Page 52 of Scarred Sunrise

Chapter 22

Liz was fixingher son some lunch when Ty walked in the kitchen. She could tell immediately by his expression he was angry about something but fought back the desire to ask in front of Mateo.

“Hey, Smithy, I figured out your problem for you.”

Ty smoothed out his features and gave her a wink as he switched direction and walked over to her son. Pulling out the chair opposite, he sat down and patiently waited while Mateo explained even as she saw every muscle was tight from the control he was executing over himself.

Handing Mateo the sandwich, she placed a hand on Ty’s arm. “Can I have a word?” Ty nodded and followed her out, closing the door behind him. “What happened?”

“One of the scientists gave us some information, but it looks like we’re on a real short timeline now. The deadline is on the thirty-first of October.”

“What? That’s only three days away.”

“I know.” Ty said as he placed his hands on her hips and pulled her towards him. She laid her head on his chest as he kissed the top of her head. “I hate to ask after I brought him here, but can you get Lauren to pick Mateo up? We have loads to do, and it might get heated as we try and figure it all out.”

“Yes, of course, let me call her now.” Liz was glad he wasn’t asking her to leave because she would’ve put her foot down with that one.

Twenty minutes later, she was waving her son off with Lauren and the twins. Her son had been excited to go with his cousins, especially as Noah was going to be there too and the boys had a healthy competition for Xbox and Minecraft.

The rest of the team were assembled in the conference room, and she felt a bubble of laughter at the thought that perhaps they were the real avengers, then realised it was probably a little hysteria setting in.

She walked in, and Ty turned to her, pulling out a chair beside him with a smile. She made her way over and sat, waiting to see what the plan was.

“Smithy, would you like to tell us about your conversation with Dr Steiner.”

Zack looked tired, she thought, but as she looked around the room casting Meg a smile as she did, she realised they all looked exhausted.

“Steiner says the mind control is definitely in the implant and she will activate using microwaves at 450HMz and that will allow her to control them. It looks like the control is because they become submissive, almost zombie-like, and open to persuasion.”

“Does he know where the access point is or the mainframe?” Will was already typing on his laptop, his fingers flying faster than she could see.

“No, just that he believes she will keep it close.”

Zack looked grim. “What else?”

“The annihilation drug uses the proteins in the DNA of the person with abilities and binds to them. If the person has no abilities it treats them like a virus and overwhelms the immune response, killing them.”

“We can’t let that drug get out into the world, millions could die,” Meg stated worriedly.

Liz smiled sadly as Daniel took her hand. They all had family members without known abilities. Many of the kids hadn’t shown signs of any yet, which alone meant nothing, as a lot would manifest later in life, but as parents it wasn’t a risk they would tolerate.

“No, which is why we have to stop her. She’s going after the oil wells, so I checked all the ones that supply the UK. The main supply chain is from Norway and the North Sea, but we checked those and found not a hint that she might be heading there.” Dane crushed his hand through his hair, making it stand up all over the shop. “That got me thinking. She has a lot of Russian contacts and the second biggest supplier of crude oil is Russia. My money is on the fact she’ll go after the Russian pipeline and put the drug in there. When the fuel converts into a gas as exhaust fumes, it’s airborne.”

“Why go after the second-biggest supplier of oil? It makes no sense.” Jace was seated next to Lucy who had Harlow strapped to her chest. He looked terrified at the prospect of anything happening to his girls.

She felt a hand on her thigh and turned to look at Ty, who left his hand palm up. She wasn’t sure if he was offering comfort or seeking it, and she didn’t care, she linked their fingers and instantly felt more settled.

“She’ll blow the Norwegian pipelines and force the Russian demand higher. Will, see if there’s a connection between Rhea and Dominic Moore, or at least someone in his team.”

“The Minister for State?” Liz asked with a frown.

“Yes, he’ll be in charge of sourcing an alternate crude oil supply, so it makes sense for her to have him in her pocket and we always thought she had someone in government.”

“Okay. Dominic Moore looks pretty clean on the face of it, but oh lookie here, someone has secrets. He has a mistress and a secret love child, and guess who the mistress is linked too?”

“The Divine Watchers!”

“Yes, let me check something.” Will typed furiously as everyone seemed to hold their collective breath. “Yes, here it is, footage of him meeting with the Queen Bitch herself.”