Chapter 49 – Wireless Geoff
Earlier on Sunday, July 26, 2308
Geoff set himself up on the couch in front of the TV. From the look on his face Ash could tell he wanted to talk.
Finished with the Mossberg, she sat next to her brother on the couch.
"What do you want to watch?" she asked.
His answer came quietly, almost hollow, "I don't want to watch anything." His eyes were vacantly glued to the dark screen.
"I saw what happened to dad," Geoff said. "You thought I didn't, but I did. And I heard mom scream before we got very far from the house.”
"You heard her?”
"Didn't you?" Geoff asked.
“I don't think so, no. I was running," Ash said.
"You were pulling me really hard.”
"Sorry," Ashley said.
"It's okay.” He looked her in the eye. “Who was that woman?”
“Captain Snow?”
“She looks like her and mom could be sisters.”
“They sure do,” Ashley said.
"Do you think what Major Ross said is true? Mr. Dunkirk killed those cops?” Geoff asked.
"Bobby sure thought so.”
"And he said it was because of the Micronix thing? How did he know about it?” Geoff asked.
“He was there,” Ashley said. She pulled the rectangle out of her pocket and held it up.
"Did you know what dad could do with this?" she asked, setting it on the table in front of them.
Geoff picked it up. For a moment, he closed his eyes.
Then he opened them again and spoke. "He could use it to talk with the computers, directly, with his brain. He invented it. That's why they're after him. That's why they killed him.”
Ashley took a breath. "Why didn't he just give it to them?”
"He tried to. That's how you got it. A lot of people really didn't want it. They said it killed people.
“Sometimes, the first time they touched it, they died. Then, also, there was a big explosion out in the desert.
"Remember what happened when it fell. Remember how everything was frozen?" Geoff asked. "Did you think it would kill me?”
Ashley shook her head. "It's just a chunk of metal. Until you hit the button and pop out the knife, you can't hurt yourself with it.”
"What do you see when you pick it up?" Geoff asked.
"What do you mean?" Ashley said. "I just see it. In my hand.”
"I don't know what it is, but it's not a knife. Who told you that?”
Ashley didn't answer.
"You don't see anything? When you hold it?" Geoff asked.
"Hit the button," Ash said. "It's a knife.”
"It's a power button, but it doesn't turn it on. Contact turns it on.”
"Hit the button," Ashley said again.
Geoff pressed down on the button. Nothing happened. He pressed again. Still nothing. "It doesn't do anything.”
"You're not pressing hard enough," Ash said, holding out her hand.
Geoff gave her the metal rectangle. Ashley pressed the button, hard, with her thumb, and with a loud crack, the black metal blade snapped out.
"Damn," Geoff said, with mock amusement. "It's probably not even sharp." He reached for the blade.
Ashley let him take it from her.
Geoff ran the knife over the back of his forearm and watched as the blade shaved all the short hair from his arm. "Whoa!! Wow!" Geoff said.
"Be careful with it," Ashley said.
"Okay, okay. But that's nothing. Nothing at all, compared to what it can do. Listen, did you know all the cameras have a dormant network IO?" Geoff set the knife on the table.
"Io?" Ashley asked. She picked up the dark blade and hit the button again, retracting the edge.
"In, out. And okay, what about this..." Geoff closed his eyes and paused for a moment.
The video stream on the table across from the couch clicked on. The monitor changed streams until arriving on one of Geoff's favorite cartoons. A moment later the lights in the room clicked off. Then, in truly immature fashion, the lights clicked on and off over and over again.
"Okay, I get it," Ash said.
Geoff smiled and opened his eyes.
"Could you turn the lights back on now?" Ash asked.
Laughing, Geoff got up and crossed the room, switching on the lights.
"Why walk, why not just think it?" Ash asked.
"Ha! I don't know. It's easy to get out, but takes a while to get back inside the systems," Geoff said.
Ashley stared at her little brother.
"What?" he asked.
"What do you see?”
"It's like having a computer in your head." Geoff answered.
"Can you see it right now?" Ashley asked, holding the device.
"No." Geoff looked at the interface in his sister's hand.
"Do you have to be holding it?" Ashley asked.
"I don't know. Let's see." Geoff closed his eyes. The lights went off.
"So, no." Ashley said.
In the dark, Geoff opened his eyes. "You have to concentrate."
Ashley set it back on the table. "You can have it.”
"I want to try something." Geoff closed his eyes. A moment later he said, "Okay, I'm in. I want you to take it way over there." Geoff pointed to the furthest part of the basement.
"Okay," Ashley answered. She picked up the device and carried it across the basement. She didn't rush, she walked kind of slowly, prepared to stop whenever Geoff might object, but he didn't.
When she set the device down, Geoffrey screamed and jumped up. Ashley ran back over to him, the device forgotten.
Geoff was gasping for breath and looked panicked.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm ok," Geoff replied. "What happened?" he asked.
"I just set it down," Ash answered.
