Revolution

  Chapter Ten

  The Mark One banked sharply into steep turn at high speed turning wisps of cloud back into vapour as General Thorn informed Troy of his brothers new offensive.

  ‘Daryl, Frost has struck again in New York apparently he took out all the key figures of the Triadic Mafia, including Knufan Chang and Benito Colloseo. Markov and Sadek are there now; they are trapped inside the Mark Three, holding Gel of all things! Honestly, we give you all incredibly advanced technology the likes of which will never be surpassed and still you cannot conduct a run of the mill operation!’ A somewhat agitated Thorn confronted Troy, his left eyebrow was twitching slightly, as it did when he was angry. He mocked the agents as all good generals do when their men fail, he did not take Frosts resourcefulness into account.

  ‘Speaking of which Daryl, why did the Mark One appear on ours and therefore everyone's radar screens for nearly fifteen minutes! The Mark One needs to be well maintained but that kind of failure should not occur’ Thorn continued and the General began to irritate Troy somewhat.

  ‘I’m on my way to New York as we speak, I heard of the attack from the Planetary Commissions early warning system, you know, the bumbling bureaucrats you decided to team up with and who now seem to be running the show! And as for the Mark One, she is a fine vessel and would continue to fulfil that tough role if your technicians would keep to the monthly maintenance checks. I’ll see you later Thorn’ He ended the visual link with Thorn, he was a tad blunt with his superior; his patience with the meddling General were beginning to wear thin.

  The Mark One entered New York’s glittering skyline and almost fitted in with all the police helicopters in the area. Troy switched on the listening equipment used for covert surveillance and tried to find out what the police megaphones were demanding.

  ‘This is the FBI please leave your vehicle slowly and calmly, you are under arrest’ An FBI officer announced from a loud speaker to the occupants of the Mark Three which was on its side and helpless, Troy listened in from his helicopter which was far from helpless. He knew the task in hand all too well, he also knew a violent approach was inevitable. Obviously this mission needed some keen planning. Troy kept the Mark One at a safe distance, he had not yet been spotted but if he were it could spell disaster.

  Troy contacted the Mark Three and his helpless comrades to tell them his plan.

  ‘Markov, Sadek, its Daryl. How you both doing in there? I bet its quite cosy in that cell of yours, just the two of you!’ He said jokingly. A frustrated Sadek now filled Troy’s view screen, he felt bitter having to be rescued but a feeling of kinship suddenly resurfaced.

  ‘Yes lap it up Daryl, can you get this godforsaken holding shit off our helicopter please? It would be a great help’ like a young man realising the big picture for the first time, Sadek for some reason now felt no contempt for his fellow agent and regained a feeling of brotherly love.

  ‘Yeah sure I'll have to fire a high power energy pulse at you to disintegrate the gel so hold on to your pants!’ Troy said and prepared to fire his saviour pulse of energy. A flash of blue fired from the Mark One and hit its sister vessel. The Mark Three shook violently and blue bolts of energy annihilated the material that had imprisoned her, she was now free to move. Almost as quickly as the blast had hit, the Mark Three began to rotate its blades; throwing it back upright and the chopper gained height. A flash of blue bolted from its rear and the magnificent vessel vanished into the night.

  ‘Daryl...’

  ‘Yeah don’t mention it’ He nodded to Sadek and closed the link.

  Troy made his way through the corridors of SIA headquarters; thinking deeply about where Frost could be hiding. The door of Thorn’s briefing room opened with a quick sliding motion and Troy stepped in. The room was brightly lit illuminating the SIA’s three remaining agents sitting patiently at their places. They all faced General Thorn and a strange man standing behind him. He looked around at all the empty places; the names of his dead comrades were still on the nameplates as they always had been, as a mark of respect. Frost’s nameplate was not there however. Kym raised his hand to Troy as he sat in his place sporting a tired worn out look on his weary face.

  ‘Good evening Daryl, good to see you again please take a seat’ General Thorn said as he motioned Troy to his place and continued.

  ‘I’d like you to meet Dwight Jefferson, he‘s the head of operations at the Planetary Commission, and has decided to join us at all times now, I'm sure you don’t mind do you?’ The General looked on edge as he spoke and just before he finished the strange man with rodent-like features walked forward.

