The Adjusters (39 page)

“You can’t beat me, son,” Mallory said viciously.

“I can see that,” Henry said, choosing his words carefully. “What about Christian? Why hasn’t he been affected by the theta signal?”

Mallory glanced quickly back at the helicopter and Christian. “We had him tucked away in the medical centre for more upgrades. So luckily he didn’t get to hear your set of
instructions…” His voice trailed away and a look of understanding passed over his face. “Very clever. Trying to keep me talking? Hoping the FBI is going to come running in to
save the day?” He shook his head with mock sadness. “It doesn’t work like that. This is the bit where I take everything you care about and carry on business as usual. And you get
to be a hero.” He sighted down the gun at Henry’s head. “Just like your dad.”

Henry tensed, waiting for Mallory to pull the trigger…

“Stop!” Jennifer Ward’s voice rang out above the helicopter roar.

Mallory shifted his grip on the gun. “What? You want some last words with your son?”

Jennifer kept her eyes on Henry. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”

“It’s okay, Mom,” Henry said, his voice thick as he saw the tears in her eyes.

“And I’m sorry for giving you such a hard time these last months…” Her voice broke.

“It’s okay,” Henry said, holding her gaze. “Sometimes you have to put your foot down. Know what I mean?” He flicked his eyes down to her feet and then up again. An
understanding passed between them.

“Yeah,” she said.

Mallory held up the gun again. “Very touching. Now let’s get this done…”

Jennifer Ward raised her leg and rammed the heel of her shoe hard onto Mallory’s foot with a crunch. He howled in pain. There was a roar as the gun discharged in his hand

A bullet flew past Henry’s head…

…but he was already running at Mallory. He hit the man, driving him down onto the tarmac of the helipad. The gun flew from his grasp as they landed in a heap with Henry on top.

“Run, Mom!” Henry yelled, trying to disentangle himself. Jennifer started for the Hummer and soon Henry was on his feet too, about to follow…

Mallory grabbed at his leg. “I’m gonna kill you! You little son of a bitch!”

Henry spun round and kicked out at Mallory, catching him in the face and driving him back down. Then he turned and ran, aware of Mallory scrambling for the fallen gun as he fled. The Hummer
roared into life and drove onto the tarmac, screeching round to form a protective barrier as Jennifer passed.

“Henry, watch out!” Fox yelled through the open passenger window.

He ran full pelt for the vehicle. A gunshot rang out. Henry jumped at the front of the Hummer, flying across the hood and landing on the other side next to his mom as bullets slammed into the
side of the vehicle. Everyone inside ducked for cover as Mallory emptied the automatic at them.

As the shooting stopped, Henry looked round the front of the vehicle in time to see Mallory toss the empty gun and run as fast as he could for the chopper, blood streaming from his nose where
Henry’s foot had connected.

Henry didn’t hesitate for a second: running out from the shelter of the Hummer and across the helipad as the chopper started rising into the air. He was vaguely aware of the voices of his
mom and Fox calling after him as he ran, but he was focused on one thing…

Saving Christian.

Through the side windows of the chopper he could see Mallory in the back, hunched on the seat, cupping his broken nose in his hands. In the front, Christian was expertly piloting the vehicle
– another of his new skills. As Henry approached, the helicopter was almost two metres into the air…

Henry put on a spurt of speed…

Leaped…

And grabbed onto the landing strut with both hands.

The chopper continued its inexorable rise, carrying Henry with it high into the night air.

Great plan,
Henry thought as he clung onto the helicopter landing strut for dear life.
Really great.

With every ounce of strength in his body, he managed to swing his legs up so they caught the strut. From there he was able to pull himself round so he was lying on it. Looking down for the first
time, he saw that they had passed the compound and were now flying towards the endless treetops of Newton County. At least a hundred metres below, he made out the southern road winding through the
forest.

A wave of vertigo passed over him and it was tempting simply to cling on for dear life, but he knew that he had to get off the strut somehow. Who knew where Mallory was going or how far? Henry
was already shivering with the cold of the higher altitude and he knew it would only be a matter of time before his muscles weakened and he fell off the side. He looked up at the doors to the front
and back compartments of the chopper. At the moment, Christian and Mallory seemed unaware that he was on the side, which meant he had the advantage of surprise.

With great effort, Henry pulled himself up so he was crouching on the strut. Then the chopper made an unexpected course adjustment and he had to grab the handle of the cockpit door to avoid
being thrown off. He took a breath.
Now or never.

He flung open the door and pulled himself into the seat next to Christian. The other boy didn’t even look round, so intent was he on piloting the chopper. Mallory, in the back, was a
different story, however.

“Christian!” he screamed, still clutching his nose. “Kill him!”

The other kid immediately sprang into action. Releasing his grip on the joystick, Christian turned in his seat and locked his hands around Henry’s throat, slamming him first against the
front window and then against the side door…

…which flew open. Henry grabbed the side of the chopper to stop himself falling out as he felt the wind on his back. Christian’s leg brushed the joystick and the chopper went into a
slow dive, although the pilot showed no sign of noticing. He was completely focused on his latest command.

“Christian!” Henry managed to cry as his friend’s fingers tightened around his throat. “It’s me!”

Christian looked at him blankly, no recognition in his face. In desperation, Henry braced himself against the door frame and kicked out with his left foot, driving his attacker back across the
cockpit. As Christian flew back, he hit the joystick again, sending the chopper rolling in the opposite direction. Through the front window the trees below spun dizzyingly.

“Take the controls!” Mallory cried from behind.

