The Astral Hacker (Cryptopunk Revolution Book 1)

by Brian Terenna

  Astrid frowns but nods grudgingly.

  “That being said. I respect you just as much, Astrid. You’ve been my Lieutenant commander for four years now—”

  I yelp as someone smacks my butt. I twist to berate Nav, but Sunny’s standing behind me, his little green mouth curled into a grin. My face burns as everyone turns to look at me.

  Sunny looks around at everyone, then to me. “Was that funny?”

  Yumi barks out a laugh. Astrid and Nav join her but cover their mouths.

  “Sorry,” I mumble to Americus. “Keep going.”

  Americus shakes his head disapprovingly and continues, “Astrid, your organization, dedication, and leadership consistently get the job done. I have complete faith in you. If I fall, you will take charge as the base commander. You’ll make all decisions regarding missions and the future direction of the Loyalists.”

  Astrid’s face lights up, and she nods with satisfaction. Yumi rubs her back and grins up at her. The other Loyalists clap and cheer for her.

  Americus’ q-link beeps, and he holds up his hands for everyone to be quiet. He activates it, and holographic text appears before him. “Everyone quiet. I have several messages from my NIA asset. Zill, play the messages.”

  “First message,” says his q-link. “Major, I have a contact who has critical information about the NIA and Evos that will let you end this. Let’s meet up ASAP. Second message. They’re onto me, sir. I’m going to try to escape, but if I’m caught, I’ll activate my failsafe tracker. Third message. Oh no, they’re breaking down my door! I’m erasing my contacts now. Just—”

  Everyone silently looks at Americus.

  Americus’ expression transforms from surprise to anger. “Damn them. We have to get him.”

  “Cancelling the deal now, might cancel it forever,” says Alexander. “What information could be more important than a missile launcher? We can win with that, Boss. I know he’s your friend, but our mission is too important.”

  “It’s not just that he’s my friend,” says Americus.” His information might make victory a sure thing. What if it’s a shutdown code for the NIA defenses?”

  “Yeah, but Boss—”

  Americus raises his hands to silence Alexander. “Before you get worked up, let me call the weapons supplier and ask.” He calls.

  “You weren’t supposed to contact us for four hours,” says his supplier. “What’s going on?”

  “We have an issue. I still want the weapons, but we need to delay for two days,” says Americus.

  There’s a moment of silence on the other end, then the supplier says, “Unacceptable.”

  Americus growls. “Something came up beyond my control, but you have weapons to sell, and I have money. Do you want it or not?”

  The man on the line confers with someone, arguing back and forth.

  Americus’ face gets harder as the minutes pass.

  “Fine. Two days. Don’t mess this up again,” says the supplier.

  Americus hangs up, and Alexander looks satisfied.

  “Alexander, come with me. We’re going to plan the rescue. Everyone be ready. I’m not sure who I’m going to need yet. We leave in an hour.”

  ☼☼☼

  After they finish planning the mission, we begin to gear up.

  “I’ll be fine,” I say to Sunny. At least I hope I will be. Of course, Americus asked me to supplement Nav on hacking duties. “Americus wants you here with Silas, Bob, and the others.”

  “But you said I could come to protect you.”

  “I said, I’d think about it, but we can’t go against Americus’ orders.”

  “Make sure you’re careful.” Sunny lowers his head and walks away.

  “I will. I’ll see you soon.” His look saddens me, but what can I do? I walk to the staging area and pick up a spider-silk vest.

  “Let me get that,” says Alexander as he takes it from me. He puts it over my head and helps me strap it on. “You’re too important to die,” he says with a wink.

  Brandon helps Nav next to me. “And you’re too beautiful.”

  “You’re sweet,” she says, touching his arm.

  Nav deserves happiness after losing Ty, but I hope she’s careful if she decides to pursue Brandon, and he had better not cheat on her. At least she’ll have her vest on correctly. I look for Sunny to make sure he’s okay, but he must have left for the room.

  We all pile into three SUVs and head out. We drive through town in the middle of the overcast day, our military SUVs cloaked. Since we’re under martial law, there are checkpoints in and out of town, but fortunately, the prison is in town. The streets are so quiet that it’s eerie after the riots and gunshots.

