Enemy Invasion (7 page)

They’re not with you?
Hack thought. He’d never had the chance to use the telepathic communication all fall virus-altered kids shared, but in the presence of the other boy it
seemed completely natural.

Believe me, it’s not our style,
Robert replied.
You’re picking a fight with the wrong person. Whoever those two are, they know how to find you. How much do you want to bet
that guy’s calling in backup? When you get off this train, you’ll find more of them waiting and there’s nothing
—

“Okay, okay,” Hack said. “I get the idea.” His head was spinning. The man and woman weren’t Triad and they weren’t HIDRA either, so who were they? The train
began to slow as it approached Tsim Sha Tsui station, the closest stop to the GC.

“All right,” Hack said, “let’s say I want your help. What’s the big plan?”

“I teleport us to street level this minute. Two HIDRA hovercopters are en route to the city. I’ll call in our position and they’ll pick us up for transport to our mobile
base.”

“There’s something I need to do first,” Hack said. “A friend of mine is in trouble and I’m not leaving the city until I know he’s safe.”

He fully expected the other kid to make some argument about how they didn’t have time or how it was too risky to go after Jonesey when people were following them. But Robert merely
nodded.

“Fine. We’ll help your friend.”

Hack said, “Okay, let’s get out of here then.”

Robert took his wrist… The brightly lit, enclosed space of the carriage faded away and was replaced by humid night air and a darkened alleyway. Hack felt momentarily disorientated by the
teleport and just a little nauseous. He bent over and took a couple of deep breaths.

“You okay?” Robert asked.

Hack nodded. “Yeah, still getting used to that.”

“Do you know where we are?”

Hack looked left and right, spotting the buses crowding Nathan Road at the far end of the alley. He estimated they were only a few streets away from the GC.

“This way.”

Hack led Robert through the backstreets at a run, checking behind to make sure they were no longer being followed. Teleporting directly out of the subway system seemed to have done the
trick.

“That’s a pretty useful ability,” he told Robert as they ran. “Have you done that before? Jumping off a building to save someone, I mean?”

“Never,” Robert said.

“Then how did you know it was going to work?”

“I didn’t.”

As they reached the ground level entrance to the GC, Hack stopped and gave his companion a look. “You didn’t know it was going to work? Then you could have been smashed to a pulp
along with me.”

Robert shrugged. “My sister told me to look after you. Didn’t want to let her down. She’s real mean when she’s angry.”

Hack was suddenly a whole lot more grateful for what the other kid had done for him that night. There weren’t many people for whom he’d jump off a building, especially not if
he’d just met them.

“If he’s here, Jonesey will be on Level 6,” Hack said, indicating the open entrance to the GC. It was almost 10 p.m. and the market was shutting down. Evening shoppers and
stallholders poured out of the building.

“Okay, let’s get going.”

“We’re not teleporting up?”

Robert shook his head. “Best to take the stairs. I’m getting tired and we might need to get out of there fast. I’ve probably got a couple of ’ports left in me this
evening, but let’s save them.”

Hack understood what Robert meant: using his own power for any extended length of time left him feeling drained. He could only imagine the amount of mental energy expended in jumping from one
physical location to another.

They entered the GC and rode the elevators past the floors of gadgets and software. Lights and screens were shutting down everywhere. Hack always found the market a little eerie at this time of
night – without the hustle and bustle, the GC became a place of shadows. Level 6 was in near darkness. The upgrades area never stayed open as late as the computer stalls below. Hack scanned
the empty cubicles, eyes adjusting to the light, and then turned to Robert.

“Wait here. I need to deal with this myself.”

He and Jonesey had gotten themselves into their present situation. And if Hui was there, as Hack somehow sensed he was, it was up to them to sort it out. Robert seemed to understand this,
because he nodded and leaned against the wall by the escalator.

“Just shout if you need me,” he said. “I’ll be there quick.”

“I bet.”

Hack headed across the floor towards Jonesey’s cubicle. Sure enough, he found his friend sitting in the middle of his workspace – wrists and ankles secured to the swivel chair with
duct tape. Jonesey’s eyes widened as Hack approached and ripped away the piece of tape covering his mouth.

“You escaped!”

“Yeah. I had a guardian angel.”

