“They were pretty good. I guess you can catch a few minutes of them,” Kaiden chided. “Where have you been?”
“Waiting on Mack to finish his third serving,” Otto mumbled.
The vanguard held his hands up defensively. “Hey, I wanted to make sure I have the energy for the test. I walk around in heavy armor with a giant cannon. Come on.”
“It’s all good, Mack. We’re here and we’re in the third group.” Otto sat and kicked his feet up. “Which means we’ll kick it here while you two go and do your thing.”
“Just me, buddy.” The ace thumbed at himself. “Chiyo missed this round. But at least you only have to focus on me. It spares the awkwardness of having to ignore the others.”
“You’d better have a hell of a good run for all the smack you’re talking right now,” Mack challenged.
He smiled as he walked past the group toward the door. “Maybe you haven’t noticed because of all the times I’ve been busy saving your ass…” He turned and saluted. “But I always have a damn good game.”
Chapter Thirteen
The Animus booted up the map with a brilliant white flash that filled his vision for a few seconds. Kaiden landed with a jolt and immediately noted his new location. He was surrounded by jungle with the rush of water as a backtrack somewhere behind him punctuated by… He frowned as he tried to identify what could only be defined as a crackle.
His gaze settled on the smoldering remains of a ship. Pieces of metal spiraled downward as smoke billowed overhead. “Are flaming ships my calling card now?”
“Better than being your epitaph.” Chief chuckled.
The ace pushed through the underbrush and inspected the ship. “Do you see anything?”
“Yeah, a downed ship.”
“Helpful, smartass,” he grumbled. “I mean are there any tech or supplies we can salvage?”
“There are bodies to your left.”
“What?” He spun and noticed three bodies on the ground. One was missing a leg, and the trio’s armor and helmets had all sustained varying degrees of damage. He knelt beside one who lay face-down, flipped him over, and recoiled when the visor of the helmet fell off to reveal the face within. Although covered in smoke and blood, the features were twisted with terror.
“Lord, what happened to these poor bastards?” The chest of the corpse carried a World Council logo. This was replicated on what was left of the side of the ship’s hull, although partially obscured by the smoke. “Do you think this is a reenactment?”
“That’s always possible, but you would think that would be a bit tough, even for a final,” Chief observed. “Then again, maybe if it is, they want to see how the mission could have gone if someone actually survived the crash.”
“Can you look it up on the net?” Kaiden asked as he patted the bodies in search of supplies.
“Nope, it’s a test, remember? That would constitute cheating.”
The ace rolled his eyes as he moved to the second body. “Yeah, because when you’re out in the jungle running down a terrorist commander, it would be poor sportsmanship to look up your— Gah!” He recoiled and drew Debonair as the body lurched forward and swiped at him. The man wheezed and coughed as he sagged once again, and his chest rose and fell painfully with his ragged breaths. One eye, visible through a crack in his visor, rolled up to look at Kaiden.
“You…finally activated? Good.” he wheezed. “The camp is…two clicks south… Give them…a thrashing for us.” He took one last breath before his eye fluttered and closed.
“What the hell?” he asked, bewildered. “Activated?”
“That’s something of a weird premise.” Chief sounded as confused as he felt.
“We have a destination now, I guess.” He stood and shook his head. “I’ll have to make do with what I have.”
“Which is only your guns and a few thermals since they locked your loadout,” Chief reminded him.
“Yeah. That’s a real pain in the ass, but I guess that’s the point.”
“Let’s get to it. We gotta eliminate the boss and blow the outpost to hell.” The EI noticed that he looked around rather wistfully. “What are you lookin’ at?”
“I’m taking in the sights, is all,” he explained with a shrug. “It reminds me of the Amazon.”
“Do you really think they would send you back there so soon?”
“It’s been months. I gotta get over it.” He holstered Debonair with a decisive motion. “Ready, partner?”
