Killswitch Chronicles- The Complete Anthology

by G. R. Carter

  Memories of the conversation with Bishop Hart about his doubt swept the indecision away. The Republic was on the side of right. Of that there was no question.

  “Tell me what I’m looking at, Mr. Culper,” Alex said as he sat down in front of a cool blue glowing screen.

  “You, sir, are face-to-face with the greatest mass murderer in the history of the planet,” Culper said with an uncanny grin.

  Alex huffed. “Funny, I feel like even I could take him.”

  Culper kept grinning. “Because you don’t rely on electricity to survive. You enjoy it, but if our new hydro turbines, or the coal-fired plants quit working again, or our soy-diesel engines ran out of fuel, you’d survive.”

  “Okay, you’ve got my curiosity piqued. Tell me the rest of the story.”

  “You know a lot of it. We’ve pieced it together over the years. Essentially, someone used artificial intelligence to shut off every computer in the entire world, all at the same time.”

  Alex tried to fight his impatience. “That much I knew. I was there.”

  Culper smiled a little wider. Alex’s propensity to avoid small talk wasn’t new to him. “Yes, but now we have a direct link to the ones who did it. Right here, right now.”

  “Now you have my interest, Mr. Culper. Do they know we’ve got a back door?”

  “No, not yet. I’m sure of that. I think your friend Maxwell did a good job of hiding what he was doing. Surely, they know he had access, but I don’t believe they knew what he was doing.”

  “Which was?”

  “Creating his own version of the virus they implanted 14 years ago. According to a notebook Maxwell had in his pocket, they called it Killswitch. This virus he created would cause a complete meltdown of every system still functioning, including this one.”

  “Isn’t this network,” he waved a hand at the screen, “part of his religion? Why would he shut it down? That would be like us pulling the plug on Heaven itself.” He laughed at the absurdity, but the analogy was the best one he could think of.

  “I honestly don’t know, but here it is. Just a few more lines of code and it would be complete. Looks like there’s a packet of some kind that would be dormant, protected from the virus – if I was him, that would be my Profile waiting to be activated when the system rebooted someday.”

  “It would eventually come back to life?” Alex asked.

  Culper shrugged. “I think so. I can’t help but think something this intelligent would have a backup plan. Maybe a way to go to sleep until it was safe? Hard telling how long that might be.”

  “But in the meantime, no one could use this against us?”

  Culper nodded. “I’m sure if we activated the virus the same thing that happened to the rest of the world at the Reset would happen to whoever was behind this.” He lifted his high-billed hat and rubbed his short crew cut. “Of course, then we’d never know who was really on the other side of this screen.”

  Alex chuckled. “I don’t really care. If they’re responsible, they pay. And if they’ve caused any of our pain since then, they doubly deserve to pay.”

  He turned and looked up at Culper. “Are you sure you can do this? I get the sense we’ll only get one chance.”

  “I was in a special branch of the military. We were weaponizing tech. The Chinese, Russians, European Union…everyone was doing the same thing. Bullets were going to be a thing of the past. We could kill millions with a keystroke,” Culper assured him.

  “Somebody beat you to it?”

  Culper touched one of the server cases. It was warm to the touch, despite the cold air blasting on it. “They didn’t beat me, they robbed me.”

  Culper sighed and walked to another bank of servers blinking away. “I hate the idea of shutting off the last bastion of technology in this world.”

  “We’ve still got the network at Old Main.”

  Culper shook his head. “It’s so primitive. It’ll be years before it’s even a fraction of what RenOne is…and here it is, just waiting for us. Imagine what we could do with this power.”

  Culper didn’t turn around as he stared longingly at the synthetic brain in front of him. “Just imagine what we could do with this power, Founder Hamilton,” he repeated. “We could recreate the entire pre-Reset world, but we’d be the ones in charge. Consider what you could do…no more fighting, no more violence…just peace. Communications, medical equipment…It would be like a Utopia, an honest to god Great Leap Forward.”

  Alex shifted nervously. He realized at this moment he had no idea who Bob Culper had been before the Reset. Something had changed in the man’s tone.

  He admitted to himself that the idea was a seductive one. All he’d ever wanted was to create a better world for his family and the people he led. Could they really accomplish that with the same technology that nearly killed them all just a decade and a half before?

  He couldn’t be sure, but he had his doubts. “That was different life, Bob. We’ve got to take every advantage we’ve got now. I promise we’ll devote resources to making the Old Main system more viable. Work on some of those good things you mentioned. I’d like you to head it up.”

  Culper just nodded. “We can do that.” He finally pulled his hand away and turned back to his leader. The stoic look of his friend returned. “Sorry, Founder Hamilton. I was just thinking about a happier time. When I had my wife, my family, my friends…all the optimism in the world.”

  Alex smiled at him. “I do that a lot. More all the time. Don’t worry about it.”

  His Silver Shield stepped into the room. “Founder Hamilton, forgive the interruption, but you told me to let you know if we found anything in the basement. We did. I think you ought to come and see.”

  He raised his eyebrow to Culper. “We good here?”

  Culper nodded. “I’ll finish the code and let you know when it’s done. We’ll do it quick, I feel like our window will be pretty short.”

