2909 lines
143 KiB
Plaintext
2909 lines
143 KiB
Plaintext
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Background for Cool Darkness
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Sinclair was one of the first people to develop electromagnetic
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devices and weapons. He created the first series of needlers and gaussian
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weaponry and has been creating state-of-the-art weaponry ever since.
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The Sinclair K2 is a single hand-held needler that is not-so common
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among well armed groups or people of the lower class. It uses longer
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needles than the K1, a single-hand needler that uses 3" needles, 80 per
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four inch mag. These needles are 5" long with a 5" mag holding 50. It's
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wider than a K1 and is used primarily for penetration and power against
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armored individuals. Most K2's are semiauto while the K1 has on-the-fly
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switching from semi to full auto capabilities. Cerated, armor piercing
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and explosive needles are available into the military, security and black
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markets.
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Polymetals are alloys of metals that have polymer composites
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fabricated into the material at the time of final molding. This allows for
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improved chemical and physical properties of the material while
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improving its strength and the ability to keep a sharp edge. It also aids
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in reinforcing materials such as strengthening armor plating and
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bullet-proof jackets.
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The story takes place somewhere around 2030 in a fast growing
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suburb of Philadelphia.
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Cool Darkness
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by Matthew Carpenter
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Chapter 1 : Mark of the Huntress
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"Awe, shit. Man this is too much for one night" Dave sighed.
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Five hours on the net after a full day's work at the office was enough
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for a 24 hour day. He slouched back into his recliner and turned on the
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built in massage, pulled the plugs from his system and blankly stared at
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the ceiling.
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"Too bad you still got a few hours before it's over." He loosened
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his tie and unbuttoned the top button of his white shirt. A midnight
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snack should be good he thought to himself. He sleepily stood up
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between rolls of computer paper and electronic cables snaking through
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the small den of his apartment in Philly. 'Thank god the lights are off or
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I'd really have a headache.' Dave walked out of the room, still thinking
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over the latest ideas from work involving the net connections between
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North America and Europe. 'Goddamn bureaucrats think they know
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everything. Hell, they probably couldn't even tell if I changed their
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comm links from DC to LA.' The walk to the refrigerator was short. The
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light from inside blinded him shortly since it was the only light on in
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the house. 'I wonder what Cryon is up to tonight. They haven't been
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going out as much lately as they used to.' A thought that sounded like
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something was getting ready to go down, but with no background. They
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haven't done anything lately that would hint to it. He didn't like that.
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He pulled an open jar of pickles out of the frig and a container of
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mustard, opened the bread drawer and got a loaf of old bread that was on
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the brink of molding. Some meat and a bag of chips followed. He sat
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down at the small round table next the to kitchen entrance and began
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making a sandwich. He took a bite. 'Damn thing is getting stale. I
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wonder how Nick is doing? The last time I talked with him must've been
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2 weeks ago.' He swiveled around in his chair to a wall panel and entered
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the code for a direct telecom interconnect.
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The video jumped up and Nick's tired face showed up on the
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screen.
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"Nick, how you doin' man?" squawked Dave getting ready to take
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another bite out of his sandwich.
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"Dave...Do you know what time it is?"
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"Yeah, but I couldn't sleep. What's up. I haven't.."
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Blink. Blink. A monitor light went on. Someone's at the door,
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thought Dave. 'Who the hell would come at a time like this?'
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"Hang on, someone's at the door."
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"At this time of night?" It was too late. Dave was already up and
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heading for the door. Opening up another panel, the lights went on and
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Dave spoke through the intercom mic.
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"Who's there?"
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The monitor light blinked again.
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"I said who's there!?" 'No answer. No answer.' Something's up.
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He began walking away from the door.
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"Get out Nick. Somethin's up!" yelled Dave from across the room.
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"What's going on over there Dave!?"
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THUD..THUD. CRACK! Dave's door popped partly open as the
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bottom hinge cracked out of the door frame. THUD..THUD..SMASH! The
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top hinge nearly exploded open with force as the door toppled to one
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side, rendering the computer and physical locking mechanisms
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completely ineffective. Dave scurried backward as a large man slowly
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walked into the apartment, stepping on the discarded door. Dark short
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hair and a dark skinned face sat on top of a set of shoulders and a huge
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frame as he pulled something out of his dark, tattered overcoat. Dave
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turned to run towards his den when a silent shot was fired into his left
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leg.
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"Aaauuuuu!" screamed Dave as he fell into the table where he had
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just begun his midnight snack. The telecom monitor flicked off as Dave
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moved to face his attacker. He side slouched into his chair, holding his
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leg. A needle stuck out of it by about an inch, leaving a small circular
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blood stain forming on his dress pants.
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The man walked up to Dave shooting another two silent shots into
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his leg, making him scream in pain. A large hand wrapped itself around
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Dave's throat and began picking him up. His face reddened and his eyes
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began to bulge as he was suspended in mid air by his attacker's
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suffocating grip. His grip was hard, almost too hard as Dave reached up
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with both hands to grasp it.
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"Who the hell are you!" Dave spit out having more difficulty
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breathing. The light from the room was in his eyes so he couldn't see his
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enemy's face. He didn't remember running into him before, he was sure
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of that. A shot was fired at the control panel on the wall, but not by his
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attacker who had put his gun down on the dining table. Another shot
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and the panel exploded in an array of sparks and flames. A final shot
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was fired at the lights which exploded out, darkening the apartment
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once more. Dave flinched from the spraying glass. He was lifted a little
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higher as his assailant's other fist flew into Dave's lower ribs, making a
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noticeable cracking sound as it shattered a few, knocking the wind out of
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Dave. He was then turned around and thrown into the opposite wall of
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his den a few feet away. His attacker turned around to pick up his gun,
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which gave Dave a little time to move out of the way by crawling into his
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den amongst the electronics and wires. Two more shots were fired
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directly into his leg as he was almost fully in, leaving him immobile
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from the pain with only the sounds of heavy footsteps echoing toward
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the den's entrance.
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The split, mangy tails of a cheap grayish-black overcoat dangled
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at the ankles of Dave's pursuer. Combat boots and a dark cat burglar's
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baggy suit shown underneath the opened coat, as a Sinclair K2 was being
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placed back in it's shoulder harness, then covered by the thick fiber-
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metal mesh coat. He couldn't see a face or even a head from his
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encumbered position on the carpeted floor. Dave just stared at his large
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enemy, unable to move from the pain in his cracked ribs, and the 5 inch
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needles sticking out of his left leg. The only taste from his interrupted
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midnight snack away from the net was of blood.
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"Next time, don't fuck with Nestroth, Dave" came a quiet but stern
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female voice from the doorway; the type that could be sweet if it didn't
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send a shiver down your spine, but would scare the hell out of you if
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caught in a dark alley on Halloween.
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Dave tried looking past his pursuer. He knew that voice, he knew
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it from somewhere. Nestroth gave him a hint, but there was no match.
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Not with that female voice. It just sounded so familiar, but then again it
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didn't. He just couldn't place it. He had run into Nestroth a few times
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trying to break a few systems, but he'd never tangled with them, at least
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not to his knowledge. Every time he had run into them, they either
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kicked him out or he got out himself. He knew Nestroth was not one to be
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messed with, anywhere. Anyone who did normally either was found
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dead or never found. That didn't help Dave's thinking as he stared at his
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victor with only the thought of death running around in his head. 'If
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only I could think of what got me into this in the first place' Dave
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thought to himself, hoping for a chance to get out of it one way or the
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other.
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A hand slapped against the left shoulder of the overcoat. Slowly
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and with enough coolness to chill ice, he moved to one side of the
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doorway without losing sight of his prey. Blue and red streaks of light
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shined in from the neon streetlights through the opposing windows,
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leaving less to be hidden in the not-so-well kept apartment. A few
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computer screens flickered and with the outside light, showed the
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mounds of electronics and scrap papers lying all over the small room.
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An athletically slender female figure covered only with a skintight body
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suit and a pair of stainless steel spiked heels, entered the room with the
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finesse and grace of a cat, and noticeably the cunning of one as well.
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Her slender body left little to the imagination as she snaked towards
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Dave. Shiny metallic nail polish glistened on her fingertips in the
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sporadic changing lights. Her footsteps made no noise as her spiked
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heels sank into the thick carpet and almost pierced through the material
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underneath. Her bodysuit was mostly black with the exception of a dark
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red artistic line running across the main body of it, creating fading
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curls of color along an arm and the opposite leg. Her hair matched the
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entire outfit; dark and slightly long, but not touching her shoulders.
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"Stand up shithead" she hissed walking to within inches of his
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pale face.
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"I..I...I can't. My leg.." he whimpered.
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"Just do it or I'll have Nemesis stand you up whether you like it or
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not!"
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Remembering his encounter a few moments ago with 'Nemesis',
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he painfully began to bring himself up to a hunched over position, still
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holding his leg in pain. He looked near her fearing the consequences of
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eye contact. Blood trickled from his left leg and stained his business
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pants as he favored the other leg; the polymetal needles still sticking out
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of his leg.
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"Last night will be the last time you go after Cryon, Dave. Do we
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understand each other?"
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"I didn't go against Cryon last night, honest I didn't" he sputtered
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back. Sweat beads were forming on his head as her hot breath touched
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his face, while she pushed her face within an inch of his.
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"Don't bullshit me Dave. Nestroth ran into you last night while
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going against Cryon and you fucked us up! Don't make me..".
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"I haven't run into Nestroth in weeks and that was only an
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accident, really. I don't want any trouble with Nestroth. Come on,
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they're too big for me" he shakingly replied. "Hell, I don't even know
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you guys. That's how long it's been since I....".
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Backing away from his face, she retracted a set of 4 inch claws
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that lay at her waistside which had gone unnoticed until now. Her
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eyebrows still in a devilish frown. Her breathing still calm. Her lips
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tight with fury, contrary to Dave's sweating, pale face. A dark red stain
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was forming on his white shirt where Nemesis had punched him earlier.
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Raising her hand, "You may call me Slash" was her only reply as
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her claws extended to a solid 7 inches, and left his head lying next to his
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crumpled body as the blue light shined off the blood dripping from her
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otherwise spotless weapon of choice. The only sound was a distant
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humming from the changing neon lights, and a grinning Nemesis.
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Cool Darkness
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by Matthew Carpenter
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Chapter 2 : Welcome to the Jungle
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"Enter Password" spit the computer controlled lock of a small
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warehouse on the other side of town; the dirty side of town. Trash lay all
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around the alleyway and the light blowing smog that seems to inhabit
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the entire city rolled by, bring papers and dust with it. Slash entered the
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neural code embedded into Nestroth's security ROM chip, implanted into
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her skull, and took her security card back as the graffitied, grayish
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metal alley door unlocked. She walking in just as smoothly as she had
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done entering Dave's apartment, with Nemesis behind her shutting the
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door with the echoing thud of a vault.
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The semi-lit corridor weaved to the right a little bit. The corridor
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was surrounded by old wooden crates piled on metal warehouse frames
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slightly beginning to rust from the humidity of the city air. A metal
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catwalk lingered just above Nemesis' head as they walked into the open
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meeting room of Nestroth. This was one of there meeting places. One
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that was used after the fact. The whole warehouse was only 50 by 50 feet,
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but it was perfect for their purposes: small enough to be unnoticed;
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large enough to be useful. There was a bar on the opposing wall from
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the entrance. A pool table, a few TV's, a bar and a stereo made up the
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majority of the hall while the computer links and weapon banks were
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closest to the left wall. Everything a person could want after a job, while
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still maintaining some security to the place. A glance around from Slash
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produced a few scanners locked on them, verifying who's who. A guard
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armed appropriately watched from the right catwalk that continued
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around the entire warehouse. Dressed in normal street clothes, he raised
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his gloved right hand as a sign of hello to Slash. She slightly nodded
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hello and continued looking around.
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A few desks were scattered around the room with paperwork,
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blueprints and other 'necessities' on top or laid out on built in desk
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monitors. A medium sized man with an open white jacket, yellow shirt
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and nice slacks looked to be jacked in at one of the desks in a lounge
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chair. The only thing was there was no cable. A metal band with
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blinking LEDs wrapped around the back of his head connecting his two
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ports, but weren't connected to anything else. His eyes blinked and he
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raised his head from his propped up arms to notice the two. A few lights
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flashed on and off on his headgear and he raised his right arm to the
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back of it. A few seconds later, the two sides of the device connected to
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his ports popped off and he placed the gear down onto the table. A small
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stretch and a wipe of the eyes and he stood up reaching for the beer in
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front of him.
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Slash walked towards him as she noticed out of the corner of her
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eye, Nemesis going to a sofa on the far side of the room to throw his
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jacket down.
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"So what did you bring me?" he asked, not changing his blank
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expression.
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"Merry Christmas , Nebulus" Slash retorted in a painfully sly tone
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of voice and a slight grin as she pulled Dave's head out of the black bag
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she was holding.
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"Not bad. What else did you bring me?" Nebulus asked raising an
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eyebrow, taking another drink without removing his eyes from her.
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"The last time he said he ran into us was a few weeks ago" she said
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dropping his head into the disposal system next to the desk without a
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thought or a look. "He denied going after Cryon last night. He died with
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his story in tact so either he was one devoted liar, or he was too scared to
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make up a fake story. In any case, we've got copies of his records for the
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past two months including his work on the international nets and his
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individual activities around the sites."
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Nemesis had put his coat down and returned to the discussion.
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Standing about half a foot over Nebulus, his body was highlighted from
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the lighting array suspended from the ceiling by chains. His skin was
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very dark brown with tints of gray that seemed even darker behind
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Nebulus' white jacket. His black tank top showed off his large muscles
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that had obviously been enhanced through drugs. His black hair was cut
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in a spiked military fashion and he still wore his shades, even though
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the lighting inside wasn't that illuminating.
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"Or else he was there and tried to make us believe he wasn't. You
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should've pulled more info out of him before you killed him. Now we
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don't know what's going on" retorted Nebulus. He slouched back into his
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padded chair and enabled the foot rest. He closed his eyes, running his
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hand through his military style blond hair only to let out of a frustrated
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sigh that was meant to be heard. He leaned back with his eyes closed as
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the other two members of the group who had been at the bar the whole
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time, came up to the table.
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"Hey kids, how's it goin'? Did you and Davey-boy have fun
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tonight or what." It was Zlik. Slash hated his humor, especially when it
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wasn't in taste. He walked closer to her side egging her on with his
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cock-eyed smirking that drove her nuts. "Come on, tell old Zlik what
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happened baby."
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"Knock it off Zlik. Why don't you take you and your filthy street
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'garb' somewhere where I can't smell it." darted Slash, eyeing him with
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one of those 'Don't push me looks'. "We got enough problems without
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your nonsense." Zlik was from the streets and probably will always be
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there as well. He grew up there, hangs there now, and will forever have
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a name with those who have long purple hair that hangs to one side.
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"Goddamn skinny son of a .." murmured Slash.
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"Cool it children" snapped Nebulus, opening his eyes and
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furrowing his brow again. "Jack, what do we have on the nets for the
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past few hours from Dave's area?"
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"Nothing to my knowledge. The whole sector's been quiet since
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he got off" replied Jack in a gentlemen's voice, standing next to Nemesis.
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Actually, he stood underneath Nemesis. He was very short and stocky, in
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fact he was getting on the fat side. That's the problem with netrunning
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all day and all night. Jack was the type of individual who got so hooked
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into the system that if he had his choice, he would never get out. Unless
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of course he had to. But that was never. That's how he got his name,
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Jack. Constantly jacking in and out of the nets, only to get back in as
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soon as possible. He gambles with everything he gets into and most of
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the time, if and when rarely caught, he barely makes it out without
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being traced or ICEd. But that's how he wanted to run his life: on the
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edge, at least from the perception of the net.
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"Get me updated on Cryon ASAP, Jack, and make sure they're not
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screwing around with our side of the board!" demanded Nebulus.
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"Sure thing boss" replied Jack, still in his business shirt, business
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appearance, and business attitude. Hey slowly walked away from the
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group and reached another desk a little distance away from the informal
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meeting. He picked up the same headgear as Nebulus had and put it on,
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eventually peering off into space, or cyberspace as the case may be.
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"What the hell is that thing he's got on his head?" questioned
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Slash, a little perturbed that she hadn't been updated on the new tech
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yet.
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"It's an experimental wireless connect between your ports and a
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jack in site. But like I said, it's only experimental, so it doesn't leave this
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room" explained Nebulus, calming down slightly. "We stole the idea and
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some of the design from Cryon. The rest came from industry with the
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holes filled in by Jack and his tech buddies at Nortech."
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"He's still working there?" asked Zlik, wising up a bit. The party
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began to disperse, each individual going there own way. "Awe screw it
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man" snobbed Zlik heading for the corridor leading to the alleyway. The
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metal door slammed shut once he was out and the room was dead quiet
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with the exception of the echoing metallic slam of the door. Everyone
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that wasn't jacked in was still looking at the corridor that Zlik just
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walked through.
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"When the hell is he going to get a life and stop being a street
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bum!?" complained Slash.
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"He's one of the best street informants I've ever known, Slash.
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Just get off his back" grumbled a low, direct voice.
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She turned around, looking at Nemesis who never had a lot to say.
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"Is that so. Then why does he always dress like he's still on the streets?"
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"Because he is." With that Nemesis grabbed his coat from the sofa
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and proceeded to follow Zlik's exit, never loosing sight of Slash.
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***************
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"Don't let her get to you man, she's just bein' a bitch tonight
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cause we didn't get what we wanted from Dave" said Nemesis after
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catching up to Zlik. His shades were still on even though it was
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approaching two in the morning. The two of them walked for a while
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and finally made it to the noisy part of town. The bars and joints
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stretched for a few blocks and never shut down as long as it was dark
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outside. This was the night spot; where everyone came who was anyone,
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at four in the morning that is.
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"So what happened with the job with Dave?" asked Zlik.
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"We took him out well, but Nebulus wasn't impressed with the info
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we got from him. I think Nebulus thinks someone's out for us. Hell, it
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wouldn't surprise me, that's for sure."
