Dark Hunter by Andy Briggs Page B

know
who
Chromosome is. Why should I trust a member of the Council?”
    Grimm looked at his watch before deciding to speak. “You know what the Council is. Chromosome has one of the eight seats of power and has ambitions to run the Council herself. And she could. She is manipulative, ruthless, and has a skill to create life from inanimate objects. She calls them her Legion. You have seen them in the form of the metal spiders that follow her everywhere. Be careful of them; they are not what they seem. Chromosome does indeed have the power to help you. But she also has her own agenda.”
    A snort of mirthless laughter escaped Jake. He wasn’t surprised; everybody had their own agendas. It probably explained why
nobody
ever succeeded in ruling the world—too many conflicts of interest. “And what is her agenda exactly?”
    â€œShe has been sowing the seeds of uprising within the Council. The job of heading the Council is supposed to rotate among members. But for some time it has stayed with the one they call Necros. And he has built up supporters from within the Council’s ownranks. Chromosome sees the logical outcome being that eventually Necros will declare himself as supreme leader and will have no need for the other Council members.”
    â€œSo she’ll bump him off and run the show?”
    â€œColorfully put. And if she has the president under her control, then she has the world’s most powerful army at her disposal
and
the Council of Evil at her fingertips. It’s not a difficult equation to work out.”
    Mr. Grimm selected the powers that Jake was likely to need for his mission from Villain.net and stepped to the other side of the room as the snaking probe extended from the screen. For a moment it seemed as though the probe would seek out Grimm, but after wavering, it swung toward Jake.
    Now Jake felt fully energized—better than ever, in fact. He suspected that Grimm had inserted a few extra powers to rev him up. Once Grimm was satisfied that Jake knew what he was doing, he excused himself and slipped through a portal without wishing Jake good luck.
    Jake opened his eyes again as he flew through cotton-ball-like cumulonimbus clouds. His flying power was more potent than the first one he’d tried—Mr. Grimm had explained that there were several “strengths” ofpowers available. Jake could now breathe easily at high altitudes, and he didn’t feel the ice-cold winds as he had when he escaped the island prison.
    He glanced at the GPS strapped to his wrist. It had been one of the gadgets in his tower. Grimm had explained how to set the global positioning satellite coordinates. It had also been programmed with his target’s predicted destination, which was tricky because the target was moving.
    At least it was daylight and the weather around him was good. He had relatively clear views across the North Atlantic Ocean, which was dotted with white chunks of ice. His GPS told him he was right on target, a couple of hundred miles off the Canadian coast. Now he would have to rely on observation to locate what he was seeking.
    It took several minutes before he saw the glint of sunlight on the white paint of an aircraft. He estimated it was about two miles away. Jake kicked out, gaining a little extra height as he circled around the back of his target.
    As he drew near, the writing along the fuselage became clearer. The words “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” ran along the center of the aircraft in bold letters. Underneath the writing a sky-blue strip ran the length of the Boeing VC-25A, a military version of the 747, before it spread across the front cockpit. The Starsand Stripes were painted on the tail, over the flight number “29000.”
    This was the one Jake wanted, his target: Air Force One.
    Two F-22 Raptor fighters escorted the aircraft. When the threat from the failure of Hero.com spread to major cities, the president had taken to the air