Deadlock (20 page)

‘And when we’ve done that,’ Otto said to his reflection, ‘you’re going to sleep for a week.’

Dr Nero looked up from the report on various G.L.O.V.E. facilities’ tactical readiness as the entry buzzer to his office chimed softly. Nero pressed the button on his desk to open the door.

‘Come in, Mr Malpense,’ Nero said, ‘what can I do for you?’

‘I want to talk to you about the assault on the Glasshouse,’ Otto said as he came over and stood in front of Nero’s desk.

‘The tactical briefing is not for another two hours, Otto. Can’t it wait until then?’ Nero asked.

‘No, I don’t think it can,’ Otto replied.

‘Very well, have a seat,’ Nero said, gesturing to one of the chairs facing him. ‘Are you recovered from your experience in the datacore?’

‘I’m fine, bit of a headache, but other than that I’m fully recovered,’ Otto lied. He wasn’t about to show any sign that he might not be ready for whatever the next twenty-four hours was going to throw at them.

‘Good,’ Nero replied. ‘We wouldn’t have been able to get a fix on the Glasshouse’s location without you. I appreciate your efforts, not just in the past few hours, but also in the past few months. Raven informs me that you have become quite the capable field agent.’

‘She didn’t need that much looking after,’ Otto said with a wry smile.

‘I’m sure she didn’t,’ Nero said, raising an eyebrow. ‘Now what exactly was it that you wanted to discuss?’

‘I want to be included on the Glasshouse rescue mission,’ Otto said. ‘There are bound to be security systems that only I can deal with and –’

‘You’re going,’ Nero said, cutting Otto off. ‘I was not merely being polite when I praised your efforts a moment ago. You have become a most competent operative over the past few years and I have learnt that it’s rather pointless trying to stop you in these situations. Hence my decision to include you in any rescue attempt. You’ve earned that right. Now is there anything else? I do have rather a lot of paperwork to catch up on.’

‘There is one other th–’

‘Mr Fanchu and Miss Trinity are also on the list,’ Nero said, picking up the report from his desk. ‘I’ve no doubt you had some sort of elaborate blackmail planned that would leave me no choice but to include them anyway, but it’s really not necessary,’ Nero said. ‘You’d only smuggle them aboard one of the assault Shrouds or some such nonsense if I didn’t. You function exceptionally well as a team and your unique skill sets are particularly suited to a mission of this kind.’

‘OK, well . . . erm . . . that was easier than I was expecting,’ Otto said, looking slightly surprised. ‘There is just one more thing. I want to take Franz.’

‘Do you believe that Mr Argentblum is ready for an assignment of this nature?’ Nero asked, looking Otto in the eye.

‘When we were trying to evade the Disciple tracking teams after the Hunt he took a helicopter down with an assault rifle at a kilometre out,’ Otto said. ‘He’s the best natural shot I’ve ever seen and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have watching my back with a rifle.’

‘Yes, Raven’s report after the Hunt mentioned that fact,’ Nero said. ‘I was, shall we say, somewhat surprised.’

‘Check his simulator scores,’ Otto said. ‘No one else comes close on the range.’

‘I know that, Mr Malpense,’ Nero said, placing the report back on his desk, ‘but I repeat my earlier question. Do you think he’s ready? You are one of the most promising Alpha stream students that has ever attended this school, Otto, but the most important skill that you need to survive as a leader in our world is, I’m afraid, not one I can teach you. To lead, you must decide what demands you can reasonably place on those who serve under you. It is your decision whether or not Mr Argentblum comes with you on this mission, and you must live with the consequences of that decision.’

Otto looked Nero in the eye for a moment and then nodded.

‘He’s ready,’ Otto said. ‘He may not realise it himself, but he’s ready.’

‘Very well,’ Nero nodded. ‘Then I shall add him to the list.’

‘I shan’t bother you any further,’ Otto said, standing up and walking over to the door. Just as he was about to leave he stopped and turned to face Nero again. ‘Thank you,’ Otto said.

‘For what, Mr Malpense?’ Nero replied. ‘This mission will be exceptionally hazardous. Most sane people would be grateful to not be included in the team attempting to undertake it.’

‘Maybe,’ Otto said, ‘but I appreciate the faith you’ve placed in me. I won’t let you down.’

Otto turned and walked out of the room.

‘You never have, Mr Malpense,’ Nero said to himself as the door hissed shut, ‘you never have.’

Otto and Franz walked into H.I.V.E.’s tactical operations centre, with Wing and Shelby just behind them.

‘I am not being so sure about this, Otto,’ Franz said, swallowing nervously as he saw the other people gathered around the room. Raven and Francisco were on the far side engaged in hushed conversation, the Colonel pointing something out to Raven on the tablet device that he held in his hand. At the far end of the large black glass table that dominated the centre of the room Darkdoom and Nero were both looking at the map that was displayed on its surface.

‘You’ll be fine, Franz,’ Otto said quietly as they walked over to the table. ‘Just imagine they’re all naked.’

Franz glanced over at Nathaniel and Professor Pike who were studying a large blueprint at the other end of the table.

‘I am not being sure that is a very good idea,’ Franz said with a look of faint disgust.

