by Mark Walden
‘What makes you think that?’ Lin Feng, the head of G.L.O.V.E.’s Chinese operations, said angrily.
‘Please,’ Darkdoom said quickly. ‘There will be time for questions shortly, but first there is something you should all see. Madame Mortis was attacked within her own headquarters, and our clean-up team was able to retrieve this footage from the building’s security system.’
He picked up a slim remote control from the table and pointed it at a large flat-screen display mounted on the wall at the far end of the room. The screen lit up with an image of an underground car park, and after a couple of seconds a black 4x4 raced into shot, coming to a screeching halt just beneath the camera. The assembled council members looked on in silence as the attack on the building unfolded. Raven watched as the assassin in white body armour neatly disposed of the bodyguards, feeling a mixture of anger and, she had to admit, slight grudging professional respect for the mysterious woman’s abilities.
‘As you will no doubt have noticed, Madame Mortis escaped that attack,’ Darkdoom said with a frown, ‘but it appears that she was merely being herded towards a much more gruesome fate.’ He hit another button on the remote control and the image on the screen switched to display footage from another camera, mounted in the back wall of an elevator carriage. Madame Mortis could be seen talking into her mobile phone as her bodyguard moved to position himself by the doors. She snapped the phone shut and then, just a few seconds later, the doors of the lift opened and her bodyguard raised his weapon, levelling it at a figure standing in the corridor beyond.
Nero felt a sudden horrible twinge of recognition as the person in the corridor raised one hand and pulled back the hood that had been concealing his face in shadow.
‘No . . .’ Nero whispered to himself as the image froze and the display zoomed in on the all too familiar face.
‘What happened next is what led us to question the nature of the crash that killed Steiner,’ Darkdoom said, looking around the table but avoiding eye contact with Nero. He hit the control again and the footage continued to play. The lift carriage lurched downwards and then Otto said something. A moment later the carriage took a plunge, the walls of the elevator shaft flying past, visible between the still open doors, as the digital counter on the wall raced downwards towards zero. The expression of terror on the faces of Madame Mortis and her guard as they clung uselessly to the rail that ran around the wall of the carriage was spine-chilling. Barely a second later the footage ended abruptly in blackness.
‘I’m sure that you all recognise the face of Madame Mortis’s attacker,’ Darkdoom said, suddenly looking very tired, ‘and I’m equally sure that you are all at least somewhat familiar with his abilities. Once we became aware of Mr Malpense’s involvement here we reviewed the limited data that we were able to retrieve from the flight recorder on board Steiner’s jet. The navigation systems had been remotely reprogrammed to ensure that the plane would crash. The technicians who reviewed the data assure me that there is only one way that this could possibly have happened –’
‘Otto would not have done this,’ Nero said quickly, feeling a mixture of anger and confusion. ‘I know him. He would not betray us like this.’
‘I truly wish that I could believe that, Max,’ Darkdoom said with a sigh, ‘but all the evidence suggests that he is directly responsible for the deaths of two members of the ruling council. He has been missing for months and it would appear that in that time he has, somehow, been turned against us.’
‘But why would he leave the footage of the attack on the security system?’ Raven asked. ‘It would have been a trivial task to remove all evidence of his presence – he must have known he was being recorded.’
‘For the very same reason that the woman who attacked the parking garage left one of the guards alive, I suspect,’ Darkdoom said with a frown. ‘Whoever is responsible for this wants to send us a message.’
‘Who would dare to risk a direct confrontation with us?’ Carlos Chavez, the head of G.L.O.V.E.’s South American operations, asked.
‘Sebastian Trent would,’ Nero said, feeling angrier by the moment. ‘We suspected that Otto had fallen into his hands, but I had hoped that we would be able to track him down before he made his next move.’
‘You knew that the boy had been captured by H.O.P.E. and you chose not to share this information with the rest of us?’ Lin Feng said angrily. ‘Are you insane? The boy is a weapon – a weapon that we cannot allow Trent to exploit.’