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"At least it would make life interesting for once."
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"True." They walked side by side down the sidewalk towards there
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favorite spot - Black Oil. The only place on the strip that was almost
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pitch black dark inside and that served the hardest drinks, only. It was a
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nice place. The bar was always packed and the back rooms always full.
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It was mostly inhabited by deckers, samurai, informants or people just
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there for business. Frankly, the bar wasn't even built to be a bar, but
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that never surfaced in conversation.
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Zlik was almost as tall as Nemesis, but a hell of a lot skinnier. His
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tattered street clothes, long purple hair and terrible street accent set
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him apart from his companion. A little harassment from the local girls
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and a few psychos that were missing more than a couple of brain cells
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made the trip seem normal. The streets were cluttered with garbage and
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debris from the riots a few days ago. Most of the street lights were out or
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on there way to go out. Most of the cars on the streets had a few bumps
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or bruises, many having broken windows or shattered lights. The alleys
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were filled with drunken street people sitting in the wall crevices and
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dealers making their nightly pay. It might be the summer, but for some
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reason the night was a little cooler than normal.
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Before long, the Black Oil neon sign was a few doors down. A
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small crowd had formed out front of the closed doors of the place with
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people just hangin' out. A little pushing and shoving and the two got
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past the crowd of people who wanted to look cool by the bar, but didn't
|
|
want to go in.
|
|
|
|
Past the doors, the bar was dark as night. Smoke filled the air and
|
|
seemed to hover like a cloud just above people's heads. There was just
|
|
about enough room to walk around the place without hugging each
|
|
other in the process. A pool table could be spotted across the room in the
|
|
far right corner from the foyer landing where Nemesis and Zlik stood
|
|
side by side, each looking around for someone or something. Most of the
|
|
people here were dressed to kill. The styles ranged from very slick to
|
|
very sleazy, but all with the intent to intimidate. The bar was centered
|
|
in the middle of the place, raised a step above the floor to make it a little
|
|
more formidable for stools. It was nice, though, compared to the others
|
|
in town. All the walls were old fashioned wood with paintings and
|
|
electronic art scattered around. At least there was no graffiti on the
|
|
inside of the joint. Looking around produced a second floor of mostly
|
|
wooden tables surrounding the outside walls of the place. Round
|
|
hanging pool lights hung from the ceiling with most of the lights either
|
|
broken or turned off.
|
|
|
|
Zlik started down the half flight of stairs without noting Nemesis'
|
|
intentions for the evening. But that was his style. He grew up on this
|
|
side of town, was one of the first to come to the bar when it was first
|
|
opened, and will probably be one of those who are killed in it as well.
|
|
Nemesis watched him slowly push his way toward the far side of the bar
|
|
and begin talking with a few friends that normally were found here
|
|
after midnight. Nemesis, on the other hand, slowly made his way to the
|
|
opposite side to watch a game of pool before going to the bar for a drink.
|
|
|
|
"So what's new on the streets" questioned the guy slowly
|
|
drinking a Toxic Rum next to Zlik, his long bleached hair almost
|
|
touching the tip of the glass during each sip.
|
|
|
|
"Depends on what side of the tracks you're from."
|
|
|
|
"The down side."
|
|
|
|
"Cryon is on the move again and no one knows what's going on."
|
|
|
|
"I thought they weren't screwing around on the nets yet? Last I
|
|
heard, they weren't going after any company takeovers or anything" he
|
|
said with a concerned yet questionable tone of voice, still just looking at
|
|
his shot.
|
|
|
|
"Their RAD just jumped and their in the market. Nestroth's
|
|
chasin' the rabbit so make sure the field is clear" noted Zlik. He hated
|
|
discussing names in company, but that was life on the streets. "How's
|
|
you're girl friend?"
|
|
|
|
"Which one?" he asked in disgust.
|
|
|
|
"Charles."
|
|
|
|
"Watch your back. Deckers are out tonight and it's gonna be a
|
|
while until sex is as good as it used to be."
|
|
|
|
"Who's spreading the disease?"
|
|
|
|
"Mogul's back." Spotting an old girl friend across the room, Zlik
|
|
got up from the bar and began his way towards her, noting his friend
|
|
with only a tap on the bar before leaving. Information and friends are
|
|
two different things when it comes to who's chasing who. Anyway, most
|
|
of the 'friends' that you make in a place like this can't be trusted further
|
|
than the shot they drink from.
|
|
|
|
'Mogul is back' thought Zlik on his way across the bar. 'This is
|
|
not good. The last time they were back proved to be a challenge in more
|
|
ways than just survival. Mogul was one of those groups that just looked
|
|
for conflicts with other groups. Nestroth normally didn't mind
|
|
competition when going after a company or something like that, but
|
|
when a gang gets involved with business, business gets bloody.'
|
|
|
|
"Hey sexy! How's it goin'!?" yelled Zlik.
|
|
|
|
"Well if it isn't Zlik. I haven't seen you here for a while. Where
|
|
the hell you been hiddin' out lately?" replied Shiela.
|
|
|
|
"I've been around. You sure look awful different since we went
|
|
out last year. So who you datin' now babe?" Her black leather clad body
|
|
and curly-long, dyed black hair contrasted to her old street image of
|
|
baggy pants and oversized shirts. Her face was even more pale now. Her
|
|
appearance almost was of the dead instead of who he remembered her to
|
|
be.
|
|
|
|
"Nobody special. He's right here." She turned around and pulled
|
|
on the shoulder of a large man standing behind her talking with a small
|
|
bunch of guys dressed in the same black leather attire. He turned
|
|
around to face Zlik. "I told you he'd be here honey" she said looking
|
|
directly into Zlik's eyes with a devil's grin only Glasya could wear.
|
|
|
|
"So this is the mighty Zlik of Nestroth!" he said taking a step
|
|
closer and shoving his glass into Shiela's hand. "Don't tell me you've
|
|
come back for seconds with her MATE!" He might be a little drunk, but
|
|
he was definitely pissing Zlik off with his attitude; one of the few things
|
|
which Zlik didn't tolerate.
|
|
|
|
"Where the fuck did you pick him up Shiela!? Pirates Are Us or
|
|
Assholes Anonymous!!!?" attacked Zlik with his irate attitude aimed
|
|
directly at Shiela.
|
|
|
|
"Good-bye Zlik" was her only monotone reply as her grin turned
|
|
sour and she retreated towards the bar, walking behind her man.
|
|
|
|
"Oh, fine, walk off with a nice good-bye babe! Hey, don't forget
|
|
your beer belly bozo here bitch!" yelled Zlik not moving from his
|
|
position. His attack was still muffled by the crowd around them. No one
|
|
paid any attention to quarrels like that, anymore.
|
|
|
|
Giving a daring glare in her direction, his neck was violently
|
|
grabbed by Shiela's lover.
|
|
|
|
"She picked me up at Mogul, you shitty piece of street slime. How
|
|
do you feel about that, Dick!?" Zlik's eyebrow's raised instantly at the
|
|
thought of what he was in now, just in time for a double sided dagger to
|
|
be thrust into his stomach by his adversary. His mouth dropped open
|
|
and his eyes shut from the pain. His body almost being totally supported
|
|
by the hand still clenching his neck, making his breathing more
|
|
difficult. The knife twisted in his side and his brow furrowed more until
|
|
all he could do is scream out in pain. The crowd around him began to
|
|
notice the action, but it was too late. His back began to arch and his
|
|
knees started bending slowly as the life drained out of his body, staining
|
|
his shirt, and began to form a reflective puddle on the floor underneath
|
|
him.
|
|
|
|
"MOGULLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!" screamed Zlik, thrusting his right
|
|
elbow outward. An old fashioned quick release snubnose appeared in his
|
|
palm and directed itself towards the chest of his killer. Four shots were
|
|
fired before his body crumpled to the bloody wooden floor, his right arm
|
|
sticking straight upward with the gun still resting in his palm. He was
|
|
soon followed by his killer to the floor. His leather armor lined jacket
|
|
not enough against good old Teflon II coated ammunition, bringing him
|
|
down nearly on top of Zlik. Their blood staining each other's body. The
|
|
crowd going silent momentarily to see who was involved this night
|
|
while the bartender called the cops, then resuming with the normal
|
|
discussions of the evening. Another night, another death. Pretty
|
|
normal for nighttime in Philly, or any major city for that matter.
|
|
|
|
Shiela slowly made her way to the entrance and existed alone,
|
|
mingling with a few others who didn't want to be around when the cops
|
|
showed up to collect the bodies. Nemesis, too far away to do anything but
|
|
watch his friend die, and hear the gunshots at the last moment, kept and
|
|
eye on her and followed her out of the establishment. He'd met her a few
|
|
times before, but never really got to know her. He never really liked
|
|
her in the first place. Trusted would probably be a better word. Now he
|
|
knew why. Mogul on the other hand meant something, something very
|
|
serious. Mogul was a gang that ran a last year and tried terrorizing
|
|
certain underground groups. Nestroth was one of the groups that
|
|
brought them down. Unfortunately, they didn't wipe them out
|
|
completely.
|
|
|
|
Shiela began down the strip and soon turned into a known
|
|
alleyway. Nemesis followed, cautiously surveying his position. He
|
|
started into the alley, but she was already gone. Impossible. The alley is
|
|
too long and he was too close to lose her that fast. He didn't like it. He
|
|
didn't like it one bit. A few more meters in and he stopped, switching his
|
|
cybernetic retina implants from night vision to thermal infra-red
|
|
sensing. He walked a few more meters with his jacket loosely buttoned.
|
|
He finally stopped completely and looked around. As he looked up he
|
|
caught a glimpse of part of a person who must have been peering out of
|
|
a window from above. More likely sighting him in, which he confirmed
|
|
with another retina switch to ultraviolet reflective, picking up the faint
|
|
outlines of a needler rifle.
|
|
|
|
"Nice try, Nemesis" came a voice that echoed through the alley. It
|
|
was Shiela all right. Nothing mistaking that slyish voice. He turned
|
|
around, obviously out of position. Two men, however, were between him
|
|
and the streets, and the alley behind him meant dealing with his
|
|
airborne sniper. His right hand slowly snaked towards his jacket.
|
|
|
|
"Don't even think about it asshole." The two men in front of him
|
|
took out their weapons, pinning him in. "You go back to Nestroth and
|
|
tell them we're back, Nemesis. And, by the way, give Nebulus this
|
|
message!?" Two needler shots were fired from above into his shoulder.
|
|
He immediately sank to the ground and crashed into a trash bin, holding
|
|
his 'injured' shoulder. "You take that to Nebulus!"
|
|
|
|
The two men in the alley put their weapons away as they made
|
|
their way back to the streets. Nemesis lay there for a few minutes until
|
|
he judged the situation as relatively safe to move. He removed the
|
|
needles from his jacket, simulating their penetration and induced pain.
|
|
He walked out holding his shoulder. He walked out without his friend.
|
|
Heading back, passed the bar, gave him only one thought: Mogul is back
|
|
and Cryon is on the move. What the hell is going on?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cool Darkness
|
|
by Matthew Carpenter
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chapter 3 : The Finer Things in Life...Just Got Worse
|
|
|
|
"And here is the room where the hunter/killers will be operating
|
|
from, General. Each station will house one person and the collective will
|
|
send necessary information to the GN-12 over there" pointed a research
|
|
engineer for Cryon who was showing General Stark the first labs that
|
|
would be used in Operation Revolt: a joint military/government
|
|
operation headed by members of the CIA, NSA, and USAF Electronic
|
|
Security Command. Behind the glassed in walls of the studio-like lab, the
|
|
tour of the labs had come to an end for one of the leading officials in the
|
|
implementation of the operation, as well as the leading researchers,
|
|
programmers and engineers of Cryon and Nortech. General Stark
|
|
standing out by being the only one not in a normal suit with visible
|
|
hardware and ports.
|
|
|
|
"Very impressive, Dr. Rudenburg, very impressive." spoke
|
|
General Stark looking at the GN-12 comp. "Just how fast is that computer
|
|
and will it give us instantaneous time to react if a priority is at hand?"
|
|
|
|
"It's a 10 teraflops machine packaged in a secured housing that
|
|
will be able to handle hundreds of users without slowing down a bit. The
|
|
computer has been programmed specifically to handle that type of a
|
|
situation, should it arise. With the latest advances made by Nortech in
|
|
the human/computer interface field, the computer will be an extension
|
|
of everyone working in the nets as well as off them. The operation will
|
|
begin as scheduled in two weeks. You can be assured of that!" he stated
|
|
with a grin as if he had sealed a done deal. "If you come this way, we can
|
|
move onto the final discussion of the networking reorder program and
|
|
how we will integrate each level of defense as the time arises."
|
|
|
|
The glass panels they were behind separated them from the most
|
|
diabolical security system ever created by man. Each station consisting
|
|
of a 'coffin' where men would be connected into the computers and nets
|
|
24 hours a day kept alive with a revolutionary new life support system.
|
|
The General stood there for a last glimpse of the entire project. His
|
|
decorated chest rose and fell deeply with every deep breath. 'The
|
|
teraflops computers. The neural links. The net connections and security
|
|
systems. So it all comes down to this.' the General thought to himself
|
|
giving the place a once over, then moving on without a change of facial
|
|
expression.
|
|
|
|
"So this project will enable us to monitor all of the Milnet sites
|
|
and government linkup locations at any given time from anywhere,
|
|
right?"
|
|
|
|
"Exactly. The hunter/killers will be spread out over the nets and
|
|
gateways, constantly monitoring and tracking any conspicuous netters
|
|
or runners as the case may be. All the info will be processed here and
|
|
we will be able build case files on perpetrators, or eliminate them if the
|
|
risk is too high."
|
|
|
|
"Sounds good to me. We're practically fightin' a war on the nets
|
|
as it is with all the netrunnin' that's been goin' on in the past few years.
|
|
It's about goddamn time we got the hardware on our side to stop these
|
|
punks" said the General. His brow was more furrowed than before,
|
|
remembering the numerous break-ins into his department alone over
|
|
the past five years. "Goddamn kids" he quietly spoke to himself, looking
|
|
ahead with great anticipation for this project. 'Just wait until we fry
|
|
'em' he smirked.
|
|
|
|
******************
|
|
|
|
A few days later, a bare-chested dark-skinned bodybuilder was
|
|
curling more weight than normal in front of a mirror at the local gym.
|
|
A 'fake' medical bandage was taped to his left shoulder, giving him an
|
|
incentive to pump more iron. His biceps bulged every time the curl bar
|
|
was lifted above waist level. 'I'm gonna kill Mogul, 18. Kill Mogul, 19.
|
|
Kill Mogul, 20.' "Goddamn!" he said putting the bar back on its bench and
|
|
flexing in front of the mirror. He looked over himself with confidence.
|
|
A full four hour workout finished again. 'Lookin' hot man, lookin' hot.'
|
|
A cool sweat covered most of his unclothed body. His spandex shorts
|
|
noticeably wet as well. He looked over his sculptured grayish tanned
|
|
muscles until his gaze made it to his shades. The dark purplish reflection
|
|
in the mirror of his glasses spawned a frowning brow from Nemesis.
|
|
'More muscles, more killing power!' He picked the bar back up and
|
|
curled another 10 reps, just to let the thought sink in, real deep, still
|
|
counting by how many times he was going to kill Mogul. He looked back
|
|
at the mirror, breathing a little heavier than before. His eyebrows now
|
|
making a "V" shape in his forehead. 'That's it! It's personal now, Mogul!
|
|
You're MINE!'
|
|
|
|
He swiftly grabbed his bag and headed out the front of the gym
|
|
into the warm summer afternoon. His workout might be over, but his
|
|
adrenaline was running high at the moment. Flashbacks of Zlik and him
|
|
being together for the first time. Hitting the bars, scamming
|
|
information, working with Nestroth. Then the memory of the bar came
|
|
back to him. He saw the pain going through his friend's face. He saw
|
|
him stare death square in the face and then take his revenge before
|
|
letting death take him. And then, the only thought that entered his head
|
|
was of Sheila. "BITCH!"
|
|
|
|
"Hey, Nemesis!" A slap on the chest broke him from his day
|
|
dreaming. "Hey, man, you there today!?" asked Nebulus, catching him on
|
|
his way down the street.
|
|
|
|
"What do you want!? I thought you never came out in daylight?"
|
|
retaliated Nemesis.
|
|
|
|
"Hey, calm down. I was just coming up to see you in the gym and
|
|
work out for a little while."
|
|
|
|
"Then why are you in clothes that normally aren't seen outside of
|
|
a club?"
|
|
|
|
"OK, so I wasn't going to work out. I was going to watch you"
|
|
Nebulus said with a grin. "Come on, let's get outta here. My car's right
|
|
over here." They walked together towards the car, but Nemesis stopped a
|
|
few steps away. The whole thing was still eating him away, and Sheila
|
|
was still in his head.
|
|
|
|
"I don't think so; I'm really not in the mood right now, Nebulus."
|
|
|
|
"Look, I know you're upset about what happened to Zlik, we all
|
|
are, but there's work to do."
|
|
|
|
"I don't care about work right now, damn it! All I care about is
|
|
taking Mogul down once and for all and NOW!" yelled Nemesis, becoming
|
|
more furious by the moment.
|
|
|
|
"Look asshole, I don't give a shit about how you feel or what you
|
|
want to do! There's work to do and I need you in one piece. Now get you
|
|
fuckin' ass in my goddamn car before I slice that rinkly stomach of
|
|
yours open!" Nebulus retaliated pulling out a double sided rigid blade.
|
|
|
|
The two just looked at each other for a second or two. Finally,
|
|
Nemesis moved towards the car, shouldering into Nebulus just to get a
|
|
little frustration out on his way to grabbing the door. Nebulus moved out
|
|
of the way slightly, but ran the blade against Nemesis' stomach anyways.
|
|
Nemesis just opened the door, loudly threw his bag in the back and
|
|
slammed the door shut, letting his built-up anger go up in smoke.
