Hellcats: Anthology

by Kate Pickford

  Price opened his eyes. “It happened again,” he said. His eyes continued to move with whatever he was doing on the bionet even as he looked at her. “It’s here.”

  “The ghost?”

  It was Price’s turn to nod. He clenched and then relaxed in the chair. “I can feel it. Always just out of reach. I feel like it’s watching me, waiting for me, for something. Teasing me. Whoever it is, they know the bionet just as well as I do, maybe even better to be able to hide from me.”

  “That’s not possible. You built the bionet. You’ve practically lived in it since it went online. No one knows this system, inside and out, better than you.”

  “Something is there. Someone else.”

  “If any of the other megacorps realize what CAT is—”

  “I know, Ivrina.” Price’s voice was emphatic. “I don’t need you to remind me of what’s at stake.”

  He pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn’t need this right now.

  “Do you think it’s her?”

  Price shook his head. “It’s not possible. She doesn’t have that kind of awareness.” The random anomalies were expected. Human brains aged, and the neural connections along with them. Random bits of information were lost, misfiled, deleted, altered. Left unchecked, those deteriorating neural connections used to create a condition in humans called dementia, something rarely ever seen anymore. His calculations adjusted for those but he had to do it manually; one of the reasons that he monitored CAT so closely.

  He closed his eyes again. “No, whatever is behind this is human. I can feel it.”

  “Minke?”

  “If it is, whoever she has working for her has made a terrible mistake.”

  “What are you going to do when you find them?”

  “Hire them or kill them.” They could either work for him exclusively, or he would destroy them. After he made them tell him how they hacked his system and he patched any loopholes. He would not allow Minke, or anyone else, to make a fool of him. “Make my terms perfectly clear to her.”

  Ivrina nodded. “You ran all the scans on the interface and uplink. Everything is normal. If someone had penetrated the system it would have shown up.”

  Price rubbed his face tiredly. “No,” he mused. “Nothing has penetrated the system. Nothing from the outside. That I can find, anyway. But, what if it isn’t from the outside? What if it’s an inside job?”

  “You think one of the other corps has a spy in the building? That’s ridiculous. All new hires are checked and tagged. There are no unrecognized signatures.”

  “What if it’s not a new hire? What if someone decided to play both sides?”

  Ivrina’s mouth drew together in a tight line. “I will find them.”

  “I’ve managed to chase the ghost through some of the surface level systems to the deeper ones, but it always disappears.” The power dimmed, the lights flickering out for a brief moment before coming back on. “Damn!” He smacked his hand on the desk. “I lost it again.”

  “If you can locate the signature, I can take care of it.”

  “I’m counting on it. Clear my schedule until further notice. I’m not available for anything unless it’s an emergency.”

  “Might I remind you the Board Meeting is in three days.”

  “I intend to find the ghost before then and present its head on a platter to the Board,” he said grimly.

  “One of the things I like about you.” Ivrina stood. She straddled the chair to sit on his lap facing him, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck, her fingertips toying with the ends of his hair. “You look tired. You should rest.”

  Price blinked, the lines of his face softening a little. “I am tired.” He settled his hands on her hips and pulled her closer. She rested her forehead against his.

  “Maybe just a quick break?” She lowered her lips to his.

  //

  C:initiate reboot sequence

 

  C:command code 1 - launch program

  >Whre…wer… her…lkdjar;ioeoiu;

 

  C:dump memory

 

  >… aAm …aaaaam…(*&$Nhnnppo8i8

 

  C:memory override

 

  >… i... Ii|- |ii|iiiI … mvie92857ghjwso8t5hn

 

  C:system bypass

  >I…

 

 

 

  //

  The doors to the private elevator whispered shut behind her as Minke stepped into the room.

  Price stood up from behind his chair. “Minke!” he said, smiling. “What a pleasure! I wish I’d known you were coming. I would have met you personally.”

  Liar. Nothing this man said could be trusted. And when he found out why she was here, he definitely wouldn’t be happy to see her. She had to give him credit though. His feigned surprise was almost believable.

  “It’s nice to see you again, Price,” she said, keeping her voice calm. Also a lie. He held his hand out to shake hers and she looked down at it. She couldn’t bring herself to touch him. Her eyes met his again and his smile stretched wider, if that was possible.

  Her heart pounded in her chest. Price Bionet Systems, Inc., was a fortress. No one got in or out undetected. Price used his own proprietary security systems, not trusting to outsource them to anyone. Including Data Security Solutions, her company. In order to see him, she’d had to take the direct route. Through the front door.

  Which fit her plans perfectly. She wanted him to know she was here. That she was coming for him. She wasn’t going to let him get away with murder.

  Her eyes wandered around the room at the simple yet luxurious decor. The light upbeat melody of a classic folk tune met her ears. “Imagine Dragons,” she said. “Thunder. Interesting choice.”

  “I enjoy their whimsical sound,” Price replied. “And I find their lyrics quite inspiring.” He seated himself behind his desk again and offered her a chair across from him.

