The Astral Hacker (Cryptopunk Revolution Book 1)

by Brian Terenna

  Hell, that gun is crazy. I wish I had a cybernetic arm.

  Nav holds the smoking gun, her legs firmly planted shoulder-width apart, her eyes locked on the corner. She looks courageous and deadly, like Blaze herself.

  A guard flashes in the corner of my vision from the entrance behind us, his gun pointed at Nav’s head.

  I gasp. “Nav!”

  Sunny spins around before anyone can react. Lightning arcs out from his modified stun baton to strike the man.

  The man’s eyes glow with electricity as the energy courses through him. He collapses on the ground, convulsing.

  I stare at him, my mouth agape, not even sure how he avoided the turrets on the way in.

  Nav looks from the guard to Sunny. “Oh my God, thanks. That’s some weapon you have there.”

  Sunny smiles. “You’re welcome. I designed it myself.”

  I start to wonder if the guard is dead as steam rises from his body. He groans and stirs. Nav raises her cannon to the man.

  “Where am I? What’s going on?” asks the guard, not bothering to reach for his gun. He looks at us. “Who are you guys?”

  Why is he saying that? It’s as if he doesn’t know what’s going on. Wait…could it be? “I think the electricity shorted out his Evo!”

  Nav lowers her gun. “We can save people like this.”

  “You’re a prisoner,” I say to the guard. “You were in an accident, and you lost your memory. Don’t move.”

  The man looks around wildly. “A prisoner? No. I’m an accountant. What are you talking about?” He leaps up, and before any of us can react, he sprints outside.

  “Don’t,” shouts Nav.

  The turrets fry him, his scream echoing in the hallway.

  Nav purses her lips and shakes her head. “At least we can save the others.”

  “Keep guarding the halls. I need a little bit more time,” I say and continue programming.

  “A large group of guards is approaching our position,” says Sunny.

  Nav glances at me, her cannon ready.

  I finish my network program and access my puppet program. “There’s no more danger now. You can lower your gun.”

  Nav looks at me uncertainly and keeps her cannon elevated.

  “Chim, freeze everyone,” I say.

  Guns clatter to the ground just around the corner as the frozen guards’ hands go limp. Nav peeks into the connecting hallway.

  She turns back, her eyes wide. “That’s amazing, but kind of scary. Let’s short out their Evos. I want those truly responsible for my father’s death to pay, but those who were controlled, should live.”

  Her words give me a thought. Maybe all of them weren’t compelled. My stomach tightens at the thought of twenty complicit traitors, free of the Evo, suddenly charging with murderous intent.

  I could accelerate their hearts until they explode to be safe, or even keep them as soldiers, but it would be wrong. Most probably were controlled. We can hook Sunny up to one of the robo-suit’s fusion engines to give him extra power and shock the guards to free them.

  “We’ll shock them one at a time in case some weren’t compelled,” I say. “The innocent will live.”

  Nav favors me with a broad, radiant smile.

  Her expression is one I’ve only seen a few times. She’s proud. I remember my mother’s loving face and full smile when I first learned what proud meant. She showered me with affection because I could multiply three-digit numbers in seconds at the age of four. I had no idea how advanced that was at the time.

  “Chim, assemble a map for the building’s interior and mark all Evo locations.”

  My q-link beams sound waves to map the building. A layout of the structure materializes before me. All of the guards are represented by red, human-shaped gridlines. Several are just in front of us.

  “Chim, have them all gather in this room,” I say, pointing to a spot on the map.

  The guards in front of me and the others throughout the building move to the indicated room.

  “Chim, scan for any lifeforms without the Evo.”

  “There is one.”

  A red figure flashes in a room down the hall.

  “That must be Captain Bosu,” I say. “He’s the one who tortured Americus.” And nearly took over my mind.

  Nav lowers her eyebrows. “Let’s get him.”

  Nav puts her arm around me, and we trot toward the room, Sunny following. A jolt of pain hits me with each step. We reach Bosu’s location, but a steel door bars the entrance.

