Vortex (18 page)

Bang!

The keypad exploded as the bullet hit it. The sound of the gun, however, seemed to reverberate along the corridor with a deafening echo. The trio looked at each other nervously. 'We'd better hope nobody heard that,' Annie muttered.

Ben nodded, not wanting to think of what would happen if their captors ran in this direction to find out what had happened. He looked down the corridor to his right. 'I think we came this way,' he said. 'Are we all agreed?'

Joseph and Annie nodded.

'Come on, then,' he instructed and, grasping his gun tightly, Ben led the way.

They walked briskly but quietly, desperately trying to remember the way back to the room in which Lucian had interrogated them. Each time they came to a corner, they flattened themselves against the wall while Ben peered round, gun at the ready, to check it was safe. Now and then, they would pass a door. When that happened, Ben would press his ear against it to see if there was any sound of voices; when he was sure it was silent, he would open the door, gun firmly at the ready, and check out what was inside.

Most of the rooms were empty. Others, however, clearly acted as store cupboards. There were shelves full of electronic equipment that meant nothing to Ben, as well as scientific implements, wires, batteries and even, in one room, boxes of plastic explosive. But there was no sign of any people. After several minutes of searching, it became clear that the dimly lit, maze-like concrete corridors of this underground warren were practically deserted; it also became clear that they were lost.

'How on earth are we supposed to find our way out of here?' Annie burst out suddenly.

Ben turned to see tears in her eyes. He gave Joseph a long look. 'I don't know,' he said quietly. 'I guess we just have to keep trying--'

He cut himself short. From somewhere - he wasn't sure where - he heard the sound of footsteps. The trio threw each other anxious glances, then pressed themselves hard against the wall. The footsteps grew louder, and they seemed to be coming along a corridor that ran at right angles to the one in which they stood. Ben gestured at the other two to run back out of sight, and the three of them scuttled down the corridor as quietly as they could, turning a corner just in time - Ben peered back to see two men continuing on their way. Although he was watching from a distance, he was sure that one of them was Flight Lieutenant Johnson.

As soon as they were out of sight, the trio followed. When they got to the end of the corridor, Ben peered round again in time to see them knock on a door, wait, and then walk inside.

'What should we do?' Annie whispered hoarsely.

'That was Johnson,' Ben replied. He turned to Joseph. 'I think we need to hear what they're saying, don't you?'

Joseph nodded and, feeling his blood beating through his veins, Ben led them towards the door.

It was dark at that end of the corridor, but Ben was glad of the darkness as they took up positions outside the partially open door and strained their ears to hear what was going on inside. A voice was speaking: Ben instantly recognized it as being Lucian's.

'There was really no need for you to come,' he said tersely. 'Everything is under control, and your presence here is a risk.'

A man with a thick Russian accent answered. 'My employer believes it is a risk worth taking,' he said darkly. 'If you are not satisfied with my presence, I suggest you consult with him.'

'No,' Lucian replied after a moment's thought. 'That won't be necessary.'

'Good,' the Russian replied emphatically.

A brief silence.

'I must say,' Lucian observed, 'that I'm surprised the North Koreans have bought it. I'd have thought the Iranians would have been drooling at the mouth.'

'You need not concern yourself with that,' the Russian replied insultingly. 'You and your men have been well paid to develop the project. My advice to you would be to concentrate on getting out of the country as soon as you can after Vortex is delivered.'

'Ah,' Lucian replied lightly, 'I'm glad you mentioned that. You have our fake passports?'

'They are all prepared. I will deliver them to you when the time is right, along with your money. In the meantime, you will explain to me how this device works.'

There was a brief pause, and then Ben heard a low chuckle coming from Lucian. 'I see,' he said softly. 'Your beloved employer trusts you so much, he hasn't even told you what Vortex does.'

The Russian did not respond.

'Don't worry,' Lucian replied. 'Vortex is my baby. All proud parents like to show off their children, don't they?'

Ben strained his ears even more. He did not want to miss a single bit of the explanation that followed.

