Counterstrike

by Peter Jay Black

  Suddenly the sprinklers came on.

  ‘Time to go,’ Charlie said, laughing at Jack’s fur as it started to clump together.

  They pushed through the crowds of hysterical partygoers, keeping out of sight of the guards, past the overwhelmed policemen and out on to the street, where they met up with Wren.

  She beamed as she looked around at all the chaos. ‘I really enjoyed that.’

  ‘Next time you’re the rabbit,’ Jack said.

  ‘Oi!’ someone shouted.

  They spun around.

  It was the birthday boy himself – Ryan. He was glaring at Jack, Charlie and Wren, and his face was so twisted with rage it looked as if he was about to explode.

  The bouncer stepped over to him. ‘What’s the matter?’

  Ryan waved a finger at the three Outlaws. ‘They’re the ones who did this.’

  CHAPTER TWO

  People leapt clear as Jack, Charlie and Wren sprinted past them. A few stood open-mouthed, seemingly confused by what was happening.

  What was wrong with them? Jack thought. Had they never seen a zombie, a gangster and a giant rabbit hurtling down the road before?

  He had only run twenty metres and he was already out of breath and sweating like mad again.

  Stupid costume.

  As they rounded a corner, he almost tripped over.

  Stupid giant fluffy feet.

  A man shouted.

  Jack glanced over his shoulder to see the bouncer was in hot pursuit. Bringing up the rear, and looking as angry as a cat in a bath, was birthday boy Ryan with a few of his mates.

  The Outlaws sprinted past a row of shops and Jack caught glimpses of their reflections in the windows. People were right to stare – they looked ri-di-cu-lous.

  Another glance back showed him their pursuers were catching up fast. In fifty metres they’d have them.

  Jack searched for an escape route, but he couldn’t see one. ‘Charlie?’

  ‘Follow me,’ she said.

  Jack swept a rabbit ear from his face. ‘I’m doing my best.’

  Two middle-aged couples jumped out of the way as Jack, Charlie and Wren barrelled through them.

  One of the guys swore as Charlie darted left, between two buildings.

  ‘No!’ Jack shouted, but it was too late.

  Charlie stopped and turned back. ‘What?’

  Jack leant over, breathing heavily, trying not to throw up. ‘Dead. End.’

  Charlie spun around. ‘Help me check doors.’

  ‘No time,’ Jack said in a resigned tone. He gestured as the bouncer stepped into the alley, fists balled.

  Jack straightened up and backed away from him, trying to come up with a way out of this mess, but right at that moment all he could think of was the stitch in his side.

  He really needed to do something about his fitness.

  The bouncer glared at them. ‘Gotcha.’

  Ryan and his mates ran into the alleyway and Ryan tried to lunge forward, his lip curled into a snarl, but the bouncer held him back.

  ‘I’ll deal with this.’ The man kept his eyes locked on the Outlaws like a pair of heat-seeking missiles. ‘Why did you do it?’

  ‘She did it,’ Ryan said, thrusting a finger at Wren.

  Jack stepped in front of her. ‘Did what?’ he said, trying to sound innocent, but failing miserably.

  Besides, all that running was probably a giveaway.

  ‘I saw her put that exploding present on the table,’ Ryan said. ‘And you two were with her.’

  The bouncer took a step forward and looked like a lion that had just found its next victims. ‘If you don’t own up to what you’ve done, I’ll –’

  ‘You’ll do what exactly?’ a voice said.

  All eyes moved up.

  Slink was standing on a balcony jutting out over the alleyway. He grinned and aimed a paintball gun at the bouncer. It had an oversized barrel with a large silver canister fixed to the top of it.

  Charlie gasped. ‘Is that what I think it is?’

  Slink didn’t take his eyes off the bouncer and the group surrounding him. ‘Yep.’

  ‘I haven’t tested that yet.’

  ‘I know,’ Slink said. ‘I thought I’d help you out.’ He pulled the trigger and there was a loud popping sound as three black balls – each a few centimetres in diameter – shot from the barrel.

  The balls landed at the bouncer’s feet and he frowned at them.

  Charlie’s shoulders hitched up and she squinted.

