Deadlock Read Online Free PDF Page B

rarely spoke of it, but the death or capture of their fellow Alphas by the Disciples and then the sickening realisation that it was all due to the fact that Laura, one of their closest friends, had betrayed them, had been a shattering blow. There were many consequences of that betrayal, including the perhaps fatal shooting of Nigel Darkdoom and Otto’s subsequent expulsion from H.I.V.E.
    ‘Dare I ask what exactly you’re planning to do with the password?’ Wing asked.
    ‘It’s a surprise. Tell you later,’ Shelby whispered as the door hissed open and Dr Nero walked into the room.
    ‘Good morning,’ Nero said, sitting down behind his desk. He placed his hand on a panel on the desktop and a millimetre thick tablet slid out from a concealed slot. He tapped at the surface of the tablet and studied the screen for a few seconds. ‘I see that you have all completed the assignment that I gave you at the end of our last tutorial. Good – now we can move on to the more advanced types of corporate manipulation and examine the use of political donation as effective leverage.’
    Nero had taken personal charge of supervising the three remaining Alphas after their return to the school, even though it would probably have been easier to simply fold the three of them back into the next year’s Alpha stream. It seemed that he was determined that their training in the villainous arts would not be compromised by all that had happened. On the other hand he might just have wanted to keep an especially close eye on the three of them, given their reputation for attracting the wrong kind of trouble.
    Nero proceeded with the Villainy Studies lesson for another hour with the three students opposite taking notes on their own tablets and asking the occasional question.
    ‘Excellent,’ Nero said, as the tutorial drew to a close. ‘You all seem to have a good grasp of the use of the multinational corporation as a tool for global villainy. Do you have any other questions?’
    ‘Just one,’ Wing replied, looking Nero in the eye. ‘Is there any news of the fate of our fellow students yet?’
    ‘I thought that we had already covered this, Mr Fanchu,’ Nero replied. ‘I understand why you are so keen to know more of our pursuit of Anastasia Furan and the rest of the Disciples, but it would be at best inappropriate and at worst dangerous for me to discuss the details of ongoing operations. You will just have to trust me when I say that we are doing everything we possibly can to track down the students they abducted and rest assured that when we find them – and we will find them – I intend to make sure they pay in full for every single drop of blood that they have spilled. All I need you three to do is have faith in the abilities of our operatives and concentrate on the remainder of your education.’
    ‘Yeah, that’s exactly what you said last time,’ Shelby said, ‘and after everything we went through it seems just as unfair as ever that we’re being kept out of the loop. They have our friends and –’
    ‘I suggest you think very carefully about who it is you’re talking to, Miss Trinity,’ Nero said, interrupting her with a sudden cold edge to his voice, ‘or you shall discover just how unfair I can be. I will give you any information that I deem appropriate at a time that I deem appropriate. And that is the end of this discussion. Do I make myself clear?’
    For a moment Shelby considered arguing the point further, but there was something in the expression on Nero’s face that had made her mouth go slightly dry.
    ‘Yes, sir,’ she said quietly.
    ‘Good,’ Nero replied. ‘Now, for tomorrow’s lesson I want you to have read and made notes on the first three chapters of Pavel’s Criminal Organisation Structural Theory , one of the finest villainy management theory books ever written. Dismissed.’
    Nero turned his attention back to the tablet on his desk as Shelby, Wing and Franz filed out of his office.
    ‘Well, that