  It’s not long before we arrive at the parking area.

  “Tom, Tamera, and Racer,” says Americus. “Stay with the SUVs and use your tactical glasses to watch us and the surrounding area. Everyone else, follow me.”

  We pour out of the SUVs.

  Even though the others are cloaked, I modified the program so we can see each other through the glasses.

  We jog forward, and shortly after, arrive at the outskirts of the complex. The rescue team heads to one side, and Asher, Yumi, Astrid, Americus, Alexander, and I head to the other side.

  Even though I’m sweating, a chill passes through me as I see turrets rotate on rooftops and armored guards patrolling. I wish I didn’t have to face this danger, but I’m glad I’m here for Nav.

  Once we get within range, I signal to Americus. He holds up his hand for everyone to stop behind the cover of a building. We’re a hundred feet from the guards now, and they’re completely unaware of our presence.

  “Chim, access the turret grid system,” I say.

  The code appears before me, and I laugh. It’s the same firewall as the prison that I escaped from.

  Americus puts a finger to his lips.

  Oops. I begin the hack. My hand flows with motion, my amethyst bracelet twinkling in the sun. As long as I don’t have to turn the guns to our side, it should be easy.

  It’s not long before I break into the auxiliary systems. Rather than shutting the guns down completely, I go the easier route of disabling the firing mechanisms.

  “It’s done, Americus,” I whisper. “Nav, let’s hack—”

  “What’s that?” asks one of the guards. “It’s cloaked, but something is here.”

  I freeze, my eyes widening. Did he see us?

  “From its heat signature, it looks like some kind of small robot,” says another guard.

  “Is that a…it couldn’t be. Yeah, it’s a Foster Buddy,” says a third.

  I twist around and switch my glasses to infrared. Sunny is running over to us.

  What the hell? He must have hidden in the back of one of the SUVs.

  “It doesn’t matter. The warden said to shoot any robots or people on sight,” says another guard.

  Oh no.

  Alexander leans out with his silenced sniper rifle, and with two pulls of the trigger, both guards drop.

  The pop wasn’t too loud. Maybe no one will notice…

  The other guards dive behind cover. “There’s more of them,” says one.

  “Damn,” says Americus. “What’s he doing here?”

  He’s trying to protect me. Why can’t he just listen for once?

  The guards aim their rifles at Sunny.

  My eyes widen in horror. I don’t know what to do. If I run out, I’ll be killed. If I don’t, Sunny will die.

  Yumi squeezes Astrid’s hand, then darts toward Sunny.

  “No, Yumi,” shouts Astrid.

  Gunshots sound, but the bullets miss her. She scoops Sunny up, whirls around, and sprints back, still quick, but slower since she’s holding him.

  Another shot misses. She’s fifteen feet from us and running hard.

  “Get her,” yells a guard.

  Bang, bang. Another two shots somehow miss.

  She’s ten feet away now. Alexander steps out from behind the building, and jus
t like the day he first saved me, he fires smoothly and quickly.

  Men who only have inches of their bodies exposed drop one after another. Some pull back behind cover, while others keep shooting.

  Nav leans out with her huge cannon-pistol and fires at a guard about to shoot Yumi. The guard’s head explodes, spraying blood on those near him. Yumi pounds forward, five strides away now.

  My heart slams into my ribcage, desperate for her to make it. I want to help, but fear paralyzes me.

  More guards burst out of the prison and open fire.

  Astrid bolts from behind cover to guard Yumi. She raises her AK710 and lets out a stream of bullets.

  Yumi is two steps from safety. She’s going to make it.

  Several guards open fire on Astrid. She jerks back and collapses on the ground. She clutches her neck as blood spurts between her fingers.

  Asher stares at her, looking horrified.

  Yumi twists and drops Sunny. He clatters to the ground and rolls to my feet. She rips a med-kit out of our supply pack and sprints back out to Astrid. Bullets continue to fly around her.

  “Yumi, no,” shouts Americus. “Let me.” He starts after her just as Yumi kneels at Astrid’s side.