  Jack was about to ask her what was going on when Slink pressed a red button on the side of the modified gun and the three balls exploded, showering the bouncer and the boys in hundreds of smaller black balls, each one only a few millimetres in diameter.

  ‘What are those?’ Wren breathed.

  ‘Something I was working on,’ Charlie said. ‘I didn’t think anyone else knew about it.’

  The bouncer and the group of kids were now trying to peel the balls off their clothes, but weren’t having any luck – they smeared, becoming a gloopy substance that stuck to every surface.

  ‘What is this stuff?’ Ryan cried.

  No matter what they did, it just made the situation worse. One kid had even managed to glue his fingers to his shirt.

  Charlie winced. ‘Don’t fight it.’

  Predictably, they ignored her.

  The bouncer tried to wipe the black glue on his trousers, but wound up with his hand stuck to them. He shouted, ‘Get it off us!’

  ‘I can’t,’ Charlie said, glancing up at Slink and shooting him an angry look. ‘I’m really sorry.’

  Ryan’s two friends had fallen to the ground and stuck to that too. The more they struggled, the more of a mess they made.

  Soon after that, Ryan and the bouncer hit the floor.

  Jack stared at the strange writhing mass of bodies before him. ‘I’ve got to hand it to you,’ he said to Charlie. ‘That’s . . . Well, that’s –’

  ‘Amazing,’ Wren said.

  ‘Not just amazing.’ Slink dropped in beside them. ‘That’s freakin awesome.’ He grinned at Charlie. ‘You are an actual genius, you know that?’

  Jack, Charlie, Slink and Wren were careful to stay close to the wall as they edged past, making sure none of the black gloop touched them as well.

  The bouncer tried to shout something, but his voice was muffled because he’d now stuck his shirt to his face.

  Charlie looked down at them and said, ‘It will harden enough for you to pick it off your skin in a couple of hours. I spilt some on my favourite jeans and had to throw them though.’

  Slink laughed. ‘Brilliant.’

  ‘No,’ Charlie said, looking guilty and angry. ‘Not brilliant, Slink.’ As they walked away she said, ‘Don’t touch stuff in my workshop ever again.’

  Slink held his hands up – ‘All right, I’m sorry’ – and winked at Wren.

  • • •

  The next morning, Jack and Charlie made their way through crowds of commuters at Waterloo train station.

  They went up an escalator to the first-floor landing. Halfway along there was a café that overlooked the entire concourse of the station.

  In the far corner sat Cloud, a slim woman wearing a suit. She wore her dark hair tied in a bun and a stern expression on her face.

  Jack still wasn’t sure whether to trust her.

  He glanced around to make certain that Connor, Monday or Hector weren’t about, but he knew Obi had their backs. There were a lot of cameras in Waterloo Station and it was a public place – he and Charlie must be fairly safe here, but even so . . .

  Cloud watched them as they made their way over to sit opposite her. She gave them a curt nod. ‘Hello.’ She had a soft voice that went against her cut-glass features.

  ‘All right?’ Jack said, trying to look relaxed and forcing half a smile at her.

  ‘Yes. Did you get the painting?’

  ‘Yeah, we got it.’

  There was a short pause. Then Cloud said
. ‘Do you trust me now?’

  Jack shrugged.

  Cloud considered him for a moment. ‘I guess that after everything that’s happened, I don’t blame you.’

  ‘You shouldn’t.’ Charlie sat back and crossed her arms. ‘None of it makes sense.’

  Cloud raised an eyebrow. ‘What doesn’t make sense?’

  ‘Well,’ Charlie glanced at Jack, ‘you told us about Hector’s painting and we stole it, right?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And that was supposed to make us trust you, right?’

  Cloud nodded.

  ‘Well, Hector’s rich. Why would he care about losing one piece of art?’

  ‘Oh, he cares,’ Cloud said. ‘His father had that painting before Hector was even born. It’s the jewel of the Del Sarto family collection. Plus Hector will know you’ve taken it.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Jack said, unable to contain a smile. He had to admit, it felt good to have one up on Hector too.

  ‘Also,’ Cloud continued, ‘you must understand that I’ve tried to help you from the very beginning.’

  Charlie frowned at this. ‘The beginning of what?’

  Cloud took a breath. ‘From the moment the Del Sartos first found you, I’ve been on your side.’

