follow them, we can find Whiplash.”
“Logged,” said the others. “We’re live!”
Sabre swooped down on Bullman. Themosquito loaded shock pellets into his needle-sharp stinger and jabbed through the hair at the back of Bullman’s neck.
“OW!” screamed Bullman, jerking as he received a sharp electric shock. “What the—” He swatted madly at the mosquito buzzing around his head.
With a flick of his body, Nero launched himself at Fraser and scuttled up the man’s trouser leg.
Fraser yelled, “Something’s crawling on me!” just before Nero delivered a series of stings from ankle to knee. Fraser buckled over in pain, smacking at the back of his trousers. Nero emerged at Fraser’s belt line and scurried for his neck. Fraser squealed in a high-pitched voice.
Meanwhile, one of the other intruders had trodden on Hercules. The man’s boot was sliced apart with a quick movement of Hercules’s saw-like claw. The stag beetle’s super-tough exoskeleton wasn’t even scratched, but the intruder leaped back with a cry of pain.
Dr Smith hadn’t spotted the SWARM robots, and she couldn’t understand what was happening. She was about to reach for her phone, which hadbeen knocked off the desk, when Bullman reared up in front of her.
His face was red with concentration and pain. Sabre shocked him twice more, once in the back and once on the top of the head, but the stocky, scowling man somehow managed to shrug it off. With a snarl, he grasped Dr Smith by her arms and dragged her out of the study.
“Come on, you lot!” he shouted at the other three. “Let’s get out of this fleapit!”
Dr Smith kicked her legs wildly, but Bullman lifted her off the floor and carried her out.
Meanwhile, Sirena was keeping track of the other SWARM robots. Now it was clear that the intruders wouldn’t simply be scared off, Sabre was flying close behind Bullman and Nero was on Bullman’s shoulder. Both of them quickly slipped into the side pocket of Dr Smith’s jacket. Hercules appeared, flying low to the ground, then he swung upwards in a smooth arc and also tucked himself away in that pocket.
“Sirena,” signalled Nero, “the three of us will stay with Dr Smith, and find out where she’s being taken. We’ll report back as soon as we can. Getclear of the jammers and inform SWARM HQ.”
“I’m live,” said Sirena.
Fraser and the other two kidnappers staggered after Bullman, limping and rubbing their sore limbs.
“Move it!” Bullman shouted as he carted Dr Smith out to their car, which was parked along a dirt track to one side of the house. Dr Smith kicked and cursed angrily all the way.
Sirena hovered high above them all. She kept testing her connection to headquarters, and to the human SWARM agents in the nearby village, but still could not get through. She turned and flew in the opposite direction. With those jammers switched on, she was the only one who could get news to SWARM about what had happened. Just as soon as she was out of range of the interference that was blocking her signals!
As the car sped away into the distance, Sirena found she could finally sense the outside world again. She flew on into the darkness of the night.
“Sirena to SWARM! Sirena to SWARM! Come in, SWARM!”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Hours later, Bullman’s car turned off the main road into a secluded lay-by. It slowed to a crawl while he checked that there were no other cars about. With the coast clear, the car revved up and bumped on to a narrow track, which led down to a sloping patch of land. To each side of the muddy track, reed-like grasses grew tall and wild. It was still dark, but the first red streaks of dawn were showing on the horizon.
They were in East London, in an area beside the Thames that had once been a stretch of small factories and industrial units, but wasclosed down and abandoned years ago. Now, the decaying shells of small office blocks and warehouses rose up out of the grass as far as the eye could see, like dead
“Logged,” said the others. “We’re live!”
Sabre swooped down on Bullman. Themosquito loaded shock pellets into his needle-sharp stinger and jabbed through the hair at the back of Bullman’s neck.
“OW!” screamed Bullman, jerking as he received a sharp electric shock. “What the—” He swatted madly at the mosquito buzzing around his head.
With a flick of his body, Nero launched himself at Fraser and scuttled up the man’s trouser leg.
Fraser yelled, “Something’s crawling on me!” just before Nero delivered a series of stings from ankle to knee. Fraser buckled over in pain, smacking at the back of his trousers. Nero emerged at Fraser’s belt line and scurried for his neck. Fraser squealed in a high-pitched voice.
Meanwhile, one of the other intruders had trodden on Hercules. The man’s boot was sliced apart with a quick movement of Hercules’s saw-like claw. The stag beetle’s super-tough exoskeleton wasn’t even scratched, but the intruder leaped back with a cry of pain.
Dr Smith hadn’t spotted the SWARM robots, and she couldn’t understand what was happening. She was about to reach for her phone, which hadbeen knocked off the desk, when Bullman reared up in front of her.
His face was red with concentration and pain. Sabre shocked him twice more, once in the back and once on the top of the head, but the stocky, scowling man somehow managed to shrug it off. With a snarl, he grasped Dr Smith by her arms and dragged her out of the study.
“Come on, you lot!” he shouted at the other three. “Let’s get out of this fleapit!”
Dr Smith kicked her legs wildly, but Bullman lifted her off the floor and carried her out.
Meanwhile, Sirena was keeping track of the other SWARM robots. Now it was clear that the intruders wouldn’t simply be scared off, Sabre was flying close behind Bullman and Nero was on Bullman’s shoulder. Both of them quickly slipped into the side pocket of Dr Smith’s jacket. Hercules appeared, flying low to the ground, then he swung upwards in a smooth arc and also tucked himself away in that pocket.
“Sirena,” signalled Nero, “the three of us will stay with Dr Smith, and find out where she’s being taken. We’ll report back as soon as we can. Getclear of the jammers and inform SWARM HQ.”
“I’m live,” said Sirena.
Fraser and the other two kidnappers staggered after Bullman, limping and rubbing their sore limbs.
“Move it!” Bullman shouted as he carted Dr Smith out to their car, which was parked along a dirt track to one side of the house. Dr Smith kicked and cursed angrily all the way.
Sirena hovered high above them all. She kept testing her connection to headquarters, and to the human SWARM agents in the nearby village, but still could not get through. She turned and flew in the opposite direction. With those jammers switched on, she was the only one who could get news to SWARM about what had happened. Just as soon as she was out of range of the interference that was blocking her signals!
As the car sped away into the distance, Sirena found she could finally sense the outside world again. She flew on into the darkness of the night.
“Sirena to SWARM! Sirena to SWARM! Come in, SWARM!”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Hours later, Bullman’s car turned off the main road into a secluded lay-by. It slowed to a crawl while he checked that there were no other cars about. With the coast clear, the car revved up and bumped on to a narrow track, which led down to a sloping patch of land. To each side of the muddy track, reed-like grasses grew tall and wild. It was still dark, but the first red streaks of dawn were showing on the horizon.
They were in East London, in an area beside the Thames that had once been a stretch of small factories and industrial units, but wasclosed down and abandoned years ago. Now, the decaying shells of small office blocks and warehouses rose up out of the grass as far as the eye could see, like dead
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