My little plastic parasite was still infecting the facility’s server when I sat back down in front of Vision. “Where’re Sun and Cody?”

“They’re on the way, man. What’s shaking? I’m not gonna lie. When you went off on your mission, I thought we’d never hear from you again. Seems as well as building computers that can’t exist, you’re actually quite good at surviving.” Mythic rolled into view and smiled at us, before disappearing again. “Myth’s glad you’re both ok. She likes you, and she doesn’t normally like anybody.”

“I’m honoured. Where’re Rhys and Reb?”

“They’re on the way too. A few minutes, tops.”

“Ok, while we wait, have you found anything now that we’ve got into their systems? Anything important?”

“We’ve not so much found anything. It’s more that your machine used our tools to take control of everything. As far as I can tell, Lake is now completely locked out. He’s deaf and blind. I’m watching him try and regain access in real time.” Vision laughed at a sequence of code we couldn’t see. “That’s not going to work, dude. How did you ever become so rich with trash like that?”

“Can he regain control?” I asked.

“Not a chance, man. He’s O U T out, until we say otherwise.”

“I hope he enjoys the feeling,” I replied. “Do you have access to his private systems? Try and find anything related to phase 3 and 4.”

I heard Mythic’s fingers rattled over the keys. Vision watched her before turning back to us with a shake of the head. “Sorry, man. Nothing. They’re not connected.”

“Not to worry. Can you try and get some footage of Isla Sonada with the satellites? That’s where he’s hiding out and we need some maps. When Reb gets back, ask him if he knows anyone who worked in the military in that type of role. Intel gathering, that kind of thing.”

“You got it, man!” Vision’s head turned toward something off-screen. “Oh, they’re here. Let me scootch over so you can see them.”

He rolled aside and Sun’s face loomed on the screen. Her eyes were comically enlarged as she moved too close to the camera. “You’re not dead then. That’s good.”

Cody eased her back to a reasonable distance and grinned at us. “Hey, guys. They said over the radio you’d beaten Milley. That can’t have been easy.”

“We’ll share stories once we’re back. We’ve found where Lake’s hiding.”

“Isla Sonada,” explained Vision from beside them.

Cody threw up his hands. “He’s been that close all along? Unbelievable.”

“Knowing where he’s hiding is one thing. The place is locked down tighter than a drum. Air defence systems and all sorts of nastiness.”

“We worry about that later,” said Sun. “We’ve still got an invasion to put down.”

“And that’s just the start of it,” added Cody.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Jessop said they were all males, right? But we’d already found Rappy’s egg, so how could that be?” he posed. “That wasn’t the half of it. They’re all out there nesting, breeding, laying eggs. Whatever genetic tricks Lake tried to use to keep the population down are worthless. It’s going to be baby-dino city out here soon. Prehistoric-K.”

“We’ve seen long-fang cubs too,” said Sun.

I frowned at the camera.

“She means the sabre-tooth tigers are also spitting out kids. It’s like a madman’s kindergarten in Marnmouth.”

“No doubt the brown furred sasqualls are giving birth too,” Sun added.

“But how? I’m sure pregnancy lasts longer than a bloody day,” I argued.

“Jessop says it’s likely they were already pregnant when they were shipped. The tissue samples we’ve brought him show rapidly advanced maturity. It’s why they’re all so violent and hungry. Their metabolisms are off the charts.”

I had to assume that was why this world had been picked. Even with the best laid plans of the tech-trillionaire, the world would fall due to his hubris. “So, we’re going to be playing whack-a-mole with all the new-borns taking the place of mum and dad if we can kill them? Jesus.”

“It’s an uphill battle for sure,” Cody replied.

“That makes the next couple of days absolutely vital then. Lake was working on a toxin that would kill the creatures off, and hopefully leave the rest of humanity alive. It’s why he was taking all the extra scientists, including Liza.”

Cody scowled. “That seems incredibly complex. The things are wildly different to each other at the genetic level. Some are warm-blooded mammals, and others are cold-blooded reptiles. How can it possibly work?”

I shrugged. “I have no clue. That’s a question for Jessop. What I do know is that as much as we need to murder Lake, this is one project that we need to ensure makes it to the finish line first. The military is gone. If these things spread beyond Osterland, it’s game over.”

“The clock’s ticking then?” asked Cody.

“It always is,” said Sun.

“It’s a numbers game, mate. If the phase 1s breed and grow at the rate you’re suggesting, how long before their offspring have kids? And then theirs, and so on. You can imagine the two lines on the chart. Human numbers drop off a cliff as we’re eaten, while the dinos hit the stratosphere. Osterland might be separated from the other continents by bloody great oceans, but I don’t think we can guarantee the scaly fuckers won’t find a way to cross. The Pteranodons will be the first to make it, and that is guaranteed.” I felt the cosmic gods turn over the world’s hourglass. Grains of sand stared to trickle through, counting down the remaining time. “How’s it looking there in general?”

Cody blew out a pensive breath. “Tricky. We’re rescuing pockets of survivors where we can, but we’re losing people all the time.”

“Didn’t I say no heroics?” I snapped. “I told people to stay put if they could!”

Sun interjected. “You’re show with Sar’Ozan was too successful. It turns out the need to save their soul overrides common sense and self-preservation.”

“Most of the deaths are from the spreading fires. The Disciples are saving men, women, children, dogs, cats, family photo albums, favourite CDs, anything they can,” Cody explained, his face saddened. “Some of the blazes are just too fierce and they get caught. On the plus side, our perimeter is secure and holding. There have been a few attacks from the smaller creatures, but we’ve easily held them off. Now that we know we won’t have the CID trying to kill us too, we can stop worrying about that and divert more manpower to scouring the city.”

