didn't
need her to destroy it. Why was she so determined to join him? She
had said she felt guilty about the thefts, and Six knew better than
most people that guilt was a strong motivator. But he sensed that
something else was afoot here.
Unfortunately, he had
no choice but to let her in. If he didn't, she would simply wait
outside the door until he came out with the ununoctium – assuming
he didn't accidentally blow it up, killing them both. He had to
stick to the plan. Let her in, find the element, get it out of the
building, take it to the lifeless centre of the nearby desert, and
leave it to destabilise itself.
He pulled back the bolt
and opened the door.
'What kept you?' the
girl asked.
Six ignored the
question. 'You'll need a flashlight.'
'Someone else is
here.'
'What? Who?'
'Don't know. Not one of
the soldiers. He or she climbed up the wall of the tower, somehow.
I think they're after the ununoctium.'
Sounds like someone
with Deck training, Six thought. Perhaps Soren Byre sent herself
back in time after me. But why? To stop me from getting to the
ununoctium? How does she plan to get back to the future
afterwards?
'We need to move
quickly,' he said, and started running up the stairs. A flashlight
clicked on behind him, and he heard the girl's footsteps behind
him. He expected her to fall behind fairly quickly, but she
didn't.
'Flashlight,' she said
as she ran. 'It's all American English in the future, huh?'
'Amerwhat?'
'Never mind.'
By the time they
reached the top floor, Six's heart – grown from a fusion of horse
and falcon DNA – was pumping at an accelerated rate. Behind him, it
sounded like the girl was struggling to breathe.
Six put his hand on the
fire door. 'You should wait here.'
The girl shook her
head.
'If the intruder is who
I think it is,' Six whispered, 'she won't hesitate to kill
you.'
'I'm going in,' the
girl panted.
There was no time to
argue further. Six nodded and pushed the door open.
The room was unlike the
rest of the tower. The walls and floor were panelled in a sleek
white material. Sterilised power cables hung from the ceiling,
secured by safety chains, ready to be attached to equipment. In the
centre of the room, panes of reinforced glass formed a cube around
a steel box.
There it is, Six
thought.
A sound from behind
him. He peered back into the darkness of the stairwell.
'Get behind me,' he
told the girl.
* * *
Ash skipped deeper into
the experimentation chamber, leaving the boy from the future to
stare into the stairwell, his hands shrinking into fists, his
stance settling into a kickboxer's crouch.
The glass enclosure had
a latch on the side. Probably magnetic. She could open it with the
positively charged iron attachment in her pocketknife.
She crept closer,
sneaking a glance back at the boy. He wasn't watching her. Getting
the box out would be easy. Getting it past him would be harder –
she might have to knock him out with the ether-soaked cloth in her
pocket.
She put one hand on the
glass. Hesitated.
Six's
voice echoed through her mind. There was
no sudden catastrophe. Just greed, eating civilisation one small
bite at a time.
Had she created the
grim world from which he came?
Ash
gritted her teeth. The ununoctium was worth millions of dollars.
She couldn't not take it. She needed the money. Benjamin needed it. Her father
needed it.
If she donated a
hundred thousand dollars to Oxfam, surely that would offset any
damage she did?
But still her palm
stayed frozen against the enclosure. Whoever she sold the element
to, they were unlikely to use it for good. It would probably end up
in a bomb.
Cursing her conscience,
she stepped away from the glass and turned to face the door.
Whoever would coming, she and Six would stop them. Together.
A footstep reverberated
through the darkness. A face emerged from the gloom in the
doorway.
Six swung his fist
toward the apparition–
And froze.
Ash's eyes widened. The
boy in the stairwell was Six. His hair was
need her to destroy it. Why was she so determined to join him? She
had said she felt guilty about the thefts, and Six knew better than
most people that guilt was a strong motivator. But he sensed that
something else was afoot here.
Unfortunately, he had
no choice but to let her in. If he didn't, she would simply wait
outside the door until he came out with the ununoctium – assuming
he didn't accidentally blow it up, killing them both. He had to
stick to the plan. Let her in, find the element, get it out of the
building, take it to the lifeless centre of the nearby desert, and
leave it to destabilise itself.
He pulled back the bolt
and opened the door.
'What kept you?' the
girl asked.
Six ignored the
question. 'You'll need a flashlight.'
'Someone else is
here.'
'What? Who?'
'Don't know. Not one of
the soldiers. He or she climbed up the wall of the tower, somehow.
I think they're after the ununoctium.'
Sounds like someone
with Deck training, Six thought. Perhaps Soren Byre sent herself
back in time after me. But why? To stop me from getting to the
ununoctium? How does she plan to get back to the future
afterwards?
'We need to move
quickly,' he said, and started running up the stairs. A flashlight
clicked on behind him, and he heard the girl's footsteps behind
him. He expected her to fall behind fairly quickly, but she
didn't.
'Flashlight,' she said
as she ran. 'It's all American English in the future, huh?'
'Amerwhat?'
'Never mind.'
By the time they
reached the top floor, Six's heart – grown from a fusion of horse
and falcon DNA – was pumping at an accelerated rate. Behind him, it
sounded like the girl was struggling to breathe.
Six put his hand on the
fire door. 'You should wait here.'
The girl shook her
head.
'If the intruder is who
I think it is,' Six whispered, 'she won't hesitate to kill
you.'
'I'm going in,' the
girl panted.
There was no time to
argue further. Six nodded and pushed the door open.
The room was unlike the
rest of the tower. The walls and floor were panelled in a sleek
white material. Sterilised power cables hung from the ceiling,
secured by safety chains, ready to be attached to equipment. In the
centre of the room, panes of reinforced glass formed a cube around
a steel box.
There it is, Six
thought.
A sound from behind
him. He peered back into the darkness of the stairwell.
'Get behind me,' he
told the girl.
* * *
Ash skipped deeper into
the experimentation chamber, leaving the boy from the future to
stare into the stairwell, his hands shrinking into fists, his
stance settling into a kickboxer's crouch.
The glass enclosure had
a latch on the side. Probably magnetic. She could open it with the
positively charged iron attachment in her pocketknife.
She crept closer,
sneaking a glance back at the boy. He wasn't watching her. Getting
the box out would be easy. Getting it past him would be harder –
she might have to knock him out with the ether-soaked cloth in her
pocket.
She put one hand on the
glass. Hesitated.
Six's
voice echoed through her mind. There was
no sudden catastrophe. Just greed, eating civilisation one small
bite at a time.
Had she created the
grim world from which he came?
Ash
gritted her teeth. The ununoctium was worth millions of dollars.
She couldn't not take it. She needed the money. Benjamin needed it. Her father
needed it.
If she donated a
hundred thousand dollars to Oxfam, surely that would offset any
damage she did?
But still her palm
stayed frozen against the enclosure. Whoever she sold the element
to, they were unlikely to use it for good. It would probably end up
in a bomb.
Cursing her conscience,
she stepped away from the glass and turned to face the door.
Whoever would coming, she and Six would stop them. Together.
A footstep reverberated
through the darkness. A face emerged from the gloom in the
doorway.
Six swung his fist
toward the apparition–
And froze.
Ash's eyes widened. The
boy in the stairwell was Six. His hair was
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