by R M Mulder
“Yeah, well…” Matt looked awkward, “I kept it... and it gave me the foresight skill.”
“Foresight?” James looked confused, “What do you mean? I've never heard of that one.”
“It gives me the ability to watch scenarios in real-time and experience it, and then go back to my save point and try again. How do you think I got to be such an OP player all of a sudden?”
“Wow. That would be amazing!” James looked impressed, “So basically, if you make a mistake you can go back and try it again until you got it right.”
“Almost.” Matt clarified. “I only get one second chance.”
“I hate to cut you guys off.” Derek interrupted, “That's a neat game skill and all that, but how does any of this relate to real life?”
“Well,” Matt paused, “I thought it was just an in-game skill until it started happening here too yesterday. I thought I was hallucinating.”
“But… that’s impossible.” James scoffed.
“Doesn’t surprise me at all. I’ve seen a lot of impossible things happen.” Derek fidgeted nervously, “But we can’t stay here. The Creed is watching.”
The Creed? What does he mean?
Chapter Nineteen
Cyber Police
James sat in the back seat of Derek's extended cab, still in his own handcuffs. Meanwhile Matt sat in the passenger seat as Derek sped down the road.
“Where are you taking us?” Matt couldn't conceal the nervousness in his voice.
“To a safehouse not far from here.” Derek explained, “I'm just taking a few detours along the way to ensure we're not being followed.”
“Followed? By who?” James demanded an answer.
“The Creed of Nephilim.”
“Who?”
“They are a dangerous group of men in a secret underground society who are led by a powerful man with a lot of political influence.” Derek explained.
“Never heard of them.” James sounded annoyed, “And we're cops, so that's kind of hard to do.”
“Just hang tight. Everything will be explained to you shortly.” Derek explained as they pulled into a driveway in a suburban neighborhood, “Stay here. I'll be back in a few minutes to make introductions.”
Derek jumped out and left them behind.
“Do you think he's telling the truth about working for the FBI?” James asked the instant he was sure Derek was out of earshot.
“I really couldn't say. I'm just as confused about that as you are.”
“I mean, clearly he didn't call in for backup- so I'm skeptical.”
“Yeah, good point.”
“Shh!” James put a finger to his lips, “He's coming back.”
“All right, they are ready for you now. Let's go.”
Derek escorted them through a gate around the side of the house and then they went inside through a back door. At the bottom of the stairwell another door opened up to an unfinished basement filled to capacity with computer equipment and at least 20 people, both men and women. All of them were staring at the three new arrivals with anticipation.
“My friends and fellow colleagues, please give a warm welcome to our latest sleep hacking victims.” Derek then turn to a woman near his right, “Valerie, do your thing.”
The woman approached with the strange-looking device in the palm of her hand, “Hold still. This might sting a little bit.”
Matt shot Derek a look of alarm.
“Don't worry. It's perfectly safe.”
Matt nodded, and Valerie placed the device against his right temple. A click sound ensued, followed by an uncomfortable warmth sensation. An alert then popped up in his augmented vision.
System Alert!
Sleep Mode has been deactivated. Please see a CyberBolt employee for assistance.
Matt raised an eyebrow in confusion, “How did you do that?”
Valerie winked at him, but didn't respond.
“Gentlemen, welcome to the Cyber Police headquarters.” Derek beamed, “You'll be safe here with us while we track down the Creed and bring them to justice.”
“Hold on.” James looked pissed, “I thought you said you were with the FBI. “
Derek cringed, “Oh, that.”
“Well?” James nearly yelled, “Are you? Or are you not?”
“I may have fibbed to get you to stand down.” Derek admitted, “You had just come out of a hacked Sleep Mode, and was acting irrational.”
“Impersonating an officer is a federal offense.” James' eyes narrowed, “I could arrest you right now and bring you into custody.”
“You could.” Derek spat, “Assuming of course you weren't currently wearing your own cuffs. I don't think you're in much of a position to be making threats like that.”
“Okay, guys.” Matt intervened, “That's enough. Can we please stop bickering, and instead figure out how we're going to deal with this mess we're in?”
James rolled his eyes and expressed a loud sigh, “Whatever.”
***
Several hours had passed. It had taken some convincing, but Derek finally removed James’ handcuffs. After their initial introductions, Derek gave them a tour of the ‘Cyber Police’ compound. the homes in the suburban cul de sac were interconnected by man-made tunnels between each basement, allowing for the ability to travel between each one without having to go outside.
Clearly we’re surrounded by a bunch of paranoid doomsday preppers.
Matt wasn’t sure who he should be more intimidated by - these so-called ‘Cyber Police’, or the elusive ‘Creed of Nephilim’, whoever they were. Regardless, this was by far the strangest group of geeks he had ever before encountered. And considering Matt had attended several Comic Conventions in the past, that was saying a lot.
“So, Derek…” Matt interrupted Derek as he continued to ramble on about the tour, “What exactly is the ‘Cyber Police’? Can you explain that a little better for us?”
“Of course.” he smiled, “First of all, how familiar are you guys with the company CyberBolt Entertainment?”
