Forever Until Tomorrow (War Eternal Book 5)

by M. R. Forbes

  "I thought you were a good guy?" Max said. "You're damn handy with locked doors."

  "Do you know how hard it is to get a decent warrant nowadays? Evidence first, warrant later."

  They entered the home.

  "Hello," Max called out. "We're not going to hurt you. We're Marines. We just need to borrow some clothes." He lowered his voice. "What if nobody lives here? Or only women?"

  "Somebody lives here," Mitchell said, pointing at a bowl of fruit on the kitchen counter. "Bedrooms are most likely upstairs. Let's be quick about this."

  They made their way upstairs. The house was fairly new, large and well-appointed, enough that Mitchell was surprised it didn't have a security system. They entered the master bedroom, locating a large closet filled predominately with suits.

  "Ugh," Max said. "I don't mind dressing up for the right reasons. Fighting an out of control AI isn't one of them."

  Lyle pointed at a holographic display projecting from a nightstand. A man with his arms wrapped around a woman from behind. They were both smiling. "Uh. Colonel."

  "What is it?" Mitchell asked.

  "I recognize these two." He shook his head sadly. "On the train."

  "Oh, shit," Max said. "You're frigging kidding?"

  "No. I don't forget a face. It's part of the job. Those two were both on the train."

  "That explains why the house is empty," Mitchell said. So many had already died, he was almost becoming numb to it. He wanted to feel sorry for the latest casualties. He was finding it difficult.

  "It'll take at least twenty-four hours for law enforcement to id the bodies and find their way here," Lyle said. "At least we don't have to rush."

  "Shitty silver lining, bro," Max said. "I call dibs on the shower."

  Max entered the closet, grabbed the largest sizes he could find, and passed them into the bathroom, closing the door.

  "I've never done anything this macabre before," Lyle said. "Using a dead couple's shower?"

  "It isn't my first choice either."

  Lyle opened a drawer on the nightstand. A small touchpad rested inside. He picked it up and tapped it. The wall across from the bed lit up, displaying a stream.

  "You're leaving fingerprints everywhere," Mitchell said.

  "We'll wipe everything down before we go." He tapped on the keypad. "Watson's tracking us. He won't think a couple sleeping in and watching streams is out of the ordinary."

  "Not unless he already knows they're dead."

  "We have to take some chances, right?"

  "Yes."

  "Hey, look at that."

  Mitchell looked over at the projection. A reporter was standing outside what looked like a military base. The text below her said, "Norfolk UEA: Dove launch in jeopardy as top pilot retires from service."

  "Major Asher?" Lyle said.

  "Audio?" Mitchell said.

  He tapped somewhere else on the pad.

  "Officials declined to comment on the latest development, following two recent terrorist attacks by the Anti-Interstellar Travel Coalition that claimed the lives of a number of top dignitaries, as well as members of the United Earth Alliance military. We at GNN wish Major Asher the best in her future endeavors outside of the armed services."

  The image faded out, replaced with a new reporter. He was standing against an aerial video of a smoldering debris field. The text below now read, "San Diego: Four hundred dead at the site of one of five simultaneous maglev crashes. Over two thousand reported dead overall. AIT denies responsibility."

  "Denies responsibility?" Lyle said.

  Mitchell considered the news. If Major Asher had left the military, there had to be a reason for it. He didn't think it was her decision, which meant that Watson had managed to manipulate the UEA into letting her go. By promising the Dove would be safe? It would make the AIT's denial of the train crashes more understandable, but how could anyone in the UEA top brass believe it after what had occurred over the last few days?

  He didn't know or understand Watson's plan. He hoped the data chip he carried would be of some use there. "Everything we learn puts Watson more and more in control. I'm starting to feel like we're already boxed in."

  "Let's see what Max's contact can do for us," Lyle said. "We aren't out of this thing until we're dead."

  Mitchell nodded. "I like your attitude, Sergeant."

  "Oorah."

  41

  They each took their turn showering and changing. It was fortunate that they were all of similar enough height and build that they managed to fit into the clothing they had found, even if they were clearly too short on Max, a little too long on Lyle, and too loose on Mitchell. It was all more passable than the rags they had arrived in, and the similar but poorly tailored cuts gave them the appearance of a second-rate salesman. At least, that's what Max had claimed they looked like.

  They had decided to call Max's contact from the system in the home, assuming it was less likely to be monitored, but having no way to know for sure. Fortunately, his ex had been in intelligence and had a good head on her shoulders. She spoke to Max in pseudo-code, carrying on a conversation about her pet Shih Tzu that was in truth an arrangement for them to meet. Unfortunately, that meeting couldn't happen until after midnight, as she had other business that couldn't wait. Mitchell didn't ask what kind.

  It gave them too long to sit and wait, though Lyle was grateful for the opportunity to rest a bit more in the wake of his injury. He slept on the floor, not wanting to disturb the bed while Max set about wiping away as many clues of their presence in the house as he could. Mitchell kept guard, watching out for officers making their way to the house to check for next of kin or to search it for clues to the disaster. He knew they would be busy with the living for some time, and it gave him a measure of pleasure that Watson had inadvertently aided them in their escape.

