The Doomsday Device (Teen Superheroes Book 2) (13 page)

“Yes, Jeremiah?”

“I want you to take Dan to the shared accommodation room, but before I do I have to ask him two questions.”

“Yes sir?” Dan said.

“One. Do you like lots of fun?” Jeremiah asked.

“Uh, yes.”

The man gave him a friendly smile. “I’m afraid it’s fun unlimited in the dorm with the kids. Even I go down there when I’m feeling a bit down.”

“Okay.”

“And question two.” Jeremiah took a deep breath. “I need an honest answer to this, Dan.”

“Sir?”

“Do you like being called Dan the Man?”

Dan couldn’t help but smile. “Yes sir. I do.”

Jeremiah held out his hand and shook Dan’s hand. “I christen you Dan the Man. I will make certain everyone calls you that from now on.”

“Okay.” Dan found himself feeling quite good. Almost euphoric. This Jeremiah character was really a good guy.

“And just one thing, my boy,” Jeremiah said just before Dan passed through the door.

“Yes, sir?”

“Don’t forget who your friends are.”

“I won’t,” Dan promised.

After Dan left the room, Jeremiah sat back in his chair. He formed a steeple with his fingers.

Everything was going according to plan. Exactly as he wanted it.

He began to laugh.

Chapter Twenty-Five

We had survived our first day, but only by the skin of our teeth.

Chad was bruised and battered and resentful about Recoil and his abilities. We had sat quietly together and I had done my best to keep him calm. His face and head were a mess. He had tried to talk me into joining him in an assault on Recoil, but I thought it a bad idea.

“Why?” he hissed, quietly furious.

Recoil had gone back to his position on the bench, his back turned to us, apparently asleep.

“Because we’re not ready,” I told him. “And we’re not here to get into fights with inmates. We’re here to find Zachary Stead.”

“We’ll starve before that happens,” Chad protested. “We need to survive in the meantime.”

I couldn’t argue too much with what he was saying. I was growing hungry. We had not eaten all day. The next food would arrive tomorrow morning and we would be weaker than today.

“There must be a way around this,” I said. “Why do we have to fight like animals?”

“You and Ghandi would get along great.”

This made me think. “You might have something there.”

“You’re thinking about ringing up Mahatma Ghandi and starting a peaceful protest?” Chad asked. Despite his injuries he was still sarcastic. If ever we couldn’t tell if Chad were dead or alive we would simply check his sarcasm; if it was intact, he was alive.

“It’s a little too late for Ghandi –” I began.

“You think?”

“-but not for attempting a peaceful solution.”

I walked out into the open area of the compound.

“Can I have everyone’s attention, please?” I called. Without waiting for a response, I continued. “My friend and I are only new here, but we want to suggest a plan.”

I looked over to our alcove. Drink was sitting up and watching in curiosity. Even Recoil had rolled over and was watching the proceedings. From somewhere on the other side of the compound I heard a laugh. A long, laugh without the slightest trace of humor.

“There’s obviously not enough food to go around,” I said. “But we need to share the food we have. Together we can get through this. The guards want us to fight each other, but our enemy is -.”

Something flew towards me. A red ball of light that would have hit me, but for Chad’s quick action. He threw up an ice barrier that rebounded the shot away.

“That’s what we don’t need,” I said. “You’re just playing into the guard’s hands -.”

This time the cat man leapt from the darkness, but this time I was prepared for him. I threw a force field of compressed air at him and knocked him to the ground. At the same time the other mod who was able to fire the laser beams came out of the darkness and fired a long, sustained blast at me.

I was able to keep him at bay, but already the cat man was rising to his feet. He took a running jump straight towards me -.

-and straight into a block of ice.

Chad was fast. Gotta give him that.

Another mod leapt from the shadows. This one I had not seen before. He moved incredibly quickly – he was even faster than Brodie. He raced straight towards Chad. Before I could even try to warn him, the stranger had landed a punch in the middle of Chad’s face. The cat man seized the initiative and hurled himself at Chad.