Lucian cleared his throat, as though he was about to address a public meeting. 'Any electronic device that works wirelessly - mobile phones, radio, wireless Internet connections - uses electromagnetic signals. Vortex is designed to interfere with these signals. The user simply decides which portion of the electromagnetic spectrum is to be scrambled, and the area over which the effect is to take place, up to a maximum radius of fifteen miles.'

'It sounds very simple,' the Russian replied.

'So do most things, to the unscientific mind, my friend. In reality, of course, I have been working on this for more than five years. It is the only weapon of its kind in the world.'

As Lucian spoke, Ben became aware of Joseph. His face was red, and he had started muttering under his breath. 'Idiots!' he spat. 'Don't they realize what they could do?
Idiots!
'

'Be quiet, Joseph,' Ben whispered, but it was no good. The old man continued to curse and splutter.

'They're going to hear him, Ben,' Annie urged.

'I know,' Ben replied. 'Come on, let's get back round the corner.' Each of them grabbed one of Joseph's arms and pulled him back down the corridor and out of sight.

Joseph was still cursing. 'Those fools,' he raged. 'Don't they understand the implications? It all makes sense now. Lucian must have been working here helping the military with their electronic warfare tactics. But all the while, he's been secretly developing the technology for his own kind of war.'

'Er, Joseph,' Ben ventured. 'To be honest, it sounded to me like they're planning to switch off everyone's mobile phones. I've got to tell you that it really doesn't sound all that bad to me.'

Joseph took a deep breath, turned and stared directly at Ben. His face was alarming: sharp and serious, and it made Ben regret his brief moment of sarcasm.

'It may not sound that bad to you, young man, but let me be quite clear: disabling the electromagnetic spectrum over that kind of range would be disastrous. It won't just be teenagers chatting on their telephones who will be affected.'

'Why?' Ben asked. 'What would happen?'

'You would probably know better than me, young man. Fifty years ago this technology was in its infancy; now it's commonplace, but I have only been able to read about it in scientific journals, and watch its effects on the television. You may not be able to
see
the electromagnetic spectrum, Ben, but you use it every day when you switch on the TV or listen to the radio. But that's not what an electromagnetic scrambler would target.'

'What, then?'

Joseph's face hardened. 'Think of sick people,' he said. 'Sick children. Patients who need X-rays and radiotherapy. Children with cancer. Activate Vortex, and all the technology which allows them to be treated would be rendered instantly useless. No TV to disseminate important news. No traffic lights on the streets. No Internet. One of these devices in every city would lead to an epidemic of suffering like we have not known for hundreds of years.'

Ben and Annie stared at him in shock.

'That's not all,' Joseph continued. 'The moment you switch such a device on, aircraft would not be able to communicate with air traffic control, or each other; their navigation systems would be rendered useless; they would crash and burn. Hundreds of people could die. Maybe thousands. The emergency services would be completely ineffectual, unable to help anybody in the wake of such a disaster because they would not be able to communicate with each other. Whole cities could be plunged into chaos. It would be an unspeakable disaster; it would be a . . .' He seemed to struggle to find the words.

'It would be a Code Red situation,' Ben murmured to himself.

'As if that were not bad enough,' Joseph continued relentlessly, clearly not having heard what Ben had said, 'imagine the effect it could have on our defence systems. Position several of these devices correctly, and all our satellite warning systems would be instantly disabled: we would have no idea that we were under attack, and we would be in no position to order a counter attack. If somebody were to scramble the electromagnetic field correctly as a prelude to a nuclear attack, they could obliterate their enemy without any fear that their missiles could be destroyed. Believe you me, Ben Tracey, if that device works and falls into the wrong hands, it could spell disaster for millions of people across the world.'

A heavy silence fell as the impact of Joseph's words sank in.

Ben turned to Annie. 'I came away for a quiet weekend of bird-watching,' he said almost accusingly. 'Instead, I find myself in the middle of another--' He looked down at the floor in disgust. 'I'm getting sick of this,' he muttered.

'Listen to me, you two,' Joseph was saying sharply. 'What my brother is doing
cannot
be allowed to happen.'

'But what can we do to stop it, Joseph?' Annie asked in desperation. 'You said it yourself - two teenagers and a seventy-something. What can we
do
?'