  “Come out,” I command.

  “You are nothing. I’m one of the chosen. Leave now or die,” yells Bosu.

  I try the knob. It’s locked.

  The door looks robust but thinner than the one at Xyphotech. I glance over at Nav’s chrome arm, which glistens from the overhead lights. “Can you break in?”

  She punches it twice, sparks flickering from the impacts. It groans and bends. She smashes it again, and it flies off its hinges into the room. It slams into a watercooler, knocking it to the ground and spilling water around it.

  The man that shattered my wrists and drilled Americus lies sprawled on his back. His rat-eyes stare at me as he reaches for his gun. Sunny dazzles his eyes. Bosu screams and covers them.

  “Director Tempton will make you pay for this,” he says with a growl.

  “He’ll be the next one to find out what happens to those who cross me,” I say. “Kill him.”

  Bosu scrambles backward.

  “This is for you, Dad,” says Nav as she pulls the trigger. A bang splits the air, loud despite my hearing protection.

  A hole erupts in the man’s chest, and he falls limp.

  ☼☼☼

  Two hours later, Nav, Sunny, and I survey our campsite in a forest forty minutes east of the NIA headquarters. Alexander lies on a cot, still sedated. We looted the compound before we left as if we just thrashed a raid boss in some MMO. We took both Obliterator suits, the damaged one for parts. We also secured enough food and water for months and weapons, armor, and tactical equipment to arm a group of thirty. Nav even found my Torg nine-millimeter.

  We left the guards we shocked in the compound’s prison cells to give us time to escape. We kept the few non-compelled, evil ones in a separate cell.

  Nav looks down at my bruised and bloodied skin with a deep frown. “What did they do to you?”

  Sunny shakes his head, his eyes dim.

  The memory of hopelessness resurges in my mind as I remember the pain of my shattering arms, the mass of guards savaging me, and then them nearly taking over my mind.

  I won’t ever be that powerless again. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

  “Maybe someday.”

  She nods reluctantly. “Do you need any medical attention?”

  Nav, always taking care of me, despite everything I’ve done to her. “I’m fine.”

  “At least let me get you some painkiller,” she says, then locates it in a pack. “It’s the good stuff.”

  She injects me, and a numbing wave expands through my body until my pain is a horrible memory.

  “There’s one more thing,” says Sunny. “It appears you forgot your clothes today.”

  Nav laughs and shakes her head.

  I chuckle. “Good one.”

  “It’s not a joke. You really don’t have clothes on.”

  “I know. I was hot.”

  He grins. “No you weren’t. They took them, didn’t they?”

  “Yes, you nut.”

  “Let’s clean off the blood and find you something to wear,” says Nav.

  She brings some water over and gently scrubs me clean, then she rummages around in another pack and hands me shorts and a tank top.

  After I dress, Nav and I find a box of plant-based MREs, then sit on a couple of camping chairs.

  “I can’t believe we almost lost Alexander,” I say, between mouthfuls of the MRE.

 
“How are you holding up?” asks Nav. “It must have been especially hard for you to see Alexander get hurt.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Fae, I know you like him.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  She looks at me skeptically. “Sure.”

  “I feel terrible about it, though. It was my fault.”

  “We did our best,” she says. “Don’t blame yourself.”

  “Will he heal okay?” I ask Sunny.

  “He has extensive second-degree burns. If he wasn’t treated, he might have died. He should live now, except he’ll likely be blind in his right eye. His left eye also appears damaged but should heal.”

  Oh hell. Blind? I can’t believe I froze again. What’s wrong with me?

  Nav squeezes my hand, then pulls me into a hug. As always, I feel safe and warm in her strong embrace.

  Alexander groans, then props himself up. Ron Paul sits on the cot bobbing his head. It’s a sad reminder of Americus’ death. Alexander manages a smile at seeing me.

  I walk over, trying to look positive, but it’s too sad to see him hurt.

  “Don’t look at me like that. I feel fine,” he says, his voice raspy.