  Yumi twists to glare at Sunny. “She’s dead. This is your fault!”

  I stare at her, blinking and dazed. The look of pain and fury in her eyes is enough to melt his metal body.

  “I didn’t think I’d be detected,” says Sunny. “My new infrared shielding failed.”

  Yumi ignores him as she jumps up and rips out her sidearm to fire rounds into the guards while screaming. Alexander, Asher, and Nav lean out and fire to cover them. Just as Americus reaches Yumi’s side, another gunshot rings out.

  What must be an armor-piercing round strikes Yumi’s chest and rips out the back. Americus gasps, but he keeps his head and carries her back behind the building. He rips open her shirt to give her medical attention.

  She groans as blood pools underneath her. She twists toward me, her gaze like razor wire. “This is on you,” she says, then falls limp.

  Americus is shouting next to me.

  I can’t even register what he’s saying. It’s happening again. Everything is unraveling.

  Someone grabs my arm, and I twist to look.

  Nav. “StarFeather, take over the turrets!”

  I jerk myself back to the present, and as if I’m back in Silent City, everything slows and snaps into focus. It’s up to me. “Chim, access the turrets.”

  “Naveha, open the prison door and Gerald’s cell,” commands Americus. “No, make it every cell. It will sow confusion. Everyone else, stay back. Extraction team, bring the SUVs over, now!”

  I manipulate the code floating before me like a woman possessed. Taking over the turrets is much more complicated, and I have no idea if I can do it before the drones come and kill us. If I’m going to be the greatest hacker, it needs to start now.

  The hum of Trexstar Defense Drones buzz in the distance, and guards shout as they approach.

  Anxiety twists my stomach. While I alter the code, a carousel of my past failures spins in my mind. Maybe I’m not good enough.

  I glance over at Nav, who taps her foot nervously as she works on cracking the prison doors. I push aside my worries as best I can and increase my programming speed.

  A group of guards bursts around the corner.

  Before anyone can react, Asher leaps at them, holding his nunchucks. The guards move to shoot him, but he whirls around, smacking guns from their hands or clobbering their faces. Seconds later, all six guards are on the ground.

  Asher jogs back to Americus. “They’ll be out for hours, sir. My nunchucks have micro-needles that inject a tranquilizer on command.”

  He really is a ninja. Suddenly his choice of weapons doesn’t seem so ridiculous.

  The swarm of triangular drones zooms toward us, and I race back to my hacking.

  “Fae,” shouts Americus. “The drones are almost here. Can you do this?”

  I ignore him, hacking as quickly as I can.

  “Everyone, get ready to shoot,” orders Americus.

  The first few drones close in and fire their cannons, hitting the street in front of us. I flinch back, even as I execute my control program.

  My turrets wheel on the drones and fire. Six of the attack craft explode in the first salvo. The others maneuver to evade the lasers and return fire.

  That will buy us time.

  Americus stares at the destruction and nods to me with grim satisfaction. He then eyes Sunny, a cold expression on his face.

  Why didn’t you just stay home, Sunny?

  “The prison door and cells are open,” shouts Nav.

  “Rescue team, get Gerald, now,” yells Americus into his q-link. “Extraction team, pick us up at location A.”

  One of my turrets explodes in flames and black smoke.

  A guard in the distance shouts into his q-link, “We need special forces here now. It’s them.”

  Nav pulls my arm. “We have to go.”

  Goodbye Yumi, Astrid. I’m so sorry. I run after Nav, Sunny following me.

  Our three open-air SUVs speed up to us, then stop in a cloud of dust. Asher, Nav, Americus, Alexander, and I jump inside the one Tom is driving. Sunny stands at my feet.

  “We can’t abandon Yumi and Astrid’s bodies,” says Tom, who must have seen what happened from the SUV.

  “It kills me, Thomas, but we have no choice. Now, drive!” orders Americus.

  The full-bearded man grimaces but slams on the accelerator.

  “We have Gerald, and we’re on our way to the pick-up location,” says the rescue team through Americus’ q-link. “Gerald is unhurt, and they didn’t install the Evo or other tech.”