This situation was completely out of control. I tried to extend my shield, but it was too late. The three of them started rolling about on the ground. Suddenly a burst of heat leapt from Chad straight into the cat man. The mod let out an inhuman scream and began to roll about on the ground on fire.

Firing a burst of hurricane wind at the speedster, I threw him towards a wall and he lay still.

Recoil sauntered to the door of the alcove. “Having fun, boys?”

How I longed to wipe that smirk off his face, but at that moment another sustained burst of power was directed towards me. Much to my surprise Recoil ran forward into the beam. The burst was reflected back towards my assailant and I heard a scream emanate from the darkness.

The beam stopped. The cat man struggled to his feet and retreated back into the darkness as did the speedster.

So much for diplomacy. My efforts had gained us exactly – nothing. Chad picked himself up from the ground and staggered over to me. He had a set of large cuts across his shoulder where the cat man had torn his skin. Recoil eyed the wounds.

“That’s a serious wound you’ve got there,” he said. “It’s a shame you can’t get that seen to.”

“It’s okay,” Chad shrugged.

“It’s not,” Recoil said. “Stalker’s scratches infect whoever he cuts. You’ll probably die.”

Oh great
, I thought.
Things just get better and better in this place.

“So is there a cure?” I asked.

“Sure,” Recoil replied. “It’s called death.”

“There is a cure,” a voice said from behind us.

We turned around. A man on the human side of the metal cage was walking from the shadows towards the bars. So far we had barely glimpsed anyone on that side. It seemed the humans suffered in silence, but made a point of staying out of the light. After seeing one or more of their number used as food it was probably the wisest course of action.

“A plant grows on the outside of the prison,” the man explained. “A purple flower. One of the guards was injured by cat man and he was saved through applying the flower to his wound.”

“So how do we get the flower?” I asked.

Recoil laughed. “Tell the guards you need some flowers for your girlfriend.”

The stranger continued to linger at the bars as Recoil returned to the darkened alcove.

“I feel fine,” Chad said. “I don’t know what all the worry is about.”

“You feel fine now,” the man said. “You won’t later.”

I sidled up to the bars. “My name is Axel.”

“My name is Zachary,” the man introduced himself.

I felt like jumping for joy. This was Zachary – the man we had come here to find! I managed to hide my excitement while I introduced Chad.

“By morning you will be quite unwell,” Zachary said to Chad. “Your illness will become progressively worse. By tomorrow night you will barely be able to walk. The morning after…”

“What about the morning after?” Chad asked.

“It is unlikely you will last that long,” Zachary said. “Best to enjoy your next few hours. They will be your last.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Jeremiah was thinking about evolution.

He was a big believer in evolution. He believed in Darwin’s ideas about a creature fitting an environment as neatly as a piece in a jigsaw puzzle. The creatures that survived in an environment deserved to survive. There was a certain justice to it; a balance that kept the world from spiraling out of control.

Humans, of course, had upset that balance and now he was about to redress it.

It had all started with the formation of the United Nations. For centuries the greatest fear for people was that the world would one day fall under the crushing oppression of a single world government. With the creation of the United Nations, this terrible plan was finally set in motion. As the world hovered on the brink of destruction, a savior had to arise. Someone had to save the human race from itself.

That someone was Jeremiah Stead.

God himself had spoken to him. God had instructed him that the old way had to fall and a new, everlasting order would reign on Earth. Jeremiah had been planning his own New World Order for almost twenty years.

Finally, after all these days of planning, his time had come.

A knock sounded at the door of the meeting room.

His son.

“Jason,” Jeremiah said. “What is it?”

“A man has arrived,” Jason said. “He has asked to see you.”

“What is his name?”

“A general,” Jason said. “A man named Wolff.”

Jeremiah nodded. He had been expecting Mr. Wolff for some time.

“Show him in.”

Jason disappeared and a moment later returned with Solomon Wolff. The man was an imposing figure. He had been described to Jeremiah by Mercer Todd as someone who could get the job done. Mercer Todd had been correct. Wolff had delivered the boy known as Ferdy – and his friends – to the Sanctuary Compound exactly as promised.

