Hamish X Goes to Providence Rhode Island Read Online Free Page A

by his sister’s feet, presumably to sluice away any unfortunate accidents the unconscious prisoners might have. Luckily, he had brought a couple of bottles of water and a number of protein bars. The bottles had come in handy when he found he couldn’t hold his bladder any longer. He’d had to use only one, so he reasoned that the trip hadn’t been too long, probably a day or two.
    Now, the trip appeared to be over. Parveen heard a clank and the rattle of chains on the hull of the compartment. With a hiss of escaping air, the hatch opened. Parveen cringed back, trying to make himself invisible at his sister’s feet, as far from the hatch as possible. Cold air flooded the compartment, carrying with it a faint whiff of plastic, oil, and some sort of disinfectant. The little boy blinked in the sudden blue-white glare of lights. His eyes, tuned to the almost total darkness of the compartment, watered behind his thick glasses. His hand dove into his knapsack, the fingers closing around one of his hamster bombs, waiting to toss it into the face of any Grey Agent who might thrust his or her way through the hatch.
    He sat, his muscles taut, adrenalin pumping, for more than a minute. Nothing happened. No face appeared. He relaxed his grip on the bomb and crept to the opening. Screwing up his courage, he peeked out.
    Down the length of the cargo pod, all of the hatches stood open. He watched as the last row of compartments unlocked with a sigh and their hatches folded neatly into the wall, disappearing through slits in the dull metal. A pale blue light washed in through the large open cargo door at the far end. The light was blindingly bright after the hours of darkness Parveen had endured. After a moment of adjustment, he was able to discern objectsmoving into the long corridor that ran the length of the cargo ship.
    Boxy shapes and trailing hoses and wires drifted into the cargo pod, hovering a few centimetres above the deck by some means Parveen couldn’t guess. “Robots equipped with magnetic repulsion units?” he mumbled. “Air cushions, perhaps.” Even in these moments of extreme danger, he couldn’t switch off the part of his mind that was fascinated with technology in all its forms. Several of the items floated in, dispersing along the length of the cargo pod. They appeared to be completely automated. There was no sign of a Grey Agent operating them. One by one, they stopped at a pre-ordained cubbyhole, moved in close, and with a click connected to the pallet under each unconscious child. The device then drifted back, lifting the entire pallet out, and trundled off out the cargo door to be replaced by another robot. They began to work their way down towards the cubbyhole that housed Noor.
    Parveen felt a worm of panic uncoil in his belly. What would he do when the robot came to take Noor away? If he tried to disable the machine, an alert message would no doubt be transmitted back to whomever was controlling the robot. An agent would be sent to investigate. Parveen would be discovered and taken prisoner, helpless like all the other children captured in the attack. No, he had to remain at large and find a way to escape and a way to take at least Noor and as many of the others with him as possible.
    He had to keep his presence a secret. He had to bide his time. He would learn as much as he could about the Grey Agents, try to find a weakness that might help destroy them. He had to be ready when Hamish X and Mimi came to rescue him. He was sure they would. It was just a matter of time.

    Hiding would be very difficult, but he had an advantage. He dug in his knapsack and pulled out a compact bundle of cloth. Shaking out the grey fabric, he struggled into a tight-fitting jumpsuit, an operation made much more difficult by the confined space. In a desperate minute, he succeeded in donning the suit and zipped it up the front, pulling a hood over his head that left only his face visible.
    A robot