arms.
Connor roared his annoyance.
Hector reached the end of the alleyway and sprinted right. ‘Come on,’ he shouted.
They raced after him and dashed across a main road.
Tyres screeched and horns sounded.
Slink vaulted over the bonnet of a black cab.
The driver wound down his window, swore and waved his fist at them.
On the other side of the road, Hector darted left. ‘Follow me.’ He sprinted across the street and down another alleyway. At the end, they went right, followed the back of the buildings and came out at a small park.
They stopped, catching their breath, sure they were out of sight and hadn’t been followed.
‘What now?’ Charlie said, panting and glancing around.
Jack looked at Hector. ‘It’s time you told us where the virus has gone.’
Hector hesitated.
Jack’s eyes narrowed. ‘Tell us. Now .’
‘Nexus,’ Hector said. ‘OK? It went to somewhere called Nexus.’
‘What’s that?’
Hector shrugged. ‘I don’t know exactly. I got a glimpse of that name in a line of code. I think it’s some sort of government project.’
Jack looked at Charlie. ‘We’ve wasted our time.’
‘No,’ Hector said. ‘I can find out where the virus went. My trace program was running automatically when it moved from my laptop. With a bit of work, I can get a location for this Nexus thing.’
Jack couldn’t help but show a huge amount of doubt in his expression.
‘Let him try,’ Charlie said. ‘We don’t have any other leads.’
Jack thought for a moment. What he wanted to do was get rid of Hector, send him home, but he knew too much. If Jack let Hector go now, he could reveal the existence of the virus to other people. As it stood, the Outlaws had a head start on anyone else that might be hunting it. Especially Connor.
So, that gave Jack little choice.
He sighed. ‘Fine. You can stay.’
For now, anyway , Jack thought.
Hector nodded and Wren smiled at him.
‘So,’ Charlie said. ‘What’s next?’
‘Noble,’ Jack said. ‘If anyone knows what this Nexus is, it’s him. Come on.’
‘Who’s Noble?’ Hector asked, but Jack didn’t respond.
As they walked through the park, Charlie slid a phone from her pocket and keyed a quick message. A few minutes passed and no one answered. ‘Where is he?’ They reached the main gate. ‘Wait,’ she said. ‘What day is it?’
‘Thursday,’ Slink said.
‘No,’ Wren said. ‘It’s Tuesday.’
‘Yeah, Tuesday,’ Jack agreed.
‘That’s why I can’t get hold of him.’ Charlie looked at Jack. ‘He’s at the Science Museum.’
‘I remember,’ Jack said. Noble had told them there was a special exhibition on Alan Turing that he wanted to see.
‘Why doesn’t he just put his phone on vibrate?’ Hector said.
‘He doesn’t have a phone,’ Charlie said. ‘When I send him messages, it’s always through email.’
Hector frowned. ‘That’s just stupid.’
‘Noble is not stupid,’ Jack said, annoyed. ‘He’s a genius.’
Hector’s eyebrows rose. ‘Then why doesn’t he have a phone?’
‘A few reasons. The main one is that he doesn’t trust them. Thinks they’re too easily traced.’
‘He’s right,’ Charlie said. ‘They are a lot of hassle. We have to keep changing phones and SIM cards all the time.’
Hector looked at Jack again. ‘Can we wait for him?’
Jack shook his head. ‘He’s likely to be in there all day. We’ll have to go get him.’ He glanced around. ‘Where’s the nearest Tube station?’
Hector pointed towards an Underground sign on the other side of the park.
They all pulled their hoods up and marched towards it.
When they reached the top of the steps, Slink glanced back. ‘Er, guys.’
Connor, Cloud and Monday were running towards them.
‘Go,’ Jack shouted, and they hurried down into the Underground.
People protested as they shoved past them. At the bottom of the stairs, they ran right, then left towards the ticket barriers.
Hector stopped short. ‘We need
Connor roared his annoyance.
Hector reached the end of the alleyway and sprinted right. ‘Come on,’ he shouted.
They raced after him and dashed across a main road.
Tyres screeched and horns sounded.
Slink vaulted over the bonnet of a black cab.
The driver wound down his window, swore and waved his fist at them.
On the other side of the road, Hector darted left. ‘Follow me.’ He sprinted across the street and down another alleyway. At the end, they went right, followed the back of the buildings and came out at a small park.
They stopped, catching their breath, sure they were out of sight and hadn’t been followed.
‘What now?’ Charlie said, panting and glancing around.
Jack looked at Hector. ‘It’s time you told us where the virus has gone.’
Hector hesitated.
Jack’s eyes narrowed. ‘Tell us. Now .’
‘Nexus,’ Hector said. ‘OK? It went to somewhere called Nexus.’
‘What’s that?’
Hector shrugged. ‘I don’t know exactly. I got a glimpse of that name in a line of code. I think it’s some sort of government project.’
Jack looked at Charlie. ‘We’ve wasted our time.’
‘No,’ Hector said. ‘I can find out where the virus went. My trace program was running automatically when it moved from my laptop. With a bit of work, I can get a location for this Nexus thing.’
Jack couldn’t help but show a huge amount of doubt in his expression.
‘Let him try,’ Charlie said. ‘We don’t have any other leads.’
Jack thought for a moment. What he wanted to do was get rid of Hector, send him home, but he knew too much. If Jack let Hector go now, he could reveal the existence of the virus to other people. As it stood, the Outlaws had a head start on anyone else that might be hunting it. Especially Connor.
So, that gave Jack little choice.
He sighed. ‘Fine. You can stay.’
For now, anyway , Jack thought.
Hector nodded and Wren smiled at him.
‘So,’ Charlie said. ‘What’s next?’
‘Noble,’ Jack said. ‘If anyone knows what this Nexus is, it’s him. Come on.’
‘Who’s Noble?’ Hector asked, but Jack didn’t respond.
As they walked through the park, Charlie slid a phone from her pocket and keyed a quick message. A few minutes passed and no one answered. ‘Where is he?’ They reached the main gate. ‘Wait,’ she said. ‘What day is it?’
‘Thursday,’ Slink said.
‘No,’ Wren said. ‘It’s Tuesday.’
‘Yeah, Tuesday,’ Jack agreed.
‘That’s why I can’t get hold of him.’ Charlie looked at Jack. ‘He’s at the Science Museum.’
‘I remember,’ Jack said. Noble had told them there was a special exhibition on Alan Turing that he wanted to see.
‘Why doesn’t he just put his phone on vibrate?’ Hector said.
‘He doesn’t have a phone,’ Charlie said. ‘When I send him messages, it’s always through email.’
Hector frowned. ‘That’s just stupid.’
‘Noble is not stupid,’ Jack said, annoyed. ‘He’s a genius.’
Hector’s eyebrows rose. ‘Then why doesn’t he have a phone?’
‘A few reasons. The main one is that he doesn’t trust them. Thinks they’re too easily traced.’
‘He’s right,’ Charlie said. ‘They are a lot of hassle. We have to keep changing phones and SIM cards all the time.’
Hector looked at Jack again. ‘Can we wait for him?’
Jack shook his head. ‘He’s likely to be in there all day. We’ll have to go get him.’ He glanced around. ‘Where’s the nearest Tube station?’
Hector pointed towards an Underground sign on the other side of the park.
They all pulled their hoods up and marched towards it.
When they reached the top of the steps, Slink glanced back. ‘Er, guys.’
Connor, Cloud and Monday were running towards them.
‘Go,’ Jack shouted, and they hurried down into the Underground.
People protested as they shoved past them. At the bottom of the stairs, they ran right, then left towards the ticket barriers.
Hector stopped short. ‘We need
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