The Trade Read Online Free

California, twelve tanks smouldered quietly. The semi-conscious bodies of almost a hundred Agents lay scattered across the tarmac, groaning and whimpering in pain.
    Smoke poured from within shattered store fronts. Cars lay upturned, their metal frames shredded, their windscreens shattered. Somewhere in the wreckage, a police siren wailed once, then slowed to a stop.
    In the middle of the street was a hole. It was wide and deep, easily large enough to fit one of the broken Providence tanks. Down in the hole, the scorpion Evo lurked.
    â€˜Now there’s something you don’t see every day,’ Rex whispered, ducking low behind the smoking remains of a pizza delivery van. He gasped, sharply. ‘Whoa!’ Beside him, Agent Six went tense.
    â€˜What’s wrong?’ he hissed.
    â€˜Pepperoni,’ said Rex, happily. He reached inthrough the broken doors of the van and pulled out a cheese-coated triangle of pizza. ‘Want a slice?’
    Steel flashed before Rex’s eyes and the pizza left his hand. He looked up to find the slice stuck to the end of one of Six’s swords. With a flick, Six sent the pizza hurtling across the street. Rex watched it splatter messily against a wall.
    â€˜Hey, I was going to eat that!’
    â€˜Junk food later,’ Six growled. ‘Fight Evo
now
.’
    â€˜OK, OK,’ Rex sighed. ‘But when we’re finished here, you owe me a twelve-inch deep pan.’
    â€˜Deal,’ Six said.
    â€˜With
extra cheese
.’
    â€˜Don’t push your luck –’
    KER-ASSSH!
    A curved stinger, larger than Rex’s head, tore through the side of the van. Rex and Six jumped back as the van was lifted into the air. The scorpion Evo hissed at them, angrily.
    â€˜Hi there,’ said Rex, brightly. ‘I don’t suppose you’d like to surrender quietly?’
    The scorpion’s tail snapped down. Rex was knocked sideways by Agent Six, just as the vansmashed down onto the road. Six growled in pain as part of the axle slammed down onto his legs, pinning them against the ground.
    â€˜You OK?’ Rex asked, reaching down to help Six.
    â€˜Fine. Forget me,’ Six barked. He tried to pull his legs free, but they were held fast. ‘Stop
that
thing.’
    Rex nodded. ‘You’re the boss, boss.’ He stood up. The scorpion-creature was larger than the pizza van had been, even before it was smashed to pieces. It had four yellow eyes, each one the size of a football. The eyes were fixed on the helpless Six. Rex knew he had to lead the Evo away.
    â€˜Didn’t anyone tell you it’s rude to stare?’ Rex said, stepping between the Evo and Agent Six. He raised both arms, extended the index fingers, then poked the scorpion in two of its eyes. The Evo howled with rage.
    â€˜You want me?’ Rex cried. He ran past the scorpion. ‘Then come get me!’
    Rex powered forward, leaping over fallen Agents and sliding across the bonnets of abandoned cars. Behind him, he heard the
tick, tick, tick
of the scorpion’s legs as it raced after him across the concrete. With every step, the sound became louder. The Evo wasgaining, and it was gaining fast.
    â€˜So, you can run,’ Rex muttered. ‘But let’s see if you can outrun the Rex Ride!’
    Rex leapt into the air. As he did, an orange and silver hover-bike formed beneath him. The street became a blur around him as he opened the throttle and sent the bike hurtling along the street.
    Tick, tick, tick.
    Tick, tick, tick.
    Rex looked back over his shoulder. He could barely believe what he saw. The scorpion Evo was still gaining steadily, its pincer-legs carrying it along at incredible speed.
    â€˜OK, so you
can
outrun the Rex Ride,’ Rex said. He suddenly didn’t feel as confident as he had a moment ago. ‘But what if I – Ack!’
    The hover-bike vanished. Still racing forward at breakneck speed, Rex clattered onto the ground, bounced twice,