  “Good, good,” the leader of the free world said. In his mind, he wasn’t so sure. As he left the room, he was already making a mental checklist of who might be qualified to keep an eye on Culper’s work. He’d never suspected the man before, but there was something about his tone…

  The trip down four flights of stairs went a little easier than the walk up three, but he was still out of breath when he joined a group of Red Hawks staring at what appeared to be the access door to a room-sized safe. The door’s metal was scorched and dented; clearly someone had tried desperately to gain access.

  “Idiots,” Alex muttered. “I just hope they didn’t screw anything up.” He limped over to the block wall to his right and began counting seams. He counted five seams between the square foot blocks, then another six over. “There,” Alex said as he pointed. “Get a hammer and break that block.”

  Two men bolted up the stairs to their Valkyrie and returned in a few minutes time with a small sledge. One struck the block’s face and it crumbled to the floor. Alex squatted down in front of the opening, feeling his joints pop the whole way down. Just inside was a combination dial, which he began to twist left, then right, then left again. He leaned back and looked at the door, cursed, then put his hand back in and repeated the process. Finally, he was rewarded with a clunk and the giant door came open just a couple of inches.

  Alex smiled at the group, who looked at him like a magician. “Tony had a key hidden somewhere, but Nicole told us the backup plan. Let that be a lesson to all of you: think outside the normal, especially when dealing with mobsters.”

  They chuckled at the joke – honest laughter amongst warriors who truly loved and respected their leader. Alex waved his finger at them, “Don’t get any ideas. I don’t have one of these sitting under the courthouse.”

  His tone turned more serious. “Be careful opening that door. Like I said, remember who we’re dealing with.”

  Two of his men instinctively stepped in front of him as the door slowly opened. The lights were on inside, revealing a desk and high-backed chair along wi
th a series of levers on the wall. “Self-destruct,” Alex said. “Tony told me it would have brought the whole city down with explosives and then flooded it with river water.”

  On the back floor sat stacks of gold and silver bars, catching every ray of light from the bulbs up above. “We protect what we value most,” Alex said to himself as much as the group around him. The precious metal didn’t really concern him; the Republic’s monetary system was based on something much more tangible.

  The phones sitting on the desk were a much different story; this was what he was really interested in. “This basement is an old civil defense bunker. There were hard lines going to other shelters all over the Midwest. This is one of the ways Tony kept track of his empire. Kind of like our cable system connecting all the Fortress Farms.”

  He looked at the switchboard above the desk, each line labeled with a different city. He read through the names; most were assigned to a particular army or air force base. There was no label for Independence, though, so he’d have to find that through the process of trial and error. They’d tried to hide every aspect of Independence, even from those closest to them. But there was one for Fort Leavenworth, located just south of Kanas City. He might be able to use that one.

  Wichita, Tulsa, Columbia…it was a roster of ARK’s jewels. One with R.O.T. handwritten in black ink piqued his interest. He took the line from the handset and plugged it into the socket underneath the tag. He lifted the handset to his ear and listened to crackling.

  After a while, a voice surprised him. “Premier Diamante, so nice to hear from you,” the voice drawled sweetly. Alex recognized the accent put couldn’t place it right away. “It’s been too long, suh. Would you like to speak with the President?”

  Alex tried to think quick. He was still in shock at someone answering. “Uh, yes. I mean, thank you, I would like to speak with the um…the President.”

  “Of course, suh, I’ll see if he can be disturbed.”

  Alex suddenly wished he’d waited. He wanted Bek or Julia here to advise him. He snapped his finger to the nearest Silver Shield. “Get Culper,” he whispered.

  A gruff voice on the other end of the phone line snapped his attention back. “Who is this?” a man’s voice demanded.

  “Diamante,” Alex replied. “Why are you speaking to me that way?”

  There was pause on the other end as the man tried to figure out if he was being told the truth.

  “Premier Diamante,” the voice softened a little, “if I’ve offended you, I’m sorry. But nobody’s heard from you for quite some time. We were told the White City fell, and you along with it.”

  “Who the hell told you that?” Alex demanded in his best imitation of Tony Diamante.

  “An eyewitness,” was all the voice said. After a moment, “You’re not a very good liar, whoever you are… And you’re certainly not Diamante.”

  Alex sighed. “You got me, friend. Tony Diamante is dead. My name is Alexander Hamilton and I’m the Second Founder of the Red Hawk Republic. We’ve just taken the White City back from Caliphate forces. Tony Diamante’s wife told me where to find this phone in case something bad ever happened. Well, friend, something bad has happened. Now, may I speak to your commanding officer?”

  There was a long silence, so long Alex thought he’d been hung up on. “Wait one moment, sir,” the voice finally said abruptly.

  While he waited, Culper appeared. “What did you tell them?” he asked.

  “Everything.”

  He could feel Culper’s frustration, and see it when he rolled his eyes slightly. Alex just smiled and shrugged.

  “Founder Hamilton?” a voice crackled.

  “Yes, who am I speaking with?” Alex replied.

  “Raymond Jackson, President of the Republic of Texas.”