"Wow. It did not like that," Geoff said. "Where is it?" he asked.
Ash led her brother back to the device.
He picked it up and handed it to her.
"You can hold onto it," she said.
"No, It's yours. I can use it, but you have to carry it," Geoff said.
"Whatever." Ash returned the amplifier to her pocket.
Geoff staggered and rubbed his head. "Man!" Geoff shook his head.
"What's wrong?" Ashley asked.
"Nothing! It's …" Geoff paused to catch his breath. "Hold on."
"When you're holding it, damn! It's strong. The signal is so strong. But..." Geoff moved across the room. "Only if I'm right next to you.”
"Then why don't you carry it?" Ashley asked.
"Are you kidding? No way! This is tons better!" he said, smiling.
Ash got nothing more out of him that afternoon. She flipped though bad video streams while Geoff lay on the couch next to her, eyes closed, but never asleep.
Sunday Evening, July 27, 2308
As Von Kalt fell through the night sky, he took advantage of the opportunity to smile.
Boxes of meaningless records streamed past like shooting stars burning up in orbit.
Everything about the past twenty-four hours had kept him on his toes. He was honestly glad Stanwood had left him alone most of the time.
Using the Metachron, he was never at a loss for intellectually stimulating activity.
When they boarded the Midway, Von Kalt had kept their personal transport nearby and idling, ignoring the staff’s invitation to take advantage of the nearby docking branches. Now he was thankful for his obsessively paranoid and suspicious nature.
Using the Metachron, Von Kalt piloted the car while simultaneously plunging toward the earth at a hundred, twenty miles an hour.
He activated the side hatch and swung the vehicle under the director. Von Kalt caught his supervisor with the anti-gravity car and then set about to rescuing himself.
The Metachron was in his hand as he entered the car and set his feet on the deck. He took a deep breath as the hatch closed. He felt his gravity retu
rn as the vehicle pulled out of its dive-bomb maneuver and set a course for the west coast.
Stanwood was sprawled across the back seat, his legs and arms extended, clutching the seat and floor as if it could in some way help him.
Von Kalt leaned into the turn, smiling wryly.
Stanwood noticed the amplifier in Von Kalt’s right hand.
Von Kalt looked Stanwood in the eye and asked, “You still want to chase down Henry Charles Porter and Johnny Wyndham?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
Stanwood paused.
“So you did take it from him?” he asked.
“Of course, I did,” Von Kalt replied.
“I’m glad.”
“You are?”
“It’s all a part of the plan,” Stanwood said.
Von Kalt laughed hard and long. “The plan, huh?”
“I still have one more ace up my sleeve, one more card to play. We’re not done yet,” Stanwood answered.
“What makes me laugh is how a dead guy still has you chasing your tail.” Von Kalt took the pilot’s chair and leaned back, chuckling as he closed his eyes.
Ashley’s Journal, Monday July 27, 2308
When I woke up this morning, I checked the security feeds, like Ross said. Then I spent like an hour in the shower and bathroom. Still haven't seen any life signs from Free Bird.
A couple of years ago, Geoff wanted to go on a camping trip with his class and when it came time to go, mom was crying. Geoff was only like five and this was his first night away from home.
He said, “Don’t cry Mom, I need to be a Free Bird.”
I laughed my ass off.
Mom and Dad laughed too, but for a whole year, I don’t think I called him Geoff once. Mom had to outlaw it, or I’d probably still be calling him Free Bird today.
Ashley found Ross in the kitchen, preparing a generous breakfast.
"I let you guys sleep in today. Tomorrow that stops." Ross set a cup of juice and a few slices of fruit before her. "I have to run a bunch of errands, so today is the last day of the rest of your... of your old life.”
"And that means what exactly?” Ashley asked.
"I don't know, eat cereal, watch cartoons, keep the shotgun in the brace and keep the line tied to the knob till I call you.”
"Till you call me? Why don't you just knock?”
"I had a buddy who knocked once. It was just enough to knock the line off the knob, cut him in half. Don't ever knock. If you do have to knock… Whenever you knock on a door, stand off to the side. That way he would have maybe just lost his hand. They can get you a new hand.”
Ross gave Ashley a phone. "There's one number programmed into this; emergency use only. Don't even open it unless it rings. You got me?”
Ashley nodded, picked up the phone and looked at it.
Ross finished with the pancakes and set a short stack in front of Ash. "Where's your brother," he asked.
"Sleeping. Guess yesterday was a lot for him.”
"You're probably right." Ross rinsed a few dishes and piled a few others. "I have to go. Lots to do. Make sure he eats, yeah?" Ross said.
Ashley nodded.
Ross came around from the back of the small kitchen counter and patted Ashley's shoulder. "It's going to be okay.”
Ashley smiled, but something dangerous in her eyes made Ross pause. "What?" he asked.
"It is going to be okay," Ashley said. "I can just feel it." She took a bite of her pancakes, grinning.
Ross laughed.