Cyber Witch

by Eddie R. Hicks

  He didn’t have that much time, let alone hands free to reach for his phone to select the right app. He had doubted his hands racing back down to his pockets, and grabbing the phone, would be faster than the barrage of bullets that’d likely happen in response.

  Piper stood next to him. Her hands were glowing with white luminance. She placed her left and right index fingers on the sides of her head, then shut her eyes, focusing deeply. The two armed men lowered their rifles. One of them reached up tapping their communication headset.

  “He’s here, everyone to my location!” a voice over the headset yelled.

  Ray’s face turned pale. Piper opened her eyes, grinning. He saw why moments later. The two men spun around and went sprinting back into the arrivals terminal. They left Piper and Ray alone. Several police officers and armed security personnel did the opposite, silencing the crowd with more whispers of worry and concern.

  He turned to face her, wincing at the glow of her hands that slowly faded. It was a glow that RWs shouldn’t be able to wield. It had him debating if he made the right choice.

  “Piper,” Ray said. “You’re a telepath.”

  Thirty-Five

  Estrella

  “Okay, get these people back now!”

  Members of the LAPD were quick to respond to Estrella’s request. She along with Peters and another cop rushed into the chaos slowly brewing in LAX’s arrivals terminal. Estrella’s pistol was out and kept low as she advanced with the murmur of concerns leaving the lips of the surrounding crowd.

  Her nanite abilities menu was still open as she moved out. The menu listed the two new programs she grabbed from TT with the cash Peter’s lent her, Disable Vehicle, and Induce Muscle Spasms. She had no regrets about the quick detour to TT prior to coming to LAX. Especially after learning Ray was allowed to leave his flight. She had to snarl internally about that.

  “There a reason the flight crew let everyone from Ray’s flight leave?” Estrella asked Peters. “I thought they were gonna keep the doors locked until we grabbed him?”

  Peters shook his head. “I wish I had an answer. We contacted the pilots before they landed to do that, and they ignored us.”

  Two men wearing full body armor, helmet, and tactical visors stood like they were zombies close to where Ray’s flight delivered its passengers. She, the AIT, and LAPD arrived a minute too late. Estrella glanced at the men, surprised they knew how to hold their assault rifle in the current state, and gave them a top-to-bottom stare.

  Her optical scans of the spaced-out men finished, its results displaying over her narrowing eyes as she read it. “Mind control,” she said. “There’s a telepath nearby!”

  “Guess that answers your question,” Peter’s said to her. “The passengers on his flight left because the pilots might have been manipulated into ignoring our request.”

  Estrella grimaced. “A telepath affecting pilots in the air? That IW has some impressive range then.”

  “Shit, you’re right,” Peters said, while reaching for his radio with one hand, the other still grasping his pistol. “We got an IW on the loose, they compromised unit six with mind control and possibly the pilots of Partington’s flight.”

  “Understood,” the voice on the radio replied. “Look sharp everyone.”

  “Okay, guys no more fucking up!” Estrella stepped forward, her head looking for the telepath. “Let’s not turn this into another New York!”

  The dazed and confused armed men ahead of her shook their heads and groaned, snapping out of the trance. She waved a hand at them, watching closely with her synthetic eyes. Geoffrey scanned them, and the report scrolled over her vision.

  It would appear that the mind control has broken, Estrella.

  Noted.

  Both were released at the precise same time. This would indicate the telepath IW that did this, has moved out of range. With the layout of the airport, I may be able to extrapolate their approximate location with this data.

  Do it.

  Peters looked concerned. “Talk to me, Rodriguez.”

  “They’re not mind controlled anymore. The telepath controlling them stepped out of range.” She faced the newly freed minds. “Hey, you guys all right?”

  One man stomped his foot. “We had him! We fucking had him.”

  Estrella’s eyebrows rose. “Had who? Ray?”

  The second man nodded and pointed to the hall leading to the rest of the huge terminal. “He just got off! We went to move in and …” Hesitation silenced him as he looked to the floor.

  “And?” Estrella’s synthetic hand moved in a tell-me-more fashion.

