Rogue (26 page)

‘Otto!’ Laura shouted as she ran across the room and gave him a spine-snapping hug. ‘How are you feeling?’ She let him go, then grabbed both his shoulders and inspected his face carefully.

‘I’m fine,’ Otto said with a smile. Lucy, Shelby, Nigel and Franz all filed into the room.

‘How you doing, buddy?’ Shelby asked, ruffling his hair.

‘I keep telling everyone I’m fine,’ Otto said. ‘I’m really hungry though.’

‘I am thinking that I can be helping with that,’ Franz said as he poured an enormous assortment of packaged junk food from his backpack on to the bed.

‘He’s brought pretty much the same thing every day,’ Nigel said with a smile. ‘Said he needed it just in case you woke up.’

‘It could have been happening any day,’ Franz said with a wise nod.

‘They going to let you out of here soon?’ Lucy asked.

‘Yeah, they say they’ve got to run a couple of final tests, but that I should be free to go later today. I can’t wait, to be honest. I’m going crazy just lying here.’

‘Not take-over-the-world, death-to-all-humans crazy, I hope,’ Shelby said with a grin.

‘No, just good old-fashioned cabin fever, thankfully,’ Otto said, poking her in the ribs.

‘There is someone else who wished to see you,’ Wing said, handing Otto his Blackbox.

On the screen was a face that Otto had thought he would never see again.

‘Hello, old friend,’ Otto said.

‘Hello, Otto,’ H.I.V.E.mind replied. ‘How are you feeling?’

‘Would everyone
please
stop asking me that!’ Otto laughed.

‘I am sorry. Was my enquiry in some way inappropriate?’ H.I.V.E.mind asked. ‘I was led to believe that it was a normal question under these circumstances.’

‘It’s fine,’ Laura said. ‘He’s just being grumpy.’

‘I am not,’ Otto said with mock indignation. ‘I really am starving though. Chuck me a bag of crisps.’

He tore open the large packet and stuffed a handful of crisps into his mouth.

‘So,’ he said, ‘tell me everything that’s happened. My memory’s a blank between passing out on Airforce One and waking up here.’

He sat and munched his way through the rest of the bag of crisps as his friends told him all that had happened in the intervening time, interrupting each other to fill in the details. He stopped them a couple of times with questions, but for the most part he just sat and listened.

‘That’s quite some story,’ Otto said as they finished. ‘There is one thing that I don’t understand though: when Cypher gave Trent the coordinates for this place, how come all he saw was empty ocean?’

‘I was responsible for that,’ H.I.V.E.mind said. ‘I was inside the H.O.P.E. facility’s network at the time, and when I intercepted the request for a scan of those coordinates to be sent to the surveillance satellite, I simply altered the request slightly. Instead of an image of the island, the satellite took a photo of a location eight hundred kilometres to the west of here. I am sorry that it placed you in danger, Student Fanchu. My first priority was the protection of this facility. I hope you understand.’

‘Of course.’ Wing nodded. ‘I would have done the same thing if I could.’

‘Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,’ Nero said from the doorway. ‘I believe I gave you all permission to miss the first lesson of this morning to visit Mr Malpense. I do not recall saying anything about the second.’

Laura looked like she was going to object.

‘It’s OK,’ Otto said quietly. ‘I’ll see you all later.’

The students said goodbye to Otto and filed out of the room. Nero closed the door behind them.

‘The doctors tell me that you appear to be recovering well,’ Nero said as he walked over to the bed. ‘You’ve got your appetite back, I see.’ He gestured to the pile of junk food on the bed.

‘Just a present from Franz,’ Otto said with a smile.

‘Doctor Scott told me that you wanted to talk to me,’ Nero said.

‘Yes,’ Otto said, the smile vanishing from his face. ‘There might be a problem.’

‘What sort of problem?’ Nero asked.

‘I told the others a lie,’ Otto said quietly, ‘but you need to know the truth.’

‘Go on,’ Nero said with a slight frown.

