Specter Protocol

by Eddie R. Hicks

  Estrella looked back at Ray. “Hurry the fuck up, man.”

  “Ten seconds.”

  “I gotta put that pad back on Patterson.”

  “Why?”

  “What do you think Ashford and Portia will do when they figure out it’s missing?”

  He gave her the pad. “Good point.”

  She took it back. It went into her handbag like before. “We will need an escape route when I get back. If those fuckers want to fight, then we’ll need to take it outside.”

  Ray looked behind. “I got just the thing.”

  And she was gone again, striding for the washroom, and hoping Ashford didn’t slip. Another breath of relief, Patterson remained where she left him. She put his pad back and positioned his body near the toilet. If anyone spotted him, they’d think he had too much to drink, the same goes for when he awakes. So she hoped.

  She met with Ray again in the hallways, and he wordlessly gestured to her to follow, so she did. Ray guided Estrella down the halls, his phone displaying the floor plan leading the way. Two left-hand turns, and they neared an elevator door.

  “Where we headin’?” she asked.

  “The basement,” he said. “There’s a bunch of guest rooms down there. Should be a side entrance at the end that will take us to the parking lot.” She smiled. “Good thing I scouted ahead, eh?”

  The two stopped at the elevator, but its doors wouldn’t open. Ray stepped forward tapping through his hacking apps. She saw a progress bar move on his phone’s screen, left to right. The screen turned green, and the elevator doors slid open.

  Ray and Estrella entered, both hoping nobody else knew of the side entrance they were making their way to.

  The elevator doors slid shut.

  Twenty-One

  Ray

  The elevator doors parted. Out stepped Ray disguised as a guard, and Estrella and her long glamourous black dress, her heels clicking in the background. Everything was pitch-black for about three seconds until motion sensors detected their movement. The halls brightened in an instant. They were in the basement of Lady M’s mansion, sliding through its corridors.

  “Inject yourself with nanites,” Ray said to her. “Just in case.”

  “I already topped up beforehand,” Estrella said. “Got six swarms in me, and four tubes in my arm.”

  “There a reason you don’t have yourself pumped full of them at all times?”

  “Utility nanites drain my battery faster when inside me, just like my life support ones. I try not to keep more than six swarms in me if I know trouble’s coming; otherwise, the drain will be too much.”

  The first chamber the two strode into had walls outfitted with massive aquariums. It almost looked as if they were walking in the depths of the oceans, blue waving light shined upon their bodies. Ray paused, admiring the aquatic life floundering through the aquarium. He couldn’t believe what he was witnessing.

  “Are those real?” he pointed.

  Estrella stood with him before the aquarium, her emerald eyes glowing in the reduced lighting environment. “According to my scans, they are.”

  It was legit then. Ray observed fish swimming. Not robotic ones programmed to swim in the same pattern, real fish. “Thought saltwater fish went extinct back in the fifties?”

  “So did I.”

  Ray had to stop again when they entered the next chamber. For a moment he saw Arianna with her blue eyes staring at him with a half-smile stretched across her face. He’d call out to her if she was real. She faded, leaving him and Estrella alone in the chamber, one adorned with medieval weapons resting on racks on the walls. Rare sculptures and statues crafted by the hands of some unknown artist idled in the space within the chamber like decorative ornaments, and cube-shaped glass cabinets held books printed hundreds of years ago. It was like strolling through a museum.

  Even Estrella had to slow her stride gazing at the splendors. “Lady M’s more than the CEO of Yoshida,” she said. “She’s a collector of the rare, and the last fish on Earth.”

  A staircase brought them one level down in front of a gushing indoor fountain, spraying multiple arcs of water up in a graceful pattern. Ray pulled out his tablet, then swiped and tapped various icons on its touch screen. He grinned brightly when it confirmed Patterson’s data was copied to it.

  “Nice,” he said. He opened one of Patterson’s files and skimmed the contents briefly. “And I was right, Patterson’s pad got some interesting shit.”

  “Like what?” Estrella asked.

  Ray examined the stolen data as they continued walking, his eyes never left the tablet’s screen. “I got unrestricted access to his emails, personal messages, invoices, records… The works.”

