by Faulks, Kim
The icy breath whispered dangerous things against the back of my neck. I lifted my gaze, watching her as she stepped away and Tex slammed the boot closed.
I could feel it now, this pulsing inside her head, tearing her open with teeth and claws. Feel it like a burden on her mind. I wanted to reach for that connection again, testing its strength, follow the trail and find where it led.
Bombs I knew, I’d diffused enough in Afghanistan, but this one…this one filled me with dread.
Shadow pulled the black sedan up hard, and behind it another car whipped past on the road. Bags were loaded into the boot, and we piled in before Shadow pressed the accelerator, pushing me back into the seat. He drove hard, spearing us further and further from Demand, and after an hour of nothing but the glare of oncoming cars, Oleander spoke.
“We need to find somewhere to see what’s on this.” She held up the USB. “Whatever it was, it was worth dying for.”
And it was, the state of his corpse attested to that. He never gave up. Not even when they hacked off his fingers—not even when they took eyes—he never gave up.
“Somewhere discreet.” I looked to Shadow as he shook his head.
“Not advisable, if they had the balls to kill, then you can bet your ass they’ll be watching. They’ll have a trace on it the moment we open the damn thing.”
“Not if it’s encrypted.” Tex cut in from the backseat. I jerked my gaze toward him, and the male gave a shrug. “What? I told you, I watch government conspiracies. If Harvey’s as good as Oleander says he is, and I have no doubt about that. Then he’ll know they’ll be watching. He’ll have encrypted the information.”
“And you learned all this by watching TV?” Shadow stared into the rear-view mirror.
“Yeah, I learned a lot. Like how you don’t leave a crime scene behind, no matter how much you want to. Crime scenes can be used to gain power, or lock an innocent person away for a very long time.”
Oleander met his gaze. There were no words needed, still Tex lifted his hand, waiting for her to lean in. And she did, pressing her cheek against his palm.
“I guess we’re just going to have to take that chance.” I turned back to Shadow. “And hope to God Harvey was a goddamn genius.”
The car surged forward and the odometer climbed. It was getting late, too late for internet cafes, too late for a lot of things.
“I got you, bro,” Shadow muttered. “I know where to go.”
Highway signs whipped by on the side of the road. Shadow took the first exist, stealing us from the Highway. Thick brows furrowed as he handled the car. We turned, following the street signs for a place called Empire Falls.
He seemed to know what he was doing, slipping into the smaller city streets. He scanned the shops, searching for something. He pulled the car over to a bus stop and shoved the engine into gear.
“Ah, bro?” Tex muttered as Shadow climbed out of the car.
But the brother knew exactly what he was doing. Pieces of paper whipped back and forth in the wind, tacked and stuck against the side of the shelter. Shadow scanned the messages, yanking one free, before he tore free a page of what looked like a map.
He cut across the pavement and climbed back into the car, handing the small piece of paper to me before the larger. “Find that place for me.”
I hit the overhead light, scanned the address and then turned to the map. It took me a second to find the street, and a second more to give directions.
We drove through the quiet streets, turning as we followed the map. Empire Falls was no Demand, vacancy signs hung in almost every second window. There was a haunted feeling about the place, one that seemed to go hand in hand with the thoughts trapped inside my mind. “Over here.”
The painted red brick of the abandoned Chinese Restaurant was now dirty and brown. Smashed windows and spray-painted tags completed the look. I scanned the derelict mess and turned back to Shadow. “You drove us all this way for a damn restaurant?”
“No,” he answered and shoved open the car door. “Not a restaurant.”
He lifted his gaze to the building above it. The rest of us followed, climbing out of the car to stare at the small apartment.
Dimmed lights flickered against the windows high above. I caught the top of a row of monitors—lots of them. “You know my brother, Nico, is a closet LoL player, don’t tell him I told you that. He’d never talk to me again.”
“Lol? Isn’t that someone laughing out loud?” I muttered and shoved the car door closed.
“Where the Hell you been for the last ten years? League of Legends.” Shadow muttered. “It’s only one of the most competitive online battle arenas there is.”
“In Afghanistan, fighting for our damn country. That’s where I’ve been,” I muttered and glanced to the single door beside the restaurant—the one that would lead us up to that apartment.
“Yeah, sorry.” Shadow winced and then made for the door. “We can get what we need up there, most won’t even know we’re here.”
I looked to Oleander. “You ready for this?”
She clenched her fist around the USB. “I’ve been searching for answers my entire life. I’m more than ready, aren’t you?”
Shadow pushed through the door and stepped inside. I held out my hand for her. “Yeah I am.”
Her hand slipped into mine and something inside me gave a sigh. Alone we were desperate, and desperate people do desperate things—but together…
Together we were a damn force.
I shoved through the door after Shadow and held it while she slipped under my arm.
“You gonna hold it for me as well?” Tex asked.
The door slipped, closing an inch before he grabbed it. “That’s cold, brother, and I thought we had a thing.”
I smiled and followed the others up the stairs to the door marked private. Shadow knocked softly, and the door cracked open as I hit the landing with Tex close behind.
