Hurricane (Hive Mind Book 3) Read online

  JANET EDWARDS

  HURRICANE

  Hive Mind 3

  Copyright

  Copyright © Janet Edwards 2018

  www.janetedwards.com

  Janet Edwards asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events or localities is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of Janet Edwards except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover Design by The Cover Collection

  Cover Design © Janet Edwards 2018

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-one

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-one

  Chapter Forty-two

  Chapter Forty-three

  Chapter Forty-four

  Chapter Forty-five

  Message from Janet Edwards

  Books by Janet Edwards

  About the Author

  Preview of Scavenger Alliance

  Chapter One

  Telepaths must never meet. Telepaths must never meet. Telepaths must never meet. I rode along an express belt on Level 67 of our Hive city, with the muscled men of my Strike team clustered protectively around me, and I could see the same four words repeating in each of their minds.

  Another Telepath Unit had asked us to take over the pursuit of their target. My team were heading out in response, and my Strike team leader, his two deputies, and the eighteen men of my Alpha Strike team were all focused on the need to maintain the minimum approved safety distance of half a zone between me and the other telepath during the handover process.

  It was eight months since I’d gone into the 2532 Lottery assessment tests as an insignificant eighteen-year-old girl, and come out of them as an immensely valuable true telepath. For all of those months, I’d been frustrated by the fact there were only four other true telepaths in our Hive, only four people among its hundred million citizens who could truly understand the pressures of my life, and I wasn’t allowed to meet them or even call them.

  The most maddening thing about the rule was that I didn’t know the reason behind it. Nobody in my Telepath Unit did. Lottery had assigned them their professions, and imprinted their minds with a mass of information to help them do their work. That information included plenty of other rules which should be followed, but those all had an explanation of why they were needed. This one was just a starkly imperative statement.

  Lucas, who was both my partner and my Tactical Commander, said I should forget about the mystery. He believed the reason for the rule was being kept secret from my unit members because knowing it would be disturbing or even dangerous for me.

  That was enough to stop Lucas from trying to find out the answer. I was far too irreplaceably precious to him, both personally and professionally, for him to risk harming me. I wasn’t totally convinced by Lucas’s theory though. I knew the Hive had a policy of carefully controlling knowledge. Telepaths were never imprinted because of the danger of it damaging our abilities, but we obviously learned random knowledge from the minds we read, and I suspected this rule was to prevent us sharing that knowledge with each other.

  I couldn’t forget the issue, but I tried not to spend too much time brooding on it. I couldn’t avoid doing that now though. The impact of my Strike team’s thoughts was heightened by there being few other travellers on the express belt at this time of day. I could normally shut down my telepathic abilities, and blot out the thoughts of those around me, but this was like having twenty-one people shouting the same thing at the top of their voices. There was no point in asking them not to think about it. Whenever someone tried to avoid thinking about something, it just focused their mind more strongly on whatever was forbidden.

  I was relieved when Lucas’s voice spoke from the crystal unit in my ear, and the minds around me started concentrating on his briefing.

  “We’ve now received a detailed status report from Morton’s Telepath Unit. Their target has been identified as a maintenance worker called Irwin. The man married in 2520, and a daughter was born in 2522, but his marriage broke down in 2530, probably as a result of his long-term behavioural problems.”

  “If Irwin had long-term problems, why wasn’t he given therapy?” I asked.

  “Irwin was offered optional therapy sessions several times, Amber, but he refused them,” said Lucas.

  The imposing figure of my Strike team leader, Adika, was standing next to me. I heard him grunt in disapproval.

  “After the breakdown of his marriage two years ago, Irwin’s problems escalated, and mandatory therapy sessions were imposed on him,” continued Lucas. “However, records show his hostile attitude made progress difficult.”

  Lucas paused. “Two days ago, Irwin’s ex-wife remarried. Irwin appears to have only learned about the marriage this morning. He went to her apartment, her new husband opened the door, and Irwin attacked him with a knife. By purely random good luck, a patrolling nosy squad turned into the accommodation corridor at that moment, so Irwin abandoned his attack and fled.”

  I could understand Irwin fleeing in fear when he saw the nosy squad coming. There were a host of them patrolling the Hive, each squad composed of four guards in the standard blue uniforms of Health and Safety, and a single grey-clad nosy who was pretending to be a telepath. Their job was to promote the myth that the Hive was a perfectly safe place, with a multitude of telepaths watching over it instead of only five, so people were deterred from even thinking of committing a crime.

  The outfits nosies wore were designed to be intimidating, with a loose-fitting grey robe and a matching whole-head mask giving the impression the wearer wasn’t entirely human. As a child, I’d found them utterly terrifying. Irwin would be scared of them too, and would have believed the patrol had arrived at that moment because the nosy had read his guilty thoughts. He’d naturally have panicked and run away.

