Eye of the Storm by Mark Robson Read Free Book Online Page B

You’ll be fine. I wouldn’t be letting you go if I
didn’t believe that.’
    He looked at her and saw the truth of what she was saying. He could see there was worry in her eyes, but belief was there in greater measure. She trusted her team implicitly.
    ‘Thanks,’ he said, and drew her into a hug.
    ‘I wish I was going with you,’ she sighed. ‘Sherri and the raptors will keep you as safe as I could, but I’m not saying you won’t be in any danger, Sam. Just make
sure you do as you’re told, or there’ll be hell to pay when you get back to base. Now I’ve found you again, I’m not planning on losing you any time soon.’ She smiled
at him, her tough exterior breaking for a moment.
    ‘Don’t worry, Mum,’ he assured her. ‘You’re not going to get rid of me that easily. I won’t do anything silly, I promise.’
    ‘Time to go,’ Sherri interrupted.
    The frame was finished and secured. The cable had been routed over the top and Grunt was tensioning the cable-like rope with a ratchet mechanism that he had mounted within the structure of the
frame. Nipper clipped his runner over the rope, twisted his hands through the safety loops and gripped the runner bar. With a flash of his impressive rows of teeth, he lifted his legs from the
rooftop and began the long slide to the neighbouring roof.
    The cable sagged quite dramatically under his weight to begin with, but Grunt continued to ratchet up the tension even as he went. By the time he reached the roof of the Imperium labs, Nipper
was sliding at a terrific speed, but it was nothing the raptor couldn’t handle. Deliberately dropping from the runner, he hit the rooftop and rolled to his feet like an acrobat.
    ‘Impressive!’ Callum whispered to Sam. ‘You sure you want to do that?’
    ‘He won’t have to,’ Sherri told him. ‘Watch and learn, boys.’ She reached up and clipped her runner over the cable, wound her hands through the safety loops and she
was off. The dip in the rope this time was much less and Sherri raced across the gulf between the buildings at breathtaking speed. The zizzzzzzzz of the runner on the cable sent a thrill up
Sam’s spine as he watched her race across the gulf. At the far side, Nipper was waiting, braced for her arrival. Having attached a short piece of rope to his runner, the raptor had drawn it
back up the rope as far as he could reach. As Sherri’s runner collided with his, Nipper hung on to the short piece of rope, absorbing as much of the energy of her slide as he could. Sherri
was so light that he managed to slow her almost to a stop before she touched down on the roof.
    Newton went next. He was the strongest and fittest of the scientist raptors. In a fight, Sam doubted he would be anywhere near as effective as Nipper or Grunt, but Newton was still far bigger
and stronger than any of the humans. He crossed on the zip wire with less grace and athleticism than either Nipper or Sherri, but he landed safely on the far roof.
    All remaining eyes turned to Sam. He got to his feet, heart beating fast. Reaching up, he clipped his runner over the cable and twisted his hands through the safety loops, as he had seen the
others do.
    ‘Good luck,’ Callum whispered to his friend.
    ‘Stay safe,’ Claire added.
    Sam nodded, unable to speak for the fear rising in his chest. Although he did not suffer from vertigo, he was painfully aware that there was no safety net here. If he fell, he would die. Tensing
his stomach muscles and gripping the handholds as tightly as he could, he raised his knees to his chest and gravity began to bite as he started to accelerate down the wire. He felt a thrill rush
through his body as he passed over the edge of the building and zipped out, high above the ground. His whole body clenched tightly as the pitch of the zzzzzzizzzz of the runner against the
cable increased to a whining scream.
    The other building was approaching fast. Too fast, it seemed. If he hit the rooftop at this speed,