The Doomsday Device (Teen Superheroes Book 2) (20 page)

“No sane person,” Ebony agreed, thinking of Jeremiah Stead and his group.

“But if Wolff can convince someone to manipulate the virus to make it less deadly or to target a specific ethnic group -.”

“It’s possible to do that?” I asked.

“It’s possible,” Peterson confirmed. “It would make the virus infinitely more valuable to blackmail world governments.”

“Blackmail,” Ferdy said. “Meaning to extort money through the use of threats -.”

“Thank you, Ferdy,” Agent Peterson said.

We watched as Wolff headed down one of the side streets.

“I think he’s meeting someone at the Eiffel Tower,” Peterson continued.

“Why do it in such a busy location?” Ebony asked.

“For his own protection,” Peterson said. “The sort of people that Wolff deals with are as trustworthy as Wolff himself.”

We made our way across the thoroughfare towards the base of the Eiffel Tower. It was a grand structure made up of three levels. I had seen it on television and in magazines, but it was nothing compared to seeing it in person. As we headed along a passenger boulevard Peterson quickly told us about the tower.

“The first two levels can be accessed through either the elevator or stairs,” he said. “The top level is via the elevators only.”

I looked up the length of the tower. I could see why.

I experimentally tried my powers as we reached the base of the tower. Much to my surprise I found they were working again – I was able to move a pile of leaves without effort.

Agent Peterson’s eyes focused on us. “I was thinking about leaving the three of you down here,” he said. “I wasn’t sure that your powers would help in this situation.”

“But surely -.”

He nodded. “I’ll gladly accept your assistance.”

He went up to a pair of police officers and flashed some identification at them. He spoke to them, returning to us after a minute.

“I’m having the whole area closed down,” he said. “We need to capture Wolff, but at all costs the vial must not be allowed to break. If it breaks -.”

“It’s game over,” I finished.

He nodded. Ebony looked scared, but determined. Even Ferdy looked solemn. I think at some level he understood that something serious was happening.

“My guess is he’ll take the elevator to the top,” Peterson said. “We’ll start there. The whole base will be surrounded by the French police within minutes.”

We headed towards the elevators. We were lucky. Not many people were in line at that moment. Climbing into the elevator I looked at the holiday makers around us. A husband and wife were arguing about the amount of time they could spend at the tower before they had to catch their flight. They were right about one thing.

Time was running out.

Chapter Forty

Brodie and the others disembarked from the boat and went racing up the trail.

“The vial must not be broken!” Agent Palmer yelled, hurrying ahead of them. “Whatever happens, you must -.”

A shot rang out and the agent spun around. Brodie and the others threw themselves to the ground. Palmer tried to get back up, but she had been hit in the shoulder. Blood began to pour profusely from the wound.

Brodie scrambled over to her. “Are you okay?”

“Forget about me,” she grunted. “You’ve got to stop Wolff. And whatever happens, don’t break the vial.”

“We won’t,” Brodie said. “I promise.”

Brodie looked around. They needed some sort of shield.

“Dan,” she said. “We need some cover.”

“Okay,” he said.

He knew he might be able to deflect bullets from striking them, but he had to see them first. A shield was the safer option. He focused on the interior of the boat and within seconds they heard the screeching of metal. A piece of metal decking rose up over the boat and hovered before them.

“We’ll come back to you,” Brodie promised Palmer.

“Don’t worry about me,” she said. “Just get the virus.”

They slowly made their way up the hill using the shield for cover. It was impossible to see Wolff ahead of them. The trail was fairly well used, but he could be hiding anywhere. Brodie felt quite nervous about moving up the track. This whole thing could be a trick. Wolff could hide in the forest and come out behind them.

Finally they reached a crest in the hill. Beyond it the trail continued down to a small bay. Another old dock jutted out into the water. It looked abandoned.

“I don’t see Wolff,” Chad said. “Maybe he didn’t come this way.”

“It looks like the trail branches off over there,” Brodie pointed.