“You bet I—huh?” The EI interrupted himself and his eye scanned around in Kaiden’s HUD.
“What’s wrong?” the ace asked. He immediately drew his rifle and primed it.
“You didn’t see that?”
Kaiden looked around but saw nothing but foliage. “See what?”
Chief’s eye narrowed. “Nothin’…I guess.”
“Do you think he’s catching on?” Sasha asked.
Laurie looked pensively at the screen. “That pilot’s last words…he said ‘activated.’”
“They both caught that, but I think they believe they are merely in a recreated simulation or didn’t pay it any mind.”
“Those involved in these projects have explicit instructions not to do or say anything that could create suspicion in those who are undergoing the tests.” The professor downed another glass but of water this time. Although he tried to hide it, two of his fingers trembled. His concern was changing to either worry or anger.
“He was dying, so it’s not like he could be reprimanded at this point.” Sasha sighed. “We’re lucky the homunculus was still able to be activated at all. Ironically, they seem to be more durable than their creators.”
“Another point for them,” Laurie muttered. “All things considered, we are lucky, I suppose. This mission should be rather easy for Kaiden. In fact, I would almost say its cheating in comparison to the other tests.”
“Silver linings. We look for them in dark moments.”
“Please, keep your poetic musings to yourself,” the professor snarked and refilled his glass with a few ice cubes and more water. “I’m better at it anyway.”
“I felt it was apropos,” the commander said lightly. “I estimate that this should only take Kaiden around two hours to complete.”
“Hopefully sooner, considering his talent for wanton destruction.” Laurie leaned back and tilted his head as his eyes narrowed. “Assuming nothing goes wrong, he’ll do fine. I know it.”
“Hurry the hell up!” Gin screamed in his head as the loading indicator on the screen inched ever closer to one-hundred percent. This was a stupid plan with too many variables and too many chances to get caught. What the hell was he thinking when he put all this together? Zubanz might have been right. He should have simply—
In a flash, the screen went dark. The killer felt a chill of concern but smiled when it reactivated after a second or two. A prompt from the BREW device notified him that the virus was ready, and he looked at Kaiden’s picture one last time.
This was a great plan.
Cyra made her way through the plaza toward the tech center to inform the professor personally that she couldn’t find or reach Raynor. A call notification popped up onscreen.
“Hello? This is Lead Infiltrator Cyra, how can I—”
“Cyra, this is Officer Duke.” Although the man obviously made an effort to remain calm, she detected hints of real fright. “Your partner, Raynor Wilson, is dead.”
For a few moments, she froze in stunned shock but shook it off and sprinted to the building. “When did it happen? This morning? Was he sick?”
“No, ma’am, you don’t understand. He was killed. We found his body in a storage closet. He’s been dead for about a day.”
“But Laurie talked to him last night,” she protested, her mind racing. “Have you contacted him?”
“Negative. We tried but he didn’t answer.”
“Dammit. I’ll go to him now. You need to inform the directors.” She signed out as the doors to th
e lobby of the tech building slid open and she bolted toward the elevators.
Gin stared at the console, his expression resolute as he inputted his final commands. He walked to the back of it and checked the BREW device. This was it. With a satisfied smile, he pressed the button on the top and the light turned white and then red. It wasn’t blood, but the color was at least similar. In the circumstances, it would do.
He resisted the urge to look at the screen one final time as he slid his hands into the pockets of his lab coat and strolled out of the mainframe room. He was passing the Animus level seven hundred halls when a message on his visor confirmed that the virus had now downloaded and activated. The lights above the doors flickered and shut off temporarily, and he smiled.
Gin so badly wanted to revel in the chaos and actually enjoy what he’d unleashed, but he had places to be now.
“Professor!” Cyra shouted as she entered Laurie’s domain.
He turned with a startled look. “My word, Cyra, you look like—”
“Raynor is dead.”