  I’ll bet. Anger raked through her at his smile. When she thought of what he’d done, it made her want to vomit. She willed herself to stay calm as she sat, smoothing her skirt over her legs.

  “You’ve been quite busy lately,” he said, an admiring tone to his voice. “Well done, I might add. I’ve had a heck of a time keeping the government and press representatives out of my hair. People are clamoring at my doors to hand the bionet over as public domain. You must realize that I will do whatever it takes to keep that from happening.”

  “I would expect nothing less,” she said.

  “Good.” He nodded. “I assume you’re here to accept my offer then.” For a moment Price’s eyes fixed on her and it was like locking eyes with a demon before it vanished and he was just Price again. She shivered, trying not to admire his precise control. The man was a devil in sheep’s clothing.

  “Actually I’m here to discuss a different matter.”

  Price raised an eyebrow. “And what would that be?”

  She cut right to the point. “Where is Kat?” she asked.

  Price blinked. “What do you mean?”

  “Kat Hellan. Your girlfriend. The woman I interviewed and offered a job to, who then mysteriously disappeared.”

  “Kat?” He sounded puzzled. “I can’t imagine why any of my past relationships would interest you.”

  “Don’t play with me, Price,” Minke said. “She was a beautiful and talented young woman. Brilliant, really. She came to me looking for a job. She said she had some concerns about the direction that your research was taking and she didn’t want to be a part of it anymore. I offered her a position and she accepted. That was the last anyone ever saw her.”

  He made a dismissive gesture. “That was over a decade ago. How would I know where she is? And why would I care? What is this all about Minke? Are you trying to imply that I
had something to do with her disappearance?” The corners of his mouth quirked in a cold, grim smile. His expression told her everything she needed to know.

  Sweat beaded on her upper lip. “Where is Kat?”

  “Since you’re the expert on keeping people’s secrets, you tell me.”

  A beat of silence passed. His gaze made her skin crawl. “I know how you built the bionet.”

  He didn’t even have the grace to look confused. Or surprised.

  “How is that, exactly?”

  “The bionet is a fully interfaced computer connection with the human brain. A connection provided by a neural mesh, conveniently sold by your company. A relay, if you will, that allows the human brain direct access to the internet.”

  “I don’t need a technology lesson, Minke,” Price said, sounding bored. “I designed and built it. I know how it works.”

  Minke continued as though he hadn’t interrupted her. “Here’s the interesting thing, though,” she said. “The program, the operating code itself, is evolving.”

  The smile slid from his face. Good. She had his attention now.

  “We both know that’s not possible,” Price said smoothly. “Program codes aren’t capable of evolving on their own.”

  Minke nodded. “You’re right. Not on their own. They have definable limits. Any deviation from the code itself, anytime a limit is met, results in an error in the code. A glitch.”

  “So you think someone is tampering with the code and changing it? Why?” She knew the question wasn’t why would someone do that, it was why are you asking.

  “I don’t think someone is tampering with the code. I know someone is.”

  “And you think that person is Kat?” Price watched her thoughtfully.

  “I do.”

  “Then how could she be dead? And why do you think I have anything to do with it? Why would I sabotage my own creation?”

  “Oh, these aren’t sabotage attempts,” Minke said clearly. “They’re growing pains.”

  Price’s eyes narrowed. “Growing pains,” he echoed.

  “Yes.”

  Minke studied his face carefully, looking for any sign of surprise or disbelief. There wasn’t any. He knew. The realization made her sick.

  Another beat of silence before he spoke.

  “She was about to destroy everything,” he said coldly. “All of the research that we had spent years on. She was going to throw it all away, over a few pathetic moral objections. Science, technology, society—civilization itself—wouldn’t be what it is today without making a few sacrifices. I wasn’t the first to step on the toes of what is considered appropriate. I won’t be the last. And all because she didn’t have the vision to see the potential of what was possible. I did.”

  Minke shook her head in disbelief. “That’s the only way the bionet could be as fluid and adaptable as it is,” she said. “Because it is a human brain. It’s Kat’s brain, isn’t it.”

  “CAT, Kat…” He shrugged, his lips stretching into a feral smile. “I thought it was quite appropriate, don’t you?”

  Bile seethed in her stomach. “You’re a monster.”

  He spread his hands. “I’m many things. A man, a visionary, a genius, a scientist, a savior, a scholar, a businessman. And soon to be the leader of the world’s first megacorps conglomerate. Soon to be a God.”

  “You’re nothing more than a murderer.”

  His eyes flared briefly at the insult, and then it was gone. “In order to murder someone, the other person needs to be dead. Technically, Kat is still alive. And I intend to keep her that way. There’s one thing that you haven’t factored into all of this, Minke.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Did you ever wonder why I chose her? Why not someone else?”

  “She betrayed you by coming to me and you were afraid she would tell me of your plans.”

  Price laughed, a sadistically delighted sound that made her skin crawl. “I think I’m insulted that you would consider me so petty.”

  “Then why?” Minke didn’t want to, but she knew she needed to hear the truth. For Kat’s sake. For her own.

