Counterstrike

by Peter Jay Black

  ‘Look just below the headrest,’ Charlie’s muffled voice said.

  Jack and Slink leant in for a closer look and sure enough they could make out Charlie peering between the headrest and the seat itself.

  It swung forward again and she climbed out. ‘Now it’s time to hide you two.’ She opened the rear door and hinged the entire back seat forward.

  Behind it were two further padded hollowed-out seats, for Jack and Slink to sit side by side.

  ‘Get in.’

  Jack and Slink clambered into the recessed seats and Charlie swung the main one back over them.

  Although Jack felt claustrophobic, he appreciated that Charlie had obviously worked hard to make it as comfortable as she could. She’d even cut a small slit in the seat in front of him so he could see out.

  Slink thumped an elbow on the panel behind him. ‘Are you OK back there, Twinkletoes?’

  ‘Fine,’ came Wren’s muffled reply. ‘Wake me up when we get to the place.’

  Jack watched through the gap in the seat as Charlie climbed back into her hidden driver compartment, and he wondered what would happen if they had an accident.

  He imagined the scene with police gathered round the car, scratching their heads and looking astonished as the fire crew pulled out five kids from a heavily modified Ford Escort.

  The cops would probably never work out the mystery.

  ‘Start the car, Obi,’ Charlie said.

  The engine rumbled to life, they drove out of the estate and turned on to the main road.

  A couple of hundred metres along, they stopped at a set of traffic lights – which was unusual for Charlie because she ignored them when she was on her motorbike.

  In fact, so far, Jack was pleased that she seemed to be taking it easy.

  Suddenly Obi stiffened in his chair and hissed out of the corner of his mouth, ‘Err, guys . . . ’

  Jack leant over and could just make out a police car as it pulled up alongside them.

  ‘Keep cool, Obi,’ Charlie said. ‘Don’t look at them.’

  Jack watched the two cops – the driver glanced over for a moment then returned his attention to the road ahead.

  ‘Thank you, Domino,’ Jack muttered.

  Obi’s disguise had passed a test and Jack relaxed a little.

  A full minute went by before the traffic lights changed from red to green.

  Charlie pulled forward, but the Escort jolted and stalled.

  She swore.

  One of the cops looked over at Obi again.

  Obi kept his gaze forward. ‘Charlie?’

  ‘Be cool,’ she said, sounding far from cool herself. ‘Don’t make eye-contact. Just restart the car.’

  The Escort’s engine fired, spluttered and died.

  Charlie muttered a few more choice words.

  Both cops were now watching.

  Obi held up a hand to them in an apology and cracked a smile.

  ‘Obi!’ Charlie snapped. ‘What did I just tell you?’

  ‘Sorry.’

  The cops continued to stare at him.

  ‘Ignition, Obi,’ Charlie said. ‘Try again.’

  Obi did as he was told and this time the engine roared to life.

  Jack held his breath.

  Charlie eased the accelerator and the Escort pulled away smoothly.

  After a minute’s silence Jack said, ‘Where are they?’

  Obi glanced in the rear-view mirror. ‘Behind us. They’re following.’

  ‘They know something,’ Slink said.

  ‘No, they don’t,’ Charlie said. ‘How could they? Obi, keep an eye on our speed on that dial in front of you – I can’t see it from here.’

  ‘What?’ Obi said, sounding horrified. ‘How’ve you known how fast we’re going then?’

  ‘Well –’ Charlie cleared her throat – ‘I sort of guessed.’

  Jack winced.

  In his opinion, Charlie’s idea of speed was always way off – they could be going a thousand miles an hour and she’d think they’d soon be overtaken by a snail carrying a brick.

  Her reactions were better than any of the other Outlaws, but Jack feared her luck would run out one day.

  ‘Ease off,’ Obi said. ‘We’re doing thirty-five.’

  Jack felt the car slow.

  ‘That’s it.’ Obi looked in the mirror again.

  Jack held his breath.

  Finally Obi said. ‘OK, they’re gone. They just turned off.’