  “Anything we can use as proof he’s dirty as Ashford?”

  He held the grin. “Let’s find out, shall we?”

  There was a lot of data to sift through, too much in fact. It pained him to know that’d they could lose it if the backup Ashford called for caught them before they left. If they weren’t running, he’d have Estrella jack into his pad or laptop and copy the files. Time wasn’t a luxury the two had as they made their escape through the basement. Ray read through the files regarding Patterson’s involvement with the company, the screen shining a blue and white glow across his face.

  “According to this, Patterson joined Yoshida just before Real Genetics announced their restructuring.”

  “We kind of knew that. They hired him as some project lead, right?”

  “Yeah but this confirms it. Patterson went from Regal, to the head of Yoshida’s new biotech division without delay and was given a generous budget. Hmm, they hired no one for the division though, didn’t start any work, yet spent half their budget on market research.”

  “What kind?”

  “Uh, nothing, because that file folder is empty… and dated the day Patterson was hired. Hold on here… Okay, okay. A bunch of industrial 3D printers and raw materials was sent to a military base in Anchorage. Ashford signed off on it, just after Nobuo attacked Yoshida’s headquarters.”

  “The Alliance military?”

  “Yoshida’s private military. They bought out an old military base from the Alliance decades ago and use it to design and test new weapons and equipment. Thing is that Yoshida’s weapons development division is the one that did it. Now this is where it gets interesting. Remember how Yoshida slashed budgets and canceled lots of projects to cover the repairs of Nobuo’s attack? The weapons division was one of those. It got defunded like the rest, only to be refunded by another division.”

  “The fuck? What division did it?”

  “Patterson’s… Their biotech division transferred its remaining funds into Yoshida’s weapon’s development division. After that, they placed the equipment and materials, I mentioned earlier, aboard a cargo freighter called the Kobayashi.”

  “The Kobayashi…”

  “You know something, Estrella?”

  “Maybe, M talked about a ship named the Kobayashi going missing after it docked at Tokyo. What else you got?”

  “Too much shit and not enough time to view it.” Ray looked ahead. A darkened hall leading to the side entrance neared. “You wanna walk up ahead? Just in case we get fucked over.”

  She nodded and reached for her handbag, her cybernetic hands working in a rush. “What’s wrong Ray, afraid of the dark?”

  Ray snorted. “Yes, we have bad guys at large and we don’t know where they are.”

  Estrella pulled her pistol from the bag and laughed. She powered the weapon on, slapped in a fresh clip of tungsten rounds, and ran for the hallway he pointed at. She led the way and he returned to his tablet’s screen.

  “Interesting,” Ray said. “The official reason the biotech division never got hit with the cutbacks, was because it was new and needed to grow. If you ask me, it was nothing more than a secret account used to funnel money to projects Ashford and Patterson needed.”

  Estrella snorted. “Like avatar. I guess the money Yoshida
saved from the cutbacks didn’t go to the repair expenses, it went to fund something else.”

  “Probably, the repairs weren’t that expensive. The biotech division budget was high because Ashford had the money saved from the cuts put into it.” He winced and swiped the screen. “I can’t find proof about that though, not with these files at least.”

  “Keep searching, bank records, everything.”

  Ray searched for a minute. He shook his head. “Sorry, it’s not here. All we got is a theory that fits the facts. Though, on the topic of bank records.” He pulled the screen closer, eyes gleaming at the list of numbers and dollar signs. “Patterson made multiple trips to Buenos Aires last year.”

  Estrella grimaced, as expected. “Corporate paid ones?”

  “That’s what I thought since Regal does have labs in Buenos Aires. But no, Patterson paid for it out of his own pocket, conveniently after someone wire transferred funds into his account.”

  “And last year I wiped out the Bald Skulls… What the fuck did he do?”

  Ray shrugged. The data mentioned little else. He began a search of reports listing his own name. Other than Ray being listed as a significant other to Arianna, and his current wanted status, there was nothing, not even records of Ashford having Ray treated for his injuries and brought to the Yoshida towers. He searched for Arianna. There was nothing. He searched for the avatar project. There was nothing—

  “Fuck!” yelled Estrella, and it didn’t sound good.