  ‘Hello Designation 115 heard and read a lot about you young man, very impressive indeed. Are you any closer to finding Designation 111?’

  This man who Troy had never met had read all his files and knew everything about him, it made the agent feel uneasy to the core.

  ‘I’ll have him in good time but it aint easy, I doubt you really know who or what it is you think you’re dealing with here. Agent Frost is the most capable threat to all life on Earth since the meteorite that killed off the dinosaurs’ Jefferson tried to speak but Troy cut him off aggressively and got to his feet.

  ‘I’d strongly suggest you leave it to the experts to sort this little predicament or you won’t have a planet to commission’ Troy was suspicious of Jefferson as was the rest of the room.

  ‘Sit down Daryl this man is our friend!’ Thorn stood up and walked to the rooms main view screen, inside he fully agreed with Troy but felt his hands were tied.

  ‘Now then gentlemen, another failed attempt in New York! Mr Jefferson is getting very impatient with your lack of ability and frankly so am I! You had the opportunity and your futile attempt ended in disaster!’ Thorn almost barked at the agents as they sat dumbstruck, Thorn was putting it on for Jefferson who seemed to have him on a leash. With that Markov stood up and sounded his view.

  ‘How dare you bring us here and dress us down in the presence of this worm, the SIA is an independent organisation and he has no right to be here, I suggest you get him out of here before I rip his throat out!’ Markov shouted keeping his stern eyes fixed on Jefferson who began to feel afraid.

  ‘Sit down now Designation 113 or I will knock you down!’ Thorn silenced Markov and he suddenly cowered in pain then slumped back to his chair. Troy and Kym looked at each other with very worried eyes, were they under some kind of control they thought. They had no idea that the force that pushed Markov to obey was the tiny inhibitor chip embedded in his hypothalamus. Any official of the SIA could control the agents just by calling them by their designation number. Troy now became very suspicious of the whole incident and ideas in his head began to run rampant. Markov regained his posture, also mystified he remained silent.

  ‘Thank you Sadek, now listen all of you. Mr Jefferson here is planning to blow the lid on the SIA if we don’t apprehend Frost soon, as I am sure you all agree that is not a situation we want to find ourselves in’ Thorn now lowered his tone and posturing, he was a good man at heart but the mounting pressure from the Commission had changed him and his perception.

  ‘You are all going to leave this room and when you return you will have Frost’s head on a stick, are we understood?’ Thorn finished without looking at his beloved team of agents, he was ashamed at what he had done. The room emptied without a sound and the solemn agents hung their heads in bewilderment. Troy kept his head high and glared intently at Thorn; he transmitted a thousand words of anger through his piercing eyes.

  Once everyone left the room, Thorn called Troy back.

  ‘Daryl I’d like a quick word my friend’ Thorn shouted. Troy entered the room once again and Thorn motioned Jefferson to leave.

  ‘A private word with my colleague Mr Jefferson If you don’t mind’ continued Thorn as he looked at Jefferson who was a little angered by this request.

  ‘Of course General I'll be in the mess hall’ Jefferson said begrudgingly as he left the room.

  ‘Da
ryl I hope you can forgive me, my life’s work is hanging in the balance and there is nothing I can do to stop it. I have an idea, our intelligence sources have uncovered something I think may be of some use to us. You remember Nikita Frost, Daryl’s wife don’t you? Well, I know they split up around a six months before Frosts little insurrection, but for some reason she has left the country on a flight to Tibet, we think she may be meeting with Frost’ General Thorn’s tone now returned to its usual calm now that Jefferson had left.

  ‘Yes! Of course, why didn’t I think of that, his Tibetan Ranch he must have been hiding there. I must get there before Nikita does or he’ll kill her for sure, he won’t even think about letting her live!’ A grave look of concern fell upon Troy’s face; his energy returned.

  ‘Get going my friend, I’m sending the others to New York to look for clues, so you’re on your own’ General Thorn ended the conversation and Troy embarked on his new task.

