even heard
him.
“Just thinking about what’s coming,” she said. “Another fight with Major Bright. I promised my mum before she died that I’d look after Robert. I’m supposed to
be keeping him out of danger.”
Craig shook his head. “You worry too much.”
Sarah laughed. “He’s hell-bent on facing off against an insane military commander with superhuman powers to rescue a kid he hardly knows. Yeah, I guess I am being
overcautious.”
The commander raised an eyebrow. “Robert seems to understand the risks. He isn’t running away from the fight.”
“Neither am I,” Sarah said indignantly. “I can take on Bright myself. But not Robert…” Her voice cracked and she stopped talking. It was only in moments of danger
that she realized just how much she cared for her brother. If something happened to him, she didn’t know what she would do…
“Like I said, you worry too much,” Craig said. “You need to clear your head. Sparring room. Fifteen minutes.”
With that, he turned and left before she could argue. Alone again, Sarah wondered if she was the only one (contrary to what Lesley the psychologist might think) who hadn’t gone crazy on
this ship.
10
After the plane landed, Hack was led down the ramp by two of the mercs to a waiting jeep. One took the wheel, while the other bundled him wordlessly into the back. Thankfully
Marlon Good had already disembarked and left in his own vehicle. Hack did as he was told without protest. He was intent on taking in every detail of his new surroundings – trying to find some
clue as to his location.
Judging by the position of the sun, he estimated it was just before midday. This meant that the plane had been in transit for about nine hours. The air was incredibly humid and the temperature
was in the high thirties. Seabirds swooped overhead and Hack thought he heard the sound of waves crashing as the jeep pulled away from the plane, suggesting they were on an island or near the
coast. The heat and the vegetation around the runway – palm trees and dense jungle – suggested a semi-tropical location in the Pacific.
The jeep sped along the runway towards a control tower and a pair of hangars in the distance. As they drew closer, Hack counted more mercenaries, all dressed in the same camouflage uniform and
heavily-armed. They reached a security check at a chain-link fence and passed into a compound that included two hangars and a group of smaller buildings. Military equipment was parked all around:
tanks, trucks, helicopters.
This Major Bright guy isn’t messing around , he thought. It’s like something out of Modern Warfare .
The jeep pulled up outside a group of weather-beaten concrete buildings that looked as if they pre-dated the rest of the camp. The merc beside Hack grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out.
Opening a steel door, the soldier led him down a corridor to another door. This led into a cell no more than a few metres across. There was no chair. No bed. Just hard, bare walls and floor. An
iron-barred window was set high in the back wall.
“Home sweet home,” the merc said and pushed him inside.
Hack spun as the door slammed shut and several bolts slid into place. His heart sank. He would have given anything for an electronic keypad or magnetic locks to subvert, but the cell was as
low-tech as you could get. There wasn’t even a light fitting in the ceiling.
As the merc’s bootsteps echoed away, Hack stepped forward and ran his fingers over the door hinges. They were solid, but the brickwork was crumbling around them. After a second’s
thought, Hack removed the belt from his jeans and scraped the metal buckle against the brick experimentally. It gave. He pressed harder with the buckle and more of the wall became brick dust.
“Don’t do that.”
Hack turned. He’d assumed he was alone in the cell, but now he made out a figure sitting against the far wall in the shadows. He strained his eyes and saw that it was
him.
“Just thinking about what’s coming,” she said. “Another fight with Major Bright. I promised my mum before she died that I’d look after Robert. I’m supposed to
be keeping him out of danger.”
Craig shook his head. “You worry too much.”
Sarah laughed. “He’s hell-bent on facing off against an insane military commander with superhuman powers to rescue a kid he hardly knows. Yeah, I guess I am being
overcautious.”
The commander raised an eyebrow. “Robert seems to understand the risks. He isn’t running away from the fight.”
“Neither am I,” Sarah said indignantly. “I can take on Bright myself. But not Robert…” Her voice cracked and she stopped talking. It was only in moments of danger
that she realized just how much she cared for her brother. If something happened to him, she didn’t know what she would do…
“Like I said, you worry too much,” Craig said. “You need to clear your head. Sparring room. Fifteen minutes.”
With that, he turned and left before she could argue. Alone again, Sarah wondered if she was the only one (contrary to what Lesley the psychologist might think) who hadn’t gone crazy on
this ship.
10
After the plane landed, Hack was led down the ramp by two of the mercs to a waiting jeep. One took the wheel, while the other bundled him wordlessly into the back. Thankfully
Marlon Good had already disembarked and left in his own vehicle. Hack did as he was told without protest. He was intent on taking in every detail of his new surroundings – trying to find some
clue as to his location.
Judging by the position of the sun, he estimated it was just before midday. This meant that the plane had been in transit for about nine hours. The air was incredibly humid and the temperature
was in the high thirties. Seabirds swooped overhead and Hack thought he heard the sound of waves crashing as the jeep pulled away from the plane, suggesting they were on an island or near the
coast. The heat and the vegetation around the runway – palm trees and dense jungle – suggested a semi-tropical location in the Pacific.
The jeep sped along the runway towards a control tower and a pair of hangars in the distance. As they drew closer, Hack counted more mercenaries, all dressed in the same camouflage uniform and
heavily-armed. They reached a security check at a chain-link fence and passed into a compound that included two hangars and a group of smaller buildings. Military equipment was parked all around:
tanks, trucks, helicopters.
This Major Bright guy isn’t messing around , he thought. It’s like something out of Modern Warfare .
The jeep pulled up outside a group of weather-beaten concrete buildings that looked as if they pre-dated the rest of the camp. The merc beside Hack grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out.
Opening a steel door, the soldier led him down a corridor to another door. This led into a cell no more than a few metres across. There was no chair. No bed. Just hard, bare walls and floor. An
iron-barred window was set high in the back wall.
“Home sweet home,” the merc said and pushed him inside.
Hack spun as the door slammed shut and several bolts slid into place. His heart sank. He would have given anything for an electronic keypad or magnetic locks to subvert, but the cell was as
low-tech as you could get. There wasn’t even a light fitting in the ceiling.
As the merc’s bootsteps echoed away, Hack stepped forward and ran his fingers over the door hinges. They were solid, but the brickwork was crumbling around them. After a second’s
thought, Hack removed the belt from his jeans and scraped the metal buckle against the brick experimentally. It gave. He pressed harder with the buckle and more of the wall became brick dust.
“Don’t do that.”
Hack turned. He’d assumed he was alone in the cell, but now he made out a figure sitting against the far wall in the shadows. He strained his eyes and saw that it was
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