‘I told them that I don’t remember anything that happened after I was captured by H.O.P.E., but that isn’t true,’ Otto said, suddenly looking tired. ‘I remember
everything.
’

‘You were conscious of what you were doing while Trent had you?’

‘Yes,’ Otto said. ‘Powerless to stop it, but fully conscious. Doctor Scott told me about what he found in here.’ Otto tapped on the side of his head.

‘I thought it only fair that you should know,’ Nero said. ‘But why is that important?’

‘Because that’s where I’ve been for the past few months,’ Otto said with a sigh. ‘As the Animus took control of me I knew I couldn’t fight it, but I also knew that there was . . . it’s hard to explain, but . . . somewhere to hide. It was like sitting in the back seat of a car while someone else takes the wheel. I could see and feel everything that was happening, everything I was doing, but I couldn’t do anything to stop it. I think now that my consciousness had retreated to the device inside my head, the computer that Overlord had implanted in me when I was born. I didn’t really know that was what it was until Doctor Scott showed me the neural scans earlier. I suppose the easiest way to describe it is as a second brain inside my normal one. I guess that the old Mark One human brain wasn’t enough to store Overlord. He needed something more powerful so he gave me the abilities I have to ensure that once he was safely lodged inside my skull he would be able to interface with other machines.’

‘Some of this we already knew,’ Nero said. ‘Overlord always intended to use you as a means to bypass the fact that he lacked the innate ability to connect. It was perhaps Xiu Mei’s greatest stroke of genius that she had the foresight to deny him that capacity. It was his greatest weakness.’

‘That’s the problem,’ Otto said, frowning. ‘Animus should have killed me. It killed every other person that had ever been exposed to it in the way I was. It hates organic life, instinctively destroying it, but it interfaced seamlessly with my nervous system. At first I did not understand why, but as I sat trapped inside my own head with it taking over my body, I became aware that I was not alone.’

‘Overlord,’ Nero said. ‘The seed that was growing inside you.’

‘Yes,’ Otto replied, ‘or more accurately that was growing inside the implanted computer. Overlord was clever – it intervened on several occasions to save my life, giving me strength at critical moments but always using the voice of H.I.V.E.mind. It happened a couple of times during the last few days before my capture. The first time was when I was hacking into Drake’s network in New York when we were trying to find out where the Dreadnought was hidden, and then again later when I was trying to stop the satellite from launching its nukes at Yosemite. I hadn’t really told anyone about what I was feeling – in truth I secretly hoped that there was still some shred of H.I.V.E.mind alive inside me – but it was not him. It was Overlord, growing slowly but inexorably. I might never have realised what was happening. Overlord wouldn’t have cared if it had taken years for him to gain control of me – to an AI time is a largely meaningless concept; they are, after all, immortal – but when the Animus entered my system the seed started to grow at a vastly accelerated rate and I immediately understood. I fought with all my strength to slow its growth, to hold it back, but that just made it easier for Trent to exert control over me.’

‘But why did Overlord tip its hand?’ Nero asked. ‘What was it that suddenly made its growth accelerate?’

‘Overlord wanted to join with the Animus,’ Otto said, looking Nero straight in the eye. ‘That’s why the Animus didn’t kill me. Perhaps it knew what was growing inside me and that’s why it didn’t harm me, or perhaps Overlord was controlling it in some way. I really don’t know, but it was as if they were meant to be joined. I was trapped in the middle, trying to slow the growth of the Overlord seed while constantly pushing the Animus back from the implant. Knowing all the time that eventually I would not be strong enough and that I would be consumed from both within and without. Every time I used what little strength I had left to stop the Animus, it weakened me further. Like when I temporarily shut off the Animus when Trent ordered me to down your Shroud in Sydney, and when I refused his command to kill Wing.’

‘It sounds terrible,’ Nero said, placing his hand on Otto’s shoulder.

‘It wasn’t pleasant,’ Otto said, his eyes suddenly looking very old. ‘I used the last of my strength to exert control temporarily in the H.O.P.E. facility in Brazil. That was all the opportunity that Overlord needed. The seed was gone and he was reborn.’