Christian turned his attention back to the stick, pulling the chopper out of its dive. Henry realized that, in the chaos of the cockpit, using the Initiator that was stashed in his pocket
wasn’t an option. He could only take one shot at frying Christian’s SPIDIR properly if he didn’t want to mess up his friend’s head for good, and he couldn’t risk it in
a spinning helicopter. Instead he looked around for something to use as a weapon. If he couldn’t take out Christian’s SPIDIR, then he’d take him out of the equation by cruder
means. It would mean getting the chopper down by himself – but what choice did he have? A fire extinguisher hung behind the pilot’s seat. Henry snatched it up and raised it
high…

“Sorry, Christian,” he said as he moved to bring the cylinder down on his head…

But Mallory reached through from the back and caught Henry’s arm, holding him firm. Henry looked round to see the man staring at him with an insane hatred in his eyes.

“I should have killed you when I had the chance!” he hissed.

Henry reached for the top of the extinguisher with his free hand as they struggled. “Too bad you were so busy talking. Like always.” He pulled the firing pin free and depressed the
trigger. White carbon dioxide gas flooded from the extinguisher nozzle, blasting Mallory back. Seeing his master attacked, Christian let go of the joystick and launched himself at Henry once
more…

But this time Henry was ready, bringing the cylinder round. It connected with the side of Christian’s head with a
clunk
. The kid spun and slumped unconscious against the helicopter
controls, sending the vehicle into a steep dive.

Henry moved fast, grabbing Christian and hauling him out of his seat. Choking against the CO
²
that was flooding the cockpit, he pulled back on the joystick, levelling the chopper just
before it ploughed into the forest. The tops of the tallest firs slammed against the landing struts, rocking the interior.

“Henry, take the controls, boy!” Mallory screeched, trapped in the back. “Fly the chopper!”

Henry linked his arm through the unconscious Christian’s and pulled him towards the still-open side door. As the helicopter began to lose altitude again, the front brushing the treetops,
he took a final look back at Mallory. The head of Malcorp was gripping the back seat, his face terrified.

“You’re the genius,” Henry said to him. “You fly it.”

He paused on the edge for just a second. Directly below was the canopy of trees. Taking a breath, Henry jumped from the helicopter, taking Christian with him…

Free fall lasted for a split second, then they hit the top of a fir tree. Needles and branches ripped into them, but Henry kept his grip on Christian’s arm…he couldn’t let
go…the boy was helpless without him.

They hit branch after branch, ripping them away from the trunk as they fell from one to the next. Henry cried out in pain as his leg caught against a thicker limb, spinning both him and
Christian round 180 degrees. They continued to fall, the ground visible now and rushing up with nothing to stop the impact…

With a crunch, Henry landed on a branch five metres above the ground. It didn’t break. He hung there, trying to ignore the pain that racked his body. A great weight was pulling his arm
almost out of its socket: Christian was dangling below, held only by Henry’s grip. A grip that was quickly slipping. With a cry of effort he hung on for just a second more, but it was no use.
Christian fell silently, hitting the ground with a soft thud.

Henry grabbed the branch he was lying on and with some difficulty pulled himself into a sitting position. Although his body was covered in minor cuts from the tree branches, and his clothes were
shredded, no bones seemed to be broken. A glance up the length of the trunk showed how far they’d fallen – at least fifty metres. Each branch had slowed their fall just a little.

In the distance, the sound of an explosion made Henry look round. Somewhere in the forest the light of a fire grew between the trees.
The helicopter.
It was time to move.

Edging along the branch, he reached the trunk and lowered himself down a series of smaller branches until he could jump the remaining two metres to the soft floor of the forest. Christian was
lying face down in a crumpled heap amid the fallen leaves and bracken. He ran over as fast as his battered legs would carry him.

“Christian!” Henry said, kneeling down and gently turning him over.

The other kid groaned and opened his eyes slowly. Henry removed the Initiator from his pocket, held it to the back of his head and pressed the red button… Christian’s body twitched,
but when his eyes opened, there was recognition there.

“Henry?” Christian said. “Where am I?”

“It’s a long story,” Henry replied, breathing a sigh of relief. “We have to get out of here. Can you stand?”

Christian nodded and pushed himself into a sitting position. “I feel like I’ve been pulled through a hedge backwards,” he said, rubbing the scratches along his arms.

Henry glanced up at the tree and grinned. “Something like that. You don’t remember anything?”

“Uh-uh.”

“That’s probably just as well. I’ll tell you all about it when we get out of here.” He stood up and offered support as Christian tried to do the same.

“I think my leg is sprained,” Christian said with a wince. Henry put an arm round his shoulder.

“Which way do we go?” Christian asked.

Looking through the trees, Henry could see the fire from the crashed chopper was clearly spreading. “As far away from that as possible,” he answered.

They walked into the forest, supporting one another as they went.

“I think I’m getting some flashbacks of the last couple of days,” Christian said after some time. Their progress was painfully slow due to his twisted ankle
and the uneven ground.

Henry looked at him. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. I kinda remember firing a gun at you.”

Henry nodded. “Yeah. You did that.”

Christian thought it over for a moment. “And I kinda remember kicking your ass a bit. I felt like a jock.”

Henry laughed. “Oh yeah. You should join the football team.”

“And I think I can fly a helicopter. And speak Arabic. And Mandarin. I hate to say this, but it’s pretty cool. My dad’s going to go nuts. Finally I can do something better than
my brother.”

Henry gave him a look. If his SPIDIR was shut down, shouldn’t he have lost all of the knowledge implanted by Mallory’s doctors? Or could it still be active in some way? Made dormant
by the Initiator, but ready to be reactivated… That wasn’t a nice thought.

“What’s wrong?” Christian said. “You’re looking at me weird.”