The Secret War (Jack Blank Adventure) (35 page)

Hypnova led the way to the stern of the ship, where she took a chair and smashed out its ornate stained-glass rear window. Jack figured she didn’t see much point in trying to preserve the ship’s finer points now. He and Hypnova kicked away the remaining shards of glass that were sticking out of the windowsill, and then they jumped through it. The Mysterrii were waiting for them outside.

Glave was shouting at his Left-Behinds to find Jack. He and Hypnova had a minute, maybe less, to figure out their next move under the cover of the flames and smoke. Jack got right down to business. “We have to shut down those nullifiers before Allegra gets here,” he said. “We can’t
touch the SmarterNet, though…. We need it working for when they show up with the cure.”

“
If
they show up with the cure,” Hypnova said. “Assuming your cure works.” She shook her head. “That won’t be easy. We can barely even see the SmarterNet.”

“Here, I almost forgot,” Jack said, reaching into his bag to pull out two pairs of goggles. “Heat-vision goggles. I brought these to help spot Obscuro’s cloaked ship. When I thought it was Obscuro, that is. Try them on.” Jack handed one pair to Hypnova and pulled the other over his own eyes.

Hypnova shrugged. “It’s better than nothing.”

Jack agreed that the goggles’ effect was far from perfect. He saw the SmarterNet glowing in clear shades of orange and red, but the cold crystal surface of the cavern registered as a deep indigo that blended seamlessly with the dark night. Getting around using heat-vision wasn’t going to be easy. The fire produced a bright red glare that didn’t help matters either. Jack tried flipping up one eye of his goggles, but the result was even more disorienting so he decided to press on with both eyes covered.

“Like you said, sometimes you’ve gotta go with what
you’ve got. I don’t have any more for these guys,” Jack said, motioning to the Mysterrii.

“That won’t be necessary,” Hypnova replied. “The Mysterrii’s eyes work differently from ours.”

“Good,” Jack said. “Let’s get to it. What do the nullifiers look like?”

“You know I can’t tell you secrets,” Hypnova told Jack.

Jack flipped up his goggles and glared at Hypnova. “You’ve gotta be kidding. You’re not even a Secreteer anymo—”

“But I can smash any nullifiers I see,” Hypnova interrupted. “And if you happen to notice what they look like in the process … so be it.”

Jack calmed down and watched as Hypnova pointed at a gang of Mysterrii that was climbing up the side of the SmarterNet. The Left-Behinds tried to stop them, but the nimble and cagey Mysterrii still made it to the top. Jack watched as one of them ran at a tall, thin pole that was sticking out of the front corner of the rig. The little guy grabbed it and swung around. Another Mysterrii grabbed on to his feet as he passed by, and they both kept right on swinging. A third Mysterrii jumped on
after that, and the pole finally snapped off under their combined weight.

The Mysterrii went flying through the air and into the arms of their comrades, who were hanging down from the catwalks like trapeze acrobats ready to receive their partners midflight. One of them was still holding the pole that they had broken off the SmarterNet. At the end of the pole was a metallic cylinder about the size of a coffee thermos, with a blinking red light at the top. The Mysterrii smashed it against the wall, and Jack felt a surge of power flood back into his body. It was invigorating, like a jolt of adrenaline snapping everything he saw into sharper focus.

It felt good, but Jack’s powers weren’t all the way back. Not yet. He knew how to get them back now, though, and that felt great. There were three more poles on top of the SmarterNet, one posted at each corner. Each one had a metal cylinder at the top like the one the Mysterrii had just smashed. “One down, three to go,” Jack said. “Let’s do it.”

A fortunate gust of wind blew the black smoke from the fire toward the SmarterNet, and Jack and Hypnova
followed the cloud and a wave of Mysterrii toward Jonas Smart’s accidental doomsday device. Jack ran up a flight of stairs on one side, and Hypnova charged up a ramp on the other. He hadn’t even reached the first landing before his path was blocked by Rüstov Left-Behinds. Seen through heat-vision, their organic body parts gave off a sickly lime green glow that clashed with the yellow and orange hues of their mechanical parts. If Jack had been able to use his powers, those mechanical parts would have been the Achilles’ heel of every Rüstov on Mount Nevertop, but he had to take out the nullifiers before that would be the case. Still, Jack wasn’t completely over-matched. He might not have been able to use his powers, but the Left-Behinds couldn’t use their guns. They were both fighting with one hand tied behind their backs.