  Charlie snorted. ‘Yeah, course you ’ave.’

  Cloud stared at them both. ‘I’ve steered Connor away from your trail on more than one occasion.’ She focused on Jack. ‘First of all, there was that time when he was interrogating you.’

  ‘What about it?’ Jack said, remembering the room and the horrible helpless feeling of being tied to a chair.

  ‘I came in and told Connor there was a phone call. Do you remember?’

  Jack did. Connor’s threats had been getting pretty tough when Cloud had opened the door and insisted he answer the phone. Monday had then come, cut Jack free and taken him to another room. From there, he and Charlie had escaped with Slink and Obi’s help.

  Jack thought about that a moment, wondering what would’ve happened if Cloud hadn’t interrupted Connor at that precise moment. How differently would events have played out?

  But the escape plan would still have worked.

  Wouldn’t it?

  A seed of doubt tugged Jack’s insides. ‘What else have you done?’

  ‘Quite a few things.’ Cloud’s gaze moved to Charlie. ‘What about when you stopped me from deactivating Proteus?’

  ‘What about it?’ Charlie said, sounding defiant.

  ‘Didn’t you find that a bit easy?’

  ‘No,’ Charlie said. ‘I had a gun.’

  ‘So did I,’ Cloud said. ‘And I’ve had years of training and firearms practice. You’ve just seen a few films.’

  Charlie stared at her. ‘What are you getting at?’

  ‘I let you win.’

  Charlie’s eyebrows rose up her forehead and almost touched her fringe. ‘You let me?’

  ‘Yes, I let you.’ Cloud looked back at Jack. ‘And then there’s the virus. When we were at the Shard, I saw what you’d done – the way you wrapped it in a program – but I let you continue. I wanted you to play your game. I wanted you to beat Hector.’

  Charlie snorted. ‘Whatever.’

  Cloud kept her gaze locked on Jack. ‘And when Hector took the virus to America, who do you think allowed your program to send out a signal telling you where we’d gone? You think I’m really that careless?’

  ‘Still doesn’t prove anything.’ Charlie grabbed Jack’s arm. ‘Come on, let’s get out of here.’

  ‘Wait,’ Jack said. He looked back at Cloud. ‘What else?’

  ‘I told you – when you came to America, I dropped the origami chewing gum wrapper on the floor for you to find.’ She glanced between them and continued. ‘I also left the circuit board and parts there deliberately, so I’d have to go back and get them. And then I made sure you followed me to the police headquarters and to the docks.’

  ‘If that’s true,’ Charlie said, ‘then why didn’t you just guide us straight to the island and be done with it? We had loads of trouble tracking you down. Why mess about?’

  ‘Because Hector was watching my every move,’ Cloud said in a firm tone. ‘Trust me, dear – Hector is not that stupid.’

  ‘This. Is. Lies,’ Charlie said.

  Cloud levelled her gaze. ‘I’m not lying. All those times you beat the Del Sartos – you think life is that easy?’ She looked at Jack. ‘There were a thousand times you would’ve been caught if it wasn’t for me. Connor is highly trained. There’s no way you could’ve beaten him without my help. You really think we’re that inept?’

  ‘Yes,’ Charlie said.

  But Jack didn’t agree – he could see in Cloud’s eyes that she was telling the truth.

  Cloud leant forward and lowered her voice, ‘I made a mistake by going to work with the repulsive Del Sarto clan. They make me sick, and it’s something I have regretted ever since.’

  ‘You could’ve left,’ Charlie said.

  Cloud shook her head and sat back. ‘No. Connor would’ve killed me. The only way to get out is by Hector losing everything, including us as employees.’

  ‘Come on, Jack.’ Charlie got to her feet. ‘Let’s get out of here before she wastes even more of our time.’

  Jack held up a hand. ‘So,’ he said, ‘tell us.’

  ‘Jack,’ Charlie hissed.

  ‘Sit down a minute,’ he said, not taking his eyes off Cloud.

  Charlie huffed and dropped back to her chair.

  Although Jack hated to admit it, the things Cloud was saying did make sense, and when he really thought about it, luck had been on their side more than a few times, and especially when they’d needed it most.

  So perhaps it wasn’t just luck after all. Maybe someone really had been helping them, and maybe that someone was Cloud.

