Target Silverclaw Read Online Free PDF Page A

against the stairs.
    In the kitchen, the section chief rose to his feet.“Move a millimetre and you’re dead!” he spat at Drake. He rushed into the living room, but the postman had got there before him. The android threw a parcel at the floor and the deafening explosion it caused tore an armchair to pieces and blew the section chief across the room. He slammed into a bookcase and collapsed into a heap, unconscious.
    In the kitchen, Drake heard glass smash behind him. He whipped around and saw an android dressed as a gardener appearing through a broken window. He turned to run but the android grabbed both his arms from behind and gripped tightly. The postman and the decorator androids appeared in the kitchen doorway.
    “I take it the Silverclaw operation is under way,” said Drake, shifting uncomfortably in the vice-like hold of the android.
    “Correct,” said the postman. “You are to report to Gold Leader.”
    “Why? That wasn’t part of the plan. I was only supposed to advise.” Drake frowned.
    “Gold Leader orders you to report.”
    Drake stared at the postman android. “I mustcongratulate her. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were humans.”
    “We are standard Mercury units,” said the postman. “More-advanced Platinum units are deployed in other areas of the mission.”
    “Very good,” said Drake. “Now, can you tell this one to let me go? I’m on your side, you know! You don’t have to—”
    He was interrupted by a jet of knock-out gas. His head rocked from side to side for a second, then slumped back. The android who had been restraining him simply held him up at arm’s length and all three walked quickly and quietly to the car. They bundled Drake on to the back seat, before getting in themselves.
    The car sped away, as the wail of police sirens sounded in the distance.

    At SWARM headquarters, the human personnel were gathered in the laboratory. The room was brightly lit and filled with a vast array of advanced electronic equipment. On one of the raisedworkbenches in the centre of the lab, the seven SWARM micro-robots were recharging in webs of circuits and wires, listening to the discussion as they regained power.
    Beside them, SWARM’s Data Analyst Simon Turing and Computer Programmer Alfred Berners were examining a 3D computer display showing a reconstructed visual of the Sir Godfrey android’s head.
    “This is brilliant work,” Simon said quietly, not taking his eyes off the display. “They’ve managed to get the skin texture exactly right. You see this section here, Fred? If I zoom in a bit… There! Every hair follicle, every pore. Brilliant.”
    Alfred lifted his spectacles and screwed up his eyes to peer closely at the image. “Yes. Rather creepy. You can’t tell it from real skin, can you?”
    SWARM’s leader, Queen Bee, was standing behind them. She gave a sharp, theatrical cough. “If we’ve finished admiring the handiwork, gentlemen, perhaps we could concentrate on mission details?”
    “Ah, yes. Sorry Ms Maynard.” Simon smiled.
    Professor Miller was seated at a nearbymachine, using a microscope and mechanical arms to create miniature circuit boards. He gave Simon a disapproving glance.
    “I’ve informed MI5 that there’s a threat inside the Palace of Westminster,” said Queen Bee. “They’re doubling all patrols and checks. I haven’t shared the full details of the situation with them because, as far as we know, only SWARM are capable of detecting these androids. It’s up to SWARM, and SWARM alone, to deal with this problem.”
    “Couldn’t MI5 simply arrest Sir Godfrey Kite?” said Simon. “Or rather, his duplicate?”
    “Without knowing where these androids came from or what they’re up to, that might make things worse,” replied Queen Bee. “The arrest of a senior cabinet minister would be all over the news in minutes. What else do we know about the androids?”
    “Examination of their data processing shows that they can’t really think