Blackout

by Peter Jay Black

  Charlie ducked through the window frame.

  There was another bang, a cracking sound, and the front door burst open, the wood shattering and sending splinters flying.

  Monday stepped into the hallway and dusted himself off.

  Connor followed and, for a second, his cold eyes met with Jack’s. Connor’s face twisted into rage.

  Jack leapt through the window and raced after the others. He clattered down the metal steps, almost tripping. ‘Hurry up,’ he urged.

  Halfway to the bottom, Jack glanced up to see Connor staring down at him.

  Connor reached under his jacket.

  Jack turned and vaulted the remaining steps. He’d learnt from experience that Connor would not hesitate to shoot a bunch of kids. ‘Run.’

  They sprinted along the alleyway, around the building, and skidded to a halt.

  Cloud stood in front of them, blocking their escape. She had her right hand under her jacket. ‘Don’t move.’

  For a few seconds, no one did, then Hector spun on his heels and sprinted back around the corner.

  There was no time to think. Jack, Charlie, Slink and Wren followed him, with Cloud in pursuit.

  Connor and Monday were still hurrying down the metal fire escape.

  As the Outlaws ran past, Connor cleared the steps and lunged for them. Wren ducked under his outstretched arms.

  Connor roared his annoyance.

  Hector reached the end of the alleyway and sprinted right. ‘Come on,’ he shouted.

  They raced after him and dashed across a main road.

  Tyres screeched and horns sounded.

  Slink vaulted over the bonnet of a black cab.

  The driver wound down his window, swore and waved his fist at them.

  On the other side of the road, Hector darted left. ‘Follow me.’ He sprinted across the street and down another alleyway. At the end, they went right, followed the back of the buildings and came out at a small park.

  They stopped, catching their breath, sure they were out of sight and hadn’t been followed.

  ‘What now?’ Charlie said, panting and glancing around.

  Jack looked at Hector. ‘It’s time you told us where the virus has gone.’

  Hector hesitated.

  Jack’s eyes narrowed. ‘Tell us. Now.’

  ‘Nexus,’ Hector said. ‘OK? It went to somewhere called Nexus.’

  ‘What’s that?’

  Hector shrugged. ‘I don’t know exactly. I got a glimpse of that name in a line of code. I think it’s some sort of government project.’

  Jack looked at Charlie. ‘We’ve wasted our time.’

  ‘No,’ Hector said. ‘I can find out where the virus went. My trace program was running automatically when it moved from my laptop. With a bit of work, I can get a location for this Nexus thing.’

  Jack couldn’t help but show a huge amount of doubt in his expression.

  ‘Let him try,’ Charlie said. ‘We don’t have any other leads.’

  Jack thought for a moment. What he wanted to do was get rid of Hector, send him home, but he knew too much. If Jack let Hector go now, he could reveal the existence of the virus to other people. As it stood, the Outlaws had a head start on anyone else that might be hunting it. Especially Connor.

  So, that gave Jack little choice.

  He sighed. ‘Fine. You can stay.’

  For now, anyway, Jack thought.

  Hector nodded and Wren smiled at him.

  ‘So,’ Charlie said. ‘What’s next?’

  ‘Noble,’ Jack said. ‘If anyone knows what this Nexus is, it’s him. Come on.’

  ‘Who’s Noble?’ Hector asked, but Jack didn’t respond.

  As they walked through the park, Charlie slid a phone from her pocket and keyed a quick message. A few minutes passed and no one answered. ‘Where is he?’ They reached the main gate. ‘Wait,’ she said. ‘What day is it?’

  ‘Thursday,’ Slink said.

  ‘No,’ Wren said. ‘It’s Tuesday.’

  ‘Yeah, Tuesday,’ Jack agreed.

  ‘That’s why I can’t get hold of him.’ Charlie looked at Jack. ‘He’s at the Science Museum.’

  ‘I remember,’ Jack said. Noble had told them there was a special exhibition on Alan Turing that he wanted to see.

  ‘Why doesn’t he just put his phone on vibrate?’ Hector said.

  ‘He doesn’t have a phone,’ Charlie said. ‘When I send him messages, it’s always through email.’

