Aftershock (12 page)

‘Fine words,’ Felicia Diaz said, staring at the holographic projection, ‘but why should we trust you when you will not even show us your true face?’

‘What difference would that make?’ Minerva replied. ‘Surely the only thing that would really prove to you that you can trust us is if we give you a meaningful demonstration of what we are willing to do for you.’

‘Such as?’ Diaz asked.

‘Such as the destruction of Nero,’ Minerva said calmly.

‘Many have tried to kill Maximilian,’ Luca Venturi snorted. ‘Obviously, all have failed. What makes you think you will be any more successful?’

‘I didn’t say we would kill him,’ Minerva replied. ‘I said we would destroy him. If we were to assassinate him, one of his acolytes would simply step forward and take his place. Certainly G.L.O.V.E. would be weakened but not to the degree that we need. So, instead, we must make sure that he is crippled so completely that it will paralyse G.L.O.V.E. permanently. That is when we will strike and replace them once and for all. By the time we are finished Nero will not be dead – he will just wish he was.’

chapter six

‘You sure we can trust them?’ Shelby asked.

‘As sure as I can be,’ Otto replied. He leant on the balcony railing, looking down at the atrium area of accommodation block seven where Tom and Penny were chatting with Nigel and Franz. ‘I know you guys only met them yesterday but I’ve known them for a lot longer. Besides, it’s not like we’re asking them to do anything really difficult – they’ll just be backing up Nigel and Franz. We could with a couple more pairs of hands for that part of the operation anyway.’

‘Should we not be more concerned with whether or not they will wish to take part in such a risky venture at all?’ Wing asked. ‘They have, after all, only just arrived.’

‘I don’t think they’ll mind,’ Otto said with a smile. ‘It sounds like they were quite used to taking a few risks in their lives before they were brought here. Besides, as I recall there was a certain bunch of newly recruited students who hatched a plan to escape from H.I.V.E. within just a couple of weeks of arriving. Let me think, who was that?’

‘Point taken,’ Wing replied.

‘I’m with Otto,’ Laura said with a nod. ‘Even if they don’t want to get involved I’m pretty sure that we can trust them not to tell anyone what we’re up to.’

‘Sounds like we’re agreed,’ Shelby said, looking at the other three. ‘Who’s going to brief them?’

‘I’ll do it,’ Otto said. ‘It might sound a little less crazy coming from someone they’ve known for more than twenty-four hours. I’ll fill them in on the details – you guys make sure that you’ve got everything else we need. We go at midnight.’

Wing, Shelby and Laura all nodded their agreement and headed back to their quarters to make their final preparations. Otto walked down the stairs at the end of the landing and across the atrium towards where Tom and Penny were sitting with Franz and Nigel.

‘Hey guys,’ Otto said as he approached, ‘how’s it going?’

‘Fine, thanks,’ Penny replied. ‘Franz was just telling us how he single-handedly saved the school when it was taken over by an army of robot assassins.’

‘Whether we like it or not,’ Nigel said, rolling his eyes.

‘I am, of course, usually being reluctant to talk of my heroic actions,’ Franz said with a dismissive wave, ‘but Tom and Penny are insisting that I give them all the details.’

‘Of course they were,’ Otto said, trying not to laugh at the slightly strained smiles on the new Alphas’ faces. ‘Hey, I was just wondering if I could have a word with Tom and Penny in private.’

‘Sure, no problem,’ Nigel said. ‘We were just going to head up to our quarters anyway.’

‘Yes, we are needing to get ready for a good night’s sleep,’ Franz said, just slightly too loudly and with a painfully obvious wink at Otto.

‘You do that,’ Otto said.

‘We will NOT be seeing you later,’ Franz said as Nigel dragged him away.

‘Is Franz always so . . . erm . . .?’ Penny asked as Otto sat down.

‘Yes, always,’ Otto replied with a small sigh. ‘Don’t worry, you get used to it . . . eventually.’

‘What can we do for you?’ Tom asked.

‘Well,’ Otto replied, ‘there’s something that a few of us have been planning for a while and we were wondering if you two might want to be involved.’

‘What kind of something?’ Penny asked.

‘The kind of something that I think might appeal to you guys,’ Otto replied with a smile.

‘OK, I’m intrigued,’ Tom said, leaning forward. ‘Tell me more.’

Otto spent the next ten minutes describing exactly what it was that he and the others had planned for later that night.

‘That’s insane,’ Penny said as Otto finished. ‘I love it! I’m in.’

‘Me too,’ Tom said with a grin. ‘You know, I think I’m going to like it here.’

Nero walked into the conference room and was pleased to see that the other members of G.L.O.V.E.’s new ruling council had already arrived. Perhaps
arrived
wasn’t quite the right word since none of them were there in person. They were just three-dimensional projections created by the holographic display unit mounted in the ceiling above the centre of the long table, but this was as close as they could get to meeting in the flesh at short notice. As ever, Nero would have preferred to have gathered them all in person but for now this would have to do.