  Ray looked up and away from his tablet.

  A rush of kinetic energy hit him in the chest.

  He saw the ceiling, the floor, the walls, and the ceiling again. He couldn’t feel the floor though because he was airborne, flung backward by the violent kinetic push. His body went flying like a ragdoll back into the foyer of the basement, just before the water fountain and medieval weapons display.

  His back hit the wall. The pain was brutal. The suffering would have been worse had he crashed into the display of swords. He shook off the soreness making his spine throb and struggled to get up. A thud, thump, thump sound echoed. It was Estrella’s body tumbling across the floor, she groaned in pain as he did.

  Eventually, he got to his feet, without his pad. It fell from his hands near the entrance to the hall they were in. He limped to the pad and knelt before it, lowering one hand to retrieve it. He heard the echo of heels.

  Click, click, click. They came from ahead.

  He looked up and saw a pair of glittering white heels step to him and the pad. They weren’t Estrella’s. He tilted his gaze up more. Ahead of Ray stood Portia with her long silvery hair fluttering, and white glowing fists clenched. Members of the Bald Skulls joined Portia, standing at her left and right. Hawk was one of them, his body free of any signs of burns, hands glowing white just like on the night Ray and Theo clashed with him in the alley outside The Fox’s Den.

  “Ashford said to expect you here,” Portia said to Estrella as she got to her feet. Portia and Ray’s eyes met. “Wasn’t expecting you on a date with M’s security personnel though.”

  Portia pointed a finger at Ray and Estrella. Hawk and his partner nodded like obedient drones, drew their pistols, and marched forward with glowing hands. Portia stood back, hands on her hips of the elaborate dress hugging her form. Ray drew something just as powerful, his phone.

  Power cables feeding power to lights in the ceiling overloaded.

  The explosive blast should be felt on the floors above. And the rain of yellow sparks and fragments of exploded light tubes? That should be felt upon the heads and faces of Portia, Hawk, and the other Bald Skull gangster.

  Twenty-Two

  Estrella

  The lights above exploded, sending their fragmented remains down within a spray of yellow and white-hot sparks onto Portia and the Skulls members. It bought Estrella time to grab her Asagiri40 while the explosive blasts shook Portia and her Bald Skulls friends into disarray. Lights that remained intact flickered on and off. Someone fired at Estrella, she shot back. She wasn’t in cover. That had to change, and fast.

  She dove and rolled across the floor seeking shelter behind a display cabinet. Then she looked to her right hand, grimacing. Her NC gauntlet wasn’t on, she’d left it inside her handbag, which got blown away during Portia’s psychokinetic ambush. Hawk fired his pistol, sending his bullets raging past Estrella, some of them ricocheting off the ends of the cabinet, the rest shattering its glass. M was going to be pissed about the damage to her personal museum in the basement.

  Estrella aimed for Hawk and returned fire. He fled for cover in the hallway’s entrance. She continued shooting anyway, her bullets left behind circular red holes in the walls thanks to the piercing power of the Asagiri. Whether she hit him on the other side was a different story.

  Bullets came at her like lines of white. Estrella kept low and ignored the shards of glass from the now shattered cabinet falling onto her. He was still alive and pissing her the fuck off. Like Estrella, Ray ducked for cover behind another display cabinet. He poked up from where he hid with the SMG’s muzzle blazing. Fear was a nonissue for him, so long as he had the security guard gear. It had her smiling.

  Open to suggestions.

  Until you equip your gauntlet, the only abilities available are First Aid, Defense Matrix, and Overdrive.

  She looked ahead as her optical scanners entered search mode and scanned for the handbag. Its location appeared on her HUD and it was a good distance away, dropped right at the entrance to the hallway where Hawk and the other Bald Skull member covered, as Portia stood behind with arms crossed watching the exchange unfold. Estrella needed them not shooting toward it.

  She reloaded her weapon, back pressed against the remains of the display cabinet. “Yo, Ray! Grab my bag when I say when and no backtalk!”