  The Mark One again graced the sky as she headed towards Tibet at full speed. Troy drifted off into a light sleep and jolted back to awareness, days without it were finally taking their toll. He activated autopilot and walked to the back of the chopper, he opened a small panel just above one of the rear seats and pulled out a packet of pills. He popped two and then returned to his console. The pills were an anti-tiredness creation from the SIA’s chemists which the agents were given to prolong periods of non-sleep. They weren’t harmful and worked perfectly, within ten minutes Troy felt full of energy and like he had slept 12 hours or more. Eventually Tibet was in sight and Troy slowed the chopper and lowered his altitude, the sun was just beginning to peek over the vast mountainous scenery of Tibet.

  He took the Mark One almost to the ground and looked carefully for Frost’s Tibetan ranch. Finally he spotted it, all the agents were wealthy and Frost used to spend his earnings on luxurious and exotic homes. Troy dropped the Mark One in the grounds of a huge ranch that resembled that of the deep south if a little better kept, it stood out like a neon sign in the peaceful beauty and snow plains of Tibet. He activated his armour and left the Mark One scanning for any signs of life or recent activity. Suddenly a huge lump of snow fell from the roof making Troy jump back with weapons armed and ready.

  He calmed himself down when he saw it was a bird that had been disturbed; his nerves of steel had been reduced to cotton in recent days. He entered the house, his metallic feet echoed eerily on the wooden floor of Frost’s hallway killing any sense of bravery that he just regained. The house looked untouched for months; there was certainly no sign of the hunted. After some time he concluded that Frost would not be visiting today; perhaps he was hatching a new plan to murder millions high in some forgotten part of the globe.

  He walked into what had been his brother’s study and pictures of Nikita, Frost’s wife of one year covered the walls, she was gorgeous as Troy was again reminded. He suddenly realised that his twin brother had become a stranger to him. Perhaps he had neglected their relationship in recent times, he couldn’t really remember the last time they shared a laugh. Frost had taken six months leave from the SIA only four months before the destruction in Hungary. Everyone thought nothing of it. Clearly Frost was becoming what he had developed into, a bloodthirsty psychopath. Had he turned more attention to his onetime best friend and brother then all of this could have somehow been avoided perhaps.

  He picked up a small book at the side of Frost’s advanced computer system; he opened it and read its contents.

  ‘15th November 2031, have reached an incredible level with the Telescopic Combat Armour, it almost feels like a part of me, I am becoming a higher entity a higher state of humanity. There is nothing I cannot do’ Troy read the last instalment of what seemed to be his brother’s diary. He was beginning to piece together what had befallen his sibling, as he did he thought he heard a distant whisper yet coming from inside his armour. He jumped and dropped the diary onto the floor. Was he experiencing the first effects of the armour corrupting his mind like Frost had many months ago? Was he about to fall victim to this mighty alien technology just like his brother? He dismissed his thoughts as paranoia and tried to regain his focus without success.

  He deactivated the armour, what he experienced frightened him a great deal. He turned to look out of the window and there before him stood Frost. Had he crept silently into the room, maybe he had always been there, he did not know what Frost was capable of now. Troy jumped out of his skin and motioned for his belt once more but it was a pointless move as Frost had a powerful weapon aimed at his head. Troy noticed Frost’s armour seemed a lot darker than his own he wondered if it was a result of the transformation that he had become a victim to.

  ‘So we meet again my brother, I have something important to tell you Daryl and it’s going to be hard for you to hear but you must listen carefully. I will deactivate my armour if you agree to talk with me, if you still feel the same way after I have spoken then I will understand and you can try and take me in. Can I trust you brother?’ Arrin Frost’s robotic voice echoed loudly through the house. Troy felt strange in the presence of this assassin whom he had spent nearly all his life with. He felt a kind of pity for Frost and decided he would co-operate.

  ‘Ok Arrin, but no funny business or I will take you out!’ Troy’s voice sounded weak; this meeting was hard for him to deal with. Frost deactivated his armour and to Troy’s astonishment the armour on his right arm did not deactivate.

  ‘Janner was right! The armour is dangerous it’s bonding with your body, you’re turning into a monster’ Troy looked horrified at his brothers blue arm; all his greatest fears had come true.

  ‘Don’t comment on things you know nothing about, you have no idea what I have become. I am the armour and the armour is me, I have evolved Daryl. You cannot stop evolution’ Frost became angry and Troy caught a flash of blue in his brothers eyes; he truly was becoming a monster.