  A search of the garage turned up a spare car, and a search of the kitchen uncovered the access fob. By the time they made their way from the house, they were clean, rested, armed, and ready. They had been lucky so far, and Mitchell was hoping that luck would stay with them.

  Denver was like most of the larger cities in the country, an in-flux mixture of old technology and new, attempting to find the proper balance between cost and efficiency. Repulsor cars mingled with wheeled vehicles, driverless AI shared the road with humans, mass transit was refined but still underserved, and architecture blended stone, concrete, metal, glass, and newer, more exotic materials into a melting pot that was growing easier to segment to before and after XENO-1.

  Max had arranged for them to meet his ex, a woman he told them to call Daisy, in the bar outside of a sensory theater. Mitchell hadn't understood the term at first until the explanation led him to relate it to combat simulators in his timeframe. Fully enmeshed virtual reality, where an individual or group became the center of the story. The largest difference was that the stories were still relatively linear, rather than fully, dynamically altered by interactions with the system's AI.

  Not that they had time for games. Major Asher was out of the military, Origin was missing in action, and Watson appeared to be in total control.

  For now.

  There was a reason they had decided to wipe his memories for all of those years. There had to be a reason too that he still couldn't remember how he had arrived in St. Louis. He and Katherine and Origin, and even Kathy had developed some elaborate plan in a past timeline with the intent of ending the war. Had they been expecting Watson to exploit a loophole in the eternal engine? It seemed impossible to think so, but why else had he been disappeared so completely, including from himself?

  The data chip had to have answers. Origin wouldn't count on being able to reach him. The Tetron often had contingency after contingency to fall back on.

  The bar was upscale, clean and modern. The preferred drink was a martini or a mojito, the patrons quiet and organized. The layout was designed to ease the visitor into the experience of the theater, and as a result was equipped with jamm
ing technology to render AR interfaces useless. There was no outside noise filtered into the space. Come. Sit. Spend time with your friends. Prepare for the ride.

  It was an obvious place to meet. A place where Watson wouldn't be able to listen in. Where no one outside of earshot would be able to listen in.

  Daisy was a dark-skinned woman with short hair and a serious face, dressed in loose fitting synthetics that shimmered as she moved. Her background was obvious to Mitchell as they approached her, from the way she positioned herself at the table, to the cautious, measured expression as they joined her there.

  "Daisy," Max said, leaning over to kiss her cheek. "It's been too long."

  "Max." Daisy didn't smile. "Let's keep this quick. I only agreed to this meet because you said it had to do with national security." She glanced over at Lyle. She did smile at him. "Carson. How have you been?"

  "Other than a bump on the head, not bad," Lyle replied.

  "This here is Colonel Mitchell Williams, United Earth Alliance," Max said, putting his hand on Mitchell's shoulder. "I set this up on his behalf. The Colonel here has a hell of a story, and he needs your help."

  Daisy looked at Mitchell. She kept her smile, though it shrank slightly as she looked him over. "You're a long way from the nearest Alliance installation."

  "Out of necessity," Mitchell said. "Before we talk, I need you to stand up and turn around."

  "What?" The smile disappeared.

  "Please. I need to check your neck."

  "For what?"

  The bar was jamming normal AR signals. Mitchell didn't completely trust that it was able to jam Watson as well. He remembered the devices the intelligence had used to take control of the Riggers on Goliath. It would be stupid to think he wouldn't be doing the same thing here.

  "Are you still enlisted?" Mitchell asked.

  "I'm on special assignment," Daisy replied.

  "Rank?"

  "First Lieutenant."

  "Stand up and turn around," Mitchell said firmly. "That's an order, Lieutenant."

  Daisy raised her eyebrows and then did as he asked. Mitchell put his hand on the base of her neck, feeling beneath the softness of her skin.

  "You have warm hands," Daisy said.

  "You can sit now," Mitchell replied.

  She returned to her seat. "So, what is this about?"

  Mitchell told her everything she needed to know, keeping the focus on the AIT and leaving off anything having to do with the future or AI. Then he fished the data card out of his pocket.

  "There's encrypted information on this card that will hopefully give us a solid lead on the AIT stronghold. If not the location of their leadership, at least a nearby cell. Corporal Starling brought me to you because he thinks you can help me get the intel on it."

  "He does, does he?" Daisy said, glancing at Max again.

  "I told him you're the best, darling."

  "Look, Colonel, I've got official orders. I'm sure you understand that. Max is vouching for you, and I can tell by your mannerisms you're legit as far as being in the service and used to giving orders. That's the only reason I'm still sitting here. I can't divert my resources onto this. Not without authorization."

  "Lives are at stake here, Lieutenant," Mitchell said. "The maglev crashes? The AIT denies it, but I know they're responsible."

  "Then why would they deny it?"

  "It's part of the game. You're in special operations. You know how it's played. Don't you?"

  She paused, considering. Then she nodded. "You didn't hear this from me, but the UEA capitulated to the AIT. They kicked Major Asher out in exchange for non-interference during the launch of the Dove."

  "I had a feeling it was something like that," Mitchell said. "The AIT isn't going to honor it. You know that, don't you?"