‘As I say, I had hoped that it would not come to this,’ Nero said quietly.
‘That does not excuse concealing this from the rest of the council,’ Chavez said, glaring at Nero. ‘What gives you the right to decide what we all should or should not know?’
‘That’s enough!’ Darkdoom snapped, silencing the other council members. ‘I supported Maximilian in this. There was no point in discussing Malpense’s disappearance with you all until we had more information – information that Raven was actively engaged in acquiring, and unless any of you have an operative who would have been better suited to that task I suggest you spare us your indignation.’
‘Have you made any progress?’ Lin Feng asked, looking at Raven.
‘Yes,’ Raven replied, ‘but Trent has gone to extraordinary lengths to keep his whereabouts secret. At first I thought that it was simply because he knew that we would be attempting to reacquire Otto, but I think that it’s now clear that he was also planning these attacks. I will find him. You can count on that.’
‘Oh, I do not doubt your abilities, Raven,’ said Lin Feng, ‘but we cannot ignore the fact that this situation has become much more serious.’
‘We are quite aware of the danger that this represents,’ Darkdoom said. In the meantime we will all have to increase our own levels of personal security accordingly. By letting us know that we are all targets, Trent has at least given us the chance to better defend ourselves from any attack.’
‘I cannot speak for the other members of the council,’ Chavez said, still sounding angry, ‘but that is not enough for me. I want the Malpense boy declared a rogue operative.’
‘No,’ Darkdoom replied quickly. ‘We all know what that means, and I will not issue a termination order for Otto unless there is absolutely no other alternative. Whatever he has become, we still owe the boy a great deal. We should not forget the part that he played in preventing my predecessor from succeeding with his insane plans.’
‘We are all grateful that Number One was stopped,’ Lin Feng said, ‘but only you and Doctor Nero know exactly what happened. It would seem that rather too many essential facts have been kept hidden from us recently.’
Not for the first time Nero found himself wondering if he and Diabolus should have shared with their fellow council members the full details of what had taken place during the final confrontation with Number One. At the time it had seemed wise to simply tell them that their mysterious leader had been planning global genocide, leaving out the details of Number One’s corruption by the Overlord AI and Otto’s part in his plans. They should have realised that the people sitting around this table were never going to be satisfied with anything less than the complete truth. Indeed, it had been precisely that dissatisfaction that had driven Jason Drake to break away from G.L.O.V.E. and triggered the catastrophic series of events that had led to Otto’s capture during the Dreadnought incident.
‘Are you suggesting that we have lied to you?’ Darkdoom asked, a sudden edge to his voice.
‘No, but we have a right to protect ourselves in whatever way we see fit,’ Lin Feng replied calmly. ‘We cannot afford to take any chances.’
Darkdoom looked slowly around the table. He knew that there were some of them who still did not fully agree with his appointment as head of the ruling council, and while they might not be prepared to challenge him directly, they were keenly waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Number One had controlled them through fear, and with that fear had come respect. Darkdoom knew that in the absen
ce of that fear he needed to show strength to earn their loyalty. If they sensed weakness, they would rip him apart like a pack of wild dogs. Not for the first time he felt a grudging respect for the ease with which his predecessor had kept them all in line.
‘I need time to consider the options available to us,’ Darkdoom said. ‘Rest assured that I will not let Sebastian Trent destroy this organisation.’
‘Decide quickly, Diabolus,’ Chavez said with a frown. ‘Or we will decide for you.’
It was as close to a threat as any of the assembled leaders of global villainy would have dared.
Laura and Lucy hurried through the door into the lecture theatre.
‘Sorry we’re late,’ Laura said apologetically as they took their seats next to Shelby and Wing.
‘You and Miss Dexter can demonstrate just how sorry you are in detention this evening, Miss Brand,’ Ms Leon said, sounding irritated.