|
|
'Goddamn son of a bitch' he thought to himself as Nebulus got in the car
|
|
and started driving away from the curb.
|
|
|
|
"Didn't hurt a bit I bet, did it?" asked a frustrated Nebulus.
|
|
|
|
"No."
|
|
|
|
"How many layers of that shit have you put in you now...what are
|
|
you up to four, five, twenty one or so..?" kidded Nebulus.
|
|
|
|
Nemesis smirked. His anger obviously starting to fade with the
|
|
thought of his friend's humor. "Only four. Anymore would make it look
|
|
unnatural. And it's not shit, it's reinforced synthetic skin."
|
|
|
|
"Unnatural. You're only the one person in my life that I've ever
|
|
seen with gray skin. And a bodybuilder at that. I thought you never put
|
|
anything into your body that wouldn't help you grow muscles?"
|
|
|
|
"It doesn't go into me; it's just sewn on the top five or so layers of
|
|
skin."
|
|
|
|
"Great. A bodybuilder that has four layers of reinforced Kevlar
|
|
Type II skin sewn into his skin so he's not only stronger than everyone
|
|
else, he also has skin that's tougher than an alligator's." The trip was
|
|
silenced from then on by Nemesis' straight face and Nebulus' concern
|
|
for what was going on with the nets. Reality came back too quickly.
|
|
Turning towards the west side of the city, Nemesis could tell that they
|
|
were going to Nebulus' apartment.
|
|
|
|
'What the fuck are we going to his house for?' Nemesis asked
|
|
himself looking around. The surrounding buildings, annoying traffic
|
|
and light smog offered no answer. Soon the apartment complex was up
|
|
ahead. Solar collectors sat atop the six story box shaped complex, soaking
|
|
up as much sun from the hot day as possible. An underground parking
|
|
garage door swung open as the car passed the entrance into the
|
|
driveway, allowing them access to Nebulus' traditional parking spot:
|
|
directly opposite of the door on the far end of the garage. Nemesis
|
|
grabbed his bag and the two went up to the third floor apartment,
|
|
getting in with the standard code key card. The gray polymetal door
|
|
swung open and the two entered the foyer. Thick light colored carpet
|
|
covered the floor of the spacious apartment. Nemesis walked into the
|
|
living room directly in front of him and looked out the full window at
|
|
the nearby city. 'Pretty sad' he thought to himself, putting his bag down
|
|
on a nearby sofa. Nebulus followed and sat down, turning the TV on.
|
|
|
|
"So what the hell are we doing here anyways?" demanded
|
|
Nemesis, still staring out the window.
|
|
|
|
"The others will be here soon enough. Like I said, there's work to
|
|
be done."
|
|
|
|
"Then why don't you tell me just what the fuck is going on then,
|
|
if it's so goddamn important!?" he retaliated spinning around to face
|
|
Nebulus. Nebulus sat there for a moment, still watching TV. The volume
|
|
was low enough it might as well have been off. The spokesperson from
|
|
ESPN was finishing a remote assignment to California on the discussion
|
|
of the new steroids, the ones that had no physical or mental side effects.
|
|
|
|
"So, are you going to start taking the new steroids to help
|
|
improve your strength? I heard they can't hurt you at all." Nebulus said
|
|
still watching TV. Without receiving a reply, he turned to face Nemesis
|
|
who was still waiting for an answer. "All right. Jack got word today
|
|
from one of his friends in Nortech that said that Operation Revolt was
|
|
scheduled to begin in two weeks."
|
|
|
|
That hit a soft spot in Nemesis' pissed off mood. 'Two weeks. Holy
|
|
shit. I didn't think they were going to be ready for at least a few more
|
|
months.' His mood switched from anger to passive worry, convincing
|
|
him that sitting down was a good idea after all. 'How the fuck did they
|
|
get that far ahead without our knowledge?'
|
|
|
|
Nebulus went back to watching ESPN's coverage of body building
|
|
which quickly grasped part of his companion's attention as well. Within
|
|
fifteen minutes, the program was nearing it's end when a message from
|
|
the front panel sounded "There is a visitor at the front door." Nebulus
|
|
got up and turned on the video monitor which vividly showed Slash and
|
|
Jack.
|
|
|
|
"Who is it?" he asked anyways monotonely.
|
|
|
|
"Open up, Nebulus." came back Slash's cool voice.
|
|
|
|
"Lookin' good Slash." He verified their presence with another
|
|
window on the wall panel, displaying the thermal image of two people
|
|
standing in the hallway outside his apartment door, taken from a sensor
|
|
array strategically placed outside his room. The door opened, and the two
|
|
entered the room.
|
|
|
|
"Don't you wish." said Slash as she walked past Nebulus in her
|
|
civilian attire: short heels, stockings that almost showed under a short
|
|
summer skirt, and a tight sleeveless top. Jack followed her in, looking
|
|
very concerned with the present state of affairs. Being an employee of a
|
|
company that his 'computer group' was about to attack and disable, put
|
|
him in a very bad, not to mention stressful position. The door slid shut
|
|
behind him and locked with an advanced security lock that also included
|
|
locking out telecom messages.
|
|
|
|
Jack put himself in his normal office chair that sat at the near
|
|
side of the couch, placed there just for him. Normally it was used as a
|
|
foot rest or end table, but Jack always sat in office chairs, no matter
|
|
where he was. Slash made her way to the cushy chair on the far side of
|
|
the room that was within arms reach of Nemesis' side of the sofa.
|
|
|
|
"I'm really sorry about Zlik, Nemesis. I want you to know that."
|
|
said Slash in a very sincere tone of voice.
|
|
|
|
Nemesis gave her his thank you look and quickly moved to face
|
|
Nebulus who was sitting back down on the sofa to address the group in
|
|
one of their most important meetings of the year.
|
|
|
|
"Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I hope this
|
|
hasn't complicated your jobs, but like I said, this is very important.
|
|
Yesterday, Jack came to me with a very important message a friend at
|
|
work had given to him involving Cryon's initiative, Operation Revolt.
|
|
Jack, would you please brief the group on that matter?"
|
|
|
|
"I received the following message from one of my contacts who
|
|
keeps me informed on information with this project. As you know, we
|
|
were going after the project just for the capabilities to stay online 24
|
|
hours a day. But this changes things completely. The message says:
|
|
|
|
1- OR to take over nets. Hunter/killer
|
|
group to use LSS to keep punks off nets.
|
|
MIL/GOV//MIL/GOV/unknown-deadly -3
|
|
|
|
The reason why this changes everything are the hunter/killer
|
|
groups and the involvement of the government and military. This is one
|
|
of the first times that the government and military have gone after
|
|
totally securing the nets. To begin with it will be applied to the
|
|
government and military nets, but I think it will eventually spread to
|
|
even the simplest network interface on the local level, purposely
|
|
designed to keep unauthorized personnel out, period. They are playing
|
|
for keeps this time. I think the answer to the question about why has
|
|
Cryon been going after other companies and mil sites is right here as
|
|
well. They've been breaking into places left and right as a testing
|
|
ground for what they can do and how effective their system is. We've
|
|
been watching the whole damn project run it's prototypes and beta tests
|
|
all along. The people that were in the tests are the ones we will be up
|
|
against when the game begins, if this project succeeds in starting on
|
|
time." He ran his hand through his thinning hair. His shirt collar was
|
|
long unbuttoned and his tie loose. "This puts me in one awkward
|
|
position, but that's why I got with you guys in the first place. This
|
|
project will essentially shut down the nets from the outside, and I can't
|
|
see anyway of getting around it."
|
|
|
|
"Yea, but they can't KILL you. I mean, all they can do is find out
|
|
who you are and where you're getting in from. That's old news I
|
|
thought." attacked Slash. She knew her way around net tech and was
|
|
pretty up to date on the present state of it, but what she hated the most
|
|
was not being informed on what was out there and this put a noticeable
|
|
hitch in her tone.
|
|
|
|
"With the new system, there's no telling what they can do. They
|
|
could decide not to attack you, trace you back to your deck. From there
|
|
they could get every bit of information on you without you knowing it.
|
|
Set bugs. Implant viruses. Build cases about you. Contact others to see if
|
|
you have any weaknesses. Destroy your personal file and plant a virus
|
|
to destroy every copy of it you launch. Who knows. These guys are
|
|
playing hardball and they're playing for keeps!"
|
|
|
|
The room was completely silent with the exception of a thousand
|
|
thoughts of concern coming from each person sitting there.
|
|
|
|
"Well, I guess this means that Mogul is on the back burner"
|
|
sighed Nemesis, folding his hands together in his lap. A few grins
|
|
appeared quickly looking to relieve the stress of the room.
|
|
|
|
"We need a plan of attack to begin with" said Slash slouching
|
|
back in her chair, allowing the bottoms of her stocking to show without
|
|
concern. Nemesis was the first to notice and the only one to stare,
|
|
unnoticed of course. His CRI's zoomed in on one area, trying to get a
|
|
closer picture. 'Business is business, but pleasure is pleasure' he thought
|
|
to himself. He never could grasp cyberspace that well and couldn't
|
|
concentrate on it that much since he had never jacked in before and
|
|
probably never would.
|
|
|
|
"Fine. First: Jack, you need to keep gathering as much info as
|
|
possible from the nets and from work. We need to know what we're
|
|
going up against and when. Second: Slash, I need you to assess Cryon's
|
|
security. Work with your security company to get into the place and see
|
|
what you can dig up. Third: Nemesis, I need you to resecure all of our
|
|
sites, systems, apartments and personal gear. I want to be ready for
|
|
anything that hits us, either from Cryon or Mogul. Also I need you to be
|
|
our street info man. There probably isn't much on the streets now, but I
|
|
want to get as much of a jump on this as possible. Also, keep a close eye
|
|
on Mogul. Keep them out of range, but don't overextend yourself without
|
|
backup, and only under extreme circumstances. Cryon takes priority
|
|
until further notice. Meanwhile, I will make contact with some of the
|
|
higher ups I know and will converge all info to you all. Keep all
|
|
information pertaining to this thing as secret as possible. Don't use the
|
|
nets at all and make sure you're not being tracked!"
|
|
|
|
The meeting soon broke up, each person going their individual
|
|
way. There was nothing more that really needed to be said, or could be
|
|
said. They needed more information and without it were dead in the
|
|
water. Nebulus walked back to the large window in the living room and
|
|
looked out at the city below. It was getting late in the afternoon, but
|
|
work was just beginning. 'So they've finally come up with a way to shut
|
|
us out, huh. So it's all come to this. And if ICE weren't enough. Now I
|
|
have to combat another person on the net who is playing Mr. Security
|
|
Officer, standing between me and my objective. That is, if they ever get
|
|
into the nets! That's it. We'll have to kill the project before it even
|
|
becomes operational!'
|
|
|
|
***************
|
|
|
|
Five days had passed and the group was together once again, this
|
|
time to compare information. If nothing else, they were all more
|
|
worried and more intense with every move they made. Here was a
|
|
technology and a capability so revolutionary in the field of computer
|
|
security that it could wipe out the majority of cracking that goes on
|
|
within any and all nets.
|
|
|
|
The four sat around one of the tables in the back room at Hot
|
|
Kicks, a private club owned by Nebulus on the better side of town. It was
|
|
an almost middle class joint, if there was a middle class any more. If
|
|
there was it was called surviving with a little more. The joint was classy.
|
|
It was where all the sophisticated people went who wanted to see live
|
|
nude dancing and strippers that wouldn't make you vomit. There was
|
|
both male and female entertainment as well as artwork, decks,
|
|
holographics, laser shows and live or holographic music. It was a
|
|
hangout for artsy types, social groupies, or horny people. The room they
|
|
were in was behind all the glitter and glamour of the place. It was the
|
|
business area of the joint.
|
|
|
|
"Well, I guess I'll be the one to start things" spoke Jack, eagerly
|
|
wanting the meeting to begin so that he could get as much of a jump on
|
|
the project as possible. Being the netrunner of the group, he needed as
|
|
much prep time as possible, and the most info as well. "The project is
|
|
still scheduled to start on time in nine days. The beta testing that has
|
|
been going on over the past four months, has included over 25
|
|
businesses, 20 military installations, and 10 government sites. Successful
|
|
cracks were made in all cases and successful defense routines were
|
|
completed without problems. The people who will be in the nets will be
|
|
on life support for one month at a time. They will be receiving fluids,
|
|
muscle stimuli and other necessities while in the nets. They will be
|
|
connecting into the nets through a large comp that I suspect is a
|
|
supercomputer, but have not yet confirmed. With this type of computing
|
|
power, they will be able to bring a lot of software into the nets with them
|
|
and will be able to be monitored from outside, while still maintaining
|
|
contact with the others in the nets. ICE could never touch the killing
|
|
power that this could produce" Jack finished with a seriously straight
|
|
face.
|
|
|
|
"Cryon's physical security is very tight. My security firm is
|
|
presently supporting ten positions within the company, none of which
|
|
are located near this project. Security systems and facility maps are
|
|
located within the main system there, and should be breakable without
|
|
much trouble, once you get past the outer systems. I can arrange to have
|
|
two of our special tactics team help us with the break in. They're
|
|
specifically trained for this sort of thing and we have no records of them
|
|
at all."
|
|
|
|
"Yea, but can they be trusted?" darted Jack, obviously feeling the
|
|
pressure of breaking into a place this big, and going against an
|
|
operation of this magnitude.
|
|
|
|
"My people are loyal to me. As long as we keep them from the
|
|
truth and don't have them go all the way in, we should be ok. In any
|
|
case, they are expendable if problems arise. Are there any other
|
|
questions?" challenged Slash. She wouldn't have come up with the idea
|
|
if she didn't think it weren't safe, and she hated people who attacked her
|
|
judgments.
|
|
|
|
"All right.....Nemesis" called Nebulus, keeping the meeting in
|
|
order.
|
|
|
|
"All security systems and meeting places have been tested,
|
|
verified and put on maximum alert sequences. If anything even comes
|
|
close to messin' with our stuff, it'll be eliminated. The word on the street
|
|
is nothin'. This project is the quietest one I've ever heard of. Nobody's
|
|
even heard of it yet. Mogul is still around, but they don't seem to be
|
|
movin' anytime in the next few days. They're mainly getting contacts
|
|
and settin' up sites. All personal gear has been maintained and weapon
|
|
banks are in full, working condition. They'll be ready when the time
|
|
comes to jump."
|
|
|
|
"Last but not least, the big guys will be comin' into town on the
|
|
day the project is implemented. Hotel reservations were made months
|
|
ago and security teams have been assigned from the normal companies.
|
|
I scrounged some extra cash in case we needed anything to further our
|
|
chances of survival. This one's gonna be the big hit for this year, that's
|
|
for sure" said Nebulus moving to the front of his chair and putting his
|
|
arms down on the table.
|
|
|
|
"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Slash.
|
|
|
|
"We are going to attack this project before it can be implemented
|
|
and we're gonna go into Cryon to do it."
|
|
|
|
"Are you nuts!? There's no fuckin' way we can attack from
|
|
within Cryon!" bitched Jack, standing up to contest the whole plan.
|
|
|
|
"If we let them into the nets, we're dead. They win, we loose.
|
|
They will be more powerful than ICE ever could think of being. You
|
|
should know that, Jack" Nebulus retaliated disgustingly as if talking to a
|
|
high school punk that never learned to think with an open mind.
|
|
|
|
'Great. He's already starting to crack and the fun hasn't even
|
|
begun' thought Slash looking disappointingly at Jack.
|
|
|
|
Nebulus got up from his seat and walked over to Jack, who had
|
|
walked away from the table to unbutton his shirt even more. Slash and
|
|
Nemesis looked at each other with that 'Oh, great' look, knowing each
|
|
other couldn't wait for the action.
|
|
|
|
Nebulus put his hands in his baggy pants pockets as he stood next
|
|
to Jack. "Look. I know you're in a really bad position if anything goes
|
|
wrong. But you're in it with us and you know you want to go through
|
|
with it. Just relax and take an anti-stress pill and calm down. I need you
|
|
in one piece to pull this off from the inside or we're not going
|
|
anywhere." He walked away knowing that Jack wouldn't let him down.
|
|
Every now and then when they did something big, Jack was the one to
|
|
get nervous. He was great on the nets and could crack more than most,
|
|
but his nerves were made of shit until the actual time came to work.
|
|
|
|
"So where's my woman, Nebulus?" asked Nemesis jokingly.
|
|
|
|
"Julia is downstairs waitin' for ya' in the dressin' room."
|
|
|
|
"Julia this time, huh." Since the meeting was essentially over,
|
|
Nemesis decided to go play, leaving the group behind to drink or do
|
|
whatever they wanted to.
|
|
|
|
"How pathetic" mumbled Slash as her combative partner left the
|
|
room. He paid no attention to her comment, as usual.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cool Darkness
|
|
by Matthew Carpenter
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chapter 4 : Pawn to Rook 4
|
|
|
|
"How the hell do you expect me to come up with that kind of
|
|
security information by tomorrow morning? There's got to be a dozen or
|
|
more hard locks on that place, not to mention getting around ICE"
|
|
complained Jack, trying to make Nebulus understand the tight security
|
|
at Cryon.
|
|
|
|
"Jack, take a chill pill. So it'll take a few more hours than normal.
|
|
Just get it done as soon as possible. We need as much info as possible so
|
|
we can pull this off."
|
|
|
|
"And what if we can't? Why the hell is getting this stuff off line
|
|
so important anyways? It's not like we're trying to protect every
|
|
netrunner in the country." Nebulus dropped a few tablets on the desk
|
|
the two were sitting at. Jack watched them rolled around on a pile of
|
|
computer paper until they spun around and stopped toward one edge. By
|
|
the time Jack looked up at Nebulus, he had already walked away,
|
|
thinking about something else. To Nebulus, nothing was impossible. It
|
|
was just a matter of coming up the right plan of attack.
|
|
|
|
"Shit" mumbled Jack to himself, picking up the two pills.