  “Fortunately, Irwin’s victim wasn’t seriously injured,” said Lucas. “The nosy called for help, and two of her guards gave the victim emergency treatment to stop the bleeding. The other two guards chased Irwin, but he managed to escape.”

  I
frowned. “The guards shouldn’t have risked chasing Irwin. Hasties are imprinted to enforce health and safety rules, not to deal with armed attackers.”

  “Nosies deliberately dress and act in a frightening manner to increase their deterrent value,” said Lucas. “That means a cornered, guilty person can sometimes be desperate enough to attack them, so the hasties who act the part of nosies, or their guards, have imprints and training which includes combat skills.”

  “That does make a difference,” I said.

  “Morton and his Beta Strike team responded to the emergency call,” said Lucas. “Morton located Irwin, and they were pursuing him when he entered the maintenance areas for the Level 67 beach. Morton couldn’t maintain contact with Irwin’s mind due to the crowds in the public areas of the Level 67 beach, and his increasing physical difficulties prevented him from entering the maintenance areas himself.”

  Adika gave a depressed sigh. I didn’t know the details of Morton’s health issues, because Morton’s medical staff kept them as confidential as possible, but the mention of them increasing would be personally worrying for Adika. He’d come out of Lottery seventeen years ago, and spent ten years in Mira’s Telepath Unit as a member of her Strike team, followed by seven years as a deputy Strike team leader for Morton. Now Adika had moved unit again to become my Strike team leader, but he was still deeply attached to the telepaths he’d served and protected before me.

  I was worried about Morton’s health too, but for more general reasons. The nosy myth worked because Telepath Units caught most criminals before they committed their crimes, and carefully covered up the incidents which did happen. The problem was that the Hive ideally needed at least eight telepaths to keep order. For several years before Lottery discovered me, there’d only been four. The Hive had started descending into chaos, with Law Enforcement struggling to cover up an increasing number of incidents.

  Now there were five telepaths, that descent into chaos was reversing, and the Hive was regaining stability. The thought of losing Morton, going back to only having four telepaths again, terrified everyone.

  “Irwin has been working on the wave machinery for the Level 67 beach since he came out of the 2514 Lottery,” said Lucas. “He’s had eighteen years to learn the hazards of the maintenance areas, and could easily lead a Strike team into a trap. Morton’s Tactical Commander, Saanvi, made the wise decision it was too dangerous to send their Strike team in without telepathic assistance and called for emergency handover to another Telepath Unit.”

  He paused. “Amber and the Alpha Strike team are now heading to take over Morton’s target. This is the first time our unit has been involved in an emergency handover. I emphasize the need for everyone to follow procedures precisely, so there’s no risk of telepaths meeting.”

  I winced as the twenty-one minds around me responded by thinking of the four words indelibly imprinted on their brains. Telepaths must never meet.

  “Fortunately, we aren’t under pressure to complete the handover quickly,” said Lucas. “All the workers on duty in the maintenance areas have been evacuated, and Morton’s Strike team are guarding the exits and main control banks, so the target is safely contained. It’s highly probable Irwin is near the Level 67 wave machinery, but we have to allow for the possibility he’s somewhere else.”

  “We’ll have to keep Amber well clear of any suspect areas until we’ve got a confirmed target location,” said Adika. “Lucas, are you aware that beach maintenance areas are full of ladders?”

  Ladders? I tensed. It had never occurred to me there’d be ladders near wave machinery.

  “Amber may be physically capable of climbing ladders,” added Adika, “but she’s got a serious phobia of heights.”

  “I’m well aware of this issue,” said Lucas.

  “Exactly how high are these ladders, Lucas?” I asked anxiously.

  “There’s no need to worry about the ladders, Amber,” said Lucas, in a soothing voice. “I told Adika to bring both his deputies along on this trip because Forge is a climbing specialist. He’ll be in charge of your bodyguards, and assisting you on the ladders, so you’ll be absolutely fine.”

  My fear of heights had been triggered by a fall from a tree when I was seven years old. I’d been trying to write my name on the ceiling in my local park, a branch broke under my weight, and I crashed to the ground and broke my arm. I’d made several attempts to conquer my fear over the years, but if anything it had got worse instead of better.

  The weird thing was that I didn’t have a problem reading the thoughts of others when they were climbing ladders or ropes. If they weren’t afraid of heights, then I wasn’t afraid either. It was when I was alone with my own thoughts that my fear took over.

  “Yes, I’ll be absolutely fine,” I said shakily.