“You shouldn’t have come here. It’s a trap!”

Hack nodded and looked around the cubicle. The PS5 sat on the workbench, linked up to the LCD. Jonesey read his mind.

“It works.”

“Let’s get you free.” Hack kneeled and tore away the tape around the other kid’s ankles.

“Just go!” Jonesey protested. “All this is my fault.”

Hack started on the wrist bindings. “We got the evidence that Goodware stole your idea. It was worth it. Right?”

Jonesey shook his head as Hack removed the final piece of tape. “He’s here.”

Hack straightened up and turned slowly. Hui stood in the cubicle doorway. In his right hand he held a squat weapon that Hack recognized from a lifetime of first-person shooters as an Uzi
9mm.

“Well, you are a talented young man,” Hui said, aiming the machine gun in their general direction. “Even I would have found it difficult to escape that tower in the position I
left you. I’m beginning to think that shooting you would be a terrible waste.” He studied Hack with his dark, calculating eyes. “Come with me. I’ll make you a billionaire
before you’re twenty.”

Hack played for time. “What about Jonesey?”

Hui chuckled. “He’s a fat slob with a moderate talent for fixing laptops. Toss a rock in this city and you’ll hit ten kids just like him. You, however, are truly
unique.”

Hack picked up the PS5 from the workbench. “And what about this?”

“Just something my bosses want,” Hui said with a shrug. “Sony will pay to get the prototype back rather than have it cloned, just like Microsoft did when we stole theirs.
Everyone will be happy.”

Hack looked at Jonesey from the corner of his eye and then turned his attention back to Hui. “So, I guess if it got full of bullets, your bosses would be pretty annoyed, huh?” He
stepped in front of Jonesey, holding the PS5 before them like a shield.

Hui gave an exasperated sigh. “You’re really starting to—”

Hack threw the PS5 at Hui, making him choose between catching the console and shooting them. He chose the former. As he grabbed the machine, both Hack and Jonesey went for the back of the
cubicle.

They vaulted the wall and landed on the other side. Hack grabbed his friend’s arm and pulled him in the direction of the fire escape. The back of the cubicle exploded as Hui fired a burst
of rounds. The two boys staggered back. Bullets impacted the plasterwork ahead. They ducked round the side of another cubicle and crouched there, all too aware that the cardboard walls were no
protection at all.

“You disappoint me, kid!” Hui shouted. “I’m offering you the chance to make some real money!”

“You’ve got the console!” Hack shouted back. “Just take it and go!”

Hui laughed. “That’s not how things work in my business. We tie up our loose ends!”

Hack pulled Jonesey into another cubicle. Hui fired again – cutting through the wall where they’d crouched seconds before.

“Go for the fire exit,” Hack whispered. “I’ll keep him distracted.”

Jonesey opened his mouth to protest, but Hack pushed him out of the cubicle and went in the other direction, moving towards the escalators where he knew Robert was waiting.

“You’re gonna have to do better than that!” he shouted.

Hui responded with gunfire, more prolonged this time. Hack threw himself onto the floor of another cubicle as computer manuals exploded above his head.

“I can keep this up all night!” Hui screamed when he finally stopped firing. There was a
click
as he ejected an empty clip and slotted another into the Uzi.

Hack looked up. Bullet holes riddled the cubicle walls and paper fragments filled the air. He rose into a crouch, ready to run, but a hand touched his shoulder…

“Let’s get out of here,” Robert said.

Hack pulled away. “Not until I know my friend’s safe!”

Robert began to argue, but was cut short as Jonesey’s voice called across the floor.

“Hack! He’s got me!”

Robert and Hack looked at one another. Hack sighed and moved to the cubicle entrance.

“You’re not actually going out there?” Robert hissed. “He’ll kill you.”

Hack thought it over. Then he said, “You’ve still got a couple of teleports in you, right?”

7

Hack walked between the cubicles with his arms outstretched. Dead ahead, Hui stood with the snub-nosed Uzi pressed into his friend’s ear and the PS5 tucked under his
other arm. Jonesey’s face was drenched with sweat.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “He was too fast.”

“Don’t worry,” Hack replied. “It’s going to be okay.”

Hui pushed Jonesey down onto his knees and placed the gun against the back of his head.