|
|
'Probably only iron tablets' he thought putting them in his mouth and
|
|
downing them with the Coke sitting on his desk. 'Everything must be
|
|
duplicated. All security systems must be located and analyzed. Personnel
|
|
and schedules must be analyzed. What a fuckin' bitch!' He jacked back
|
|
into Cryon gathering the last bit of information that was necessary to
|
|
invade as he always called it.
|
|
|
|
A few hours later, the group was together once again for last
|
|
checks on the plan of attack. The meeting place was the same warehouse
|
|
that Nemesis and Slash had gone to after taking out Dave. Kind of ironic
|
|
since it is usually a place to go after the fact. It quaintly went along with
|
|
Nebulus' ego, though. Good for dealing in the black markets; bad for
|
|
dealing with friends. But then again, they all did live on the edge just
|
|
for that rush of adrenaline. For Nemesis, that was his drug of choice.
|
|
|
|
"So are we gonna go in and tear this place up or what" Nemesis
|
|
said loudly sitting down at the large meeting table that was probably
|
|
designed to be a stretch dining room table. It had been refinished and
|
|
had a monitor array placed into it so that it took up most of the table face.
|
|
He placed his combat boots up on the table and faced the head of the table
|
|
where Nebulus sat.
|
|
|
|
"Pig" joked Slash, sitting across from him.
|
|
|
|
"So who are your friends, Slash?" asked Nemesis, gathering a
|
|
straight face, ready for business.
|
|
|
|
Slash turned to her right where one of her two 'friends' were
|
|
seated. He was dressed in almost all black leather, with a black hair cut
|
|
resembling Nemesis' with a gold earring to top it off with style. "This is
|
|
Aberdon. And she is Donna" pointed Slash, looking at her other friend
|
|
who was sitting next to Nemesis who noted her long stocking-clad legs.
|
|
Her miniskirt and skimpy top left little to the imagination and much to
|
|
be desired, at least as far as Nemesis was concerned, who was becoming
|
|
aroused as his eyes caressed her legs very slowly.
|
|
|
|
"And what do you do for a living" he smirked eyeing her over his
|
|
shoulder, getting as much of a lookover as he could get away with.
|
|
|
|
"Looks like I'll be coverin' your ass macho man" she replied with
|
|
a nasty tone of voice, never letting her intimidating facial expression
|
|
change.
|
|
|
|
He laughed. He laughed sarcastically loud. "So where do we stand
|
|
on info?" he said dropping his bullshit like a mercury weight.
|
|
|
|
"We've got most of the blueprints for the place in question
|
|
including security and surveillance systems, piping and electrical, and
|
|
nets. Security schedules are being analyzed by the comps still and tap in
|
|
sites are being assessed as to hard connects" came back Jack who sat at
|
|
the other head of the table. He touched the table screen a few times and
|
|
a general blueprint of the main floor and grounds came into view. "This
|
|
is the general layout of the place, he said adding mini windows of the
|
|
basement levels. The target site is on the absolute bottom floor of the
|
|
building, and it's pretty heavily guarded and secured. It's going to take a
|
|
lot to get to it" he said with a little worry. He was getting used to the
|
|
situation and finally excited about the job, but still slightly intimidated
|
|
with the size of the operation. It was the largest job he'd ever done and it
|
|
was one of the few that involved both people on the nets and in the
|
|
physical objective site.
|
|
|
|
"Piece of cake" confidently spoke up Aberdon.
|
|
|
|
"Yea? So how would you attack it!?" attacked Slash. Nebulus sunk
|
|
a little deeper in his chair, awaiting this test.
|
|
|
|
"Once the electronics are secure, a team will go in the rear
|
|
security zone by entering this loading zone, here" he said pointed to a
|
|
grid on the monitor. "From there, one of us will take over that physical
|
|
security site to control the area. From there, whoever's runnin' will lead
|
|
the group through checkpoints by disarming systems and allowing them
|
|
to enter secured sectors. Any guards can be removed by our new
|
|
security guard and diverted temporarily. Then it's just a matter of
|
|
pullin' things together. Piece of cake."
|
|
|
|
"Not bad...not bad" spoke Nebulus, sitting back up in his chair.
|
|
"Almost like we had talked about earlier." Putting his elbows on the
|
|
table, he glanced over the prints one more time. The room was silent.
|
|
All eyes were on Nebulus since he had the final say on the plan. He stood
|
|
up and took off his jacket, placing it on the back of the chair.
|
|
|
|
"But it won't work. The security layout would never get you past
|
|
the main gate. Cryon doesn't accept night deliveries. No one goes in or
|
|
out after dark, period" said Jack, standing his ground against a plan as
|
|
simple as that. "So the question is, how do we get to the dock without
|
|
being noticed at all."
|
|
|
|
"Sewer system. It's the oldest trick in the book, but I bet you it
|
|
would work" said Nemesis.
|
|
|
|
"Don't be stupid. A company like that isn't dumb enough to leave
|
|
their pipes clear" snapped Slash, expecting more from an experienced
|
|
front man.
|
|
|
|
"Yea, but all the outside pipes aren't connected to the inside pipes.
|
|
They're all for rain, not sewage. Look. There's not one connection from
|
|
the building pipes to the outside pipes. In fact, it looks like all the inner
|
|
pipes go down to the basement and out the bottom of the structure
|
|
through smaller pipes into an underground piping system I would guess.
|
|
There's a man hole near the docks that I bet connects to the city sewers"
|
|
pondered Jack, getting more intrigued with the possibilities of actually
|
|
pulling this stunt off.
|
|
|
|
"Check it out. Make sure they're clean and that the pipes are
|
|
large enough for men with equipment to get through. If it is, we'll go
|
|
with it. I had a similar idea to the one proposed. I'll pose as a guard and
|
|
help the team get through each level of security. Nemesis, get me a wish
|
|
list of equipment to get the job done. Then you and Aberdon get the stuff
|
|
ready. Slash, you and Donna look over every micron of this plan and
|
|
make sure it works. Make detailed notes on everything we will need to
|
|
know about this place. Jack, continue working on info and breaking
|
|
systems. Also, get the ROMS ready to write to with the info Slash gives
|
|
you. Meanwhile, I'll get some party favors. Aberdon and Donna, you are
|
|
staying with us until this is over, understand!" commanded Nebulus.
|
|
This was it. If there were any questions, now was the time to bring it up.
|
|
Once the plan was set, it was set. There were no objections.
|
|
|
|
August 21. Friday, early morning. The humid air hung stagnate
|
|
outside the metal door of a warehouse in the shipping district. Launch
|
|
Site 13 as it was called. All missions were started here. This one was just
|
|
bigger than most. Usually, it was mainly netrunning to get information.
|
|
This time it involved flesh and blood almost more than fiber optic cables.
|
|
Nemesis stood outside the door waiting for the rest to arrive. He looked at
|
|
his watch. '3:49. One minute to go' he thought. A lone docking light far
|
|
away painted a soft, white brush stroke of light across his bare chest and
|
|
the warehouse behind him. 'Forty seconds to go.'
|
|
|
|
The dull hum of a van came from around the far side of the
|
|
warehouse, moving slowly along the gravel drive. The headlights were
|
|
turned off as the garage size door of the warehouse began to open,
|
|
spilling an ambient light onto the gravel. Nemesis opened the personnel
|
|
door behind him and walked through closing it behind him and locking
|
|
it. The black beaten up van crept past the open garage to turn around
|
|
and enter backwards. The garage door began to close as Nemesis walked
|
|
up to the back of the van and opened the doors with a sharp creaking.
|
|
The gang was here.
|
|
|
|
"Right on time" he said.
|
|
|
|
"Time to party" said Slash being the first to get out of the crowded
|
|
van. Everyone in the back were sitting on A3 cases that were unloaded
|
|
first by Nemesis and Aberdon. Stacking them sideways to each other,
|
|
Nebulus brought the pass card up, giving the privilege to Donna who
|
|
aggressively ran it through the bar reader of the first one she came to.
|
|
The green light on the handle block went on and an internal lock
|
|
disengaged with a soft pop. She opened it up and everyone looked in.
|
|
|
|
"My, my, aren't we gonna have fun tonight" glowed Slash looking
|
|
at the case full of explosives.
|
|
|
|
"C4-type II, IRAPM's, concussion bombs, hand grenades,
|
|
hey....where's my grenade launcher?" joked Nemesis looking at Nebulus.
|
|
|
|
"Look in case two. Each one of you has a personal case that is
|
|
openable with that card. Everything you need is in there. Merry
|
|
Christmas kids."
|
|
|
|
"How much did this cost you anyways?" asked Slash with a grin.
|
|
|
|
"After I told them why we were going in, they practically gave it
|
|
to me just to secure their other investments. To answer your question,
|
|
no you can't keep it" he replied with a grin that stretched from ear to
|
|
ear.
|
|
|
|
The transformation began. Everyone began getting their clothes
|
|
on and their body armor secured. All of the smiles had left by the time
|
|
4:00 AM rolled around. Weapons were checked and rechecked.
|
|
Ammunition and explosives were properly attached and weapons slung.
|
|
Jack had already disappeared into the basement of the place; a secret
|
|
room under the floor where the master comps were located. The comps
|
|
sucked power directly from the power station that was not more than a
|
|
quarter mile away. That way the general power loss could be attributed
|
|
to humidity or any other stupid, unexplainable phenomenon.
|
|
|
|
"On line in one minute!" yelled Nebulus from his makeup case.
|
|
Everyone was already ready, checking each other over. Nebulus jacked
|
|
in quickly checking on Jack's status.
|
|
|
|
"On line!"
|
|
|
|
The four got side by side. The seriousness and concentration
|
|
hung in the air almost as thick as the humidity. Beads of sweat had
|
|
formed on every one's forehead. Foot steps were heard from the far side
|
|
of the warehouse and Jack soon appeared out of the homemade wooden
|
|
office, heading towards the group.
|
|
|
|
"Are you ready?" questioned Nebulus.
|
|
|
|
"Comps are set. Once you get in, you'll have less than 10 minutes
|
|
to complete the job, which in this case is plenty of time. One minute to
|
|
secure the desk. Two minutes to get to subbasement 4. One minute for
|
|
diversions and gaining access. Three minutes for setting the bombs and
|
|
getting out. That leaves you with one minute to blow the place and two to
|
|
get out" said Jack.
|
|
|
|
"And that's worse case scenario, right?" asked Nebulus, hinting
|
|
that Jack was underestimating their abilities.
|
|
|
|
"Yeah. In reality, you'll probably do it in half that time, so just
|
|
keep me informed of where you are and everything will go OK. I'll be
|
|
able to track you anyways, so don't worry too much."
|
|
|
|
"All right. See you in a few then."
|
|
|
|
"Good luck, and if everything goes wrong, I'll just blow the net if
|
|
I can. That way, any system assignment will be destroyed."
|
|
|
|
"Good deal. Lets get going" said Nebulus looking back at his
|
|
group. Dressed in solid black from head to toe stood the attack team.
|
|
Expanded honeycomb titanium armor plated Spectra 3000 body armor
|
|
hugged every curve of their bodies, protecting them from most
|
|
firepower out today. Explosives and equipment was strategically secured
|
|
to the armor for quick, but easy use. After a quick checkover, they took
|
|
their seats in the back of the van with Nebulus navigating and Donna
|
|
driving. It took twenty minutes to get there. The corporation had a
|
|
large complex just outside of city limits. An old apartment complex had
|
|
been renovated and made into an employees park which housed
|
|
thousands of people. The six story concrete apartments stood above a not
|
|
so beautiful street that had it's fair share of crime, vandalism and street
|
|
gangs. The van was parked in an alley just out of site of the complex.
|
|
|
|
"Comms on. Mic check" said Nemesis. Everyone donned their
|
|
small headset/mic. Nebulus had a lapel mike with a single ear speaker
|
|
that had been placed under the fake skin of his disguise that finished the
|
|
security officer uniform he wore under his wet suit.
|
|
|
|
"One." "Two." "Three." "Four." "Five." the group replied in order.
|
|
|
|
"Sounding good everyone. Jack, check in" came back Nebulus.
|
|
|
|
The line was dead for a second. "God here. RYLAC."
|
|
|
|
"How can he hear us?" asked Donna looking over at Nebulus.
|
|
|
|
"He wrote a program to interface his deck with a comm system. It
|
|
shows up as a two-way speaker in his environment. Sync watches on
|
|
4:56 on five, four, three, two, one, mark." Watches were synced.
|
|
"Injection time people." Each person, including Nemesis, took out a small
|
|
packet that contained three vials with needles. Nemesis took out the first
|
|
vial which contained a clear liquid and injected himself with the
|
|
adrenalizer, designed as a short term super steroid with little side effects.
|
|
The first needle was placed back and the second vial was injected in the
|
|
same area of the arm. This one was a sense and reflex enhancer
|
|
designed by the military. It would give them better combat reflexes
|
|
when they needed it. This was followed by a third injection of a pain
|
|
killer. It was designed to not activate until a large amount of pain was
|
|
inflicted, then it just temporarily deadened the area's nerve system.
|
|
Designer drugs, designed for combat. Perfect for terrorist raids.
|
|
|
|
"5:00. Time to go people" said Nebulus fastening his wet suit shut.
|
|
Face masks were put on, covering everything but their eyes, and
|
|
equipment and weapons were gathered. The five exited the van silently
|
|
and moved over the man hole located a few feet from the van. A quick
|
|
jimmy with a bar and the lid slid over with a low screech. A quick look
|
|
around and Nebulus was the first in, followed by the two newbees as
|
|
Nemesis viewed it.
|
|
|
|
"I hope we can trust these two!" firmly whispered Nemesis to
|
|
Slash, who gave him her look of approval before jumping in. Within
|
|
seconds the whole team was in the sewer system. Pipes lined the old
|
|
concrete and stone walls. The water level was only thigh deep so it didn't
|
|
prove to be very cumbersome.
|
|
|
|
"You checked this place out OK, right 3?" asked Nebulus over the
|
|
comm.
|
|
|
|
"Two gates were cleared. Everything is a go."
|
|
|
|
Night vision glasses allowed easy travel through the system for
|
|
the first fifty or so feet until voices were heard from behind. Everyone
|
|
stopped. Aberdon, who was trailing, turned around, crouching to the
|
|
water level. It sounded like kids. Then it was as two street punks stuck
|
|
their heads down into the sewers looking for the vanished group of
|
|
strangers. One reached a hand down below his head, visibly carrying a
|
|
flash light. Before he tuned it on, two silent needler shots were fired and
|
|
the bodies of two dead kids splashed into the water below, creating a little
|
|
wake that was eventually felt by the assassin.
|
|
|
|
"Too bad" said Nemesis leading the group once again through the
|
|
small cavern. "Let's go." They traveled through the sewers with very
|
|
little trouble. The tunnels were relatively flat and the footing was still
|
|
firm due to the recent construction of Cryon some 10 years ago. Nemesis'
|
|
night vision led them on until the man hole cover was reached near the
|
|
loading docks of the company. "God. How does the weather look?" asked
|
|
Nebulus, who had unzipped the top part of his suit after reaching the
|
|
ladder which led to the surface.
|
|
|
|
Jack had been in the net for some time now, checking on
|
|
programs, root operations, and watching out for ICE. "Security checking
|
|
will be done in one minute" came back Jack.
|
|
|
|
'One minute. Come on. Hurry up' thought Nemesis, quite eager to
|
|
get this job started. The adrenalizer was beginning to take effect.
|
|
Watches were being checked until the second before the security
|
|
program checker was finished, exactly 5:10 AM.
|
|
|
|
"Go" said Jack. Nebulus had already shed his wet suit and Nemesis
|
|
had slid the man hole cover out of the way while being covered by
|
|
Donna. Nebulus was the first out, quickly running up to the docking
|
|
door. He was quickly followed by the rest of the group who crouched by
|
|
the sides of the door, waiting for Nemesis to put the cover back on. He
|
|
finished and regrouped with the team who had taken off their glasses to
|
|
allow their eyes to adjust to the indoor light emanating from the door.
|
|
Nebulus entered. He quickly walked down the hallway and turned left
|
|
towards the security desk that monitored that side of the complex. The
|
|
security guard at the desk came into view and stood up as he approached
|
|
the desk.
|
|
|
|
"Who are you and what are you doing in this section of the
|
|
building?" the guard asked in a not so calm tone of voice. Obviously the
|
|
security had been upgraded for Operation Revolt.
|
|
|
|
Nebulus walked around so that he was next to the guard. "We've
|
|
got a problem in section 5" he replied bringing his arm from behind his
|
|
back. He thrust his hand forward into the guards throat, knocking him
|
|
out with a stunner. The guard shakingly fell to the floor and was kicked
|
|
under the desk. TV monitors lined the panel in front of him that had
|
|
four jack in sites.
|
|
|
|
"God this is one. Secure all personnel sensors and override all
|
|
subsystems in this section to me" spoke Nebulus outloud into his comm
|
|
mic.
|
|
|
|
Jack looked down onto the gaming board on the
|
|
table in front of him. An elaborate table top created like
|
|
an old model train scene had been transformed into a
|
|
World War II battlefield. Moving armies in Eastern Europe
|
|
moved on the forest-like layout depicting the different
|
|
programs going on. He immediately spotted the correct
|
|
security program that monitored the security personnel's
|
|
heart rate from individual sensors mounted on their
|
|
watch bands. He touched his finger to a spot near the
|
|
army foot soldier representing the algorithm and blinked
|
|
into the battlefield in front of the corporal with his
|
|
superuser privileges and general's uniform. He
|
|
immediately attacked the young soldier with his bayonet-
|
|
tipped M1 rifle and fought him down to the ground where
|
|
he thrust the nine inch bayonet blade into the soldiers
|
|
chest, terminating the program's operation. He returned
|
|
to his chair in front of the table again, this time wearing
|
|
a replica of Patton's uniform. "Done" was his reply to
|
|
Nebulus.
