The Trade by Barry Hutchison Page A

faster, and without having to pay for it?’
    Noah looked annoyed. ‘Uh, well, maybe because some of us
can’t
do any of that stuff? You might get to zip around the place going all high-tech all the time, but what about me?’
    Rex saw the hurt on his friend’s face. ‘Hey, Noah, I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I guess I didn’t think of it like that.’
    â€˜Yeah, well, don’t worry about it,’ Noah said. He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. ‘Just forget it.’
    Rex looked at the motionless zombies on screen, then back to his friend. ‘You know, maybe the fair would be better than being stuck in here?’
    Noah’s face brightened. ‘So, what, you’ll come?’
    â€˜We can try,’ Rex said. ‘Me and Bobo have been sneaking out a lot lately, so Six has got the place locked down pretty tight. It won’t be easy to get out.
Bobo
!’
    There was a grunt from Rex’s bed. Bobo, the talking Evo chimp, opened one eye. ‘What is it, kid? I’m trying to catch up on my beauty sleep here.’
    â€˜Get your hat,’ Rex told him. ‘We’re stepping out for some fresh air.’

    Even as the hand clamped down on Rex’s shoulder, he knew it belonged to Agent Six.
    â€˜And where do you think you’re going?’ Six asked.
    Rex stood up from the air duct he had been about to crawl inside. There were few windows in Providence base, and the doors were heavily guarded. Even the ventilation system was alarmed and magnetically sealed. This should have stopped anyone breaking in or out, but Rex wasn’t just anyone. His nanites had taken care of the security systems in a matter of seconds. Noah and Bobo had already clambered into the air duct. Rex could hear them thudding their wayalong the narrow passageway.
    â€˜Hey, Six,’ Rex said, raising his voice to try to drown out the din his friends were making. He thought fast. ‘We, uh, I mean
I
was just… checking the air conditioning.’
    â€˜And why were you doing that?’ asked Six.
    â€˜Because,’ began Rex, ‘I’m thinking of becoming a… heating engineer.’ He replayed the excuse in his head. ‘Yeah, that works,’ he said.
    Six sighed. ‘Bobo. Noah. Get back here.’
    The thudding stopped. There was silence for a moment, and then Noah’s voice echoed out from within the duct. ‘Um, I don’t think I can turn round.’
    â€˜Hey, get your butt out of my face, kid!’ Bobo said.
    â€˜They’re checking the system for blockages,’ Rex explained, weakly.
    â€˜You can cut the excuses,’ Six said. ‘You were trying to sneak out. Again.’
    Rex hung his head. ‘Yeah,’ he confessed. ‘There’s a fair in town and Noah thought it’d be cool if we went. But I know, too dangerous, I shouldn’t go wandering off,
yadda, yadda, yadda
.’
    He turned and spoke into the air duct. ‘Come on,guys,’ he said. ‘Six isn’t going to let us go.’
    â€˜You can go.’
    â€˜You don’t have to apologise, Six, I know it’s … Wait. Did you say I could go?’
    Six nodded. ‘I know being stuck in here isn’t much fun, Rex, and at least this way I’ll know where you are.’
    Rex grinned. ‘I always did like you, Six,’ he said.
    â€˜But you keep your wits about you at all times,’ Six instructed. ‘And you’re back here for curfew.’
    â€˜What time’s curfew?’ Rex asked.
    â€˜When I call you and tell you it is,’ Agent Six said.
    With a shrug, Rex clambered through the window. ‘We’d better get moving, then. Thanks, Six.’ Rex knelt down by the open vent.
    â€˜You know you’re free to use the door now, right?’ Six asked.
    â€˜Yeah, but where’s the fun in that?’
    Six gave him a curt nod. ‘Fair enough,’ he said. ‘Oh, but