Deadlock by Mark Walden Read Free Book Online

the political ranks and now he stood on the brink of claiming the most powerful office in the world. He smiled contentedly to himself as he sat down in one of the large leather seats that lined the cabin. His latest poll figures were excellent and all of the projections appeared to indicate that he would soon be moving into a new house on Pennsylvania Avenue. It didn’t hurt that one of the Disciples’ front companies was responsible for manufacturing the electronic voting machines that would be used in some of the most closely contested states during the upcoming election. Even if the electorate were foolish enough to choose his opponent the final result would be no different. All he had to do was sit and wait for November.
    ‘Your wife and son will be here shortly, Senator,’ the secret service agent reported. ‘They were slightly late leaving the hotel, but the pilot assures me that we can make up the time once we get airborne.’
    ‘Good,’ Ronson replied. ‘I have a meeting that I can’t be late for.’ The meeting in question was a teleconference with the other members of the Disciples and he was keen to get an update on how Anastasia Furan’s plan was developing. Nero and G.L.O.V.E. had been a thorn in their sides for far too long and it was about time they were finished off once and for all. Furan had dealt Nero a stunning blow with the assault on the H.I.V.E. training exercise known as the Hunt and now was the time to press home their advantage. Nero’s status with the other members of the global fraternity of villains had been weakened by his failure to protect his students and it would not take much to amplify that chaos still further. If Nero finally lost his grip on the reins of power, his fellow villains would turn on him in an instant, that much was certain. Ronson’s mobile phone started ringing and he glanced at the screen to see that his campaign manager was calling. He took the call just as his wife and son climbed aboard and the jet’s engines began to spin up. He mouthed ‘You’re late’ to his wife as she sat down across the aisle from him and she mouthed a ‘Sorry’ in reply as the plane taxied for take-off. He spent ten minutes discussing the latest polling data with his campaign director before finally hanging up.
    ‘What kept you?’ Ronson asked his wife with a frown.
    ‘Sorry,’ she replied. ‘I had to get changed.’
    Ronson’s frown deepened. There was something funny about his wife’s voice. Her usual mid-west twang was gone, replaced instead by what sounded like a soft Russian accent.
    ‘We both did,’ his son added, in a British accent.
    Ronson’s eyes widened in shock as their faces shimmered and faded to reveal a pair of smooth black skintight masks, with mirrored silver eyepieces. The pair of impostors pulled off the masks, revealing two faces that Ronson found horrifyingly familiar.
    ‘Good morning, Senator Ronson,’ Otto said with a smile as Raven pulled a snub-nosed pistol from her handbag and levelled it at him. ‘I do hope we’re not interrupting anything.’
    ‘What have you done with my wife and son?’ Ronson demanded, slowly sliding his hand into his pocket.
    ‘Oh, they’re fine,’ Otto replied, ‘if a little unconscious at the moment. As are the two secret service agents in the rear compartment that you just tried to summon with the panic button in your pocket. I took the liberty of disabling it the moment I boarded the plane anyway, just in case. We wouldn’t want any Air Force jets interrupting our little chat now, would we?’
    ‘Don’t bother shouting for the pilots either,’ Raven said calmly. ‘They are equally . . . indisposed. Now, hands where I can see them.’ Ronson complied, lifting his hands in front of him defensively.
    ‘Then who’s flying the plane?’ Ronson asked, a slight note of panic in his voice.
    ‘I am,’ Otto said, glancing towards the cockpit. ‘You’ve got to love fly-by-wire avionics.’
    ‘You won’t get