They followed the turn. Ahead of them they heard a grinding sound. It was as if two rocks were moving against each other. Moving even more slowly they continued along to the trail.

“Look!” Dan yelled.

They spotted a pile of boulders over to their right. One of them was moving against the other.

“It’s an opening to a cave!” Brodie yelled.

Chad flung out his hand and formed an icy barrier between the stones. They slowed, but did not stop completely.

“Wolff must have gone through there,” Brodie said. “Quickly!”

They raced through the undergrowth. Chad’s icy doorstop was threatening to shatter completely with each passing second. Dan leapt through with the hovering shield. Chad went next. Brodie jumped through at the last instant before the ice broke completely. She slammed into Chad and they went flying onto the ground.

She found herself on top of him.

He gave her a cheeky grin. “I knew you liked me.”

She hit him in the chest. “Like hell.”

They climbed to their feet and looked around. A tunnel had been built within the hill. It dipped down steeply into the earth. Florescent lighting lined the ceiling. Fortunately the tunnel ahead appeared fairly smooth on both sides; there were no alcoves where Wolff could be hiding.

A sound reverberated up the passageway.

“That sounds like water,” Chad said.

They headed down the incline. As the tunnel began to level out Brodie realized they were looking at a natural underground cave. A huge harbor lay before them. A wharf jutted out into the water.

Just as they reached the bottom, Dan noticed his shield wavering slightly in the air.

“What’s -.” He started.

The shield dipped and shuddered in the air before it fell to the ground.

“My powers,” he said. “I couldn’t keep -.”

A voice came from the other side of the cave. “Your powers are useless here, children.” Wolff stepped out from behind a boulder. “Guns are the only power that matter here.”

He raised his weapon and opened fire.

Chapter Forty-One

The elevator reached the top of the Eiffel Tower and we stepped out into a crowded tourist space. The journey up the tower had been slow, but my heart rate had been rising with every second. I was afraid. So many things could go wrong. Wolff was an individual without morals. One of us could get killed.

Then there was the issue of the virus.

If the vial broke…

My heart thudded so hard in my chest I felt dizzy. The observation area was an enclosed platform with glass running around the exterior. People were moving in all directions. Tourists from every country and speaking every language were taking photos and roaming around the interior. A baby was crying. A school group of uniformed teenagers were making their way through the crowd.

Above the windows were photos comparing the height of the tower in relation to other tall structures around the world.

Paris lay outside.

“You kids know what Wolff looks like,” Peterson said. “I’d prefer you let me take him down, but take him if you must. Just remember -.”

“Don’t break the vial,” Ebony said. “I know.”

Ferdy looked around. “There’s the bad man.”

We all looked around. People were everywhere so it was impossible to see where Ferdy was looking. I realized it was quite cold on the observation deck. It took me a few seconds to realize that stairs led to an upper deck which opened onto an outside viewing platform.

“Was he going up the stairs?” I asked Ferdy.

“Stairs,” he said. “A step is made up of a tread and a riser.”

That didn’t help very much. We gently pushed our way through the crowd towards the stairs and cautiously ascended. We passed a room containing a statue of the designer, Gustave Eiffel. I barely glanced at it as I focused on trying to pick out Wolff in the crowd. We stepped outside onto the exterior platform. It was enclosed by a cage designed to stop people from either falling or jumping to their deaths.

Tourists were everywhere.

I slowly made my way around the exterior. A Japanese family got in my way so I navigated my way around them. Now a man was before me on one knee saying something to a blushing girl.

He was proposing.

I looked past them and at that instant saw Wolff come around a turn in the tower. His mouth fell open with surprise. I must have been the last person he expected to see. The last time I had seen him was on an island called Cayo Placetas where he was busily launching a nuclear weapon designed to destroy New York City.

Well, you never know who you’ll run into on the Eiffel Tower.

He reached into his pocket and withdrew something. I formed a shield and screamed out at the same time.

“He’s got a gun! He’s got a gun!”