‘But we stopped him,’ Nero said. ‘The neural pulse that Miss Brand hit you with eliminated Overlord once and for all.’

‘That’s the problem,’ Otto said with a sigh. ‘I’m not sure that it did.’

‘What do you mean?’ Nero asked quickly, concern in his voice.

‘From what Laura just told me, the idea was that by using the final protocol the pulse would force Overlord to leave me once and for all. With nowhere to transfer itself to, it would be destroyed. But I think it did have somewhere to transfer itself to, though Cypher could not possibly have known that when he created the device.’

‘The Animus,’ Nero said quietly.

‘Yes,’ Otto said, staring down at the bed, ‘the Animus. It may behave like a wild animal in its natural state, but if Overlord interfaced with it, well, it would have all the intelligence it needed. I don’t like to think about what it might be capable of.’

‘But the Animus that left you when the neural pulse hit you was inert – at least that’s what the Professor seems to think.’

‘Was it though? All of it?’

‘As far as I know, yes,’ Nero replied.

‘Then there might be nothing to worry about,’ Otto said with a sigh.

‘You should talk to the Professor about this,’ Nero said. ‘He has been conducting research on the inert Animus that was harvested from you. He might be able to tell you more. Now get some rest – no one’s expecting you back in classes for a couple of days.’

Otto watched Nero walk towards the door.

‘Sir,’ Otto said, as Nero reached for the door handle, ‘I’m sorry. For everything I did, the people I hurt, the people I . . . killed. I wish I could have stopped it. I wasn’t strong enough.’

Nero turned and looked at Otto. The boy had been born with his fate already decided. He had seen the very worst that the world had to offer. He had been trapped inside what sounded like a living hell for months, none of it his fault. And he was the one apologising.

‘No, Otto,’ Nero said, looking the boy straight in the eye. ‘I am the one who is sorry.’

.

Chapter Thirteen

Nero took his usual seat at the long conference table and waited as the holographic images of the other members of the ruling council slowly materialised in the remaining seats. He did not particularly like these sessions where they did not actually meet in the flesh, but given the recent circumstances some of the other members of the council had been understandably reluctant to gather in one place. There were just eight of them now, nine if he included himself. Nero knew that they would soon have to decide who else to promote to the council to fill the empty seats, but that was a discussion for another day.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending today,’ he said. ‘We have much to discuss.’

‘You’re certain this is safe?’ Joseph Wright, the head of G.L.O.V.E.’s British operations asked.

‘H.I.V.E.mind assures me that G.L.O.V.E.net is secure again,’ Nero said. ‘He mentioned something about quantum encryption. His technical description was very detailed – I can have him explain it to you if you would like.’

‘No, no, that’s quite all right,’ Wright said quickly. ‘I’m sure you can understand my caution under the circumstances.’

‘Of course,’ Nero said. ‘We have all been living with the threat of H.O.P.E. for entirely too long. I believe that threat has now been eliminated, as you will know if you read my recent report.’

‘I have read it,’ Lin Feng said impatiently, ‘but it still leaves a great many questions to be answered. I’m sure I am not the only one who feels that the Malpense boy should be punished for his part in this.’

A couple of other council members nodded in agreement.

‘No,’ Nero said firmly, ‘he was as much a victim in this as any of us. I will not have him thrown to the wolves just to soothe the bruised egos of some members of this council.’

‘Who do you think you are to talk to us like that?’ Lin Feng asked angrily. ‘We are not your students, Nero, and I for one will not be treated as such. Where is Darkdoom? I suppose he will agree with your weak-willed approach?’

‘Diabolus will not be attending,’ Nero said firmly. ‘He is still recovering from his injuries, but that is not the reason he has chosen to remain absent today.’

‘Then why is he not here?’ Lin Feng asked irritably.

‘Diabolus Darkdoom has chosen to step down as the head of the council,’ Nero said calmly, ‘with immediate effect.’