  Our SUVs tear over to the side of the prison, and the rescue team sprints toward us. One of them is limping, and someone else holds his arm, blood dripping through his fingers. The group reaches the SUVs and climbs inside.

  Lasers flash in the sky, frying the last few drones, but a huge swarm of new drones appears in the distance, like a black storm cloud, looking to drench us in blood.

  “Go,” shouts Americus.

  Our tires squeal as we peel out. The acrid smell of burning rubber makes me wrinkle my nose. Our SUVs cloak, and we whip around the street to our left.

  “I’m masking our electronic signals,” says Americus. “We should be good now.”

  That was close. I twist to watch the drones turn away after losing their targets.

  Instead, they veer sharply toward us.

  “Damn! They must have been updated with infrared,” says Americus.

  We speed down mostly empty streets and whip around a rusty car. I look back, feeling sick. The black cloud of drones is larger now. There are so many of them that they dim the sun.

  “Activate your hearing protection,” says Alexander. “Let’s take them.”

  He raises his sniper rifle and Americus, Nav, and Asher all unload their guns at the swarm. I rip out my Torg and shoot until it clicks. About forty drones plummet to the ground, but there are still hundreds.

  “I’m empty,” says Alexander.

  “Me too,” say the others.

  “Fae, Naveha,” says Americus, “Can you hack them?”

  Nav shrugs, wide-eyed. “I could probably hack one or two before they kill us.” She looks at me, hope in her eyes.

  “If you can’t do something, Fae. We’re all dead,” growls Americus.

  “In Navin’s name, please help us,” says Tom.

  Adrenaline pumps through my body, and the world seems to close in around me.

  Sunny waves at me. “Give me the ability to network, and I can help.”

  Tom’s eyes widen at Sunny.

  The wind whips around my curls. “I can do it,” I say, “I just need time.”

  “I can temporarily block their infrared,” says Americus. “It’s the best I can do. Zill,” he says to his q-link. “Release the hot gas.”

 
Two vents open in the back of the SUV and pump out some type of gas. We tear around a corner, and the swarm slows as it tries to find us.

  The last time I hacked drones blinks into my mind. I came up with the idea of networking them and hacking them all at once. Nav and I made a test program afterward. Will it work?

  “Chim, engage my network program. Target the lead drone.” I squeeze my wrist as the seconds pass.

  “Failure,” says my q-link.

  I instantly begin updating my program, but the drones are on our trail again and picking up speed.

  An image of blood spurting from Astrid’s neck distracts me.

  I try to focus, but as I glance up at the closing drones, I lose it. Their cybersecurity is just too good for how much time I have. This is it. We’ll be murdered just like Astrid and Yumi were. I sure wish I had the Evo’s hacking speed.

  “What’s happening?” asks Americus. “Can you do it?”

  I’m about to say no when something catches my eye. It’s a charging tower. My hacking idea, from what seems like long ago, pops into my mind. I’ll only have a minute before the drones are out of the tower’s range, but it should be much simpler to hack than the military-grade security of the drones.

  I target the tower and fire off verbal commands as fast as I can.

  Forty seconds left…thirty. I picture our burned and mangled corpses on the street. No. I force the gory images away and continue to hack.

  Twenty seconds…fifteen. I crash through the tower’s firewall, boost the power, and target the drones. “There. I got it!”

  Everyone except Tom focuses on the drone swarm.

  Nothing happens.

  My stomach sinks, and dread grips me. Impossible.

  Suddenly, scores of drones tumble to the ground, smoking as their batteries overheat.

  “Legendary,” says Alexander. “I knew it.”

  Americus shakes his head, amazement plain on his face. Asher’s eyebrows are raised as he watches the fiery explosions.

  “Thank Navin,” says Tom as he wipes sweat off his forehead.

  I want to beam at the praise, but Yumi and Astrid’s deaths drag me into oblivion. Sunny must feel the same way. His usually bright eyes are now a dull green.

  We speed away, the other two SUVs in front. I turn to watch the remaining drones crash, letting myself relax a bit.