Chapter 7

Fox to the Hounds


"Don't panic." Foster contradicted himself. His words demanded calm but his shaky demeanour was anything but. "Everyone stay where you are. Ms Sieder, where are you?"

"Here, Doctor." She was easily located by the flash-light.

"Initiate your emergency procedures."

The flash-light beam twirled around the room and illuminated nervous faces as she took out her walkie-talkie. "Code nine. All units remain at your posts. Whitten and Chappelle, meet me in my office. Alert the authorities. I'm assessing the situation."

Scott did little to disguise the astonishment in his voice. "What exactly is going on?"

"Code nine, red alert," she explained impatiently. He should know all this, she thought.

The tone of her voice made the others realise that this was no ordinary power failure. It was a state-of-the-art building, this kind of thing just didn't happen unless it was deliberate.

"What about Graeme? Graeme, can you see?" Katie sounded more concerned, Lucas thought, than Graeme deserved, judging from the way he had spoken to her earlier, and this only served to make Lucas hate him even more.

"How would I tell? It's pitch black in here," said Graeme.

"Good God," exclaimed Basmanof, "no-one's ever suffered a complete power failure while they were online before. He could have damaged his brain."

"I feel fine," Graeme insisted.

"I still need to get you down to the infirmary, run some tests."

"Very well." Foster turned to Sieder who was still talking to her men via the walkie. He tried to catch her eye.

Sieder held her hands up against the harsh light. She'd gotten flash-lights to the team of directors as the others were talking, and the misdirected beams almost blinded her as she tried to make her way over to Foster. "Whitten's reporting we've been plunged into total lockdown. In other words we're trapped inside the centre." She whispered so that only Foster, Graeme, Scott and Katie would hear. It wouldn't do to have everyone panic.

"Ok, you escort the Professor and Commander Albright to the infirmary. Let's hope you're not locked out." Foster turned to Toni. "Doctor Hajime, would you check the computer system - "

"Already on it," he said from one of the terminals. "Looks like our saboteur has found a way to send us into lock-down without the building's life support systems coming online. HeadMaster is running off the back-up generator, but we have no user network and no coms. I need to check the servers, access the mainframe directly."

"Just do whatever you need to do... And hurry," said Foster.

"Can I - " started Lucas.

"You go with him," said Katie, knowing that if there was anyone who could solve this problem creatively, it would be him. "John - you too. Try to get HR online first."

"Aye Commander," said John with what she thought was the slightest hint of cheekiness. "I've wanted to say that for ages."

Katie didn't need to tell him to be careful and protect the other two. She and Lark were left with Foster, Scott and the directors, who talked among themselves, taking some of the chairs scattered around and wishing they had their personal electronic devices with them to pass the time. Katie got the impression they didn't really get the seriousness of their situation.

The PR manager sidled up to Foster. "Why the rush to get the computer back on?"

Everyone who was listening in started to look worried in the torchlight.

Katie answered for him, giving Lark a glance first. "If we're locked down, that means no-one can get in or out. It's a fail-safe; a counter-terrorism measure, in case of espionage or if there's an extra-terrestrial biological hazard loose in the building. HeadMaster seals all the external entrances. We compromise convenience for security."

"Hoisted by our own petard," said Foster, sounding evermore defeated.

"So we just wait until help arrives." The PR manager was indignant.

"No-one can get in." Foster tried to get the message through to her.

Katie continued, her expression grim, "we have no environmental controls. Whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing."

"So we're going to run out of air?" said one of the directors.

"That's about the long and short of it." All Scott received was a searing look from Foster for his comments. "They deserve to know, Linton."

"Aren't you scared?" asked one of the other directors closest to Katie. She wasn't sure of his name. They all blurred together after a while, all these suits.

She looked at Lark again for approval; a knowing glance that contained references to all the dangers they'd endured. The answer was 'no', the nameless director could see that much.

Foster sat down and rubbed his face with fatigue. "We weren't ready for this..."


"Who would have thought, she was right all along," said Graeme, stifling a humourless laugh as they made their way down the corridor. A place so familiar, without the lights, seemed so threatening now.

"Commander Hitchcock or the Flight Lieutenant?" asked Sieder.

Graeme didn't answer. They were nearly there.

"I hope they can get the power back on," said the professor.

"How did you know the lights were out, if you weren't even sure you could see?" Sieder turned to Graeme. "It doesn't make any sense."

He abruptly stopped walking. The other two stopped beside him. Basmanof looked at him for an explanation.

"I guess it was one of those instinct things." He tried to shrug it off, smiling, but Basmanof could see that his face was far from sincere.

"And why didn't you react when it happened? It's almost like you were expecting it," she continued, hand instinctively going to her weapon.

Graeme stayed quiet for a moment more, and then his face fell, ghostly in the light from Sieder's flash-light.

