Murder in the Fabric

by Andrew Jennings

banking and turning in her direction.

  She called George.

  “You got it?” she said.

  “We have you, yes.” he said.

  Around her the day buzzed in its normal manner. Passengers making for the station. Office workers clutching paper coffee cups as if they contained life giving medicine. Was she walking into a trap? The codes all matched. She told herself that it was the same as all the other times. But then there were not flying syringes and robots that broke doors and spewed gas.

  Turning at Collins Street, past the food sellers on the corner. The platform board was right behind her, and she looked to see what was on platform 4A. Through the ticket barrier. Here the roof meant the drones couldn’t get a lock, but she imagined that they had access to the cameras. She walked forward, then sat at a seat, still on platform 4. It was further down to 4A. She lingered long enough that someone following her would have to seek refuge. Then gingerly continued towards 4A, further west along the platform.

  She became aware of him from a distance, in a sort of ‘it can’t be’ moment. A tall, fit Chinese man. Who had made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. What seemed like a long time ago, in a far away Asian place.

  “Xu Wei” he said. “No doubt you remember me.”

  “How could I forget.”

  “SciTec. Operations.”

  “Of course.”

  Just then Mia’s phone started bleeting, and spitting messages at a rapid rate.

  It was Oscar.

  “We’ve lost you. No tracking. You ok?”

  “Yes. I’m fine.”

  Xu gestured. “I should have warned you. We have blacked out the whole area. You can understand that we didn’t want any observation. Defigo have direct access to the surveillance.”

  Mia returned to the phone.

  “They have blanked it. It’s fine. Talk to you later.”

  Xu gestured for the seat, and they sat. He continued. “You have done well. We are very happy with your work.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Now we are out of time. Defigo understand what is going to happen, and they are striking out at random. They are weakened, but in this weakness they can still be very dangerous. We need to proceed carefully.”

  “The influenza doesn’t seem very careful.” she said.

  Xu turned.

  “We are not behind that. Rogue elements. They will be dealt with as well. Once we have Defigo out of the picture.”

  Mia stared into the middle distance. “I would have thought it was simple enough. A single missile would solve the problem.”

  Xu hesitated.

  “This is a city thing, not a military operation. We can’t just do it that way. A city is more than just the buildings, the infrastructure. It’s about people, their wishes, their allegiances.’

  There was an even longer pause.

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning we have to win the population over.”

  “Which is where we come in.”

  “Yes. The exposure of the targeted eliminations. This circulates, it moves everything in our direction. It’s not enough just to strike.”

  “The illusion of a popular uprising. That’s your gig, is it?” she said.

  Xu didn’t react. He paused, and then continued.

  “No, not at all. It’s about destiny. You really think that Defigo is a better choice than SciTec?”

  The phone went off again. Oscar. “You have to move.” he said.

  Xu just smiled.

  “Go.”

  Oscar was back on the phone. “Don’t go back into Spencer Street.” he said.

  Leaving her only one choice. She ran for the stairs, climbing them two at a time. Her thighs burned, she tried to gather speed.

  Next to her, a man grabbed at his face. He screamed, and looked like he was trying to claw his own eyes out. Instinctively she looked up, to the top of the stairs. Hovering and spitting, a ground robot was squirting a liquid in her direction, in bursts.

  She knew to move fast, that it would only take a single hit. Down, down now, heading back toward the platform.

  “Groundbots” she said to Oscar. “I’m making for the loop.”

  She looked back - the robots were rolling, or falling, down the stairs. Depending on how they landed at the bottom, they would be on her in seconds.

  No time. Running across the country platforms she came to the first city platform, looking left and right as she jumped onto the tracks. Then arms high and pulling herself onto the platform. How long? The display said only 1 minute, but she could see the groundbots coming down the escalator. It was going to be close.

  A stream of people exiting, with the groundbots closing on the door. She jumped in, and closed the door. Watching the other doors to see if one made it in. So far so good. But there was a person approaching, opening the door. The groundbot seized its chance, and jumped in.

