Project Venom Read Online Free Page A

said.
    “Two days,” said Dr Kirk. “Maybe three.”
    “And once they’re done, the poison can be incinerated?”
    “Yes, burned away,” he replied. “Every trace will be gone.”
    “OK,” she said. “In the meantime, we stay calm and we stay quiet. Peter, we go ahead with the sales trip to Thailand as planned –” the Sales Director nodded – “We act as if nothing has happened. In a couple of days, this will all be over.”

    “In a few hours, this will all be over,” said Drake, Inland Containment Officer of MI5, leaning closer to his communication screen. “The Smith-Neutall building will be sealed off and Pablo Alva will be in custody.”
    “My section is already active on this,” said Queen Bee. “Storming the building would be foolish.”
    “Oh, would it now?” sneered Drake.
    The two of them glared angrily at each other, like circling tigers fighting over territory.
    “We have a perfect opportunity to end the threat from the East Balboan Liberation Squad,” said Queen Bee. “If you go charging in, that opportunity will be ruined.”
    “My only concern is securing the poison and apprehending those responsible for it,” barked Drake. “I’m not interested in any of the SIA’s undercover, clever-clever game-playing.”
    “There are larger issues at stake here!”
    Drake shook his head scornfully. “Who areyou, again, exactly? What do you do at the SIA? What’s your section? Huh?”
    “You know I can’t tell you that,” said Queen Bee.
    “Exactly,” spat Drake. “You lot make me sick! If Alva gets away, if that poison gets out, who’ll be in the biggest trouble, eh? The section that isn’t top secret, the one people know exists, my section – MI5! Headlines in the press, finger-wagging on the news, the whole works. I refuse to be bossed around! There’s nothing your agents can do that mine can’t.”
    “Really? I’ve heard that one before,” said Queen Bee sarcastically, arching an eyebrow.
    “This is my operation,” growled Drake.
    “I already have an undercover agent at work inside Smith-Neutall,” said Queen Bee. She let Drake assume she meant a human, not a micro-robotic spider.
    “So what? Back off.”
    The screen went blank.
    Queen Bee paused for a moment to compose herself. All she would ever allow others to see of her was an iron shell of authority and determination.However, now and again her shell would crack a little.
    She stabbed at the control panel beside her. Simon Turing’s face appeared on the communication screen.
    “Yes, Ms Maynard?” said Simon.
    Queen Bee stared into the screen. “We take action, and beat MI5 at their own game. Activate the SWARM.”

    “OK,” said Dr Kirk, calmly, “we carry on as normal. Everything’s fine, and nothing is going to happen.”
    His two lab assistants, Pablo Alva and Emma Barnes, glanced at each other.
    “Are you sure?” said Alva. He spoke in a low voice, his East Balboan Spanish accent strong.
    Smith-Neutall’s Head of Science nodded. “Absolutely. I’ve just been speaking with the Chief Executive and the Sales Director. They’re agreed that this whole terrible situation stays one hundred per cent secret.”
    The three of them were gathered in a corner of the laboratory at Smith-Neutall, unaware that Widow was hidden behind a nearby glass beaker, monitoring their every word. Her pointed metal legs held her motionless. Microscopic sensors pulsed across her domed abdomen.
    She’d been following her orders. She had tracked Pablo Alva’s movements from the moment he’d arrived that morning.
    “I’m so glad nobody else knows,” said Emma. “I was worried we were all going to get arrested or something.”
    “We continue to run our tests on it,” said Dr Kirk, “and as soon as they’re done, we’ll destroy it and everything will be back to how it was. We’ve no reason to worry.”
    “I could hardly sleep last night,” said Alva, “just knowing that stuff is around. I keep getting this terrible