by Bob Blink
"Not them, but Smitty should be easy enough to locate," Raobot said. "If we have his ID number, we can find where they have taken him."
The two Raos exchanged looks, and as if having the same thought, hurried off to the computers to see what they could do. While Raobot started the search, Rao opened a link to Sgt. Lee's Communicator so they could explain what they were attempting. They were fortunate Raobot had known how to implement such a link.
"Have you learned anything?" Ray asked after Rao had indentified himself to Lee.
"Nothing," an obviously upset Mike Lee replied. "Do you think you can find him?"
"He's in Virginia," Raobot said, interrupting. "He's in Arlington, just outside Washington. In a place called Aston Heights." He gave Lee the address.
"I'm on my way." Lee said. "I'll have people here contact the local police to meet me there."
"Remember these people cannot be captured or killed," Rao warned. "Warn anyone approaching the area of the danger. Walker's men have shown no worry about killing police in the past."
"Understood," Sgt. Lee replied, but from his voice Ray could tell that saving his partner was foremost in Lee's mind. He would risk death himself to get to Smitty.
For the next half hour they monitored the situation as Lee hurried toward the location specified. The Raos were able to extract video showing Sgt. Smitty and his captors.
"That's Luke Morales and Kurt Gunner," Ray said.
There was little doubt that the goal was to learn what Smitty knew, and the bloodied and hurting detective had been broken. He was giving names and locations, including revealing the existence of the previously secret Rao that had been sent to Los Angeles. There was nothing that could be done to prevent the information from getting back to Walker. Even killing Luke and Kurt wouldn't accomplish that. They'd simply reappear in their bodies in the Resort with all the information their Avatars in the Sim had acquired.
"Cops are here," Kurt said to Luke after a glance out the window.
Luke nodded and stared at the broken cop.
"We might as well go," he said. "I think we've got what Walker needs."
He pulled out his weapon and shot Smitty twice in the head.
Rao groaned as it happened. They all watched as Luke and Kurt faded from the video, having triggered their return to the Resort.
"Damn it!" Ray cursed.
"What happened?" Sgt. Lee asked. He was still on an open link to them.
"They killed Smitty," Ray told him. "Smitty told them about you and our friends in Los Angeles. I think we better expect an attack against all of you soon. There's nothing you can do for Smitty now. It'd be safer if you return to the station." Even as he made the suggestion, Ray knew that Lee wouldn't follow it. He would go to his partner before doing anything else.
"Listen," Jessica said as she and Cindy hurried into the computer area with the Communicator. "They're telling Walker what they learned."
Walker was giving instructions. "Meet at my office in half an hour. Zack, I want the names and locations of all of those that Luke has identified, and anyone we suspect is linked to them. These are the people that have been screwing with us. I especially want this other version of Rao. We'll hit them tonight. That'll give us time to prepare, and they won't be expecting anything then. Once we've taken care of them, we can focus on the group here in the caverns. I think we are close to ending this little pocket of resistance."
"What do we do now?" Greg asked. "Walker can find them just as he found our Simselves. They can't protect themselves from him."
"We can make it hard for him," Raobot said.
"How are we going to do that?" Cindy asked.
"We will change the rules," Raobot replied. We must get everyone located in one spot, a place that can be defended. While it sounds reasonable to have them gather at the police station where there is lots of support, that is a public facility and Walker can send his men right into the building. It will get a lot of people killed. We need someplace more private, away from others. What I have in mind will be a temporary solution, but I think we can make Walker nervous and maybe divert his attention from what he wishes to do."
"What about Rossetti?" Rao asked.
"Walker will go after him, but I don't think just yet. He appears to have found a way to protect himself well enough for the moment." Raobot hesitated as if thinking about something. "We have the rest of the day to prepare. Inform those in Los Angeles what we are seeking, and have Lee jump the Tube for the West Coast. I will need to make some modifications that will allow alterations in the basic nature of the Sim."
Chapter 45
Sequoia Facility
"That little bastard Rao has been lying to you from the beginning," Luke said when they gathered in Walker's office. "He's had a way to contact people in the Sim, and even insert himself into it without needing the Resort path he made for you."
"What exactly did you learn?" Walker asked.
"That you've been right all along. There is a group working against us, and somehow they have knowledge of what we are planning."
"That damn Ray Burke is part of the problem," Kurt Gunner pointed out.
Walker held up his hand.
"How many of them are there?"
"There's the two cops in DC, but we eliminated the Smith fellow, so that just leaves the detective named Lee," Luke replied. "According to Smith, there is a group in Los Angeles that contacted them and told them about us."
"How did Los Angeles cops get into this?" Walker asked. "We've done very little there."
"Blame Rao," Gunner said. "He contacted some scientists there, and they, along with a reporter friend, made a call on the cops."
"A reporter? That doesn't sound good."
"So far he hasn't written anything on this, which I don't understand," Luke admitted. "But according to Smith, somehow Rao learned of the attack on Rossetti, and alerted the cops, who called people in Chicago."