  Jack couldn’t help but let out a huge sigh of relief. That had been too close, and he felt a sense of foreboding. If they’d nearly been caught just getting to the Facility, did they really stand a chance of breaking into it?

  Then he remembered something Noble had once said to him: ‘Age has nothing to do with abilities, Jack. I have known stupid adults and genius kids. You’re clever – you all are. And, with the right teaching and skills learnt, together you’ll be unstoppable.’

  Jack let those words sink in, and he finally managed to relax a bit.

  But a million things could still go wrong.

  • • •

  Finally they reached the main gates at the oil refinery.

  As far as Jack could tell, it was quiet inside – no sign of movement. He squinted at the clock on the dashboard – they were twenty minutes early for the change of shift and he hoped that didn’t raise suspicion from the other guard inside the Facility.

  Obi remained frozen in his seat.

  Jack glanced through the windscreen at the camera next to the main gate as a light above it came on. The guard inside the building would now be checking the number plate and Obi’s face. Hopefully he’d spot nothing out of the ordinary.

  A full ten seconds passed and the gate remained firmly closed.

  By the time Jack counted another ten seconds, he was starting to feel panic rising in the pit of his stomach.

  Had they been discovered already? Was the guard in the building calling for backup?

  And what would that backup be? Police? He doubted it. More like some kind of special-forces team on standby. The Urban Outlaws would be no match against a team of highly trained armed men and women.

  The silence seemed to ring in Jack’s ears as they all held their breath, and he could feel the mounting anxiety from the others.

  ‘Keep calm,’ he whispered. ‘Charlie, be ready to get us out of here, just in case.’

  The car juddered as she put it into reverse.

  ‘Not yet.’ Jack felt beads of sweat trickling down his back.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Slink said. ‘Why aren’t they letting us in? You copied the number plate correctly, right, Charlie?’

  ‘Of course I did.’

  Suddenly there was a groaning sound as the metal gates slid slowly open.

  Everyone let out a simultaneous breath. The relief inside the car was palpable.

  ‘See? Told ya.’ Charlie put the car into first and pulled forward.

  Jack couldn’t allow himself to relax. Sure, the gates were open now, but why had it taken so long? Was the guard on to them? Were the Outlaws walking into a trap? He considered calling off the mission, but they were in too deep. They had to keep moving forward, no matter what.

  Charlie drove to the side of the grey building and parked. ‘Right, the camera directly above us shouldn’t be able to see inside the car now.’

  Jack and Slink pushed the seat slowly forward and peered out the side windows.

  It was still quiet – with only a few lights on at the refinery - and there were only a few other cars parked nearby.

  Charlie swung her own seat forward and handed Jack a smartphone. ‘Cam app, channel seven,’ she said.

  Jack opened the cam application and did as she said. Now displayed on the screen was a view from the pinhole camera concealed in the guard’s tie Obi was wearing.

  ‘Oh no,’ Charlie said.

  Jack looked around. ‘What?’

  She pointed at the windscreen where several droplets of water
were appearing. ‘It’s starting to rain.’

  ‘Is Obi’s make-up waterproof?’ Slink asked.

  ‘No time to call Domino and find out,’ Jack said. The rain was coming faster now. ‘Quick, Obi.’

  Obi unfastened his seat belt, threw open the door and climbed out.

  ‘Good luck,’ Charlie called after him as he hurried to the front of the grey building.

  Jack focused on the smartphone in his hand and watched as Obi opened the outer door and stepped through.

  As expected, the first room was small with a plain red door opposite and a camera in the corner pointing down. Its light blinked at Obi.

  He glanced up at it and gave a quick wave as if to say, ‘Yeah, it’s me. Just let me in, will ya? There’s a good chap.’

  ‘Moment of truth,’ Jack muttered.

  But, much to his relief, the lock on the door buzzed.

  Obi opened it and stepped into the security room.

  There were no surprises here either – as they’d anticipated, there was a bank of monitors and a guard sitting with his feet up on the bench.

  He glanced at Obi. ‘You’re early. You’re never early.’

  Jack looked at Charlie and she smiled.