There were gasps of surprise from around the table and several shouted questions.

‘Silence!’ Nero snapped. ‘What has become of this council? You sound like my first-year students.’

‘But who will take his place?’ Wade Jackson, the head of American operations, asked.

‘I will,’ Nero replied, looking slowly around the table.

‘Preposterous!’ Lin Feng spat. ‘You? A schoolteacher as the head of G.L.O.V.E.?’

‘Yes,’ Nero replied calmly, refusing to rise to the bait. ‘Shall we put it to a vote?’

The men and women around the table looked at each other and nodded in turn.

‘Very well,’ Nero said. ‘All those in favour of my taking the leadership of the council, raise your hands.’

Four of the seven other leaders of global villainy sitting round the table raised their hands.

‘Then it is agreed,’ Nero said, a small part of him wondering if he was really doing the right thing.

‘This is outrageous!’ Lin Feng shouted. ‘I will not stand for this.’

‘The council has decided,’ Nero said. ‘If you are saying you will not abide by that decision, we will have to decide whether you really are a suitable member of this group. Raven is on assignment at the moment, but I’m sure that when she’s finished she would not mind making a short detour to China to discuss it with you in person.’

‘Are you threatening me?’ Lin Feng asked furiously.

‘Yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing. This is not some country club, this is G.L.O.V.E., and disloyalty will
not
be tolerated,’ Nero said, his voice cold.

‘This is madness,’ Lin Feng growled, ‘and I will have no part of it.’

He got up from his chair and his holographic image faded from view.

‘Is there anyone else who would like to leave?’ Nero said, looking around the table. ‘If so, now is the time. I will, of course, make sure that your surviving relatives are well looked after.’

None of the other members of the council moved. Fear – Diabolus had been right about that much at least.

‘Good, then there is one more thing that I want to discuss with you all today, something that has been kept secret from you all for far too long. I need to talk to you about Overlord.’

Raven dropped silently into the grounds of the mansion from the high perimeter wall. She had been watching the movements of the guards for the last ten minutes and she knew that she had a minute, at best, to cross the immaculately manicured lawn between her and the target. She sprinted across the grass and took cover under one of the ornamental flights of stairs that led up to the front door of the mansion.

A guard walked slowly down the stairs a few seconds later, smoking a cigarette, his assault rifle slung over his shoulder. Raven lunged over the wall between them, pulling him backwards off his feet, over the wall and into the bushes, her hand clamped firmly over his mouth as her choke-hold knocked him unconscious.

Then she ran silently up the stairs and watched as the guard on the first-floor balcony turned his back. She dashed into the bushes at the side of the house while the man was looking away from her, stopping for a moment to make sure that there were no cries of alarm from any of the remaining guards. Reassured that she had made her approach undetected, she raised her right arm, pointing the grappler unit on her wrist at the roof overhead. She fired the bolt, sending it streaking upwards trailing mono-filament line until the small green light on her wrist lit up to confirm a solid hit. She hit a button on the grappler and was pulled quickly up on to the roof.

She crept across the red tiles, heading for the rear of the house. Once there she peeked over the edge, looking at the balcony below, watching the solitary guard walk past beneath her. She waited for a second and then dropped silently to the tiled floor behind him. She took two steps and delivered a swift punch to the back of the man’s neck, lowering his unconscious body gently to the ground. She walked towards the double glass doors halfway down the balcony and opened them quietly, slipping inside and closing them behind her. She crossed the thick carpeted floor of the room, approaching the enormous mahogany bed, where she looked down at the figure gently snoring beneath the silk sheets. She reached down and gently shook the foot that was sticking out from the bottom of the covers. The man in the bed sat bolt upright, half awake. She was pleased to see his expression change instantly from confusion to stark terror.

‘Hello, Carlos,’ Raven said, drawing the swords from her back.

Pietor Furan stared through the toughened glass at the medical lab beyond. On a steel table in the centre of the room a body lay under a white sheet, illuminated by spotlights in the ceiling. He had gone to considerable trouble to acquire the corpse and he hoped that the other Disciples would appreciate his efforts. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he quickly answered it.