  ‘Daryl you have to listen to me and listen well, it is vital. As I am sure you are aware, Nikita Frost worked at the Planetary Commission in the SIA department. She discovered that all eight of us have implanted in our brains a Disobedience Inhibitor Chip. I’ve been away from the SIA for so long because of this, they have kept us like animals Daryl you are no freer than a caged animal. Do you understand what I am saying brother?’ Frost had somehow reverted back to his old self; his voice was no longer devoid of emotion. Maybe there was a shred of Frost left in there somewhere. Troy tried to look surprised; he thought that something was inside them all keeping them in line, but he still refused to believe it fully.

  Troy placed a hand on a nearby table for support, Frost’s words were hard to digest.

  ‘You’ve gone mad and your talking shit. The SIA are our creators, our friends, they would not. They could not do that. You’re lying, you’re insane!’ Troy's voice turned into a pitiful whimper as he finished his sentence. Frost knew that his brother was acting; Troy was not as naive as he was letting on.

  ‘They can’t control us like that, we’re human beings! They don’t control me’ the once mighty Daryl Troy had been reduced to a feeble shadow of himself, not from Frost's dominating demeanour, but because he simply did not want to confront the possibility that he was being controlled constantly by his own family the SIA. In the SIA I trust he had always told himself before dangerous missions. His theology was pressure cracking at the seams.

  ‘Quite the contrary my dear brother, they have a hold on you stronger than you can imagine. An intelligent device attached to your central nervous system, waiting to pounce whenever it feels the need. Tell me, have you never felt compelled to do as they say when they call you by designation?’ Frost towered above his brother like a wolf upon its prey.

  Troy was like putty in his hands. He began to whimper like a deranged prisoner no longer in control of his own destiny. After sometime as Frost looked down on him, he subconsciously accepted what his brother was saying.

  ‘You believe me I can see it in your eyes. You handled it well Daryl, we
are proud men we were specifically designed to be. That is why it is so hard to take on board, I was much worse than you my friend, when I found out’ Frost had become like a gentle giant to Troy's weary mind, he finally decided to trust him.

  Troy regained his posture and his integrity and once again held his head high.

  ‘Why then does it not control you? How can it be so powerful if you have overcome it?’ Troy asked wiping the spent tears off his face in a proud but defeated way.

  ‘The problem is we don’t know we have them! How can you stop something you know nothing about? When I found out I removed mine by simple extraction, they never thought it possible that we would ever find out about them’

  ‘If you announce to your wrist communicator that you are aware of your Chip it will class you as a familiar and locate it for you. When I found out my hatred for the SIA began. They are liars and cowards, they have kept us like animals; slave to their every command. That is why I’ve rebelled. I only wish you could see what I have seen you would understand my actions’ the strange blue glint re-appeared in Frost’s eyes as he spoke.

  ‘I understand your hatred I’m beginning to share it but why kill millions of people, innocent people. They had nothing to do with the SIA. Why not just overthrow the agency and carry on the good work we do?’ Troy asked angrily.

  ‘Daryl it’s hard to dance with devil on your back’ Frost replied with an evil smirk. He was obviously aware of the evil that had dominated his mind.

  ‘I needed to make ripples to be heard and that’s what I did. Humans are mere ripples to me now’ He concluded his explanation of the worst atrocities mankind has ever seen. Troy somehow understood his rage and channelled it into his own.

  ‘I don’t get it. Why did they do it? Why the need to control us? I’m going to rip out Thorns lying tongue, the lying bastards, I’ll rip out all their tongues!’ Troy was getting angry and an evil look came across his face as he spoke.

  ‘We will kill them Daryl all of them, come with me and together we will be the lords of this planet. We were genetically engineered, we are freaks of nature, but that is a good thing. We ‘re the next step in human evolution, five years from now thousands of human hybrids like ourselves will rule the planet and we will be their masters!’

  Frost seemed to grow and the armour on his arm slowly began to swell a little and covered nearly all of it. Daryl thought of the possibility of joining his brother; the human will to be free filled every corner of his being; the freedom he thought he possessed had been false. He remembered some of the vivid dreams he had in the past, were they real? Had the SIA used him while he slept, to carry out the missions he thought were nothing more than dreams? He began to feel afraid and then the fear became anger.