  ‘That’s also why it took so long at the gate,’ she said. ‘He was checking.’

  Jack nodded and looked at the display as Obi pulled a small spray canister from his pocket.

  The guard frowned as Obi walked towards him. ‘What’s got into you?’

  Obi held the can up and pressed the button. A blast of gas erupted from the nozzle, hitting the guard square in the face.

  For several long seconds he stared at Obi, shocked. Then his eyes rolled back in his head and he slouched over in his chair.

  Obi checked his pulse, then whispered, ‘He’s fine. Come in.’

  Jack, Charlie and Slink quickly climbed from the car. Charlie opened the boot, and smiled.

  ‘What?’ Jack leant over to see.

  Wren was curled up, asleep.

  Charlie gently shook her. ‘Wren.’

  Wren opened her eyes and yawned. ‘We there?’

  ‘Yep.’

  Jack and Charlie helped her out of the boot and the four of them jogged to the front of the building.

  Jack held the door open and glanced around as he ushered them through.

  Once they were all safely inside, Jack took one last look around. ‘One obstacle down,’ he muttered, and silently closed the door.

  Once in the security room, Jack looked at the guard. ‘How long, Charlie?’

  ‘I made it as strong as I could without risking his life. So I’d say at least an hour.’

  Jack nodded. ‘We’ll need to be out by then anyway, because of Hector’s crew.’

  ‘I’ll tie him up, just in case.’ Charlie pulled several cable ties from her pockets and set to work – binding the guard’s wrists and ankles to the chair.

  Jack turned to the others. ‘Ready to move on?’

  They each nodded, but they looked apprehensive, which was unusual for them. Even Slink seemed a little uneasy. Perhaps it was the combination of the high-security at the Facility and his injury that was bothering him.

  ‘It’ll be fine,’ Jack reassured them all. He turned to Obi. ‘Let us know if you spot trouble.’

  ‘You mean, if I see Hector or any of his gang?’ Obi said.

  ‘Yeah, anyone like that.’ Jack stepped to the other door, the one with the biometric scanner and reader on the wall on one side and just a card reader on the other.

  He reached into his pocket, took out the box Domino had given him and slipped on the thimbles with John Grant’s fingerprints. Next he took out the copy of the security card.

  Charlie held up the guard’s other card. ‘Ready?’

  Jack nodded. ‘Do it.’

  She swiped the card at the same time Jack did his.

  A message flashed up on the screen. ‘Please place fingers on reader.’

  Jack pressed the thimbles flush to the touchpad.

  They all stared at the amber light above the door.

  A second or two went by, then it turned to green and the door swung open.

  Jack grinned at the others as they all stepped into the lift.

  ‘That was easy,’ Slink said, hitting the Down button.

  Jack frowned at him. ‘Nothing about this mission has been easy.’

  The lift descended for several long moments before it finally came to a halt and the doors slid open.

  Jack’s stomach sank.

  Beyond was supposed to be a corridor with windows – but what greeted them was completely different.

  The plan of the Facility that Cloud had given them was wrong.

  Very wrong.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Jack, Charlie, Slink and Wren stood in absolute shock, none of them wanting to believe their eyes.

  Where the offices should have been were just rows of racks filled with boxes.

  It was some kind of underground warehouse.

  ‘What is this?’ Slink whispered.

  ‘Is there another lift somewhere?’ Wren asked. ‘This can’t be the right place, can it?’

  ‘It has to be.’ Jack took a cautious step forward, but gestured for the others to stay back. Had Cloud been tricking them all along? Jack hoped that blueprint she had given them was out of date, nothing more. He cursed himself for not at least trying to verify it – but how was he supposed to have done that?

  Jack glanced back at the lift behind them, then at the boxes on the shelves. Each one of them was small enough to fit through the doors – so that explained how they were brought down here.

  For a moment, like Wren, Jack had hoped there was another hidden entrance somewhere.

  That was one change to the Facility he’d be happy to see.

  Wren looked up at the security camera, then, before Jack could stop her, she marched over to one of the shelves.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Jack said.

  ‘Having a look.’

