Pep Squad Read Free Page B

previously invisible door slide open.
    â€˜How does it work?’ asked Jess, stepping inside. Tiny green pinpoints of light appeared all over her jumpsuit.
    â€˜The floor, walls and ceiling have special sensors. When you start to move, the software calculates where you should be in the programme matrix and moves the cell surfaces to compensate,’ explained Signora Enigmistica. ‘Walk to the left.’
    Jess walked to the left and the floor moved to keep her in the centre of the booth.
    â€˜Faster,’ said Signora Enigmistica.
    Jess broke into a jog and the floor kept up with her.
    â€˜What happens when I want to stop?’ asked Jess.
    â€˜Just slow down. The floor will follow,’ said Signora Enigmistica.
    Jess slowed down gently and still stayed in the centre of the booth. She stopped abruptly and the floor stopped with her.
    â€˜This is cool,’ she said.
    â€˜Yes,’ said Signora Enigmistica, with the slightly amused air of someone who has seen far more amazing things in her life. ‘The cell can simulate gradients and the suit itself can simulate obstacles, so if you’re running straight towards something then you’ll feel the impact when you crash into it.’
    â€˜Good to know,’ said Jess.
    â€˜Now, we are going to run a simulation to test your physical and mental agility while under immense pressure. Try to complete the test in the shortest time possible. Ready?’
    Jess nodded.
    Signora Enigmistica closed the door.
    It was pitch black in the booth. No light snaked in from the edges of the door. It was also soundproof. Jess was starting to feel decidedly uncomfortable when the wall in front of her brightened as though someone was turning up a dimmer switch. It was an image of Signora Enigmistica, so lifelike that for a second Jess thought the teacher had re-entered the booth.
    â€˜How are you feeling, Jess?’ Signora Enigmistica’s voice echoed around the booth.
    â€˜A little nervous but OK.’
    â€˜Touch the inside of your left wrist with your right forefinger,’ Signora Enigmistica instructed.
    Jess did so and felt a small, hard lump.
    â€˜That’s a microdot that we’ve had sewn into the suit. Your mission is to deliver that microdot to this man,’ said Signora Enigmistica, holding up a photo of Lieutenant Parry, ‘on the third floor of this building,’ she continued, flashing a photo of the Dublin GPO. ‘Since you’d be sitting your Junior Certificate in History if you weren’t here right now, I don’t need to tell you the name of the building. Good luck.’
    The image of Signora Enigmistica faded and was gradually replaced by a noisy cityscape.
    Jess found herself next to an air-conditioning vent on top of a tall building on the southern bank of the Liffey. She guessed it was O’Connell Bridge House, as she could see O’Connell Bridge and Street stretching out in front of her with the GPO less than halfway up the street. Once she got to street level, it’d be only a five-minute walk. The task seemed straightforward. Too straightforward.
    She headed for the only access point she could see, a door in the middle of the roof. Suddenly it opened. A man in a suit and tie stepped out onto the roof. He looked like an ordinary businessman, apart from the gun he was pointing at her.
    The instant before the man opened fire, Jess rolled for cover behind the air-conditioning vent. A volley of bullets clattered against it. The gunfire ceased momentarily and she heard two sets of footsteps running towards her. That meant there were two gun-brandishing businessmen and they could split up and approach her from either side of the vent. She had to move, fast.
    Jess scrambled towards the edge of the roof nearest her and stopped short. She was at the far edge of the building from O’Connell Bridge. Below her was a drop of at least seven storeys to the lower, adjoining part of the building she was