The Infinity Bridge

Part 14

Sam’s blood ran cold as he stared down the muzzle of the gun. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Annie stop moving, her fists clenched. Nick sat by the PC, mouth lolling in shock.

‘You are a fool, Armitage,’ Merlin’s voice echoed. ‘You will have no reward from the Hidden if they use the InfinityBridge.’

Armitage smiled. ‘On the contrary, they can offer me what no-one in this alternate can... a cure... a new body.’

‘What are you rambling about?’

Very slowly Armitage flicked a bank of switches to his left, his eyes never moving from Annie. The security monitor behind him crackled and changed image. Two men wearing leather jackets were approaching the side door of the safe house.

‘The Hidden know about this place?’ Annie gasped.

‘Of course, it was their secondary strategy when your little punk friends evaded them with the SD card. And once Epsilon and Beta have softened them up a bit their old friend Delta will be sure to extract his revenge. Amazingly proud these androids.’

‘Delta, Epsilon, Beta... so when’s Alfie Alpha joining the party?’ Sam asked.

‘Patience—he will be here for the Infinity Bridge soon enough.’

‘Blah, blah, blah. You are such a rubbish villain,’ Sam said. ‘Droning on about the master plan. Why don’t you just get it over with? Or are you scared of the Greek alphabet robots?’

Armitage glared in hatred. ‘Cocky little swine. I’m certain you won’t be missed when they arrive.’

His finger squeezed the trigger. Sam closed his eyes.

The whip-crack of gunfire echoed around the room. Sam sucked in a breath in anticipation and then with amazement realised that he wasn’t hit. His eyes opened as all hell broke loose.

Armitage hurtled back, blood spattering from his shoulder. His gun boomed and the bullet ricocheted off the InfinityBridge and into the bank of computer screens. There was a shower of sparks as they exploded. The InfinityBridge toppled along with the table and smart-phones. It clanged off the floor and rolled toward Armitage.

‘Get the hell, hells bells, out.’ Ben stood at the door. He fired again towards Armitage.

The shot missed and shattered a TV screen.

Nick yanked out the SD card, and scrambled from his chair. Armitage roared in pain and fired towards the door. Sam lunged and shoved Annie out of the way as the bullets thudded into the wall.

‘Annie, come on!’ Sam yelled. He could see Annie heading toward Armitage.

Her eyes glittered with anger, but she turned to follow. Sam’s boot caught the edge of one of the smart-phones on the floor. He grabbed it and hurtled into the corridor with Nick and Annie.