|
|
|
|
"Team in" ordered Nebulus who took control of the video cameras,
|
|
freezing them onto walls. He jumped into cyberspace with his God given
|
|
superuser access to check for personnel in the area. A map of the floor
|
|
came up with personnel locations and details. He jumped out, routing the
|
|
ground floor and the first three basements to the monitors in front of
|
|
him.
|
|
|
|
The team quickly arrived, hauling their over-and-under
|
|
weapons, and party favors with them. A quick look at the monitors and
|
|
Nemesis was off first seeking the entrance to the elevators. Slash took
|
|
off after him, followed by the two others right behind. The corridors
|
|
were lightly painted and had industrial carpet lining most of the halls.
|
|
A few more turns through the halls and the group came to a halt behind
|
|
a wall, separating them from the two security officers stationed at the
|
|
elevator.
|
|
|
|
"One. Problem at elevator" whispered Nemesis into his mic.
|
|
|
|
"Security at elevator 4, sector 6g : move promptly to sector 5g and
|
|
report back in to gate on arrival" announced Nebulus, speaking into the
|
|
security's comm. The guards looked at each other for a moment,
|
|
questioning the command from their security base.
|
|
|
|
"Request secure ID verification" came back one of the guards.
|
|
|
|
"ID hold out 764421 confirm" replied Nebulus, reading the code
|
|
from one of the monitors. The guard motioned to his partner and the two
|
|
walked off towards sector 5g, watching the offices as they went. As they
|
|
moved out of site, the lights indicating that the elevator was moving
|
|
down turned on. The group stayed still.
|
|
|
|
"One. Someone's on the..." spoke Slash.
|
|
|
|
"Team. Backtrack to stairs. Take first flight down and move
|
|
towards sector 2." Donna spun around and headed back first, frantically
|
|
leading the group. If they were caught now, the show would be over
|
|
right then. The stairs soon appeared in a side corridor and were entered.
|
|
The heavy fire-proof door was shut with a soft thud and Slash was the
|
|
first to go down the concrete stairs. The walls were solid white and were
|
|
dimly lit by night security lights.
|
|
|
|
The door to the first subbasement was reached and opened. Slash
|
|
peered around and saw no one. The walls were only four feet tall in this
|
|
sector. Offices were separated by a few grids of these as far as she could
|
|
tell by the dim light. Shadows snaked down the halls, carving light into
|
|
odd shapes and strokes by the bookcases and supporting pillars. The
|
|
team entered the floor and proceeded right along the hallway.
|
|
|
|
"No guards until the elevator" spoke Nebulus into his comm. The
|
|
team hugged the right wall, silently treading down the hallway,
|
|
stopping every twenty feet to check to make sure no guards were
|
|
walking rounds within the offices. Just because the security monitors
|
|
didn't show any guards, there was no absolute guarantee.
|
|
|
|
Sector 2 was finally reached. Nemesis looked at his watch.
|
|
5:11:43. Just a bit behind schedule, but nothing significant enough to
|
|
worry about.
|
|
|
|
"Let's take the stairs from now on" whispered Donna. "That way,
|
|
they can't track us."
|
|
|
|
"Forget it. The elevator's right nearby" darted Nemesis
|
|
continuing on in the general direction of the elevator. 'Who the fuck
|
|
does she think she is! This is my plan and my attack. She's just along for
|
|
the ride!' They reached the corner of the hallway in front of the
|
|
elevator.
|
|
|
|
"Watch out! There's..." trailed Nebulus.
|
|
|
|
"One. What's it like?" asked Nemesis, itching to get into a fight
|
|
right about now.
|
|
|
|
"Hold it right there! Don't move!" yelled a guard from behind the
|
|
group. They slowly turned around as two more guards came from the
|
|
elevator area. They all had on armored vests and carried high caliber
|
|
handguns, all pointed at the group. "Sidney, call into base and notify
|
|
them to send more people!" commanded the first guard, still pointing his
|
|
gun at Slash. "Drop it now!"
|
|
|
|
Nemesis faced the two guards that had come from the elevator and
|
|
slowly started to pivot around towards Aberdon who was right behind
|
|
him. Slash and Donna began to put their weapons on the ground,
|
|
crouching in anticipation.
|
|
|
|
"Base, this is" spoke a guard into his comm.
|
|
|
|
"Now!" yelled Nemesis, laying down a spray of needlers at the two
|
|
guards in front of him. Aberdon spun around in Slash's direction
|
|
cutting the first guard to pieces with an array of silenced hard
|
|
ammunition. Three guards now lay dead on the floor, their blood
|
|
staining the carpet underneath them.
|
|
|
|
"I told you we needed armor piercers" spoke Nemesis at Aberdon.
|
|
"Anything less, wouldn't have killed them."
|
|
|
|
"Too bad for standard armor vests. Next time, wear something
|
|
better than that" scoffed Slash grinning over the dead bodies.
|
|
|
|
"Team, what's up?" asked Nebulus over the comm.
|
|
|
|
"Thanks for the warning, one. We just waxed three of 'em"
|
|
replied Nemesis, dragging one into an office room. The other two were
|
|
placed under the desks in one of the nearby offices as well in hope of
|
|
temporarily concealing their presence.
|
|
|
|
The elevator door was opened and the group entered, pressing the
|
|
button for subbasement 4 on the panel. The doors shut and the elevator
|
|
began to move down.
|
|
|
|
"Guards in sector 2DD, report to sector 4DD immediately" spoke
|
|
Nemesis into the security comm. He looked back at the monitors,
|
|
bringing up the bottom two levels. 'More guards at the key points. More
|
|
security blockades to bypass. Shit. Guards are moving in on the elevator
|
|
in sector 2DD.'
|
|
|
|
"One, this is God. Security ID failed. They won't listen to you
|
|
now. Presently blocking communications to other sectors."
|
|
|
|
"What the hell happened" asked Nebulus getting quite pissed by
|
|
now that the plan was getting fucked up.
|
|
|
|
"The security is tighter than I thought. Out."
|
|
|
|
The elevator stopped, but it wasn't at subbasement 4. The team
|
|
looked around and at the panel, trying to find out what was wrong.
|
|
"Team, this is God. Break out of the top hatch and find another way back
|
|
into the building. Security is on to you."
|
|
|
|
"Shit!" yelled Nemesis very mad that the plan had failed.
|
|
|
|
"We're still in so don't fuck up!" yelled Slash.
|
|
|
|
"Everybody, get back!" yelled Aberdon, pushing the group to the
|
|
opposing side of the elevator from the doors. He aimed his grenade
|
|
launcher from under his gun, and fired at the floor, just under the doors.
|
|
|
|
"NO!!!!" yelled Slash. Before she could do anything about it, the
|
|
grenade impacted on the floor and exploded filling the cabin with fire,
|
|
smoke and a shock wave that threw everyone to the floor. The far side of
|
|
the floor blew out destroying the lower part of the doors as well. Slowly,
|
|
Slash looked up to view the damage, her ears were ringing from the
|
|
blast. Black smoke filled the cabin allowing almost no visibility.
|
|
|
|
"Two. What the hell can you see?" she asked Nemesis, pulling him
|
|
to sit up.
|
|
|
|
He switched his eyes to infra-red and then to ultraviolet, trying
|
|
to get a better picture of the cabin. "The floor's about half gone and the
|
|
doors are severely damaged." The cabin swayed a little in the elevator
|
|
shaft as the team began to regain itself.
|
|
|
|
"One this is three. How the hell do we get out of here!" screamed
|
|
Slash into her comm. The earphone just buzzed; the diaphragm
|
|
completely shredded from the shock wave. "One this is three, come in."
|
|
Nothing. "Shit! We're cut off! Why the fuck did you blow the elevator
|
|
like that you moron!? You killed the goddamn comms!" she yelled
|
|
throwing her comm to the ground.
|
|
|
|
"Wait. Elevator ladder. Come on" said Nemesis venturing into the
|
|
grayish-black smoke, his mask temporarily giving him a filter to breath
|
|
through. His adrenaline pushing him onward, Nemesis crouched near
|
|
the hole and reached out for the rung of the ladder nearest to him.
|
|
|
|
"God, this is one. Secure fire alarms and all security sectors not
|
|
in this area. I want my team to be shut off from everyone else. We've
|
|
lost communications with them."
|
|
|
|
Jack stood up from his playing board and
|
|
proceeded to another one : another level of security. He
|
|
sat down at the second board dressed in a Civil War
|
|
General's uniform. The gold braids from his blue epaulets
|
|
dangled near the surface as he closely looked over the
|
|
terrain. He found where he wanted to be and placed his
|
|
finger at the spot only to appear there instantly.
|
|
|
|
He stood in the Union Army's camp under overcast
|
|
skies looking around for the program he wanted to kill.
|
|
"Young man, come here!" he yelled in a northern accent
|
|
at one of the messenger boys.
|
|
|
|
"Yes sir" the boy said breathing hard from
|
|
carrying messages as he stood at attention in front of
|
|
General Jack. His weathered uniform and tattered pants
|
|
could hardly be classified as a uniform, but yet it worked
|
|
well with his position.
|
|
|
|
"Where can I find the lad who's carryin' the
|
|
message about the fire?"
|
|
|
|
"That'd be me, sir. I'm sorry I haven't gotten it out
|
|
yet, but they blocked my normal way out and I can't get
|
|
by."
|
|
|
|
"Why don't you give the message to me and I'll
|
|
make sure that it gets out, son" he said holding his gloved
|
|
hand outward to the young boy.
|
|
|
|
"But sir, I.."
|
|
|
|
"Now, son!" he commanded, lowering his voice to a
|
|
thunderous growl.
|
|
|
|
"Yes sir." he replied giving Jack the message. He
|
|
looked confused with the order, but was not about to
|
|
disobey a general.
|
|
|
|
"Now git goin' kid." The boy turned slowly around
|
|
and then started to walk off looking for another problem
|
|
to report. Then he collapsed about ten feet from Jack as
|
|
his head exploded from the .50 caliber flint lock pistol ball
|
|
that pierced the back of his head. No one paid attention as
|
|
they were not programmed to monitor his operation. He
|
|
landed face first into the muddy ground as Jack put the
|
|
gun back in it's holster at his side and blinked out of the
|
|
board, leaving the message to be erased.
|
|
|
|
Nebulus had yet to be nervous, but he wasn't exactly calm
|
|
anymore as he found the remote sensing information and popped it up
|
|
on the screen of one of his monitors. After a little searching he changed
|
|
the monitors to display the motion sensor and thermal sensor
|
|
information from the different floors. 'Elevator shaft. What the fuck
|
|
are they doing in a goddamn elevator shaft?' he thought to himself.
|
|
|
|
"Hold it right there, mister!" yelled a guard from behind Nebulus.
|
|
"Don't move, don't even breathe!" The guard and his two counterparts
|
|
slowly walked around, surrounding him at the guard desk. "Do you
|
|
really think we were that stupid!?" asked the guard.
|
|
|
|
"Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my sector?"
|
|
confronted Nebulus, unfamiliar with the uniforms. The guards were
|
|
decked out in military-style commando garb, carrying heavy caliber
|
|
rifles and explosives.
|
|
|
|
"We're the other half of the security that you didn't take into
|
|
consideration in your plan. Now shut up!"
|
|
|
|
"Hey! There is no other side of security that I don't know about!
|
|
Now put those guns down before I notify security and make this a big
|
|
mess!" ordered Nebulus, standing up to face the leader of the group who
|
|
stood on the other side of the security desk across from him. 'Shit.
|
|
Heavy bore weapons, needlers, grenades and explosives. They really are
|
|
military. Lieutenant DeGrace. Oh, shit...' he thought to himself as his
|
|
eyes looked down to the ground in front of his adversaries' boots. A
|
|
single hand stuck out underneath the desk.
|
|
|
|
"Mistake number one, asshole. Now sit down" said Lieutenant
|
|
DeGrace. He slowly gripped the arms of the chair and sat down, hoping
|
|
that the commandos wouldn't take notice of what was on the monitors
|
|
yet. 'Come on Jack. Call me. Call me.'
|
|
|
|
"One this is God."
|
|
|
|
"One is dead" was his only reply. The monitors blinked out and
|
|
Nebulus' comm went dead as one of the commando's behind him grabbed
|
|
him by the throat and forced him to the ground backwards, shoving a
|
|
needler into his throat as his head firmly hit the floor.
|
|
|
|
"Your body armor won't protect you from this, now will it"
|
|
sneered the commando, living for the fight. Nebulus just laughed, and
|
|
continued to laugh sarcastically until he was silenced with the butt of a
|
|
gun against his head.
|
|
|
|
"The hunt is on" spoke the Lieutenant into his comm.
|
|
|
|
"Damn. Now what the fuck am I supposed to do?"
|
|
Jack talked to himself in the net, surrounded by the
|
|
playing fields and game boards of the blue lit room. "Wait.
|
|
Who took him out?" He moved from board to board
|
|
checking all the different systems that were running,
|
|
personnel marks, timelines and on. With a single
|
|
thought, twenty more boards came into play on the
|
|
ceiling above his head. It was just like the feet of the
|
|
tables were nailed to the ceiling. "Ah, I love tesseracts!"
|
|
Jack announced with a smile as he changed perspective
|
|
and jumped onto the ceiling to view the new playing
|
|
fields : thermal and motion sensors of every floor in their
|
|
sector. "Time for some fun!"
|
|
|
|
By now the team had climbed down the elevator shaft ladder to
|
|
within sight of the fourth subbasement. Nemesis lead the way down
|
|
with Donna, Slash and Aberdon following closely behind. Their weapons
|
|
slung and both hands holding onto the ladder, Nemesis pondered what an
|
|
easy target they would be if anyone would open one of the doors and find
|
|
them there.
|
|
|
|
"Team this is God...God....God..." echoed one of the speakers in the
|
|
shaft. Slash looked around, trying to find the source without any luck.
|
|
|
|
"God, where are you!" Slash yelled, clinging onto the ladder, not
|
|
allowing herself to look down.
|
|
|
|
"I can't hear you, but I know where you are. Keep going and
|
|
hurry up. One is dead so get out as soon as possible."
|
|
|
|
"Shit!" screamed Slash. The reality of the challenge was at hand.
|
|
'Have we come this far only to be finished off. Goddamn it. I knew it was
|
|
too big!' she thought to herself, as they descended closer to the elevator
|
|
door.
|
|
|
|
They reached subbasement 4 in no time and stopped to gather
|
|
their weapons for an assault. "Guys, we're one minute behind schedule.
|
|
Since Nebulus is out, I say we just take out everything in our way and get
|
|
out in the same manner" Nemesis said, looking back up the ladder. 'Nice
|
|
ass, Donna. We'll have to fuck when we get out of here.'
|
|
|
|
"Let's do it!" snarled Slash. 'Pay back time. Now the fun begins.'
|
|
|
|
As the team climbed away from the door, Nemesis pulled out a
|
|
magnetic explosive and secured it to the doors, sliding down the ladder in
|
|
time for the doors to be completely destroyed. Aberdon was the first into
|
|
the hall. The doors were shredded onto the floor nearby and the bodies
|
|
of two guards lay among the scattered debris. A quick look around and
|
|
the shielded doors were closing quickly, locking the area out due to the
|
|
explosion. The team reassembled in the hall.
|
|
|
|
"Team, this is God. I can talk you through to the strike zone. Go
|
|
forward to the first door and I'll open it!" he ordered. The team took off.
|
|
Jack looked onto the master board for the sector, viewing what was going
|
|
on. "Enemy on other side, door opening now!" he yelled into the
|
|
microphone next to him on the table. The team crouched next to the
|
|
walls as the door slid open. Four guards were waiting just like Jack had
|
|
said, and were soon disposed of by a sneak attack of needlers and hard
|
|
ammo as the door opened. They ran ahead down the hall, now lit by
|
|
security lights. The concrete walls and hard metal doors concealed labs
|
|
and computer rooms by the dozens as they continued down the straight,
|
|
tiled hallway.
|
|
|
|
"Six guards commin' from the right hallway!" yelled Jack.
|
|
Nemesis and the team slowed down and slid next to the facing wall of the
|
|
hallway. "Shutting blockade" said Jack as the solid metal shielding door
|
|
fell into place, locking the guards out of range. The group continued on.
|
|
|
|
Running towards the next intersection, Nemesis veered towards
|
|
the left hallway. They turned into the hallway, only to be stopped by a
|
|
solid door, again. Slash and Donna ran back a few steps, watching their
|
|
backs.
|
|
|
|
"God, we got a door" yelled Nemesis, knowing that he wouldn't be
|
|
heard anyways.
|
|
|
|
"Incoming!" yelled Slash as a squad of commandos came down the
|
|
hallway in full force. Donna opened up and let out a spray of hard
|
|
ammo, hitting a few, but having little effect.
|
|
|
|
"Shit! They're armored!" she yelled as the two men got in
|
|
position. Scraping fire bounced off the walls around Donna as she fell to
|
|
the ground, trying to get out of the way of the action.
|
|
|
|
"Now!" yelled Aberdon. He and Nemesis ducked around the corner
|
|
with their weapons, laying down fire. The commandos taking cover
|
|
against some of the walls that led into other hallways began putting
|
|
down another layer of ammo at the two. Donna jumped out a little to
|
|
thrown down a flash mine. She was nicked by two rounds in the chest
|
|
and fell backward just as the mine exploded, sending up a high intensity
|
|
flash explosion. Slash jumped out just as it went off and fired two mini-
|
|
grenades which impacted directly above the cowering attackers.
|
|
Aberdon and Nemesis took off down the hallway after the commando
|
|
position and engaged themselves in the fight by firing at the
|
|
commandos at point blank range. Taking a few hits each, they pressed
|
|
through the group until they were out of ammunition. The smoke from
|
|
the grenades had cleared and there were only a few more left. Nemesis
|
|
picked up the nearest one and slammed his fist into his face, crushing
|
|
every bone from the impact. The commando grabbed Nemesis' arm just
|
|
as he was thrown into the wall behind him and forgotten about as
|
|
Nemesis' attacked his next victim. Soon the floor was littered with
|
|
bloodied camouflage, their broken armor not strong enough against
|
|
specialized armor piercing rounds. Slash and Donna joined the two men
|
|
in the middle of the battlefield.