  Silence returned to the line. Alex finally replied, “Pleasure to meet you.”

  “And you too, suh,” Jackson said. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “I wish I could say the same. All we’ve ever got were rumors filtering their way up north. Obviously, you and Tony knew each other quite well?”

  “Indeed, we did. I understand he’s shuffled off this mortal coil?”

  “I’m afraid he has. Caliphate’s doing, but we’ve rooted them out of here. I guess some are heading your way soon.”

  “So I’ve been told. Have you been in contact with Tony’s wife?”

  “No, but we’d like to be. My brother is out there now, looking for my sister who was with Nicole when they escaped the Caliphate.”

  “I understand, Founder Hamilton. I hope that turns out alright.” There was a pause before he continued. “You sure that’s the real reason you sent folks out there?”

  Alex wasn’t sure how to reply, then Jackson filled the silence. “Sorry if I offended you, Tony told me to guard what I said if you and I ever met.”

  Alex was both surprised and irritated. He wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or an insult. Knowing Tony, it was likely both somehow.

  “We’re an open book to our friends,” Alex said. “More like a hammer to those who mean us harm.”

  “I assure you, the Republic of Texas only means to harm tweakers…I guess ARK calls them Nuevos, though I’d ask you kindly to never refer to them as Tejanos. A bunch of well-armed cartel thugs don’t deserve the right to be called Texans in any language.”

  “I understand, Mr. President. We’re in the same situation with the Caliphate, and now—” Culper hit his arm and put a finger to his mouth. Alex thought briefly about what he was going to do to Culper if he ever touched him again…but he was right, Alex was getting too comfortable in the conversation. He thought of a different ending quickly. “—and now I guess they’re both our problems.”

  “It would appear so. Perhaps we should get to know one another a little better.

  *****

  Alex and Jackson spent the better part of two hours on the phone. The information flowing freely back and forth drove Culper to distraction; he returned to his work on RenOne and Grapevine after a few minutes of listening in.

  “We’ve sent a couple of birds north to see if we can find anyone from ARK. We’ll let them know about you and I being in communication,” Jackson said.

  “I truly appreciate that, Raymond,” Alex said. They’d settled on informal communication early in the conversation. “If you would, have them tell Nicole there must be one of these phone lines in Fort Leavenworth. At least, there’s a label for it.”

  “Probably,” Jackson replied. “I’ve got one for each of the bases still under our control.” He didn’t miss Jackson’s wording; clearly, they’d lost some already. Alex resisted the urge to ask how many that was. Despite the new friendship, some things just shouldn’t be inquired about.

  “I’m surprised drug cartels are well enough organized to give you fits.”

  Jackson snorted. “Yeah, they were plenty strong, but we had them beat. It’s the Cogs that are the problem. They give the tweakers air cover. Helping the rug-kissers, too. Caliphate, you call them, right? We’ve got some already down here on the Gulf. Bunch of crazies.”

  Alex listened but didn’t offer anything. He tried his best to piece together the “Cog” references with what he’d found in various places over the years, what Culper had told him, what Julia Ruff had heard rumors of before the Reset. Finally, he just did what he always did when he didn’t know something: he asked. “Our contact with the Cogs has been very brief,” he told, half-truthfully. “What is it that makes them so hard to beat?”

  “Better technology than us, by a long shot,” Jackson admitted. “Well, that and they got a lot more bodies to throw at us. Their weapons and the Nuevos’ numbers mean we gotta be both lucky and good. I don’t like relying on luck for anything.”

  Alex didn’t like the sound of that. The Republic had survived from early on by having an advantage in weapons. From what Jackson was explaining, the Wizards had a lot of work to do.

  “You know where they’re based ou
t of?”

  “Hate to sound like I’m totally in the dark on our biggest threat, but no. I got some ideas, though,” Jackson said.

  Alex thought for a moment. Culver’s words rang through his head. If they could take out Grapevine once and for good, turn the Killswitch virus on its creators, maybe they could level the playing field for Texas.

  “Raymond, I got ideas I want to run past a few of our people. I don’t want to say anything about it before talking to them, because I’ve got no idea if it will work. Can we pick this conversation back up, say, about an hour?”

  “Fine with me. We’re getting reports in of some new attacks on our eastern borders. I’ll need to check into that straight away.”

  “Understood. Talk soon.”

  The line went silent and Alex leaned back in his chair. It was then that he noticed Culper standing in the door.

  “Just the man I wanted to see,” Alex told him. “How goes your trip down memory lane?”

  Culper sighed. “You want the good news, or the bad news?”

  “I’ve been getting a steady batch of both since I became Founder, Mr. Culper. What say we just have the news itself?”

  “Fair enough. The greatest weapon of mass destruction is now at your command with a simple keystroke.”

  Alex shifted in his seat. The fact he had used an actual weapon of mass destruction just days before made Culper’s nonchalant use of the term disturbing.

  But Culper wasn’t joking. “I’m serious, sir. If you unleash this, it’s going to literally kill people. I heard what President Jackson told you about those allies of the Nuevos. I’m guessing it’s the Cogs. If they’re using Grapevine for everything, and we shut that off…”