Free Rogue by Mark Walden Page B

watched the painstaking and delicate work of the surgical team through the observation window. They had already been working on Darkdoom for the best part of an hour. She knew it was foolish to blame herself for his condition – indeed she’d almost certainly saved his life. The sniper in Sydney had been going for a head shot and only her swift action had prevented his instant death. That, however, was not the way her mind worked. Instead she found herself wondering what would have happened if she had moved just a fraction faster, reacted slightly more quickly.
    One of the surgeons made her way out of the theatre, pulling off her blood-smeared latex gloves and removing her surgical mask as she walked over to where Raven was standing.
    ‘How is he, Doctor?’ Raven asked as the woman approached, not taking her eyes off the scene beyond the glass.
    ‘It is too soon to say,’ the doctor replied. ‘He has a collapsed lung and the bullet grazed his heart. He lost a lot of blood on the journey. It would have been better to have taken him to the nearest hospital instead of bringing him here.’
    ‘That was not an option.’ Raven’s voice was calm.
    ‘I’ll take your word for it. Still, you did a good job of stabilising his condition. You probably saved his life.’
    ‘I think it is perhaps a little too early for congratulations,’ Raven said with a sigh. It was not the first time that she had been grateful for the emergency medical training she had received as part of her tuition so many years ago.
    ‘Let me look at that,’ the doctor said, gesturing towards the deep cut left in Raven’s shoulder by Ghost’s wrist-blade.
    Raven shrugged. ‘It’s just a scratch. You have more pressing concerns.’
    ‘Doctor Scott does not need my assistance with this stage of the surgery,’ the doctor replied, ‘and scratches do not, generally speaking, look like they need quite so many stitches.’
    ‘Maybe later, Doctor,’ Raven said, picking up Khan’s laptop from the seat behind her. ‘I need to get this to Professor Pike now. It may provide us with a clue that will help us to find the people who did this.’
    If it did, the best medical care in the world would not be able to save them. She intended to make quite sure of that.

    The black limousine pulled into the abandoned warehouse and several men in dark suits got out. They were all carrying compact sub-machine guns and they scanned their surroundings with practised efficiency. The driver of the car walked to the rear door and opened it, giving a courteous nod to Lin Feng as he stepped out.
    ‘I’m glad you could make it,’ Carlos Chavez said, emerging from the shadows nearby, flanked by two of his own guards.
    ‘I am not sure it is wise for us to meet like this under the current circumstances,’ said Lin Feng. ‘I assume that you have heard about the attack on Darkdoom.’
    ‘Yes,’ Chavez said, ‘that is part of the reason I wanted to see you. I think that we need to discuss exactly what this means for G.L.O.V.E.’ He gestured for Lin Feng to follow him a short distance away so that their conversation would not be overheard. They both knew just how dangerous it would be if someone unsympathetic to their position was to learn of this conversation.
    ‘Go on,’ Lin Feng invited, unwilling to be the first to lay his cards on the table.
    ‘I would not want to assume too much, but I am fairly sure that I am not the only one who has become unhappy with Darkdoom’s leadership,’ Chavez said quietly.
    ‘If the rumours are to be believed, that is a situation that may not be of concern for very much longer,’ Lin Feng replied. ‘Indeed, it may already be time to start to consider who should replace him.’
    Chavez looked at Lin Feng, trying to see what the other man was thinking. ‘I, for one, do not think that we can afford to wait and see how this plays out,’ he said carefully. ‘With H.O.P.E. coming after us all so aggressively, we must have strong