|
|
|
|
"Now this is what I call a fight!" yelled Nemesis allowing his
|
|
adrenalizer to get the most of him.
|
|
|
|
"Military commandos. Looks like we underestimated Cryon a little
|
|
bit. Let's move" said Slash, leading the team back to the door. Reloads
|
|
and armor checks were made. Scrape marks in her armor were only left
|
|
in Donna's chest where she was hit.
|
|
|
|
"5:14:39" said Nemesis.
|
|
|
|
"Team, God here. Door opening in 2 seconds."
|
|
|
|
"It's about goddamn time" hissed Aberdon. The door slid upward
|
|
surprising the group who was ready for anything now. Another squad
|
|
of commandos were lying on the ground, as if they had collapsed.
|
|
|
|
"Nerve gas is great isn't it" came Jack's voice over the speakers.
|
|
|
|
"That boy's crazy" blurted Slash. They relaxed their weapons
|
|
enough to start running down the hallway towards the last blockade.
|
|
|
|
Jack watched intently at the movement of the team from within
|
|
the computers. "OK. Alarms deactivated. Explosives deactivated.
|
|
Communications deactivated" he spoke to himself. He constantly went
|
|
over the area again and again in a split seconds making sure that
|
|
nothing would go wrong once the team was in place.
|
|
|
|
The last blockade was passed without any problems. Labs with
|
|
built in windows now lined the concrete substructure. The halls were
|
|
relatively dark, but shadows from the security night lights lined the
|
|
walls.
|
|
|
|
"The lab should be up around the next corner" cautiously spoke
|
|
Slash to Nemesis who was running side by side with her in the wide
|
|
corridors. Weapons pointed forward, they slowed to a brisk walk to
|
|
within inches of the intersection that led to the target site. 'There's got
|
|
to be a squad here' repeated Nemesis in his head. 'Come on, let's go, let's
|
|
go!' anxiously thought Slash, ready to get the job over with.
|
|
|
|
"Intruder is using armor piercers. Stop them at all costs. It's up
|
|
to you, McGletspy" Lieutenant DeGrace's voice came over the military
|
|
comm to the guards posted out front of the labs for Project Revolt.
|
|
|
|
'Time to start the show' thought Nemesis to himself. He pointed to
|
|
his eyes while holding a flash mine in his fingers. Everyone
|
|
understood. They took their positions around each other, ready for
|
|
attack as Nemesis slid the flash mine smoothly across the floor in the
|
|
direction of the target. A second later, Nemesis' polarized CRI's viewed
|
|
the four guards decked out in armored gear and heavy bore weapons as
|
|
the flash mine went off, not too far from their position in front of the
|
|
metal lab door. Heavily armored in urban camouflage, Kevlar II body
|
|
armor and carrying anti-terrorist attack gear, the four commandos
|
|
opened fire immediately after the flash dimmed. Their anti-radiation
|
|
goggles protecting them from the burn of the mine allowed their
|
|
weapons to pinpoint Nemesis' head in their sites, only to miss by his fast
|
|
reflexes.
|
|
|
|
"Four in armor!" yelled Nemesis over his shoulder while bringing
|
|
his gun up for an assault. The barrage silenced for a millisecond.
|
|
|
|
"Get back!" screamed Slash, pulling Donna with her. A
|
|
minigrenade exploded on the corner wall and was followed by three
|
|
more that left more shrapnel than damaged concrete.
|
|
|
|
"Hold this" said Aberdon shedding his equipment pack,
|
|
containing some of the explosives. "Let's do it!" he yelled, throwing two
|
|
grenades into the hallway. Right after impact, he and Nemesis began
|
|
the attack by charging into the intersecting hallway to face the
|
|
commandos head on. Spraying needlers and hard ammo, the firing line
|
|
pressed forward towards the commandos. Without time to react from the
|
|
grenade, the commandos began taking damage as the onslaught
|
|
continued on. Their armor being torn away from the ammunition, the
|
|
guards soon fell to the ground without an escape route. A quick release
|
|
from one of the commandos launched a minigrenade at the line. Moving
|
|
out of its way, Aberdon and Nemesis lost position as the grenade exploded
|
|
behind them. Unsatisfied, however, Nemesis took control by directly
|
|
attacking one of the commandos in close combat. Weakened from the
|
|
fire fight, the commando fought to gain balance as Nemesis picked him
|
|
up off the ground by the throat, throwing his gun to the side for the
|
|
challenge. Kicking with his bloodied leg and grabbing with his hands,
|
|
the commando fought until Nemesis slammed his fist into his face. The
|
|
anti-gas goggles exploded under the pressure. The commando went limp
|
|
in Nemesis' hands as he pulled his fist out of the commando's face,
|
|
leaving only a crushed and bleeding lifeless body to slump to the ground
|
|
with a release of his grip. One other commando ran towards Nemesis, but
|
|
was cut short as Aberdon gunned him down, finding weak points in the
|
|
sides of his armor. Nemesis reached down towards one of his kills of the
|
|
day to get another weapon in time to head kill one of the other guards
|
|
preparing to fire on Aberdon. Weapons pointed at the head of the
|
|
remaining one, Lieutenant McGletspy.
|
|
|
|
Panting from the adrenaline rush, Nemesis lowered his barrel to
|
|
walk closer to the Lieutenant. The Lieutenant's leg and chest were
|
|
bleeding from needlers. He held his chest with his hand under his shirt,
|
|
provocatively looking at the approaching Nemesis.
|
|
|
|
"Eat me mother fucker!" yelled the Lieutenant, holding in his
|
|
now exposed hand a death mine : a high explosive that personnel carry
|
|
for hopeless situations.
|
|
|
|
"Get out!" yelled Nemesis, running backwards and diving for the
|
|
nearest intersecting hallway only a few steps away. Aberdon let out a
|
|
few rounds into the Lieutenant's skull but not in time to silence the
|
|
mine. A millisecond later, it erupted into a ball of fire, engulfing
|
|
Aberdon. A cloud of fire flew down the corridors, running over the rest
|
|
of the party that had taken cover by kissing the ground. The shockwave
|
|
from the blast echoed its anger down the corridors until the fire itself
|
|
had died away. Slowly Nemesis pulled himself up off of the ground.
|
|
Putting out a few fires that had started on his suit, he gradually made his
|
|
way back to the battlefield.
|
|
|
|
Donna and Slash stood at the tip of a large blood pool. Aberdon's
|
|
body was now in six pieces, his extremities lying on the ground near
|
|
him. Blood stains and body parts cluttered the ceiling, walls and floor
|
|
where the commandos had been. All their bodies were now soaked,
|
|
burning and scattered all about the hall. Donna moved over to Nemesis
|
|
and handed him her gun.
|
|
|
|
"Gimme your K1 and let's get this over with" she softly spoke.
|
|
Nemesis' large hand took hold of the grip and pointed it towards the
|
|
facing locked door. He let loose a minigrenade which exploded,
|
|
destroying the locking mechanism on the door. Donna turned back
|
|
around towards the door only to be handed Nemesis' K1.
|
|
|
|
The lab was lined with liquid beds and computer terminals with
|
|
the large computer in the back. The whole room was barely large
|
|
enough to contain the ten beds. The group got straight to work laying
|
|
down the explosive packs and detonation arrays around the beds and
|
|
supercomputer.
|
|
|
|
"Sync check" said Nemesis as the last one was placed down.
|
|
Donna took out the detonator and confirmed that they were all properly
|
|
synced.
|
|
|
|
"5:16:12. Time to move" said Slash, exiting the room first. Donna
|
|
put on the last pack containing the party favors and left last, detonator
|
|
in hand. The trek back down the halls was fairly simple. Their boots left
|
|
a trail of bloodied bootprints from the last battle as they jogged down the
|
|
hallways. The thought of where was Jack was on everyone's mind since
|
|
they had had no contact with him for the past few minutes. A few more
|
|
jogs to the left and right put them back at the stairwell.
|
|
|
|
"5:16:49. Let's do it" said Slash looking at Donna. Nemesis went
|
|
into the stairwell and proceeded to go up a flight and a half, checking
|
|
for more guards. Slash followed, but not as far since she was Donna's
|
|
backup. Donna was the last in and shut the door until only her hand
|
|
with the detonator was sticking out, making sure that the structure
|
|
would not interfere with the detonation.
|
|
|
|
"Here we go!" she yelled up the stairs. 'Do it' she told herself as
|
|
she pushed the trigger button down and pulled her arm in quickly.
|
|
Donna began running upstairs as the explosions in the lab rocked the
|
|
basement in a stunning blaze of fire and thunder. Sonic blasts blew out
|
|
many of the windows as it ran down the hallways only to be followed by
|
|
clouds of fire that engulfed everything in site. Multiple explosions could
|
|
be distantly heard as the team regrouped on the third subbasement level
|
|
and continued upward toward the main floor.
|
|
|
|
"Watch it!" yelled Slash as they made their way to the bottom of
|
|
the first floor's stairs. An infrared antipersonnel mine was seen on the
|
|
wall next to one of the bottom stairs. A look skyward showed the
|
|
explosive sitting, waiting for it's target to come through it's invisible
|
|
trip line. Carefully stepping over the trip line, Nemesis led the way to
|
|
the top door. 'This is just too easy of an escape' he thought to himself
|
|
remembering many other raids whose exit was much tougher than it's
|
|
entrance. He unfastened two grenades from his armor and proceeded to
|
|
throw them into the hallway, shutting the stairwell door quickly behind
|
|
them.
|
|
|
|
"Grenade!!!" yelled a guard from inside the hallway. Nemesis'
|
|
guess was right. The two exploded relatively at the same time. Nemesis
|
|
quickly entered the smoky hallway and proceeded to fire at the four
|
|
commandos who had taken posts on opposite sides of the stairwell door.
|
|
Slash and Donna soon jumped into the hallway, taking posts on either
|
|
side of Nemesis, guarding against additional intrusion. A few quick looks
|
|
around only produced the four dead bodies on the ground. Nemesis
|
|
reloaded.
|
|
|
|
The party turned right from the stairwell door and proceeded
|
|
with caution to the next intersection. They moved slowly with their
|
|
weapons pointed straight ahead, searching for the way out while still
|
|
knowing that they had to return to the original entrance to not only get
|
|
out, but to also find out what happened to Nebulus. The first intersection
|
|
was clear.
|
|
|
|
"Donna. String a mine across here" ordered Nemesis who
|
|
continued to move on. Donna handed the mine to Slash who plastered it
|
|
to the opposing wall while Donna strung the device across the
|
|
intersection.
|
|
|
|
The lights began to flicker on and off. Then the siren was heard.
|
|
The team stopped to look around. The electronic whirring of the fire
|
|
alarm filled the entire hallway with its annoying tone. "Code 1 fire alert
|
|
in subbasement 4. All personnel must evacuate these premises
|
|
immediately" spoke a recorded voice from the speakers that Jack had
|
|
been using previously. 'Why the hell are the alarms going off if Jack
|
|
had control of the situation?' questioned Nemesis.
|
|
|
|
"Jack must be out as well" said Slash. "Let's get the fuck out of
|
|
here!" The team took off down the hallway. It was time to leave Cryon
|
|
once and for all. The operation had taken long enough. Half of the team
|
|
was either dead or taken out of the picture somehow.
|
|
|
|
"Donna. Give me your gun and start preparing some party
|
|
favors" yelled Slash taking Donna's gun. Donna took off her pack and
|
|
sorted through the explosives and grenades, ready to hand them out
|
|
when people needed to die. Passing another intersection, the team saw
|
|
the back of the chair at the security desk. Nemesis waved his hand back
|
|
at Donna and she put in it a high explosive, enough of a bang to destroy
|
|
the room.
|
|
|
|
"Hey man, catch!" yelled Nemesis. Nebulus turned around only to
|
|
see the explosive heading his way. The guards hiding behind the walls
|
|
still had their guns pointed at him if he screwed up. But then, what else
|
|
could he do. The team stopped their advance and Nemesis shot two
|
|
minigrenades into the room. Nebulus jumped from his chair and
|
|
sprinted towards his team as the grenades went off and the explosive
|
|
landed on the chair. The team took cover just as gun fire was heard, but
|
|
was soon silenced by the deadening thunder of the explosive as it
|
|
completely destroyed everything and everyone in the room.
|
|
|
|
"Glad you still know what you're doin'" said Nebulus looking at
|
|
the team.
|
|
|
|
"We figured something was up, so I decided to make sure no one
|
|
was in the room" replied Nemesis.
|
|
|
|
"There may be more guards down the hallway."
|
|
|
|
"Let's go." Getting up once again, the team continued down the
|
|
hall and fought through the fire and debris of the security room.
|
|
Finally advancing down the final hall, Nemesis emptied his gun of
|
|
minigrenades and destroyed the entrance door and hopefully
|
|
everything else that could attack them. Donna dropped off the party
|
|
favors and they carefully exited the docking entrance. Nemesis was first
|
|
away from the entrance and proceeded to move aside the manhole cover.
|
|
The group got into the hole and Donna, being last as usual, pressed the
|
|
detonator, igniting the explosives left in the pack. The docking area of
|
|
the building erupted in fire and exploded sending debris everywhere.
|
|
But, the team had already begun the trip through the sewers. The job
|
|
was over. It was time to go home.
|
|
|
|
Sitting in the van on the way back into the city, no one talked.
|
|
The van took a corner and drove by the Cryon building, getting a good
|
|
look at all the police and fire department personnel who were attacking
|
|
the multiple fires in the building. The deep color of fire offset the light
|
|
grayish color building in the morning light. The sun had just started to
|
|
come up, but was still pretty early before daybreak. They soon turned
|
|
into the city, taking their masks off.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cool Darkness
|
|
by Matthew Carpenter
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chapter 5 : A Thorn in Paradise
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"So what the hell happened in there?" questioned Nemesis
|
|
looking towards the front of the van in Nebulus' direction.
|
|
|
|
"I was watching you more than I was watching myself" told a
|
|
disgusted Nebulus, completely shamed by his performance or lack there
|
|
of.
|
|
|
|
"At least you know a sign when you see one. What happened to
|
|
Jack?"
|
|
|
|
"What do you mean, what happened to Jack" rudely snapped
|
|
Nebulus who turned around to give Nemesis the evil eye.
|
|
|
|
"We lost him before we got to the strike zone. Where'd he go? I
|
|
thought he was supposed to follow us all the way out."
|
|
|
|
"I don't know. Maybe he bumped into ICE or something. Why
|
|
don't we get back there quickly and find out" Nebulus pointed out to
|
|
Donna who pushed her foot into the floor, accelerating the van as she
|
|
drove on into the city.
|
|
|
|
Not soon enough for Nebulus' liking, the van pulled in front of
|
|
the garage door of the warehouse. Nemesis calmly hopped out of the
|
|
back door of the van and proceeded to open the door. The van came to a
|
|
quiet stop with the garage door crashing down behind it. The lights
|
|
were still on; the office door to the underground comps was still shut.
|
|
|
|
"Jack! Hey Jack! Where the hell are you shit-head!?" yelled
|
|
Nemesis, feeling a little funny about the whole situation. Walking to the
|
|
back of the van, he picked up his rifle and proceeded to walk towards the
|
|
office door. He was followed by Nebulus and eventually Slash, who had
|
|
had enough of Jack's clowning around. Screwing around on the nets is
|
|
one thing, but leaving a team in the thick of a job is another.
|
|
|
|
They approached the office door and found it still locked from the
|
|
inside. Nebulus walked over to a nearby desk, reached into the top
|
|
drawer and picked up a magnetic key. He returned to the door and
|
|
inserted the flat key into the slot just under the door handle which
|
|
produced a soft pop as the lock disengaged. Nebulus opened the door and
|
|
the group peered in. The office was still the same : a few file cabinets, a
|
|
metal desk with a wooden, rocking office chair, a single light at the desk
|
|
with another one in the ceiling, and a small hand comp sitting at the
|
|
right of the desk.
|
|
|
|
'Nothing is missing. Everything is cool...except' thought Nebulus.
|
|
"Jack's gone."
|
|
|
|
"What!?" wined Nemesis in disbelief of wherever Nebulus had
|
|
derived this idea.
|
|
|
|
"The chair's here. He should be sitting in it down in the room"
|
|
stated Nebulus loosing his cool.
|
|
|
|
"Bullshit. He and I changed that last week 'cause he wanted a
|
|
padded chair so his butt wouldn't hurt so much" slapped Nemesis.
|
|
|
|
"Huh!?!?"
|
|
|
|
"Come on" said Nemesis entering the room and pressing the
|
|
correct sequence of keys on the hand comp to enable the elevator to the
|
|
comp room. Slash moved the chair out of the way as the plate under the
|
|
leg area of the desk slowly began its decent into the comp room. Within
|
|
10 seconds it had hit bottom, about 12 feet below in the concrete dungeon
|
|
where Jack roamed.
|
|
|
|
"Jack. Hey, Jack..you down there!?" yelled Slash. No answer.
|
|
|
|
"He's probably still in the nets. He'll never respond like that"
|
|
spoke Nebulus.
|
|
|
|
"Well there's only one way to find out" said Nemesis as he hang
|
|
dropped from the desk edge into the dark pit.
|
|
|
|
"Don...hunnn....you moron" Slash sighed under her breath. 'He
|
|
never thinks about traps.' "Watch out for traps." Nemesis never heard
|
|
her voice; his concentration on where he was and not what people were
|
|
doing topside. He pivoted left in the direction of the comp room. The
|
|
corridor to the room was normal sized with a low ceiling. The walls were
|
|
made of cold concrete that still flaked grit when rubbed against. It was
|
|
dark with a few streaks of light coming from the room, barely lighting
|
|
enough for someone to see. Nemesis changed his eyes to night vision to
|
|
see that was up with Jack.
