gun back on the floor and opened his eyes.
‘Nineteen seconds,’ Ghost said, her expression completely unreadable behind her smooth faceplate. ‘Over to the range, please.’
Otto walked over to the target range at the other side of the training room, took the ear protectors off the hook on the wall and placed them on his head.
‘Silhouette target, thirty metres,’ Ghost said, hitting a button on the wall that dropped the paper target from the ceiling. Otto raised the pistol in both hands and fired, emptying the clip. The man-sized target slid down the range towards them along a rail mounted on the ceiling. Ghost stepped forward as the target reached the firing line, studying the bullet holes in it. All but two of the hits were inside the red disc over the silhouette’s chest that indicated the centre of body mass.
‘Not bad. Room for improvement, but quite satisfactory,’ Ghost said with a nod. ‘You’re becoming quite the little assassin, Mr Malpense.’
Otto had a fleeting sense that this was not a good thing, but in an instant it was gone.
Dr Nero walked into the Science and Technology department as the students who had just finished their lesson with the Professor filed out, chattering amongst themselves. The Professor looked up from the workbench as Nero approached.
‘Good morning, Doctor Nero,’ the Professor said. ‘Raven told me what happened to Diabolus. How is he?’
‘Critical, but stable,’ Nero replied. ‘Doctor Scott was cautiously optimistic.’
‘That’s the best we can hope for under the circumstances, I suppose,’ the Professor said. ‘I take it this is not a social call.’
‘No,’ Nero agreed. ‘I need you to come with me. Bring a copy of that code you found hidden on the network, please.’
The Professor went into his private workshop at the rear of the classroom and emerged a minute later carrying a tablet display.
‘Do you mind me asking where exactly we’re going?’ the Professor asked curiously.
‘I think it will be easier to just take you there,’ Nero said, gesturing towards the door.
Nero led the older man along a series of corridors that took them away from the main areas of the school and past the storage areas containing operational equipment and archive materials. After a few minutes they arrived at a small steel door at the end of a long corridor and Nero stopped as a bright white light flashed above the door frame.
‘Welcome, Doctor Nero. Access granted,’ a mechanical voice said as the heavy door slid up into the ceiling. The Professor could hardly suppress his curiosity as Nero gestured for him to go through the door. He had no idea that this area of H.I.V.E. contained anything of significance, certainly not something that would require security like this. The Professor found himself in a white corridor leading to another door. Nero walked past and again there was a bright flash as his identity was confirmed before the second set of doors rumbled apart.
‘What’s this all about, Max?’ the Professor asked as the doors opened.
‘You said you needed an expert on AI systems code,’ Nero said, gesturing for the Professor to enter the room with him. ‘Well, I think I may know just such a person.’
The Professor walked into the room beyond. It was comfortably furnished, with a bed and a pair of armchairs, and several well-stocked bookcases lined the walls. Sitting at a desk on the far side of the room was a man writing in a notebook. As Nero and the Professor entered the room and the doors rumbled shut behind them the man at the desk laid down his pen, slowly stood up and turned to face them.
The Professor gasped involuntarily.
‘Professor Pike, it is good to see you again. I do not get many visitors,’ Cypher said with a slight smile.
.
Chapter Six
‘I saw you die,’ Professor Pike said, sounding amazed. ‘We all did.’
‘A necessary deception,’ Nero said with a slight frown. ‘Wu Zhang suffered serious injuries during his
‘Nineteen seconds,’ Ghost said, her expression completely unreadable behind her smooth faceplate. ‘Over to the range, please.’
Otto walked over to the target range at the other side of the training room, took the ear protectors off the hook on the wall and placed them on his head.
‘Silhouette target, thirty metres,’ Ghost said, hitting a button on the wall that dropped the paper target from the ceiling. Otto raised the pistol in both hands and fired, emptying the clip. The man-sized target slid down the range towards them along a rail mounted on the ceiling. Ghost stepped forward as the target reached the firing line, studying the bullet holes in it. All but two of the hits were inside the red disc over the silhouette’s chest that indicated the centre of body mass.
‘Not bad. Room for improvement, but quite satisfactory,’ Ghost said with a nod. ‘You’re becoming quite the little assassin, Mr Malpense.’
Otto had a fleeting sense that this was not a good thing, but in an instant it was gone.
Dr Nero walked into the Science and Technology department as the students who had just finished their lesson with the Professor filed out, chattering amongst themselves. The Professor looked up from the workbench as Nero approached.
‘Good morning, Doctor Nero,’ the Professor said. ‘Raven told me what happened to Diabolus. How is he?’
‘Critical, but stable,’ Nero replied. ‘Doctor Scott was cautiously optimistic.’
‘That’s the best we can hope for under the circumstances, I suppose,’ the Professor said. ‘I take it this is not a social call.’
‘No,’ Nero agreed. ‘I need you to come with me. Bring a copy of that code you found hidden on the network, please.’
The Professor went into his private workshop at the rear of the classroom and emerged a minute later carrying a tablet display.
‘Do you mind me asking where exactly we’re going?’ the Professor asked curiously.
‘I think it will be easier to just take you there,’ Nero said, gesturing towards the door.
Nero led the older man along a series of corridors that took them away from the main areas of the school and past the storage areas containing operational equipment and archive materials. After a few minutes they arrived at a small steel door at the end of a long corridor and Nero stopped as a bright white light flashed above the door frame.
‘Welcome, Doctor Nero. Access granted,’ a mechanical voice said as the heavy door slid up into the ceiling. The Professor could hardly suppress his curiosity as Nero gestured for him to go through the door. He had no idea that this area of H.I.V.E. contained anything of significance, certainly not something that would require security like this. The Professor found himself in a white corridor leading to another door. Nero walked past and again there was a bright flash as his identity was confirmed before the second set of doors rumbled apart.
‘What’s this all about, Max?’ the Professor asked as the doors opened.
‘You said you needed an expert on AI systems code,’ Nero said, gesturing for the Professor to enter the room with him. ‘Well, I think I may know just such a person.’
The Professor walked into the room beyond. It was comfortably furnished, with a bed and a pair of armchairs, and several well-stocked bookcases lined the walls. Sitting at a desk on the far side of the room was a man writing in a notebook. As Nero and the Professor entered the room and the doors rumbled shut behind them the man at the desk laid down his pen, slowly stood up and turned to face them.
The Professor gasped involuntarily.
‘Professor Pike, it is good to see you again. I do not get many visitors,’ Cypher said with a slight smile.
.
Chapter Six
‘I saw you die,’ Professor Pike said, sounding amazed. ‘We all did.’
‘A necessary deception,’ Nero said with a slight frown. ‘Wu Zhang suffered serious injuries during his
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