The Rüstov Para-Soldiers on the staircase lunged for Jack. He jumped back, and the lead Left-Behind fell face-first down the steps. It clutched at the banister to get up, and Jack thrust his sword into its heart. When that didn’t stop it, Jack grabbed the breathing tubes and wires that ran into a mechanized pack on its back. Sparks went flying everywhere as the creature dropped to its knees. Two
more Left-Behinds closed in behind the fallen Para-Soldier, but a trio of Mysterrii hopped over Jack’s shoulders and landed on them. The Left-Behinds were still struggling to draw their guns when several more Mysterrii popped up over the exterior banister and held their arms fast. The Mysterrii raised their daggers and stabbed the Rüstov until they fell. It was so brutal that Jack had to turn away. When he looked up, the path was clear.

“Thanks, guys,” Jack said, wincing at the sight of their handiwork.

“Frezza frezza!”
one of the Mysterrii shouted back.
“Fez! Fez!”
it said, pointing onward up the stairs.

“Right,” Jack said. The small but deadly creature’s message was clear enough. Jack heard gunfire on the roof of the SmarterNet, and he followed the sound up in a hurry. The Mysterrii did the same, but they ignored the walkways and staircases, opting to crawl up through the guts of the great machine, climbing into vents, pipes, and any other openings they could squeeze themselves into. Jack kept going up a ramp that zigzagged its way up the SmarterNet’s exterior like a fire escape. More Left-Behinds blocked the way, but Jack cut through them
with the help of the Mysterrii, who kept coming out of nowhere. The Left-Behinds outnumbered Jack and his allies, but the Rüstov’s numbers were no help to them fighting in such close quarters. Jack was starting to feel more and more optimistic about their chances, which was perhaps why Khalix started piping up—Jack’s parasite wanted to take some of the wind out of his sails. At least Jack hoped that was what was behind Khalix’s sudden bold streak.

“Just give up already,” the Rüstov prince said inside Jack’s head. “Every one of these Para-Soldiers will gladly die for me, and my father has a million more where they came from. You know we’ll never stop. Why prolong the inevitable?”

Jack froze in place. Khalix’s words sent a chill up his spine. Not so much because of what he said, but rather because Jack could hear him in the first place. “Is this going to be a regular thing with you now?” Jack asked in as brave a voice as he could muster. “Chiming in with little comments all the time?”

“You’ve only got yourself to blame,” Khalix replied. “You’re the one who let me back into your life.”

Don’t let him get to you
, Jack told himself.

“Tough talk from someone who’s done less than nothing for the last thirteen years,” Jack said out loud. “What, you’re a big man now because Daddy’s coming to your rescue? I never had that. That’s why I’m stronger. That’s why I’m going to win.” Jack did his best to sound convincing. He could hear what Khalix said, but not what he thought. Jack hoped their connection worked the same way from the other side. Jack concentrated as hard as he could, trying to shut Khalix out. He hoped that willpower alone would be enough to do it without his powers. He didn’t have time to think about his parasite right now. He had a job to do, and there were too many Left-Behinds trying to stop him, not to mention the ruthless spy behind all this—Glave.

Jack made it to the top of the SmarterNet and saw several Mysterrii lying on the ground, unconscious. He hoped they were just unconscious. Across the roof Glave was busy choking the life out of one of them, but he dropped him once he saw Jack. “There you are,” Glave said with a satisfied smirk on his face. “You should have run, boy. That would have been the smart thing to do.”

Jack steeled his spine and slid his goggles up so he could look Glave in the eye. “I haven’t done the smart thing all year. Why start now?”

There was a blast of black smoke where Glave was standing, and before Jack could even blink, the Rüstov agent was standing at his side. “Why indeed?” he asked as he grabbed Jack up off the ground.

Jack was cursing himself for so quickly forgetting about the Secreteers’ abilities, when another smoke cloud erupted from the ground, this time right in front of him and Glave. There was a sound like fabric whipping through the air as somebody kicked Glave in the face and then moved quickly behind him, striking the Rüstov spy so hard that Jack almost felt bad for him. Almost.

Glave fell hard, dropping Jack. When the smoke cleared, he saw Hypnova standing over him. She threw her cloak over her shoulder with a very businesslike gesture and took a moment to admire the blood that now decorated the little gold spikes on the metal glove she wore on her right hand.