  “Taylor,” he grunted softly. “Man, she was fast.”

  “Piper Taylor did this?” Peters asked.

  “I’ve been mind-controlled before, but this was something else,” said the man. “She had total control over us.”

  “Fuck sakes!” Estrella exploded. Geoffrey put me through to the LAPD’s channel.

  You are connected.

  Estrella spoke, the internal communication cyberware in her head sent the broadcast out. “Piper Taylor’s here and is an IW!”

  A rough cop voice replied. “Say again?”

  She sighed while putting together the previous night’s events, and what the two armed men said. “Piper’s a fucking IW! She’s the telepath that scanned me last night and probably got Ray.”

  Estrella and Peters sprinted forward. “Give us a few,” the armed man said from behind. “We’ll catch up.”

  Assertive chatter was on the comm line. The LAPD was tightening the noose around the entire airport, narrowing their manhunt for Piper and Ray. Cops and AIT men and women slinging assault rifles with full-body armor put people on edge. Passengers eyed those involved in the search with concerned looks, Estrella getting the brunt of the attention and whispers. An RW with a gun drawn and pumped full of nanites, waiting for action, damn near made some folks have a heart attack.

  Estrella roared over the comm as the search continued. “Anyone spot them?!”

  “Nothing.”

  “Remember guys, Piper’s a telepath,” she said. “She can, and will, make you see what she wants you to see.”

  Stores were checked, kiosks were searched, and restaurants grew silent when Estrella wandered in, running quick facial scans of its patrons. A few voices yelled out over the comms, they found Ray. Estrella and Peters came rushing over, only to see a spaced-out cop or AIT member, battling the lingering effects of mind control. Piper was playing them all for fools.

  Peters shook his head, looking away from the mind control cop. “We can’t resist her.” He looked to Estrella. “It’s all you, Rodriguez, unless one of us can remain out of her range.”

  And her range is quite large for an IW telepath, Geoffrey chimed in. If I were to guess she might be an S ranked IW.

  Weaponized?

  It would appear so and would explain why she was able to control the minds of the pilots. Piper is a weaponized IW and deceived us all, including my scans.

  Federation refugee my ass.

  Piper was the enemy from the east, and had infiltrated the Alliance, and was seconds away from snatching Ray, whatever his involvement in the chaos that’d gripped the nation was. If Ray wasn’t working with the Federation, she was probably here to extract intel from him, then kill him for what he knew and experienced in New York. Estrella went running, not stopping to let the others keep up with her. The cyborg bones in her legs gave her speeds that’d put Olympic runners to shame. She had to stop this.

  Estrella was in the foyer when she came to a stop. Her head moved left to right searching and saw nothing but a crowd of passengers leaving to catch taxis, or head to the parking lot. From the corner of her eye, she spotted a lone figure with no baggage. It might have been Ray, if only she could get a glance at his face for a scan. The best Geoffrey could do was a body scan, the data displayed over her eyes. It was a perfect height match for Ray.

  Her lips opened to make the call. No words came out.
She saw the crowd ahead of him part as if they were the Red Sea. It was like the crowd was ordered to stop where they were and give the man, which could be Ray, safe passage.

  A telepath got into their heads and gave the order.

  Estrella sprinted to the anomaly then stopped when the crowd closed in tight, swallowing up the lone man that stepped through. Piper’s powers were something else. She continued anyway, pushing past the hordes of men and women almost standing shoulder to shoulder, forming a human barricade.

  “I think I found Ray!” she yelled, not surprised the crowd didn’t react to her voice.

  She broke through the crowd and gave the man she’d been chasing a second look. Half his face had tilted to the side, watching two armed AIT members stand idle. Whispers of concerns echoed from the crowd with their minds now free. The half face of the man was just enough for her to get a facial scan. The results populated her vision.

  Name: Ray Partington

  Age: 25

  Species: Human

  Occupation: Alliance Star journalist

  Notes: Suspect in JFK International attack

  The profile had changed to a fake one half a second later, likely a result of some hack Ray was using. Most humans wouldn’t have noticed the quick change. Good thing Estrella wasn’t human and had an AI that captured the original loaded profile.

