As soon as the car stopped moving, two massive men stepped out of the administration block and hurried to the vehicle. Callum recognised them instantly. The man in the lead was Darryl Yarmouth, a huge bald thug. Callum could see the material of his shirt stretched tightly over muscles the size of small dogs.
The second man was almost as big. His hair hung from his head in long, thin dreadlocks, like dark octopus tentacles. His name was Parson Richie.
Both men were hired thugs and had been working for Lester when Callum, Sophie and Jinx destroyed his operation the year before. Callum knew their welcome wouldn’t be a friendly one.
Lester departed the limousine first. He unlocked the car then strode into the office building without so much as a backwards glance.
Darryl wrenched the door open and hauled Callum roughly from the limousine.
“Come here, you,” he grumbled as he plucked the boy from his seat with the same ease as he would have picked an apple from a tree. He took Callum around to the rear of the car, retrieved his wheelchair from the boot and dumped him unceremoniously into it.
Callum didn’t struggle. There was no point when you were up against a man the size of Darryl. Callum had learned that the best way to combat brawn was with brains, and he was already calculating his next move.
Sophie took a different path. She bit Parson’s hand as soon as he reached for her. The big man howled in pain and withdrew for a second before plunging back into the limousine for another attempt. He grabbed Sophie under her arms and swiftly pulled her struggling form out of the car. As she was removed, Sophie’s flailing feet caught Cain a vicious blow to the side of his head. The boy recoiled in pain.
“Get your filthy hands off me,” she screamed at Parson.
“Keep still,” said the lanky man. He crushed her body against his chest with one arm and drew a wooden baton from his belt with the other.
He growled at his captive. “If you don’t stop bitin’ and kickin’, I’ll use this.”
Sophie calmed down. It was clear from the look in Parson’s eyes that he meant what he said.
Parson put the baton back into his belt and withdrew a thin, double-looped plastic handcuff band. He slid one loop around Sophie’s wrist and pulled the tab tight. He dropped her on the ground, dragged her over to Callum’s wheelchair then secured the second loop around the tubing on the Thunderkit’s seat. Sophie pulled at the bonds. She was tightly bound to the wheelchair, with no obvious means of escape.
Cain exited the limousine, glaring at Sophie and rubbing the side of his head. His ear glowed red and had started to swell. The boy snarled. “You’ll pay for that kick.”
The glower Sophie gave him in return was equally fierce. “You deserved it. We trusted you and you betrayed us. I’d give you worse if I wasn’t in handcuffs.”
Parson chuckled. “I’d like to see that.”
Cain flushed with anger and embarrassment. He approached Sophie, his hand raised to strike her.
Parson grabbed his wrist and shook his head. “Boss wants ’em undamaged. For now.”
Cain wrenched his hand from Parson’s grip. “Another time,” he spat at Sophie.
He rounded on Callum. “Where’s Lucy?” he demanded.
Callum said nothing.
Cain called to Darryl. “Any sign of her?”
The big man shook his head. “Nope, she wasn’t there when I got home and I haven’t seen her since. Enough yapping, the boss is waitin’.”
Darryl walked to the limousine, reached inside and pulled out Jinx. He threw the unconscious boy over his shoulder and headed up the ramp to the school offices. Parson took control of the Thunderkit and shoved Callum and Sophie after Darryl. Cain closed the car door and strode along behind them.
Lester waited alone in his office. It was a gloomy room. The wood panelling on the walls was dark and the blinds on the windows were half-closed. He found that too much light hurt the mismatched irises of his eyes, the right one blue, the left brown.
He rubbed his hands together with glee. He had waited for this moment for a long time and he was going to enjoy every second. It had been a massive blow to his ego to have had his brain-sucking plans foiled by a bunch of kids, and he was going to make them pay.
Lester positioned himself behind his desk, adopted what he was sure was a threatening sneer, and waited for his captives to be brought before him.
He didn’t have to wait long. Within minutes Cain and his henchmen arrived with Callum, Sophie and Jinx.
He watched as Parson parked Callum and Sophie against the wall.
“Cut the girl free,” he commanded. He wanted there to be no doubt who was in charge.
Parson did as he was told. He withdrew a large serrated hunting knife from a pouch on his belt, sliced through the plastic handcuff on Sophie’s wrist then dumped her on a chair next to the Thunderkit.
Darryl laid Jinx’s comatose body on the ground beside his friends.
Once their tasks were completed, the two thugs stood on either side of the doorway, ensuring that the only way out of the room was directly past them. Cain stood next to the men.
Lester surveyed his hostages with a superior smile on his lips. “I can’t tell you how pleased I am to see you,” he said.
“The feeling isn’t mutual,” replied Callum.
Lester revealed his sharp teeth. “No, I’m sure it’s not. I imagine you’re quite surprised to see me alive.”
“I am,” acknowledged Callum. “Last time I saw you, you were about to be eaten by a great white shark.”
“It tried, as you can see,” Lester stroked the ugly semicircular scar on his face. “Fortunately for me, I didn’t taste very good. Nor did the smoke bomb I stuck in its mouth. I managed to get away while the other sharks fed on their brother.” He paused to allow for a response. When nothing was forthcoming, he continued. “I imagine you’re wondering why I brought you here.”
“Not really,” said Callum, with more calm than he felt. “I assume you’re going to try to suck the goodness out of our heads again.”
