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was going nearly as well as the last time we were asking what was going on with the Disciples,’ Franz said with a sigh as they walked down the corridor.
    ‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Shelby replied. ‘I think we managed to irritate him even more this time. It’s not like we’re asking for specifics; we just want some idea if they’re getting any closer to finding them. I don’t think that’s too much to ask under the circumstances.’
    ‘Perhaps the truth is that there is no progress to report,’ Wing said. ‘And that is why the question irritates Nero so much.’
    ‘It is times like this that I am missing Otto,’ Franz said. ‘He would simply be using computer brain to steal information from Dr Nero’s computer. Much simpler.’
    ‘Yeah,’ Shelby said. ‘I wonder what he’s doing right now?’
    ‘Oh, you know Otto,’ Wing said with a slight smile, ‘I’m sure he’s keeping out of trouble.’

    ‘Tell me you’re joking,’ Raven said as she sat down opposite Otto.
    ‘I can think of a lot of words I’d use to describe the situation, but funny isn’t one of them,’ Otto replied.
    ‘We go through all that to get the identity of the local Disciple cell commander and now you’re telling me that it’s Matt Ronson.’
    ‘United States Senator Matt Ronson,’ replied the floating blue wireframe head of H.I.V.E.mind that was being projected from the silver ring lying on the table.
    ‘ Presidential Candidate Senator Matt Ronson,’ Otto said, rubbing his temples. ‘And you know what that means.’
    ‘A full secret service security detail,’ Raven replied with a sigh, ‘and he’s the only person who might be able to give us any clue where Furan might be hiding.’
    ‘We don’t even know that for sure, but the only way we’ll find out is if we ask him a few friendly questions,’ Otto replied. ‘And unlike the cell leader in London, let’s see if we can ask those questions before he ends up under a train.’
    ‘I thought we weren’t going to mention that again,’ Raven said with a slight frown.
    ‘Just making an observation,’ Otto said with a crooked smile. ‘Any idea how on earth we’re going to pull this off?’
    ‘I was just about to ask you the same thing,’ Raven replied, shaking her head.
    ‘Well, he’s on the campaign trail at the moment,’ Otto replied, ‘which means that the first thing we need to work out is when and where to go after him. Once we’ve figured that out we can start to think about how we’re going to get past his security detail.’
    ‘I’m going to have to talk to Nero,’ Raven said with a sigh. ‘I’ll need to clear it with him before we go after a target this high profile. I think I can already imagine his reaction.’
    ‘Better now than later when he might just have won the election,’ Otto said. ‘If you think he’s going to be a hard man to get to at the moment, just imagine what it would be like trying to reach him once he’s comfortably settled in the White House.’
    ‘Point taken,’ Raven replied. ‘I don’t imagine that Nero’s going to be pleased at the prospect of a senior member of the Disciples in the Oval Office. We have enough to worry about at the moment as it is, without adding that into the mix.’
    Otto stared at the silver ring that was projecting the hovering image of H.I.V.E.mind and then at the discarded ISIS armour on the bench nearby. He suddenly felt the familiar prickle of an idea forming.
    ‘I think I may have an idea of how we can get close enough to him to get what we need, but I’ll need some components from Professor Pike and some tinkering time,’ Otto said, staring out of the window.
    ‘Draw up a list and I’ll pass it on to Nero when I report in,’ Raven replied with a nod. ‘The sooner we get this done, the better.’

    Laura Brand pushed herself up on to her hands and knees, before staggering back to her feet, the sharp metallic taste of blood filling her mouth.
    ‘Too slow,’ the girl standing