Code Breakers: Beta (25 page)

Chapter 37

Malik fired and took a ’droid down with a headshot. The metallic fighter sparked before hitting the ground. Two more ’droids stood from behind one of their portable barricades, raised their weapons to his position, and... nothing.

Their arms dropped by their sides, their guns clattering to the ground. The thirteen other ’droids in the squad did likewise.

“Hold your fire!” Malik screamed. His ten security colleagues obeyed. Jasmine, one of the female officers crouched by a window next to him, gave him a glance that said, “What the hell?”

Malik waited, observed, and then to his utter surprise he watched the ’droids as one turn and walk up the street, heading for the centre of the city. They marched through the debris of their destroyed brethren. Bits of charred metal in the shape of arms and legs, heads and torsos littered the street and the sidewalk.

“Health check!” Malik shouted.

One by one every security officer in the building called in with a positive situation. Only one had suffered a wound, but it wasn’t fatal.

“Jasmine, can you rally the others downstairs? We need to regroup and make the most of this.”

Before she could stand, a crash came from outside. He peered through the gap in the boarded window and saw the fiery remnants of a UAV smashed to pieces amongst the ’droid parts. Another followed, whistling as it fell from the sky to crash to the ground.

“They’re like dead birds,” Jasmine said. “How could this be possible?”

Malik smiled. “It’s Gerry.”

“Who?”

He shook his head. He still couldn’t believe how he was more famous in Libertas than Gerry, the true hero of the city. Still, if he survived this, he would make sure the citizens knew all about Gerry Cardle and what he had done for them.

“Gerry is...” He couldn’t really explain. “It’s hard to get into now, but trust me, this looks like his work, and that’s a damned good thing for us.”

Malik pushed himself up to his single foot despite Jasmine offering to help.

He hobbled, using a crutch, down the stairs and entered the living room of the safe house.

The rest of the security force, and Jess, had gathered there waiting for him. They all had a ‘what the hell is happening’ look about them. It was then that his slate buzzed with an incoming message from Enna. He read it through twice. The silence seemed to take on an extra degree of tension as his colleagues waited for his address.

He was conflicted. Although the message was full of bad news with regards to Gabe and James, Petal’s return and Gerry’s success gave him hope. Without control of the UAV drones and combat ’droids, and the destruction of Samir, Fuentes only had the ronin on her side—and a number within Libertas Security and Cemprom whom she’d manipulated.

Either way, the odds were looking better.

He filled his squad in on the details, and they took on a hungry look, as though sensing the tide had turned and the momentum was on their side.

“What’s next?” one of the officers asked.

“We move out,” Malik replied. “Enna and the others will need our backup at Cemprom. Without the ’droids and drones, Fuentes will mostly likely concentrate her forces there, protecting Elliot’s data-centre. One way or another, that’s where this is going to be settled.”

“I’m coming with you,” Jess said, brushing her hair from her eyes. “Hajime might need my help.”

“I’m sorry,” Malik said, “but it’s too dangerous for you. Hell, it’s dangerous for all of us. There’s already been a great deal of loss. I can’t afford to put you at risk like that, Jess.”

“But, Malik, please...”

“No, Jess. You’re staying here for your own safety. In fact, that extends to any of you. None of you were ordered to be a part of this team. None of you were forced to fight against Fuentes, so I wouldn’t blame any of you if you wanted to stay behind. I’ve already seen so much bloodshed that I will not hold it against anyone if you choose to stay.”

Malik looked at each officer individually and saw his own steely determination reflected back at him. He swelled with pride and admiration. “However, I do want two volunteers to stay here and protect Jess from any rogue ronin who might wander by—at least until we’ve secured the data-centre.”

At first there was a reluctant murmur from the squad of people, as they were all eager to be heroes and join Malik. But then a gruff-looking male, one of the eldest of the group, put up his hand. “I’ll stay. It’ll be an honour to look after Jess.”

“I’ll stay too,” Jasmine said quickly.

At least that got a smile from Jess, even though she was clearly disappointed about not joining Malik and the rest of the squad.

“Okay, good. It seems like slate-to-slate communication is now safe since Petal and Gerry have returned. We’ll stay in touch and report back as things progress. I want you to let me know if there’s any trouble. Understand?” He addressed it to Jasmine, his attentions automatically transferring responsibility to her while he was away.

“Understood, sir.”

“Good. Okay, team, grab your ammo and your guns. We’ll travel on foot, sticking to the business areas for as long as possible—we can’t rule out that many of the citizens are spying for Fuentes.”

With that, the team prepared themselves. Malik had a quiet moment in the hall, thinking about everyone he had lost recently in the struggles. He used those memories as motivation to focus his mind on what had to be done. Fuentes had to die. He’d have to leave Elliot to the others, but the president, flesh and bone, was all his.

