Part 8 (1/2)

Roads fidgeted nervously as the screens surveyed the roof of the building. The view contained plenty of detail - ventilation outlets, antennae, even an old satellite dish - but was shrouded with shadow. Light-intensification could only improve the picture a little; without an infrared scanner, there was no way to be certain exactly what he was seeing.

135”Come on, you son of a b.i.t.c.h.” ”What was that, Phil?” ”Nothing. just talking to On one of the screens, a shadow moved. ”Camera twenty-three, David - that's him!” ”Where, Phil? I can't see -” ”Zoom in on that duct, or whatever it is, by the grill - he's behind it. Watch carefully.”

The picture slid in close, showing nothing for a second but moonlit metal.

Then an arm appeared, little more than a blur with a suggestion of muscle. An instant later, it moved back out of view. ”s.h.i.+t.” Goss wound back the zoom, swung the camera to follow the motion. The shadow danced in and out of sight, leaping from darkness to darkness, visible only in a series of strobe-like glimpses. Its gait was awkward - sometimes crab-like, sometimes leaping, as though clearing invisible obstacles in its path.

Roads mentally pictured the security plan of the roof. ”Jesus - he's stepping over the trip-wires!” ”How? They're invisible.” ”I don't know, unless . . . ”

His stomach lurched. ”Oh my G.o.d. He followed me here, watched you show me where they were. He's been here all the time!” ”But. . .” Goss' voice was incredulous. ”What about the I-R sensors? Why isn't he setting them off?”

”Check them, David. I'll bet they're picking up heat outside the target bandwidth. If be's severely biomodified, his body temperature could be -”

”f.u.c.k. We should've thought of that.” There was a rattle of keys as Goss fiddled with the security masterterminal, then a satisfied grunt. ”You've got him?” ”Yes. ”Where's he headed?”

136.

”For the skylight, more or less.” ”Right.” Roads stood and unholstered his pistol.

I'm going in.” ”Be careful, Phil.” Barney's voice was sharp. ”Always. And you be ready if I need you.” ”We will.”

He carefully swung the door of the toilets inward, Ithankful that someone had thought to oil the hinges.

olding his breath tight in his chest, he craned his head ,around the jamb and peered along the hallway. No-one. The corridor was pitch-black. Without switching on the torch, he padded slowly to the T-junction at the end of the corridor and stopped with his back up against the wall and the gun raised across his chest. ”Barney? You tracking me?” ”Sure am, boss.” ”I want you to scan the way ahead. Make sure there's nothing waiting around the corner.”

”Will do.” There was a pause, then: ”All clear.”

He took the corner in a crouch all the same, ready for anything. Although he felt safe to a.s.sume that the Mole, was on the roof and not actually in the building, he wasn't prepared to discount any possibility - even that of the Mole being in two places at once.

”The stairwell's clear too, Phil.”

He opened the door and closed it gently behind him, then forced himself to take the stairs one at a time. The last thing he needed at that moment was to fall in the gloom and break a leg. ”Where is he now?” ”Still on the roof. He's stopped moving.” ”Where?” ”Next to the skylight. Looks like he's waiting for something.” ”The ground floor?””Clear.” The stairwell opened into a cul-de-sac stretching a short distance before ending in a T-junction. Roads tiptoed along it, gun in hand, and turned left. On his right, a row of locked doors marched into the distance; on his left, windows. ”Any change?” ”None.”

Another corridor gaped ahead of him. The entrance to the reading room was third on his left. The door was closed. He shouldered the gun when he reached it and paused to take a breath. ”Reading room's clear,” said Barney, and he stifled an exclamation of surprise. ”Jesus - don't do that!” ”Sorry. I just thought of something.” ”What?” ”If the Mole was here all along, watching us and waiting, then who broke into Emergency Services?”

He hadn't thought of that. ”f.u.c.k. That means -” His earplug rang with the sound of distant alarms, making him start violently. A computerised voice announced in the background: ”Data-retrieval systems activated! Data-retrieval systems activated!” ”Phil!” It was Goss, superimposed over a babble of voices.

”I can hear it. Is it remote, or - ?” ”No - it's local. Christ! He's in there - be's in there!”

Roads took a position facing the doors. ”Can you see him? Where is he in the room?” ”We can't see him!” Goss' voice was shrill.

”For G.o.d's sake, Phil, get in there before he gets away!”

Roads raised one leg and kicked in the door.

138.

CHAPTER NINE.

Monday, 17 September, 12:5S a.m.