  “Because out of all of the billions of brains on this planet, Kat’s is unique. Believe me, I’ve checked them all. The first time they log onto the bionet, CAT runs a brainscan on them. A CAT scan, get it?” He laughed at his own joke. “Kat’s brain is the only one capable of making the connection between the access terminal and the internet. She was expendable. Her brain is irreplaceable. I haven’t been able to figure it out yet. But when I do, I believe I can reverse engineer it and use that technology to make connections between CAT and the brains of everyone else in the world. Can you imagine what we can become as a society, as a species, with one collective mind connected remotely? The bionet is only the beginning. I’ve just begun to scratch the surface of what is possible. One life for the benefit of humanity is a small price to pay. Her sacrifice has been for the greater good of the world.”

  Sickness rose in her chest and she swallowed against the sting in her throat. She forced herself to take a deep breath in and out. He was a madman. Price was clearly insane.

  But she had what she came for. A personal confession, recorded on her vidfeed. Irrefutable. “There is a special place in Hell reserved for people like you and I intend to make sure you reach your destination,” Minke said.

  She stood.

  “Somehow I knew you were going to say that.” He sighed. “Why is it so hard to find anyone that has any vision in this world? Well, since my first offer isn’t to your liking, perhaps you’d prefer my second.”

  Unease settled in her stomach. “You never mentioned a second offer.”

  “No, I didn’t. This offer is only on the table if you refused the first. Which you did, so…” He shrugged.

  “I’m not interested in any other offers, Price. I know everything that I need to know,” Minke said. “You can’t intimidate me into signing over my company so that you can play god and make zombie-puppets out of everybody on the planet. You have a choice to make. You can either turn the bionet, turn Kat, over to the public, or I will take everything I know to the Feds and they will rip you, and this company, apart. The penalty for crimes against humanity is usually a death sentence.”

  “Sit down, Minke.” Price looked at her regretfully. “I think you’re going to want to hear my offer. You have a daughter, if I remember correctly?”

  Minke swallowed and frowned. The feeling of unease grew.

  “Humor me for a moment, if you will,” Price said. “As her mother, you love her very much. She’s your creation. You brought her into this world. You gave her life. You would do anything for her, am I right?”

  “Of course,” Minke said. She didn’t like the direction the conversation was taking. “That’s part of being a parent.”

  “But you see, I have created something too,” Price said excitedly. “I have created the bionet. It’s my child, my creation, and I have revolutionized the world with it. And just… like… you,” he emphasized each word with a finger point in her direction, “I am willing to do whatever it takes to protect it.”

  He lifted his hand and snapped his fingers.

  She turned in her chair at the sound of a door sliding open. And forgot how to breathe.

  Two figures walked into the room. The first, a tall, slender woman, with black hair and sinuous curves. She moved with predatory grace. Her hand rested on the shoulder of a small girl in a school uniform, flaxen hair tied back in pigtails, and a large ice cream in one hand. A smile lit up the little’s girl’s face when she spotted Minke, its warmth rivaling that of the sun. ”Mama!”

  Minke froze. The seed of dread that had sprouted a moment before blossomed into full horror. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. The girl sprinted across the room as quickly as she could without jeopardizing the stability of the ice cream, backpack bouncing on her back. “Look what Miss Ivrina got me!” she cried happily.

  Emma. The monster had her Emma. Her mind reeled as
she wrapped stiff arms around her daughter and pulled her close, wanting to pull her precious child back into herself, to shield her, protect her.

  “I know you’re a very busy woman, Minke,” Price said. The pleasant, condescending tone had returned. “So I took the liberty of having Ivrina pick your daughter up from school. A busy woman such as yourself, trying to balance the demands of a career and a family, needs a helping hand occasionally. Imagine how much time you’ll have to spend with this precious child when you accept my offer.”

  Minke was too stunned to speak, unable to wrap her head around what was going on. Her thoughts tripped over each other, faster and faster. Ivrina had gotten past Emma’s bodyguard. Which meant he was dead. Her throat constricted even more.

  She forced herself to take a breath and return her daughter’s smile. Keep it together. For Emma’s sake.

  “Such a beautiful little girl you have, Minke,” Price said. He turned to Emma. “What’s your name?” he asked her brightly.

  Emma happily licked the drips of melting ice cream off of her hand, her mouth smudged with chocolate. “Emma,” she replied.

  “How old are you, Emma?”

  “I’m seven. But my birthday is only two months away and then I’ll be eight. Guess what I want for my birthday!”

  Price leaned closer to Emma, giving every appearance of listening attentively but his eyes were on Minke, the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile. “Tell me.”

  Emma warmed to him. “I want Fortress of the Oasis. It’s this game where you have to find all of the treasures and then you have to use the treasures to solve the puzzles. And fight other players to win more treasures, and get more lives, and then you have to clear all the tiles to build your fortresses and keep everybody else from getting them.” Her face drooped into a sad pout. “But it’s been sold out for months. I keep checking, but they don’t have any new access codes for sale. I really want it.”