  "I was hopeful. Latest media reports are saying there was faulty software in the maglev controllers. That the AI had a time-based glitch that caused it to overload the reactor and blow the engines, causing the crash."

  "Bullshit," Max said.

  "Total bullshit," Daisy agreed.

  "No, it isn't," Mitchell said. "I'm sure it happened exactly like that. But was the glitch pre-existing in the system, or was it added? They'll never be able to prove it, and as long as the AIT denies it, the government will believe them."

  "Logic says that if they managed such a massively successful terrorist attack, they would be all over it," Lyle said.

  "Unless they're holding their cards for something else," Daisy said.

  "Something bigger," Mitchell said.

  Daisy sighed heavily. "Shit. I'm going to blow my orders if I help you. Maybe I won't get court-martialed, but I'm going to get nailed for it regardless."

  "You don't need to get involved. All I need is someone who can open this thing up."

  "Then I do need to get involved, Colonel. He won't trust you without me."

  "In that case, how do you feel about saving the world?"

  "Somebody has to do it, right?"

  Mitchel smiled. "Yeah."

  "I'm in."

  42

  "Are you sure he'll be here?" Katherine asked.

  "He'll be here," Trevor replied.

  "And you are certain he is not compromised?" Origin said.

  "As sure as I can be. Coates is too low down in the pecking order to draw much attention."

  "You know about him," Katherine said.

  "I make it my business to get to know the people at the bottom. You never know when they might come in handy."

  "That's not very trusting of you."

  "I've been around the block more than once, Kate. The military and the private sector are the same. They tell you what you need to know, and if you want more than that you have to be creative. True, they'd like to turn us all into automatons, just like the Tetron, apparently. I wanted to know more about who Nova Taurus was, so I made a few contacts with people who could tell me the things they might not want operatives to know about." He smiled. "Of course, they left out the part about it being controlled by a rogue AI."

  They had traded Origin's driverless van for an older model car that she had gotten transferred from the inventory of a used vehicle dealer near Baltimore. The place dealt more in stolen goods than anything else, and it had been easy for her to break into their systems and move the car under an assumed name. Then the Tetron had gone to pick it up while Trevor organized the meeting with Coates and Katherine had tried to contact Michael to check on him.

  That part worried her, though she wasn't about to show it. Repeated pings had gone unanswered, which wasn't like her friend at all. He was always there for her when she needed him, even if it was for a few words of encouragement or a few minutes of joking around. She was nervous that Watson had caught on to him, and caught up to him, and that she would never see him or hear from him again.

  "Katherine?" Trevor said.

  She looked over at him. He had been trying to get her attention while she was thinking about Michael. "What?"

  "We're almost there. You know the plan?"

  "You'll drop Origin and me off. We meet with Coates, but we need to make it quick. He'll pass us badges to get into Nova Taurus. You circle back and pick us up."

  "Keep your head turned," Origin said. "Don't look directly into the cameras. We have to get the timing right. I planted a distraction that should keep Watson's attention diverted for the two minutes while we make the pickup."

  "How did you get Coates to help us, anyway?" Katherine asked.

  All she knew of the lab tech was that he was almost too willing to help Trevor get them in, despite the risk to his job. Trevor had given him very specific instructions on how to procure the badges, to make sure he circumvented Nova Taurus security. It was a good thing one of Trevor's responsibilities had been to try to get through that security. The former special forces soldier knew every detail, trick, and hack to make it happen.

  He shrugged in response to her question.

  "It isn't like you to be coy, Tr
ev."

  "It also isn't like you to pry."

  "This is my life we're talking about, and the future of humankind. I think the circumstances make prying acceptable."

  "It isn't enough that I'm vouching for him?"

  "You tried to kill me, too."

  Trevor sighed. "Point made. Fine. If you have to know, we've been seeing one another."

  That caught Katherine off-guard. "Seeing one another, as in, seeing one another?"

  "Don't play dumb, Kate. Yes."

  "Were you ever, you know, before you were with me?"

  "On and off."

  "You never told me."

  "It never came up, and it wasn't important. I was loyal to you. What does my orientation have to do with anything, anyway?"

  "It doesn't. I just never expected someone like you would be so open about who you were seen with."

  "Enough," Origin said. "There's the garage."

  "Affirmative," Trevor said, his entire demeanor changing in an instant. "You know what to do."

  Katherine tried to picture Trevor kissing another man. She didn't have a problem with it, but she also couldn't visualize it.

  The car slowed and turned into a parking garage, located two blocks from the Nova Taurus tower. They made their way up to the third level, slowing as the reached the top of the incline.

  "There he is," Trevor said, shrinking down in his seat.

  "Perfect timing," Origin said. "The flares are active."

  Katherine knew she wasn't referring to actual flares. The flares were really some kind of network connected bomb that would burst with false information in a dozen different places within the city. By the time Watson investigated each, they would be done with the pickup.

  The car stopped. Katherine and Origin climbed out. The car moved again. Katherine noticed the camera nearby but didn't look at it.

  Daniel Coates was standing near the stairwell down. He was tall and thin, with curly hair and a boyish face.