A young kid peered over thick-rimmed glasses, glanced at us and then settled on Shadow as he leaned close.
Hushed words were spoken. I didn’t grab the context, but the kid glanced toward me and widened his eyes. The door swung open. I followed the others inside. The kid haunted me, timing steps with mine.
Three rows of monitors sat in the darkened room, stretching from one side to the other of what could be a lounge room. Shadow skirted the outside, taking the far, end monitor of the bottom row.
“What the Hell did you tell that kid?” I leaned close and growled against the brother’s ear.
“Nothin much, said you were BobMonkey101, who is one of the best LoL players in the damn country.”
The corner of my eye twitched as I glanced to the kid, bending to whisper to another hunched over a keyboard. Heads snapped up, males and females peered over the tops of their monitors to stare. I sank, crouching down beside him as Oleander handed him the USB. “Remind me of this one day. I think I’m going to enjoy the payback.”
The brother sniggered and shoved the USB into the tower on the desk. The screen came alive with the drive. He clicked on the icon to a folder. But one click and it came up with a password. “Encrypted. Just like we said.”
“Try nuts,” Oleander murmured.
Shadow hit the keys, until error, incorrect password, flashed and slipped away.
“Oleander,” she murmured. “Try that.”
The same error.
“Maddox,” she growled.
Same again.
Time after time, the error flashed across the screen.
I shoved up from the floor as that dangerous energy found me once more. The hairs on my arms stood on end. That bitter wind slipped in from somewhere to whisper in my ear.
Names…dates…words…they yielded nothing but an error on the screen.
“I don’t understand it.” She turned, striding away in the darkened room. “It doesn’t make sense.”
My gut tightened as I lifted my hand toward her. “We’ll figure it out. If we have to si
t here all damn night, then that’s what we’ll do.”
But there was no easing the desperation that leaked from her. Her hands trembled. She squeezed her eyes closed for a second and stilled, swaying on the spot.
There was something wrong with her…something other than frustration. I grabbed her arm, holding her steady. “Hey, it’s okay.”
And that darkness bloomed inside my mind carrying it the tick…tick…tick…urging me…hunting me. Through the darkened window I caught the faint flare of lightning far off in the distance.
My fingers brushed her arm and the tension inside me rose. Silver flared from my eye as she moved closer. My heart hammered, thundering inside my head. Error, after error. Time after time. It all filled my head.
Lightning slashed inside my head, the bolt thick and violent, filled with promise. And on the back of the flare came something else…not Oleander…not Oleander.
In the room she moved closer, concern filled her gaze. There was another in my head.
A whisper of someone else…lightning…thunder, like a heartbeat…like a pulse. I felt her inside my head…no, not her—them. Two others…two more just like Oleander.
Two just as strong—just as powerful. But they didn’t want to hurt me…they were using me, sifting through my memories.
One filled with the glare of lightning.
The other of energy…she filled my mind, racing along my thoughts like a network of nerves. The screen in front of Shadow flickered, images filled the screen.
Won’t hurt you.
Safe.
Pulse.
“Whoa, what the fuck.” Shadow wrenched his hand from the keyboard and stared at the words before they were gone again.
The drive flashed, cursor moved. I could feel her inside my head. Pulse. The word flashed.
“Sixth, are you okay?” Oleander tried to pull away.
I held on…held on with everything I had.
Oleander was the connection…they were all the connection. Thoughts filled my head…and they weren’t mine. So many of them….so very many…And they were using me—using me to get to her. Pulse, the word will my head…and I saw her face in the flicker of a screen…
“It’s okay,” I murmured as Oleander was bathed in the silver light of my eye. “It’s all going to be okay.”
“Holy shit!” Shadow roared.
Chairs howled as they were shoved against the floor. But it was the screen I saw…inside my head the code raced through for a second before Shadow spoke once more. “It’s open…Oleander, it’s open.”
I dropped my hand from her arm and turned to the screen as the video clip started to play.
A guy filled the screen, chubby and unkempt…He leaned close, eyes darting back and forth to something in the room before he started to speak. “Ol…what the fuck have you got yourself into?”
“It’s Harvey.” Shadow glanced to me and then turned back to the screen.
“That name you asked me to search for is a damn ghost.” Concern filled Harvey’s face. “I found a birth certificate, and then nothing, like the guy just disappeared. There’s no social security, no school, driver’s license—there’s no footprint after being born. I found someone else, a Kurt and Karen Bishop, I think a second cousin. It’s the best I could do. But, Ol. That’s not the only thing. As soon as I started digging.” Harvey moved closer, broken capillaries across his nose filled the screen before he moved backwards, just a little. “Like the fucking second I typed in the dude’s name I was being traced. They got everything, all the information I pulled…and information about me. They went through my server in a goddamn second, my accounts, my personal shit I have locked down tight. I’ve never seen anyone so fast, and virtually undetected. I’m scared, Ol. I’m scared for you…scared for myself. This…whatever this is, is bad, real bad. I think you need to lay low for a while. Whoever they are, they’re dangerous. If they’re as dangerous as I think they are, and you’ve found this, then I guess I’ll be…I’ll be dead. Yeah, I’ll be dead. Thanks for the chocolates, and the good times, Ol. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you more.”