"Smart lady."


Katie's PAL beeped. "Hitchcock," she answered.

"I can't get the intranet back up, but you have full power to the HR apparatus." Toni Hajime wasted no time with small talk. "It's on a different network to the other terminals."

"Thanks Toni."

"Actually, it was Lucas that got it up and running. He knows that 'ware like the back of his hand." Toni sounded reluctant to admit it, but it still brought a smile to her lips.

"Keep us updated." She left the channel open and quickly took up Graeme's place in the HR chair.

"What are you doing?" asked Foster as she donned the headset.

"Finding our saboteur. If they're still in the building we may have a chance at reversing this."


"What's she doing?" asked John as he looked over Lucas's shoulder at the monitor. They could follow Katie's actions remotely as she navigated the system.

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like it," said Lucas.

"She's searching the registry of headMaster's events and all the motion detector's logs for what happened ten minutes ago," said Toni.

"Just with her mind?" said Lucas.

"It always freaks me out when she does that," said John.

"Man, I wish I could do that," said Toni.

"She's fast," said Lucas.

"The speed of thought," said John.


"Where are you?" asked Lark, not recognising the menu that Katie was navigating, as page after page of information flowed past, at lightning speed on the HR operator's monitor.

"Got you!" Katie was triumphant, but her joy was short-lived. Her mouth dropped open.

"What is it?" asked Foster.

"Exactly ten minutes ago there was a surge of activity crossing over between headMaster and the HR apparatus. Someone delivered a massive package of script, over-riding the AI and giving the building new instructions."

"Who would do something like this? More to the point who could do this?" asked Foster.

Katie took the headset off and exhaled heavily, resting her elbows on her knees. "Graeme… It was Graeme."

Foster didn't look happy. Words were unnecessary at this point.

"Give her the benefit of the doubt," said Scott, reading his mind.

"It's just a glitch in the AI," foster insisted. "HeadMaster did this."

Katie picked up the PAL again. There was no point in trying to convince Foster herself. "Lucas, are you there?"

"Commander?"

"You see what I see?"

"Yes."

"Is that a glitch in headMaster's AI?"

"No," he said distantly, precipitating a triumphant stare from Katie, in Foster's direction. "AI doesn't work that way. It just gives the illusion of rational - or irrational thought, rather than free will. Some academics have theorised that the software naturally evolves, a bit like natural selection, but it's never been proved - "

"We haven't got time for a lecture, Lucas," Katie snapped.

"Sorry," he continued, and the words fell from his tongue, slowly as the ideas came to him, "it looks... like someone... has been... controlling the computer with their mind. The, uh, HR software merges with the AI every time there's an incident. HeadMaster didn't do this, Doctor Foster. Commander Albright did."

"Thank you, Lucas," said Scott.

"That's crazy," said Foster.

"That's impossible," said Lark.

"It's not impossible," said Katie, "it's improbable, but…"

"How can you be sure it was Commander Albright?" Foster then asked her.

She looked uncomfortable for a second. "It just feels like him. He left a... a shadow, like an imprint of his personality, everywhere he went."

"This is ridiculous." Foster shook his head.

"Will you just hear her out," Scott scolded him, "If we're all going to get out of this alive we need to work as a team."

"I'm not having someone military take charge."

"Listen here, Doctor," Katie stared him down in the half-light. "This is what I do. If there's a situation, we manage it. I know what I'm doing. You spend as much time with your brain jacked into a computer as I do, you get a feeling for these sorts of things. You have to trust me."

"So you're basing this on a feeling?"

"Yes. Yes, I am. There's no other way to quantify unexplored territory such as this." She wished the professor was there to back her up. It was he that told her to trust her intuition. Then something occurred to her... "The professor! What if they're in danger?"

"Where are they?" said Scott.

Out came Katie's PAL again. "Ms Sieder? Carrie-Anne?"

John had heard the whole conversation over Toni's walkie. "What do you want me to do?"

"I need you to go down to the infirmary. We've lost contact with Sieder and the Professor, and you're closer."

"It was him, wasn't it? Kate... Tell me now and I'll believe you… I don't want to believe it, but if you're sure..."

"I'm sure… John…. John?"

He couldn't answer.

The atmosphere in the room seemed to plummet, along with John's shoulders. He'd only dared to suspect Graeme before, but now he had confirmation he was devastated. "Yeah… Sorry. I'm Okay. Lemme know how it goes. We'll go find the others."

As Katie signed off, John turned to Toni and said, "can I take these?" He needed the walkie and the flash-light, but Toni was one step ahead of him. He handed him a bright orange voltage weapon that he'd taken from his desk drawer, as well.

"What is this?" John examined it.

"Non-lethal."

"What's the point of that?" John flashed him a dry grin as he passed through the door into the darkness.