Once set, the squad joined him, and together they stepped out into the night. The dark street smouldered still with the burning carcasses of UAV drones and ’droid parts. Malik knew there was more carnage still to come.

He gripped his crutch and led his team to Cemprom’s HQ, following the ’droids stalking away further up the street. The light from the street lamps and the great, glowing media screens reflected off their tarnished metal surfaces, turning them into beacons.

Chapter 38

James stopped to gather his breath. They’d started jogging when they got to the end of the disused metro tunnel. A thin slice of light, coming from the street above, called to them, turned them into moths, urged them on.

“It’s here,” Enna said, reaching up to grip the metal rails of a ladder on the side of the tunnel. “The exit to street level.”

James had to give her credit. She’d navigated excellently and, despite appearing older than him and the others, had refused to slacken the pace; for most of the journey she’d actually set it, kept them driving on. Elaine came up beside James, leaning against him as she placed the Omega server to the floor.

“Give me a minute,” she said. “My back’s killing me.” She placed her hands on her hips and stretched and arched her back. Her spine cracked a few times. “That’s better.”

“You want me to take over?” Liza-Marie said, pointing to the server.

“Nah, I’m good. You’re a better shot than me; you need your hands free. I’ll be fine in a moment.”

Enna had ascended the ladder and was entering codes into the control panel attached to the round cover. Rust had colonised its underside, and the panel seemed as ancient as the lock he’d earlier hacked.

“Will it be a problem?” James asked, reaching for his slate, ready to help hack it.

But even as he moved to the ladder, the panel flashed blue, and Enna gave a little cry of triumph.

“Okay, gentlemen, I need one of you to lend your strength and get this cover open.”

Before James could react, Ghanus had dashed forward and climbed the ladder like a monkey. While the Upsider grunted at his task, Enna addressed the others, “I got a message from Petal. She’s closing in on Cemprom’s location, and Malik’s on his way with a squad. We should rendezvous in the next few minutes—”

Ghanus gave out a sharp roar as he finally thrust the cover up from the exit hole. A street lamp opposite their position shone through the gap. James breathed the recycled air deeply, grateful for not having to breathe any more dust.

“Let’s get to it,” James said. “I’m sick of this place.”

Elaine hefted Omega up to Ghanus, who stood above the hole. He placed it to the side and reached a hand down, helping each person up until the group had exited the tunnel. They huddled away from the light, sheltering in the shadow of a building—a huge stone affair that stood proud of the rest of the buildings and raised a few hundred metres into the darkness of the Dome’s sky.

Enna looked around and consulted her slate. “We’re not far from Cemprom. It’s minutes that way.” She pointed away from the stone tower to their left. Another street ran perpendicular to their location. As James committed the layout to memory, he saw movement in the darkness.

A group of ten ronin, heavily armed, turned into their street.

He and the others shuffled as far back into the shadow of the building as they could, but he still felt incredibly exposed. There were no alleys or other streets, and the hole back into the old metro tunnel was right in the middle of the spray of light from the street lamp.

“The cover,” he whispered. “They’ll see it.”

Ghanus and Liza-Marie stepped back from the group and raised their rifles.

Enna put up her palm and whispered, “Wait, we can’t take them all. Let’s not give away our position if we don’t have to.”

With a tense silence they stood as still as possible, barely breathing, as if the slightest noise would alert them.

As a group, they hung around at the end of the street until one of them turned and looked directly towards James. The rest followed, and they started to amble down the street, their weapons drawn.

One of the group raised her hand and waved it as though she were greeting James and the others. That couldn’t be. He turned his head, looking down the other end of the street. A second group, at least five in number, had exited a building no more than a hundred metres away.

Fuck. We’re trapped... He looked to the hole, wondering if they could make it in time. But with the enemy encroaching on both sides, they’d never have enough time. The others seemed to sense it too. They all eyed the open hole, then cast a look forward and back again.

“We’re fucked,” Ghanus whispered.

“Might as well go down fighting,” Liza-Marie said. “We’ll cause a distraction. The rest of you try to get Omega clear.”

Before James could say anything, the two Upsiders darted from their position and sprinted across the street with their hands up, screaming, “We surrender.”

The ruse worked.

The two groups focussed on Ghanus and Liza-Marie and dashed to surround them, their weapons trained on the pair. There was no way they could fight out of that.

Enna and Elaine were equally as paralysed as James.

Before they could act, two loud explosions roared out from within the gathered group. A thick belch of black smoke plumed out, surrounding the group, sending them spreading out, coughing. Some dropped their weapons while others shot blindly into the thick, black smoke.

