The Trade (11 page)

Rex lay on another bed just a few metres from Van Kleiss. Breach and Biowulf lurked at the back of the lab, guarded by Agent Six, Bobo and a dozen Providence agents.

Rex winced as Van Kleiss' masked technician connected them both up to the transfer machines. ‘This is going to hurt again, isn't it?'

The technician shook his head. ‘It shouldn't,' he said. ‘I've adjusted the design slightly. You shouldn't feel a thing.'

MOOOOOOO!

The technician hesitated. ‘Did … did you just moo like a cow?'

Rex blushed. ‘Animal nanites,' he said. ‘Sorry.'

‘Can we
please
get this over with?' Van Kleiss spat.

The technician nodded. ‘It's just a straight reversal. It … it shouldn't take more than a few seconds.'

With a flick of a switch, the technician activated the machines. Van Kleiss let out a howl of pain.

‘I thought you said we wouldn't feel a thing?' said Rex, watching his arch-enemy squirm and twist.

The technician shrugged. ‘I said
you
wouldn't feel a thing.'

Rex smiled, then watched in amazement as the golden claw retracted back into his arm. A moment later, it began to reappear, but this time it was back with its rightful owner.

Rex raised an arm. In the blink of an eye it became a mechanical fist. ‘And the Smackhands are back in business,' he announced, happily. With a
click
, the technician switched the machine off.

‘I have upheld my end of the bargain,' Van Kleiss growled. ‘Now uphold yours.'

Agent Six approached the bed. ‘We will. I'll arrange for you to be taken to Purgatory Base for nanite offloading.'

‘Hey, Six,' said Rex, holding back a grin. ‘Isn't Purgatory closed for a few days? Didn't I hear that somewhere?'

‘Actually, now I think about it, you're right,' said Six, going along with the joke. ‘You'll have to wait a week or so,' he told Van Kleiss. ‘Two weeks at most'

‘You tricked me!' Van Kleiss spat. ‘I shall find a way to offload the nanites myself.
Breach
!'

A portal opened up on the floor beside Van Kleiss' bed. Another opened beside Biowulf and Breach. They stepped through it and disappeared.

‘You, too,' growled Van Kleiss, pointing a clawed finger at the technician.

‘N-no thanks,' the technician stammered. ‘I think I'll stay here.'

Van Kleiss scowled. ‘So be it,' he said, then he rolled sideways off the bed and fell through the portal.

T
HE TECHNICIAN STOOD BEHIND
his machine. Only his eyes were visible through his mask. They flitted nervously across the faces of the other people in the room.

‘I'm … I'm sorry for the trouble I caused,' he said. ‘It wasn't me, it was … it was the mask.'

Reaching around to the back of his head, the technician undid the mask. Rex braced himself, expecting to see the twisted face of an Evo creature looking back at him. Instead, he saw the face of a young man, not much older than himself. A scattering of soil fell out of the mask as he tipped it upside down.

‘Van Kleiss, he put his soil inside the mask. He … he used it to make me do things. He controlled me.'

‘Mind control soil?' said Rex. ‘You've gotta be kidding me!'

‘The control was broken when his nanites swapped with yours,' the technician explained. ‘If I'd
have gone back, he'd have been able to take control of me again. So I decided to stay here, and face whatever punishment you deemed appropriate.'

Dr Holiday and Six exchanged a glance. Six nodded.

‘How does forty-eight hours a week on minimum wage, with a
terrible
staff canteen sound as a punishment?' Holiday asked.

The technician's eyes went wide. ‘You're offering me a job?'

‘I'm offering you a job,' Dr Holiday nodded. ‘You can help keep our equipment running. How does that sound?'

‘Thank you! I can't believe –'

White Knight's face appeared on the screen once again. ‘Six. Holiday. Rex,' he barked. ‘I want a word with you. The rest of you, leave. Now.'

When Bobo and the others had left the room, White Knight cleared his throat. ‘It appears that I owe you an apology, Dr Holiday,' he said.

Dr Holiday could hardly believe her ears. ‘Uh, sorry, sir, but did you just say –?'

‘No need to rub it in, Doctor,' White Knight
replied. ‘You were right. I was wrong. Recovering Rex should have been our priority. Had I listened to you, none of this would have happened.'

‘Let's all agree now that recovering Rex should
always
be our priority,' said Rex. ‘Can we vote that in right now?'

Agent Six spoke to Holiday, but didn't turn to look at her. ‘And, uh, sorry from me, too. I should've gone along with you from the start.'

‘Look, I'm voting “yes”,' chirped Rex, raising his hand. ‘Anyone else?'

Dr Holiday smiled warmly. ‘Apology accepted,' she said.

‘You all did a great job out there today,' White Knight told them. ‘But Rex, you've been through a lot. I'm ordering you to rest up for a few weeks.'

Rex's ears picked up. ‘Rest?' he said. ‘You mean I'm getting time off?'

‘That's exactly what I mean,' White Knight nodded. ‘I've arranged for a selection of movies and video games to be sent up to your room. I believe Noah's out collecting pizzas now.'