“What?” he shouted, aghast, and both he and Sasha pushed from their chairs. “I just saw him—”
“Last night, I know. I told that to the officer who informed me. He said his body was found in a storage unit. He was killed about a day ago.”
“Someone was murdered on campus?” Sasha looked at Laurie, his expression instantly somber. “You don’t think—”
“Professor, I read an anomaly from the Animus mainframe,” Aurora informed them abruptly.
“What sort of anomaly?” Laurie questioned.
“It doesn’t matter, Professor. Egon is in the mainframe and he can deal with it. We have to worry about Raynor’s death,” Cyra reminded him.
“Egon? I know you said you saw him, but that’s not possible. I checked and he hasn’t been to work in days. He was on sabbatical,” Laurie informed her. “Someone else was scheduled for oversight on the uploads. Are you sure it was him?”
“In the mainframe room—didn’t you see us talking on the cams?”
Laurie turned his monitor to show her the screens. “I haven’t seen anything. For the last several hours, it’s been empty.”
Cyra now wore a look of confusion. “I swear, I was there less than an hour ago. He said he would monitor the mainframe since Raynor wasn’t there.”
“There is a power fluctuation in the Animus Center,” Aurora warned. “The system is crashing.”
“What?” Laurie yelled as he scrambled into his seat and adjusted his monitor. “What is the cause?”
“Unknown at this time, but systems are shutting down and the code has been corrupted,” the EI explained.
“The entire code? The Animus code? No one could do something like that so quickly or without attracting notice, not even me.”
“Some sort of cyber warfare suite maybe?” Cyra asked as she approached the professor’s side.
Sasha raised a finger to the side of his oculars. “Wolfson you need to… Of course you’ve heard about the murder, but something is also happening at the Animus Center. We don’t know yet but get your officers together and send some to the AC for evacuation. Then, comb the island for potential intruders.” He signed out and looked at Laurie, his expression cold and serious. “I’ll head over there. Let me know what you find when—”
“Sasha, look at Kaiden!” Laurie interjected harshly.
When the commander looked at the screen, the ace was doubled over in pain as the world around him began to disappear.
Chapter Fourteen
“Kaiden, what’s wrong?” Chief asked as the ace writhed on the ground, grasped his helmet with one hand, and used the other to try to pull it off.
“My head is pounding,” he screamed before he finally managed to release the notches and dragged the helmet free. “What’s going on? I can’t see.”
“There’s something wrong with the Animus. The map is disappearing—wait…no, it looks like that’s what’s happening, but everything is staying as is?” Chief narrowed his single eye at the outlines of a grid. It appeared that the Animus was powering down but instead of the sky, flora, and ground disappearing, they remained in place. “If there is some sort of emergency, there should be an automatic desync… Hold on partner, I’ll get us…out…of…”
“Chief?” Kaiden gasped as Chief’s avatar flickered in and out on the screen. “Are you okay? Or has my vision gone weird?”
“I don’t…this isn’t…normal.” The EI regained his form after a few minutes during which he faded in and out. “I’ve had to increase our sync because something is trying to pull us apart. This isn’t normal, Kaiden.”
“No shit,” he mumbled. His head felt like it would split at any second. “We need to call this off.”
“I don’t think that is an option anymore,” Chief warned grimly. “The games are over. We’re actually under attack here, Kaiden, and when I look around, I don’t think this was ever a game, to be honest.”
Chiyo and the group barreled into the Animus Center as other students raced out. “Which hall was Kaiden in?” Silas asked.
“Five hundred and three,” the infiltrator shouted in response. “We need to hurry—use the stairs.”
“We’ll make way,” Mack said as he, Luke, and Marlo forged ahead to shove the retreating students aside so they could make a sprinted ascent.
“What do you think is going on?” Amber asked.
“I have no idea, but Kaiden seemed to be in considerable pain,” Izzy huffed as they reached level three.
