Free The Secret War (Jack Blank Adventure) by Matt Myklusch

turned to Jack. He didn’t like the position Smart was putting him in. “I see what you’re doing,” Jack said. “Trying to get me to vouch for whatever it is you’re going to use against me next? Forget it. That’s not going to happen.”
    Smart sighed. “The message isn’t about you, Jack. If it were, you would have heard it long before now.”
    Jack realized that what Smart said was probably true. Still, he wanted no part in whatever this was. “That doesn’t matter,” he told Smart. “I’m not helping you. And I don’t
speak
their language, by the way. I just understand it when they talk.”
    Smart gave Jack a smirk. “Splitting hairs, aren’t we?” he asked. “So be it. Even your limited abilities would serve our purposes here today, but if you’d prefer to help cover up Rüstov activity rather than shed light on it, that’s fine. We’ll simply do this later, without you.”
    Jack frowned. That was no good either. He didn’t want to be the mouthpiece for Smart’s latest attempt to reignite fears about the Rüstov, but if he wanted to stay in the loop, he was going to have to play along. He didn’t have much choice. Jack had been covering up Rüstov activity ever since he’d first learned about the spyware virus, and this was his chance to find out if Smart knew anything about it. He agreed to translate the Rüstov transmission for the Inner Circle, and Smart pushed a button to launch the holo-computer’s audio player.
    Jack listened intently as Smart played the intercepted message. Everyone else heard only the techno-organic clang of Rüstov speak, but Jack understood every word, as clear as a bell:
    Glave to command. Glave to command. Report: Operation proceeding as planned. Phase one complete. Now in position. Risk level: zero. Moving forward with phase two. Inform the Magus that his loyal subject stands ready to strike a crippling blow against the Imagine Nation. In five days Empire City will belong to him. Long live the Magus. Long live the empire. Glave out
.
    The message tied Jack’s stomach into a Macedonian knot. Five days until the Rüstov controlled Empire City … On its face such a claim seemed impossibly ambitious, but Jack knew better. The Rüstov had maintained a low, almost nonexistent profile since the Revile incident last year, but Jack knew the dangers that were lurking beneath that peaceful facade all too well. Was now the time to tell everyone about it?
    “Well?” Noteworthy asked Jack. “We’ve heard Jonas cry wolf about the Rüstov before. Tell us. Was this more of the same, or was it real?”
    Jack looked up at the Circlemen. The fear in his eyeswas unmistakable. The members of the Inner Circle all leaned forward, trading nervous glances with one another.
    “It’s real,” Jack admitted. “That was definitely a Rüstov agent talking.”
    A concerned murmur ran though the Inner Circle. From the look on Smart’s face, Jack knew he was taking a creepy sense of pride in the tension he’d helped create. Jack didn’t like letting Smart use him this way, but he had to tell the truth. For one thing, it was written all over his face, and for another, if he lied, Smart would eventually play the translated message and Jack would be found out anyway.
    Jack translated the message, and the sphere fell silent as each Circleman paused to consider the hidden Rüstov threat.
    “People need to hear about this,” Hovarth declared.
    “Hovarth!” Noteworthy blurted out, casting a reproachful eye toward his fellow Circleman. “Do you want to cause a panic?
No one
should hear about this. Not yet. There isn’t any proof the threat is real.”
    “Not real?” Smart shot back. “Empire City’s favorite son just confirmed it was. You all heard him.”
    “I heard no such thing,” Noteworthy countered. “Jack confirmed it was a genuine Rüstov transmission. He didn’t say anything to validate its content. How could he, unless he knows something about the Rüstov’s plans that