Lucas was left with only Toni and the glow of the monitors for company, feeling a little nervous. If he'd understood correctly, Graeme was the perpetrator of all the sabotage, yet the fact brought him less satisfaction than he thought it would.

"Come on," said Toni "let's see if we can get any of the essential systems operational. Why does this kind of thing always happen when we're running on a skeleton crew?"

"Tell me about it," said Lucas, as they headed for the room that housed the servers.


"You Okay?" Katie was concerned that Lark hadn't said anything for a while.

"He shut me in the fridge," she whispered, struggling to understand.

"I know," Katie began, but she was interrupted by Foster once more.

"So let me get this straight. You have Dr Hajime working on the environmental controls; Sieder's men have the situation under control on the outside, but you can't find her, or Commander Albright, or the Professor, and now Major Tordov has stopped checking in too."

Foster was really starting to get on Katie's nerves. "If I can get some data from the motion detectors, we can track him."

"I've had enough of this," said Scott. "I'm going after him. Talk some sense into the man."

"I don't think that's a good idea," said Foster.

"It's not safe, Commander," Lark urged him.

Katie grabbed his arm and pulled him back before he could go anywhere. "Graeme cut the lights because he knows it'll make us all vulnerable. He's not stupid; he'll expect us to come after him, and he'll factor our every action into the equation. He could hurt any one of us very badly, look what he did to Lieutenant Waldron."

"Assuming he has complete control of the building," said Scott.

"What do you mean?" asked Katie, realising what she was doing and releasing his arm.

"He'd have to be jacked in to be giving commands in real-time. So he's either in one place, in which case he'd be easy to find; or he's given HeadMaster a finite set of instructions..."

"Including a way out?" was Lark's next contribution.

"He must have left a door open," Scott concluded.

"Oh, Scott, you're a genius! I'm going back into the system, try to follow the trail of breadcrumbs," said Katie.

"So what do you suggest we do?" asked the unidentified director.

"Stay exactly where you are." Katie put the HR headset and gloves back on.

"And let her do all the hard work," said Lark, "I mean, the other 'her'."


John shook his groggy head and was immediately hit by the sickly, coppery smell of fresh blood. It was either his own, or someone else was in deep trouble. The only thing that hurt was the back of his head, so it could be that, but it took him a little while to figure out that he was tied to 'someone', and who that 'someone' was.

"Uh..." came the voice of 'someone'.

"Ms Sieder?" John chanced.

"Major?"

"Yes."

"It's me."

"I know."

"What happened?" she asked.

"I think I head-butted a fire extinguisher. Quite stupid of me really."

"You can joke at a time like this?"

"Well, you have to admit, this is quite clichéd. I think a little black humour can be appropriate, don't you?"

"No, I don't. What did he tie us up with?"

"I think it's electrical flex." John tested the wrist restraints.

"Where are we?"

"The last thing I remember was coming into the nurse's office."

"Maybe if we push against each other, we can stand up," Sieder suggested.

John moved his legs. Correction, leg. There was nothing on his right, below his knee, just his empty twill pant. Oh, no you didn't. He remained silent for a moment, thinking about this. It was going to be impossible for him to stand up, hands tied behind his back, bound to a woman the same weight as him, in the dark, with only one leg. And Graeme had known that. You bastard, Gray. You are going to pay for this.

"Major?" Sieder sounded worried, when she got no reply. "Major? MAJOR!"

"What?"

"We can stand up," she said.

"No we can't. I can't."

"Why?"

"I just can't!" he snapped.

They fell silent once more.

Eventually Sieder broke their discomfort with a soft, "didn't think I'd end up here when I got up this morning."

John started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"No-one ever does. How long have you been here?"

"About ten minutes."

"I meant at the centre... At Hilo."

"Oh, only a month. I transferred over from Glenn."

"How'd you get into this business?"

"It's a long story. I'll probably bore you to death."

"You may as well take advantage of a captive audience."

"I used to run a surveillance consultancy with my husband."

"I didn't realise you were married. You don't wear a ring."

"We're divorced."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's tempting to tell you all the sordid details, but I think I'll spare you on this occasion. To cut a long story short, he got the business, I got custody of the fish."

"The fish?"

"Koi."

"I keep fish too," John admitted, stunned that he'd found a kindred spirit in such an unexpected place. "If you're ever in town, you should stop by. Come and see my Shubumkins."

"I'd love to see your Shubumkins."

John wished he could see the smile that he could hear in her voice. "And we haven't even been on a date yet."

"Would you like to go out on a date with me, Major?"

"You don't waste any time, do you?"

"At my age, one can't afford to waste any time."

"I'd love to take you to dinner sometime, but there's something you should know about me before you make up your mind." John took a deep breath.

"What's that?"