“It looked similar to the early simulations with the Tsuna,” Genos told them. “When nearly all were rejected and couldn’t properly sync with the system at first, they would fall to the floor and complain of headaches.”
“All the more reason to hurry,” Jaxon stated grimly. “If something like that is happening now, with Kaiden showing no previous signs of any issue, something is definitely very wrong.”
“There’s a tech,” Flynn shouted, and the group descended on the man. “What’s gone wrong?” the marksman demanded.
“Hmm? Issues with the Animus,” the man explained but sounded rather casual. “But I imagine you’ve already worked that out for yourselves.”
“Why is this not an issue to you?” Luke pushed forward, his tone angry. “This is the first time the system has had a problem in decades.”
“It was a good run wasn’t it?” he remarked, and his steps didn’t slow at all. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to report to the tech department and all that.”
“Wait!” Chiyo called. “Our friend is still in there. All the other students look like they were ejected but something is wrong with his simulation.”
The tech merely smiled blandly. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.” With a final wave, he turned his back on them and headed down the stairs.
“What the— What a dick,” Flynn spat. “Fine, to hell with him. Let’s get to the hall.”
Gin hurried down the final flight of stairs and turned into the lobby, where a group of security officers escorted students out. He passed them without a backward glance and stepped into the courtyard, a pleased smile on his face as he kept his head slightly lowered so he didn’t have to make eye contact with anyone.
That smile, however, turned into an annoyed frown when someone blocked his path.
Commander Sasha stood in his way and seemed to have done so deliberately.
“Afternoon, Commander. I’m sorry if I seem abrupt but I need to get to the lab. There are problems with the Animus, as I’m sure you’ve heard.”
Sasha scowled, anger evident on his face despite the fact that his eyes were hidden by the oculars. “I have, and I also know you seem to be the one to blame.”
“What gives you that idea?” the killer asked but barely made the effort to even try to sound genuine. “And if you’re right, do you really want to do this here?” He removed one hand from his pocket, ready to draw Macha sheathed on the back of his waist in an instant.
“W
hat did you do to Raynor?” the commander demanded. “And to the real Egon for that matter?”
“Different executions but the same effect.” He shrugged, the gesture off-hand and uncaring. “Although I was in something of a bind with the infiltrator, of course. It happened during a time where I actually cared whether I got caught or not. But it worked out in the end.”
A gun barrel pressed against the back of his head. Ignoring the implicit threat, Gin turned with apparent unconcern and smiled at the giant man with a blond, slightly graying beard and a long mane of hair. Several security guards stood behind him. “Officer Wolfson, I presume?” he asked with a smile. “Magellan has told me about you. I suppose I should say ‘hi’ on his behalf.”
“I’ll tell him that I’m sorry I took his kill,” Wolfson replied, his tone angry and mocking. “Do you have any idea how much of a fool you are for coming here?”
“This time or the first time?” the killer asked and slid his hand from his pocket. The weapons aimed at him primed in response. “I guess the ruse is up at this point, no?” He shrugged, deactivated the Wormwood device, and revealed his face. A confident smirk contrasted with sharp silver eyes, and his close-cut white hair gleamed in the sun. He flicked his other hand to unfold his oculars and place them on his face. “Do you really think this will work? I have a reputation for getting out of nearly impossible situati—”
Wolfson pulled the trigger and a blast collided with Gin’s temple, knocked him down, and rolled him across the courtyard. The students nearby who weren’t aware of the standoff startled in surprise and stared at the body.
Sasha snapped his attention to his colleague, his expression questioning. “I wasn’t gonna waste the chance,” the large man muttered and held his hand cannon up as if in explanation.
“Boss, look,” another guard shouted. Wolfson and Sasha whirled and gaped as the intruder stood and grinned cheekily. His face should have been shredded from a blast like that, but his smile was still in place, along with a shimmering purple shield around his body.
Animus Boxed Set 2 (Books 5-8): Revenant, Glitch, Master, Infiltration Page 32