"And that's why that SOB was ready for us," Walker said, connecting the dots. "So he's part of the group?"
"Apparently the cops don't like him because of his background, but someone has been keeping him informed. He's the one responsible for the hits on us in the Sim."
"Just who are these people in Los Angeles?" Walker asked.
"It gets complicated. There's a Lt. Rodriquez, a woman named Sammi Morrison who is a detective for the LAPD, another detective from Chicago named Donaldson, the reporter Don Russell, and of course Rao himself."
"The Chicago cop must somehow be tied in with Rossetti," Walker suggested.
Luke nodded.
"What about these scientists?" Walker asked. "You didn't mention them."
"This Smith character didn't know who they were. They don't seem to be in the main group, but you're right, they probably know too much."
"We'll have to try to grab someone in Los Angeles and see what they can tell us," Walker noted. "As for Rossetti, I think he can wait. Once we take care of these people, and then round up the group that's hiding here in the caverns, he'll be isolated. Then we'll deal with him."
"We can't know who they have spoken with," Kurt warned. "There could be a lot of others that know something."
"We'll face that issue if it materializes. If we can get rid of Rao, and the cops, I think we can contain this."
"After this morning are they going to suspect we are coming for them?" Luke asked. "This Lee has to know his partner is dead by now."
"We better assume so," Walker advised. "They seem to know far too much, and it's possible the group here has passed the word even if the cop hasn't contacted his counterparts in LA."
"So, when do we move?" Luke asked.
"This evening. Zack has been listening in and will be trying to track down all of the people you have mentioned. By then we should be ready to move."
"All of us?" Kurt asked.
"And those three new guys you've wanted to bring on board. I wish we had more, but we have to be careful on how much people here learn. I'm tr
usting your judgment on them."
"I'm certain of them," Kurt assured him.
"Tonight will be a real test, won't it?" Walker asked.
"What about the situation at the airlocks?" Luke asked. "What have you learned there?"
"Someone went outside," he said after a moment to collect his thoughts at the change of topic. "Whoever it was stayed out there more than a day."
"Who?" Mark asked.
"Almost certainly the Cyborg," Walker replied. "The footprints in the tunnel suggest as much, and who else could stay out there that long? None of the special survival gear appears to have been used, and it would have been difficult to carry air supplies for such an extended period. That has to be why they wanted him."
"What could they hope to find?" Luke asked.
"That's what we don't understand," Walker replied. "I ordered two of the Security people to go out and have a look, but they can't find anything. Conditions outside the caverns is apparently still pretty bad, and dangerous. The footprints didn't continue once the Cyborg ventured out onto the frozen ground, and there is nothing nearby that could have been of interest."
"Do you have any idea who was in the Cyborg?" Kurt asked.
"I'm guessing it was Greg Harper. He has apparently talked in the past to people about being here in the complex in the days before it went operational. Some of the people here have memories from those days, although much has been edited. Perhaps he recalls something of importance about the surrounding area. We might want to query those who claim to recall those days. There might be something important we are overlooking. Whatever the reason, there was something out there they felt they could use. Whatever he did out there, he came back. Since Ray Burke was waiting to assist his return, that had to be their plan all along."
"Did he bring something back with him?"
"If so, it can only be what he could carry. None of the cameras were operational. The logs show he passed through the airlocks at remarkable speed. There wouldn't have been time to move much of anything."
"I have a bad feeling about this," Kurt warned.
"Me too, and it's another reason we have to chase these people down soon. Hopefully we can dedicate our full effort toward that goal starting tomorrow."
Walker looked at his team. "Everybody get out of here and get some rest. Tonight is going to be a rough one. Kurt, make sure those three new guys show up with you. We'll need the manpower."
After everyone but Luke had left, Walker handed him a drink and said, "I should have listened to Joe. He wanted to get rid of Rao and his buddy the day we had the link into the Sim working. We might have avoided a lot of trouble if I'd just agreed. I was too smart for my own good."
Chapter 46
Sequoia Facility & Los Angeles
"I am not knowing this is possible," Rao said as Raobot showed him some programming tricks with the Simulation that violated the normally strict rules of operation inside the carefully controlled environment.
"These options were locked out of the operator's tool box once the Simulation was complete, but they made for easier development when the system was being created," Raobot explained. Having the memories that Rao had been denied made him far more capable than his flesh and blood counterpart. He knew right where to go when he wanted something, and was aware of options that weren't documented anywhere in the Facility. "What we are doing must be done carefully. The rules must be altered for specific items only, otherwise the entire Sim might become unstable; at least this node of it. That is why we proceed slowly with caution in our preparations."
"Do we know any more of Walker's plans?" Raobot asked as his mechanical fingers flew over the keys.
"Cindy says no one has been on the net for several hours," Rao replied, watching to see what his counterpart was doing.
"Are our friends making preparations as we've suggested?"
"They were waiting for Sgt. Lee to arrive. Now they are all headed to the summer house."
