2am SST Tuesday 15 January 2085
Zak was ready to slip out and prepare for the arrival of the hijackers’ ship. In the restaurant under the full glare of lights, every movement was visible, so he had to be careful to make as little as possible. Krushkov remained alert, staring at his screen. But Fang, Ubogu and even Romero swayed and nodded their heads as they struggled to stay awake and stand guard.
Zak eased himself under the blanket and approached the air circulator. Having turned off the alarm, it would be safe to go through, but he double-checked to be certain. He pulled open the fan, then closed his eyes to check if Krushkov had received a warning, but his face did not flicker.
Zak dropped through the hole. His destination was 32-I-B, so he took his usual quick route. On reaching it, he activated the screen.
‘Herbet, I’m now in position,’ he said.
Herbet had drifted off, but roused himself quickly.
‘Well done,’ he said. ‘Now Krushkov will probably ask me to stop the Colossus from spinning, so their ship can dock. Don’t be afraid to meddle with the settings to push him to the limit. We’re on a knife edge though. Any blow to them could scupper their plans completely, but Krushkov will be even more volatile.’
‘Okay,’ said Zak.
If Saltzmann’s statement had been correct, the ship would arrive at 3am. Zak sat back against the cold wall and waited.
On the dot, Krushkov spoke a brief acknowledgement, got up from his chair, and made his way upstairs. He arrived in the jail to find Brigard dozing off at the desk. He marched over and kicked Brigard’s chair, shouting at the same time.
‘Wake up you useless idiot!’
‘Boss! Sorry boss,’ pleaded Brigard.
‘I’ve just received word from Sato,’ said Krushkov sweeping across the room. ‘The ship’s here. We need to prepare for docking.’
‘Okay. Do you want me to set up the docking procedure?’ asked Brigard.