  A moment. She looked at it. It was scanning, and she knew that it would attack as soon as it found her. At least the blackout was still working and it didn’t have access, it was in full search mode. It tracked around, the camera going up, down, then rotating.

  In a single movement, Mia crossed the train, opened the door, and kicked the bot out onto the platform. The doors beeped, and they began moving.

  As long as the blackout continued, she would be ok until they got to Richmond. It was above ground, but if she stayed away from the windows a drone could not get a good enough view.

  At Flinders Street it seemed to take forever.

  “Anything?” she asked Oscar.

  “Lots of activity at Richmond.” he said.

  The train rattled out into the yards, and she looked ahead. The train went in a slight arc, so she could see the front of the train.

  It was like a swarm of bees. The drones around Richmond. She thought about staying on the train, but there was no way back. Oscar would have to get a car to a station before she arrived. It didn’t seem possible.

  Pulling into Richmond, it was like she had a welcoming party. On the platform the groundbots, in the sky above the drones. She worked her way back closer to the centre of the train. The passengers were looking alarmed. They had no way of knowing that it was all for her, they could just see that things were not good.

  She hung back. The passengers naturally crowded the door, even as the bots crowded towards the door on the other side. As the train stopped, she crept towards the opposing door. The bleeping of the door.

  Forcing the door, she looked for a train coming the other way, then jumped down onto the tracks. Quickly to the other platform, pulling herself up, heading for the underpass. It was small, and crowded. Too crowded for the bots to make any progress.

  “When?” she said to Oscar. He had the view of the incoming train.

  “Ten seconds.”... then “Now.”

  She ran for the door. It was so crowded that none of the technology had a chance. Only the steps up, and the train mattered. She had to run in a ragged way. As she gained the top of the stairs, there was a fog of gas. Disoriented people were stumbling. She could see a drone only a metre or two above the train, it almost looked like it was going to get tangled in the overhead electrical equipment.

  Somehow, she made it through the door, grabbing the upright. It happened every day. People ran for the train. Nobody gave it a second thought. Unlikely as it was, she was on her way to Parliament station.

  She messaged to the followers “..nearly there.”

  // George

  George waited in the garage for the car. Even after all this time he still looked for the driver, but of course it was just the car. Only a momentary pause, he sat in the back, and quietly said “go”. Up the ramp, onto the street. Half expecting a reception, but he had the all clear.

  “Defigo headquarters.” he said. “Fast.”

  It was quiet. The car had the light flashing, so it would go as fast as it could. It was frightening how fast the autonomous car with all the sensor fe
eds could go. Much faster than any human would think about. He had to brace himself against the inside as it accelerated up the Bourke Street hill.

  He called Kate.

  “How do you arrest a whole company?” he said.

  “Start at the top. Work your way down. ” she said.

  At William Street the car swung wide and down towards Collins Street. Almost at the spot. He called Mia.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “Yes.” she said.

  A crowd had gathered. In response to Mia’s messages. All of them holding small signs, with an “X” marked on them. Mia could see a small group feeding it live. She hoped that Michael was watching. So imposing the glass and concrete tower. Somewhere inside there were the launchers of the drone with the syringe. She scanned for George, spotting the car pulling to a halt. He stepped out.

  Robert Travail was inside the glass, looking out. He looked upward, almost for reassurance. The drones swirled, down to the crowd, then back into formation. Ready, and armed. On the street the groundbots were silent, and stationary. He looked to his left, and right. All waiting for the word.

  “OK. Go.” he said.

  The drones had their instructions. They ignored the crowd, ignored George. They swirled into a tight formation with a single target. Swinging high, then arcing over the street and turning. Towards Mia.

  “Now.” she said. The crowd turned the signs to the sky.

  Programmed they were to scan their environment. Especially anything new and distinctive. Not that they necessarily had to do anything with that information.

  The first drone saw the held up “X”. An image was absorbed, processed, and then sent to a chip. Which was where it ended.

  Michael was watching. The first drone fell. Not in a controlled way, in a totally