‘OK, maybe you’re right,’ Otto said with a grin. ‘Just keep your ears open and be ready to answer any questions.’

Franz nodded, still looking slightly nervous.

‘Looks like the gang’s all here,’ Shelby said as she and Wing came and stood next to Otto.

‘Yeah, not a group of people I’d want to get on the wrong side of,’ Otto replied. ‘It’s bad enough being on the right side of them.’

Nero looked up from the map and saw that everyone had arrived. He pressed a button on the table and the door to the room slid shut with a solid thud.

‘Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen,’ Nero said, looking around the room. ‘As I’m sure you’re all aware we have been presented with a unique tactical challenge. Thanks to the efforts of my father and H.I.V.E.mind we have isolated what we believe to be the location of the Glasshouse. G.L.O.V.E. surveillance drones have flown over the area and there does indeed appear to be an extremely well-concealed facility at this location.’

Nero pulled up a video and with a sweep of his hand threw it towards the centre of the tabletop’s high-definition display. The video began to play, showing an aerial view of vast white expanses of Antarctic wilderness. Otto studied the video carefully, but he could see no sign of any buildings.

‘As you can see, or can’t see to be more precise, the facility is effectively invisible from the air,’ Nero continued. ‘However, if we switch to thermal imaging,’ he hit another button on the display and the video switched to a black-and-white infrared scan of the area. There were now several white hot spots faintly visible against the cold blackness of the ice.

‘Thermal shielding was an integral part of the design of the Glasshouse,’ Nathaniel said, ‘but there is only so much heat that one can hide with a facility of that size. Those thermal traces tally precisely with my original design. Can the computer chappy put up the plan now please?’

‘Of course, Mr Nero,’ H.I.V.E.mind replied. A moment later the holographic projectors hidden in the ceiling activated and a wireframe model of the Glasshouse appeared, floating in the air above the table. Nathaniel walked up to the projection and highlighted several points near the top of the structure.

‘These are thermal exhaust ports and as you can see they are a perfect match for the heat traces in the image,’ Nathaniel explained. ‘The Glasshouse is there, hidden under the ice. Unfortunately, knowing where it is and getting inside are two quite separate things. There is only one viable way to get inside the facility undetected.’

‘Let me guess,’ Shelby said. ‘Ventilation shafts. I hate ventilation shafts.’

‘Oh, goodness me no,’ Nathaniel said, shaking his head. ‘They’re all electrified and lined with motion-sensitive razor nets. What do you think I am, young lady, some sort of amateur? No, no, no, the only way into that facility is right here.’ Nathaniel highlighted another area on the three-dimensional model.

‘The front door,’ Raven said with a frown. ‘I hope you don’t mind me saying but that seems . . . erm . . . shall we say, tactically predictable.’

‘I never said this would be easy,’ Nathaniel replied. ‘I didn’t design the place so you could just walk in, you know. Besides which, your first problem will be getting anywhere near the front door, let alone getting through it. If my specifications were followed, the approaches in all directions will be mined and the door itself will be protected by automated sentry turrets. You can’t just wander up and knock.’

‘That’s my plan out of the window then,’ Otto whispered to Wing with a crooked smile. He turned to Nathaniel. ‘I have an idea for dealing with the minefield and I think I can take care of the turrets.’

‘It may not be as straightforward as you think, Otto,’ Professor Pike said, shaking his head. ‘The facility’s security systems are electromagnetically shielded.’

‘Part of the brief for the design of the facility was that critical systems were hardened against someone using an electromagnetic-pulse device to disable them,’ Nathaniel said.

‘Or a freaky kid with white hair,’ Shelby said.

‘Indeed,’ Professor Pike replied, ‘we may not be able to rely on your gifts to get us past the security systems, Otto.’

‘OK, so assuming we can get to the door,’ Shelby asked. ‘How do you open it?’

‘Theoretically it has to be opened from inside,’ Nathaniel replied. ‘The guards within the facility have to confirm your identity before releasing the locks. There is a fail-safe though: an alphanumeric keypad hidden above the door that was designed to be used if there was a problem with the internal release mechanism.’

‘OK, no problem,’ Shelby said confidently.

‘I can assure you that it will be a problem, young lady,’ Nathaniel said with a frown. ‘That locking system is a third generation, pre-shared key system with passive intrusion detection.’

‘Like I said,’ Shelby said, smiling, ‘no problem.’

‘Once we’ve breached the outer layer of security, what’s to stop us just launching a full-scale assault?’ Colonel Francisco asked.

‘There is what you might call a fail-safe security system,’ Nathaniel said with a sigh. ‘Bear in mind that I believed that this facility was going to house homicidal maniacs. So I didn’t really think anything of one of the more unusual parts of the brief I was given. The person in charge of the facility can, at any point, flood the entire building with poison gas. That’s why the security and control centre are in this self-contained area here.’ Nathaniel pointed at the large glass structure hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the facility. ‘If I had known what the Glasshouse actually was at the time I would never have agreed to the inclusion of such a system, but it’s too late to worry about that now.’

‘So Furan can kill everyone inside with the push of a button,’ Raven said.

‘And we know that she’d do it without a moment’s hesitation if she suspects that a rescue attempt is in progress,’ Nero said.