It was bad enough that they were getting punished, Laura thought to herself, but it was somehow worse being given detention by a cat. Ms Leon was without doubt the strangest of all their teachers. She had taken part in one of Professor Pike’s more unusual experiments, designed to give her the stealth and enhanced senses of a cat, but it had instead left her consciousness trapped inside a fluffy, white and unmistakably feline body. This had clearly done nothing to improve her already short temper. Miss Leon kneaded the red velvet cushion on the desk at the front of the room for a second before settling back into the sphinx-like pose that she always adopted when giving a lesson.
‘Now, class, as I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted, there are three distinct layers to the alarm systems on a modern bank vault . . .’
‘You may have detention, but at least you don’t have to worry about hairballs,’ Shelby whispered to Laura with a grin.
Ms Leon stopped talking and looked straight at Shelby. ‘It is very good of you to show such solidarity with your friends, Miss Trinity,’ she said, ‘even going so far as to want to share their detention. Admirable. Stupid . . . but admirable. Anyway, as I was saying . . .’
Shelby winced. It was not the first time that she had forgotten that Ms Leon’s hearing was considerably more acute than a human’s. Nor would it be the first time that she and Laura shared a detention. Admittedly the previous occasion had involved the swimming pool, the senior boys’ water polo team and and an electric eel, but at least that had been worth it.
‘The first layer is a human one,’ Ms Leon continued, ‘usually taking the form of button-operated silent alarms. In some ways this meeeww miiaoow, mew mew . . . roooow?’
There were a couple of nervous giggles around the room as Ms Leon tipped her head to one side with the closest thing to a look of confusion on her face that a cat could manage.
‘Mew?’ she miaowed tentatively.
Laura noticed that the large blue gem in the centre of the collar that Ms Leon always wore was not illuminated. Normally when she spoke it was via the vocal synthesiser implanted in that collar, but now the crystal was dark. Laura raised her hand in the air and Ms Leon looked towards her and gave a small nod.
‘Should I go and get the Professor, Miss?’ Laura asked. Miss Leon gave another, more emphatic, nod and Laura hurried out of the classroom and back towards the central computer core. As she ran down the corridor she noticed that this part of the school was suddenly so cold that she could see her breath forming small white clouds.
The Professor looked up as she ran into the core. ‘Ah, Laura, there’s just been another processor load spike,’ he said with a frown.
‘Aye, I know, Professor. It’s caused a wee problem,’ Laura said. She quickly recounted what had just happened in the Stealth and Evasion lesson.
‘I should imagine Ms Leon is not terribly happy,’ the Professor said, looking slightly nervous. Ms Leon had never forgiven him for leaving her trapped in her new body, and the fact that he had thus far failed to find a way to reverse the process only made matters worse. In truth the Stealth and Evasion teacher had found unexpected advantages to her feline state, but she didn’t intend to let the professor know that.
‘I think that’s probably safe to say,’ Laura said as the Professor put down the display he’d been studying.
The pair of them hurried out of the core and back towards the Stealth and Evasion training area.
‘I see that the environmental controls are malfunctioning too,’ the Professor said as they hurried down the corridor. If anything it was even colder now than it had been just a minute before; a fine glittering layer of frost was just starting to form on the rock walls.
It became warmer again as they approached Ms Leon’s classroom, and they entered to find her prowling back and forth in an agitated way on the desk at the front of the room. As she saw the Professor her eyes narrowed.
‘Miaaaow! Mew meewww rooow,’ she growled as they approached.
‘I’m afraid we’re experiencing some slight systems problems,’ the Professor said as he examined the gem on her collar. ‘They appear to have interfered with the wireless connection between your vocal synthesiser and the network.’
‘Meeew miiaaaoow . . . you doddering old fool,’ Miss Leon said, her eyes widening as the blue crystal flared back to life and her normal voice returned.
‘Well . . . yes . . . erm . . . everything seems to be working again now,’ the Professor said with an embarrassed smile.
‘Is this likely to happen again, Professor?’ Ms Leon asked quietly.
‘It’s . . . erm . . . hard to say,’ the Professor said uncomfortably.
