“Is that it?” asked Buck, sounding disappointed.
Pai had just hit the last key, sending the tight beam signal.
“What did you expect?” she countered. “Fireworks?”
100. The Raid of Comstock Tower - The Hack
99. The Raid of Comstock Tower - The Apporach
98. Epilogue
Rhino was glad to be rid of the do-gooders and on the move. But, as he and the rest of the Dragons walked through Narim, he began to think about the city. It had been messed up before, but now it was totally messed up. And if the Dragons hadn’t escaped, they would have been exterminated by the government. Rhino had never liked the authorities — they were always getting in his way — but now he hated them.
97. The Big Escape - Aureus Gate Crossing
Gadget had been disturbed by the beeping, but was even more disturbed when it stopped. Pai’s Firewall program was now without power, and he feared they were without hope. Even more CyMS seemed to be coming their way and they could see nothing of their allies. It seemed they were all very busy, because none of his calls were getting through.
96. The Big Escape - The Redeemer
As Goddess approached Ryder and the enormous robot, Lady Rose gestured for Crimson and Jenny to follow her in the opposite direction. A man called Kuznetzov — apparently a Cynfo engineer — came hurrying up rambling about something, but Crimson shut him down. Lady Rose met Rhino and the gunmen behind the convertible and they all looked on as Goddess appealed to her former employer.
95. The Big Escape - The Ultimate Hack
Pai and Gadget were on their own. The others — led by Buck, Cyborg and Lucky — had halted at the edge of Aureus Gate Park while Pai and Gadget advanced to the bridge to hack the entropic disruptor terminal.
Pai was controlling Timmy via her arm-mounted computer, and the drone was hovering just above them. "EFN active. Let’s hope it works as well today." Twenty-four hours earlier, they had tested Dr. Altmann’s device and found that it had successfully shielded them.
94. The Big Escape - Mobilization
Nix lowered his binoculars. "Another team stationed near the junction. What’s that, the seventh?"
"Eighth," replied Bolt.
Two days earlier, the Peacemakers, Survivalists and Creators had all begun to notice small Army teams on the move around San Lazaro. The groups were typically composed of five medics protected by around 10 soldiers and one or two Agency operatives. They seemed to be setting up at strategic locations across the city. Drone reconnaissance by Flyboy and Flash revealed that the entropic disruptor was being temporarily lowered to let each team through.
85. Settling Affairs - "Do-Gooders" - Family Matters
84. Settling Affairs - "Do-Gooders" - Sorting Things Out
Seeker wasn’t often alone with Artemis anymore, but the longtime couple made sure they had the odd moment to themselves. On this occasion, it was in the ATS storeroom, where they were sorting through provisions. As Artemis moved a big tin of raisins to its rightful shelf, Seeker grabbed her from behind.
81. The Escape Plan Part 1 - Creative Conference
Cyborg had suggested they use only audio for the call. With almost every member of the Creators, the Peacemakers and the Survivalists taking part, the holo-call system would be overwhelmed. Gathered with him in his office around his computer were Hiko, Threads, Kuklacı, Flyboy and Flash. Plate was still on guard duty. The exhausted Dr. Altmann was still resting.
71. Patient Zero - Part 2
Plate stood with Nix, Threads and Lucky in the lobby of First National. Pai and Artemis had already disabled the bank’s security systems and — thanks to the Scientists — they’d also located the entrance to the secret government facility. It was an innocuous-looking door between the bank’s two main vaults. The door was, in fact, heavily reinforced and secured by a full-range bioscanner. Pai and Artemis were confident of getting around it, but had warned that might take a while.
70. Patient Zero - Part 1
Lucky was helping Gadget and Thug with the repair work at ATS when the call came through. After the Red Dragon raid, they had put up a metal grille to protect the front of the shop. Putting down their tools and leaving Thug on guard duty with Seeker, Lucky and Gadget hurried to the back. Artemis gestured to a nearby laptop and Lucky noted that the special encrypted comms channel was active. Already on the call were Buck and Pai of the Peacemakers and Cyborg of the Creators.
68. The Rampage
Sometimes, the search for food seemed endless. Athena didn’t do it for herself; she could pick off smaller birds any time she wanted. She did it for her friends, but, unfortunately, elephants, wolves and bears always seemed to be hungry. Athena had noticed there were certain buildings where humans kept a lot of food; some of it just animal food. And it seemed she’d found another one.
61. Assault on ATS
The Red Dragons had gathered at the secret base beneath Chen Office Supplies. Lady Rose made a last adjustment to her hair in the restroom mirror, then entered the storeroom they used for meetings. With two men on guard duty – one underground, one on the street – she knew the location was secure. All her key personnel were present and already seated: Little Jenny, Rhino, Gudu, Fei and H3x. Lady Rose sat in her own chair, which was covered in best Italian black leather.
60. The Purge Script - Part 1
‘Are you sure about this, Buck?’
Pai looked across the table at the veteran police officer. The pair were alone in one of the station’s interview rooms, a laptop on the table in front of them.
‘We can’t go on like this forever,’ Buck replied. ‘These guys seem to be on our side. We were fortunate that the Purge Script ended up in our hands. Now it’s time to take action.’
54. Squared Away
Cyborg would have preferred to meet his new allies in person but holographic projection was a good second best. He was in one of his mansion’s three studies, gazing across the room at four lifelike, full-size images. After the dramatic events that had transpired at Republic Square, he was glad to at last be face to face – virtually – with Buck and Pai of the Peacemakers and Lucky and Gadget of the Survivalists. Cyborg couldn’t help smiling at the one familiar face.
46. The Research Console - Part 1
To: Interested Parties
From: Friends
If you are receiving this transmission, you clearly possess specialist equipment and knowledge. We are exploiting a weakness in the communications blackout surrounding San Lazaro but only have a short window of time to communicate. We are contacting you to present an offer that can benefit both sides. We do not currently wish to identify ourselves but please be assured that our intentions are good. Our aim is to cooperate with individuals and groups such as yourselves and work towards solving this crisis.
39. The Showman
Most residents of San Lazaro had no idea that the Cistern Club even existed. It was an exclusive venue which showcased cutting edge music, film, virtual reality and art. The performances and creatives on show were unusual, yet few were as unusual as the venue itself. After the Great San Lazaro Fire of 1903, huge cisterns had been created below the city to store water in the event of another conflagration. Many had since been filled in but the club was housed in an accessible example close to the surface. Converting the underground space into a luxurious club hadn’t been cheap but the owners had wanted something unique.
35. The Shopping Trip - Part 2
‘That’s close enough,’ said one of the guards when they were within ten feet. The trio stopped and Gadget spoke up.
‘We’re here to trade. We need some trans-lithium Mark Five power cells by Excelsior Power.’
‘Haven’t seen you three around here before.’
‘We live some distance away but we heard about the store. We’re unarmed.’