
‘By offering Talya something she can’t resist.’
‘And what’s that?’ Slink said.
Jack looked at them all. ‘Why do you think Hector wants to evacuate London?’
They stared back at him for a moment, then Wren said, ‘I know.’
‘So, why?’ Slink said.
‘With London empty, Hector’s free to break into anywhere he likes and take anything he likes,’ Wren said. ‘He can steal the Crown jewels if he wants to.’ She looked at Jack. ‘Right?’
Jack nodded. ‘Exactly. And I bet he’s got his sights set on something big. So, we offer Talya a slice of Hector’s action in exchange for Noble.’
A smile swept across Slink’s face. ‘We’re finally gonna get Talya back for what she did to Scarlett, aren’t we?’
Jack smiled back at him. ‘Yes. That’s the plan. But first, Obi. We need to find out where he is.’
The others didn’t make a sound as they watched Jack think through his plans.
In the end, he realised there really was only one way to do it. Only one course of action they could follow.
And that also meant they’d only get one shot at getting it right.
Finally, after running through the mission a few times in his head, Jack looked at the others. ‘OK. Plan formulated.’
‘Is it dangerous?’ Slink asked.
‘Of course.’
‘Then I’m in.’
Jack turned to Charlie and Wren – they looked pale and drawn. ‘If you –’
‘We’re fine,’ Charlie interrupted, though none of them was anywhere near fine.
‘We’re not dead yet,’ Wren said. ‘And if we really are gonna die, we need to take Hector with us.’
Slink rubbed his hands together. ‘Finally someone’s talking some sense.’
‘Have you got radios of any kind?’ Jack asked Charlie.
She thought for a few seconds, then clicked her fingers. ‘Dad’s old bike intercom system.’
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