Chapter 18
It took the best part of half a day before the four of them got back to Cindy’s house. They had left immediately from the remains of the Wing’Tan base, going silent on comms until they got back. Although there was little chance anyone could track or intercept Cindy’s tech, there was a huge amount of radio chatter, Feds with squads out searching and patrolling, Wing’Tan associates scrambling, and police looking for a stolen GTX Armoured Vehicle.
They split up into pairs for the trip back, if two of them got caught, it was up to the other two to try and get them back, from wherever they were. The trip turned out fairly uneventful, they had chosen their routes carefully and came across little interest from anyone on the roads. Back at the house they hid the GTX, Cindy had plans for that, and all headed to separate rooms for some rest.
Jack was going through the events of the last few days in his head. He’d been rescued, apparently, from one of the most powerful groups on the Eastern Seaboard, been framed for a hit on a government representative and set up by the same group. Not long after, he was teamed up with a renegade Fed agent and a tech mastermind that may also have been the only other woman he loved aside from his wife. They then rescued another tech mastermind using weapons and armour most people never knew existed, with assistance from some bloke with a name that sounded like he was from the upper-upper-upper-West-Side.
“No wonder I’ve got a headache,” he said to whoever was out there trying to mess with his sanity. He always got the headaches after seeing a little too much action. His father once told him it was his brain receding back to normal control levels after having to process the massive amounts of adrenaline needed for his enhanced vision to function.
Jack got up and walked to the kitchen. Looking in the fridge there was everything he expected a reclusive spinster with ADHD would stock, that is three fifths of bugger all. Grabbing a beer, he cracked it and walked over to the large picture-window in the adjoining living room. He never noticed last time he was here where the house was situated.
Sitting back from a small cliff edge, the area he was standing on was actually cantilevered over a river, the crystal-glass wall and floor merging into one, appearing as though he was walking on water. Ironic considering he was pretty sure he would be meeting the other guy, not Jesus.
He heard footsteps from the hall and turned to see Ping walking to the kitchen. “How are you feeling little man,” Jack said holding his beer up in a salute.
“Like I got hit with a damned sledge hammer,” Ping replied with a slightly raspy voice. He grabbed a beer and sat at the dining table. Jack sat across from him and put his own beer on the table. At the same time a 'crack' went off in the distance. The two of them looked out to see the sky light up with a scattering of electrical forks, shadows from the trees danced across the floor and table.
“Storm’s coming.” Jack turned back to face Ping.
“You have no idea, Jack.”
“What do you know that I don’t?”
“I know Tyrol may have pulled us out of the grave at WT HQ, but he’s probably just digging a bigger one to kick us in.”
“Who is he? I figured he’s an Alpha by the goofy name and fancy-pants accent, but what does he do when he’s bored?”
“Hard to say in any detail. Like most of the Alphas they very rarely go online, and when they do, it’s not usually business. Most of their transactions are either agreed face-to-face, or through intermediaries that can’t be traced back to them.”
“So you’re saying they’re untraceable?”
“Oh, hell no. I’ve got those buggers tagged all over the place. But if you put everything we have together and made a book of it, it would be the most boring piece of crap ever.”
“Meh, never been one for reading anyway.”
“Well, what I can tell you is he’s generations deep, doesn’t need credit, assets or land.”
“So he’s doing it for power?”
“Yup, whatever 'it' is. Who knows why he wanted the WT out of action. I mean Seek was starting to make inroads into the political scene, but he was years away from anything really serious. The Leadership turned out to be a charade, and I’m sure Tyrol would have had some idea about that. If not he was either not as connected as he should be, or someone was feeding him crap.”
“So what about your story then? You don’t seem like the type to be a ruthless gang associate. No offence.”
“What, the wiry frame and sixty kilos of pure muscle-toned bulk in front of you doesn’t say ‘fear me’? Well, you should arsehole, in five minutes I can own you, your family and your life.”