  He wanted blood. But suddenly the smell of the Hungarian wasteland filled his nose again and he remembered all the millions of faint life-signs in Kandahar, he remembered what his comrade had done. He focused and realised that joining Frost was a ridiculous fantasy that his brother had imagined a thousand times.

  ‘Do you not see how wrong it is to kill millions just because you’re angry with the SIA?’ Troy wanted to know the deeper reasoning behind all the death and carnage.

  ‘Don’t you feel like this planet has gone stale Daryl? Eleven billion people now live here like parasites sucking the life from this great planet. It’s time for a new evolution of mankind because this one is going nowhere’ Frost had a plan and had clearly thought like this for quite some time.

  ‘Well yeah, I know what you mean but it doesn’t justify the level of death you’ve dealt out’ Troy had discussed these thoughts and feelings with his brother from time to time but never thought he’d actually go through with the idea’s he came out with.

  ‘I didn’t expect you to understand yet Daryl but in time you will, I’m certain of that’

  ‘No Arrin I’ll never turn my back on my own people, you’ve become a cold-blooded killer of millions and I cannot bear even to be near someone like you’ Frost looked shocked as Troy dived out of the door as fast as lightening activating his armour as he did.

  ‘Then you will die’ Frost shouted angrily as he fired a shot of blue light from his weapon. The blast struck Daryl on his right arm and he yelled in agony as his armour began to cover his body. Frost broke out of the glass window behind him, activated his armour and ran off. Troy lifted himself up he was in obvious pain and it was noticeable even through his armour. He ran in pursuit of Frost; his right arm slumped against his blue chest.

  Frost bounded away at high speed towards a nearby snow capped hill and Troy magnified it in his headpiece, he could see it was a quite well camouflaged bunker of some kind. Troy activated his scimitars, forgetting his arm was still pressed against his chest the curved silver blades shot out from his right forearm and pierced the armour, stabbing his arm deeply. He dropped to the floor in pain and once again he lifted himself, it was no use the blast had begun to take more effect on his upper arm. It was slowly working its way into his nerves as the weapon was intended to do. Frost now entered the Mark Two and was as good as free; he lifted the fine vessel out of the bunker and into the air, he fired holding gel onto the Mark One’s rotors, rendering it immobile. Troy had just enough energy left in him to turn and look at his beloved helicopter. He forced his rapidly draining muscles to take him to the Mark One. He got within touching distance and then collapsed. The blue hulk of Troy was now powerless as he lay next to his helicopter, the morning sun gleaming off his armour like a shimmering star.

  Troy opened his eyes; the sun was beginning to wane in its dark blue heaven. When he regained full vision, his view was now filled with a beautiful young lady, more beautiful even than the sun he thought still partially in a daze. He immediately took his attention away from all the green numbers and uninteresting facts that filled the headpiece of his armour. The lady was Nikita Frost, her bright blue eyes looked deep into Troy’s even though he was still in his armour he could feel their warmth penetrating the TCA. He could not hear what she was saying because his hearing had not returned and nor had any of his motor function, for all she knew he could have been dead inside the tomb of his bodysuit. He had no way of letting her know he was alive. She tapped hard on his helmet and from what he could make out she was calling him Frost, perhaps she thought he was her ex-husband. He did the only thing he could and admired her beauty. Her hair was dark brown and long, it seemed to flow like the waves of a tranquil ocean. Her face was like that of an angel but sophisticated at the same time, he realised why Frost had been so mad for this woman but now his mind must have forgotten his love for her.

  Suddenly he began to feel a twitch in his arms and rapidly his muscles started to return to normal function. He lifted his battered body and sat up, he deactivated his armour and blood began to trickle from his wounds, he looked up at Nikita and smiled.

  ‘Daryl? Is it Daryl? I don’t suppose Arrin’s hair could have grown back that fast!’ The young lady said with a fearful tone.

  ‘Yes its Daryl, Arrin has just this minute parted my company sadly’ Troy replied feeling a little worse for wear, or maybe it had something to do with the blast of energy he had just been subjected to.

