reached out with his senses, feeling for the flight control computers on board the fleeing aircraft. He could feel the systems he wanted, and he did not need long. He twitched his head slightly and the Shroud veered off course, straight towards a nearby building, its manual controls locked out and throttle jammed at full thrust.
The sudden pain in Otto’s head came from nowhere, a searing agony that broke his concentration and released the systems on board the Shroud. Otto dropped to his knees, screaming and clutching his head as black Animus fluid trickled from his nose. He gave one final gasp and then tipped forwards, hitting the pavement with a thud, unconscious.
On board the Shroud the pilot swore under his breath and wrenched at the controls, pulling on the joystick and banking the Shroud hard to the right. The left engine housing smashed through the plate glass of one of the corner offices in the building that they had been on a direct collision course with just seconds earlier, the Shroud bucking with the impact. The pilot fought to bring the aircraft back under control, levelling out and scanning his control panel for warning lights before steering towards clear sky and engaging the cloaking field with a relieved sigh.
‘What happened there?’ Nero asked as he climbed up to the flight deck.
‘I have no idea,’ the pilot said, his face a mix of confusion and relief. ‘I had a dead stick for a few seconds and we almost hit a building. I’ve never seen anything like it – it was like the damn thing was trying to crash itself.’
Nero thought back to the fate that had met Jonas Steiner’s private jet and realised he knew what might have caused that to happen.
‘Get us back to H.I.V.E. as fast as possible,’ he said. ‘We have to get Darkdoom to the medical facility.’ Nero knew that there were hospitals closer than H.I.V.E., but taking Darkdoom to one of them would be suicide. H.O.P.E. was sure to be watching and waiting for them to do exactly that.
‘ETA is just under two hours from now,’ the pilot said, ‘and that’s red-lining it all the way.’
‘Understood,’ Nero replied. He just prayed that would be fast enough.
He climbed back down into the Shroud’s passenger compartment where Raven was fighting to stabilise Darkdoom’s condition. Her hands were covered in blood and she was struggling to get an IV line into the wounded man’s arm.
‘Is he going to survive?’ Nero asked.
‘I’ve done all I can here,’ Raven replied, shaking her head slightly. ‘It doesn’t look good, Max.’
‘We’ll be back at H.I.V.E. in less than two hours,’ Nero said. ‘The medical team will be waiting on the pad.’
‘I’m not sure he has that long.’ She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. ‘He’s lost a lot of blood.’
‘He’s strong, Natalya,’ Nero said, placing a hand on her arm. ‘If anyone has the sheer will to survive, it’s him. How are you?’ Nero asked, gesturing at the deep gash in her shoulder.
‘I’ll live,’ Raven replied. ‘Whoever that woman was, she is as capable as anyone I’ve ever encountered. I don’t think I could have stopped her without your help. Her armour was immune to my blades and . . . well . . . I just wasn’t strong enough.’
‘You have been on a tough assignment for weeks and just survived an assassination attempt,’ Nero said, shaking his head. ‘Don’t be too hard on yourself.’
‘That is no excuse,’ Raven said, frowning. ‘Next time I will be better prepared.’
‘Regardless, that is not our most serious problem,’ Nero said.
‘What do you mean?’
‘The failure of the security system, the hijacking of the Shroud’s flight control systems, the very fact that H.O.P.E. knew exactly when and where to hit us . . . I’m afraid it all points to one thing.’
‘Otto,’ Raven said quietly. ‘You think he was there.’
‘I’m sure of it,’ Nero said, sounding suddenly tired. ‘I’m afraid it just
The sudden pain in Otto’s head came from nowhere, a searing agony that broke his concentration and released the systems on board the Shroud. Otto dropped to his knees, screaming and clutching his head as black Animus fluid trickled from his nose. He gave one final gasp and then tipped forwards, hitting the pavement with a thud, unconscious.
On board the Shroud the pilot swore under his breath and wrenched at the controls, pulling on the joystick and banking the Shroud hard to the right. The left engine housing smashed through the plate glass of one of the corner offices in the building that they had been on a direct collision course with just seconds earlier, the Shroud bucking with the impact. The pilot fought to bring the aircraft back under control, levelling out and scanning his control panel for warning lights before steering towards clear sky and engaging the cloaking field with a relieved sigh.
‘What happened there?’ Nero asked as he climbed up to the flight deck.
‘I have no idea,’ the pilot said, his face a mix of confusion and relief. ‘I had a dead stick for a few seconds and we almost hit a building. I’ve never seen anything like it – it was like the damn thing was trying to crash itself.’
Nero thought back to the fate that had met Jonas Steiner’s private jet and realised he knew what might have caused that to happen.
‘Get us back to H.I.V.E. as fast as possible,’ he said. ‘We have to get Darkdoom to the medical facility.’ Nero knew that there were hospitals closer than H.I.V.E., but taking Darkdoom to one of them would be suicide. H.O.P.E. was sure to be watching and waiting for them to do exactly that.
‘ETA is just under two hours from now,’ the pilot said, ‘and that’s red-lining it all the way.’
‘Understood,’ Nero replied. He just prayed that would be fast enough.
He climbed back down into the Shroud’s passenger compartment where Raven was fighting to stabilise Darkdoom’s condition. Her hands were covered in blood and she was struggling to get an IV line into the wounded man’s arm.
‘Is he going to survive?’ Nero asked.
‘I’ve done all I can here,’ Raven replied, shaking her head slightly. ‘It doesn’t look good, Max.’
‘We’ll be back at H.I.V.E. in less than two hours,’ Nero said. ‘The medical team will be waiting on the pad.’
‘I’m not sure he has that long.’ She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. ‘He’s lost a lot of blood.’
‘He’s strong, Natalya,’ Nero said, placing a hand on her arm. ‘If anyone has the sheer will to survive, it’s him. How are you?’ Nero asked, gesturing at the deep gash in her shoulder.
‘I’ll live,’ Raven replied. ‘Whoever that woman was, she is as capable as anyone I’ve ever encountered. I don’t think I could have stopped her without your help. Her armour was immune to my blades and . . . well . . . I just wasn’t strong enough.’
‘You have been on a tough assignment for weeks and just survived an assassination attempt,’ Nero said, shaking his head. ‘Don’t be too hard on yourself.’
‘That is no excuse,’ Raven said, frowning. ‘Next time I will be better prepared.’
‘Regardless, that is not our most serious problem,’ Nero said.
‘What do you mean?’
‘The failure of the security system, the hijacking of the Shroud’s flight control systems, the very fact that H.O.P.E. knew exactly when and where to hit us . . . I’m afraid it all points to one thing.’
‘Otto,’ Raven said quietly. ‘You think he was there.’
‘I’m sure of it,’ Nero said, sounding suddenly tired. ‘I’m afraid it just
Similar Books