  Despite the racket from the weapons fire, Ray confirmed her request with a nod. The two exchanged thumbs up. Estrella left her cover and retreated into the foyer, activating both Defense Matrix and Overdrive from her nanite abilities menu. Both skills consumed a total of five nanite swarms.

  Nanite swarm(s) remaining: 1

  Hawk and Portia got the message as she fired at them nonstop. If they wanted Estrella dead, then they’d have to come and get her. They moved from the halls in pursuit of her, leaving Ray alone with the remaining Bald Skull gangster, and Estrella’s handbag.

  The world around her moved in slow motion as she stood to face them near the water fountain. She sidestepped incoming bullets leaving behind lines rippling shockwaves, other bullets she ducked her head under then came back up behind. She raised her pistol and fired again; it clicked three times when she pulled its trigger three times. Out of ammo. Ray needed to hurry and get the handbag.

  Five seconds left on Overdrive. She swung her sights and searched for a new edge. The sharp tip of a medieval lance on the wall would have to do. Three seconds left, and she ran for it, dropping the pistol. Two seconds left, and she ripped the lance from its decorated rack on the wall, spun and faced Portia and Hawk, their hands glowing white.

  Estrella hit herself with another Overdrive burst, might as well, she had no other nanite abilities to use without the gauntlet.

  Nanite swarm(s) remaining: 0

  And she was out anyway with only four spare tubes stored inside her arm.

  Her newfound speed sent her dodging Hawk’s curving bullets, leaping, and making the first thrust with the lance. She gave it a twirl then lunged; Hawk leaped away. She pulled back hoping the back end of the lance hit Portia, but it didn’t. A psychokinetic push wavered Estrella’s balance, but Defense Matrix helped soften the blow. Estrella spun around carefully; she was still wearing the heels. Her focus met Portia’s when a break in the battle opened. It was enough time to pull one spare tube, plunging its injector into her thigh.

  Nanite swarm(s) remaining: 1

  She hoped an occasion to use the last three would come.

  And Estrella lunged forward with the lance. Portia ducked. A swipe t
o the left, nothing, to the right, nothing again. Hawk fired his gun, and Estrella backflipped away. She watched the bullets slowly soar through the air as her black hair and dress fluttered. Her heels hit the floor again. She gave the lance a twirl, then a thrust missing Portia. She thrust five times in the span of two seconds, Estrella’s body becoming a blur of black. All misses, Portia’s telepathic precognition was on point tonight.

  Overdrive ended, and the world was moving in normal time.

  “Any time, man!” Estrella called out and hoped Ray was alive as he didn’t reply. That and she couldn’t see what became of the other Bald Skull member. It was just her, versus Hawk and Portia now.

  Estrella hit Overdrive again and was out of nanites. She made a stab to the heart right as Portia gestured with her glowing hands. Portia jumped a long way back. Estrella’s lance hit the air again. Portia’s psychokinetic powers made the edges of her sparking pearl dress flap during the sudden leap, one high enough that sent her to the top of the staircase beside the fountain. Portia landed on her heels flawlessly.

  Now it was Estrella and Hawk. She faced him just in time to see the pistol he brandished rise slowly toward her. Hawk emptied the clip while his glowing hands forced the bullets to curve toward her. She stood her ground, held the pole of the lance with both hands, and tracked the incoming slow-motion bullets. The first one approached. She swung the lance and swatted it away like it was an annoying housefly. She did it again for the subsequent rounds, swatting left and right.

  Like Estrella’s pistol, Hawk’s was dry, so he raced to the wall with hands reaching for a hanging sword. She tried to impale him before it got to that. She wasn’t fast enough. The sword came off the wall as if invisible hands plucked it, and the hilt flew into Hawk’s hand. Their weapons clanged and clashed when they met again.

  Portia levitated down, landing behind her, dual-wielding rapiers. Estrella deflected Portia’s twin strikes, then deflected Hawk, then back to Portia. She backflipped away, spun three times in the air, watching the slow-motion moving Portia and Hawk swing at a target their senses hadn’t realized evaded.