The Trade (7 page)

And …

Rex looked at the switches on the front of the machine. With his outstretched arm, he reached over and pressed the one marked “
OFF
”. The machine's display went dark and Rex sat up. He yanked the wires from his chest.

‘They just don't make torture devices like they
used to,' he muttered. He looked over at the metal door. ‘And now,' he said, steadying himself, ‘for the hard part.'

R
EX TRIED THE DOOR.
It was locked, but then, that wasn't exactly a surprise. If someone had gone to all the trouble of kidnapping him and attaching him to an electric shock machine, it was a pretty safe bet they'd remember to bolt the door, too.

He tried to summon his Smackhands, but his nanites still weren't responding. The effort of concentrating made his head spin. He had to lean against the wall to stop himself falling over.

He was in bad shape. His legs felt heavier than a broken Punk Buster and he was still shaking from the high voltage shocks he'd received. A locked metal door was the last thing he needed.

There was a keypad beside the door. Rex punched in a few numbers and hit a button marked “U
NLOCK
”.

‘Code not recognised,' chimed a robotic voice. ‘Please try again.'

‘Don't mind if I do,' said Rex. He tried several more combinations of numbers, but each one was met
with the same response.

‘Code not recognised. Please try again.'

‘Ah, what's the use?' Rex sighed. ‘This isn't getting me anywhere. There's only one thing for it.'

Rex stepped back, picked a spot beside the handle of the door, and kicked hard. A shudder of pain travelled along his leg and up the entire length of his spine. The door did not so much as budge.

‘O-OK-K,' Rex stammered, his whole body vibrating. ‘N-not my b-best idea.'

Hobbling, he turned around and cast his gaze across the rest of the room. He was secretly hoping there was another exit, one he just hadn't spotted yet. There wasn't. Aside from the door behind him, there was no other way in or out of the room.

His eyes fell on the machine that had electrocuted him. He had an urge to smash it, but there was something else, too. Something flickering at the very back of his tired and groggy brain. An idea.

The machine was attached to a metal stand, with four shopping trolley style wheels attached to the bottom. In his weakened state, it took all Rex's strength to roll the thing over to the door.

Pausing only to get his breath back, Rex attached the cables to the front of the keypad. As he connected the wires up, his hand brushed against a few of the door control's buttons.

‘Code not recognised,' it said. ‘Please try again.'

Rex grinned. ‘Recognise
this
,' he said, and he flicked the switch to turn the shock machine back on.

A flash of blue light filled the room. There was a
sizzle
, then a
bang
, then a puff of grey smoke.

‘Code recognised,' droned the voice. It sounded much slower than it had a moment ago. ‘Have a nice daaaaaaaay.'

The voice slowed to a complete stop. With a
swish
, the metal door slid open, revealing a darkened corridor. Rex leaned out and glanced in both directions. Nothing moved in the shadows, but Rex had a feeling danger wasn't very far away.

He tried his builds again. Smackhands, Punk Busters, Boogie Pack – nothing. Unarmed and alone, he sidled out of the room, and began to make his way through the darkness.

Gradually, Rex's eyes began to adjust. The corridor had no windows, and the same peeling paint as the
room he'd woken up in. Pipes ran along the walls, and he got the feeling he was in a basement, or some large underground complex.

The corridor turned sharply and Rex followed it, keeping low and close to the wall in case anyone was waiting up ahead. Squinting through the gloom he saw no one, but he did see some
thing
.

Another door blocked the way just a few metres ahead. He crept closer and examined it. This door was made of plain wood, with a metal handle about halfway up. There was no keypad beside it. There wasn't even a keyhole in the door itself and so, Rex guessed, it wasn't locked.

He pressed his ear against the wood; listened, but heard nothing. He was about to reach for the handle when the squeal of an alarm tore along the corridor. Red lights lit up the darkness, flashing on and off in time with the alarm. From behind him, back the way he'd come, he heard raised voices. Someone had realised he'd escaped!

There was no time for stealth now. Grabbing the handle, Rex turned it and yanked open the door.

A hulking creature loomed on the other side.
It flexed its long, deadly claws.

‘Going somewhere?' it growled, and Rex finally realised why he had recognised that voice.

‘Biowulf!' he hissed. Rex knew he was in no condition to fight Van Kleiss' second-in-command. Spinning on the spot, he prepared to run, but a four-armed girl blocked his escape. The girl peered at him through her matted curtain of black hair.

‘And Breach, too,' Rex said. He smiled weakly. ‘I'm guessing you guys didn't just drop by for a chat?'

Rex ducked as one of Breach's powerful fists smashed against the wall beside his head. Plaster dust rained down on the floor.

‘No, didn't think so,' said Rex. He pointed over Breach's shoulder. ‘Hey, look, it's the Easter Bunny.'

Breach turned and Rex took his chance. Shoving her aside he raced past her. ‘Sucker!' he grinned. ‘Easter was months ago!'

Sliding around the corner, Rex sped along the corridor. Behind him, he heard the clatter of Biowulf's metallic feet. ‘After him!'

Rex groaned. Earlier, he'd thought there was no way his day could possibly get any worse, but he was
beginning to realise …

He was wrong!

R
EX POWERED ALONG THE
corridor, searching frantically for another way out. A shimmering red circle seemed to tear through the darkness up ahead. Rex recognised it at once as one of Breach's portals.