Ms Leon raised a paw, a single curved claw sliding out from its sheath and pointing at him. The Professor swallowed nervously.
The cat spoke. ‘You had better hope it does not.’
Darkdoom looked up as Nero and Raven entered his office. Outside, night was just starting to fall over the Sydney skyline.
‘Thank you for waiting,’ Diabolus said, gesturing at the two seats facing his desk. The other members of the ruling council had left an hour ago. He needed to talk to these two alone.
‘We cannot allow this to stand,’ Nero said as he sat down. ‘Trent has declared war.’
‘We cannot stop what we cannot find,’ Darkdoom said with a sigh. ‘Until we know where he is hiding, we can only sit and wait for him to make his next move. How close are you to tracking him down, Natalya?’
‘Honestly, I am not sure,’ Raven replied. ‘Until we have analysed the data on Khan’s computer, it is impossible to say.’
‘Do you want my people to look at it?’ Darkdoom asked.
‘I would rather have Professor Pike do it,’ said Nero. ‘Under the circumstances, we cannot afford to take any chances that the data might be damaged during retrieval.’
‘Of course,’ Darkdoom agreed. ‘There’s something else I need to discuss with you though. You both know how much we owe Otto. He has done as much as anyone to ensure the survival of both H.I.V.E. and G.L.O.V.E. over the past couple of years, but that cannot be a reason to ignore the danger that he has now come to represent.’
‘I do not believe he has turned against us voluntarily,’ Nero said, frowning. ‘Trent must have done something to him, broken him somehow.’
‘I’m sure you’re right,’ Darkdoom replied, ‘but that does not change the fact that he is now being used as a weapon against us. I want you both to know that I have not taken this decision lightly.’
Nero recognised the look in his friend’s eyes and he did not like what it meant.
‘I cannot ignore the feelings of the rest of the council in this matter,’ Darkdoom continued. ‘I’m afraid I have no alternative but to issue a capture or kill order.’
‘You can’t do that,’ Nero said quickly. ‘You know as well as I do what that will mean to the other members of the council. You might as well issue a termination warrant.’
‘You saw what happened earlier, Max,’ Darkdoom snapped back. ‘If I don’t act decisively now, there are those on the counc
il who will simply see it as a sign of weakness. Do you really want someone like Chavez at the head of G.L.O.V.E.? You know he is just waiting for his chance to move against me.’
‘Give us more time,’ Raven said angrily. ‘That’s all we need.’
‘I cannot, Natalya,’ Darkdoom replied, sounding frustrated. ‘What do you think will happen if another member of the council is assassinated? Chaos. There is a very real chance that it would mean the end of our organisation. G.L.O.V.E. was founded on the principle that we were safer acting together than individually, but if Trent is allowed to pick us off one by one, this organisation will implode. Without G.L.O.V.E., Trent will be completely unopposed and the world will become a global police state or something far worse. I will not allow that to happen.’
‘We can stop him, Diabolus,’ Nero said. ‘There has to be another way.’
‘I wish there was, old friend,’ Diabolus said quietly. ‘I truly do.’
‘At least give me a head start,’ Raven said. ‘Twenty-four hours to analyse the data on the computer I retrieved. That’s all I need.’
‘I’m afraid it’s too late for that, Natalya,’ Darkdoom said with a sigh. ‘I gave the order ten minutes ago.’
‘You did what?’ Nero snapped, suddenly furious.
‘Otto’s too dangerous, Max. You know that.’
‘Try telling that to your son when you have to explain to him how you ordered the execution of one of his friends!’ Nero shouted. ‘If this is what being a member of this organisation has come to mean, then it may very well be something that I, for one, no longer want to be a part of.’
‘Choose your next words very carefully, Max,’ Darkdoom said slowly.
‘How dare you threaten me?’ Nero said angrily, standing up. ‘Do I really need to tell you who you’re starting to sound like?’
Suddenly the room was plunged into darkness, the only illumination coming from the lights of the city outside Darkdoom’s office window.