Helix Nexus, Chris Lofts [best android ereader .txt] 📗

front wall, his elbow brushed his own electric barrier. An eruption of pain tore through his arm, a cascade of sparks raining down as he was repelled.

‘Helix!’ Sofi screamed. ‘Stop, Ulyana. What are you doing? You wanted me alive. Please,’ she pleaded. The intensity of the fizzing and rattling from the front of her cell increased as she was bundled towards it.

The pressure of Helix’s hands on the glass partition emitted a plaintive squeal as he slid down the wall, certain he was about to witness her electrocution. He couldn’t speak, couldn’t act, couldn’t watch. He clenched his hands to his ears and rolled away.

The explosion of sparks didn’t happen. The agonised scream didn’t come. Helix rolled up onto his feet. The wall had stopped short, leaving her inches from death. He nailed the holo with his eyes, his jaw clenched. ‘You bitch! If you—’

‘Yes, yes, yes, Major,’ the hologram said, sauntering in front of Sofi’s cell. ‘Your devotion is quite touching.’ She snapped her fingers at Archer. The front of the AI’s cell evaporated. ‘Gabrielle is right. At least she has some utility.’

‘Unlike me and Ethan,’ Helix said. ‘Apart from being simple disposable pleasures.’

The hologram laughed. ‘Don’t be so hard on yourself, Major. You brought her to me. Your contribution is more significant than you realise.’

‘Aiding and abetting international criminals to carry out the assassination of politicians wasn’t part of the job description the last time I looked,’ Helix said, feigning confusion. ‘No. Hang on. I might have got that around the wrong way.’ He raised a finger. ‘Yes. What I meant was, aiding and abetting politicians to carry out international assassinations. That’s it. Sorry, Home Secretary, or can I call you Julia?’

‘Home Secretary?’ the hologram said, turning to Helix’s cell. ‘Julia? What are you talking about? I’ve told you—’

‘I know, you can take whatever form you wish.’

The hologram raised her eyebrows. ‘I think someone has an unhealthy obsession with his boss.’

‘You got me there.’ He took his chin in his hand theatrically. ‘I’ve been accused of paying too much attention to detail before. But even a Luddite like me can tip his hat in recognition of what the technology can do. It’s breath-taking. The ability to render the physical characteristics of the host in the most minute detail.’ He leaned casually against the wall of his cell. ‘It’s no good folding your arms now. Your left hand. The little finger.’ He nodded at her. ‘It’s missing. And there is significant scarring between the ring and middle fingers.’

The holo laughed, tossing her head back. ‘And I thought Gabrielle was the doctor.’ She looked over her shoulder. ‘Even Archer’s impressed.’

‘Symbrachydactyly. The cosmetic surgery wasn’t as good then as it is now. It’s a congenital condition occurring in around 1 in 32,000 children.’

‘I may have underestimated you, Major Helix.’

‘I haven’t finished. Heterochromia iridium: eyes of differing colours. Less common at 1 in 200,000.’ He pushed his fingers through his hair. ‘You’re not the first to underestimate me. Can we end the charade now?’

‘I meant your imagination, not your intuition.’

‘So prove me wrong. Come out from behind the mirror and prove that you’re not a figment of my overactive imagination.’

‘I really don’t have time for this. Come, Gabrielle,’ she said, beckoning Sofi from her cell.

Sofi hesitated.

‘You can walk to the chair on your own, Gabrielle, or Archer can put you in it,’ the hologram snapped.

‘OK,’ Helix said. ‘Let’s say you and Ormandy aren’t the same person.’

‘Because we aren’t.’

‘Apart from stating your demands, we didn’t agree a time or a place to meet when Gabrielle and I returned to London.’

‘I found you once. And I found you again.’

‘There’s a third cell. It’s empty. It was meant for Justin Wheeler.’

The hologram laughed. ‘Ha. Wheeler. That buffoon.’

‘You hold him equally responsible for your brother’s death as you do us.’ The stubble on his chin rasped under his fingers. ‘I threatened to kill Wheeler, thereby exposing you, unless you declared the letter that Gabrielle sent to me was a fake.’

‘The same letter I sent to Julia Ormandy?’

Helix threw his hands up. ‘Look, fine. It’s complicated enough without you trying to deny the truth every couple of minutes.’

‘So, where is Wheeler?’

Helix continued as Sofi edged towards the chair. ‘Disabling the system that controls the dog collars was a smart move, but it meant I had to keep Wheeler close in case I needed to shoot him.’

‘What is it with men and guns?’ the hologram said to Gabrielle, her hand floating on the AI’s arm.

‘Given the amount of surveillance it was always going to be difficult to remain invisible. The drunk at Paddington planted trackers on all three of us. That was your way of keeping tabs.’

‘If that’s true, why didn’t you remove them?’

‘We were the bait,’ Helix said, interlacing his fingers. ‘You could have taken us at any point, but then you wouldn’t have learnt the location of Wheeler’s information.’ He tapped the side of his nose. ‘You sniffed a chance to get us, Wheeler and his stash, but it wasn’t there, was it?’ He looked towards the control room. ‘The big fella didn’t find it.’

Sofi slid into the chair, her hands pressed flat at her sides. She flinched as the restraints sprang across her body lashing her ankles, hips and shoulders in place.

‘And Wheeler wasn’t there either,’ Helix concluded. ‘But there is one less drug dealer on the streets, so I suppose that’s a plus.’

Helix sensed a shift in the hologram’s demeanour, as if she was no longer listening. Maybe he’d underestimated her. It felt like fine sand running between his fingers.

The hologram put its hand to its mouth as if remembering a last minute detail. ‘I’ve never had a woman in the chair before.’ She brushed her virtual fingers down the side of Sofi’s face. ‘And one so…’ The hologram stepped away. ‘I think we are ready to begin.’ It nodded slowly. ‘Yes. Now we are ready.’

‘Oh yes, that’s right. You have to complete the work of your deranged brother. Sorry, dead brother.