  “He’s here, everyone to my location!”

  The armed AIT men backed away, letting him escape.

  Geoffrey updated the mini-map at the top right corner of her vision, a top-down map of the terminal. Numerous red dots appeared at its edges, sprinting to the yellow dot that was her. Two new dots appeared ahead of hers on the map, Ray was one, and the other was an RW woman he was approaching, Piper.

  “Get roadblocks set up,” Estrella added as she ran forward. “I think they’re making a break for it.”

  Piper grabbed Ray using her synthetic arm. There was no way he could break free from the cyborg grip. The reluctance in his body language suggested he was about to receive something he didn’t sign up for. Estrella kept running, shoving the crowd of curious onlookers aside.

  Piper and Ray vanished beyond the glass doors and sunshine. Estrella didn’t wait for backup that was coming in according to the mini-map. Then again, what was the point? Only Estrella had the power to resist mind control now that Geoffrey knew of Piper’s brainwave patterns.

  She joined Ray and Piper outside. The wanted duo had two cops walking closely with them as an escort. Neither of the cops had mentioned anything on the comm lines. She thought about asking them why they were escorting Piper and Ray. She also knew asking a stupid question during a time like this wasn’t helping anyone.

  Estrella checked the status of her weapon, an SS Foldable 67 as her combat HUD loaded. Its bullet count and spare ammo status flashed at the bottom left of her vision. It wasn’t the best weapon, but it’d get the job done. That and she lacked raw material for something with better range.

  Geoffrey, activate Defense Matrix.

  Understood.

  She felt the utility nanites within her swarm about, creating a physical barrier, hardening her body to prepare for physical trauma. Her bones became unbreakable, the fabric in her clothing toughened like it was Kevlar as the NC gauntlet glowed and hissed. She quickly pulled two nanotubes from her arm that split open, injecting herself with them, her HUD automatically informed her of the current count.

  Nanite swarm(s) remaining: 2

  Technically she had six utility swarms inside her, but four were committed to Defense Matrix. Estrella was in combat mode now. A targeting reticle appeared over her eyes as she drew her gun and reluctantly aimed it at the back of Piper’s head.

  Her heart wasn’t sure how to react. Her lips, however, were. “Piper!”

  She stood, holding her pistol steady, wincing as the red laser sight put a dot on Piper’s face as she spun. Piper took aim back with her drawn weapon, as did the two mind-controlled cops. Ray’s body language became uneasy.

  Estrella snarled. “Drop it.” Piper’s weapon remained her in grasp. Fury made Estrella’s lips curl. “I said drop it! Step away from Ray!”

  “You first.” Piper’s free hand began to glow white. She waved it a circular motion.

  Incoming mind control, Estrella.

  You can block it, right?

  I already have. You are safe to proceed.

  Her mind was free from Piper’s control. Piper didn’t look pleased to see that. Estrella tapped her head and added. “I know what you are, Piper.”

  “Well, that’s a pity.” Piper’s glowing fingers snapped. The two mind-controlled cops rushed forward. “I really wished this could have ended better between us. I really, really do.”

  Hostile humans detected, Estrella. Temporarily disabling human protection protocols.

  Geoffrey predicted the cops were reaching for their trigger. So, Estrella went for hers, aiming for limbs and hands. Triggers from both sides got pulled at once. Echoing gun claps sent civilians running, and cars speeding away. She glimpsed Ray run for a taxicab. For some reason, the cab had backed up into the fight, rather than away from it. Ray leaped up and slid over the hood and took cover behind the vehicle.

  He was safe for now, Estrella, not so much. She was standing out in the open with no cover in sight. Every bullet fired at her, hit.

  Thirty-Six

  Ray

  Minutes earlier …

  Piper said nothing at first. She turned away from the crowd and security forces while marching for the exit. Ray remained still, second-guessing every action.

  “Let’s go,” Piper called.