“Quite familiar.” James laughed, “We are gamers, after all.”
“Right. Poor choice of words.” Derek corrected himself, “What I meant to ask was, how familiar are you with the history of how they developed the technology?”
“Oh.” James shrugged, “Not very.”
“Me neither.” Matt shrugged as well.
“I wondered.” Derek nodded, “There was actually a lot of controversy surrounding it. But before we get into that, lemme ask you a different question. What do you know about the National Security Agency?”
“The NSA?” James raised an eyebrow, “Just what I’ve heard from the news many years ago. I remember when we were teenagers there was a lot of fuss about how one of their contractors leaked incriminating documentation about the NSA’s worldwide cellphone data collection practices, and then he fled to Russia for asylum. I can’t remember his name... I think his last name was Winter? Or something like that? But anyway, I haven’t heard anything about the NSA since.”
“That’s because the government wants the public to think that the NSA was dismantled, but in reality they just went into hiding.” Derek explained.
Oh boy. Here he goes with his conspiracy theories again. I though he calmed down on that nonsense!
“Interesting…” James considered the idea, “I guess that would make sense. But what does the NSA have anything to do with CyberBolt Entertainment?”
“Hang on, I’ll get to that.” Derek held his hands up in mock surrender, “But first off, yes - you’re right. The NSA’s data collection practices were the most publicized and controversial act that they were accused of having committed, but that leaked documentation also revealed a lot more too. As it turns out, the NSA had purposefully encrypted security vulnerabilities into the software of cellphones that were on the market and were using those ‘back doors’ to track the movement of billions of people worldwide. The bigger problem was that these vulnerabilities left the pr
ograms susceptible to cyber-attacks by anyone.”
“Anyone…” Matt mused, “Such as these so-called ‘Cyber Police’?”
“Hang on.” Derek looked alarmed, “Before you jump to conclusions, I was trying to get to that. Yes, everyone here in this compound are reformed former hackers.”
“Great.” James shook his head in disgust, “We’re dealing with a bunch of criminals. I should have guessed.”
Derek looked pissed, “See here, dude. I took those cuffs off because I trust Matt, not so much you.”
“Probably for a good reason.” James quipped.
“Enough, guys.” Matt intervened again, “Stop bickering. We’re all in this stupid mess together. The least you could do is get along.”
“I’m done.” James shook his head angrily, “I’m heading back to the precinct.”
“Why?” Derek chimed in, “So you can get arrested?”
“What are you talking about?”
Derek smirked, “We already picked up the topic on the police scanners this morning. There’s a warrant out for your arrest, James.”
“What?! Why?”
“Because they have surveillance footage showing that you broke Matt out from solitary confinement last night and escorted him by gunpoint to your car.”
“I did no such thing!”
“No, but your avatar did. Remember?” Matt sighed.
Derek laughed, “So you’re stuck here with us, whether you like it or not.”
“This is ridiculous.”
“Yep, it is.” Derek nodded, “But that’s why I brought you guys here. You’re not safe anywhere else.”
James looked annoyed, but nodded and didn’t say anything else.
“Now, where was I?” Derek continued the story, “So, the NSA limped along for years after that debacle. Outraged cellphone companies revisited their software encryption programs and rewrote them to eliminate vulnerabilities. Eventually, The NSA was left out in the cold and had to revert back to older monitoring methods. With how constantly modern technology evolves however, the future of the NSA was looking bleak. So over the past few years they’ve been working on a new monitoring technology.”
“How do you know all of this?” Matt asked, “And what kind of new technology is it?”
“We don’t have any proof yet, but we have high suspicions that the NSA has targeted the augmented reality surgical implants supplied by CyberBolt Entertainment.”
Matt stared at him with skepticism, “I highly doubt CyberBolt Entertainment would make a deal with the NSA to allow them to monitor their players.”
“We thought the same too, but then we stumbled across some surveillance footage last year that put us on the trail.”
“What kind of footage?” James piped back in.
“Hang on, I’ll show you.”
Derek led them back to the room full of computers that he had earlier referred to as their ‘headquarters’.
“Valerie,” he instructed, “please show them the CyberBolt footage we acquired last year.”
Valerie’s reaction was quite telling, “Are you sure you want to do that?”
“Yes.” Derek insisted, “Show them.”
“All right,” she sighed, “but be warned. It’s a bit graphic.”
Valerie typed a few commands on her keyboard, and then a video began to play on a large television screen mounted on a stud on the far wall portraying a bald man aiming his gun at another man who was raising his hands in surrender.
“But I did everything you asked!” the soon-to-be victim pleaded, “I presented your blueprints as my own, and they took the bait! We’re in the Beta testing stage now!”
“Yes, you served your purpose well.” the bald man cocked his gun. “But I can’t take any chances. I’ve worked too hard for this. Letting you live is too much of a risk.”
The gun fired and the other man’s body spun from the force of the bullet. The screen then went blank.
“Who were those men?!” Matt asked in alarm, “And what were they talking about?”
“Valerie,” Derek instructed, “rewind the footage and zoom in on the perpetrator's face.”
