MetaWars: Fight For The Future

Chapter 26

Dimitry’s plane was larger than Hiram’s had been, and a great deal more comfortable. It had a spacious passenger compartment, with eight padded chairs arranged around glass-topped tables. There was a fridge stocked with drinks and snacks.

It looked like Jonah had always imagined Granger’s plane would look. The one his dad had flown. He guessed there was a lot of money in Dimitry’s line of work.

Dimitry was flying the jet himself. Jonah had hoped to leave him behind at the airport, along with Andrey. No such luck. He couldn’t help but notice the way Dimitry looked at Sam. He had already invited her to join him in the cockpit. ‘Maybe later,’ she had said, faking a yawn.

They had been airborne for twenty minutes when Axel decided to log on. He located a Metasphere terminal under his seat, and unwound its Ethernet cord.

‘I wanna have a quick recce, see what’s going on in there,’ he said. ‘Anyway, I need a drink, and I can’t have a real one. Need to keep a clear head.’

‘Where are you going?’ asked Sam.

Axel pulled a face. ‘I guess it can’t be the Icarus.’

‘You should steer clear of that area,’ said Sam. ‘We know there are Millennial spies around there, and they’ve seen us with Jason Delacroix’s avatar.’

‘I know a place for tonight, off the beaten track, no questions asked,’ said Axel. ‘You coming with me, kiddo?’

Sam said she would, for an hour. It was only as she was logging on that Jonah realised this would leave him alone with Bradbury. He nearly asked Sam if he could go with her, but he was tired and decided to rest instead. He didn’t have to talk to Bradbury, he told himself.

Bradbury had stripped down his recently returned shotgun and was cleaning and oiling it, making sure the Chang Corp men hadn’t damaged it. Jonah lay back in his chair and was asleep before he knew it.

Jonah was half woken just once, he wasn’t sure when. He could hear voices. Axel’s was a little too loud, his words slurred. He had probably got his avatar extremely drunk and was still feeling a knock-on effect. Of course,

back in his real-world body, he was soon sober again. Axel was describing street parties and fireworks. Half the Metasphere, he said, was celebrating Granger’s return. Bradbury was annoyed by this. He said something about sheep, about how some people were too stupid to know what was good for them. Sam pointed out that she and Axel had witnessed furious protests too. They had even seen avatars fighting.

Jonah drifted back to sleep. He was woken by Sam, to find sunlight streaming through the aeroplane’s windows. ‘Dad says we’ll be touching down in forty minutes,’ said Sam. ‘I thought you’d want to get cleaned up and eat something.’

Axel had disappeared from the passenger compartment. He must have been at the controls, because Dimitry was sleeping in his seat. Sam woke him, too. Bradbury had found a kettle and was brewing up a pot of Stimucaff, a coffee substitute.

Dimitry said something to Sam in Russian that made her laugh. Sam surprised Jonah by answering in the same language.

‘What did he say?’ Jonah asked Sam.

‘Oh, nothing important,’ she replied before quickly adding, ‘he’s just being macho.’

Jonah had preferred it when Sam was acting cool towards their pilot. What could he say about it, though? It’s not like she’s my girlfriend or anything!

Bradbury handed Dimitry a Stimucaff. ‘No problems with the Chinese authorities?’

Dimitry shook his head. ‘They radioed as soon as we flew into their airspace, but I was able to bluff them. I said I was carrying an American businessman.’