‘Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,’ Nero said as he took his seat at the head of the table. ‘I will be brief as I know that you all have other pressing matters to attend to. It cannot have escaped your notice that there are two vacant seats at this table tonight. As I’m sure you are aware this is a result of actions by at least one former member of this council. Over the past few hours something even more troubling has come to my attention. I received a message from an old and trusted ally of this council and I have asked you all here so that he can share the same information with you.’ Nero pressed a button on the control panel mounted in the table in front of him and the large display screen at the other end of the room lit up with a familiar face. ‘Please go ahead, Diabolus.’

‘Thank you, Max,’ Diabolus Darkdoom replied with a nod. ‘As some of you may know, I have been working over the past few months to find out more about the group known as the Disciples. At first it was difficult to discover anything more than the rumours and misinformation that we were already aware of. What we did know was that they were followers of Overlord and appeared to have a widespread and capable network of operatives. Initially I had hoped that the reason it was proving so difficult to discover anything was that their organisation had collapsed after the destruction of Overlord at the Advanced Weapons Project facility in Colorado. Gradually it became clear that this was, unfortunately, not the case. The Disciples had not been destroyed, they were merely regrouping. The first unpleasant evidence of this was the disappearance of several informants who had been providing us with information to track down the remaining members of the group. Soon after that other more subtle but equally disturbing signs began to emerge. I uncovered evidence of a marked increase in global weapons thefts and black market sales. We’re not talking about a few shipping containers of AK-47s here. These were bleeding edge weapons systems and tactical equipment. The sort of stuff that some of the world’s most powerful nations would be pleased to get their hands on and yet nobody seems to know where they’ve gone.’

‘Are we sure that the Disciples are responsible?’ one of the members of the council asked.

‘It’s impossible to be sure but we are aware of no other group with either the will or the resources to pull off these kinds of operations. Other than ourselves, of course. Within the past twenty-four hours things have taken a more sinister turn. As you all know, most of the former members of this council were less than happy with Doctor Nero’s decision to dismiss them and assemble a new council. After the events surrounding Overlord’s defeat they were forced into hiding. Overlord had, after all, revealed all of their identities to the world’s security services. Despite that, Doctor Nero and myself had worked hard to keep tabs on their whereabouts and activities. They are too dangerous for us not to. The reason I am here talking to you today is that since last night they have also disappeared. We have lost contact with the operatives who were tracking them and the few members of the previous council who were sympathetic to Doctor Nero’s decision have been assassinated. At exactly the same time we lost all contact with the G.L.O.V.E. operatives who had been assigned to further investigate the Disciples. It is highly unlikely that this was a coincidence. The conclusion we have been forced to draw is that the former members of the council may have allied themselves with the Disciples. While I have no direct evidence of it, every instinct is telling me that they are preparing for something big and that we are clearly the most likely targets.’

‘Thank you, Diabolus,’ Nero said, looking round the table. ‘This is worrying but not entirely unexpected. What concerns me far more is their potential alliance with the Disciples – a group of people who were assisting Overlord in his insane plans, who would have stood by and watched as the whole world burned.’

‘So how do we react?’ another council member asked. ‘How do we fight an enemy we can’t find?’

‘We can’t,’ Nero replied, shaking his head. ‘We can only bolster our defences and wait for them to make their move. Normally I would be reluctant to take such a passive approach but until we have better intelligence on what we are up against I’m afraid that we have little choice.’

‘I assume that our efforts to locate the missing former council members are still ongoing?’ someone else asked.

‘Indeed,’ Nero replied. ‘We are using every means at our disposal to relocate them and when we do they will face . . .
vigorous
questioning. I will see to that personally. In the meantime you should all make a special effort to watch for any unusual activity in your own territories. The Disciples will have to break cover at some point and when they do we will be waiting for them. Thank you for your time. Do unto others.’

‘Do unto others,’ the members of the ruling council repeated the G.L.O.V.E. motto as the holographic projector deactivated and they faded from view.

‘Is there anything else you need, Max?’ Darkdoom asked, seeing the concern in his friend’s expression.

‘No,’ Nero said with a sigh. ‘You can see where this is heading, I assume.’

‘This isn’t a war yet,’ Darkdoom replied. ‘We can still defuse this situation before it comes to that.’

‘I hope you’re right, Diabolus,’ Nero said, shaking his head. ‘I really do.’

‘One minute,’ Otto said, looking at the timer on his Blackbox as Wing checked the contents of his backpack for the final time.

‘I would wish us good luck but I know you do not approve of such things,’ Wing said, smiling.

‘If success is dictated by luck, then it isn’t really success at all,’ Otto replied, still staring at his Blackbox.

‘So you have said many times,’ Wing said, raising an eyebrow, ‘but I would still rather have it than not.’

‘Having said that, Franz does play a significant part in this plan so maybe a little bit of luck actually wouldn’t hurt.’

‘Personally, I think that it is good that Franz is so keen to be involved. He has been most . . . enthusiastic.’

‘You say enthusiastic; I say like a really, really excited puppy in that split second before it pees on you.’