She nodded and did as instructed. As she zoomed in on the man’s face, Matt sensed that the man looked familiar.
I know that face...
“Recognize him now?” Derek asked.
“No way…” James’ jaw dropped, “That’s Timur Demyan!”
“Timur…” Matt studied the name, “I know that name… Somewhere…”
“Timur Demyan.” James explained further, “As in the CEO of CyberBolt Entertainment!”
“Really? That’s probably why his face looks familiar. I must have seen him on TV or something.” Matt studied his thoughts, but didn’t say anything yet.
But I heard that name somewhere else… recently.
“Who was the victim?” James asked, intrigued.
“It took a lot of digging, but we finally determined that the victim was an NSA Agent named Michael Thornton.”
“Aha,” James nodded, “So that’s where you made the connection.”
“Exactly.”
“Why haven’t you turned this information over to the Police?”
“We tried.” Derek frowned and his demeanor suddenly became sullen, “We had a handoff to the FBI set up and everything. That’s how we lost Darin.”
“Darin?” James pushed, “Who’s Darin?”
The whole room went silent.
“Darin…” Derek hesitated, “He was one of us. In fact, he was our leader nearly a year ago. After the meet up he disappeared. Several weeks later, his body washed up from the lake.”
“Oh.”
“To this day we don’t know who killed him, but we have our suspicions that most likely the Creed got to him first.”
“I’m so sorry…” James tried his best to sound sympathetic.
“Hang on…” Matt suddenly blurted out, “I know where I heard that name now!”
“Name?” James looked confused.
“Timur.” Matt clarified, “The first time I ever heard that name was while you were in Sleep Mode last night. Your avatar referred to the other passenger by that name.”
“Wait…” Derek looked alarmed, “Timur was with you in the car?!”
“I think so.” Matt explained, “I mean, he was wearing a hooded cloak so I can’t be completely certain, but there was this really weird experience I had that I’m not sure how to explain…”
“What kind of experience?” Derek insisted.
“Well… I heard a voice.” Mat screwed up his face in confusion, “But it was inside my head. It kept saying that I needed to give my soul to the Leviathan, or something like that. It sounded like the voice in your head from those Voidspawn creatures in the game DarkForce. Only, it happened here in real life. Then I blacked out, and I had another of those strange Temporal Artifact experiences.”
“That’s impossible.” James quipped, “Are you sure you weren’t in Sleep Mode too?”
“I’m sure of it, yes.” Matt confirmed, “After Derek ran us off the road, Timur disappeared… Like, it almost seemed like he passed through his shadow or something weird like that.”
A voice suddenly erupted from the far corner, “Indeed, you are correct.”
Everyone in the room jumped back as a humanoid figure suddenly appeared as if out of thin air. Matt shook in horror as he recognized the now-familiar face of Timur Demyan.
“I’ll be taking that footage.” Timur sneered in his thick Turkish accent, “I must also commend all of you for doing such a good job of staying off the grid for all these years. And how fortunate for me that nobody will know you’ve all been killed.”
Chapter Twenty
The Doctor
Derek whipped out the gun he had confiscated from James and fired without hesitation. The bullets ripped through Timur’s body, but had no effect. There did not appear to be any visible damage whatsoever.
What the…
Timur s
miled a wicked grin, “Nice try.”
Seconds later, a dark apparition whipped out and slammed Derek into the concrete wall. His body then collapsed to the floor in a heap. Matt watched in terror as several more shadow tentacles grew from Timur’s form, and attacked. James hit the wall next, followed by Valerie. The large pool of blood forming near Derek’s head told him enough.
Derek’s dead!
A shadow tentacle slammed into him next, knocking the wind out of him as he hit the floor. Matt’s head throbbed, and he had difficulty keeping his eyes open.
Suddenly a blue flash of light erupted from the stairwell, and Timur screamed in agony. Craning his head, Matt immediately recognized the white-haired man that stood just inside the doorway. He was holding what looked like a wand that was blasting a blue beam of light at their attacker.
“Back! Back I say!” he spoke with a thick Scottish accent, “Go back to the shadows from whence you came! I’m the only alien allowed to meddle with these pudding-brain humans!”
Aliens? Pudding-brains? What is this guy talking about?
The shadow limbs threatened to beat the old man to a pulp, but he was able to keep them at bay using shocks from his wand-like mechanism. The battle between the Timur and the old man raged for several minutes, meanwhile the two companions that had been sitting with him back at in the debriefing room at the precinct now emerged from the stairwell.
“Hurry, Doctor.” the woman spoke with a thick British accent, “A lot of these people look like they’re in pain.”
“Pain.” the old man began to go off on conjecture as he struggled to subdue Timur, “Pain is a gift. Without the capacity for pain…”
“Yeah, yeah.” the woman interrupted, “I've heard that one already. We can't feel the hurt we inflict, or some such nonsense. Got any new material?”
“You're being rather rude today, Bill.” The old man scoffed between Timur's screams of rage, “I should have left you in space back on that ship full of zombies.”
“And you're really showing your Scottish side today.” she retorted.
“How many times must I tell you? I'm not Scottish!” he insisted, “I'm just cross!”