Remote Control (27 page)

Vanish leaned against a concrete pillar in the underground parking lot. He touched his fingers to his thumb one at a time on his right hand, getting used to the feel of the new body. It was always hard, the first couple of days. Hard to use his hands properly, hard to walk gracefully. And talking was difficult enough anyway, without the added complication of having to impersonate his host’s voice.

He’d had to move quickly this time. It had been less than a week since the failed plan, and the Project Falcon kids were already drawing closer. He couldn’t shake his paranoia that they would find his old body soon. With no employees other than Niskev Pacye, he had been unable to dispose of it as well as he usually would. The former music teacher was floating facedown somewhere in the sewers underneath the City, eyes glazed and skull hollowed out.

It was risky, impersonating a woman so soon after stealing her body. But Vanish had watched video footage of her, listened to phone messages she’d left, read her e-mails, seen pictures of her friends—and tortured her to find out her darkest secrets. It had been rushed, but he was ready.

A dark silhouette appeared at the other end of the parking lot and started walking towards him. Retuni Lerke was wearing a dark grey coat with the collar turned up, a hat tilted forward on his head, and a pair of glasses Vanish knew he didn’t need.

“I don’t like meeting here,” Lerke said as he approached.

“You’ll do as I say,” Vanish replied. “You tricked me.”

“I did no such thing,” Lerke protested. “I was—”

“Save it. I gave you a month to prove the abilities of the girl, and you couldn’t make the deadline. I know she ruined my plans a few days ago, and I know she did it under your instructions. But your betrayal was also your saving grace.”

Lerke met his gaze evenly, but he was terrified. Vanish could hear the faint quivering of his breaths, see the thin film of sweat on his brow. He could smell Lerke’s fear.

He leaned in close. “I’m impressed,” he said. “I wanted Six of Hearts or Kyntak. But Six saved Kyntak and Nai saved Six. It seems she is the strongest of your creations. So I’m prepared to revisit the old deal. You deliver her to me, along with Tridya’s original formula. The one that keeps age at a standstill. Do that, and your sons live.”

Lerke nodded. He opened his mouth to speak, but seemed to think better of it. Then apparently his scientific curiosity got the better of him. “Have you ever inhabited a female host before?”

Vanish raised an eyebrow. “No,” he said. “But my surgeon said the transplant wasn’t much harder.” He grabbed Lerke’s arm at the bicep and squeezed, enough to cause pain. “You have one month,” he said. “And I am deadly serious. One month to deliver the girl to me, or I take Six’s body instead. Are we clear?”

“Yes,” Lerke grunted, his other arm paralyzed at his side.

Vanish looked at his watch. He had an appointment to keep. He released Lerke and stepped back. “Go,” he said.

Lerke turned and walked quickly into the darkness, coat billowing behind him. Vanish watched him leave, making sure that he had disappeared up the ramp and out of the parking lot before turning around himself. It could ruin everything if Lerke was caught hanging around.

Vanish didn’t like meeting here any more than Lerke did. But ironically, it was the least suspicious place for him to be.

He turned and headed for the elevator in the corner of the parking lot. His polished shoes scraped the dusty cement floor.

He reached the elevator and pushed the button. It came quickly, and was empty. No one was heading for their car at this time of day. He stepped inside and pushed the button for Floor 6.

The elevator hummed smoothly upward. Vanish watched the light on the display above the doors.

Floor 1, Floor 2, Floor 3…

The elevator stopped at the fourth floor, and three more people got in. They all nodded to Vanish, and one said “Morning” before pushing the button for his floor. Vanish nodded politely back, and looked up at the lights once again. The light representing Floor 5 blinked.

The elevator stopped at Floor 6, and Vanish stepped past the three other passengers. He held up a hand, open-palmed, by way of good-bye—he had seen his host do this in the footage he had studied. The passengers smiled as the doors slid shut.

Vanish’s shoes clicked against the linoleum. He reached the office door, opened it with a silver key, and stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. He looked at his watch. Just in time.

He sat down behind the desk and switched on the computer. It requested a password, which he had hacked ahead of time. He should reprogram it so it asked for a fingerprint or DNA sample instead. They were harder to fake, and the owner’s fingerprints and DNA were his now.

The buzzer rang; someone was at the door. Vanish smiled.
He knew who it would be. He pushed the button under his desk that unlocked the door.

It swung open, and Agent Six of Hearts stepped inside. Six forced a smile, showing perfect teeth.
It wouldn’t be so bad if Lerke fails
, Vanish thought.
Those teeth would look good on me.

“Queen of Spades,” Six acknowledged with a nod. “Am I under arrest or not?”

“No,” Vanish said. “The investigation has concluded that you are innocent of all charges. You’re free to go.” He smiled. “But I’ll be watching you.”

Thank you to the Griffiths/Robin family, who read drafts, sent copies of
The Lab
all over the world, and showed up to the launch in Jack Heath T-shirts. Where would I be without you?

Thank you to Caitlin Sherring, who lent her appearance to Earle Shuji; Alex Schinzinger, who inspired Ace; and Brendan Magee, who became the model for the villain of this book. Thanks again to my ever-supportive brother Tom Heath, for giving Agent Six his face and body. All of you, remember that only the good bits are based on you. Honest.

Thank you to my brilliant medical consults, Jessi Thomson and Hansel Goh, and my maths advisor, Tom Heath. Mistakes are mine, not theirs.

Thank you to the following people and their families for lending me a bed, a couch, or a floor while I was traveling: Meg Dale, Toby Holm, Hannah Selmes, Caitlin Sherring (again), Chantelle Suttor, Lara Willis, and Gab Worthington.

Thanks again to the incredible team at Pan Macmillan. They’ve shown a lot of faith in me, so I’ll work hard to earn it. Special thanks to Claire Craig, who encouraged me when my ideas were good and stood up to me when they weren’t, and Sue Bobbermein, who held my hand while putting me on millions of screens and radios and pages.

Thank you to the following people who didn’t let me become a recluse while working on this book: Sophie Chapman, Alex Detott, Mitchell Goodfellow, Reuben Ingall, Sam McGregor, Laura Pharaoh, Jeremy Quay, Paddy Quiggan, Alex Schinzinger (again), and Seon Williams. Special thanks to Trephina Mackay,
who called me every single week to check up on me, and Paul Kopetko, who still makes me laugh after ten years of friendship.

Lastly, a huge thanks to the thousands of people who made
The Lab
a success. Thank you to everyone who bought it, everyone who took the time to tell me how much they enjoyed it, and everyone who recommended it to their friends. Consider this book your reward.