Free Blackout by Peter Jay Black Page B

night duty manager caught sight of Jack and for a second he seemed puzzled. It was probably the first time he’d seen a mini submarine bobbing on the surface of the River Thames.
    He quickly came to his senses, however, and started running towards the fence. ‘There,’ he shouted at the guards.
    Jack swung his legs over the hole and dropped into the sub. He closed the hatch, spun the wheel and sat down.
    There was a sudden loud thunk above them.
    ‘What was that?’ Wren said.
    Charlie pressed her eyes to the periscope. ‘That dozy idiot has just jumped onboard.’ Her fingers moved over the controls.
    There was a squeak above Jack’s head. He looked up and gasped – the wheel to the hatch was turning. Jack grabbed hold of it. ‘Quick, Charlie.’
    ‘Diving.’
    Jack struggled to keep the hatch secured. The wheel moved a couple of centimetres as the man above fought to undo it. ‘Hurry up.’ Jack’s arms strained as the wheel turned a few more centi­metres. The guy was too strong for him.
    Suddenly, the pressure on the wheel eased and Jack secured it back into place.
    ‘It’s OK,’ Charlie said, looking through the periscope. ‘He’s gone for a swim.’
    As they dived to the bottom of the Thames, Jack spoke into his headset. ‘Obi, can you hear us now?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Please tell me you recorded all the CCTV cameras?’
    ‘Of course.’
    Jack let out a small breath. He could always rely on Obi. ‘And you’ve got a recording for the computer room?’
    ‘Yeah, I’ve got it.’
    ‘Great,’ Jack said. ‘I want you to watch that recording from the moment Charlie and I went in there.’
    ‘I don’t need to,’ Obi said. ‘I was watching it all happen.’
    There was something about Obi’s voice that was unsettling.
    ‘So,’ Jack said. ‘What did happen?’
    ‘Just come home,’ Obi said. ‘I’ll get the recordings ready for you.’
    Jack didn’t like the sound of that.
     
    An hour and a half later, they were back in the bunker.
    Jack hurried over to Obi. ‘Any idea which one of the guards took my USB stick?’
    Obi nodded. ‘Yeah. None of them.’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    Obi clicked on the screen. ‘It wasn’t a guard that found it.’ He brought up an image of the computer room and sped the recording forward.
    Jack watched as he and Charlie entered, plugged in the USB stick, then were caught and escorted out by the guards.
    Obi fast-forwarded a couple more minutes and paused it. ‘Watch this.’ He hit play.
    The time and date counter ticked off in the corner of the screen.
    The lights in the room periodically went off and on.
    The door to the computer room opened and a hooded figure stepped inside.
    ‘Who’s that?’ Slink said.
    The person lowered their hood, glanced up at the camera and they all got a clear look at his face. He was a boy, no older than Jack and Charlie – fourteen, maybe fifteen. He had an olive complexion, with dark, almost black, hair, and he wore a backpack.
    Charlie leant into the display. ‘He looks like one of us.’
    ‘Why’s he wet?’ Wren said.
    She was right – the kid’s clothes were dripping water all over the floor.
    Charlie glanced at Jack, but she didn’t need to say anything.
    He nodded – the floor had been wet when they went back to retrieve the USB stick.
    The kid moved to the computer terminal, typed something in, then reached over and pulled out the USB drive. After examining it for a moment, he undid his jacket and slid it into an inner pocket.
    ‘Little thief,’ Slink said.
    The kid glanced around and left the server room.
    Jack looked at the time on the screen. It had taken the kid less than a minute to steal their drive. He sighed. ‘Looks like someone had the same idea as us.’
    Obi scanned through the recordings and found one from the camera on the other side of the Thames.
    The five of them watched the monitor.
    ‘There,’ Jack said, pointing.
    The water rippled by the submarine and a head popped up. For a while, it