tickets.’
‘No we don’t,’ Charlie said, pulling several Oyster cards from her pocket. Each one gave them unlimited credit to travel on the Tube.
Charlie handed Jack, Slink and Wren a card each. She then swiped hers over the reader, the barrier opened and she stepped through.
Wren and Slink did the same.
Jack glanced back to see Connor, Monday and Cloud pushing through the throng of people.
He chucked his card at Hector. ‘Hurry.’
Monday spotted Jack and pointed.
The three of them continued to shove their way past the crowd.
Hector swiped the card over the reader and stepped through the barrier. He turned back and tossed it to Jack.
The card slipped through Jack’s fingers and hit the floor. Cursing, he bent down and scooped it up.
Connor lunged forward as Jack swiped the card and slipped through just in time.
He stood on the other side of the barrier, staring back at a snarling Connor.
In desperation and anger, Connor started to climb over the barrier.
‘Oi, what’s your game?’ A Tube attendant shouted.
Connor kept his eyes on Jack.
The Tube attendant grabbed him and pulled him back.
‘Get your hands off me.’
Jack wheeled around and hurried to the others. ‘This way.’ They jogged to a set of escalators that led down. At the bottom, he said, ‘Left-hand platform.’
Charlie hesitated. ‘But Noble is –’
‘ Left ,’ Jack insisted. They ran along the platform to the end and tried to blend in with the commuters.
Jack kept glancing at the stairs. The seconds stretched into minutes.
After what seemed an eternity, he heard the unmistakable low rumble of an approaching train and warm air brushed past his face.
Connor, Monday and Cloud stepped on to the platform just as the train pulled in.
The doors opened and the five of them jumped on board.
It was too late – Connor, Cloud and Monday had spotted them and also climbed on, a few carriages back.
‘Jack,’ Charlie hissed.
‘I know.’ Jack looked at the doors. ‘On three.’ He glanced at the others and they nodded. ‘One.’ Jack saw Connor, Cloud and Monday making their way through the carriages towards them. ‘Two.’ The door to the next carriage opened and Del Sarto’s operatives stepped inside. The main doors beeped and started to close. ‘ Three .’
Jack and the others leapt from the train just as the doors closed behind them.
The train pulled away from the platform and Slink waved as an enraged Connor stared through the carriage windows as they shot past.
Chuckling to themselves, the Outlaws strode to the other platform and stepped on to another train going in the opposite direction.
Twenty minutes later, Jack, Charlie, Slink, Wren and Hector were standing in front of the Science Museum in South Kensington.
Jack turned to Hector. ‘Wait here.’
‘Why can’t he come with us?’ Wren said.
‘It’s OK,’ Hector said, before Jack could answer. ‘I understand.’ He smiled at the others, but the grin slipped from his face when he looked at Jack again.
‘Stay here with him,’ Jack said to Slink.
Until they knew exactly what this Nexus was and what they were dealing with, Jack didn’t want Hector out of their sight.
Wren scowled at Jack, but he turned his back on her.
As they walked into the museum, Jack heard her mutter something to Charlie about him being paranoid and rude. Jack couldn’t understand how reckless the others were being when it came to Hector.
They tried to look as casual as possible and Jack put some money in the donations box as they passed into the main hall.
The whole place was buzzing with kids and parents.
‘This way,’ Jack said.
They hurried to a flight of stairs and at the top was the exhibition on Alan Turing – one of the early pioneers of computer technology and code breaking. There was a huge black-and-white photo of him. As they turned the corner, on the right-hand side, behind a large sheet of glass, was a wooden cabinet with dials and switches.
Noble stood
‘No we don’t,’ Charlie said, pulling several Oyster cards from her pocket. Each one gave them unlimited credit to travel on the Tube.
Charlie handed Jack, Slink and Wren a card each. She then swiped hers over the reader, the barrier opened and she stepped through.
Wren and Slink did the same.
Jack glanced back to see Connor, Monday and Cloud pushing through the throng of people.
He chucked his card at Hector. ‘Hurry.’
Monday spotted Jack and pointed.
The three of them continued to shove their way past the crowd.
Hector swiped the card over the reader and stepped through the barrier. He turned back and tossed it to Jack.
The card slipped through Jack’s fingers and hit the floor. Cursing, he bent down and scooped it up.
Connor lunged forward as Jack swiped the card and slipped through just in time.
He stood on the other side of the barrier, staring back at a snarling Connor.
In desperation and anger, Connor started to climb over the barrier.
‘Oi, what’s your game?’ A Tube attendant shouted.
Connor kept his eyes on Jack.
The Tube attendant grabbed him and pulled him back.
‘Get your hands off me.’
Jack wheeled around and hurried to the others. ‘This way.’ They jogged to a set of escalators that led down. At the bottom, he said, ‘Left-hand platform.’
Charlie hesitated. ‘But Noble is –’
‘ Left ,’ Jack insisted. They ran along the platform to the end and tried to blend in with the commuters.
Jack kept glancing at the stairs. The seconds stretched into minutes.
After what seemed an eternity, he heard the unmistakable low rumble of an approaching train and warm air brushed past his face.
Connor, Monday and Cloud stepped on to the platform just as the train pulled in.
The doors opened and the five of them jumped on board.
It was too late – Connor, Cloud and Monday had spotted them and also climbed on, a few carriages back.
‘Jack,’ Charlie hissed.
‘I know.’ Jack looked at the doors. ‘On three.’ He glanced at the others and they nodded. ‘One.’ Jack saw Connor, Cloud and Monday making their way through the carriages towards them. ‘Two.’ The door to the next carriage opened and Del Sarto’s operatives stepped inside. The main doors beeped and started to close. ‘ Three .’
Jack and the others leapt from the train just as the doors closed behind them.
The train pulled away from the platform and Slink waved as an enraged Connor stared through the carriage windows as they shot past.
Chuckling to themselves, the Outlaws strode to the other platform and stepped on to another train going in the opposite direction.
Twenty minutes later, Jack, Charlie, Slink, Wren and Hector were standing in front of the Science Museum in South Kensington.
Jack turned to Hector. ‘Wait here.’
‘Why can’t he come with us?’ Wren said.
‘It’s OK,’ Hector said, before Jack could answer. ‘I understand.’ He smiled at the others, but the grin slipped from his face when he looked at Jack again.
‘Stay here with him,’ Jack said to Slink.
Until they knew exactly what this Nexus was and what they were dealing with, Jack didn’t want Hector out of their sight.
Wren scowled at Jack, but he turned his back on her.
As they walked into the museum, Jack heard her mutter something to Charlie about him being paranoid and rude. Jack couldn’t understand how reckless the others were being when it came to Hector.
They tried to look as casual as possible and Jack put some money in the donations box as they passed into the main hall.
The whole place was buzzing with kids and parents.
‘This way,’ Jack said.
They hurried to a flight of stairs and at the top was the exhibition on Alan Turing – one of the early pioneers of computer technology and code breaking. There was a huge black-and-white photo of him. As they turned the corner, on the right-hand side, behind a large sheet of glass, was a wooden cabinet with dials and switches.
Noble stood
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