  Chapter Two

  “Warning, zone bulkhead approaching!” A voice boomed from overhead speakers, red signs started flashing countdown numbers, and Rothan, Adika’s deputy in charge of the Alpha Strike team, lifted me off my feet to cradle me against his chest.

  “I’m perfectly capable of making a zone boundary jump myself,” I protested. “Even if I fell, nothing horrible would happen. There’s a safety bar to stop you falling down the gap between the end of one zone’s belt and the start of the next one.”

  “If you don’t want Rothan to carry you for the jump,” said Adika, “we’ll all have to get off the belt system and walk across the boundary.”

  I groaned and gave in as usual. Adika and I had this argument regularly, and it always ended the same way. Adika was immovably stubborn when it came to the safety of his precious telepath.

  The bulkhead approached, its massive yellow and green striped doors wide open. The men ahead of us made the jump across the narrow gap between the end of the Yellow Zone belt and the start of the Green Zone belt, and then Rothan jumped after them.

  If I’d made the jump myself, I’d have staggered on landing, because of the tiny difference in speed between the two express belts. Rothan’s landing was flawless though, because Lottery selected Strike team candidates with incredible strength, speed, and reflexes. He carefully lowered me to stand on my own feet again.

  “The Level 67 beach is on the Green Zone side of the Hive centre point,” said Lucas, “so we’ll initiate handover procedure now. Liaison, are you ready to merge our crystal comms with those of Morton’s unit on my command?”

  “We’re ready,” said the voice of my Liaison team leader, Nicole.

  “Lucas, Nicole, and I should be the only ones talking on the crystal comms during the handover,” said Adika. “No one else says a word that isn’t completely necessary. Morton’s unit has been operational for over four decades, while ours has barely been operational for six months. We mustn’t give them any excuse for making jokes about us being inexperienced greenies.”

  He paused. “Beach maintenance areas are a complex, three-dimensional maze. If anyone manages to get lost taking over a guard position from Morton’s team, message my dataview for instructions rather than announcing it on the crystal comms.”

  “Liaison, I’ll count you down to merging crystal comms,” said Lucas. “Three, two, one. Now!”

  “This is Adika for Amber,” said Adika, in formal tones. “Amber has just crossed from Yellow Zone to Green Zone and is following express belt 100 southbound on Level 67.”

  “This is Katelyn for Morton,” came the response. “Morton is in area 490/4900 on Level 67. Joining express belt 4900 eastbound now.”

  “Saanvi for Morton,” said another voice. “We’re recommending your team arrives at maintenance entrance 69K in area 490/4981 on Level 69. This should allow a safe route for your telepath to approach the suspect location.”

  Adika tapped at his dataview and projected a bewildering holo diagram in front of him. I was confused by the suggestion that we should arrive on Level 69 rather than Level 67, and the diagram made no sense to me. I took the lazy option of closing my eyes and linking to Adika’s mind to find
out what was happening.

  … maintenance entrance leading directly to a stairwell …

  … need to avoid the cascade area for …

  … so many years as Katelyn’s deputy and now doing an emergency handover as …

  Adika’s mind was busy with professional thoughts about the handover, and personal memories of the people he’d worked with before joining my unit. There was no hint of why we should arrive on Level 69 instead of Level 67.

  I spent a second doing my own thinking, and realized the obvious. A park on one level of the Hive took up two levels of space above it to allow extra ceiling height, and one level below it for the park lake and tree roots. Beaches were on a vastly bigger scale, their high ceilings taking up four levels of space above, and their seas two levels of space below. The wave machinery for the Level 67 beach must be connected to the deep water of its seas in some way, so it would need to be down on Level 68 or 69.

  “Lucas for Amber,” said Lucas’s voice. “Accepting arrival recommendation. Confirming 490/4981 on Level 69.”

  “Katelyn for Morton. There’s no need for me to explain the confusing nature of beach maintenance areas to you, Adika.”

  I was still linked to Adika’s mind, and felt his rueful reaction to the hidden message in Katelyn’s comment.

  … never forget that chase on the Level 12 beach. Still in my first month as one of Morton’s deputy Strike team leaders, when I led my team through the wrong interlink. Katelyn said she’d be generous about it, not firing me, just tormenting me about it for the rest of my life. She’s keeping her promise.

  “The maintenance area for the Level 67 beach has interlinks with the maintenance areas for the beaches on Levels 66, 68, 69, and 70,” Katelyn continued. “My deputy, Mhairi, and five bodyguards are escorting Morton back to our unit. That leaves me with fifteen people here. I’ve got one person guarding each interlink, two at the master control bank, and nine stationed at key points around the wave machinery. I’m now transmitting all personnel locations to you in preparation for handover.”