‘Furan,’ he said, still staring through the glass.

‘Hello, Pietor,’ the voice on the other end said. ‘I have bad news.’

‘I have beome rather used to hearing that recently,’ Furan said. ‘What is it, Lin Feng?’

‘Nero has taken control of the G.L.O.V.E. ruling council. There was nothing I could do to stop it,’ Lin Feng replied.

‘That is unfortunate,’ Furan said. ‘It was our hope that you would have already managed to manoeuvre yourself into that position. That was what you promised us.’

‘It is impossible,’ Lin Feng said. ‘Without Chavez I do not have enough support on the council to oppose Nero. If Trent had actually managed to eliminate Nero and Darkdoom when he was supposed to, I would have been able to claim the seat at the head of the table, but now –’

‘I have just been informed that Señor Chavez met with an unfortunate accident last night,’ Furan said calmly.

‘Raven!’ said Lin Feng, sounding shaken. ‘He was supposed to be protected.’

‘And he was,’ Furan replied. ‘But I trained the girl and I can tell you that nothing can stop her once she has your scent. Chavez was dead from the moment he initiated his clumsy attack on her.’

‘What if Nero sends her after me?’ Lin Feng asked, sounding panicked.

‘Why would he?’ Furan asked with a frown.

‘Because I told him yesterday that I would not stand for his appointment to the head of the council. I walked out of the meeting.’

‘That was . . . foolish of you,’ Furan said. ‘I suggest that you contact him, apologise profusely for your behaviour and beg for your seat on the council back.’

‘I cannot do that.’ Lin Feng sounded indignant. ‘I have my honour.’

‘Damn your honour. You
will
do it, and you will do it now,’ Furan said angrily, ‘or you will find out very quickly what happens to people who have outworn their usefulness to us. Raven will be the very least of your worries.’

‘Very well,’ Lin Feng said quietly after a moment or two, ‘but if Nero ever finds out that I am working with you . . .’

‘You will die slowly and very, very painfully,’ Furan said, his voice like ice, ‘so I suggest that you ensure that never happens. Goodbye, Lin Feng.’

Furan snapped the phone shut angrily. He was surrounded by incompetent fools. First Trent and now Lin Feng had failed in their assignments. He would have to take charge of the next stage of the Disciples’ plan personally.

Beyond the glass a man in a surgical gown had entered the medical lab.

‘I am still not sure what purpose this will serve,’ Dr Creed said as he walked towards the body on the table.

‘Just proceed with the extraction, please, Doctor,’ Furan replied with a sigh. ‘We lost all our remaining supply of the Animus fluid when the H.O.P.E. facility was destroyed, and our scans indicate that the fluid within this body remains active. We cannot afford to waste it.’

‘He’s been dead too long,’ Creed said, shaking his head. ‘Your scans are mistaken. Animus cannot survive inside a dead host for more than a few hours. Without the body’s bioelectric charge –’

‘Proceed, Doctor. I will not ask again,’ Furan said angrily. ‘Or would you rather I dropped you back in the middle of the rainforest?’

Creed swallowed nervously, turned to the body and pulled back the sheet.

‘Subject Sebastian Trent has been dead for approximately two weeks,’ the doctor said for the benefit of the cameras recording the procedure. ‘Cause of death appears to have been either acute Animus poisoning or a double gunshot wound to the heart. Proceeding with the first incision.’

Creed started to make the long Y incision that was the first step of any normal autopsy. He recoiled from the body as the thick, oily black fluid seeped from the small cut he had made and then frowned as it seemed to pull back inside the body slightly. He leaned closer.

Without warning, a thick black tendril snaked out and hit him in the face, oozing around the sides of his surgical mask and flowing into his mouth and nose.

‘Get it off me, get it off!’ Creed screamed, before his throat was filled with the substance and he dropped to the floor, gurgling and clawing at his face.