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as they could ever be, which was only slightly by our standards). Hamish X seemed to have completely disappeared. “Shall we contact headquarters and see if any progress has been made?”
    â€œIndeed, Mr. Sweet.” Mr. Candy tapped a button on the control console. “Mother?” Mr. Candy addressed the empty air.
    A faint glow flared in the space between the agents, hovering a few centimetres above the console. A cool, feminine voice filled the cockpit. “Mother is listening. What can Mother do for you?”
    â€œHas there been any progress in determining the location of Hamish X?” Mr. Sweet demanded.
    â€œNone. I have been searching databases and coordinatingwith NATO, the Russians, and the Chinese. They have been very cooperative.”
    â€œThey should be,” Mr. Candy said. “They know better than to cross us.”
    â€œStill, utilizing all their detection systems, I am unable to contact his locator beacon.”
    â€œIt must have been disabled in the Electromagnetic Pulse blast. The one called Parveen is quite clever. I would greatly enjoy dismantling his mind,” Mr. Sweet said, as if a mind were a wind-up toy or a clock radio. 19
    â€œMother, give me a map of the world with Windcity as the focal point.”
    Instantly, the hovering glow altered itself into a globe, tiny and intricate. The globe spun until a red dot blinked to show the location of Windcity. Landmasses and oceans were illustrated in three-dimensional detail. Mountains, valleys, rivers, and oceans were startlingly clear.
    â€œExcellent. We must assume the children are travelling by zeppelin. Given the speed of the zeppelin from existing data, represent the possible distance traversed by the fugitives up to this point.” A green circle centred on Windcity appeared. The area of the circle covered roughly half the surface of the earth. “Mr. Sweet, I had no idea an airship could cover so much ground in such a short time. Thisdoesn’t really narrow down our search parameters.”
    â€œNo, Mr. Candy. We must have more information.” Mr. Sweet thought for a moment, his head cocked to the side. “Mother, have there been any reported sightings of unidentified craft matching the description of the pirate airship?”
    â€œChecking … Three hundred reports of unidentified craft. None with specific reference to airships.”
    â€œThis is getting us nowhere, Mr. Candy. The number of possible locations is too great. I believe we must initiate a remote reboot.”
    â€œBut, Mr. Sweet, Hamish X will be outside our control when he is restarted. His brain functions may be impaired. We don’t know how he will react. He may do damage to himself. The results might be catastrophic.”
    â€œNonetheless, the asset must be returned immediately and the only way we can retrieve it is to find it. The integration is approaching. We must restart the unit. The locator beacon will tell us where he is. It was for situations like this, when he is beyond our direct control, that we embedded the remote Mother program in his mind. The voice will prompt him to return to us. As soon as we know where he is, we will move with all speed and force to retrieve the asset. There is no other way.”
    The only sound was the thrupping of the rotor blades above as the Grey Agents pondered their decision. Finally, Mr. Candy ducked his head once in agreement. “Mother, initiate remote restart sequence.”

Chapter 4
    Mrs. Francis couldn’t sleep. She lay on her bunk and stared up at the wooden planking of the ceiling. Whenever she closed her eyes, images of the attack on Windcity filled her tired mind. She imagined the bird machines approaching out of the darkness, spraying fire over the airship.
    â€œOh, these children. I must keep them safe somehow,” she whispered to the darkness. With a heavy sigh, she gave up trying to sleep and sat up, twisting the knob on the bedside light.