  I squeeze his unburned hand. “You feel fine because of the pain killers. Your burns are extensive, and I’m not sure about your one eye.”

  “I’ll be good as new soon.”

  After a few moments of silence, I ask, “What happened back at our base?” I’m not sure if I even really want to know, but maybe it will help me get closure.

  Nav and Alexander look at each other and then back to me.

  “They came on us shortly after you left,” says Nav. “Alexander, Sunny, and I were chatting in one of the rooms. Gunshots and screams alerted us to the problem. The alarm system never went off.”

  “It would have been different if we had the machinegun turrets,” says Alexander, clenching his fist. “But we didn’t.”

  “Alexander held them off in the hall as we fled through a secret exit,” says Nav.

  “I ended several of the attackers, but there were too many,” says Alexander. “I had to drop the steel barrier and escape. Too many good people died. It wasn’t my finest moment.”

  “It was terrible, Fae,” says Sunny, his eyes dim, and his mouth turned down.

  I hate that he had to experience it. I’m also surprised by how much it seems to be affecting him since he doesn’t have emotions. “So, everyone else died?” I ask, dreading the answer.

  “Brandon escaped too. Everyone else died terribly,” says Nav, lowering her head.

  Even Alexander, who’s never serious, frowns and looks away.

  My heart sinks. I wasn’t close to any of them, but the loss of life sickens me. If only I spoke up.

  At least Brandon lived. Nav clearly likes him, so even though I’ll always be wary of him, I’m happy for her. “Where is Brandon?”

  “We kept him from the rescue mission to build another resistance if we failed,” says Nav. “I’ll contact him with our location.”

  Smart. “When I saw you guys charging in, I just about lost it. I was terrified that you were going to be cut to pieces.”

  “Of course, Alexander wanted to rescue you right after we were attacked,” says Nav. “We almost tried, but something told me it would be worse than we thought. I made him delay to secure the bullet shield, and I prepared the Liberator drone hack.”

  “Good foresight,” I say.

  “Thanks. After our preparations and Alexander’s tactical planning, I was more confident we’d save you.”

  “The odds of success were still against us,” says Sunny.

  Alexander shrugs. “True heroes have to be sure of themselves.”

  I think about all the last second, desperate things we did to survive and how Alexander nearly died anyway. I can’t imagine how horrible that would have been.

  “How did you guys shut down the turrets and put up the jamming field?” I ask. “Did you hack it, Nav?”

  She looks down and frowns. “I couldn’t. I tried but couldn’t. We captured a guard outside who didn’t have the Evo. Neither of us wanted to torture him, so Alexander gave him—”

  “It’s over now,” says Alexander, looking more flustered than in the middle of battle.

  I look back and forth between them. “What did he give him?”

  Nav looks at Alexander, and when he doesn’t say anything, she says, “He gave the guard his dad’s gold medal to get the base codes.”

  My eyes widen at that. He gave it up to save me, and Americus, I guess, but still. Diablo.

  Alexander’s lips turn down. “He was already thinking about deserting, and he thought it was pure gold,” says Alexander. “The fool. It’s silver in the middle. Plus, we were going to kill him if he didn’t. I carved Fiore on the back so I can find it again.”

  I look at him and admire the side of his rugged face that’s unburnt. He rescued me and gave up his medal. I can’t believe I ever doubted him. “I’m sorry you had to do that.”

  He waves a hand dismissively. “It’s nothing. I’ll win several once this is over.”

  I glance at his bandaged eye, not as sure. “Yeah, but it was your dad’s.”

  A grimace touches his face. “Do you seriously think I hesitated for even a moment? I was ready to risk my gorgeous body for you and Americus.” He looks down at himself. “Well, formally gorgeous body. Either way, it was an easy decision.”

  Nav and I share a look and shake our heads.

  Nav’s expression darkens. “I know it will be tough to talk about, but I need to know, Fae. What happened to my dad?”

  I knew that she would ask, but the words slam into me like a mortar round. I can’t hide this from her as I did her husband’s death. I hid that for too long now to tell her, but this is fresh.