  Hector frowned. ‘That’s just stupid.’

  ‘Noble is not stupid,’ Jack said, annoyed. ‘He’s a genius.’

  Hector’s eyebrows rose. ‘Then why doesn’t he have a phone?’

  ‘A few reasons. The main one is that he doesn’t trust them. Thinks they’re too easily traced.’

  ‘He’s right,’ Charlie said. ‘They are a lot of hassle. We have to keep changing phones and SIM cards all the time.’

  Hector looked at Jack again. ‘Can we wait for him?’

  Jack shook his head. ‘He’s likely to be in there all day. We’ll have to go get him.’ He glanced around. ‘Where’s the nearest Tube station?’

  Hector pointed towards an Underground sign on the other side of the park.

  They all pulled their hoods up and marched towards it.

  When they reached the top of the steps, Slink glanced back. ‘Er, guys.’

  Connor, Cloud and Monday were running towards them.

  ‘Go,’ Jack shouted, and they hurried down into the Underground.

  People protested as they shoved past them. At the bottom of the stairs, they ran right, then left towards the ticket barriers.

  Hector stopped short. ‘We need tickets.’

  ‘No we don’t,’ Charlie said, pulling several Oyster cards from her pocket. Each one gave them unlimited credit to travel on the Tube.

  Charlie handed Jack, Slink and Wren a card each. She then swiped hers over the reader, the barrier opened and she stepped through.

  Wren and Slink did the same.

  Jack glanced back to see Connor, Monday and Cloud pushing through the throng of people.

  He chucked his card at Hector. ‘Hurry.’

  Monday spotted Jack and pointed.

  The three of them continued to shove their way past the crowd.

  Hector swiped the card over the reader and stepped through the barrier. He turned back and tossed it to Jack.

  The card slipped through Jack’s fingers and hit the floor. Cursing, he bent down and scooped it up.

  Connor lunged forward as Jack swiped the card and slipped through just in time.

  He stood on the other side of the barrier, staring back at a snarling Connor.

  In desperation and anger, Connor started to climb over the barrier.

  ‘Oi, what’s your game?’ A Tube attendant shouted.

  Connor kept his eyes on Jack.

  The Tube attendant grabbed him and pulled him back.

  ‘Get your hands off me.’

  Jack wheeled around and hurried to the others. ‘This way.’ They jogged to a set of escalators that led down. At the bottom, he said, ‘Left-hand platform.’

  Charlie hesitated. ‘But Noble is –’

  ‘Left,’ Jack insisted. They ran along the platform to the end and tried to blend in with the commuters.

  Jack kept glancing at the stairs. The seconds stretched into minutes.

  After what seemed an eternity, he heard the unmistakable low rumble of an approaching train and warm air brushed past his face.

  Connor, Monday and Cloud stepped on to the platform just as the train pulled in.

  The doors opened and the five of them jumped on board.

  It was too late – Connor, Cloud and Monday had spotted them and also climbed on, a few carriages back.

  ‘Jack,’ Charlie hissed.

  ‘I know.’ Jack looked at the doors. ‘On three.’ He glanced at the others and they nodded. ‘One.’ Jack saw Connor, Cloud and Monday making their way through the carr
iages towards them. ‘Two.’ The door to the next carriage opened and Del Sarto’s operatives stepped inside. The main doors beeped and started to close. ‘Three.’

  Jack and the others leapt from the train just as the doors closed behind them.

  The train pulled away from the platform and Slink waved as an enraged Connor stared through the carriage windows as they shot past.

  Chuckling to themselves, the Outlaws strode to the other platform and stepped on to another train going in the opposite direction.

  Twenty minutes later, Jack, Charlie, Slink, Wren and Hector were standing in front of the Science Museum in South Kensington.

  Jack turned to Hector. ‘Wait here.’

  ‘Why can’t he come with us?’ Wren said.

  ‘It’s OK,’ Hector said, before Jack could answer. ‘I understand.’ He smiled at the others, but the grin slipped from his face when he looked at Jack again.

  ‘Stay here with him,’ Jack said to Slink.

  Until they knew exactly what this Nexus was and what they were dealing with, Jack didn’t want Hector out of their sight.