  ‘It’s good to see you Daryl I thought I would find Arrin here, I haven’t seen him for months and I’ve just lost my job at the Planetary Commission because of my links with him. Anyway there’s plenty of time for stories, you look like your hurt pretty bad’ Nikita said in an alarmed manner.

  ‘If you could just go into the chopper there is a skin regeneration unit that will sort out the bleeding’ Troy seemed to find even talking a chore.

  ‘Arrin told me about those regeneration units. I wanted him to steal me one but that was when he began acting strange’ given the situation Nikita seemed very calm and methodical.

  ‘How was he able to talk to you about our technology? You’re an unfamiliar’ Troy replied.

  ‘I’m a familiar I know all about you and the SIA, I worked for
the Planetary Commission. I mean haven’t you realised?’

  ‘Realised what’ He answered

  ‘You just told me about it!’ Nikita continued with a beaming smile as she entered the Mark One. Troy spotted his mistake and started to remember what Frost had told him about the chip inside his head.

  They walked back to the house with the small device Nikita had just taken from the Mark One. The house seemed a lot more homely as soon as Nikita entered; there was a kind of energy that emanated from her with the force of a storm but the tenderness of a feather. They sat down and she tended to Troy’s wounds. He showed her how to use the regenerator and explained how it worked.

  ‘Basically it speeds up the healing process by a factor of a thousand, it can heal any part of the body in less than hour. It automatically finds the damaged tissue when it is placed in the right area. It also replenishes the genetic codes of the relevant area, so that the skin looks exactly the same as before; no scars!’ Both Daryl and Nikita were getting on incredibly well, he had not known women could be so enjoyable to be around, he had never had the tenderness of a real mother and all the girls he knew were either shallow or uninteresting. He realised he had been picking the wrong girls all along. After an hour his wounds were healed and his energy had returned dramatically; just being around Nikita was medicine in itself.

  She recalled how Frost changed from day to day and how he hadn’t taken the news of the Inhibitors very well. Troy realised she could have been the main catalyst for Frost to turn evil but she was not to blame, how could she have known.

  She told him about Frost's training gym where he had created holographic simulant’s to practise his fighting skills on and how he had used the armour more and more.

  ‘He used to train every day morning to night at one point. He would come and tell me how much he had advanced in combat skills and anticipation of a person’s movement. He spoke of his armour as if it were his son. It used to bore the shit out of me if I’m honest!’ Troy looked shocked at her language but he imagined the situation for a second and laughed, she sent a beaming smile back to him.

  ‘Eventually all he thought about was the suit, he forgot about me and I went back to work. He never answered my calls, letters, emails I knew it was over. He seemed to get smarter as well somehow, ill show you his training gym it’s incredible, the simulant’s have actual mass if they hit you, you feel it!’ she was obviously a little angry with Arrin but she still seemed to speak highly of him.

  ‘Can I see this gym? We were taught a little about hologram manipulation by the SIA but even they hadn’t got even close to creating a hologram with mass! He really has evolved, if only it were for the better!’ Troy was in awe of the idea of such a training facility.

  ‘Yes I’ll take you just you rest a little while, would you like a drink?’ The gorgeous lady in front of him asked.

  ‘Yeah why not. I’ll have the strongest thing you’ve got, you got any synthohol?’ He asked.

  ‘I’m afraid not, but I think we should still have a bottle of whiskey somewhere. I'll have a look. I was expecting you to ask for a cup of tea what with your accent!’

  Troy was now fully revitalised the whiskey did its job perfectly and he lost the feeling of worry, he felt like nothing could touch him and his new friend in this Tibetan homestead. She took him to Frost's training gym deep underground. As Nikita flicked the switch hundreds of bright lights filled the huge room. Suddenly a figure appeared in front of them both and began to speak.

  ‘Good evening Arrin, what program would you like to access?’ The hologram looked incredibly lifelike. It was designed in Frost's likeness, which made Troy feel edgy. Perhaps the armour had made Frost vain as well as psychopathic he thought to himself. Nikita requested a combat program to the simulant. All of a sudden the room changed into an image of a dark slightly cramped room, it resembled a prison hallway, the kind that Troy had seen many a time on television.

