‘You don’t need to push me,’ said Charley as Connor wheeled her towards the door. ‘I can do that myself.’

The urgency of their predicament and her own resilience to tragedy had enabled Charley to regain her composure for their escape, and she was once more her assertive and commanding self. Connor felt reassured by this; it was one of the many aspects he admired about her.

‘I know, but I need to look like I’m doing something,’ he whispered, his voice muffled behind the surgical mask he now wore. Besides concealing his face, he’d donned the white lab coat and scrub cap that he’d taken from the hog-tied doctor. At a glance he looked like any of the other countless Equilibrium employees wandering the rat-run of the Hive.

‘Then walk beside me with the clipboard,’ instructed Charley, handing him the medical report from the end of her bed. ‘The techs here are used to seeing me get around by myself.’

Having gathered only her essentials, Charley propelled her chair out of the room. Connor closed the door behind them just as two security guards rounded the corner. He tensed, readying himself to fight or flee. The two men approached and Charley greeted them brightly. ‘Nĭmén hǎo.’

The guards grunted in response. One of them asked her a question in Chinese. Charley replied fluently, while Connor kept his head bent, as if buried in the medical notes. He felt the guards’ watchful eyes upon him, but didn’t risk looking up. They’d see the shape of his eyes and immediately know he wasn’t Chinese.

Charley continued to talk with the two men. Not understanding a word, Connor started to sweat – were they interrogating her or passing the time of day? And when had she become so competent in Chinese?

Then Charley bid the two men goodbye and glided off. Connor kept pace at her side, playing the role of the preoccupied doctor. His status seemed to preclude any necessity to speak to the guards, for which he was grateful. They turned the corner and left the two security men behind.

‘What were they asking you?’ hissed Connor.

‘Where I was going,’ replied Charley. ‘I told them to the gymnasium. I’m there most days so it shouldn’t raise any suspicions.’

‘How come you speak Chinese so well?’ asked Connor.

Charley glanced sideways at him. ‘I’ve had a lot of time on my hands in between surgery and physio. That, and the fact I used to speak Chinese with Kerry. You know, my friend who was abducted.’

Connor nodded. She’d once told him all about Kerry, whose kidnapping was one of the reasons Charley had become a buddyguard in the first place.

Amir’s voice came through on his earpiece. ‘Up one flight, then third door along the left-hand gallery.’

‘Got it,’ replied Connor, relaying the directions to Charley.

‘Follow me,’ said Charley. Familiar with the complex layout of the Hive, she passed the spiral staircase cornering the vast atrium and headed towards an air bridge that sloped steeply up to the next level. A couple of technicians passed them with no more than a brief acknowledgement.

‘Isn’t there a lift?’ asked Connor under his breath, glancing around for an easier route.

‘On the other side, but we don’t have time for that,’ replied Charley. ‘Besides, my chair’s powered – remember? And I’ve been doing a lot of physio.’

Connor could tell by the definition in her arm muscles that she’d been training even harder than usual. She took the slope without even having to engage the electric motor. Her wheelchair had been provided by Colonel Black following the tragic end to her last assignment and had been specially designed for close-protection work and hostile environments. Aside from the rechargeable electric motor for an emergency getaway, the chair was equipped with carbon-fibre off-road wheels and run-flat tyres. There was a first-aid trauma kit and three flash-bang smoke grenades stored under the seat. The seat cushion itself, back panel and sides were constructed from Kevlar plates to protect the user against bullets. And, if that wasn’t enough, the armrests could be converted into tonfa batons for combat situations. The wheelchair was a virtual embodiment of Charley herself – tough, resourceful and a force to be reckoned with.

They reached the next level unchallenged and made their way along to the third doorway. It looked no different from the rows of other nondescript white doors that lined each of the six levels.

‘Are you sure this is it?’ Connor whispered to Amir.

‘Matches the CCTV reference, plus there’s a double-layer of security,’ replied Amir. ‘I’ve killed the camera, but I’m having trouble overriding the lock. Keep getting forced out …’

‘Well, hurry up!’ urged Connor. ‘Someone’s coming.’

He heard Amir’s furious typing over his earpiece at the same time as the voices grew louder from the direction of the air bridge. Charley exchanged an anxious glance with him. ‘I don’t usually come up here,’ she said. ‘Not sure how I’ll explain this …’

Connor looked towards the bridge. The top of a woman’s head was just visible, along with two other people. She was turning their way –

‘Got it!’ exclaimed Amir. The coded lock turned green, Connor opened the door and both he and Charley bolted inside. But in their desperation to evade the woman they ran straight into a guard manning a security station within the room.

Startled at their sudden entrance, he rose from his seat and barked a question in Chinese. Rolling closer, Charley replied in what sounded an apologetic tone. The guard clearly wasn’t convinced – he went for the radio on his hip. Charley whipped out the right armrest of her chair and smashed the metal bar across his wrist, forcing him to drop the radio. The guard now reached for his gun. Without a pause in her attack, Charley swung her baton into the man’s gut. The guard doubled over with a whoosh of pained breath. Then she brought the end down hard and fast on to the back of the man’s head. There was a skull-splitting thunk and the guard dropped in an unconscious heap to the floor.

