Blackout (26 page)

‘You’re really bad at bluffing,’ Hector said. ‘I’m not going to listen to you, Jack.’

‘I didn’t have time to plan much,’ Jack said. ‘But . . . it was enough.’

‘Whatever it is you’re trying to do, it won’t work.’ A self-satisfied smirk spread across Hector’s lips again. ‘You haven’t got anything. No way out this time.’

‘Your next mistake is . . .’ Jack locked his gaze with Hector’s. ‘You should never trust your own eyes.’ He glanced at the others. ‘Raze.’

Hector frowned at him. ‘What did you just say?’

Jack turned to the group. ‘
Raze
?’

‘Oh, sorry.’ Raze lowered his bandana and hood. ‘All right, mate?’ He winked.

Hector’s eyes widened. ‘Who are you?’

Suddenly, a dark object dropped from above, behind Hector, Connor, Cloud and Monday.

Slink was hanging upside down from a rope. He slipped a harness under Noble’s arms and around his chest, and the two of them rose silently into the air.

Charlie’s rapid winch worked like a charm and it took all of Jack’s willpower not to give it away by looking up as they disappeared into the sky above.

He let out a slow breath.

Hector stepped forward and waved a finger at Raze. ‘Who is he?’

Jack whistled the Urban Outlaws’ code: three musical notes – one short and low, one high, and the last a long mid-tone.

There were three rapid high chirps in reply, which meant Noble was safe.

Hector looked up and scowled. ‘What was that?’

‘Slink,’ Jack said. ‘Your next mistake is you should never take your eyes off the only leverage you have.’

Hector spun around. ‘Where is he?’ He looked at Connor. ‘You idiot.’

Connor looked up, but Slink and Noble were nowhere to be seen.

‘Hector,’ Jack said. ‘
Focus
.’

Hector turned back, his face twisted in confusion and anger.

Connor pointed at Charlie, Obi, Wren and Raze. ‘I’ll kill them all right here.’

‘No you won’t,’ Jack said.

Connor slid a hand under his jacket. ‘Watch me.’

Jack looked at Cloud. ‘Did you check the virus’s program?’ he asked her.

She nodded.

‘No tricks,’ Hector said. ‘We have it. You can’t persuade us otherwise.’

‘Yeah,’ Jack said. ‘You do have the virus.’ He kept his focus on Cloud. ‘But did you notice the shell?’

Hector glanced at her.

Cloud pulled the laptop and modem from her bag and fired them up. After a moment, she said, ‘It’s encrypted.’

‘What?’ Hector said.

‘He’s put the virus in an encrypted shell.’ Cloud stared at Jack. ‘He’s written a program that surrounds it like a protective cloak.’

‘How did you not notice that?’ Hector snapped.

Cloud looked at him and hesitated. ‘It – it was hidden,’ she said. ‘I didn’t see the file. Now it’s activated and sealed the virus.’ She glanced at Jack. ‘Without the password, it won’t run. It’s dead.’

Hector’s eyes hardened. ‘Crack the password.’

Cloud shook her head. ‘I can’t. Well, not quickly. Without the password, it would take me days just to –’

Hector spun to Jack. ‘Give it to me.’ He stepped forward, his face inches from Jack’s. ‘Give me the password.’

Jack refused to be intimidated. ‘You’re not getting it,’ he said, trying to keep his voice level and calm, though his insides were squirming. Not because of Hector’s threating behaviour, but because this was the crucial part of his plan.

‘Kill one of the others,’ Hector said to Connor. He stepped back. ‘Let’s see if that loosens his tongue.’

‘It won’t do any good,’ Jack said. ‘The password is random and linked to personal questions that only I know the answers to. It will be a combination of things, like “What was your mum’s maiden name? And your place of birth?” Take the first, second, fourth and seventh letter from the first answer and combine it with the third, fourth and sixth letters from the other.’ Jack shrugged. ‘I have no way of knowing what the shell program will ask for. There are thirty questions and thousands of combinations of letters.’

