Authors: A. G. Taylor
Enemy Invasion
For Sandra
First published in the UK in 2011 by Usborne Publishing Ltd., Usborne House, 83-85 Saffron Hill, London EC1N 8RT, England.
www.usborne.com
Copyright © A.G. Taylor, 2011
The right of A.G. Taylor to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
The name Usborne and the devices
are Trade Marks of Usborne Publishing Ltd.
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of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.
Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Epub ISBN 9781409537571
Kindle ISBN 9781409537588
Batch no. 00658-02
CONTENTS
HIDRA INFO SHEET
CONFIDENTIAL:
LEVEL 5+ OPERATIVE EYES ONLY
THINK!
Do you have security clearance to view this document?
If in doubt, contact your supervisor immediately. Viewing confidential HIDRA material without permission will lead to automatic suspension, court martial and a possible jail
sentence.
OVERVIEW
As a new military and/or scientific operative at the HIDRA UK and/or Asia-Pacific base, this document is designed to bring you quickly up to speed with the events of the past
twelve months.
If you are a returning HIDRA operative or have already been briefed, please skip to the next section of this induction booklet.
All material is strictly confidential and only
to be discussed with operatives with an equal or higher security clearance.
BACKGROUND: THE FALL VIRUS
The virus is known to be of alien origin, carried to earth by space-born debris. Twelve months ago, a meteorite strike in central Australia led to a significant fall virus
outbreak, with several thousand people affected. Adults exposed to the virus fall into a deep coma for which there is no known cure at this time. However, among a small percentage of children,
remarkable side effects have been noted.
SIDE EFFECTS: PSYCHIC/TELEKINETIC POWERS
Current data suggests that 0.01% of those under the age of sixteen exposed to the virus develop a number of incredible side effects: mind-control abilities, teleportation,
invisibility, pyrokinesis (fire-starting) and telekinesis (the ability to move objects with one’s mind).
All
these subjects develop the ability to communicate telepathically. With
time, these subjects (hereafter referred to as
superhumans
) can learn to control and even develop their powers, although at first their manifestation can be disturbing and potentially
dangerous for themselves and others.
RECENT EVENTS: THE MAKAROV INCIDENT
Six months ago, a storm of fall virus-bearing meteors was detected on collision course with earth. It soon became clear these objects were being controlled by Nikolai Makarov,
the Russian billionaire/genius, who wished to cause global infection for his own gain. With the help of a small team of superhuman children, Makarov’s base of operations (the skyscraper in
eastern Russia known as
the Spire
) was destroyed and the alien storm deflected. Theories of an alien intelligence controlling Makarov and the meteors remain unconfirmed at this time.
SPECIAL OPERATIVES: SUPERHUMANS AT HIDRA
Following their assistance in the Makarov incident, the members of the superhuman team led by Sarah Williams have been designated
special operatives
within HIDRA,
reporting directly to Colonel Rachel Andersen. Please talk to your supervisor for operational guidelines for working with superhumans. For quick reference, here is the current list of special
operatives and their associated powers:
Sarah Williams – Mind-control
Robert Williams – Teleportation
Alex Fisher – Invisibility
Louise Bates – Telekinesis
Sikong Wei – Pyrokinesis
Nestor del Fuentes – Aerokinesis
Octavio del Fuentes – Telekinesis
ONGOING THREATS: MAJOR BRIGHT
The former second-in-command of HIDRA Asia–Pacific was stripped of his position and is currently wanted for trial for his actions during and after the Australian fall
virus outbreak. His obsession with harnessing the powers of the superhumans has led him to various illegal activities, including kidnapping and attacking HIDRA personnel. He was originally believed
killed in the Spire collapse, but images have recently come to light of the major alive and well and attempting to purchase weapons from a black-market dealer in Indonesia.
Current whereabouts: unknown.
Prologue
Wilkes Land, Antarctica
The helicopters came just after dawn, two of them flying low along the coast from the direction of the Shackleton Ice Shelf. Dr. Jan Petersen spotted
them as he was prepping the snowcat for his weekly trip to the Casey Research Station, twenty kilometres west. Squinting against the brilliant blue of the Antarctic sky, he watched the helicopters
make a circle of the three single-storey buildings that made up the Wolfe Station and then touch down on the snow.
Helen Brooks walked out of the communications shack to get a look at the unexpected visitors. Winter had set in and the Wolfe Station was preparing to close until spring, so they were the only
two researchers left on site. Normally the station, an offshoot of Casey, would have closed weeks before.
But the discovery out on the ice had changed all that…
“Who are they?” Helen asked.
Jan shook his head. “Beats me. There’s no flag on the helicopters.”
Men wearing heavy-duty thermal coats, gloves and boots piled out of the machines. Jan started towards them as the chopper rotors slowed. Three of the men ran to meet him, bent low so their heads
wouldn’t be taken off by the still-spinning blades. As they straightened up, Jan noted they were all tall, but the man in the middle was a giant, well over two metres. Despite the sub-zero
cold, this man pulled back the hood of his coat. Jan was immediately struck by his piercing blue eyes and the scar running down the right side of his face. The crew cut and lack of a beard
indicated that he hadn’t spent much time in Antarctica, where facial hair was a must if you wanted to stay warm.
“Hi,” Jan said, glancing over the two men flanking the blue-eyed one. They looked back at him expressionlessly, eyes hidden by mirrored goggles. He noted the automatic rifles slung
over their shoulders.
Blue-eyes gave him a smart salute and said, “Dr. Petersen?”
“Yes.”
“My name’s Major Bright,” he said with the unplaceable accent of a man who had lived all over the world. “We’re here to take over this operation.”
“Take over?” Helen spluttered from behind Jan, always quick to anger. “Why?”
Bright gave her a look like the question was stupid. “Why do you think?”
She began to say something else, but Jan held up a hand for her to be calm. “On whose authority are you doing this, Major?” he asked.
“HIDRA’s. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Hyper Infectious Disease—”
“I’ve heard of your organization,” Jan interrupted. “You have no authority here. This is a research station run by the Australian government—”
“Not any more. We have reason to believe there’s a contamination risk from the object you discovered.”
“You’re talking about the fall virus? There’s absolutely no reason to believe—”
“It’s a done deal, doctor,” Bright cut him dead. “You’re under my authority now. Both of you.”
“We’ll see what the guys at Casey Station have to say about that,” Helen said, bristling. “I’m getting them on the radio.”
She started stomping back towards the communications shack before anyone could argue. Bright nodded to his men, both of whom followed. Jan looked after them, taken aback at how quickly things
were moving. Major Bright took his arm and began to lead him towards the helicopter.
“Don’t worry about your partner, doctor. My men will make sure everything is taken care of. Right now I need you to guide us to the discovery site.” Jan tried to protest, but
Major Bright’s hand was firm on his arm. “I won’t take no for an answer.”
Before the doctor knew what was happening, he’d been bundled into the back of the nearest chopper. Two burly men sat on either side of him, as if worried he might try to jump out. Major
Bright took a seat opposite and produced a tablet PC as the helicopter took off.
“Mark the location of the crater,” Bright shouted above the noise of the rotors.
He handed Jan the tablet, which showed a map of Wilkes Land – the 2.5 million kilometre square area of Antarctica claimed by Australia. Seeing he had little choice, Jan tapped the screen
at the point thirty kilometres south of Wolfe Station where the object had been discovered two weeks before. A flashing marker appeared.
“Very good,” Bright said, passing the tablet through to the pilot. “Now, who else knows about the object?”
Jan shrugged. “Well, apart from Helen and me, just a few people at the Casey Station. We kept it as confidential as possible.”