Rex bounced up and down excitedly on the spot.
‘You know, White Knight, no matter what Six says about you, I think you're awesome!'

Still bouncing up and down, Rex threw his arms around Six and Holiday. Turning his face to theirs, he licked both of their cheeks in turn. ‘Thanks, guys!' he cried, before bounding off towards the door.

Six wiped the slobber off his cheek with his sleeve. ‘Tell me the effects of those animal nanites are going to wear off soon,' he said.

‘Uh, yeah,' Dr Holiday said, unable to resist the urge to laugh. ‘They will. I
hope
!'

Test your memory of ‘The Trade' with these eight tricky questions. Remember: no checking back!

1
Rex fights the slug-Evo in which city?

a. San Jose

b. Santa Barbara

c. San Francisco

2
What kind of Evo floors Rex in Fremont?

a. Slug

b. Scorpion

c. Spider

3
Who helps Dr Holiday discover the reason for Rex's malfunctions?

a. Agent Six

b. Bobo Haha

c. Noah

4
What is the highest voltage of electric shock Rex receives in the lab?

a. 900 volts

b. 800 volts

c. 700 volts

5
Who attempts to carry Rex to Castle Van Kleiss?

a. Skalamander

b. Biowulf

c. Breach

6
Which of Rex's machines does Van Kleiss demonstrate first after the trade of nanites?

a. Smackhands

b. Boogie Pack

c. Punk Busters

7
Where does Bobo suggest Rex is taken to recover from the trade?

a. Purgatory

b. Paradise

c. The Petting Zoo

8
What kind of Evo animal has its nanites absorbed by Rex first?

a. rabbit

b. dog

c. chimp

 

Answers: 1. c, 2. b, 3. c, 4. a, 5. b, 6. c, 7. c, 8. a.

Read an exclusive sneak preview of

‘C
OME ON
, R
EX
, it'll be awesome!'

Rex shrugged and jabbed his thumbs against the video game controller in his hands. On screen, a zombie's head exploded. ‘
This
is already awesome,' he said. ‘It couldn't be any … awesomer.'

‘That's not even a word,' Noah said. ‘And, seriously, sitting around playing video games all night? That's your idea of fun?'

‘Yes,' Rex nodded. He stuffed some popcorn into his mouth. ‘Yes, it is.'

Noah leaned forward in his chair and tried to make his friend see sense. ‘I'm going to spell it out to you, Rex. It's a
fun … fair
.'

‘That's not spelling it out, that's just saying it slowly,' Rex mumbled, through a mouthful of popcorn kernels.

‘That's not the point! The point is, it's got fun right there in the title.
Fun
fair. Does “video game” have the word “fun” in the title?' Noah asked.

‘Not the last time I checked,' Rex replied. He shot a zombie through the knees and watched it fall, face-first, onto the ground.

‘Nice shot,' Noah admitted, grudgingly.

‘Thanks. I'm all about the knee-shots.'

An idea struck Noah. ‘There'll be zombie-shooting at the fair,' he said.

Rex raised an eyebrow. ‘Really?'

Noah sighed. ‘No, not really. I made that up. But there'll be other stuff.
Better
than zombie-killing.'

‘Nothing's better than zombie-killing,' Rex told him.

‘Oh yeah? What about roller-coasters? And chair-o-planes? And bungee drops? They've got something called the Wheel of Terror.' Noah said it again for emphasis. ‘
The Wheel of Terror
, Rex! I don't even know what that is, but I don't think I can live another day without finding out.'

The action on screen froze as Rex hit the pause button on the control pad. ‘You know I can turn whole parts of my body into machines, right?'

Noah nodded. ‘Of course I know!'

‘I've got the Boogie Pack that lets me fly, the Rex
Ride that lets me go faster than a racing car …'

‘Yeah, so?'

‘Then there's the others, too. Punk Busters, Smackhands, a giant sword, a crazy-cool cannon that can shoot pretty much anything …'

‘I know all this!' Noah said. ‘What's your point?'

‘My point is, how is a roller-coaster supposed to compete with all that? Why would I bother going up and down and around on a metal track when I can do all that in mid-air, like, a thousand times faster, and without having to pay for it?'

Noah looked annoyed. ‘Uh, well, maybe because some of us
can't
do any of that stuff? You might get to zip around the place going all high-tech all the time, but what about me?'

Rex saw the hurt on his friend's face. ‘Hey, Noah, I'm sorry,' he said. ‘I guess I didn't think of it like that.'

‘Yeah, well, don't worry about it,' Noah said. He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. ‘Just forget it.'

Rex looked at the motionless zombies on screen, then back to his friend. ‘You know, maybe the fair would be better than being stuck in here?'

Noah's face brightened. ‘So, what, you'll come?'

‘We can try,' Rex said. ‘Me and Bobo have been sneaking out a lot lately, so Six has got the place locked down pretty tight. It won't be easy to get out.
Bobo
!'