Hector looked at Cloud. ‘Is he telling the truth?’

She nodded. ‘And I can’t move the virus back from your server. It’s locked down.’ She sighed, closed the laptop and stood up. ‘We have to go to where it’s now stored.’

Hector roared with annoyance.

‘I’m not going anywhere with you,’ Jack said, keeping his voice casual, ‘unless, you release these four.’ He pointed at the others.

‘No,’ Connor said to Hector. ‘End it here.
Now
.’

‘I want the virus.’

‘You’re being stupid,’ Connor said. ‘Don’t let some program affect your judgment. Your father made –’

‘My father wanted the same thing as I do,’ Hector shouted. ‘He started all this and I’m going to see it through for him.’ Hector’s eyes blazed. ‘I told you I want the virus. Haven’t you been listening to me? Do you have any concept of what I could do with it?’ Hector turned slowly to Jack. ‘If I let your pathetic friends go, where are my guarantees?’

‘You don’t have any,’ Jack said. ‘You just have my word. Release the others and I’ll go with you and unlock the virus. Then you can do what you want with me.’

‘Jack,’ Charlie said. ‘You don’t have to do this.’

‘I do.’ Jack looked at Hector again. ‘It’s your call.’

‘Don’t do it,’ Connor warned him.

‘Shut up,’ Hector snapped. ‘I pay you to do what I say. Don’t you forget that for one second. When my dad wakes up . . .’ He looked at Monday. ‘Escort these four out.’

Monday stepped forward. ‘Go,’ he said in a deep voice, and started shoving Charlie, Obi, Wren and Raze towards the stairs.

Hector stepped up, his face an inch from Jack’s. ‘If you betray me, I will kill you.’

Jack stared back at him. He didn’t doubt Hector’s words for a second.

Fifteen minutes later, Jack, Hector, Cloud and Monday were in the black SUV as Connor drove across Waterloo Bridge.

Jack stared out of the window. The sun was starting to peer above the horizon, bathing the buildings in golden hues.

They turned left after the bridge and then a sharp right. Connor pulled into the alleyway next to a five-star hotel: a popular haunt for film stars and billionaires.

As they climbed out of the SUV, Monday kept a firm grip on Jack’s shoulder and they marched to the front of the building.

A doorman, dressed in a top hat and tails, bowed and held the door open.

The hotel foyer had a pale marble floor, red velvet chairs and silk wallpaper, and everything was trimmed in gold. It reminded Jack of a palace.

The concierge behind the reception desk smiled at Hector. ‘Good morning, sir.’

Hector strode past him and stood in front of the lift.

After a few seconds, the doors pinged and opened. The bellboy didn’t ask Hector for a floor number, he just pressed the button for the eighth floor and the doors slid shut.

They stood in silence as the lift rose. Classical music played quietly.

Connor’s eyes burned into Jack.

For the first time, Jack wasn’t sure he was going to get out of this mess alive.

The doors opened and Hector marched up the hallway, swiped a card in a lock and walked into a vast hotel suite.

The enormous lounge was furnished with plush sofas, and there were antiques and fragile-looking ornaments all around.

They escorted Jack through a door to the right and into an office. On the wall, under a brass picture light, hung a dark oil painting. It was of a small wooden boat, crammed with thirteen men, in a storm-tossed sea. The sail was up as the boat crashed over a huge wave.

Jack edged closer.

One of the men actually looked as though he was being sick over the side of the boat.

Monday grabbed Jack’s shoulder and spun him around.

Hector opened a cupboard on the far wall, revealing two computer servers. He looked at Cloud and pointed at the right-hand one.

Cloud sat behind the desk and fired up the screen. She typed and clicked for a few seconds, then looked up. ‘Ready.’

Monday shoved Jack forward.

Hector stepped in front of him. ‘Any more tricks and . . .’ He drew a finger across his throat.

