62
SUSAN HAD JUST left the safe house and was riding back toward the small airport in middle Tennessee. She had messaged Harriet about the van, safe house, and the acid containers. She put on her goggles and VR gloves as the car drove. It was time to work on the media spin.
She could feel the car moving but was quickly lost in the virtual world and in her own thoughts. With her right hand, she gestured to pull up her private contact list and found Melissa’s emergency line. While Susan waited for her to pick up, she glanced around her VR platform.
Where the template platform might include lots of black or white space to allow for a better contrast with the interactive screens, Susan preferred a Brazilian rainforest. In her primary portal, she had a small campground in front of a beautiful waterfall. There were tall trees that went up in every direction around her. The waterfall was about a hundred meters in the air coming over large boulders and into a small river at the same level as her camp. She had two large tents at camp, and each tent was a light blue color and held any screens that she decided to pull up. The tent on her left was counting down the number of seconds that it had been trying to reach Melissa.
As Susan looked into the waterfall, she retraced her decisions. How had it gone so terribly wrong? She never set out to be a criminal, but that is what she had become. She was a cold-blooded killer. A murderer.
With all the people that Susan had indirectly killed, Stephanie was the first that she had shot in person. It was a very different sensation to look at a person in real life, point a gun at them, pull the trigger and watch them fall lifelessly to the ground. All of her training with firearms had made her an excellent shot, but until today, she had never used her accuracy to kill. She had used stun guns on suspects and had once shot a woman in the knee to halt her escape. But today all of the training had culminated with her shooting Stephanie in the face.
Susan stared at the Brazilian waterfall as the water crashed into the rocks and turned into a river. Why couldn’t her own life be this peaceful? She remembered the drone missions she had conducted in the past. They were almost like playing a video game. In fact, she had been able to dismiss them from her memory by thinking of them as video games or interactive movies. In those killings, she had been somewhere else, far away from the actual death. She had been wearing goggles and sitting in a Brazilian rainforest while someone died on a screen.
But tonight she was brutally reminded of the bloody carnage and after effects. The terrible smells and gruesome bodies. And she had been responsible for the massacre. She wasn’t the kind of person who commits such atrocities. She was a top student, a top agent, a caring mother, a dutiful employee. She was not a murderer.
And yet she was.
“Hello,” Melissa’s voice was groggy as she answered. Susan turned her head toward the tent and saw the black screen. It was an audio only call.
“Melissa, this is Susan Lowery from the NSA. I’m sorry to call you at such a late hour but there is a breaking story that you can be the first to cover.”
“Susan, hello. Don’t worry about it. The news never sleeps. What’s up?”
“First of all, this is strictly off the record, and there can’t be anything about the NSA in the story. We aren’t involved.”
“No problem,” Melissa replied.
“Thanks. There is an acquaintance of mine, the police chief in Nashville, who approached me recently about joining the NSA. We had some meetings and she might have been a good agent, but she didn’t pass some of the mental screenings. We had some concern about her passions driving her off the rails, if you know what I mean.”
“I think so.”
“I checked in with her from time to time. She was a little distraught from not being selected for the job she wanted, and she mentioned to me yesterday that she was going to prove that she had NSA potential. I couldn’t get more details from her, but I was scared that she would take drastic action.”
“Nashville, you said?”
“Yes, but the action she took is in a town called Jasper, also in Tennessee. I called around and found that she took a small crew and a bunch of combat drones down there, allegedly for a training exercise.”
“What’s in Jasper?” Melissa asked.
“The NSA had been working with the police chief on underground railroad sites. There was a UR site in Jasper that Stephanie obsessed about. She mentioned to me that the leader of the site owned a trucking company and was illegally transporting men across the country in her trucks.”
“Do you have names for these people? The police chief? The trucking company owner?”
“Sure, the Nashville police chief is named Stephanie Williams. The trucking woman is named Elizabeth Simmons. The town is Jasper, Tennessee, and I think that something horrible may have happened there.”
“Horrible in what way?”
“I think that Stephanie was planning a raid of the UR site with the combat drones. The site was known to have weapons of their own. If I’m correct, there may be casualties on both sides.”
“Why are you bringing this to me and not talking to PD near Jasper?”
“I’m trying to help your career, of course,” Susan tried to give a tone of sarcasm and humor.
“Cut the crap, Susan. We’ve known each other ten years.”
“Consider this a deposit in our relationship bank account. I may call you another day and ask for a withdrawal. I may need your help on something later. Or maybe not. Anyway, you are free to call Jasper PD when we get off the phone. Or go back to bed. But I know that you live north of Atlanta and that you could see the UR site for yourself. This could be the news story of the year. Another Pulitzer?”
Melissa paused and then said, “Thank you for the tip. Can you give me the coordinates? I’ll leave right now.”
63
MAXIME SAT on his bed, thinking. He had killed people. He didn’t do it intentionally, but he had done it.
He had almost killed his friend. One of the only friends he had. As terrible as it was, though, what was done was done.
