Fox Hunt (Fox Meridian Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

elevator of the vault itself.
    ‘You will meet our demands or your precious data will be destroyed,’ Kriel stated.
    ‘I’m fairly sure you didn’t go down there expecting all of your demands to be met,’ Seeforth said. ‘You’re cornered. Yes, you’re in a position to destroy the vault, but you’ll die too. You don’t want to die, do you, Mister Kriel?’
    ‘You doubt our commitment to the cause. Of course you do. You believe, as all government clones believe, that money and order are the only truth. United Anarchy is here to prove that your government is nothing but a passing phase, a historical footnote. We will demonstrate our commitment.’ Reaching out with his left hand, he picked up his helmet. ‘We detonate the perimeter bombs in ten seconds.’
    Seeforth’s eyes widened. ‘What? You can’t be serious!’ But Kriel was busy locking his armoured helmet in place.
    Fox grabbed Driscoll’s arm and pulled him back, away from the negotiator. ‘This is all about to go downhill faster than a greased snowboarder. You’ll need to get in and clear the bot they left in reception and get fire control teams down to the lower level.’
    ‘But–’
    She held up a hand. ‘Kriel’s playing us. With your permission I’d like to take Hepburn and his team outside. If I’m right, you won’t meet much resistance in there and Kriel is going to be trying to leave.’
    ‘How? If we’re going in through the front, where is he going?’
    Her answer was postponed as they heard Seeforth’s voice. ‘Shit!’
    The drone appeared to be on its side, but it was still transmitting. There was noise and chaos coming over the link, the light from flames could be seen flickering on the wall, and they heard Kriel’s voice. ‘Idiot! You’ve set off all of–’ Then there was another flare and the image went to snow.
    ‘Lost it,’ Barnes announced from the back of the room.
    ‘Shit!’ Seeforth exclaimed. ‘Shit, shit… What the fuck was he…? Shit!’
    ‘You still want to go outside?’ Driscoll asked, ignoring the confused captain.
    ‘Yeah. Get in there and secure what you can. If I’m right, Kriel is on his way down.’
    ‘Down? There’s nothing below there except the vault.’
    ‘The vault, and the bottom of Shackleton crater.’
    Shackleton Crater.
    Endurance Mining and Extraction had been named for the ship Ernest Shackleton had taken on an ill-fated expedition to Antarctica, according to Pierce’s partner. The ship had been trapped in ice and crushed, and the company had been left in financially dire straits after they had had to shut down their operations in the crater, so maybe the name had been a bad choice. Aden had checked and, at the time, they did not have the funds to get their equipment out. Now they were doing better but hoping it could still be used since they had prior rights. They had left behind several mining frames, a couple of heavy pressurised trucks, and a prefabbed habitation unit designed for short-term occupation when humans needed to be in the crater for an extended period. It was all supposed to be shut down and out of use.
    ‘I’m registering EM emissions,’ Pierce said as the team closed in on the structure from the light transport they had used to get down the sloping walls of the crater. ‘There’s something active in there.’
    ‘We know they’ve got robots, probably autonomous ones,’ Hepburn said, ‘so everyone keep your eyes open and watch for movement. We don’t think they can be out of the vault this fast, but we don’t know , and we don’t know what they might have left around here.’
    Fox listened to the interplay, half her attention on a TacNet display she was sharing with Driscoll. This was a far more practical end-of-course exercise than she had planned for the ERU, but if they got out of it without any casualties then it was certainly proof that they had learned what she was teaching. So far, so good.
    ‘Can we get a camera drone in to sweep the area?’