Lester laughed. “Good heavens, no! Brain sucking is so last year. I don’t try to remove people’s goodness any more. I’ve moved on. Now I enhance their badness.”
Lester opened a drawer in his desk and withdrew a small jet-black microchip. It was as thin as camera memory card and about half the size. Lester’s double-S school logo was burned on the face. The opposite side contained hundreds of minute electronic dots and code lines. He held it aloft for Sophie and Callum to see.
“Introducing the world’s first bully chip,” said Lester with a flourish. “Naturally, you’ll be dying to know how it works, so I’ll tell you.”
He looked at Sophie and was pleased to see that the girl was hanging on his every word, though she was trying not to show it. He wanted her to be impressed. It would make the next part of his plan so much easier.
Lester continued, revelling in his own twisted genius. “The operation is really quite simple. The chip is attached to a thin fibre-optic surgical cable. It slides through the aural cavity and is then joined to the frontal lobe of the brain. That’s the section that controls behaviour, emotion, physical reactions and personality. The chip is partially organic so it will cling onto the exterior of the lobe like a limpet.”
Lester paused, enjoying his moment of triumph. He walked to a nearby water cooler, poured half a cup and took a long drink. He emitted a loud, self-satisfied sigh and continued.
“Once the chip is in place, it enhances the subject’s cunning and their desire to do bad things and hurt people. Conscience is overridden and so is regret. In essence, the chip transforms them into a cold, calculating bully. And I have added a slave function so the subject will only take orders from me. It’s perfect.”
“Not quite,” called out Sophie. “It’s got a few bugs, hasn’t it?”
From the look on her face, Lester knew she was enjoying contradicting him. He shot her an annoyed look. “Yes, yes. If you look closely you can detect a purple haze around the iris and, as you’ve obviously discovered, the chip will short out if the ear cavity is flooded with water.” He sighed. “I take it that’s what happened to Lucy?”
The girl glanced at her disabled friend and he gave a small shake of his head. “We don’t know what you’re talking about,” replied Sophie.
“Suit yourself,” said Lester, with a shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t really care about one girl. I’ve got a whole school full of bullies here. And soon I will have placed one in every classroom in the country.”
Lester stepped from behind the desk and stood before the teenagers. He spread his arms dramatically in front of his body. “Imagine the glorious misery they’ll cause. And that’s just the start. When they grow up, I’ll have bullies in the police force, the army, even the government. All under my control.”
Lester’s miscoloured eyes glowed at the thought. “And once my army of bullies is complete, I’ll start exporting them overseas.” He paused, thinking. “I’ll probably start with Poland.”
“You’re insane,” snapped Callum.
Lester nodded. “Quite possibly. All the best people are.”
“I suppose you’re going to fit those chips into us,” said the boy.
Lester shook his head. “Where’s the fun in that? No, you and your friends are going to be the bullied, not the bullies. I need test subjects to help my students perfect the art of thuggery. Sophie can start the day being picked on by the girls and you can get beaten up by the boys.”
Lester looked at Jinx and frowned. “I’m not quite sure what to do with bad luck boy. I don’t want to unleash a disaster.”
“I don’t think he has control of his bad luck any more,” said Cain, speaking for the first time since entering the room. “He and Callum were nearly killed by a tornado he accidentally unleashed the other day.”
“Interesting,” murmured Lester. “I’d love to take a look at his brain, maybe tomorrow. In fact I might take a look at all your brains, slice ’em open and take a peek.” He gave a perverse chuckle. “Hope I don’t slip while I’m in there.”
Lester watched with pleasure as looks of fear passed between Callum and Sophie.
He addressed Parson. “Jinx should wake up soon. When he does, take him to the sports fields for some outdoor bullying. He can’t do much damage out there.”
Lester leaned in to Callum and Sophie. “You are going to regret what you did to me last year,” he hissed. “And I’m going to enjoy watching that happen.” He turned to Darryl. “Take them away,” he ordered.
Callum spoke before Darryl could move. “Before we go, I have a question. What’s the deal with Cain? Why didn’t he need a chip?”
Lester shook his finger at the boy. “You’re just trying to stall me, aren’t you? Trying to put off the bullying.”
Callum shrugged. “Suit yourself. Don’t tell me then.”
Lester considered the boy. “All right, I’ll let you have this one question. Remember the ray I invented to eradicate goodness from children? I’m sure you do, since you broke into my laboratory and destroyed it. Well, before you began meddling, I carried out one spectacularly successful test-firing. The goodness I destroyed that happy day belonged to young Cain here, and he is now totally free from morality or conscience. So it seems fitting that he’s responsible for your capture.”
Lester walked over to Cain and patted him proudly on the shoulder. “He’s like the son I never had, and he will be the heir to my empire of bullies.”
“Not if we can help it,” said Callum. “My friends and I are going to close down your school and destroy your evil microchips. We’ve stopped your sick plans before and we’ll do it again.”
Lester laughed. “Oh, I doubt you’ll have the energy to do anything at all after an afternoon of solid bullying.” He called to Darryl and Parson. “Search them. Take all their belongings and then put them to work.” Lester pointed to the Thunderkit. “Go over the chair as well. He keeps a metal baton in there somewhere. Make sure you get it.”
Lester switched his attention back to Callum and Sophie, and gave a theatrical bow. “Thank you so much for volunteering for our bullies in schools program. Sethel Stymer Preparatory appreciates your help.” He gave an evil laugh and walked out of the room. “I do love a good reunion.”