Throwing himself forwards, Rex slid, head-first, beneath the portal, just as Breach's arms reached out. He felt all twenty of her fingers grab at him, but she was too slow. Rolling, Rex sprang back to his feet and continued to race along the passageway.

Another corner loomed up ahead. Rex took it at full speed, battering against the wall as he hurled himself around. He stopped when he saw the corridor was filled with men in dirty lab coats. They glared at him over the tops of their thick glasses.

‘Trust me, guys,' Rex growled, ‘you do
not
want to get in my way right now.'

With an angry roar, Rex charged. The technicians all yelped with fright and did their best to get out of
his way. Some pressed themselves against the walls, while others dropped to the floor, their hands over their head. Still others climbed onto the backs of their colleagues, doing everything they could to scramble out of Rex's path.

Rex hurtled through the gap. His legs felt wobbly and weak, and even running was taking everything he had. Fighting Biowulf and Breach wasn't an option.

With a final bound, Rex leapt over the last of the cowering technicians. As he sailed through the air, the darkness ahead of him became filled with a bright red glow.

‘Aw, nuts,' Rex sighed, as a portal opened up directly in his path.

Instead of landing on the basement floor, Rex hit dirt. He rolled clumsily through a mound of soil, becoming tangled in the weeds and vines that grew from it.

Rex tried to scramble to his feet, but the last of his strength was fading fast. His legs shook and his arms trembled and he could do nothing to stop himself falling face down into the dirt.

A clawed hand caught him roughly by the back
of his jacket and hoisted him into the air. Rex saw Breach step through the portal. She was pushing a man in a lab coat ahead of her. The man wore a dark, sinister-looking mask that covered his entire head. Rex couldn't help but wonder what sort of face lurked under there.

‘Let go of me,' Rex snapped. He flailed around, trying to break the grip on his back. Biowulf gave him a violent shake and Rex felt the world spin again.

‘Cool it, runt,' Biowulf snarled. ‘You've got an appointment with the boss.'

Rex was hoisted up onto Biowulf's shoulder. The hulking Evo carried him through the dark and twisting forest of Abysus, home of Rex's arch-enemy, Van Kleiss. He leapt easily over fallen logs and exposed roots, and Rex actually found himself feeling relieved that he wasn't being made to walk. In his current condition, he didn't think he'd have been able to make it all the way to …

Van Kleiss' castle. It stood at the edge of the forest, but it looked as if it were being claimed by the trees. Roots and branches grew over the crumbling stone. Moss and ivy spread like a rash across the parapets.
Through the narrow windows, Rex could see nothing but darkness.

With a grunt of effort, Biowulf hoisted Rex higher on his shoulder and made his way towards the castle entrance.

‘Hey, isn't there a movie on this flight?' Rex asked. ‘Or some complimentary nibbles or something?'

‘Shut up,' Biowulf growled.

‘What's the matter? Am I getting too heavy for ya?' Rex grinned. He was doing his best to hide his fear. ‘You know, I can't help thinking it would've been a lot easier if Breach had just made another portal.'

Biowulf stopped walking. Slowly, he turned and glared at Breach, who was still shoving the technician along ahead of her. Breach gave a slightly embarrassed shrug of her oversized upper arms, and a red hole appeared in the space directly ahead of the group.

‘Wow,' said Rex, shaking his head. ‘It's easy to see why Van Kleiss is the brains of the operation.'

With a growl, Biowulf dropped Rex to the ground. He opened his clawed hands wide and loomed over the fallen boy. ‘Right, that's it,' he snarled. ‘You're going
down
.'

Summoning all his strength, Rex dragged himself back to his feet. He met Biowulf's stare and shot it straight back at him. ‘Bring it on, dog breath!'

‘Uh … pardon me?'

Biowulf and Rex turned to see who had spoken. The technician stood beside them, nervously wringing his hands.

‘
What?
' they both asked at once.

‘Well, it's just … I mean, it may not be my place to … to …' He swallowed hard. ‘I believe Mr Van Kleiss needs the boy unharmed.'

Biowulf's already narrow eyes narrowed even further. The technician seemed to shrink beneath his gaze.

‘Um … just saying,' the man in the mask whimpered.

‘What do you mean,
he needs me unharmed
?' Rex demanded. ‘Why does he need me?'

‘None of your business!' Biowulf barked.

Rex frowned. ‘It's totally my business. Think about it.'

This seemed to confuse the wolf-like Evo. He shook his head, then gave Rex a shove towards Breach's portal. ‘Then see for yourself!'

In a flash of red light, Rex found himself standing inside a room in the castle. The same roots and branches grew up the walls here, but it was what was in the middle of the room that was holding Rex's attention.

Van Kleiss was lying on a hospital-style bed, connected to four machines, not unlike the ones Rex had been hooked up to.

As Rex stepped through the portal, his arch-enemy raised his head and smiled. ‘Ah, Rex,' Van Kleiss said. ‘I hoped you'd come.'

‘You didn't exactly leave me much choice!'

‘Yes, please accept my apologies for that,' Van Kleiss said. ‘But it was very important I got you here. In fact, you might say it was a matter of life and death.'

A
FIRM SHOVE FROM
Biowulf sent Rex stumbling towards Van Kleiss.

‘That's enough, Biowulf,' Van Kleiss warned. ‘Rex is our guest here, not our prisoner.'