“Yeah, well, you’re too late, someone already took my family.” Jack said it matter-of-factly, but skulled his beer and walked to the fridge for another.
“Hey, sorry man, I was just messing with ya.”
“Don’t sweat it, that’s a ‘me’ problem. We’re talking about you now, remember?”
“Well you met Jay, my uncle. We were tight. We used to hack credit agencies, do a few hustles here and there, small time crooks. He really taught me how to look after myself. My dad wasn’t around, so I never had a male role model to put me on the straight and narrow.”
Ping faded away for a moment. Explains the make-up, thought Jack, as he sat back down at the table. He gestured to Ping to carry on.
“Anyway, we hustled a few people we probably shouldn’t have, and next minute we had some serious heat on us. New gangs and Autohacking crews from all around wanted us. Some out to lynch us, some to recruit us. We decided to split up and go underground for a while, but it wasn’t long before we were found. I got attacked by what was then the major Autohackers in the Twin Cities, but was grabbed by Tank and Seek before they got me to their base.”
“Sounds familiar.” Jack raised an eyebrow in Ping’s direction.
“Yeah, in hindsight they weren’t my saviours. They offered protection if I worked for them. It wasn’t long before I knew I was never leaving. They’re pretty persuasive, especially when they drag the odd bleeding sack through the workshop.”
“So who else there do we need to be worried about?”
“To be honest, I don’t know. For our chapter, I think Seek and Trina were the kingpins. Whether you were trying or not, you may have just headed a crushing blow to the WT in the Twin Cities.” Ping reached across the table and tapped Jack’s bottle in a salute.
“We’ll toast that one when we’re not being hunted by most of the nastiest and dangerous people in the state huh?”
They were interrupted by a loud bang. Jack jumped up. “Cindy!” He ran down the corridor and saw a light coming from downstairs. He drew his gun and slowly stepped down the stairs, sweeping into a brightly lit workshop.
Cindy was at the end with the GTX in what looked like a million pieces, and a pistol in her hand. “Hey boys, something wrong?” She put the gun down and took her glasses off, walking over to the GTX.
“What the hell are you doing Sin, I don’t think a pistol will break that thing!”
“Well, it won’t even scratch it now, come check this out.” She rubbed the body where there was a piece of what looked like the same stuff from the Ferrari. “I’ve managed to bond the nano-skin to the armour of the GTX, it’s now bulletproof as well as butt-ugly.”
Jack had a close look, there was not even a scratch where the bullet had impacted the skin from less than five metres away. He stepped back and nearly tripped on a door. Looking at the nearly bare chassis, he could see the frame was some kind of honey-comb structure, riddled with more holes than Swiss cheese. The best way he could manage to describe the general body shape was that of a Wildebeest, cabin right forward over a stumpy bonnet with flared wheel wells. The roof ran straight and then dipped sharply behind the doors and flattened out for the last third of the car length.
“So what are you doing with this, Sin?”
“Two things. First, I’ve pulled it apart
to see how they built it, may make it easier to destroy them if we have to.”
“Whoa, Sin. What the hell! This is a government vehicle, you know, like the law. We’re not about to go out killing people indiscriminately. I mean, I’ve got every reason to hate those buggers, but that’s a big step.”
“OK, so when you come down from la-la land, you’ll realise the Feds were all over this damned party we’ve been having. Blake has steered them away where he can, but they’ve got their sticky little fingers into half of the crooks in town, runners, addicts, you name it.”
“Nice conspiracy theory.”
“It’s not a theory.” Blake's voice came from behind them as he walked down the stairs. “There is widespread corruption in the agency now. That is part of the reason Osiris runs independent of the Feds, and how the runners and thugs get half their tech.”
“For christ’s sake.” Jack was sounding both agitated and confused. “So not only do I have these arseholes trying to paste me every day when I’m running, sponsored by the G-men, I’ve also got half of them directly after me now, not for the cell but for the morgue?”