Roads swept into the room and scanned the endless ases and cabinets. He took three steps to ranks of bookc his left, holding the gun like a crucifix. He could see noone. Taking care to keep an eye on the door, he slowly circled the tanks, checking every shadow for movement.

When he reached the point at which he had started, he stopped.

The room was empty. ”Which terminal, David?” he subvocalised silently through the throat-mikc. ”I can't see anyone in here.” ”Number four. Third on your right.” ”It's still running. ”s.h.i.+t, yes. The Mole has to be there somewhere, Phil.” ”Can you see him yet?” ”We've got everything focused in there, but all the screens are empty, apart from you.” ”Great.” He stepped forward, still alert. ”I'm going to try and shut down the terminal. Keep an eye on my back.”

In the command centre, Barney watched anxiously as Roads crossed the floor of the reading room. Goss, O'Dell, DeKurzak and three technicians did likewise. The sound of held breath filled the silence around her.

139”Come on, Phil,” she muttered. On a screen to one side, relatively unnoticed, the shadow on the roof still crouched beside the skylight, unmoving. It was visible only in profile, and then not clearly. ”Another decoy?” asked DeKurzak, indicating the image. His voice was loud in the hushed stillness.

”Probably.” Goss did not look up from the screen showing Roads. ”I'd say he's broken into the system and frozen the picture somehow.” ”How?” asked Barney.

”The same way he gained access to the data-retrieval routines, I'd guess.” ”Is it possible,” put in O'Dell, ”to do this from the outside? ” ”No,” said DeKurzak. ”The modem lines are down.” ”You sure?” DeKurzak looked up sharply.

”Are you questioning my competence?” I ”Just asking.” O'Dell shook his head and turned back to the screen.

Roads had finally reached the terminal. Barney watched nervously as he searched every corner for a sign of the Mole. ”Kill it, Phil,,, she whispered to herself. ”Just kill it.” ”The screens are clear,” said Goss into the microphone. ”But the image on the roof looks like another decoy, so he has to be down there somewhere.” ”Any idea how he got in, David?” Roads' voice was faint. ”Through the skylight, I guess.” ”Impossible. It's still closed.” ”It is? s.h.i.+t.”

Barney watched as Roads took one last look around, then reached down with his free hand to grab the 140.

terminal's power cord. ”Here goes nothing As his hand closed around the cable, Roads felt air brush his face. The movement was subtle, no more than an exhaled breath, but unexpected. ”Look out!”

In the same instant that Barney shouted, he dropped and rolled, bringing the gun up on - - the Mole. His doppelganger stood not two metres away, staring expressionlessly at him from the middle of the room, with the nearest hiding place metres away. ”Where the f.u.c.k did he come from?”

The whispers in his ear were confused and sharp with panic. Strongest was that of Goss: ”From nowhere, Phil - he just appeared out of thin air!” ”He can't have.” ”He did - I saw it with my own eyes!”

The Mole stepped forward, and Roads backed away, rising slowly from his crouch without moving the gun from its target. ”Don't move,” he said, feeling like an idiot. ”Put your hands behind your head and turn around.” '

The Mole kept coming until he was between Roads and the terminal. There was something about.his face that kept Roads at bay - a terrible emptiness, a void of life that made him appear all the more dangerous. Like a reflection in a mirror about to shatter.

Roads s.h.i.+fted the gun to aim at the drive's power cable. The shot deafened him after the long silence, but the Mole didn't even flinch. The whirr of the drive ceased. ”I said, put your hands above your head and turn around.”The Mole didn't look at him, but did as he was told. Roads walked up behind him and cautiously reached out to pat for weapons. ”Be careful, Phil,” said Goss. ”He's smiling.” ”He is? Well -”

He stopped in mid-sentence, puzzled, and stared at his hand. It lay on the Mole's side, apparently touching the fabric of a nylon coat. But it felt like cold stone. ”What the -?”

At his side, the terminal's VDU exploded. Roads ducked down, a hand s.h.i.+elding his eyes as gla.s.s shards filled the air. The Mole pushed him offbalance and into the desk.

He scrambled uselessly to regain his footing.

Ignoring the shouting in his ear, he rolled onto his back. The Mole loomed over him, arms outstretched. He fired twice, once above the left eye, once into the heart.

But the Mole kept coming, the bullets leaving no mark at all. Roads scrambled desperately away. The Mole pursued him, vicious canines sparkling moistly in the grey darkness, hands reaching out with fingers ending in inch-long claws.

Roads fired again, still to no avail. The Mole towered above him, poised to attack.

Suddenly, a noise from above startled them both. Roads looked up past the Mole's shoulder, at the skylight. It had swung back to hit the ceiling.