"I'm missing."

"I know you're missing. They'll be looking for us both before long."

"No," said John, "'Missing'. It's what amputees call themselves. Missing a limb."

"Which one?"

"It should be pretty obvious it's not either of my arms."

"Is that why you can't help me get up?"

He could smell her subtle perfume through the pall of metallic blood. "I've… I've only got one leg. I… I, uh lost the other one below the knee. If you want to change your mind, I'll understand."

"Why would I change my mind?"

"It doesn't bother you?"

"Why would it?"

"Most women... Nah, forget it. You don't need to hear that."

"No, go on. I want to hear it."

"Most women... I've just had some bad experiences, is all. Most of the women I've dated since I got divorced haven't been very accepting when they found out."

"You're a great guy, John. I don't care how many legs you've got. You could have twenty three legs for all I care. Twenty three might make the sex difficult though..."

"Thanks. That's sweet of you to say so." What he thought was even sweeter, was how she'd stopped calling him 'Major'. "Wait a minute. There's going to be sex?"

"Just laying my cards down on the table. Was it another man?"

"Was what another man?"

"I'm sorry, you said you were divorced? I just assumed..."

"Actually, it was my fault. I used to drink too much. I was, now what was it she used to say, shut-down?"

"Was that before or after... You know."

"Oh, before. A long time before. I've done a lot of growing up since then."

"I know exactly what you mean."

"So you think you could date a one-legged, carp-loving, shut-down, reformed-alcoholic, divorced soldier?"

"Just as soon as I get my other hand free."

John snapped his head around involuntarily to make out her barely-visible-in-the-pitch-black left hand, which she'd spent the last few minutes wriggling free from the wire.

"You've done this before, haven't you?"


"It doesn't have to be like this, Graeme, we can figure something out." Vasily Basmanof tried to sound like he was still in control, as the man he'd worked with for years and thought he knew well, dragged him down hallway after hallway.

He'd watched Graeme snap, become someone he barely recognised within seconds of Sieder figuring out that he was involved, watched powerless as he dealt with both of the others. Basmanof wasn't a coward, but he was eighty three, god-damn-it…

"Shut up." Graeme pushed him through yet another doorway and closed the door behind them. His flash-light beam gave him that Hallowe'en-mask face again. "We can never figure this out. What do you expect me to do? Strike a deal? It's gone too far now. I have to get out of here."

"She'll never let you get away with this, you know. She's smarter than you."

Graeme didn't have to ask who he was talking about, as they plunged deeper and deeper into the underground labyrinth that made up the mostly unused part of the test centre.

"I have to stop. My heart..." Basmanof breathed heavily. He leaned on something he recognised as one of the old particle accelerators, the one they'd often used for firing space-dust at high speeds into the prototypes.

"Come on, old man," said Graeme, pulling him by the arm, as if they were merely out for one of their Sunday strolls.

"I'm not intimidated by you, y'know."

Graeme ignored the statement for a while, trying to find his way out of the room, remembering the plan in his head. "Do you ever feel like you're going mad, professor? I do. Every single day. You did that to me. Why didn't you warn me? You should have warned me what it was going to be like. Seeing things that no-one else will ever see... Communicating with the devices... The codes... It's all burned on my brain, going round and round in circles, never ending, always increasing. You did this... You created this monster."

"You're not making any sense."

Graeme ignored him, marching on. "What would your family say if they knew what you've done? Surviving the holocaust only to conduct the same kind of experiments they tried on you. Shame, professor, shame."

"Graeme, you've been like a son to me. Please don't do this."

It was clear now, that the battlefield was in Graeme's mind. He was at war with himself, as much as he was at war with his enemies.

Suddenly, he turned around, snarling, shining the flashlight in the professor's face and grabbing his shirt collar, just like those NAZI interrogators he'd encountered as a small child. "Don't you get it? It's all your fault. All of it."

"Please..." Basmanof begged.

Then as swiftly as he'd changed mood, he changed back again, overcome with compassion for the old man. Realising he'd been lifting the professor off the ground, he let go.


"I see what you're doing," said Scott with fascination, to Katie as she walked the probe down the empty corridors. "You can see infra-red."

Most of those present had gathered round to try and make out the images of her efforts on the monitor. It was slow going as the probe was not designed to travel long distances out of the water, but it was quiet going; its silicon-rubber coated digits stalking the tracks left by warm bodies in the much cooler environment.

"There's something warm," said Lark, pointing out a slightly brighter patch in what looked like one of the trash receptacles.

Katie dunked the probe's right hand in it and pulled out something that made some of the directors gasp. When she switched one of her lights on they could all see what it was; John's upturned shoe, complete with his lower leg.

She replaced it, making a mental note to retrieve it later and carried on, under the cover of darkness, to silently hunt down her prey.