His eyes were red and dry. He didn’t have the luxury to cry any more. He had to plan his next steps.
As of this moment, there was more than a million dollars sitting in a bank account owned by a gamer named AlabamaGetErDone. It was enough money to buy Maxime his freedom. The gamer was likely sleeping and would wake up in several hours to discover the money. Unless Maxime acted now. Time was of the essence.
He stood up and took off his VR gloves. He looked at the shelving next to the door and thought about putting on shoes but decided for flip flops. His walk would be indoors and quick.
Maxime closed the door behind him but didn’t bother locking it. Nobody here was going to steal from him. He walked down the hall and into the stairwell. Up the stairs was the ground floor and outside. Down the stairs was where Joey lived. He had been there only once, shortly after he first arrived.
It only took a few knocks and a few seconds for Joey to answer the door. He was wearing pajamas and a tee shirt but looked completely awake. Probably a night owl playing on the grid.
“What the hell happened to you?” Joey asked. “You look like someone punched you in both eyes.”
“Can I come in? I’m sorry it’s so late,” Maxime replied.
“I’m busy, kid. Come back tomorrow night.”
“Joey, this can’t wait.”
“Something wrong with your ears? I’ve got important business tonight. Come back later.” Joey closed the door.
Maxime pushed back and kept the door cracked. He was stronger than Joey. “I found over a million dollars in an account that nobody knows about except me.”
Joey’s resistance evaporated and the door was opened. He smiled at him.
“I’ve always liked you, kid,” he said.
Maxime walked into the large apartment. Joey directed him toward the kitchen chairs. “Want some coffee or something?” Joey asked.
“Uh, sure. I’ll take some coffee. I th
ink it is gonna be an all-nighter.”
“You’re tellin’ me. When it rains, it pours.” Joey walked to the coffee maker and pushed some buttons and put two mugs underneath. “Milk and sugar?”
“Please.”
He pushed some more buttons. “Cinnamon, chocolate?”
“Maybe some cinnamon. Sure. Thanks.”
“No problem, kid. Now tell me what in the world you are talking about with a million dollars.”
“I was playing a game on Soldier World with the access you gave me, and one of the prizes was over two million. I hacked into this gamer’s account and played for him and won half the prize.”
“Soldier World pays that kind of prize money?”
“Never before for a single mission. At least, not that I’ve ever seen. But the access you gave me let me pose as high level gamers. VIP’s. And the missions they can play in are different than anything I’ve ever seen.”
The coffee machine beeped and Joey grabbed the first mug and handed it to Maxime. The machine moved the second mug underneath its faucet and began brewing Joey’s order.
“You’re telling me that you played for some gamer and made a million dollars? And that it put the money in his account?”
“Yes sir.”
“When?”
“Just now. The gamer is probably sleeping. If we wait until tomorrow, he will wake up and maybe move the money. If we take it now, he may never know. It’s the perfect crime.”
Joey considered the situation. He looked at the coffee machine, which was halfway complete, and back at Maxime.
“Is this why you look like somebody beat you up?”
“No sir.”
“I don’t know if I can hack into somebody’s bank account. It’s not that easy. If it was, I wouldn’t be in this racket here.” He waved his hand, motioning at the apartment and above.
“But you can get into his gamer account and get his profile information,” Maxime said.
Joey picked up his finished coffee and took a sip. “What’s the gamer profile?”
“AlabamaGetErDone.”
Joey laughed. “You kiddin’ me with this shit? You wastin’ my time?”
“No sir. I’m serious.”
“What kinda stupid fuckin’ name… why in the… Are you for real with this? Because I’m in the middle of something really big.”
Maxime looked into his eyes. “Joey, I know it’s a ridiculous name. But there’s a million dollars going into his account. Can you get it?”
“What do you want out of this?” Joey asked.
“My freedom.”
“What? You want me to risk going to jail hacking into a bank account and then you talk about your freedom? I need you. Margaret needs you.”
“She’s tired of me. You’ve seen how she acts.”
“You owe me for breaking you out and setting you up.”
“This will more than cover what I owe you. And you can re-use the equipment with the next person.”
Joey took another sip of coffee.
What is he thinking, Maxime wondered. His body movement makes it seem like he’s going to say yes.
Maxime began to smile. Maybe he could allow himself a little hope from all of this horror?
“Please, Joey. I’m begging you.”
“I thought you liked it here. Begging me?”
“I do like it here, but the end game was always South America.”
“Do you think you’re ready for South America? Do you have a country picked out? A million dollars might pay me back for breaking you out, but it won’t buy you passports or leave you with any spending money. You’d be on the streets. An illegal immigrant in any country you go to. Probably dead in six months.”
“What happens to me here if Margaret gets bored with me?”
“Maxime, Maxime,” Joey stood up and touched his shoulder. “Do you know what a prize you are? There are tons of customers who would pay to spend the night with you. I promise, you’ll have all the work you want.”
Maxime started to relax. He considered the possibility of staying longer. Of earning more money to leave in style. But the fear of what Margaret might do to him crept into his mind. The horror of what he had just done on Soldier World entered his thoughts.
