Swift and Hawk: Undercover


 
 
 
 
 
 
 This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, used fictitiously. All statements, activities, stunts, descriptions, information and material of any other kind contained herein are included for entertainment purposes only and should not be relied on for accuracy or replicated as they may result in injury.
 First published 2023 by Walker Books Ltd87 Vauxhall Walk, London SE11 5HJ
 Text © 2023 Edward Docx and Matthew PlampinCover illustration © 2023 Coke Navarro
 The right of Edward Docx and Matthew Plampin to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted in accordancewith the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, taping and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.
 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data:a catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
 ISBN 978-1-5295-1465-0 (epub)
 www.walker.co.uk
 
 
 FOR TALLY AND SHARKO
 CONTENTS
 1 Swift and Hawk to the Rescue
 2 Robotics for Tomorrow
 3 Secrets of SolTec
 4 The Saboteur 
 5 Digging up the Dinosaur
 6 Purple Sludge Disaster Zone
 7 God Mode
 8 Merlin and Crake
 9 A Great Idea
 10 For the Win
 11 The Spikers
 12 Undercover
 13 Dima Kahf
 14 Operation Supergiant
 15 A Truly Epic Breakfast
 16 The Rust Angels’ Last Stand
 17 The Awakening
 18 Top of the Holders
 19 Celeste
 20 Day of the Crocodemon
 21 The Warehouse
 22 Locke’s Lesson
 23 Coming Home
 24 Halloween in Camden
 25 Argo
 26 One of Us
 27 It’s On
 28 Shortcut
 29 The Stasis Orb
 30 Game Over
 31 Into the Arena
 32 The Grim Reaper
 33 Blood in the Water
 34 Code Black
 35 Tipping Point
 36 Riding the Octopus
 37 Two Short, One Long
 38 The Bell Tower
 
 This was an emergency. Caleb Quinn and Zen Rafiq – codenamed Swift and Hawk – were strapped into the seats of a specially converted Aston Martin, watching the British countryside race by at close to one hundred and seventy kilometres per hour. They were heading to a research facility in Cambridge, owned by the American robotics company SolTec. Some kind of cybersecurity breach had occurred, and their mission – Professor Clay had explained to them back in London – was “to stop an embarrassing mess from turning into a very public disaster”.
 Caleb and Zen both went to a specialist computing and technology school called the ARC Institute, which stood for AI, Robotics and Cybertech. A few months earlier, they’d been recruited into the Möbius Programme – a secretive organization run by Professor Clay, the ARC’s deputy head teacher, that used the unique skills of the ARC’s pupils to solve high-tech spy problems. Clay had personally taken them out of their morning classes and scrambled them into one of the ARC’s prototype electric cars.
 “Why are we helping SolTec, exactly?” Caleb had asked.
 “It’s a favour,” Clay had replied. “Call for back-up if you need it. Mr Mitchell will get you there.”
 And it was Lance Mitchell who was now at the wheel of the car – weaving in and out of the regular motorway traffic with incredible precision, anticipating gaps and accelerating into empty lanes – all at heart-stopping speed. Mitch, as everyone called him, was the new head of security at the ARC Institute. Nearly two metres tall, white, with a square jaw and short dark hair, he’d been a US Navy SEAL and then a special agent with the CIA, before going freelance at the age of forty-seven.
 The tyres squealed as the car flew across three lanes, racing down the hard shoulder. Caleb could not stop himself from wincing and grabbing at the dashboard. He glanced in the rear-view mirror; Zen was reading the briefing Clay had given them at the ARC, completely unconcerned.
 “You know,” he said, “I think it would be way better if this was a self-driving car.”
 Mitch grinned as he eased back into the middle lane between two lorries. “Welcome to old school ops, kid. Back in the day, we solved all our problems with gasoline and guns.” He stood hard on the accelerator. “Let’s give this baby some gas.”
 “It’s an electric car, Mitch,” Caleb said. “There is no gas.”
 “And your generation didn’t solve any problems,” said Zen from the back seat, without looking up. “You just made everything ten times worse.”
 Mitch shook his head. “You ARC kids … you’re too smart for your own good.”
 He yanked at the wheel and dragged them down the outside of a luxury coach. The gap between it and the barrier was almost too tight – but they shot through before it could close any further.
 “If this is how you handle our security,” Caleb said, “I’d hate to see you on a reckless streak.”
 An even, synthesized voice spoke through the car’s speakers. “Our journey would be seventeen minutes faster if we left at the next police ramp.”
 It was Sam, Caleb’s artificial intelligence program. The name was short for Simulated Autonomous Medic; Sam had originally been coded by Caleb’s dad, Patrick, as a medical AI, but Caleb had significantly upgraded and expanded him since his dad had passed away two years ago. Sam mostly interacted with the world via a special handset Caleb had made, which he’d called the Flex.
 “This route leads through the back of a farm,” Sam continued, “and then along some very minor roads. But we would avoid a considerable amount of congestion ahead.”
 “Let’s do it,” Caleb said. “We need all the time we can get.”
 Mitch was now tailgating a plumber’s van with some intensity. “Please don’t tell me that we’re going to let that Alexa thing of yours give us directions.”
 “Be nice, Mitch,” Caleb said. “Sam