The Covert Academy by Peter Laurent Page A

already two camps in the Academy, split between you and Ryan. This will give them all a common goal.’ Dr. Prewett spread his hands palm up, reassuringly. ‘Casey can look after the bio-ID better than anybody and he won’t waste it on himself if that’s what you’re worried about.’
    That brought Joshua up short. ‘What? Why... Who would he give it to?’
    Dr. Prewett considered. ‘I think he’ll give it to someone who can put it to the most use.’
    ‘Don’t you need it?’ Joshua pressed on. ‘You were supposed to be accessing its data to locate the Confederate members.’
    ‘No, no boy,’ the doc sa id. ‘I only designed the bio-ID itself. Someone else back at the lab created the interface to merge with an iPC. But they encrypted it. It’s an algorithm I’ve never seen before.’
    Joshua looked lost.
    ‘Suffice to say,’ Dr. Prewett continued, ‘to access and analyse the bio-ID’s data... I need the man who created the interface.’
    Joshua shrugged, giving up. ‘Well who is that?’
    The doctor swivelled a computer monitor around so Joshua could see. It was an image of a flustered looking scientist with grey hair and deep wrinkles marking his face. The title under the picture said, “Dr. P. Brock”.
    ‘Find h im, and I can access the bio-ID,’ said Dr. Prewett.
     
    Hours later, Joshua had a plan set firmly in mind as he trotted through the Academy’s student housing district. It wouldn’t be long until the reflector panels in the rock formations above his head allowed the morning sun in. Joshua constantly had the feeling that something would fall on his head out here, but no one ever wore a hard hat. It made him restless.
    He turned a corner between two buildings and ran headlong into Ryan, who was crouched behind a dumpster.
    Reminds me of myself from not long ago , thought Joshua. Maybe he had got the wrong impression of Ryan after all.
    A gang of teenage groupies swarmed past, calling out Ryan’s name, shattering any similarities between them Joshua had imagined. He would have loved the attention of all those young ladies. He decided it was best to avoid the subject, since Ryan had gone white as a ghost.
    ‘Hey dude, thanks for having my back out there this morning... Are you okay?’
    Ryan emerged from the dumpster, brushing himself off. ‘Sure thing mate, you’re one of us now right? Whenever you’re ready to go after those Confederate drongos, you let me know yeah?’
    They parted, and Ryan walked back out in to the street, checking left and right before heading away from the screaming girls.
    Taking off at a jog through the Academy alleys, Joshua finally found the building he was looking for. The fire escape was too tempting, so he leaped and hauled himself up to it.
    Old habits die hard , he thought.
    On the top floor he reached Sarah’s window and paused for a minute to look in. Then he realised how creepy that would be if he was caught, and tapped on the glass. Sarah opened the window to look out, half dressed.
    Joshua crouched so he was level with her face, but also to hide his sudden embarrassment. Sarah probably noticed anyway. She must have been used to men acting weirdly around her.
    ‘Can I come in?’ Joshua asked, trying to be casual. He wasn’t actually here for a social call anyway; he just couldn’t help his imagination get the better of him while Sarah stood there in her underwear.
    ‘Do you have any idea what time it is? I haven’t slept in 24 hours,’ she sighed. ‘Well give me a minute, weirdo,’ she pulled her head back inside and went to make herself decent.
    Joshua waited, impatiently hopping from one foot to the other until she called out that he could enter.
    ‘So? What do you want?’ she demanded, arms folded under her chest. Joshua took a moment to appreciate the sight of her in the familiar jumpsuit.
    ‘I, um, uh...’ His voice locked up, and broke in the way young men’s voices do. Sarah moved closer to him, making him feel worse. He could