“Nailed it in one Jacky-boy. On the plus side, you’re a celebrity now.”
“Yeah, like Adolf Hitler or Ned Kelly!”
“Well honey,” said Cindy, brushing his shoulder with her hand as she walked past, “you’ve got us behind you now, so don’t sweat it.”
“Fantastic Four huh?”
“Who?”
“Forget it. Tell us about your other part of the plan for the GTX, aside from learning how to blow them up.”
“Well, the way I see it, we need to get out there and find people and groups to sort this rubbish situation you have us all in. So, there are four of us, Ping is on comms and systems here, the three of us are on the road kicking arse and taking names.”
“No, Sin.” Jack had genuine concern in his voice. “You have all done more than anyone could ask for me already. I’m one big cock up that attracts idiots and lunatics at every turn. I’m not asking you to take any more heat.”
“Well, you don’t have a choice. Those two are idiots and I’m a lunatic, so you’re in your usual company. Besides, we already talked about it. None of us have anything to lose from this point, and there is a lot out there we can clean up.”
Blake thought of Holly and hoped she had got his message to change identity and not return to the apartment. She was the only person in the world he cared for and he didn’t want her involved in any of this.
Cindy outlined her plans for the GTX. She had some more of the skin coming for the GTX, promising the team she gave no indication what it was for, or that she had other people with her. It wasn’t a hard story to sell, she had been alone for years, and the few who knew here were well aware of that.
The car would also get some stiffening in the comb-frame to take the extra weight of the plasma cannons she fitted behind the cab. The wiring was ripped out; Ping’s job was to install a Biotronics system with the hardware they salvaged from the WT HQ before they blew the place up. After that, the GTX, or Wildebeest as Jack had now labelled it, was powerful enough to foot it with the Ferrari and Black Betty.
They had some loose ends to tie up as soon as they could. They didn’t know where Loach was or what tech he managed to take, they didn’t know who in the Government was working on Biotronics or if they were clean, and most of all they didn’t know who the hell Tyrol was or what his agenda was.
“So what do we need for Blake's Wildebeest, Sin?” Jack said, while rubbing his hand over the frame.
“Well, do any of you knuckle heads know how to swing a wrench or turn on a computer?” she said with as much sarcasm as she could muster.
“I’m pretty handy with a plasma cutter and ion torch. I’m sure Blake knows what end of the hammer to hit his fingers with too.”
“Right, well you two get onto making that bodywork fit around the hardware I’ve installed onto the frame. Ping is going to show me more of the Biotronics system so we can retrofit the Ferrari and Wildebeest.”
“Ahh, that may be a little tricky, Sin,” Ping said with a little apprehension.
“Why so?”
“Well, we need an interface that I wasn’t able to get from WT HQ in time. Without it, we’ve got months of hardware and software to build and configure.”
“Dammit, Ping. What the hell were you doing in there?”
“Umm, trying not to get my arse smeared across the floor by Tank’s monkey arms or Seek's weapon.”
“So what the hell do we need then?” Cindy’s voice was sounding more agitated by the minute. She obviously wasn't used to working with other people, and needed some personal space.
“We need what the government have, my prototype quantum interface. I assume you have at least a basic D-wave mk3 amongst all this junk down here?”
“I’ve got an IBM Muon Type 2, bitch!”
“Holy crap, where did you get that from?”
“What the hell is an IB-something-moo-moo-or-other then?” Jack interjected with his best effort at caring so little for the current conversation.
“It’s a piece of hardware the G had us tracking, and passed on to Osiris. It was stolen from the JPL facility a year ago, and has multiple interference quantum computation across six streams simultaneously, with the same effective computing power of the East Coast seaboard,” said Blake staring at Cindy the whole time without blinking.
“Yeah, that’s the one,” said Cindy in a chirpy tone. “Got it cheap, fell off the back of a truck.” She looked to Ping. “That enough grunt in the trunk, geek boy?”
