Free Blackout by Peter Jay Black Page A

smell of dirt and cleaning fluid wasn’t much better.
    The bucket continued to pour out grey smoke-like vapour.
    Charlie wafted it towards the fire alarm and she stepped back, her own cloth pressed to her face.
    For an agonising minute or so, nothing happened and the room filled up with more of the acrid fumes. It stung Jack’s eyes and he squinted up at the fire alarm.
    Was it even working?
    He could barely see the blinking red LED now.
    Jack and Charlie both started coughing.
    Finally, just when Jack thought he was going to pass out, the alarm sounded, piercing the quietness.
    He heard the guard swear loudly outside the door and fumble with a set of keys.
    Jack felt dizzy and had to steady himself against the wall.
    Charlie grabbed two bottles of washing-up liquid from the shelf and tossed one to him.
    Jack frowned at it. ‘What’s this for?’
    The door opened and Charlie burst through, knocking the guard aside, catching him off balance.
    Jack ran after her, chucked the cloth away and bent double, coughing and gasping for air.
    Surprised, the guard staggered back as the fumes billowed into the hallway. ‘What have you two done?’
    Without a word, Charlie scooped her bag up off the floor and ran.
    Jack stood stunned for a second, then grabbed his own bag and sprinted after her, with the guard hard on his heels.
    ‘Stop!’
    When Jack caught up with Charlie, she popped the lid off the washing-up liquid and squirted it on to the floor behind them.
    Jack immediately did the same and they took a right, sprinting down another corridor.
    There was a shout of pain.
    Jack glanced back.
    The guard had tried to round the corner, but had slammed into the opposite wall. He was now struggling to get his balance. He tried to run after them, but fell flat on his back and let out another roar.
    Jack and Charlie carried on running until they reached a T-junction.
    ‘Which way?’ Charlie said.
    They had to go back and grab the USB drive from the computer room.
    Jack visualised the floor plan of the power station in his mind. ‘Left.’ He glanced at her. ‘I think.’
    They hurried off in that direction, moving as fast as they could. They didn’t want to get caught a second time.
    Finally, they reached the computer room and sneaked inside. The program must have worked and the virus was on Jack’s USB drive.
    Jack’s feet slipped. He looked down. ‘Why’s the floor wet in here?’
    ‘Probably from the guards’ boots.’ Charlie hurried over to the terminal. ‘No.’
    ‘What’s wrong?’ Jack said.
    She pointed at the empty USB slot. ‘Where is it?’
    Jack’s breath caught. ‘I left it there.’ He glanced up at the camera in the corner of the room. Could Obi see them? ‘The guards,’ he said. ‘They must have taken it.’ Jack hurried over to the terminal and started to type. ‘The virus has definitely gone from their system.’
    Charlie frowned. ‘Which means it’s on your drive, right? We need to find out what they’ve done with it.’
    They heard shouts coming from down the corridor.
    ‘We have to go,’ Jack said. He plugged the network cable into the back of the terminal and made a mental note of the IP address.
    They then both crept into the hallway.
    The shouting was coming from their left. Jack and Charlie ran right, following the twists and turns of the corridor, up the steps, and back outside.
    As they sprinted to the fence, Jack glanced up.
    The guard was still hanging out of the window and his cold eyes followed them.
    Slink held the wire on the fence open and Wren was already climbing into the sub.
    Charlie ducked through the hole.
    ‘We heard the alarms and shouting,’ Slink said. ‘What happened?’
    The emergency-exit door banged open and the two guards and night duty manager ran outside. They stopped and looked around.
    ‘Let’s get out of here.’ Jack ducked through the fence and gestured for Charlie and Slink to get into the submarine.
    As they clambered through Stingray’s hatch, the