  Wren scowled at Jack, but he turned his back on her.

  As they walked into the museum, Jack heard her mutter something to Charlie about him being paranoid and rude. Jack couldn’t understand how reckless the others were being when it came to Hector.

  They tried to look as casual as possible and Jack put some money in the donations box as they passed into the main hall.

  The whole place was buzzing with kids and parents.

  ‘This way,’ Jack said.

  They hurried to a flight of stairs and at the top was the exhibition on Alan Turing – one of the early pioneers of computer technology and code breaking. There was a huge black-and-white photo of him. As they turned the corner, on the right-hand side, behind a large sheet of glass, was a wooden cabinet with dials and switches.

  Noble stood staring at it. He was a tall, slender man, with dark skin and silver hair tied back in a ponytail. He wore a long coat and had a peaceful expression on his face.

  Jack, Charlie and Wren gathered around him.

  ‘What is that?’ Wren said, frowning at the wooden cabinet.

  ‘Pilot ACE,’ Jack said. ‘It was one of the fastest computers in the nineteen-fifties.’

  ‘That’s right.’ Noble turned and his eyebrows rose. ‘What are you three doing here?’

  ‘We need your help,’ Jack said.

  Noble glanced around to make sure no one was listening in on their conversation. ‘Explain.’

  Jack quickly brought Noble up to speed about the virus, how trying to capture it had led them to Hector, then Connor and his sidekicks had turned up but the Outlaws had managed to get away.

  Noble listened patiently and finally said, ‘I gather you want to get to the virus before Del Sarto’s people or the secret service do?’

  Jack nodded and, keeping his voice low, said, ‘Hector thinks he knows where the virus has gone.’

  ‘Where?’

  ‘Have you heard of something called the Nexus?’

  Noble looked taken aback. ‘I should hope so,’ he said. ‘I helped create it.’

  Now it was Jack who had an astonished look on his face. ‘You did?’

  A group of tourists walked past.

  Noble gestured for Jack, Charlie and Wren to follow him. As they walked, he spoke in barely a whisper. ‘Five years ago, I was asked to help on a secret project. At the time, I wasn’t informed of what it was. At first, I assumed the Nexus was some kind of advanced game.’ He looked at Jack. ‘It has high-end programming like no one has ever seen before. They used the best people in the world.’ Noble stopped in front of a display cabinet that held yet another old-fashioned computer. It had wires and buttons jutting out from every angle. He stared at it as he spoke. ‘Six months before the project was due to be completed, I was asked to leave.’

  ‘Why?’ Jack said.

  ‘I think they didn’t want me to see what the Nexus was going to be used for.’

  ‘But you know?’

  Noble walked between the display cabinets again. ‘The Nexus is a state-of-the-art, three-dimensional virtual world, created by the British Ministry of Defence.’

  ‘For what?’ Charlie said.

  ‘They use it for multiple purposes.’ Noble stopped in front of a cabinet with another old computer inside. ‘The Nexus is a secret meeting facility. A place where their field agents can report in without having to compromise their locations.’ He lowered his voice even further. ‘The SAS also use it as an advanced training program – a way to rehearse for missions.’ Noble’s gaze roamed for a second. ‘I also heard that the Ministry of Defence run simulations of terrorist attacks.’

  ‘What’s the hardware like?’ Charlie said.

  Noble waited until a family went past them and he whispered, ‘Out of this world. Hundreds of processors dedicated just to graphics.’

  ‘So,’ Charlie said. ‘The virus was attracted to the Nexus somehow? Because of its power?’

  Noble considered this for a moment. ‘It’s probably one of the most powerful facilities in the United Kingdom. However, I wouldn’t have thought it would go there of its own accord.’

  ‘I don’t think so either,’ Jack said. ‘They must have sent a signal to attract it.’ The same technique he’d tried by using his program on the USB stick.

  ‘Yes,’ Noble said. ‘Which means they understand the virus’s potential to be developed into the world’s best hacking tool.’ He walked a few more paces and stopped next to another display cabinet with some kind of antique keyboard under a CRT monitor. ‘The virus is able to slip past any security system – quite a power if it can be harnessed or even worked out and duplicated.’

