Animus Boxed Set 2 (Books 5-8): Revenant, Glitch, Master, Infiltration

by Joshua Anderle

  “Good morning, students—or should I say, advas?” he greeted, his tone crisp and business-like. “We are fast approaching the end of your second year. You have fought hard, learned much, and have paved your own road over this long year. Now, it is time to continue that determination and climb once more.”

  “You know, at first, I found these speeches inspiring. Now, I wonder if he’s reading off cue cards,” Kaiden snarked but Chiyo stared at him with a no-nonsense look and a finger on her lips.

  “You are now upperclassmen and have students who look up to you and follow your example. I believe you have all risen to that challenge very well, for the most part. But in the next year, you will deal with greater trials as you claim the title of master—not a title to be taken lightly, and one that you will have to earn using the accumulated knowledge and training you have thus far. This, of course, begins with your upcoming final.” He looked at the crowd with a smile. “Which, I would guess, is the reason most of you look so anxious.”

  Some of the students proclaimed agreement loudly. Durand nodded and raised a hand to quiet them as he continued. “This Academy has earned its elite reputation for the kind of men and women we raise, and if you were to balk or leave in fear, I doubt you would have been here, to begin with.” His face turned solemn for a moment before it relaxed again as quickly. “Which leads me to discuss your finals for this year. In the spirit of the title of master, you will show that you are indeed on your way to mastering your class. As such, the finals will be a ‘throwback’ of sorts.” The chancellor looked around the auditorium, his audience now utterly silent. “Your tests will be done solo, and your victory is in your hands alone.”

  The face on the holoscreens faded away to make way for the profiles of the various students that scrolled continuously.

  “Unfortunately, not all three-hundred students made it to the end of this year, but the two hundred and eighty-two of you who are still here have earned your place. The sand is always shifting, however, and I hope all of you know when it’s time to move to stable ground.”

  “What’s he on about?” Flynn wondered aloud.

  Kaiden glanced at him and shrugged. “I haven’t the foggiest notion. He’s probably trying to build up some mystique.”

  “It’s rather odd that we’ve gone back to solo tests considering that all the tests this year has been team-based,” Silas noted.

  “I suppose that just as team skills are important, they can also lead to over-reliance,” Chiyo reasoned. “This is a way to show that we haven’t forgotten our personal training.”

  “You should leave this theater and immediately head to the Animus Center and the training grounds, search through tablets in the library, and do everything you can to prepare yourselves for this test,” the chancellor stated, fierce determination in his eyes. “You have one week. What happens between then and now is up to you. But you have all proven yourselves thus far and all those on this stage and in this school believe that you will continue to do so. You are Nexus students. You have earned that distinction, but it will only mean something once you graduate and we know that both you and I have done our jobs.”

  As the crowd began to chatter and shout approvingly in response, the holoscreens disappeared. Kaiden removed his legs from the railing and leaned over for a closer look at Durand, who stood confidently in the center of the stage. “Prepare yourselves, future masters. Bring those talents to the forefront and claim your success.”

  Chapter Five

  “Hey, Egon, how’s it going?” an advisor said in greeting, and her face was scanned quickly for instant identification. Advisor Faraji.

  “I am doing well, thank you, advisor,” Egon stated pleasantly as he passed her. She turned and caught up to walk side by side with him down the hall, a smile on her face.

  “So, what brings you to the AC?” she asked pleasantly. “We don’t see you here often. Are we getting a new update?”

  “Sometime soon, perhaps,” he responded and gave her a casual glance. “Right now, I’m simply taking a look around. I don’t spend as much time here as I should. I need to make sure I remember my old stomping grounds.”

  “Well, it’s nice of you to drop by,” she stated. “If you have any free time later, I’d love to pick your brain—metaphorically, of course. It would probably take hours if I wanted to go through it and check every nook and cranny.”

  Egon permitted himself a small chuckle at the bizarre joke. “You flatter me, Advisor.”

  “You can call me Akello, Egon. We’re not so formal around here.” She paused at one of the Animus pod halls. “I have to set up for the day, but it was nice to see you.”

  “Likewise. Have a pleasant day.”

  She waved casually and as she turned away, he heard her whisper, “I made him giggle.”

  Man, this Egon guy must have been a real downer, the killer thought. Maybe he’d actually done them all a favor by taking his place.

  He grinned and continued to the mainframe.

  Gin held his stolen security chip to the mainframe’s entrance. As it opened, he waved his hand and activated the blackout—his pet name for the mod Vinci had created—to be sure to strike his name from the list of people who accessed the area and hide him from the cameras and sensors in the room. He had to be careful, though. If he taxed it too much, he could overload it or worse, and now would not be a good time for that.

  He entered a large room that contained dozens if not hundreds of terminals and servers. Wire and cables daisy-chained between them and the low overhead lighting above was offset only by the multitudes of lights that glowed from the equipment itself.

  Even with his mission in mind, he took a moment to look around in awe at the sight. This was the heart of the Animus.

  And, he reminded himself smugly, it would lead him directly into the mind of Kaiden Jericho.