Jack had the distinct feeling that tricks or not, Hector’s plan was to have him killed anyway.

Cloud stood up and moved out of the way as Jack walked around the desk and sat down.

He looked at the screen. There was a pop-up box, asking for the first, fourth and sixth letter of his biggest phobia, along with the first and third letters of the place he was born.

Jack glanced up at Hector.

‘Do it,’ Hector said.

Connor pulled back his jacket and gripped his gun.

‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ Jack asked Hector. ‘You can walk away. This is your last chance.’

‘No,’ Connor said. ‘This is
your
last chance.’

Jack didn’t take his eyes off Hector.

‘I told you to do it,’ Hector said.

Jack pulled the keyboard towards him and typed the letters. After a few seconds, the pop-up box disappeared and a new window opened.

Cloud stepped forward, her eyes wide. She pushed Jack out of the way and leant into the screen.

‘Is it done?’ Hector said. ‘Do we have the virus?’

‘No.’

‘What?’

‘Wait.’ Cloud typed and clicked.

Hector paced the room, fists balled, his face burning red.

Cloud finally stopped and looked up at him, her eyes full of fear.

‘What’s he done?’ Hector said. ‘What’s going on?’

‘That shell program that was stopping the virus from running.’

‘What about it?’

Cloud swallowed. ‘The password wasn’t to free the virus. It did something else.’

Hector’s eyes narrowed. ‘What did it do?’

‘Opened a port on your network, connected to the internet and sent the program and virus back out.’

‘
Out
?’ Hector said. ‘Out where?’

Cloud shrugged. ‘I don’t know.’

Hector looked at Jack. ‘Where did you send it?’

Jack leant back in the chair and remained tight-lipped.

The computer let out a beep and the screen froze.

Cloud tried a few keys but the keyboard was locked. She shook the mouse and still nothing happened. Slowly, she turned to Jack.

They heard police sirens in the distance.

Jack smiled to himself. The plan was working – the tracker in his shoe had relayed his location, and Charlie and the others had called the cops.

Connor stepped to the window and pulled back the curtain, as the sirens grew louder. He roared and spun to Jack. ‘He’s set us up.’

Hector ran around the desk and grabbed Jack by the throat. ‘I’m going to keep my promise and kill you.’

‘That’s not a good idea,’ Cloud said.

Hector glanced at her. ‘Give me one good reason.’

‘Because this is your suite. You live here. If the police find the body of a dead fifteen-year-old kid in this room, they’ll arrest all of us.’

Hector’s grip tightened. ‘I don’t care.’

Sirens blared, tyres screeched and car doors slammed.

Connor peered out of the window. ‘We’re out of time. They’re here.’

Cloud turned and strode from the room.

‘Where are you going?’ Hector called.

‘We’re getting out of here.’

Hector swore and let go of Jack’s throat. As he marched from the room, he said, ‘Bring him with us.’

Monday yanked Jack from the chair and they hurried through the suite to the main door.

Cloud was already in the hallway, waiting for them. She pointed at the lift. ‘They’re on their way up.’ She marched to the exit sign at the end of the corridor and burst through into the stairwell.

They hurried down the stairs, with Cloud in the lead, followed by Hector, Connor, Jack and Monday.

At the bottom were two doors. One led to the foyer and the other had a sign on it which read,
PERSONNEL ONLY. KEEP OUT.

Connor opened the door to the foyer a crack and peered through. He glanced around and pulled back again. ‘Five police officers,’ he whispered. ‘Two by the main door, two by the lifts and the other one is right near us. We go through there and we’re –’

‘Toast.’ Hector looked at Jack and his lip curled. ‘If we go down, you’re coming with us.’

Jack shrugged. ‘Go on then.’

Connor walked over to the door with the sign and peered inside. ‘It’s a corridor,’ he said. ‘Come on.’

As they marched along the hallway, Jack glanced up. There was a CCTV camera in the corner. The red LED blinked on and off three times.