There had been a great deal of discussion about how to approach this problem. Unfortunately, Walker's programmers could find the detectives anywhere in the Sim, just as they'd been able to find the original Rao and his friend, as well as Smitty. That made hiding an impossibility. Any place with other people was likely to get innocent bystanders killed, so they had chosen an isolated area for the encounter. The old summer home belonging to Sammi's uncle was located along the coast to the north of Los Angeles. It was reasonably isolated, and had the advantage of being built so that half of the house was buried back into the side of a rocky mountain. Approach would only be possible from the front. Trees and a number of massive boulders provided more cover in that direction than might be desirable, as did a long stone wall that led up the path to the entrance.
The entrance to the place was on the lowest level, which had only a single room, a large open party area. Most of the living accommodations were on the second level, with a large flat rooftop patio surrounded by a stout wooden railing. From the patio area, one commanded an expansive view of all approaches to the house.
This was a private building, and while Walker could locate where his targets were, he would be restricted in terms of where his men could appear. He didn't have the fine control to place his men inside accurately. They'd have to materialize in the Sim outside the structure and make their approach from that point.
There would be eight of them. In addition to the Los Angeles detectives, both John Morrison and Mike Lee would be part of the group. Of course, Rao and Don would be there, and two close friends of the Lieutenant, who couldn't be discouraged insisted on being part of the encounter, not even fully understanding what they were getting into. A lot of discussion had gone into whether Ray's Simself should be contacted and directed to the place, but both Raos finally decided that he was likely to be in little danger at the moment, as Walker would know that the Ray inside the Sim knew nothing about him and his activities, and could be dealt with later. Ray agreed, in part because he worried if he joined the group, then Cindy, who lived far away in Seattle and had never met him before the Facility, wouldn't be easy to convince to come along, and would be exposed.
Another problem was Rossetti. There were mixed opinions about bringing him into the group. Finally Don convinced everyone to allow him to alert the man to the pending attack. He called Sal, who connected him with the gangster. While he had appreciated the heads up, he felt he was secure enough where he was, and considered the trip more of a risk than staying put. Now it was too late to make changes.
"Where are Ray and Greg?" Rao asked, when Jessica came by to check on them.
"Cindy said they are working on something that might help," she said. She claimed she knew nothing of the details and was unable to tell them more. Besides, they had enough on their hands to pursue the matter anyway.
"This is going to be interesting," John Morrison said as they stepped out of the two SUVs to survey the area where they expected to hold off Walker's men. He didn't want to discourage the others, but he fully expected that this might be his last day on Earth. If Walker wanted them, it was hard to deny the man. When you have a team that can't be killed, at least not permanently, you are hard to stop. What he saw around him didn't do much to change his point of view.
The house was snuggled back into the hill as Sammi had told him, and it was faced with old stone, which would help considerably, but it had far too many windows, installed to enjoy the view with no thought of providing protection for the inhabitants. The driveway snaked up the slope of the hill toward the house and was open and therefore risky for anyone attempting to come that way, but Walker's men wouldn't be coming by car. The forest was back about fifty yards on either side, and was thinned considerably in front, but he counted more than thirty large trees scattered around the open meadow in front of the house, and at least twenty massive boulders that two or more men could hide behind. Walker's men would have plenty of secure places to shoot from.
The others were examining the layout as well, and Morrison
could sense similar assessments from Rodriguez and Lee, but even they hadn't seen combat like John had. Sammi saw the place through the eyes of someone who'd spent summers here while growing up, and despite her years as a cop, wasn't thinking about it in the proper light. She was too intent on showing them around.
They started unloading the vehicles, everyone hauling a load as they followed Sammi inside and up the stairs. They'd get everything inside, then stash the cars in the parking area off to the left side of the house behind a stand of trees. It took half a dozen trips to get everything moved inside and up to the second level. The stairs took them up to a platform that allowed an open view to the playroom below. Toward the front of the house were a living room and a dining area, both with impressive views of sloping land in front of the house. Along either side were a series of bedrooms that provided north and south visibility in addition to marginal views toward the front. In the back, well inside the hillside, were a well-equipped kitchen and storage areas.
Without wasting time, they examined the layout and the men chose their locations. Morrison would be up top with his sniper rifle, with Sammi providing supporting fire and spotting. Rodriquez and Lee would team up in one of the north side bedrooms, while Rand and Luther, Rodriquez's two friends would do the same on the south side. That left Rao and Don, neither of whom were skilled with weapons, without a specific assignment.
"You two will stay inside and watch the stairs. If anyone makes it past our defenses and into the house, it'll be your job to take them down," Rodriquez explained as he handed each a combat-style pump shotgun.
Don had done a bit of bird hunting so he was at least familiar with the weapon, but uncomfortable with the idea of game that could fire back. Even so, he accepted the weapon and the ammo can filled with boxes of number one buckshot that they'd be using. The uncertainty in Rao's eyes was obvious to all when he was handed another of the scatterguns.
"I am knowing nothing about weapons," he complained. "I have never held one before and don't know how to shoot a shotgun. I am better to be a watcher and alert everyone to problems." He set the gun on the floor as if it might bite him.