“Yeah, that will do fine. Nothing like overkill if you’re going to break into one of the most secure G facilities in the country.”
“Daaaamn,” said Jack, almost submissively, “Don’t suppose I can convince you guys to make a run for New Zealand? Would be easier.”
“Yeah, but then I’d have to sleep with sheep,” said Blake, making a gyrating motion with his hips while making very bad sheep noises. He thought he was hilarious, but everyone just stared at him, then turned back to the conversation at hand.
“OK, Cindy and Ping can go and get their geek on with the biotronics. Blake and I will turn this into something that resembles a vehicle.” He gave Wildebeest a kick.
As Cindy and Ping headed for the electronics on the other side of the floor, Blake turned to Jack and spoke in a low voice. “You think Ping is safe?”
“Don’t know yet. I’m sure Sin will have him on a short leash. I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt, I’d be dead already if he hadn’t bailed me out down the line.”
“Yeah, it just feels a little funny.”
“Not getting jealous he’s spending time with your crush Blake?” Jack tried to bat his eyelids, but failed miserably.
“You look like a bloody retard. Now, what are we going to do with Wilder?”
“Well, Sin has all this fruit bolted and glued everywhere. In my experience anything with an edge or angle will get ripped off in a collision, so I think we should make some fairings to deflect any impact. They’ll need to fold away to expose the weapons, so you can dig out some actuators or tri-blades if you can find them.”
“Let’s make this beast into the road-rapist it wants to be.” Blake instantly regretting the lame phrase, but Jack paid no mind and started marking out lines on the frame.
Across the room Cindy started to drill Ping on the workings of the Biotronics system. How it functioned, what powered it, how to programme it, and so on.
“You don’t get it Cindy, it’s not a computer system, you have to stop thinking about it being a binary code, with electrons flowing, and logic gates, it’s not like that. How the hell did you hack Betty if you don’t know what it is?”
“I didn’t hack anything, I tried but couldn’t work out how to interface with it. So I picked up the signal outputs, overlaid them with a micro-electrical system, and manipulated them to scramble a
ny sensors that weren’t part of the system.”
“Nice, you piggy-backed it to block me. Kind of risky.”
“Yeah, I didn’t tell Jack it was unstable. I didn’t think he’d concentrate if he knew the interface he was hooked up to could go feral and scramble his neurons.”
“We’ll keep that between us huh,” he said, following it up with a smile and a wink. Cindy gave a half smile and looked over towards Jack.
“You care for him, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do. It’s complicated.”
“People always are, that’s why I stick to nano-technology, biological circuits and theoretical physics. Much easier to understand!” They both had a chuckle. Jack looked over for a moment as Cindy glanced over again.
“So anyway, Ping, tell me what we’re dealing with here.”
“I’ll give you the short version. The biotronics system functions by environmental and biological interfaces. Think of it like different organs in the body. They’re not programmed like a computer, if your blood pressure drops, your heart pumps more, if your body is getting too much radiation from the sun, your skin releases pigments.”
“Right, so if you don’t programme it, you must grow components for a specific use then.”
“Exactly, but it’s more flexible than that. Different elements act in different ways, depending on how the links are made. We also build elements that function differently depending on the strength of the source input.”
“That’s what I don’t get, how is it powered?”
“It’s based on DNA and RNA structures. We modified the hell out of them, but it’s the same skeletal design. The minute electrical currents required to maintain cell integrity and information transfer is scavenged from static electricity in the air, direct transfer from human contact, anywhere there is a potential difference. It’s very efficient.”
“So how do you build the system then?”
“That’s what we need the interface from the Government for. It’s like a glorified DNA sequencer that provides output matrices for the organic printer I grabbed. We can make the system as wire, sheets or three dimensional shapes. They have high elasticity and malleability, so can be directly bonded to other structures.”
“Right, well I’ll find where your kit is now, you get onto Betty and the helmet to stop frying Jack next time he uses it, God knows he needs all fifty of his remaining brain cells.”