Read Online Urban Outlaws by Peter Jay Black - Free Book Online Page B

thought to relax him a little. ‘Proteus,’ he said, and watched the reaction.
    Connor’s eyes narrowed. He opened his mouth to answer but there was a knock at the door.
    The female agent stepped into the room. ‘Sir?’
    Connor didn’t take his eyes off Jack. ‘Agent Cloud?’
    ‘You have a call.’
    ‘Take a message.’
    Cloud hesitated. ‘It’s urgent , sir.’
    By the way she said ‘urgent’ Jack knew it was from someone higher up the government ladder.
    Connor looked at her. Finally, he let out a grunt of annoyance and stood. ‘You and Agent Monday take this –’ he waved a dismissive hand at Jack – ‘ brat to the holding room.’ Connor stormed past her and down the corridor.
    Agent Monday, the giant man, came in, cut Jack’s bindings and lifted him to his feet. He and Cloud took Jack down the corridor to another room. Monday shoved him inside and slammed the door shut.
    There was a click as the electronic lock engaged.
    ‘Jack.’ Charlie rushed forward.
    ‘Are you OK?’ he said.
    ‘I’m fine.’ She glanced around. ‘Bored of this place though.’
    Jack sat on the floor cross-legged, rested his hands on his knees, and closed his eyes.
    ‘Jack?’ Charlie said, a note of concern in her voice. ‘What are you doing?’
    He opened his eyes and gestured to the floor in front of him. ‘Sit.’
    Charlie folded her arms. ‘You’re giving up?’
    Jack gestured again. ‘ Sit down .’
    Charlie huffed and sat opposite him.
    Jack closed his eyes again and took calming breaths, as if preparing to enter a Zen-like state.
    Charlie said, ‘Why are we sitting down, Jack?’
    Jack kept his eyes closed. ‘I’m waiting for a solution to present itself.’
    ‘What solution?’
    Jack opened his eyes and pressed a finger to his lips.
    Charlie frowned and her mouth opened to say something else but she stopped. A Bluetooth headset lowered in front of Jack’s face, dangling from a gossamer strand of fishing wire.
    They both looked up and could just make out Slink’s face peering through the air conditioning vent.
    Jack untied the headset and clipped it to his ear. ‘Any problems?’
    ‘Nope,’ came Slink’s cool reply.
    ‘Continue as planned.’
    Slink’s face disappeared into the darkness.
    Charlie looked astonished.
    Jack cocked his head. ‘You didn’t think I’d just walk into a trap, did you?’
    Charlie punched him on the arm.
    ‘Ouch. What was that for?’
    ‘Next time, just get me out of here quicker, OK?’ She stood and dusted herself off. ‘I’m hungry. Let’s go.’
    Jack got to his feet and they walked to the door. ‘Obi,’ he whispered into the earpiece.
    ‘Here. Their security is rubbish.’ The light on the door turned from red to green. ‘See?’
    Jack reached for the handle and hesitated.
    Charlie said, ‘What’s wrong?’
    ‘It doesn’t feel right. Why’s it so easy?’
    ‘It hasn’t been easy,’ Slink’s voice reminded him through his headset.
    Jack shrugged off the feeling, held his breath and opened the door just enough to peer into the corridor. It was empty. He squinted up at the security camera. ‘You got the CCTV?’ he asked Obi.
    Obi sounded offended. ‘Of course. I’m feeding their security monitors with a looped recording. Only I can see what’s really happening.’
    ‘All clear?’
    ‘You’re good to go. I’ll guide you out.’
    Jack and Charlie slipped into the hallway. They stayed close to the wall and moved silently towards the end.
    ‘Wait,’ Charlie said. ‘I think they put my stuff in here.’ She ran to another door, opened it, and went inside.
    It was so quiet that Jack could hear the blood pounding in his ears.
    A minute or so later, Charlie re-emerged. She slipped the shoulder cam into her pocket, clipped the headset back to her ear, and examined her phone closely. ‘Doesn’t look like they’ve tampered with it.’
    ‘We can check it later,’ Jack whispered. ‘Come on.’
    They crept to the end of the corridor.
    ‘Left,’