Unfortunately, not everything had gone completely according to plan.

“General,” he greeted him. “Welcome back to Sanctuary.”

“Jeremiah.” Wolff shook hands with him. “I trust all has been going well.”

Both men sat.

“Like all things in life,” Jeremiah said. “There have been ups and downs.”

“Really.” Wolff managed to look both interested and a little bored at the same time. “I trust that has not affected our arrangement.”

“Your operatives delivered the boy to me. And his friends. They will fit quite well with our plans,” Jeremiah said. “I thank you for that.”

Wolff nodded.

“But there has been a problem with the boy,” Jeremiah continued.

“Really.”

“I needed him to help with the breaking of a cipher. A code.”

“I know what a cipher is.”

“And his abnormality has stood in the way.”

“That is not my problem.” Wolff spoke directly. “My role was to bring him and the others to you. That task was completed. Now there is the small matter of money.” He paused. “Or a rather large matter. One hundred million dollars.”

“Your money will come.”

“So will Christmas,” Wolff said.

Not this year
, Jeremiah thought.

He decided it best not to contradict his guest.

“My ability to pay is dependent on having the boy break the code,” Jeremiah said. “When the code is broken you will receive payment.”

It was a lie, of course. As far as Jeremiah was concerned, Wolff would never receive his payment. His goal was to delay him for the next few days until the Barricade cipher was broken. Once that happened, well, a whole new world would exist. A world without money. A world without bills. A world without Wolff.

All he needed was a few more days.

“That was not our agreement,” Wolff said. “Payment was to arrive within hours of the boy being handed over.”

Wolff was annoyed with himself. He had made an amateur’s mistake. He had not received payment prior to completing the exercise. Promises were easily made, but not so easily kept. Everyone was very obliging until money was due to be delivered, but once the bill became due they often changed tune. Wolff knew he should have collected his money ahead of time or at the point of delivery.

This is an amateur’s mistake
, Wolff thought.
I’ve been around for too long to make mistakes like this.

Looking at Jeremiah he knew the man was tall and strong and in good shape for his age. In many fights he could probably hold his own. Possibly even win.

But he could not beat Wolff.

At this very moment General Wolff could think of no less than eighteen different ways to kill Jeremiah Stead. He knew another twenty methods where Jeremiah could be disabled and never walk again. Another handful of techniques would remove his sight, hearing or tongue.

Possibly the most interesting skill at Wolff’s disposal was the ability to paralyze a person, leaving them aware and reasoning, but unable to make a sound or move a muscle. The unfortunate victim would spend the rest of their life in a hospital bed without hope of recovery.

Still, all was not lost.

Wolff had not survived this long by killing his customers. He recalled something one of his early mentors had said to him.

“There are always many roads to the sea.”

“This cipher must be quite a unique device,” Wolff said conversationally.

“It is very unique. Once opened it will release a deadly weapon that will change the world. Forever.”

Wolff felt a shudder of concern. In his business people were always boasting about new and efficient killing machines. In this case, however, he didn’t like the use of the word
release
.

Release had its own rather unique meaning and Wolff had heard a rumor that a virus had been stolen. An Armageddon virus. Such a thing was not to be trifled with.

While killing innocents did not concern him, killing the population of the planet – including himself – was bad for business no matter how it was viewed.

“I wish I had known your intentions,” Wolff said. “I know someone who can crack any code.”

Wolff did not know any such individual.

“Really?” Jeremiah raised an eyebrow.

“He has broken into both CIA and FBI facilities on numerous occasions and never been caught,” Wolff said. This was sounding better by the moment. He should have been a writer for American television shows. “I imagine he is like the boy, but a little more, shall we say, manageable.”

Jeremiah thought for a moment. “Perhaps I should have sought this individual first.”

“Perhaps,” Wolff said noncommittally. “I would need to see the device, however, before I could make a determination.”