  ‘Exactly,’ Jack said. ‘That’s why they want the virus – to learn from it. They’ll dissect it and mani­pulate it to work for them.’ The thought made him feel sick. It was Proteus all over again.

  ‘Why put it in a virtual world though?’ Charlie said. ‘I don’t get it.’

  ‘Well, you did destroy their most advanced computer.’ Noble winked at them. ‘The Nexus is the only thing the government have left that’s powerful enough to hold the virus.’

  ‘But it still doesn’t make sense,’ Charlie said slowly. ‘Why would they put the virus in the Nexus? It could damage it.’ She glanced at Jack. ‘It’s already taken down one of their secret facilities, a whole load of power stations, a supercomputer and God knows what else. Why would they risk it?’

  ‘Like Noble says,’ Jack replied, ‘high risk means high reward. They know the virus could be turned into the world’s best hacker.’

  ‘I think they’d also have it under control. For now, anyway,’ Noble said. ‘The virus didn’t completely cripple Proteus, just stopped it from working properly. The Nexus is no slouch either – it makes a games console look like a plastic tiddlywinks set. It has vast arrays of hard drives and processors. It would take a long while for the virus to affect it all.’ He shrugged. ‘Besides, if it gets too much, they’ll simply shut it down and work out how to either resolve the problem or remove the virus entirely.’ He looked at Jack again. ‘Was it still mutating when you last saw it?’

  Jack nodded. ‘Yeah.’

  Noble stared off into the distance.

  ‘What?’ Charlie said. ‘What are you thinking?’

  Noble glanced around again and they continued walking slowly between the exhibition displays, keeping their distance from the other visitors.

  Finally, he said, ‘The Nexus is a good place for them to observe the virus. The code will be too complex to understand in its raw form, too quick to change. I believe they’re using the Nexus as not only a place to trap the virus, but also as a way to visualise it in three-dimensions. A way to understand how it works.’

  ‘How do we get inside this Nexus thing?’ Wren asked.

  ‘Ah,’ Noble said. ‘Now that’s the question, isn’t it? It’s not usually connected to the internet. They mus
t have only opened the doors to the Nexus just that one time. And now they’ve sealed it off again, the virus will have no way out.’

  ‘And we’ll have no way in,’ Charlie said.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Brilliant. So it’s gone?’

  Jack let out a snort of annoyance. No matter what they did, they just kept meeting new problems. ‘Wait a minute,’ he said. ‘The virus went from Hector’s laptop to the Nexus, and he said he can trace the location.’

  Noble’s eyes widened. ‘An access point?’

  ‘A what?’

  ‘The Nexus is on its own secure system. As I said, they must have connected it to the internet briefly to trap the virus, but they would’ve used an access point. An access point is a direct connection to the Nexus. A way to interface with it without actually going to where the Nexus is physically located.’

  ‘Where is the Nexus?’ Wren said.

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘But we can connect to it via an access point?’ Charlie said.

  ‘Yes. There are a few scattered around the country, but I’ve never heard of their locations either.’ Noble looked thoughtful for a moment. ‘If you can find an access point, there’s a good chance you can log on to the Nexus.’

  A flood of hope washed over Jack. ‘So, there’s a way?’

  Noble nodded. ‘If your friend can provide us with the location, I can help you with the rest.’ A sly grin cracked his lips.

  They all smiled back at him.

  Outside, they met up with Hector and Slink, and walked back to the main road.

  A way down, Noble stopped outside an alleyway. ‘I’ve parked there,’ he said, pointing at a ramp that led to a garage under a building. ‘They have secur­ity. I suggest you all wait here.’ He strode across the road.

  Jack, Charlie, Slink, Wren and Hector pulled back into the shadows and waited.

  Jack pressed a finger to his ear. ‘Obi?’

  ‘Yeah?’

  ‘Did you hear all that?’

  ‘Everything,’ Obi said. ‘And I’ve been searching for any references to this Nexus place on the Cerberus forum.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘Nothing.’

  Jack watched cars go past. ‘Well, Noble says it definitely exists.’

  ‘Let’s hope Hector can find it then,’ Obi said.