“We’ve also absorbed the bridge-brothers and their people,” added Sun. “They had nowhere else to go.”

“Rhys was a little unsure about splitting our supplies, but the Disciples and other survivors held a vote,” offered Cody when he saw my face. “If you’re right about the breeding and our shortened timeframe, we won’t run out of supplies before the future’s decided anyway. It’s winner takes all now.”

“One second, mate,” I said to Cody, turning to O’Toole. “How many people do you have here?”

“About six hundred and thirty.”

“And in Fort Ashbury?”

“Another twelve-hundred.”

“You have other bases across the country?”

“Yes, sir.”

“How many people?”

“Eleven thousand.”

“How fast could they get to Marnmouth?”

“Some within a day if they use transport choppers. The rest, a little longer as they would be travelling by road. The facilities don’t have any aircraft. Do you want me to see about mobilising them?”

“Not yet, but get them ready if we do need them. Also, get everyone you’ve got here in one place. I want to have a chat.”

“Yes, sir.” O’Toole saluted me for some reason and hurried away.

“What’s the plan, Mark?” asked Sun.

“I’m going to use the CID to lay siege to Marnmouth,” I replied. “It’s going to be all out war. We need to lower their numbers.”

“Why not just hit Lake as soon as possible?” asked Sun. “Why wait?”

“I want to ensure we have a safe place to fall back to if we can’t get past the defences. We might need a place to call home, one that’s not overrun with dinosaurs. Milley says Lake’s systems are state-of-the-art, beyond even what he could lay his hands on. It might’ve been bullshit. We’ll find out soon enough.”

“That’s all well and good, but what happens when the next city runs out of… food, and they come knocking?” asked Cody, his countenance grim. These were his countrymen we were discussing.

“We can’t do anything about the other cities without Lake’s toxin. We just have to hope that if we can get to Lake, Liza and the others have been successful and the Eos Protocol is ready to distribute. I’ll spray the shit in their faces myself if I have to.”

Rhys and Reb bustled into the room. My advisor approached the screen, his face lighting up. “You made it!”

“Barely. And you’re just in time for orders.”

He was all business in an instant. “What do you need, Mark?”

“We’re going to be coming in hot to the north of the city. You know the storm drain where we left before? There’s a freeway to the north of it. Meet us just past what’s left of the tollbooths that lead out of the city.”

“We’ll be there. What do you need us to bring?”

“As many vets as you can spare without weakening the perimeter. And as much firepower as you can muster. This is going to be a joint venture with the CID. I have no idea if it’ll work because the dinos are smarter, but we’re going to try it anyway.”

“ETA?” asked Reb.

“That’s a good question. We’re in an abandoned town called Glennberg. Any idea how far that is from Marnmouth.”

“They took you to one of their training centres?” asked Reb.

“Long story, mate,” I cut him off. “How far?”

“By road, ten hours. By air, three.”

“Ok, have everything at the storm culvert within three hours. I’ll bring as many of the CID as I can so that we can make a start on retaking the city.”

“Us too?” asked Cody.

I nodded. “You too. It’s going to be a busy day.”

“We’ll see you there, Mark. Good luck.”

“Oh! One thing before you go!” I blurted, remembering something I’d seen in a movie once. “These fires that are out of control. If we bring enough explosives, could we drop a few of the buildings to act like a type of firebreak?”

“It won’t work, Mark,” Reb replied. “The buildings are too close together and the heat’s too intense. We just need to let the blocks burn themselves out.”

“Is it putting the tunnels in danger? Using all that oxygen? Make sure you’re keeping an eye on the air samplers.”

“It’s actually working in our favour where they’re burning. Fresh air is drawn into the drains and then sucked out through the open sewers. It’s like a ventilation system.”

“Worry about what’s in front of you, Mark,” said Sun, maternally.

Cris squeezed my hand. “Don’t stress the smaller stuff.”

“We’ve got experts monitoring it twenty-four-seven, Mark,” confirmed Rhys. “You don’t need to worry.”

I sighed. “Ok, I’ll try. No promises.”

“You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t worry over nothing,” said Sun, affectionately.

“Erm, thanks. I guess.”

“We’ll see you in three hours,” said Cody.

“Bring your A game,” I warned. “This is going to be a bloody fight.”

“We’ll see you both soon,” said Rhys.

“Hopefully, we can make use of the canteen bedroom for a bit of shuteye. I’m starting to feel the lack of sleep.”

“I’ll make sure the pillows are fluffed,” added Rhys before the group headed away to begin preparations.

Vision rolled back into view. “Other than the island layout, is there anything else you need us to do?”

“Not that I can think of right now. You’re the hackers, think of something I don’t know I need and get it for me.”

Vision saluted us with a toaster pocket and the screen switched back to a satellite feed of Marnmouth. I had to look away from the spreading fires and the inevitable toll it was taking on our numbers.

O’Toole reappeared. “Everyone’s ready, sir.”

I pulled myself together and asked, “How’s the mood among the masses?”

“Confused,” he replied. “They don’t know how you beat the general with that invisible shield.”

“They don’t need to understand to comply. Is anyone upset at the change in leadership?”

“To be honest, sir, if they’re still getting paid, they’ll follow who they need to.”

“And what if I don’t pay them?” I fired back.

“They’ll be poor mercenaries, sir. No one will go against you.”

“We’ll see,” I replied, climbing from the chair. “Let’s get to it.”