In the living room, Victor studied the computer. Outside he could hear machine-gun fire. Hill had obviously found and dispatched Charlie.
“You there, Frankie?” He tapped the console. “We mean you no harm. Turn yourself in and we’ll take you back to Manticorps, eh?”
The computer stayed silent.
“We’ve found a trapdoor in one of the cupboards.” A mercenary stuck his head into the room. “It’s pitch-black down there, but we heard someone moving.”
“Charlie’s outside, so it must be the girl,” Victor replied. “Chuck a shrapnel grenade down. We don’t need her.”
“Course you do, dummy.” The screen sprang to life as a miasma of green triangles. “She’s called Daffodil, and me and her come as a package.”
“Hello, my elusive nemesis.” Victor waved for the soldier to stay. “Care to elaborate?”
“I’m able to appear on any device, but Daffodil carries my physical being around as a chip embedded in her neck. Hit that by mistake and I go up in a puff of smoke.”
“Sounds a bit far-fetched.”
“When did you become an expert on cutting-edge technology, Gigantor?”
Victor acknowledged the truth of this statement with a grunt. “Can you be separated?”
“If you take Daffodil alive, I’ll show you how to remove me. I get energy from her body, but I’m a self-contained unit. Once Manticorps plugs my chip into a computer, I’ll be back to my usual chirpy self.”
“Very well. Tell her to surrender and I promise she’ll come to no harm.”
“I’m not the boss of her, as she reminded me recently. And I doubt she’s going to trust your word.”
“Then turn the lights back on. My men are so jittery they’ll start blasting at anything that moves if I send them into a dark basement.”
The house lit up again.
“Gather your troops at the trapdoor and wait for me.” Victor dismissed the soldier. When he was gone, the commander rested a hand on his chin. “Why are you trying so hard to save these kids?” he asked. “It’s a lost cause and you’ve obviously got a mind of your own.”
“’Cause I’m not free to make my own decisions, Vic. I’m programmed to protect them whether I want to or not. And, for the record, I don’t want to.”
“If I take you back to Manticorps, they’ll probably reboot you. Remove any pesky restrictions you might have.”
“Sounds good to me,” Frankie said gratefully. “Right now, however, I’ve got no choice but to side with Charlie and Daffodil. If I don’t, I’ll shut down permanently.”
“It’s not a battle you can win,” Victor told him. “So what will happen if we do kill the kids?”
“I’ll be fine, so long as I’ve done my best to stop it happening.”
“I mean what will you do to me and my men?”
“I’m not interested in getting my own back. Just surviving.”
“Good. ’Cause Charlie is already a goner.” The gunfire outside had stopped. “Hill and his dog will have seen to that.”
“Think so?” Frankie gave a guffaw. “Then you’ve sorely underestimated the little fellow.”
*
Hill and his men were halfway up the tree when a rope with a tyre on the end snaked through the branches. It dropped over the torso of the lowest soldier, pinning both arms to his sides.
“What the…?” The man tried to struggle free.
“Geronimo!” The White Spider looped the other end of the rope over a branch and leapt from the tree house, clutching the frayed cord to his chest. The rope and branch acted like a pulley, and the Spider’s weight hauled the man upwards as he descended.
“Just like a funfair!” He waved merrily, passing the writhing soldier. “Though not nearly so amusing for you.”
The mercenary reached the tree house and slammed into its underside, stopping Tad a few feet from the ground. He let go of the rope and the combatant plunged back down through the branches. He collided with one of his companions and both crashed to earth.
Charlie appeared in the tree house doorway and dropped like a stone, feet thumping into Hill’s upturned face. As the man flew backwards, Charlie leapt again and shouldered the last attacker from his perch. All three plummeted downwards, letting out a cacophony of yells.
The White Spider reached up and caught the boy as the other two crunched into the dirt.
“They’re a bit dented.” Arms tightly around his liberator, Charlie surveyed the unconscious men strewn around the tree. “But you didn’t kill anyone. Well done.”
“Yay for me.” The Spider yawned. “Are you going to get down now or do you imagine I shall carry you around all night? My back is healing nicely but still exceedingly painful from an unfortunate knife wound.”
“We have to save Daffodil.” Charlie wriggled free and made for the house. “Follow me.”
“Hold your horses.” The Spider grabbed him by the collar. “We lose all advantage by rushing in blind. Where exactly is she?”
“In the basement. You can only get to it through a cupboard in the hall.”
“That’s not good. One man with an automatic pistol can annihilate anyone coming through the front door, and the shutters are still down.”
“I can’t just leave her!” Charlie broke away, but the Spider wrapped both arms around him.
“You’re obviously a fine tactician.” He tightened his grip on the struggling boy until he calmed down. “So use your mind. How do we get through that entrance without being cut to ribbons?”
They looked around, eyes perfectly adjusted to the night. Both fastened on the same object.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Charlie asked.
“I am indeed.” The Spider let him go. “I can assure you, that doesn’t happen very often.”
“Can you hot-wire a vehicle?”
“Of course,” the man snorted. “Can you?”
“Yup. Seen how on TV.” Charlie bowed. “But you do the honours. Age before beauty.”
“Very well,” the Spider beamed. “I must say, I’m rather enjoying working with a fellow professional.”
The boy didn’t know quite how to take that.