  Jack let out a long breath. ‘Well?’ he said. ‘Get to the point then.’

  Cloud looked around to check no one was listening, then said in a quiet voice, ‘I told you that Hector is after a weapon called Medusa, yes?’

  Jack nodded.

  That’s how this recent exchange with Cloud had started – she’d explained that Hector was trying to find and steal a top-secret doomsday weapon.

  Cloud continued. ‘When Benito was first using Proteus he found mention of a secret facility that housed Medusa. He was just about to use Proteus to find out exactly what and where Medusa was when you showed up at the house and the government swooped in.’

  Benito was Hector’s father. Jack nodded, remembering the creepy house on the hill and the room with the stolen quantum computer.

  ‘That’s why he wanted Proteus back,’ Cloud said. ‘His interest had moved to Medusa. It had piqued his curiosity. He wanted to find out more about it.’

  ‘But he already had a weapon,’ Charlie said. ‘Proteus. Proteus was the world’s most advanced quantum computer – he could use it to hack into anything.’

  ‘Yes,’ Cloud said. ‘But he wanted both.’

  Jack could understand that. If the Del Sarto family were anything, they were greedy.

  ‘So,’ Cloud continued, ‘after the theatre fire, Benito fell into a coma and he’s been like that ever since. But Hector knew of Medusa too, and he’s been trying to locate it. When he finally got the virus, that’s what he did next – he set everything up on North Brother Island and used it to gather more information.’

  ‘Right,’ Jack said, trying to keep up. ‘So he now knows what Medusa is.’

  Cloud leant back. ‘He still doesn’t know.’

  Charlie shook her head in disbelief. ‘That’s great.’

  Cloud slid a USB drive across the table towards Jack.

  ‘What’s that?’ he said.

  ‘A copy of all the information Hector gathered on Medusa before you destroyed the virus. On there is a plan of the facility Medusa is stored in.’

  ‘Or it’s a new virus,’ Charlie said, frowning at the USB stick. ‘We plug that in to our computers and y
ou’ve got a way to track down the location of our hideout.’ She glared at Cloud. ‘What do you think we are – stupid or something?’ She turned to Jack. ‘This whole thing is a way for Hector to launch a counterstrike on us.’

  Jack slid the USB drive into his pocket.

  Charlie looked incredulous. ‘Jack, are you serious right now?’

  He kept his gaze on Cloud. ‘What’s Hector’s next plan?’

  ‘He’s recruiting a team of rogue military types – ex-SAS, Navy Seals, the kind of people you don’t want to mess with. He’s going to use them to break into the facility and steal the weapon.’

  ‘When?’

  ‘Midnight in four days.’

  ‘Four days?’ Jack said, shocked.

  ‘Today is Sunday,’ Cloud continued. ‘Hector’s sending in his team next Thursday night. That’s just under five days’ time.’

  Jack let out a puff of air. ‘That’s not long enough for recon missions and to plan. If Hector’s going in on Thursday, then, to be safe, we need to go Wednesday night.’

  ‘That’s less than four days, Jack,’ Charlie said. ‘Is that even possible?’

  ‘You don’t have a choice,’ Cloud insisted. ‘You’re the only ones who can get to Medusa before Hector does. And I’ll do my best to keep you updated on his progress.’ She glanced at Charlie. ‘I promise I’ll stall him as much as I can. If I can buy you more time, I will.’

  Jack stared at Cloud a long while, thinking it through. He wondered if he was focusing too much on Hector. Was he obsessed? Because Hector had made Jack look stupid a few times. Had this become a fight of egos?

  Although, Jack reminded himself, if there was the slightest chance that Hector was really so close to stealing a doomsday weapon, he’d never forgive himself if they didn’t at least try to stop him.

  Jack finally stood and tapped his pocket. ‘We’ll have a look at it.’

  Cloud nodded. ‘Thank you.’

  • • •

  Thirty minutes later, Jack and Charlie stepped on to Badbury platform – a derelict underground train station. It was in an advanced state of decay with flaking paint and plaster walls. Filthy tiles spoke of decades of neglect.

  They pulled back behind a pillar as a train went past and Jack watched the shadows bouncing off ancient posters that clung to the walls.