He stood up then, and the screen was filled with his belly before it went dark.
Shadow clicked on the next file, and a screen shot of a birth certificate filled the screen, before he scrolled and it was gone, replaced by the screenshot of an address, Lot 45 Hurtford Lane, Deer Valley, under the name K&K Bishop.
Shadow leaned close with his burner phone and pressed a button. The camera in the phone went click.
Safe, the word came again on the screen followed by another word.
Pulse.
The cursor flashed once more before it was gone and in a heartbeat the room went dark, screens went black, computers powered down in a tapering hum that filled the room.
“What the fuck?” Someone roared.
The room was filled with groans and cursing. A light flicked on overhead, illuminating a room full of pissed off players.
“That’s our cue to leave.” Shadow rose from the seat and made for the printer and the others in the room stared at him, and then us.
“Who the fuck are they?” A guy covered in tattoos and leather barked. He lifted a finger and stabbed the air. “Who the fuck let them in here, Gerrard?”
“He’s Bobmonkey101,” the young kid stuttered and glanced my way.
I grabbed Oleander’s hand and dragged her with me as the asshole in leather snarled. “Bullfuckingshit! Get the fuck outta here dude!”
I lifted my other hand and made for the door. “We’re leaving.”
The others followed, Shadow with the printed address in his hand and then Tex close in behind us.
“Easy now.” The Texan twang filled my ears as I yanked open the door and raced for the stairs.
The growl of thunder echoed inside the building as we shoved through the small door and stepped out into the night once more.
“They didn’t lose power.” Shadow sucked in hard breaths, glanced up to the illuminated windows and then yanked open the driver’s door.
We all followed, piling into the car as Shadow started the engine.
But we didn’t move. We just sat there with the car idling.
Shadow found me in the lights of the dashboard, confusion and fear filling his eyes. “What just happened in there? Something shut down those computers…something not in that room. That can’t happen…that just can’t happen.”
In the distance, lightning slashed across the darkened sky. I felt the power…felt the fear. That icy breath at the back of my neck didn’t leave. “I think we need to go…like now, Shadow.”
He flinched then turned back to the wheel as though he’d forgotten for a second where he was. “Right…yeah, we need to go.”
He handed me the printed address, and then shoved the car into gear before we pulled out into the street once more. Streetlights slipped away as we headed back to the motorway.
I stared at the white slip of paper in my hands as the first drop of rain hit the windshield. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t shake that feeling of others from my mind. Safe…Pulse.
The words flashed inside my head like a faulty monitor. They’d used me…reached out to Oleander through me. I wanted to tell her, to leave no secrets between us—and yet I couldn’t.
Not yet…just not yet. But soon…I was torn between my heart and my head. She was dangerous…I had to protect her from herself as well as the rest of us.
Chapter Eighteen
Oleander
Tex reached across the seat to grasp my hand. I forced a smile and then stared at Sixth. He was hiding something…something I couldn’t quite figure out. His faint touch still lingered inside my mind—a remnant from his invasion.
He didn’t trust me. That’s what it came down to. Didn’t trust my thoughts. Didn’t trust my mind…didn’t trust the beast, or the ticking in my head.
Tick…tick…tick…
“Sixth, are you okay?” I watched him turn toward me, saw the paper tremble
in his grasp.
“Sure.” Dark eyes glinted from the glow of the dashboard lights. “Just thinking is all.”
Safe…Pulse…I’d caught the words on the screen before the monitors went out. Was it a sign from Harvey? Some kind of delayed programming from the files he loaded? Or was it Sixth?
Don’t trust. Harvey’s words rang loud and clear. Don’t stay where they can find you. Find what you need…and run.
I glanced to the address printed in Sixth’s hand as the need rose inside me.
TICK…TICK…TICK…
The beast wanted out, she wanted freedom. She wanted to do what she was born to do.
I stared out of the window as Shadow accelerated onto the freeway. Lightning slashed across the sky in the distance, arcing down to the earth. Not yet, I whispered. Not until we know the truth…
“Then tell me.” The words slipped free. “Tell me the truth.”
Shadow glanced toward Sixth as Tex lifted his head.
“What’s she saying?” Shadow stole glances as he hit the indicator and merged into the next lane. “What truth?”
Sixth shook his head, and that steely mask slid into place. “Nothing.”
“You invaded my mind, rifled through my thoughts, you took from me…things you shouldn’t have touched. I wouldn’t call that nothing.”
The paper in his hand was dancing now, jerking up and down as his body quaked. Silver light flared from his eye as he answered. “It wasn’t me,” he growled and then turned his head.
The silver flare was blinding, flooding the car for a second before he closed his eyes and turned away. “Back there…when I held you. It wasn’t me inside your mind. I mean it was me, but I was just a way to get inside you. She used me…she gave me a name…she said her name was Pulse.”
“Pulse?” Shadow muttered. “That’s what it said before the screen died. Safe…Pulse.”