That’s when James saw two figures cut away from the chaos and slip into the shadows opposite their positions. Ghanus waved his arm and then pointed to James and the others to head to Cemprom. The two Upsiders moved into position and waited for a moment before they shot at the disoriented insurgents, taking them down one by one.

“Come on,” Elaine said, finally realising their opportunity. She broke away from the shadow of the tower, lifted Omega onto her back, and sprinted for the end of the street. Enna joined her, and James followed, wishing his legs didn’t feel like they were made of heavy Polymar.

Halfway to the end, James halted. A group of six ’droids, their rifles raised, entered the street and marched directly towards him.

James backed away as the armed ’droids continued to stalk closer. They aimed their rifles at him, Enna, and Elaine. The ’droids came to a stop and spread out, stretching across and closing off the street.

Ghanus and Liza-Marie were still fighting behind them; he could hear the distinctive suppressed noise of their guns and the screams of confused, disoriented ronin. The screams were getting closer, though. James stole a look behind him to see a group of three men running at them, their faces blackened with smoke, mouths twisted with hate. They raised their pistols and shotguns.

Oh crap, we’re done, James thought.

As they came closer, James closed his eyes, waiting for his death from either side.

A volley of gunfire exploded from in front of him. He jumped and tensed at the sudden noise. His ears rang. He held his breath, waiting for the pain to come, waiting for death to take him.

Seconds later, and nothing happened. He opened his eyes. The ’droids still stared down at him, their blank metal faces showing no emotion. Smoke rose from the barrels of their weapons. Enna and Elaine still stood beside him, their faces a picture of shock.

Behind him, the insurgents lay in a variety of pieces, dead on the ground.

Two ’droids in the line stepped forward, and from behind them came two shapes.

“Petal!” James yelled.

She wore a crooked smile. “You guys gonna just stand there?”

Enna rushed forward and hugged her tight. A short, hunched figure watched on. His eyes seem to bug out from his head. He looked... unhinged.

“Who’s your friend?” James gave the strange man a wide berth. He didn’t like the way he waved his rifle around so casually.

Before Petal could respond, her hunched friend spun on his heel, barged James out of the way with his shoulder, raised his rifle, and took down the last two ronin who were running from Ghanus and Liza-Marie.

“We can get acquainted later,” Petal said. “Right now, we need to get to Cemprom. With Gerry’s help we’ve pushed the insurgents and Fuentes back. They’re camping in the tower. We’ve got the bastards cornered. You brought Omega, I see. Good. Follow me.”

Petal turned and jogged to the end of the street. When Ghanus and Liza-Marie caught up, they all followed. The ’droids turned and silently obeyed their new leader, wherever he may be.

James felt his confidence swell. With the firepower on their side, and with Petal and Gerry working together, they might just stand a chance at ending Elliot’s madness.

They turned into the main street that led to Cemprom’s tower. A ten-metre-high archway created an impressive entrance to the building. A pair of ’droids stood guard at either side of the arch, their weapons trained on the two huge glass doors. The lights were on inside, and shadows darted from window to window.

At the other end of the street, James saw a familiar face: Malik. Using his crutch, he shuffled ahead of his five-person squad. They all grouped together by the arch, using its heavy Polymar construction for cover.

After a brief introduction, the group readied their weapons and prepared to storm the building.

“We’ll send the ’droids in first,” Petal said, taking control of the situation. “Malik, you and your squad follow up behind. You and the ’droids are to secure the lobby, buy us time. Ghanus, Liza-Marie, I want you two to hang back and take out anyone trying to flank us. The rest of you, I want you to follow me to the data-centre. That’s our number one priority. Got it?”

James and the others gave various sounds of affirmative. His chest tightened and his guts squirmed now that they had come to this. It felt like certain death as they stood on the razor blade of fate. If he survived this, he knew he’d leave this damned city. Go back to Criborg where he belonged: safely underground. But before that, he owed Sasha, and everyone who had died at the hands of Elliot’s influence. As Elliot’s only living descendent, he felt tainted by genetic association, as though this whole horrifying ordeal was his problem.

“Go!” Petal said, as fifteen ’droids burst from their positions by the archway and stormed through the glass doors, smashing them as they sprinted into the foyer. Gunfire erupted immediately.

Malik’s team followed closely behind, joining the firefight inside the building. Bursts of light popped like fireworks. Smoke started to fill the air.

Finally, Petal and the others moved. At first James’ feet wouldn’t respond, protesting against the clearly obvious danger that lay ahead. Xian, Enna, and Elaine sprinted past him, backing up Petal. Ghanus and Liza-Marie, calm as anything, put their hands on his shoulders, urging him gently forward.

“You’ll be fine,” Liza-Marie said. “We’ve got your back.”

He closed his eyes for a brief moment, thought of Sasha, and moved to the entrance, his hands trembling with fear.