  His focus restored, he wandered down the corridor between servers and monitors. These were connected to particular halls or had distinct functions related to the process, and as much as he liked to be thorough, they were too specific for what he needed.

  Rather than allow himself to be distracted by the possibilities they presented, he made steadfastly to the end and the central station. He smiled, having reached his real destination.

  “Dr. Fallon, might I ask what we are doing here?” Egon’s EI asked.

  “A personal job, Kaydik.” Gin answered in the professor’s low-toned voice, although with considerably more mirth than was typical for the man. “I intend to put on a show for this Academy.”

  “Doing anything to the central station is inadvisable, Doctor,” Kaydik warned. “Even minor changes could have disastrous consequences, and you have also not advised other technicians of your plans. I believe we should consult with Professor Laurie before you do anything that—”

  The killer removed the oculars and traced his finger along them to activate blackout. Using the HUD in his personal ocular contacts, he reconfigured the EI before he replaced the oculars.

  “How can I be of service, Gin?” it asked, the tone neutral and the life-like inflections normal for EIs now stripped away.

  “For now, sit pretty,” he ordered as he retrieved the BREW device from his coat pocket. “I’ll take care of everything.”

  He examined the console, looking for an outlet in which to insert the device before he smacked his own head with real irritation. “Duh,” he muttered, pressed the switch on top of the tech, and placed it on the panel.

  The BREW device immediately connected to Gin’s oculars. He looked at the mainframe and selected it as the target, and the device set to work.

  It truly was amazing, he thought proudly—like an infiltrator in a bauble and a very, very good infiltrator at that. The monitor on the central station came to life and screens and panels flashed quickly as the BREW device made its way into the system. What could have taken him hours with the extremely high risk of discovery was literally completed in seconds.

  The screen
froze to display a multitude of options. Gin smiled in anticipation. “Open directory,” he ordered, and another panel dropped down. “Search for Kaiden Jericho.”

  In a couple of seconds, the student’s personnel file and Animus clearance flashed on the screen, and the killer’s smile widened. It was time for the BREW device to fulfill its real purpose.

  “Activate the revenant virus,” he stated with a theatrical snap of his fingers. He had already prepared it, so that should reduce the time necessary for it to upload. The infiltration device would take care of all the incidentals and hiccups.

  He scowled when a red warning sign appeared in his HUD and for a moment, he wondered if he’d overestimated the tech’s efficiency. It did seem too good to be true.

  More than a little disgruntled, he studied the message to discover that it was less of a warning and more of a troubleshooting guide. The short version was that the virus couldn’t be uploaded without properly syncing with the intended target, blah, blah, blah…it would need integration with specific parameters…uh huh…synchro variable? What the hell?

  Gin read the specifics once again and reasoned through each line. Essentially, the problem seemed to come down to the fact that it required a connection with the target—one that would require time to develop and for Kaiden to remain in the Animus for a while so that it could target him specifically. Otherwise, the virus would simply disrupt the entire system and do squat but get him found out and maybe shut the Animus system down for a while.

  There were other options, he decided as he stroked his chin and considered them. One was that he was already in the Academy so he could simply stab him and be done with it.

  “Gin is… Because of you, he is…”

  Placido’s voice resonated in some quiet space within, sad and desperate but full of rage. It floated in his mind and clawed at the memories so long hidden. He tried to shake it loose and force the memories to disappear, but more seemed to flow through that single hazy crack in his stone-hard control.

  …he felt a warmth in him at the kindness the ace had displayed as the area turned white and they were de-synced.

  The killer looked up and around at the mainframe as if to find something on which to anchor his wayward emotions. The awe he’d felt earlier was slowly replaced by anger as more memories swirled. He focused on the console once more and homed in on the BREW device. This wasn’t only about Kaiden—not anymore.

  He wanted to show them that they were not safe there, that this wasn’t the Nexus that showed the world the best it could be. This was the Nexus that couldn’t keep its students safe—the Nexus that had created him.

  “Copy Kaiden Jericho’s ID number and Animus access code,” he instructed, and his little miracle tech complied immediately. “Set those as your target. It’ll be piece by piece, but you’ll have your connection.”

  The display flashed again as Kaiden’s picture came on screen. He studied it and wondered at the parallels. The student was about Gin’s age when he’d left, and both were no stranger to violence at that age in their lives. He took a few steps back as he continued his scrutiny of the image. Fate can certainly be a bitch, can’t it, Kaiden? He had always known he would come back one day and had he promised himself that a few times over the years. Now, there he was, originally at the behest of someone else but there all the same.

  On some level, Gin wondered if he would have even considered a plan like this without everything that had happened. Probably not, but it was no real fault of his own. It merely wasn’t his style. But now that the opportunity with all its delicious possibilities was in his grasp, what would happen would be much worse than simply coming back and causing a little violence. He intended to shake this Academy down to its very foundation, albeit more metaphorically than literally.

  After all, what was the point of coming to Nexus for the Animus if the Animus was its own breed of nightmare?