  He shook his head fiercely. “No, wait! How the fuck does an RW pack a trick like that—”

  She sighed, ran, and grabbed his arm, forcibly dragging him outside with her. He tried to break free, but it was Piper’s synthetic hand that held him. Her cyborg grip was like handcuffs.

  “Long story,” she finally spoke.

  Radiating sunlight made his eyes squint, increasing the buildup of moisture on his forehead, and raising the temperature of his body, no longer embraced by the air-conditioned airport. He saw various LAPD and AIT vehicles idle in the parking lot, setting up checkpoints, and searching cars that were leaving. This was all for him and the memory sphere in his pocket.

  Arianna … what did you do?

  Two policemen approached the duo. Piper’s white glowing hands tapped her head. The two policemen lowered their pistols and walked with Ray and Piper, shoulder to shoulder as if they were bodyguards. Their mind-controlled faces asked no questions. Ray locked his eyes into Piper, his glasses linked with his phone and tablet did the rest, conducting a facial scan of her. The data sent back wasn’t useful at all, though the detection of her RW cyberware implants was confirmed, just not the serial number, oddly enough.

  Piper was like the IWs that attacked New York, and her powers had been hidden behind her veil of RW cyberware. She was an IW with cyberware, further proof that somewhere across the ocean, someone created the ultimate cyber witch. And the personnel at the morgue in New York were hours away from figuring out who and why, until the Federation IW black operatives silenced them. Federation … Piper was from New Zealand, Federation territory.

  Ray, Piper, and their mind-controlled police escort made it to the bottom of the stairs. The parking lot was less than a minute away according to Ray’s glasses. Somewhere out there was Piper’s high-powered sports car. He hoped he’d be in the passenger’s seat and not the trunk. Ray was minutes away from finding out.

  “Piper!”

  They stopped when the sound of a weapon drawing and cocking came. Estrella Rodriguez stood behind with both her hands wrapped around her pistol taking aim at Piper. Estrella’s NC gauntlet was primed, its lights flashing, and ready to release nanite swarms.

  Piper drew a weapon of her own. Its red laser light pointed at Estrella’s chest. She didn’t move an inch, neither did Piper.

  “Drop it,” Estrella demand
ed. Piper continued aiming. “I said drop it! Step away from Ray!”

  Piper sneered. “You first.” Then waved her glowing hands at Estrella. Nothing happened. Piper’s smirk turned to a cringe.

  Estrella chuckled. “I know what you are, Piper.”

  “Well, that’s a pity.” Piper snapped her fingers. The two mind-control police escorts sprung to action like puppets. Their weapons became the second and then third guns pointed at Estrella. “I really wished this could have ended better between us. I really, really do.”

  There was some shouting from Estrella, and then Piper. Ray wasn’t sure who had fired first, he was too busy looking for a means to survive the bullet barrage. There wasn’t any cover he could see, other than an idle taxicab that his glasses informed him was a vulnerable target. It was too far for him to run to, however. Then he remembered his botnet access.

  Ray ran in a straight line, keeping his head low when his eardrums picked up the crackling sounds of bullets. The taxi was an automated vehicle with a vulnerable icon hovering next to it, seen from his glasses when he faced it. His phone came into his hands, flicking through to a vehicle hacking app.

  Remote Vehicle Hack

  Take control of vehicles or small aircraft with an autopilot mode.

  Access to the taxi’s AI was granted when his botnet kicked down the security lockouts. A push of a button on the screen sent the taxi in reverse, right to where he was running. Ray’s cover from stray bullets had arrived.

  He leaped and slid across the rear hood of the taxi, landing perfectly on his feet when he reached the other side. Ray ducked immediately as the gunfight, between Estrella and Piper with her mind-controlled policemen continued. His eyes caught the end of the fight. Estrella was on her back, arms, and legs, laid out across the ground. Screaming onlookers fled in every direction, cars with humans at the wheel mashed the gas.

  Piper remained standing, lowering her smoking pistol. A dejected cringe stuck to her face full of regretful emotions. It looked as if she had to put down her beloved pet. Ray wasn’t sure what connection Piper and Estrella had, but whatever it was, it was officially broken, and she wasn’t happy about it.