Shockwave by Peter Jay Black

Urban Outlaws bk 5. Bloomsbury, 2016. ISBN 9781408851517
Peter Jay Black's Urban Outlaws series finishes in a taut and deadly race; the pace is even more frenetic, with the five friends pushed to their limits as their health deteriorates from the effects of by the deadly Medusa virus. Shockwave begins directly after the volatile ending of Counterstrike; Hector's men have infiltrated their underground hideout and quickly set about destroying their home, possessions and equipment. Jack and Charlie narrowly escape while young Obi is captured.
With each member suffering from the cold-like symptoms of the deadly virus, they must return to The Facility and search for the antidote. Hector is one-step ahead of them as they slowly make their way across London dressed in clothing bank outfits and The Facility is destroyed by fire. Noble their adult friend's warehouse is torched as well. As they discuss their circumstances standing near the London Eye, henchmen from a rival gang capture them and take them to their headquarters based in an old warehouse. Wheelchair-bound Tayla is the tough leader of a large gang of children and teenagers trained to pickpockets and steal goods. Tayla hates the outlaws and instructs her cronies to kill them. Of course, with some quick thinking, they talk their way out of the situation, setting up a heist plan with the promise of a rich reward.
The mission is deadly; the evil Del Sarto family are holding the whole of London to ransom as they prepare to infiltrate the waterways of London with the virus. Jack, Charlie, Wren and Slink jump off bridges, set technological traps, traverse London, survive being shot, engage in battles, using their resourcefulness and ingenuity to complete their final mission.
Peter Jay Black keeps up the rapid pace until the very end, life and death dramas, moral decisions and the interconnection and the reliance on each other in the face of adversity, make this a grand series finale.
Rhyllis Bignell