  ‘I’ll be over here if you need me’ Nikita said as she motioned towards a doorway and left the room. The images were incredibly lifelike in every way; he could almost smell the stale air. The image of Frost appeared again and asked what aggression level should be activated.

  ‘Maximum’ Troy said aggressively, activating his armour. From out of nowhere his mirror image appeared and kicked him with incredible power, sending him flying into the wall. As he picked himself up he saw the hologram made to look like one of his fellow agents in their armour.

  He activated his wrist scimitars and began to fight gracefully with the imaginary enemy. Energy began to flow from every cell in his body, his rhythm was flawless and the computer controlling the simulant’s actions was incapable of countering Troy’s moves. He began to move so fast that his hands were barely visible; his armoured suit was working in complete harmony with his body. As he finally reached his peak he delivered a ferocious blow, knocking the simulant’s head clean off. Troy let out a robotic roar as the hologram disappeared. He was angry again; the little fight he had just endured reminded him of what Frost had told him about the SIA. The next simulant appeared and before it could strike a sly blow Troy rammed his right fist into the blue robots chest, sending it flying across the room. The simulant regained its posture and ran towards Troy quickly, when it approached he jumped high into the air, as he flipped over gracefully he lashed out with his left scimitar and slashed off its arm. With only one arm the hologram attacked again but Troy was on a higher plane. He lashed out his left arm and the simulant again lost its head. He requested the game to end and suddenly the room returned to its former glory. Nikita joined him and they headed back up to the house; he was now fully confident of his abilities. Frost's days were numbered.

  The lonely ranch in its harsh but picturesque surroundings seemed timeless. He felt that time had truly stopped, that his mission could wait and time would again return to normal only if he left its four walls. He thought this so vividly that when he checked his communicator for the date and time he was almost shocked to find that time was actually passing as it had always done. He glanced out of the window of his room catching the last glimpse of night time as the sun was again preparing to warm the world. He recalled the previous day, why had Frost not killed him he wondered; perhaps he still had something up his sleeve. He recalled the previous night and his stomach seemed to fill with butterflies. He recalled Nikita’s face in his mind’s eye, the microcomputer implants that all the agents had, gave them a crystal clear photographic memory. He remembered all be it shakily, that he and Nikita had finished off the bottle of whiskey. He remembered that they had not experienced a single silent moment; he felt they had developed a strong bond in just one day. He recalled that she had dumped him in this room though he did not know what time it had been, anti-sleep pills and alcohol did not mix. He looked down at his beloved Mark One and saw that it was covered in holding gel; he hadn’t noticed it the day before.

  Eventually he got to work on removing the gel that had encompassed the helicopter, using a diamond cutter he had found in Frost's gym, it melted quickly and ran down into the snow, his beloved Mark One was free once again.

  ‘Good morning Mr how’s your head today?’ He was startled by Nikita’s presence, creeping up behind him without his knowing, his hearing was usually acute but the howling wind of the Tibetan plains was muffling his ears.

  ‘I feel like there’s small man with a big hammer banging the shit out of my head’ he answered as he turned to see Nikita in her dressing-gown. She seemed in awe of something when she looked at him. She smiled shyly and walked back into the house. Even with his lack of knowledge for women he could feel her affectionate feelings towards him; the butterflies in his stomach returned with a vengeance.

  He finished the repairs on the Mark One and returned to the house. He made for the kitchen where Nikita was preparing something that smelled great. As he got nearer he saw she was preparing an English breakfast, she brought the ingredients with her. Perhaps she intended to stay at
the ranch for a while and bask in old memories, perhaps she wanted to temp Frost back with a mean breakfast, either way it was Troy’s feast today.

  ‘Something smells good! You're quite a talented lady aren’t you!’ Troy said as he entered the kitchen. The smell reminded him of his days in England when he spied on Mohammed Jaffar’s son who was in university there under a false name.

  ‘Well the proof of the pudding is in the eating as they say’ she said bashfully.

  Troy did something that he could not resist; he put his arms around her and kissed her.

  ‘How about we take a little holiday for a couple of days, I'll take you to some of my favourite places’

  ‘I’d love that’ she responded bashfully.