People started to move and yell in confusion. At the same moment, I realized it wasn’t a gun in Wolff’s hand.

It was a hand grenade.

He pulled the pin and dropped the explosive onto the deck. He tried to push his way through the crowd, but there were too many people. I extended my arm and focused on forming a shield around the device. At first it worked. I started to form a barrier, a tight shield that -.

No. Not now.

My powers failed.

No. Not now of all times. Not -.

The grenade exploded.

Chapter Forty-Two

Bullets were flying everywhere. Fortunately a boulder lay to one side and Brodie dragged Chad and Dan behind it as Wolff opened fire. The sound of ricocheting ammunition sounded all around them.

She peered over the top of the stone.

“You children should get a refund on your powers,” Wolff taunted. “They are too easily defeated through the use of zeno emitters.”

Tell me something I don’t know
, Brodie thought.
Except my powers are a little different to the others.

She had already worked out Wolff’s plan. The jetty seemed to meet another structure protruding from the water. A submarine. Once Wolff was in the craft he would escape. Despite her powers being zapped by the zeno rays, she still had fighting ability she had inherited from her previous life. She had no idea where it came from. She only knew she innately understood half a dozen martial arts.

Wolff fired two more shots. His clip was empty. Brodie broke from cover and charged across the cave floor. She was slower than usual. Under normal circumstances she was three times the speed of a highly trained athlete. Now she did not have that advantage.

She would have to survive without it.

Wolff saw her coming. His eyes opened in wonder. Obviously he had not expected one of these children to make a suicidal run across the floor. At the same time Brodie saw him glance towards the submarine.

He raced up the length of the dock. By the time Brodie reached the start of the wooden structure, he had stepped onto the metal conning tower of the submarine. He gave her a sneering grin and stepped on to the top of the ladder.

That’s when it happened.

When Brodie thought about it later, when she analyzed those seconds in her mind one frame at a time, she realized that Wolff did not step properly onto the top rung of the ladder. His leg twisted beneath him.

He slipped.

He fell.

Brodie put on more speed and reached the sub within seconds. She looked down the length of the ladder. Wolff lay on the floor below. His leg was twisted at a crazy angle beneath him. Broken. He pulled a vial of liquid from his pocket and stared at it in horror.

It had a crack in it.

Brodie grabbed the top hatch of the submarine and slammed it down. She spun the locking mechanism around furiously until it was sealed as tightly at it would go. All the while she heard Wolff screaming from within the submarine.

Only at the end, when the virus had fully taken effect, did his screaming end.

Chapter Forty-Three

The carnage was immediate and devastating.

The blast pushed me backwards. I felt my eyes surge back into their sockets as the detonation of the grenade impacted against me. Slamming into a group of tourists behind me, I heard the explosion and after that everything faded to silence.

I could see, but I could not make sense of what I saw. The explosion had reduced everything to reverberating roar in my ears. Images like frames of a movie came to me. Disjointed. Piecemeal.

Slowly I made sense of the carnage.

The grenade had torn away part of the metal plating from the deck of the Eiffel Tower. It had destroyed a wide section of the barrier. People and blood and body parts lay everywhere.

Somehow, incredibly, Wolff was still on his feet. Or perhaps foot was a better description. One of his legs was mostly gone. One of his arms was missing completely. He reached into his pocket.

The vial was in his hand. He took a single staggering step forward before falling face first onto the deck. Whatever he intended to do with the vial was unclear. It bounced from his hand across the deck. I could not hear anything. I certainly could not hear Ebony’s scream as she appeared from no-where and threw herself after it.

As the vial rolled off the deck, Ebony reached after it, but she was overbalanced. The entire top half of her body slid over the edge as she desperately grabbed for the vial. Struggling to my feet, I started towards her. My entire body hurt. It would not obey my commands.

Move!
I told myself.

Somehow, my body moved forward.

Ebony lay precariously unbalanced over the side of the shattered deck. She tried reaching back to grab something to stop her momentum, but her hands grasped only air.