|
|
|
|
'All right Jack, where the hell are you man.' He peered into the
|
|
comp room. The two main comps on the far wall were humming as usual,
|
|
the short ceiling making them look larger than normal. He walked
|
|
further into the room. The four workstations were still running with
|
|
their monitors running lines of info across them constantly. 'Jack.
|
|
Where the hell are you.' He lowered his rifle. In fact he lowered it until
|
|
the barrel almost scraped the ground. He stood completely erect and
|
|
walked over to the wall where the control panel was. A single touch and
|
|
a second panel came up. He closed his eyes as he turned the ceiling light
|
|
on. His eyes were switched back to normal vision and he opened his
|
|
eyelids.
|
|
|
|
"Come on down, guys!" yelled Nemesis as he looked over at Jack
|
|
who was still slouched in his padded chair, still jacked into the nets.
|
|
|
|
"What's the deal!?" yelled back Slash.
|
|
|
|
"He's here. Still in the net." The elevator platform began to move
|
|
back up and in no time the rest of the team minus Donna was in the comp
|
|
room. "I guess he's still in the net."
|
|
|
|
"What the hell's he still doin' in there?" replied Slash quite
|
|
disgusted at Jack now that he was still here and had left them in Cryon.
|
|
|
|
"He must've run into something." sighed Nebulus looking at his
|
|
foot as it tapped lightly on the concrete floor. 'What could he have run
|
|
into? ICE? Naw, couldn't be. He's too good for that. Then again... Naw,
|
|
he must be screwin' around or somethin'. But why would he leave us in
|
|
Cryon to go screw around somewhere? I wonder if they got this thing up
|
|
and running before we got there. Or what if they had another site, or if
|
|
we attacked the wrong site! Couldn't be. We planned this thing to
|
|
perfectly to hit the wrong site. Yeah, sure.' he thought to himself,
|
|
especially after how badly they fucked the whole deal up. 'Well, there's
|
|
only one way to find out.' Looking up he said "I'm goin' in" and started to
|
|
walk towards the workstation next to Jack's.
|
|
|
|
"What! You can't be serious. Let's just pull the plug and get him
|
|
back" screeched Slash.
|
|
|
|
"Yeah, right. And possibly loose him forever. He might be into
|
|
something serious, and there's only one way to find out." replied
|
|
Nebulus, putting a wireless jack next to his ports.
|
|
|
|
"I thought you could track someone like that for cryin' out loud!"
|
|
|
|
"We'll see about that." With that he sat in the chair and jacked in,
|
|
wireless of course.
|
|
|
|
"Well, let's get them prepared for a long trip. I can't see them
|
|
coming back any time soon" softly spoke Slash. She and Nemesis turned
|
|
to the one cabinet that had little components and things in it. The door
|
|
was opened and two IV's were taken out by Slash. She walked over to the
|
|
two and began to get Jack ready for insertion. Nemesis in the mean time
|
|
began preparing the two nutrient bags. In no time, both Jack and
|
|
Nebulus were outfitted with medical nutrient bags that fed into their
|
|
system. That way they at least wouldn't dehydrate.
|
|
|
|
Nebulus stood up from a kneeling position on the
|
|
asphalt street of an unknown city. It was dark, actually
|
|
gray in color and the clouds in the sky were moving very
|
|
fast. The surrounding buildings stood like monuments
|
|
compared to Nebulus' small body. A little piece of
|
|
newspaper skipped by along the ground behind his feet.
|
|
The long street he was looking down seemed to go on
|
|
forever. The city was completely deserted.
|
|
|
|
"Strange" he told himself outloud. "Oh, well, let's
|
|
get going." He began walking in the direction of the first
|
|
gate to get into mainstream cyberspace. A few steps and
|
|
he leaned forward to the ground and shape changed into a
|
|
sleek black sports car, one of the new European cars that
|
|
can top 300 mph. Fat tires, no rear view mirrors; kinda
|
|
like an old Countach he thought to himself as he squealed
|
|
his tires and flew down the streets.
|
|
|
|
"Great. Traffic jam already." In the near distance
|
|
he could see lots of people trying to get into the gateway.
|
|
"Always a bunch of jerks who don't know there way
|
|
around the block yet." With a glance skyward, he pulled
|
|
off the ground and moved a story or two above the rest of
|
|
the traffic. Flying over the crown was fun. The first
|
|
gateway was breached easily and he soon got back onto
|
|
the road and cruised into the highways, the internet
|
|
highways that connected to everywhere in the world, and
|
|
then some.
|
|
|
|
After only a little time, his speed began to slow.
|
|
Actually he began to slow immensely, eventually coming
|
|
to a complete stop. 'What the hell is going on?' he thought
|
|
to himself, checking all of his systems. Then he began to
|
|
shape change back into a person, except he hadn't chosen
|
|
to do so. 'Somebody's taking control of my environment.'
|
|
Then he began to fly backwards, completely out of
|
|
control. He fought to stabilize and he tried to stop, but
|
|
eventually was thrown back into the crowd of people
|
|
waiting at the gateway entrance. With an additional
|
|
thrust, he was tossed into the crowd, landing on the hard
|
|
asphalt just like everyone else had.
|
|
|
|
"What the hell is going on!" he yelled at the top of
|
|
his lungs as he stood up, wiping himself off. The area
|
|
around he began to change and soon he was standing on a
|
|
computer generated grid. No streets. No buildings. Just
|
|
grids. He continued to look around, finally running his
|
|
identifier program. In a few seconds an arrow appeared
|
|
pointing in the direction off to his right, toward the
|
|
gateway. He started to push his way in that direction,
|
|
searching for Jack. The gateway soon became clearer to
|
|
him as it was a large billboard sign which read :
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Cyberspace Mob now rules the nets
|
|
|
|
Pay to Enter. Pay at your OWN Risk
|
|
|
|
|
|
"What the hell is going on, here!" he yelled.
|
|
|
|
"Oh shut up up there you asshole!" came from
|
|
someone behind him. He turned around to see who the
|
|
hell was yelling at him in a crisis like this.
|
|
|
|
"Fuck you buddy!" he yelled back, not knowing
|
|
who had yelled at him. He continued to push his way
|
|
towards the front. Eventually he got within a few
|
|
hundred feet of the gateway and recognized Jack only a
|
|
few steps in front of him.
|
|
|
|
"Jack, what the hell is going on here man!?" asked
|
|
Nebulus as he reached his companion.
|
|
|
|
"What the hell are you doing here? I thought you
|
|
were still in Cryon."
|
|
|
|
"I was. We got back already. What the hell
|
|
happened to you?"
|
|
|
|
'Take a look. One second I was in, the next I was
|
|
pulled out by these guys. Do you believe this shit. They've
|
|
taken over all the surrounding gateways and there's no
|
|
way in or out to another gateway."
|
|
|
|
"What do you mean. You can't even break it?"
|
|
|
|
"No one can" explained Jack in a sorrowful tone of
|
|
voice. "I've found a few friends here and they can't break
|
|
it. Whoever made this isn't working for the government,
|
|
military or a company. This is straight from the
|
|
underground. All I can figure is that it's written in a new
|
|
AI language that actually learns who you are and how to
|
|
keep you from getting into the gateway if you haven't
|
|
paid."
|
|
|
|
"You mean to tell me that someone is holding the
|
|
gateway hostage?"
|
|
|
|
"Yep. The funny part is that no one has any idea
|
|
who could've pulled a stunt like this off. This is beyond
|
|
professional. I can't even tell where it's coming from."
|
|
The two stood around almost as lost as everyone else. It
|
|
was getting more crowded as time went on and eventually,
|
|
Nebulus had had enough.
|
|
|
|
"Get a site set up so we can start attacking this
|
|
thing from the inside out."
|
|
|
|
"Yeah right" replied Jack completely disgusted
|
|
now. "Don't you think I've tried it already in about a
|
|
thousand configurations, only to get tossed back without
|
|
getting any further into the system. I told you once you
|
|
moron, the more you do the more it understands about
|
|
you, which means that it can stop you easier every time
|
|
you try something new."
|
|
|
|
"So how do we get the fuck through" blazed a
|
|
beyond frustrated Nebulus.
|
|
|
|
"So what should we do now?" asked Nemesis, peering towards the
|
|
elevator. After standing there for ten minutes, his patience had run out
|
|
and a bar run was the first thing that ran into his head. "I know. How
|
|
about some Black Oil?"
|
|
|
|
"That dump. Naw, I'm not in the mood" casually replied Slash.
|
|
|
|
"How about Hot Kicks" she said with a sly grin growing on her face as
|
|
she looked into Nemesis' eyes.
|
|
|
|
"You gotta be kiddin' me. We don't fit into a place like that."
|
|
|
|
"That doesn't keep you from screwin' every chic with big tits,
|
|
long legs, and stockings pulled up to her crotch that works there now
|
|
does it?" she kidded pulling him towards the elevator.
|
|
|
|
"Jealous?" he asked with a smirk.
|
|
|
|
"I'm coming in my pants just thinking about you" she joked as
|
|
they stood on the elevator platform. She pressed her hand against the
|
|
wall where a hidden panel was and the platform began to rise.
|
|
|
|
Topside, they walked out of the office to find Donna sitting in one
|
|
of the office chairs in front of a desk off to the side of the warehouse.
|
|
|
|
"Everything OK with Jack?"
|
|
|
|
"Who knows. Nebulus went into the matrix to fetch him" replied
|
|
Slash. "Hey. We're gonna go to a bar. Wanna come?"
|
|
|
|
"Sure. But first, where's my money?" she said getting back down
|
|
to business.
|
|
|
|
"Nebulus handles that and he is preoccupied right now." Donna
|
|
wasn't too pleased about this. In fact she was getting quite pissed off as
|
|
she stood up to face Slash. "Chill woman. It's not like we're gonna forget
|
|
you. Jeez."
|
|
|
|
"Hey. A job is a job. Now it's done and I want my money!"
|
|
|
|
"Look honey, you ain't gonna get paid until he gets out of the nets
|
|
so why don't you just pack that bitchy attitude of yours away and chill
|
|
out until he is free. This job ain't done until we're all back and we got
|
|
two in the nets!" snarled Slash, frowning her brow.
|
|
|
|
Nemesis looked on at the 'cat fight' as he called it between the
|
|
two. 'Wait a minute.' He looked at Donna's forehead. 'Zoom in. More.
|
|
There. Now look at that. Sweat. And it's not even hot here, either.' He
|
|
moved his gaze down to her hands. 'Same thing, and even a little
|
|
twitchy.' He panned back up to her chest which was expanding and
|
|
contracting a little faster and larger than he would've expected. He
|
|
switched his eyes to IR, trying to get a thermal scan of her body. To no
|
|
avail, the combat suit that she still wore blocked most of the signals
|
|
coming from her body and canceled his experiment.
|
|
|
|
"All right. Chill out. Why don't you take a shower and get
|
|
changed and I will pull Nebulus out in time for him to pay you. Then we
|
|
can go to the bars. OK?" stated Nemesis.
|
|
|
|
"Where the hell am I gonna..."
|
|
|
|
"There's a shower in the bathroom over there" he said pointing to
|
|
a door along the office wall, "and your extra clothes that you brought are
|
|
still in the van, right?"
|
|
|
|
"Don't EVEN think about pullin' somethin' stupid, Nemesis" she
|
|
warned with a glare. Nemesis didn't move and didn't loose eye contact
|
|
until she turned around to get her stuff out of the van. Slash took his
|
|
arm and turned him to fact her.
|
|
|
|
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" she scowled in a low
|
|
voice.
|
|
|
|
"Trust me."
|
|
|
|
By now, Jack and Nebulus had jumped in and out of
|
|
cyberspace at least a dozen times, trying to trick the
|
|
gateway or get past it somehow. Each time they would
|
|
bring in different attack programs and loose them just as
|
|
quickly as the 'Cyberspace Mob' would find them and
|
|
erase them, or make them unusable. There were now
|
|
about five people in a group around Jack and Nemesis; all
|
|
of whom knew each other through one facet or another.
|
|
|
|
"So where do we go from here?" sighed one of the
|
|
guys.
|
|
|
|
"We have to find another way around it.
|
|
Everything we've tried has failed. Period. And I can't see
|
|
any way around it" said Jack.
|
|
|
|
"So the cybermaster Jack has finally met his
|
|
match. How interesting" stated Nebulus, getting more
|
|
excited at the prospect of what seemed like the ultimate
|
|
challenge.
|
|
|
|
"I wouldn't say that so soon. It's just going to take
|
|
some time to figure out how to get around it" replied Jack,
|
|
letting the comment fly over his head.
|
|
|
|
"So where are we?" asked one of Jack's friends.
|
|
|
|
"Simple. We can't get past without paying, which
|
|
is completely absurd. We know it's not being done by the
|
|
government, military, a company, Mogul, Nestroth and a
|
|
few other groups. But that leaves a lot of names that,
|
|
although I can't figure who could've masterminded this,
|
|
could be responsible for it" stated Jack.
|
|
|
|
Someone else spoke up. "Well, attack and defense
|
|
programs don't work. It can tell who we are and seems to
|
|
know our strengths and weaknesses. Camouflaging
|
|
doesn't help since it kills that first. I don't think if we
|
|
sent ICE against it it would even work."
|
|
|
|
"What! Are you nuts. How the hell would you SEND
|
|
ICE after it. There's nowhere to keep it connected to to
|
|
run it" heckled another.
|
|
|
|
"Yes there is and that's exactly what we're gonna
|
|
do" spoke Jack, standing up and pacing around in a very
|
|
small circle. "We can attach it to the gateway itself. It's
|
|
identifier must still exist or we couldn't have gotten here."
|
|
|
|
"Yeah, but it'll already know how to kill ICE."
|
|
|
|
"Yeah, but I know a way to make it so they can't
|
|
track it or disarm it" ecstatically spoke Jack. "Everyone
|
|
jump out and meet me at my comp room in 1 hour."
|
|
|
|
Donna came out of the bathroom wearing a short mini with tights
|
|
underneath it, highlighting her legs with black spandex. Her wet hair
|
|
left trickles of water on her leather short jacket that covered a tank top.
|
|
|
|
'Switch to IR. Focus and zoom on chest area. Just as I thought.'
|
|
"You definitely look sexy tonight, woman" yelled Nemesis from across
|
|
the warehouse. He hopped off the desk he was sitting on and approached
|
|
her.
|
|
|
|
"So where's Nebulus with my money, macho man?" she said with
|
|
a smirk in her smile.
|
|
|
|
"This way, my lady" he said, raising his left hand, palm up, to take
|
|
hers as a rightful gentleman should. She placed her right hand in his
|
|
with a flirtatious smile. He slowly started to turn around and Donna
|
|
began to take a step forward to accompany him.
|
|
|
|
Quickly, Nemesis spun back in her direction, landing a bone-
|
|
breaking fist in her stomach. Instantaneously, she fell to the ground as
|
|
if life had been sucked out of her. She laid on the ground in a fetal
|
|
position, holding her stomach, completely unable to breath from the
|
|
attack. Nemesis looking over to Slash who was sitting at a desk, giving
|
|
her the signal. She rose from her chair carrying a needle. Nemesis
|
|
reached down and gripped Donna's jacket firmly by the shoulders and
|
|
ripped it down her arms so that they were bare from her shoulder to her
|
|
elbow. She winced in pain, still unable to breath. Nemesis reached his
|
|
hand up and received the needle from Slash.
|
|
|
|
"Nighty night, my little spy" cooed Nemesis with a devil's grin, as
|
|
he injected her with the tranquilizer.
|
|
|
|
"Nighty night, bitch" spit Slash.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cool Darkness
|
|
by Matthew Carpenter
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chapter 6 : A Slap in the Face
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"Whew. Man oh man. This one's gonna hurt" said a sweaty
|
|
Jack as he faced his sidearm, Nebulus. He stood up and staggered
|
|
over to the bathroom stall that was on the other side of the
|
|
elevator to relieve himself. Nebulus just sat there rubbing his
|
|
eyes. After a few seconds he stood and walked over to the elevator
|
|
platform and momentarily waited for the chair to come down.
|
|
|
|
"Where the hell you goin'?" yelled Jack from the stall.
|
|
|
|
"I'm gonna check on the others and tell them what's up.
|
|
We're gonna need some info from the streets and fast ...." he
|
|
trailed off in his own thought as the chair arrived. He sat down
|
|
and got to the office floor in no time, listening to Jack rant and
|
|
rave about what he had just said. Nebulus' brow was furrowed,
|
|
now, and time had taken it's toll on him. He walked out of the
|
|
office to notice the van was missing. "Goddamn, stupid son's of
|
|
bitches!" he yelled, spinning around to look at the whole
|
|
warehouse. "Those dumn fuck's! If it's the last thing I told them
|
|
it's to stay put! Jesus!" he fumed slamming a fist into the desk he
|
|
began to sit at. A thousand swear words ran through his mind
|
|
and his head began to throb. Closing his eyes, he sat back in the
|
|
hard wood chair thinking about the job, running his fingers
|
|
through his hair. 'Of course, we first had to fuck the job up.
|
|
Then we actually had to run into this damn mob. Who the hell
|
|
would dare to be a mob on the nets. Who would have the
|
|
capabilities. Hmmmmm. "The government" his eyes flashed
|
|
open. "Nah. Couldn't be" he said to himself with a quirky smile
|
|
that almost gleamed with getting the answer, and then laughed at
|
|
it's stupidity. "But it would be the perfect front to run us
|
|
down....legally. Well, kind of. Shit."
|
|
|
|
He opened the top desk drawer and took out a few plastic
|
|
bottles of pills. He popped a few in his mouth and downed them
|
|
with a flat can of Coke that had probably been there more than a
|
|
day.
|
|
|
|
"What's the matter with you!" yelled Jack from the office's
|
|
entrance. "How many times have I told you not to get drugged
|
|
before you jack in. Especially now. What the hell do you ..."
|
|
|
|
"Oh shut up and take this!" said Nebulus throwing a bottle
|
|
to Jack. He caught it with a rattle and looked up very disgusted
|
|
almost in disbelief at what Nebulus was implying. "Relax, it's
|
|
caffeine. It'll wake you up."