  Another notification flashed on the screen to confirm that everything was in place and instructing him to install the BREW device.

  He allowed himself one last look at Kaiden’s face before he turned the knob on the small piece of tech. Carefully, he placed it on the rear of the console and the wires unfurled to attach itself securely. A bright white light glowed for a moment before it changed to green and finally, red.

  The trap was in place and now, it simply needed the bait. That, he thought smugly, would come soon.

  As Gin left the mainframe, he turned at the door and activated blackout once again to remove any possible trace that he had been there.

  In time, of course, they would certainly know. It would merely be too late.

  Chapter Six

  The ace flung himself aside as Wolfson barreled forward, then immediately spun to fire another force shot from the hand-cannon. It struck the giant in the arm and the man stumbled sideways. He recovered well, however, and whirled as he snatched a bola from his belt and threw it with lethal aim. The soldier fired instinctively, and the force of the blast hurtled it back to swipe it past Wolfson’s head.

  “So, did you miss me after all this time?” Kaiden asked with a bemused grin. “I guess so—you brought the launcher out again. It’s been weeks.”

  The head officer scoffed, raised his weapon, and fired two impact grenades. The ace ducked behind one of the compact walls on the training floor a split second before the ordnance detonated and created a wave of force behind the barrier. Kaiden peeked over cautiously and fired another force shot. It impacted the man squarely in his chest, although it seemed to do less damage than the injury to the arm.

  “You chose a really crappy weapon,” Chief chided.

  “They are all practice weapons, so it’s not like the heat or shock weapons would be any better,” he countered. “Besides, it’s not like he’s done much better—Jesus!” He jerked back as a dumbbell rocketed past. “Are you trying to kill me?”

  “Pay attention, idiot,” Wolfson retorted. “You don’t come around for a few weeks and suddenly, you’ve fallen back on all your bad habits. Knock the rust off, boyo.”

  “I’d rather knock you off, you stupid, gigantic, beard-head,” he shouted with spite and vigor as he charged.

  “Excellent playground taunting. Now, fight on par with that and we might make some progress.”

  “Good of you to give me a warning beforehand—really generous of you,” his adversary scoffed as he aimed his launcher downward and fired another impact round at the floor directly in front of Kaiden. It went off and knocked the soldier back. “I guess I’ll share something in exchange. I only have a few shots left.” The giant opened the launcher and retrieved four grenades from his pouch. “And when I’m done with these, should you survive, I’ll come for you personally.”

  “For the love of God, I hope it’s not a bear hug.”

  Wolfson took aim with his launcher in a desultory fashion.

  “Stop blathering and show me what else you have. I’ll take you down today,” the ace retorted acidly.

  “Puff your out chest a little more. That’ll really sell it,” Chief suggested sarcastically.

  “Come on, big guy. Are you simply gonna stare at me with a face only a fist could love?” He jabbed his fist in mock punches to make his point. “I’d be happy to oblige if you’re lookin’ for a little—”

  “Uh—he looks pissed off,” the EI pointed out as the head officer quietly loaded his launcher with his remaining rounds. “Granted, that could be the normal Wolfson resting face, but you might wanna hoof it.”

  “Let’s see what he has,” he proclaimed boldly as he aimed his hand cannon at his opponent, who did the same.

  “Why are you so calm about this?” Chief protested.

  “Firing!” Wolfson shouted and immediately dispatched three rounds. His target was able to knock two out of the air, but one whizzed past his head. Kaiden gained a cocky grin, but the giant merely grinned in response and pointed behind him. The ace whirled as the grenade bounced off a pillar and boomeranged back to him.<
br />
  “Dammit,” he yelped and glanced around frantically. A holobarrier sprang from the ground and he flung himself over it as the projectile landed a few yards away. Thankfully, he managed to escape the main blast but was temporarily blinded when the grenade detonated. He crouched low and clutched his arm in an attempt to ease the searing pain that bit into his flesh.

  Kaiden grimaced. “Ow, what the hell?”

  “Flare grenade. It creates a bright light and a heat wave. Barriers don’t stop those.”

  “Right…right, damn…” He growled his displeasure and sat. “Still, some forewarning would have been nice. He used basic practice rounds before.” He scrambled to his feet and hopped in place for a moment as his body spasmed slightly from the shock.

  Chief’s eye narrowed. “Hey, you were the one who wanted to see what he had,” he reminded him. “Besides, that was a practice round—technically.”

  “All I said was I wanted something a little different. I didn’t realize that was on the table.”

  “This is not going well for you,” the EI muttered.

  “I’ve noticed,” Kaiden retorted and rubbed his arm. “But wait until you see this—”

  As Wolfson pulled the trigger and launched the final grenade, the ace vaulted up and fired while in motion. A blast from his weapon struck the grenade squarely and the device bounced off the mat at an angle, directly at the giant. Before he could rejoice over his certain victory, his adversary simply caught the grenade and lobbed it behind him a split second before it exploded.

  “Oh, shit,” Kaiden muttered.

  “I’ll give you the points for skill and say that was impressive,” Chief conceded. “But what he did was off the charts.”