“You have much to answer for, Agent Glave,” Hypnova said without looking up. She said Glave’s name like
the word itself was poison in her mouth. She drew her sword and pointed it at him. “I’m going to use this to ask the questions. Now get on your feet. I want to kill you properly.”

Glave rose to one knee and wiped blood from his lip. He scowled at the sight of it and spit it out. Glave looked so filled with rage, Jack thought his eyeballs might explode. Instead, a cloud of black smoke exploded all around him. Hypnova flapped her cloak and vanished in an equally dark cloud. Seconds later they met in the sky above Jack. Hypnova swung her sword down at Glave. He pulled two black daggers from his belt and crossed them in front of his face to block her steel. The two Secreteers blasted around the chamber inside clouds of black smoke, fighting in the sky, on the mountain’s crystal ledges, and on the catwalks surrounding the SmarterNet. Their blades clashed repeatedly as each one did his or her best to kill the other.

Meanwhile, one of the Mysterrii that Glave had strangled was slowly getting up.
“Ooofah,”
it said, rubbing its head and neck.

Jack went to it. “Are you okay?” he asked.

The Mysterrii shook him off, pointing behind Jack.
“Razza frazza!”
the Mysterrii said.
“Razza frazza!”
Jack turned and saw more Left-Behinds staggering onto the roof.

“Right,” Jack said. He dug into his bag and took out an explosive charge. “Can you climb that?” he asked the Mysterrii, pointing at one of the three poles with a working nullifier. “I need you to put this up there,” he said, hoping the creature understood him. “This …,” he repeated, holding up the charge, “up there!” The Mysterrii snatched the miniature explosive out of his hand and went for the nullifier.

Jack headed over to the other side of the roof, away from the advancing Left-Behinds. He looked over the side of the SmarterNet and saw that the levels below were swarming with more Rüstov. He was trapped on the roof, and up here the Para-Soldiers had plenty of room to fight. Jack had to take out the nullifiers fast. There was an explosion across the roof, and Jack ducked down. Tiny bits of metal from the blast dug into the back of his neck, but it felt great because of the boost of energy that came with it. His Mysterrii friend had just blown up the second nullifier.
Two down, two to go. Jack looked up at the nullifier in front of him. He couldn’t reach it. He checked his bag. There was only one more charge. After that he was empty. Jack considered activating the bomb’s timer and throwing it at the nullifier up on top of the pole, but he was afraid he might miss. He looked around for something else he could use to hit his target, and saw more Mysterrii climbing up the side of the SmarterNet. One of them disarmed a Left-Behind on its way up and handed its gun to Jack.

“That’ll work,” Jack said, dropping his sword for a considerable upgrade in firepower. “Thanks.”

Jack took aim at the nullifier, pulled the trigger on the Rüstov machine gun, and blasted the nullifier to bits. The kickback from the weapon sent him flying across the roof. When he skidded to a halt, he looked up, right into the eyes of a Rüstov Left-Behind. He threw his arms up and blasted the Para-Soldier, screaming the whole time.

As soon as he stood up, another Left-Behind ripped the gun from his hand and punched him in the stomach, sending him reeling. Jack didn’t get the chance to appreciate any good vibes brought on by the elimination
of the nullifier he’d just shot to pieces. He was too busy staggering across the roof, sucking wind. He collapsed back in the same spot he’d been standing in when he’d first fired the Rüstov gun, which was a good thing. When the Para-Soldier that had hit him grabbed him from behind, Jack was able to pick up his sword and stab it in the chest. Jack clapped his hand around the Left-Behind’s shoulder and shoved the sword in. The Rüstov swung its arms wildly and knocked Jack across the roof. He landed in the corner next to the last remaining nullifier.

Jack rubbed his head where he’d been hit. Above, Hypnova and Glave were still thrashing about in the sky, vanishing and reappearing in bursts of smoke again and again. Glave and Hypnova were locked in each other’s grips like wrestlers.

“You’re wasting your time,” he heard Glave tell Hypnova as he tried to drive a knife into her neck while she struggled against him. “You saw the future in the boy’s memories, just as I did. You know how this is going to end.”

“You still … have to make it happen!” Hypnova grunted, and she leaned back all the way, taking Glave
down with her in a spiral dive that allowed her to spin out of his grip. Glave’s knife went flying away through the air. Hypnova and Glave separated. The Rüstov agent hovered in the air with a furious look in his eyes.