“I’m sorry, but I need to leave. I have to escape.” He started crying. “You want to know why I look so bad? It’s because I’ve been crying.”
Joey was startled. “Kid, get a hold of yourself. I’ve never seen you like this.”
“The mission I was playing in Soldier World. It wasn’t a video game. It was real. I killed almost a hundred people, and it was real.”
“What are you talking about? Have you lost your marbles or something? Did you forget to take some meds? I can get a doctor in here tomorra to check you out.”
“It was real. It was some kind of place in Tennessee where they had men hidden. And I shot them with drones. And I know it was real because I saw Thomas there. He was a guy in the grid camp in Nashville. He’s the one that escaped the same night as me. I saw him there with a woman, and I stopped shooting.”
Maxime started bawling crying. “That’s why I only got half the money. I only completed half the mission,” he sputtered out.
Joey got up and walked behind him. He didn’t say anything for minutes and just tapped Maxime on the shoulder. Finally, Maxime stopped crying and turned to look at Joey.
“We have to get the money now. It’s now or never. Time is of the essence.”
“You’re right, kid,” Joey responded, in a daze. “You said the gamer name was Alabama something.”
“AlabamaGetErDone on Soldier World.”
“This will take me a while, kid. The personal profiles on these sites use hash codes and all kinds of encryption. It will take a while just to find the bank account number and then another while to try and transfer the money.”
“Maybe you can log in as him and set up a new account to use for the proceeds?”
“That is a good idea. That would be a lot easier than figuring out his bank account. Give me a few hours, will ya? I’ll come find you in your room. Is that ok, Maxime?”
Maxime looked around. “Can I stay here while you work? I can’t sleep, and I’d like some company.”
“Sorry, kid. The other business I got is not for anyone’s ears. Ya understand? Go on upstairs. Take the coffee with you. I’ll come find you in an hour or two.”
Maxime capitulated and stood up, taking the mug with him. As Joey closed the door, he said, “Thanks for bringing this to me. I’ll come find you in a few hours.”
64
“I DON’T SEE any drones anywhere. I don’t think they know where we are,” Julia said from behind the gun’s scope.
Thomas was wearing his wig and looking at the map on the navigation system. “This is crazy.”
“What?” Julia said, frantic, and turned toward him.
“No, sweetheart. Nothing bad.”
She calmed and looked at the same navigation screen. They had crossed over from Alabama into Georgia. “What then?”
“We are driving toward one of the farms where I worked. It’s a peach farm that I worked on for years doing supervision, and it’s also one of several where Jenny oversaw the automation. I know it like the back of my hand, but I’ve never actually been there in person. Kinda crazy.”
Julia started crying.
“What is it? What did I say?” Thomas asked.
“I was just thinking of Jenny. How much I liked her. How she helped you learn all of the farm automation stuff and now she’s dead.”
He took her in his arms and kissed her head. “I know, baby. We’ll have time to grieve them all when we are safe. Whoever did this to us, they won’t get away with it.”
She returned the embrace and said, “We are so lucky to have escaped.”
“I know.”
“Why did that drone not shoot us?”
“I don’t know.”
“It wasn’t out of bullets. Whoever was
controlling it decided not to shoot.”
Thomas held her and kissed her head again. “We’ll never know. Just be thankful that we survived.”
“Do you think God was watching out for us?”
“What about everybody else? There were lots of good people there more deserving than me,” Thomas said. “It was some kind of random fluke. We have to focus now on getting to Cuba.”
She wiped away the tears. “I really liked the people at the site.”
“Yeah,” Thomas said, a tear coming down his face. “They were wonderful people. I’ve been in VR for so long without seeing anyone die, and then I leave and meet lots of people and look at what happened.”
“It’s no one’s fault, Thomas.”
“Alex never worried about drones or copters because they were never bothered. And then I came, and they all died.” He wiped his own tears.
Julia’s phone rang and she checked the screen.
“Baby, it’s Vanessa. Remember to stay quiet in case our conversations are monitored,” she said as she answered. “Hey Vanessa.”
Thomas watched Julia talk about the next UR site. He turned back toward the map and used his fingers to zoom in and out of different areas. Everything on the peach farm was just as he remembered it, and they were only five minutes away. Part of him wanted to see the real thing, but he knew that it was too dangerous to take any risks. They had to get underground. He thought about Jenny and all that she had taught him.
He thought about the dead. The world had to find out what had happened to them. Thomas had a mission now beyond just getting to Cuba. He had to communicate to the world the atrocities committed at the UR site. He had to help save others from a similar fate. He had spent the last few years looking for a purpose in his life, and now he had one.
Do something worth remembering!
Julia ended the call and spoke to him. “The woman that runs the UR site we’re going to is named Leslie. Tito spoke with her just now and she is awake and ready for us.”
Thomas looked at the map. “We should be there in an hour or less,” he said. “Is it safe for you to use real names of people over the cellular network?”
Escape The Grid: Volume 1 Page 28