  I rub Sunny’s dent. “It was hell, Nav. Captain Bosu ordered his guards to power drill Americus’ feet and hands for hours. He didn’t give up anything until Bosu broke my first arm. Then Bosu shot Americus seven times in the legs. The guards had given him a coagulant to slow his bleeding and more blood so they could torture him for days until he gave up Gabriel. If he didn’t break, they were going to install the Evo and kill him afterward.”

  She gasps. “Oh my God.” Then her shock turns to anger as she clenches a fist. “That scum, Bosu, will rot in hell forever for what he did.” She shakes her head with a growl.

  My heart flutters, and I step back.

  “Wait. If they were going to torture him for days, why did they kill him early? Did he give up Gabriel? Or try to escape or something?”

  The world spins around me, and I expect at any moment for it to unravel like poorly designed code. I want to lie as I have my entire life. But how can I lie to her again after all the wrong I’ve done to her? My legs wobble, then give out from under me. My knees hit the grass, but I manage to stay on them.

  “He was in so much pain, Nav,” I say. “He was screaming for hours. You have no idea how horrible it was and how much agony he was in.”

  She kneels in front of me and rests her hands on my shoulders. “What? What are you saying?”

  “He wanted me to do it; he told me to do it. I didn’t want to,” I say frantically.

  Her eyes widen, and she steps back from me. “Tell me what happened.”

  I open my mouth to talk, but no words come out.

  “What happened?” she demands.

  I force myself to speak. “After a while…the guards holding me grew lax. I slipped out of their grip and stole Captain Bosu’s gun. I knew there was only one bullet left, and they’d capture me again, but I thought it was worth it to kill Bosu. Americus told me to kill him instead. He didn’t want to give up Gabriel and thought there was no hope, just like me.”

  Nav stands there in shock, Alexander looks dumbfounded, and Sunny grabs my hand.

  I bow my head. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry. Please Nav. You have to understand. I didn’t want to.”

&nb
sp; I feel her hand rest on my shoulder again, and I hesitantly look up.

  “I’m not mad at you. It’s terrible, and I’m heartbroken, but every ounce of my anger is directed at the NIA. You were right to grant my dad’s wish. I don’t even know how he held out during all that pain. And even though I don’t like Gabriel, I know my dad would have hated giving him up.” She pulls me into a tight hug.

  I bury myself in her embrace and break down into tears.

  Alexander rubs my shoulder, and Sunny pats my arm.

  “I would have done the same thing, Fae,” says Alexander. “I’m sure he was grateful.”

  I feel sick that I caused Americus’ death and Alexander’s injuries. Despite my failings, my friends risked everything to free me, and I love them for it. I’ve been wary of people my entire life. Trusting them has always blown up in my face. But it’s different now. Before, I was staying until I atoned for the blimp disaster, but now I pledge myself to them no matter what. Not just out of guilt for what I did to Nav but out of love for what they did for me. I’ll protect them at the risk of my life because now, nothing is more important to me than my three friends are.

  I look at them with awe, meeting each of their eyes. “I really thought I was finished at that prison. The fact that you guys rescued me means everything. No matter what, I’m here for all of you, and I’ll never leave.”

  “I always knew you’d stay,” says Alexander. “You’d miss me too much if you left.”

  I shake my head at him. Despite his injuries, he’s still Alexander.

  “I thought we lost you,” says Nav. “It would have been crushing, but you’re going to be okay now.”

  “Now we just have to make sure you’re not captured again,” says Sunny. “If someone is tricking you, don’t fall for it.”

  I roll my eyes.

  Alexander pats Sunny’s back. “Wise advice, Sunshine.”

  ☼☼☼

  The evening sun clings to the sky, casting long, dreary shadows from the trees. Sunny, Nav, and I stand around a rectangle of freshly mounded dirt. Alexander sits in a camping chair. A memorial rifle sticks out of the ground at the head of the grave. After saying words for Yumi, Astrid, Silas, Asher, and all the others, it’s time for us to remember Americus.