  ‘We haven’t got time.’

  Wren ignored him. ‘What are these for?’

  Jack hurried over to her. ‘What?’

  She pointed.

  The boxes didn’t have any descriptions of their contents – just a series of numbers stamped on each one.

  Wren reached up, took a box from the shelf and hefted the weight.

  ‘What is it?’ Charlie said as she and Slink joined them.

  ‘Don’t know.’ Wren carefully set the box down, removed a small penknife from her pocket and cut the tape securing the flaps.

  Jack glanced around. ‘Hurry up.’

  She opened the box and peered inside. Lying in a padded foam cradle was a grey cylinder with a pointed end.

  ‘That looks like a giant bullet,’ Slink said.

  Charlie reached in and gingerly lifted the object out. She examined it a moment, turning it in her hands.

  ‘Well?’ Wren asked her. ‘What do you think it is?’

  ‘Looks like a custom missile of some kind. Look –’ Charlie nodded at the side of it where there were four small screws and a panel – ‘I think the payload goes in there.’ She handed it back to Wren. ‘Be careful – it could be live.’

  ‘Oh, great,’ Jack muttered.

  Wren lowered the miniature missile back into its foam protection and returned the box to the shelf.

  ‘Right,’ Jack said. ‘Can we go, please?’

  ‘Hold on a minute,’ Charlie said, her eyes drifting down the rows of racking.

  ‘We don’t have a minute,’ Jack reminded her.

  Charlie ignored him too and started to walk between the shelves.

  ‘Charlie?’ Jack hissed, hurrying after her. ‘Are you serious?’

  ‘I want to know what they’re doing here, Jack.’ She stopped at the end of the shelves, where several large crates sat on the floor, and peered through the slats of one of them. ‘Wow.’

  ‘What is it?’ Slink asked.

  ‘C
omponents,’ Charlie said. ‘Parts of a bigger machine.’ She stepped back and looked at Jack. ‘I think it’s a missile launcher.’

  ‘We need to get to Medusa,’ Jack said. ‘We can’t do anything about this stuff. Come on.’ As he marched back between the racking, he tried his headset. ‘Obi?’ But this was greeted by nothing but static.

  Great, Jack thought. Each level of the Facility must be electronically shielded – which meant they had no way to stay in contact with Obi. It was an eventuality he’d planned for, but it still made him nervous.

  Jack stopped at the end of the shelves and waited for the others to catch up.

  Slink was hobbling badly, wincing with each step.

  ‘Are you sure you can continue?’ Jack asked him. He had to admit he was fearful that if they had to make a run for it, Slink wouldn’t stand a chance.

  ‘I’m fine,’ Slink said in his usual confident tone.

  ‘Well then, let’s carry on.’ Jack went to the door on the far wall, opened it and peered through.

  On the other side was a corridor, lined with ten or so doors with a round window in each.

  Jack let out a breath – this time it was what they had expected.

  He crept up to the first door but couldn’t see inside – the lights were off.

  Charlie grabbed his arm. Jack froze and listened – a man’s voice came from further down the corridor.

  ‘Quick,’ Jack whispered, throwing open the door and ushering the others through, before stepping inside and leaving a gap of a few centimetres to see out.

  Jack pressed his cheek against the door frame and watched as a man and a woman wearing white lab coats walked through the other door at the far end, down the corridor and into a different room.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Charlie whispered to Jack.

  He shook his head. ‘No idea.’

  They’d have to take things carefully from here – there was no turning back now.

  ‘What are we gonna do?’ Wren breathed.

  ‘Carry on as planned,’ Jack said. ‘Stay close.’ He opened the door and edged into the hallway.

  The four of them crept up the corridor.

  Jack reached the door where he’d seen the workers go inside. He raised a hand, signalling the others to stay back, while he peered through the porthole window.

  In the room beyond were six benches with microscopes, racks of test tubes, beakers and other laboratory equipment. On the side wall were various ovens and centrifuges. The man and woman in lab coats were over by a giant, glass-fronted fridge in the far corner of the room, loading labelled Petri dishes on to the shelves inside.