Connor stared in awe at Charley. ‘You’ve certainly perfected that move since you last tried it on Richie!’

Charley reinserted the handle. ‘A girl’s got to let off steam somehow.’

‘Sorry,’ said Amir’s voice in Connor’s ear. ‘I’d assumed the guard was Colonel Black on the Hive’s monitoring system. The colonel must be in the adjoining room. The temperature registers minus four degrees! That’s some air conditioning. It must be the reason the signal’s disrupted.’

Through a one-way mirror, Connor and Charley could see a body shuddering on a narrow bench under the glare of a neon strip light. Amir unlocked the inner door to the cell. A blast of sub-zero air hit them. The room was as cold as a meat freezer, chilling them both to the bone as they went inside.

‘Colonel?’ asked Charley, her voice soft and full of concern.

Colonel Black weakly raised his head. His face was a mess, his nose broken, one eye swollen and several teeth missing. A bandage caked in dried blood was wrapped around the bullet wound in his shoulder. Through his one good eye, he glared at Charley.

‘YOU! YOU TRAITOR!’ he spluttered, lunging for her like a wild dog.

Connor leapt between them. Even though the colonel was enfeebled, he was a heavyset man and Connor had to use all his strength to hold him back. ‘NO! Charley’s no traitor. They drugged her.’

Colonel Black snarled at him. ‘I wouldn’t believe anything you people say!’

‘It’s me, Colonel! It’s me!’ said Connor, removing his surgical mask.

‘Connor?’ he gasped, his one good eye flaring wide. Then all the remaining fight drained out of him and he slumped to his knees.

Connor did his best to hold the colonel up.

‘What are you doing here, Connor?’ spat Colonel Black. ‘You swore to me you’d deliver the drive to Stella.’

Taken aback by the colonel’s anger, Connor replied, ‘We’ve come to rescue you.’

‘I told you sacrifices have to be made,’ he growled. ‘You disobeyed a direct order!’

‘Getting the drive out of the country proved harder than anticipated,’ explained Connor. ‘Now come on – we haven’t much time!’

But Colonel Black didn’t move. And Connor couldn’t lift him.

‘I’m not … worth rescuing, Connor,’ he rasped. ‘They’ve broken me. I don’t have the will or strength …’

‘Get up!’ ordered Connor. ‘You’re SAS. You’re trained to survive. To overcome.’

Connor tried to yank the former soldier to his feet. But the colonel was as heavy and cumbersome as a sack of dirt. There was no life left in him. ‘Leave me … Connor. Get the drive to …’ He trailed off into semi-consciousness.

Charley reached under her seat for her trauma kit. She pulled out an auto-injector and handed it to Connor. ‘Give this to him.’

‘What is it?’ asked Connor.

‘Adrenalin. It should boost his system, at least enough to get him out of here.’

Connor jabbed the injector into the colonel’s thigh and he came round with a start. His respiratory rate accelerated, clarity returned to his vision and strength seemed to seep into his muscles. The colonel sat up and gave Connor a lop-sided grin. ‘You just won’t let me die, will you?’

‘No man is left behind on the battlefield, right?’ said Connor, helping him to his feet.

‘You’re as stubborn as your father!’ The colonel laughed, shaking his head. ‘He once saved me; now it’s his son!’

‘I’ll take that as a compliment.’

They staggered out of the bitterly cold cell together, Charley following close behind. The guard was groaning, slowly coming round.

‘He’ll raise the alarm if we don’t deal with him,’ warned Colonel Black.

Connor leant the colonel against a wall for support, Charley staying at his side. Then, taking the guard under the arms, Connor dragged the dazed man into the cell. Panting with effort, he dumped him on the chilled floor. Locking the cell door behind him, Connor whispered into his throat mic, ‘Anyone in the corridor?’

His earpiece was hit by a burst of static, then Amir’s panicked voice came over the airwaves. ‘My connection to the Hive’s been cut! Get out of there NOW!’

Connor heard a pained groan and spun round. Colonel Black was doubled over. Connor watched in disbelief as Charley raised her arm to strike the colonel again.

‘NO!’ Connor cried, rushing forward to stop her. But he was too late. She knife-handed Colonel Black in the neck and knocked him senseless.

Connor dived at Charley. Suddenly standing, her hand shot out at lightning speed and she caught him by the throat. Stopped dead in his tracks, to Connor her strength was unimaginable, overpowering him and bringing him to his knees.

‘No … Charley!’ he spluttered in despair, feeling his windpipe being crushed. Gasping for breath, he clawed at her outstretched arm. But it was no use. Her elbow was locked and her muscles tense as steel. The pressure only increased. As his strength leeched away, Connor stared pleadingly at Charley, unable to fathom her treachery even as tears spilt down her cheeks. Then darkness seeped into his vision and he slipped from consciousness …