|
|
|
|
"I'm not tired" replied Jack walking towards Nebulus. He
|
|
screwed the cap off the bottle and put a pill in his mouth. He
|
|
reached the table, putting the closed bottle down and picking up
|
|
the can of Coke.
|
|
|
|
"That's been there awhile, you know" muttered Nebulus.
|
|
|
|
"I know. I opened it last week" he said with a smirk.
|
|
|
|
*************
|
|
|
|
Slash had been driving the van through the back streets of
|
|
the city for about ten minutes until she came to the designated
|
|
spot Nemesis had told her to go to. The tall buildings surrounding
|
|
them sent shadows out to swallow up the surrounding sidewalks,
|
|
almost requiring a street lights to light up the broken and
|
|
graffittied walls that surrounded them.
|
|
|
|
"So where the hell do we go from here?" she asked, leaning
|
|
over her shoulder to get a glimpse of Nemesis' back. He was
|
|
leaning over Donna who was still out cold. Her arms were tied
|
|
together with unbreakable plastic ties that were laced from her
|
|
wrists up to her elbows. Her hands had turned pale from lack of
|
|
blood in her hands. Her legs were tied in a similar manner, one
|
|
that Nemesis found a certain liking to.
|
|
|
|
"There should be a garage door around here somewhere
|
|
that has the word 'Ixzer' graffettied on it in red" replied Nemesis
|
|
who had turned to look out the front windshield. "Just go slow
|
|
and we should be able to see it better."
|
|
|
|
"I can't see a goddamn thing with Ixzer on it" whined
|
|
Slash, getting quite frustrated with the whole secretive situation.
|
|
'First you don't tell me where we're going, then what we're doing.
|
|
You dumb shit! I don't see why I ever listen to you.' She slowly
|
|
eased her foot on the accelerator and let the van drift down the
|
|
alleyway, nearly scraping the sides of it on one of the buildings.
|
|
|
|
"Stop here. Turn the engine off" spoke Nemesis in a
|
|
hushed voice as he popped the sliding door open and slowly
|
|
began to push it out of his way.
|
|
|
|
"What's the silence for man? I don't see any Ixzer."
|
|
|
|
Without a reply, he jumped out of the van, landing his
|
|
combat boots on the broken asphalt and turned around to scoop
|
|
up the still unconscious Donna. Throwing her over his shoulder,
|
|
he walked in front of the van and stood in front of the garage
|
|
door. Slash got out and stood behind him still unsure of what was
|
|
about to happen. 'Switch to UV.' Ixzer appeared on the door, just
|
|
as he had said. He slowly moved to the wall on the left side of the
|
|
door and allowed Donna to slide from his shoulder, landing
|
|
soundly on the concrete with a thud.
|
|
|
|
"Well I see we're in a good mood today" smirked Slash
|
|
getting a kick out of Nemesis' behavior. 'He's finally back to his
|
|
old self' she smiled to herself, looking down at Donna. 'Bitch.'
|
|
Her smile was broken as the wall Nemesis was touching broke
|
|
open and a small camera appeared in front of his face. She took a
|
|
step back, getting into a combat stance. Her claws extended
|
|
instantly. He never moved.
|
|
|
|
"Enter password" stated a speaker originating from near
|
|
the camera.
|
|
|
|
"Zephia 12 Luther Mia" replied Nemesis. The camera
|
|
disappeared as the wall rebuilt itself, hiding the broken area. A
|
|
couple of loud noises came from within the garage and the door
|
|
slowly began to open. Nemesis bent over and scooped up Donna's
|
|
body and began walking into the garage. Slash followed a little
|
|
hesitantly behind her companion, still with her claws out and
|
|
ready. She really hated being uninformed.
|
|
|
|
"Stop right there!" came a deep, husky male voice from
|
|
within the darkness of the garage. The two of them had barely
|
|
gotten ten feet within the building.
|
|
|
|
"Who's there!" yelled Slash from behind her companion.
|
|
|
|
"Nemesis. How's it goin' mon?"
|
|
|
|
"Not too bad Doc. Got a little present for you."
|
|
|
|
"Another hooker. Don't you know I gave them up for
|
|
lent?"
|
|
|
|
"No hookers this time. A tinker toy to take apart."
|
|
|
|
By now, Slash was completely confused. 'What the hell is
|
|
going on? How is this guy and where the hell is he?' she thought
|
|
trying to look into the darkness.
|
|
|
|
"Do we get to have some fun this time?"
|
|
|
|
"You got it."
|
|
|
|
"Bring her in." The lights flashed on, slightly blinding
|
|
Slash for a second. The garage door immediately slammed down
|
|
into the concrete that startled the always calm Slash.
|
|
|
|
"Will someone please tell me what the fuck is going on!"
|
|
yelled Slash at the top of her lungs. Nemesis turned around
|
|
slowly eyeing her weirdly.
|
|
|
|
"Slash, meet Doc. He's a techie friend of mine. He likes to
|
|
take things apart and see how they work." He turned towards Doc
|
|
and began walking in his general direction. "Doc, this is my
|
|
friend Slash. She's with Nestroth" he said pointing a thumb in
|
|
her direction.
|
|
|
|
"Hey ya sexy" he said looking her over. She looked him
|
|
over back. He stood almost as tall as Nemesis, but had black hair
|
|
down to the middle of his back that flowed as he turned around to
|
|
lead Nemesis to the door behind him. He walked with a limp to the
|
|
left side and had a cybernetic left arm as well. 'He must've gotten
|
|
into something' thought Slash to herself as she began to follow
|
|
the two men towards the door, her claws finally retracting. It
|
|
was unlocked with a pass card and led to a set of stairs leading
|
|
downward. Doc led them down. Nemesis bumped Donna's head on
|
|
the door frame. Slash just had to let out a small laugh at that.
|
|
|
|
They arrived at a another door that lead into a cybernetics
|
|
lab, or something that looked like one. Donna was placed on the
|
|
medical table in the middle of the room. There were tools of all
|
|
sorts lining the walls and hanging from the ceiling. Off to the
|
|
left side were large tools for more heavy equipment, including
|
|
what looked like a modified military gatlin gun.
|
|
|
|
"I take it you like weaponry, sweetie?" smirked Doc seeing
|
|
Slash look the gun over. She looked at him with an anticipated
|
|
smile that said yes. "Hmm. Maybe I'll let you take her for a ride
|
|
tonight." He turned towards Nemesis who was cutting Donna's
|
|
bonds with one of Doc's molecularly sharp blades.
|
|
|
|
"So what the hell's with this chic anyways?" asked Doc.
|
|
|
|
"She worked with us on our last project, but she's got
|
|
something in her chest that I think is a bug. It's the only thing
|
|
that explains why we ran into shit."
|
|
|
|
"How do you know?"
|
|
|
|
"Look at her under IR. You'll see something really black
|
|
there."
|
|
|
|
"So you want to cut her open and see what we can see?"
|
|
|
|
"Let's see if she will talk first." The two men took her arms
|
|
and legs, cuffing them to the four corners of the table securely.
|
|
Doc took out an antidote for the sleeping chemical Nemesis used
|
|
on her, and injected her with it. In a few moments she came to
|
|
trying to wipe her eyes with no luck from the restraints. She
|
|
looked up to see Nemesis looking right into her face. Doc was
|
|
busy putting on a surgeon's hat, mask and gloves. 'Interesting
|
|
difference from the mechanics suit there Doc' Slash told herself
|
|
as she too walked towards Donna.
|
|
|
|
"Who are you working for Donna?" asked Nemesis in a
|
|
very calm voice.
|
|
|
|
"What the hell are you doing? Untie me at once, you
|
|
moron!" she screamed back testing her restraints.
|
|
|
|
"I don't think so sweetie. I think you set us up, which is
|
|
why you've got a bug in your chest. So why don't you just tell us
|
|
what is going on" he said politely.
|
|
|
|
"I'm not working for anyone. And I don't have anything
|
|
in my chest you, idiot! Now let me go!" she screamed. Doc walked
|
|
around and attached two electrodes to her head and turned on a
|
|
scanner that monitored certain parts of the brain for
|
|
brainwaves. "What the hell is that? Who is he?"
|
|
|
|
"Donna, I'm only going to ask you one more time, before I
|
|
cut your chest open and find out what the hell you have in there.
|
|
Now, tell me, who are you working for" he said in a very deep
|
|
voice that began to frighten Donna even more. His frowned brow
|
|
made her look at him with wide eyes, fearing that he was serious.
|
|
She thought for a moment, and then just made her eyelids very
|
|
narrow and matched his frown with hers.
|
|
|
|
"Fuck off bastard" she replied in a low tone. Nemesis bent
|
|
down until his face was less than a centimeter away from hers
|
|
without changing his expression.
|
|
|
|
"Have it your way, my dear." He moved his lips down to
|
|
hers and gave her a small kiss on the lips. She didn't kiss him
|
|
back. He withdrew his face from hers, standing straight up, and
|
|
removed the electrodes from her head. "We won't be needing
|
|
these" he said tossing them to Doc. He looked back down at Donna
|
|
and saw the fear in her eyes, yet also saw her determination as
|
|
well. He moved his right hand up to his left shoulder and quickly
|
|
sent it flying across Donna's face, slapping her cheek so that the
|
|
side of her face bounced off the table. Blood began to trickle
|
|
from the corner of her mouth as she turned to glare back at
|
|
Nemesis whose facial expression still had not changed.
|
|
|
|
"You asshole. I'm gonna kill you, you son of a bitch!" she
|
|
screamed. Starting to violently pull on her restraints, she yelled
|
|
and screamed until Doc had had enough.
|
|
|
|
"Time to put her to sleep, I think."
|
|
|
|
"Not this time. I want her to feel this" snarled Nemesis.
|
|
Donna barely caught what he said and gasped a little in
|
|
anticipation. Nemesis nodded to Slash who was getting a kick out
|
|
of the torture being induced by Nemesis. 'It's good to have him
|
|
back' she thought to herself. She walked to Donna's right side
|
|
and smiled at her. Donna only caught a glimpse of her out of her
|
|
peripheral vision. Stroking her stomach, Slash began feeling
|
|
Donna's lower ribs and stomach. Then raised her strong arm and
|
|
let the side of her fist slam into Donna's stomach, just below her
|
|
sternum. Donna sucked in her breath and pulled at her cuffs as
|
|
her face turned red from her breath being knocked of out her.
|
|
She finally relaxed a little and began taking short breaths.
|
|
|
|
Nemesis stood above her head still and pulled her jacket
|
|
away as much as possible from her chest. He then reached into
|
|
her top and in one swift pull, ripped the top of it and her bra
|
|
open. She struggled underneath him to no evail as his hands
|
|
went further down to grab the divided material at the edge of the
|
|
tear. In another pull, her top was in two and he pulled the parts
|
|
to the sides to reveal her bare chest and white breasts. Her
|
|
nipples were slightly hard from her treatment, something that
|
|
Slash took note of. She slowly caressed both of Donna's breasts,
|
|
allowing her touch to become rougher as her claws extended a
|
|
few inches from her fingertips. Her slight smile of playfulness
|
|
changed to a devilish grin as she moved her fingers to the
|
|
underside of Donna's breasts and pushed her claws into the skin
|
|
below them. Not wanting to be outdone by what was sure to be
|
|
effective torture by Nemesis, Slash began to drag her claws down
|
|
towards Donna's navel.
|
|
|
|
"Now who are you working for Donna?" asked Slash now
|
|
enjoying the fun as well.
|
|
|
|
"Nobody! I swear I'm not working for anybody!" she
|
|
screamed. Tears were now running from her eyes as she tossed
|
|
her head from side to side. Slash only pushed in harder until
|
|
blood coated much of her lower stomach.
|
|
|
|
'I've had enough of this shit' thought Nemesis as he
|
|
reached over for the molecularly sharp blade he had cut her
|
|
bonds with. He placed the edge of it next to the tendon in her
|
|
right peck. Slash reluctantly pulled her claws out of Donna as
|
|
she saw what Nemesis was about to do. "Donna, why did you set us
|
|
up. Tell me or you will regret it" he spoke in a stern voice after
|
|
waiting impatiently for an answer.
|
|
|
|
"Go to hell!" she yelled. The pain and realization of the
|
|
situation, finally breaking her.
|
|
|
|
"Fine. Slash put a gag in her mouth. I don't want any of
|
|
her childish screams to hurt my ears" he said. Slash complied by
|
|
stuffing a dirty rag in her mouth and stepped back as Nemesis
|
|
began slowly cutting the tendon in her peck. Her screams were
|
|
muffled by the rag, but her tears and struggling movements only
|
|
made the pain worse. The tendon finally broken and Donna let
|
|
out a ear-piercing shriek as the tears rolled down her face freely.
|
|
|
|
"That's enough, Nemesis" said Doc as he came over to
|
|
Nemesis who was getting ready to start on the other shoulder. He
|
|
placed the end of a silver device that looked like a gun to Donna's
|
|
throat and pulled the trigger. She jerked and then collapsed to
|
|
the table, unconscious.
|
|
|
|
"Making her squirm is not going to get the info you want
|
|
man."
|
|
|
|
"You know how much I hate people who stab me in the
|
|
back."
|
|
|
|
"Let's just get what you came for and forget about it, all
|
|
right?" spoke Doc in a soft tone of voice, a little shocked by the
|
|
whole situation.
|
|
|
|
"You're the doc. Let's see what's in her chest." He removed
|
|
the blade from her shoulder and stepped back as Doc began to
|
|
stop the bleeding in Donna's stomach with a laserstitch. After
|
|
removing the gag in her mouth, he began working on stopping
|
|
the extensive bleeding from her shoulder. To Nemesis' wishes, he
|
|
finally cut into her chest with a scalpel. Doc brought over a few
|
|
instruments to determine just where and what the black box in
|
|
her chest really was, then began to go after the prize.
|
|
|
|
"Jesus Christ! This thing is really in her. Someone really
|
|
did a good job on her when they put it in." Doc continued to try
|
|
and get a better look at the black thin box that was lodged under
|
|
Donna's sternum, near her collar bone. "How the hell could she
|
|
breath for cryin' out load?" The frown on Doc's face spelled a
|
|
tough job, and probably one done by a pro. He continued to open
|
|
her up enough to get at the box and finally cut the thin metal
|
|
rings that were securing it to her sternum. A soft digital pulse
|
|
emanated from Donna's direction, and then a hushed pop silenced
|
|
all sound in the room. Her head and body jerked slightly and
|
|
then went limp again. Her heart drastically slowed until coming
|
|
to a complete stop within seconds of the diminished sound.
|
|
|
|
"Damn" softly stated Doc, keeping his hands still.
|
|
|
|
"What?" questioned Slash and Nemesis almost in unison.
|
|
|
|
"Shoulda known. Oh well. Let's see what we can see." He
|
|
slowly pulled the box out from under Donna's sternum, not
|
|
bothering to put her back together more than letting the torn
|
|
skin slide back into place. Taking the box over to the sink, he
|
|
removed most of the blood from the box with a damp towel and put
|
|
it under a lamp to get a better look at it. 'Edging at the sides, not
|
|
too tough. No markings, no noticeable points, oh hey, there's the
|
|
trigger mechanism' he thought looking at a very small silver
|
|
line down the inside of the clips. Nemesis and Slash becoming
|
|
bored with the subject at hand, retired to opposite sides of the
|
|
room to lean on the walls, waiting for something to come out of
|
|
the box that would give them a clue to Donna's true loyalties.
|
|
|
|
Doc picked the box up and moved it over to the work table
|
|
and placed it on a ceramic flat plate that was situated under one of
|
|
his analyzers. Within a few minutes he had run IR, UV, X-ray and
|
|
a few other tests just to see what was in the middle of the black
|
|
box. He then took a small tool and began wedging the corner of it
|
|
open until the lid popped up. Slowly, he lifted it off and revealed
|
|
the small transmitter board that the X-ray scan had shown.
|
|
|
|
"So what do we got?" gruffly asked Nemesis, still
|
|
pessimistically leaning on the wall.
|
|
|
|
"Transmitter box. It essentially controlled the bomb.
|
|
However, it could have been triggered by someone else with some
|
|
form of an electronic signal."
|
|
|
|
"So she had a fail safe in her, huh?" he said moving closer
|
|
to Donna again. He brushed her cheek with his index finger and
|
|
moved his face close to hers. "You got outta this easy wench" he
|
|
whispered to her. Standing up, he moved over to take the box in
|
|
his hand. "So can you figure out who made it or who could
|
|
detonate it?" he asked looking at Doc.
|
|
|
|
"Maybe. It'll take some time."
|
|
|
|
"Contact me in the usual way in one day" replied Nemesis
|
|
as he handed the box back to Doc and motioned Slash to following
|
|
him out the door.
|
|
|
|
"What about your woman?"
|
|
|
|
"Oh yeah." Nemesis grabbed a nearby trash bag and
|
|
worked it over Donna's head and torso after removing her bonds.
|
|
He scooped her up so that she was crunched upside down into the
|
|
bag and then proceeded to head up the stairs.
|
|
|
|
As Doc verified the garage door closing from his wall
|
|
monitor he dialed into his telecom and waited while the security
|
|
codes played their game before opening a screen.
|
|
|
|
"What is it?" came Nebulus' tired voice.
|
|
|
|
"We've got a few problems."
|
|
|
|
******************
|
|
|
|
"So what the hell are you going to do with her?"
|
|
reprimanded Slash as she drove into the next alleyway.
|
|
|
|
"Pull up next to that dumpster over there?" The van
|
|
stopped and Nemesis pulled Donna's body out of the van, throwing
|
|
it into the dumpster without a care. He returned to the van to
|
|
fetch a can of gasoline and proceeded to pour some of the can's
|
|
contents onto Donna's body. He returned to the van and picked
|
|
up an old oil rag. Lighting it, the van began to move away as he
|
|
threw it into the dumpster and slid the van's side door shut.
|
|
|
|
|