“The fuck is that?” Ro asked.
“Detonator of some kind,” Danny said. He raised his voice. “You’ve got this place wired, then?”
“Someone recognises the classics,” Coyle said, keeping the cubicles between them. “I’ve secreted explosives throughout this building. I’ve now activated the timers. I let my thumb off the trigger, they go off early.” He raised his voice. “Can you hear me, Faulkner?”
“I hear you,” Faulkner replied, loudly. “What do you want?”
“I should have thought that would be obvious. I want you and your men to pull back. Immediately. Or we’ll see how much structural damage this delightful edifice can sustain without collapsing.” Coyle paused. “You have three minutes.”
“I’ve got people all over the building,” Faulkner protested.
“I’d hurry then.”
Faulkner grimaced, and he glanced at the cameras. Then he gestured and his people began to pull back, heading for the lifts, carrying the wounded with them. Olly released the lock on the lifts as they reached them. Faulkner was the last to go. As the doors closed, he paused. “There’s no way out of here. You might as well surrender.” Olly wasn’t sure who he was talking to, Coyle or them.
Coyle answered for them. “Two minutes.”
Faulkner cursed, and was gone. Olly checked his display, watching the lifts descend. “They’re going,” he murmured. “Keep him talking while I figure us a route out of here.”
Danny peered around the edge of the cubicle. “They’re gone. Just us now. May as well pack it in, because we ain’t going nowhere.”
“You’re either brave or stupid,” Coyle said, out of sight.
“Bit of both,” Danny said. He glanced at Olly. “Can’t get a bead on him,” he whispered. “We need to draw him out.”
“I’ll go,” Ro hissed. Danny tried to grab her, but she was too quick. She slipped away, into the labyrinth of cubicles.
“Keep him talking,” Olly said. He flicked through the CCTV feeds, trying to find a vantage point that would show them Coyle. Danny cleared his throat.
“What was this all about, then?” he said. “If you weren’t working for Albion, then who? What was the point of all this?”
A moment of silence. Then a laugh. “You really don’t know anything do you?” Coyle called out. “Not a damn thing.”
“Enlighten us.”
More laughter. “It won’t matter soon enough. Once I regain control of my partner, I’ll settle this affair for good.” Coyle paused. “You might even thank me for it, given what’s coming…”
“Wh– what’s coming?” Danny asked.
Silence. Danny looked at Olly. Olly could only shake his head. An alert flashed on his display and he stiffened. “Shit.”
“What?”
“I’ve lost control of the drone.” Olly made to stand. “He’s bringing it back!” He heard a shout and a crash, followed by a gunshot. Danny surged out into the open, yelling his sister’s name. Olly started to follow him when he heard the sound of glass shattering. The drone had returned. “Danny, look out!”
Olly lunged, tackling the other man to the floor. There was a crack, and Ro cried out. Olly looked up and saw the drone hovering over the cubicles, its weapon smoking. As he stared, unable to look away, it turned towards him, barrel tracking him.
“Oi! Over here,” Ro shouted. A chair bounced off the side of the drone, and the machine spun. Danny shoved Olly aside and rose, his rifle spitting fire. Sparks burst from the drone’s underbelly, raining down onto the carpet. The machine spun in a wild circle, motors whining like a wounded animal. It started to retreat and Danny pursued, firing steadily, emptying the magazine into it.
It teetered, wobbled and finally crashed down with a shriek of abused metal. Danny ejected the spent magazine, slapped in a full one, and fired again, blowing out the drone’s CPU. He turned. “Ro? Rosemary?”
“Here,” she called. Olly and Danny hurried towards her. She sat with her back against a cubicle, her face and shirt spattered with blood. She held something in her hand. Danny bent, a look of concern on his face, but she waved him off. “I’m fine. Not mine.”
Olly looked past her and saw Coyle – or what was left of him. Danny turned. “Was that you?”
“No. Truly. Something… somebody else took control in those last few moments.” He paused. “Shit – the detonator…”
Ro held up her fist. She held the detonator, her thumb on the switch. “Took it from him. Nearly got topped doing it.” She put a finger through a hole in her jacket. “There an off switch for it, or…?”
Danny took it from her, gently. “It’s wireless. We just need to interrupt the signal.”
“Or find something to keep it from activating,” Olly said. “Still got some of that tape in your bag?” Danny nodded.
“Think so.”
Olly bent to retrieve the bag, then suddenly stopped. “Woah. Anyone else feel that?”
“Feel wh–” Ro began.
The boom of the explosion reached them a moment later. It was followed by another, and then another and another. All from different directions, all around the compass point – but especially to the west, towards Parliament and the TOAN conference. Flares of light and fire rising over the nearby buildings, reflected in the glass and chrome. Cavernous rumbles, far louder than any summer thunder. Then the first shockwaves rippling out across the area, maybe the whole city. The building shook itself, trembling again and again as it rode out the blasts. Outside there was the constant sound of falling glass and debris. Alarms blared from near and far.
Olly straightened slowly, terrified eyes wide. “Fucking hell…”
“What is that?” Ro said, scrambling to her feet.
“Explosions,” Danny said, in a hollow voice. “Got to be.” He looked at Olly. “Maybe that Tell bloke wasn’t the only one making bombs.”
Olly watched the hellish blossoms of fire and smoke sprouting up across the capital, turning the twilight into a living nightmare.