“I’ll give you one last chance to walk away,” Hack said. He held Hui’s eyes this time.

Hui actually smiled. “You’ve got a lot of spirit, kid. But not much of a brain. What a waste.”

He raised the Uzi at Hack…

…who closed his eyes and scanned the surrounding electronics that hadn’t been destroyed by Hui’s bullets – hard drives, LCD screens, adapter sockets stuffed with far too
many plugs, even the PS5 console. Summoning all his strength, he prepared to send a blast of mental energy to every device.

“Jonesey!” he yelled. “Hit the deck!”

The other boy flopped face down as Hack threw his arms forward. An invisible wave of energy swept out in all directions from his body. Every piece of machinery within a five-metre radius
overloaded, as if their electrical supply had increased tenfold. Tower casings burst open in showers of sparks… Screens exploded… Electrical sockets spewed fire… Broken
components filled the air, tearing through the cardboard-thin walls of the cubicles…

In the path of the shockwave, Hui threw his gun hand up to protect his eyes from the flying plastic and metal. Something was burning his other arm. He looked down at the casing of the PS5, which
was glowing red-hot. With a cry of pain, he tried to throw it from his grasp, but the plastic had already melted around the skin of his hand. Dropping the Uzi, he desperately tried to pull his
burning fingers free, but they had fused into the machine. It had literally become a part of him.

Someone materialized out of nowhere by his side. Hui looked round and saw a European-looking kid. The kid grabbed his elbow.

“Bet you wish you’d left while you had the chance, huh?” Robert said.

The world shifted and Hui blinked in surprise as the shattered cubicles shimmered and faded away. He had the strangest feeling he’d travelled some distance. The unfamiliar kid let go of
his arm and slapped his hands together, as if wiping them clean.

He grinned.

And then he disappeared again.

Hui looked left and right. He saw the half-shattered glass cube, the wrecked computer terminals and the remnants of the halon cloud. Somehow he was back in the Goodware office.

“You!” someone shouted at him. “Knees! Now!”

Hui turned his head fractionally. The butt of a gun hit the back of his neck. He went down. A booted foot kicked him over.

“Move again and you’re dead,” spat a guard in body armour, aiming a machine gun at his face. The guard touched a mic at his throat. “Got one of them, sir.”

Hui’s eyes tracked down the left side of his body – the cooling plastic of the PS5 console was now fully melded to his fingers.

“Yessir,” the guard said. “Caught him red-handed.”

Jonesey nodded. “Yeah. What about you?”

“Not a scratch.”

Jonesey started as Robert rematerialized beside them.

“It’s okay,” Hack said. “He’s a friend.”

“That guy won’t be bothering you any more,” Robert said. “I left him in the middle of a dozen armed guards. All the same, we shouldn’t hang around here.”

Hack nodded and turned his attention to Jonesey. “You need to get out of the city. Go and lay low with my grandfather in Tai-O. He’ll understand – you can take my room for as
long as you need it. Just do me a favour: forget about Goodware Inc. and
Ridge Run Rabbit
for a while.”

“I’ve had it with them,” Jonesey replied ruefully. Then he frowned. “Where will you be?”

Hack glanced at Robert quickly and then looked back at his friend. “There are other kids like me out there. I have to meet them. See what they have to offer.”

Jonesey threw his arms around him. “Just make sure you come back,” he whispered in his ear.

“Look after my grandfather. Now get out of here.”

Jonesey turned and ran for the fire escape, leaving Hack and Robert alone amid the ruined cubicles. In the distance a police siren whooped and howled, getting closer.

“We should move,” Hack said. “Want to make that call?”

Robert removed a mobile phone from the back pocket of his jeans. Flipping it open, his face fell as the screen remained dark. He pressed a couple of buttons, to no effect.

“I think it got fried by my energy blast,” Hack said sheepishly. He sensed the innards of the machine fused beyond even his repair abilities. “Sorry.”

Robert put the phone away. “Not a problem. There’s a pre-arranged extraction point about a kilometre from here. Tin Hau temple. Do you know it?”

Hack nodded. It was a small Buddhist temple just off Nathan Road – probably about ten minutes away on foot. “I take it a teleport is out of the question?”