Chapter Twelve

Brain Power

It was a brain. A human brain, a living human brain.

"Brilliant, isn't it?"

Alex spun to see Dr. King behind him. Vicky was next to him, her mouth gagged, her eyes frightened.

"Brains are such interesting things. Did you know, the brain is 80 water? Also, the size of your brain is about twice the size of your clenched fist. Of course, you only use half of it."

He thought the last remark had been an insult, but he knew the doctor was probably only talking the truth.

"So. You felt the need to question my authority? Or rather, to question my credibility as a scientist? To be honest, if you had broken in and looked at any other type of experiment, I wouldn't have cared. But I told you not to mess with the brain!"

"I think you're the one who's been messing with the brain, Dr. King." Alex murmured in reply. "Whose brain is it?"

"An agent from MI6. Like you, Alex. Like Miss Bennett here. CIA, yes?" He didn't wait for an answer before continuing. "As you may have guessed, Project Resurrection is all about the brain. But I can't tell you any more, in case you escape with this secret before I experiment on your brain."

With that, he dragged Vicky to the operating table, and strapped her down. Alex tried to run for the door, but before he was halfway across the room, there was a zap, and he fell, his whole leg nearly exploding from the electric charge. He eyes closed, and he was out cold.

"Took you a bloody while," stated Dr. King as Alex woke. "Miss Bennett here has been awake for an hour or so already. Don't want to keep your girlfriend waiting.

"Now, I feel it's time for me to explain. My parents died when I was young. Rather like you I believe, Mr. Rider? Apparently, they could have survived if the paramedics had managed to jumpstart their brains. Rather like defibrillators. But, obviously, for the brain. Of course, though impossible, I tried. I managed to resurrect a human brain. I won't bore you with the details, but now, if a brain gets fried, I can resurrect it. Of course, it's tremendously expensive, and involves stealing sunlight, but it works."

"This is insane. I suppose we're your next experiments?"

"Of course."

Alex looked around. His hands were by his side, and could probably grab something from his pocket, but all that was in there was his sharp coin and his biro. He supposed they weren't taken, as they were less conspicuous as a kitchen knife.

But then he had an idea. The doctor had already gone to turn on a large machine that flashed above their heads. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out the biro and the coin. The coin he kept concealed in his hand, but he made the pen obvious.

"What are you holding?" asked Dr. King.

"Oh, it's a biro."

"What! That will ruin the whole experiment! Give it to me!"

Alex handed over the biro. It was then that Dr. King noticed the wires inside. Wires wrapped around a metal core made an electromagnet. Electromagnets attract electricity. Dr. King was holding the electromagnet.

But nothing happened. The electricity in the machine was focused, and had not been switched on. Dr. King put the biro in his pocket, and switched on the machine.

Instantly, a jet of electricity shot from the machine. All Dr. King would have to do was point it towards Alex or Vicky, and it would all be over.

But, Dr. King had underestimated everything. Alex's gadget, the true strength of the electricity, how focused it really was, and how many people would be shocked at his death. He would have a shocking death.

Alex flicked the coin at the last second. It shot up, reflecting the electricity straight into Dr. King's face.

That was another mistake. Alex and Vicky were lying on rubber sheeting. Presumably, Dr. King hadn't wanted the entire metal room to electrify, so he had made sure that they didn't conduct the electricity. Now it was him conducting electricity.

Suddenly, he fell back, his brain fried. It took about four seconds for the whole room to explode into fire.

But Alex and Vicky had been lucky. The electricity had coursed through their chains, snapping them, and letting the spies free. A small electric shock was a tiny price to pay. But now they had to get out.

Did Dr. King lock the doors? Apparently so, and his keys were probably snapped as well.

"Up!" Vicky cried, standing and looking around frantically.

"Right!" Alex said. The windows were bursting with the intensity of the heat, and so Alex climbed onto a tabletop and climbed through one. Vicky followed.

Now they were in a lobby, but Alex still didn't know where the exit was. The fire was spreading. They ran down a corridor, and came face to face with Annika. She was holding Stefan, the other recruit, around the neck. She was also holding a gun.

She pointed the gun at Vicky and fired. Vicky dropped to the floor, probably dead. She pointed the gun at Alex. And then, the inevitable happened. The explanation.

"You ruined everything! Dr. King was helping people!"

"You mean, people like Sven Atalay? People like the MI6 agent he killed?"

"No. People like my father. He is dying. Dr. King was only days away from finding a cure to cancer. And you killed him!"

"You clearly aren't seeing the whole picture here, so-"

"Silence! I have had enough. Any more, and I will shoot him."

But Alex saw right there and then, she did not have the heart to shoot any more. Talking about her dad had made her feel more sensitive about death. She would not shoot.

"Look, I don't care. Shoot him. We need to get Vicky to hospital as soon as possible."

"No! Why should I save her? WHY?"

"She shouldn't be involved with this. Neither should Stefan. Let them both go. Kill me."
"Okay," she said, aimed, and fired the gun.