mine.’
‘Nero was never going to be an easy target, especially with his trained attack dog in tow,’ Trent pointed out.
‘I had her,’ Ghost said, the frustration clear in her voice. ‘I would have finished her if it had not been for Nero’s intervention.’
‘Of course you would,’ Trent agreed. ‘That is, after all, what you were designed to do.’
‘She will not be so lucky next time,’ said Ghost, her hands clenching into fists.
‘I need to make a call,’ Trent said as they approached the door to his office. ‘You should start preparations for your next mission. I want to move as soon as Malpense has located our next target.’
Ghost gave a quick nod and strode away down the corridor. Trent smiled slightly. The truth of the matter was that he had been extremely pleased with her performance in Sydney. Despite the enhancements to her body, he had still had his doubts about whether it would be enough when she confronted someone as lethal and ruthless as Raven. As it was, she had exceeded his expectations, which was considerably more than he could say for Malpense.
He walked into his office and sat down at his desk. There was no decoration, in accordance with his usual tastes – just plain concrete walls and a single metal desk with a secure terminal. It was all he needed. He keyed in his encryption code and connected to the secure comms line. After a few seconds three digitally distorted faces appeared on the screen in front of him.
‘We have studied your report on the operation in Australia,’ the man on the left said. ‘A disappointing result.’
‘Yes,’ Trent replied, ‘but if Darkdoom isn’t already dead, he will at least be out of action for some time. His condition should serve to further increase the chaos within G.L.O.V.E. This is just a temporary setback. We should not lose sight of our long-term goals.’
‘That may well be,’ the woman on the right said, ‘but those long-term goals are dependent on the Malpense boy being a reliable asset. His failure on this mission is . . . troubling.’
‘You may assure the rest of the Disciples that we are urgently investigating the causes of his current condition. Doctor Creed assures me that he will soon have answers.’
‘The project depends on that,’ the man in the centre of the screen said. ‘If we truly are to honour the legacy of this group’s founder, we cannot afford any mistakes.’
‘I understand,’ Trent replied. ‘I will keep you apprised of the boy’s condition. In the meantime I will divert all H.O.P.E.’s resources to finding whatever rock Nero and Darkdoom have crawled under.’
‘It is somewhat frustrating that we have not yet been able to determine the precise location of the school,’ the woman on the screen said.
‘Nero has gone to an extraordinary amount of trouble to keep that facility hidden,’ Trent replied. ‘It is his greatest vulnerability, so it is perhaps not surprising that he has gone to such lengths. From what we have been able to determine, it would appear that not even the members of G.L.O.V.E.’s ruling council know exactly where it is.’
‘Surely Malpense must have some clue as to its location,’ the man on the left said.
‘Perhaps, but the Animus fluid keeps his conscious personality suppressed. To interrogate him I would have to reverse the process that allows us to control him. Doing that would be traumatic, perhaps even lethal. We all know he is too valuable for that.’
‘So what is the next step?’ the woman asked.
‘We continue with the disassembly of G.L.O.V.E. until Nero or Darkdoom breaks cover,’ Trent replied.
‘Agreed,’ the man on the left said.
‘Of course,’ the woman on the right agreed.
‘Let us hope we do not suffer any more unforeseen setbacks,’ the man in the centre said.
‘Do not worry,’ Trent said with a smile. ‘G.L.O.V.E. is finished. It’s only a matter of time.’
‘So tell me, Professor,’ Nero said with a tired sigh,
‘Nero was never going to be an easy target, especially with his trained attack dog in tow,’ Trent pointed out.
‘I had her,’ Ghost said, the frustration clear in her voice. ‘I would have finished her if it had not been for Nero’s intervention.’
‘Of course you would,’ Trent agreed. ‘That is, after all, what you were designed to do.’
‘She will not be so lucky next time,’ said Ghost, her hands clenching into fists.
‘I need to make a call,’ Trent said as they approached the door to his office. ‘You should start preparations for your next mission. I want to move as soon as Malpense has located our next target.’
Ghost gave a quick nod and strode away down the corridor. Trent smiled slightly. The truth of the matter was that he had been extremely pleased with her performance in Sydney. Despite the enhancements to her body, he had still had his doubts about whether it would be enough when she confronted someone as lethal and ruthless as Raven. As it was, she had exceeded his expectations, which was considerably more than he could say for Malpense.
He walked into his office and sat down at his desk. There was no decoration, in accordance with his usual tastes – just plain concrete walls and a single metal desk with a secure terminal. It was all he needed. He keyed in his encryption code and connected to the secure comms line. After a few seconds three digitally distorted faces appeared on the screen in front of him.
‘We have studied your report on the operation in Australia,’ the man on the left said. ‘A disappointing result.’
‘Yes,’ Trent replied, ‘but if Darkdoom isn’t already dead, he will at least be out of action for some time. His condition should serve to further increase the chaos within G.L.O.V.E. This is just a temporary setback. We should not lose sight of our long-term goals.’
‘That may well be,’ the woman on the right said, ‘but those long-term goals are dependent on the Malpense boy being a reliable asset. His failure on this mission is . . . troubling.’
‘You may assure the rest of the Disciples that we are urgently investigating the causes of his current condition. Doctor Creed assures me that he will soon have answers.’
‘The project depends on that,’ the man in the centre of the screen said. ‘If we truly are to honour the legacy of this group’s founder, we cannot afford any mistakes.’
‘I understand,’ Trent replied. ‘I will keep you apprised of the boy’s condition. In the meantime I will divert all H.O.P.E.’s resources to finding whatever rock Nero and Darkdoom have crawled under.’
‘It is somewhat frustrating that we have not yet been able to determine the precise location of the school,’ the woman on the screen said.
‘Nero has gone to an extraordinary amount of trouble to keep that facility hidden,’ Trent replied. ‘It is his greatest vulnerability, so it is perhaps not surprising that he has gone to such lengths. From what we have been able to determine, it would appear that not even the members of G.L.O.V.E.’s ruling council know exactly where it is.’
‘Surely Malpense must have some clue as to its location,’ the man on the left said.
‘Perhaps, but the Animus fluid keeps his conscious personality suppressed. To interrogate him I would have to reverse the process that allows us to control him. Doing that would be traumatic, perhaps even lethal. We all know he is too valuable for that.’
‘So what is the next step?’ the woman asked.
‘We continue with the disassembly of G.L.O.V.E. until Nero or Darkdoom breaks cover,’ Trent replied.
‘Agreed,’ the man on the left said.
‘Of course,’ the woman on the right agreed.
‘Let us hope we do not suffer any more unforeseen setbacks,’ the man in the centre said.
‘Do not worry,’ Trent said with a smile. ‘G.L.O.V.E. is finished. It’s only a matter of time.’
‘So tell me, Professor,’ Nero said with a tired sigh,
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