The Secret War (Jack Blank Adventure) by Matt Myklusch

Author:Matt Myklusch
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Published: 2011-08-09T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

16

Secret Alliances

Stendeval had told Jack earlier, “Whenever you encounter a problem in life, it simply means that your situation has changed. What you need to do is take steps to deal with the new situation.”

With a little help from his friends, including some new and unexpected friends, Jack was now doing exactly that. A plan was starting to come together in his head. He didn’t have all the moves mapped out just yet, but he had the players. If Trea liked working alone, maybe that was for the best, Jack thought. Considering where his head was at lately, she had a much better chance of curing the virus than he did. Having Trea’s help on the virus also freed him up to go after Glave and to try to keep Obscuro quiet. If everything went perfectly, there was even a chance he could be reunited with his father when this was all over. Unfortunately, if Jack’s plans were going to work, some very big pieces of the puzzle were going to have to fall into place at exactly the right time, and that was something that rarely ever happened. For Jack it had never happened, and it wasn’t about to start now.

Jack, Skerren, and Allegra got back to Cognito in time to find out why. They entered Jack’s apartment and found Trea still there, watching a SmartNews broadcast on Jack’s holo-screen. Her eyeballs were glued to the set, and the news anchors commanding her attention looked especially excited. That was never a good sign. As Stendeval might have put it, Jack’s situation was about to change once again.

“What’s going on?” Jack asked Trea.

“I don’t know,” she answered. “I just turned the screen on as it cut to a special report. Looks like something big, though. Something about Smart.”

“Again?” Jack asked. He groaned and turned his eyes toward the holo-screen. Jack knew he wasn’t going to like anything he saw there, but Stendeval was right—he was better off knowing what Smart was up to.

“Welcome back,” Drack Hackman began, smiling into the camera. “We’re just moments away from going live to Hightown, where we’re told former Circleman Jonas Smart is getting ready to make a major announcement. No word as of yet regarding the subject matter of his statement, but whatever it is, you can bet it’s going to be exciting. And important.”

“I know I’m excited,” Hackman’s blond, cold-eyed coanchor agreed. Jack scowled at the screen. The woman looked like a snake wearing a wig. “Jonas Smart recently revealed that since being voted out of office, he’s spent nearly all his time and a large amount of his personal fortune on a powerful defense system called the SmarterNet. Is he finally ready to tell us all about it? SmartNews has the story.”

“The SmarterNet,” Hackman repeated. “I get chills just thinking about it. Hang on,” he added, touching a finger to his ear. “I’m being told Jonas Smart has left his office and is about to take the stage at SmartTower. Let’s go there now.

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