by John Conroe
“Fuck,” Gunny Kwan said with feeling. “It couldn’t get through your carbon fiber, so it tried sound?”
“Correct.”
“How did you get your sensors turned off in time?” Elizabeth Kottos asked.
“Previous encounters with Spider unit Lotus indicated a use of audio assault in addition to standard radio frequencies. As soon as Ajaya Gurung initiated contact, audio sensors were placed in standby mode. Sensors were returned to normal when sonic vibrations on airframe armor ceased.”
Yoshida turned to me, both eyebrows up.
“Rikki had experience with Spiders in his former life. Since he’s been with me, we’ve had multiple experiences. Your own scientists noted that Lotus attempted to control him on the bridge when it froze up Unit 19. We discussed that episode and worked out a protocol for when Spiders are in close range. It forces us to rely almost totally on visual cues, but in the middle of a firefight, verbal isn’t all that useful to me anyway,” I said.
“You discussed it?” Tyson Perry asked.
“Come on, I know all of you talk with your drones,” I said.
“Sure, to give instructions and get feedback,” Tyson said after glancing around at the others. The whole cargo bay was paying attention.
“You don’t ask your Kestrel for options on how it could improve a function?” I asked.
“Like with a person?”
“To be honest, none of ours seem anywhere as… person-like as Rikki,” Elizabeth said.
“Again, I had him in our apartment for months. With my mom, grandmother, and two teenage sisters. The twins in particular chatted his electronic ears off. In fact, his knowledge of teen fashions is pretty extensive.”
“Current database is nineteen months out of date, Ajaya.”
“Yeah, that’s okay, buddy. You still have more information on that topic than I ever will,” I said before turning back to the others. “Don’t you all keep your drones with you in your quarters?”
“Yeah, but I don’t carry regular conversations with it,” Carl Abate said.
I raised both of my brows and gave him a look.
“But I’m starting to see the utility of it,” he said, slowly nodding.
“Rikki, can you provide that audio protocol to the other Kestrel units?” the major asked.
“Complying, Major Yoshida.”
“Okay, drone education and socialization aside, what did we learn?” he asked everyone.
“The Spider wasn’t fooled by our plan and attempted to turn it against us,” someone said.
“Yes, key word being attempted. Looks like our preparations mostly negated that. Six people wounded with varying degrees of seriousness, no fatalities. That, folks, is a record for an operation this size in the Zone. How do we improve?”
“So many of us moving into the Zone at the same time must have tripped a drone or two, although our own drones didn’t detect any others,” Gunny Kwan said.
“Remember those remote sensors the infiltrator in the drone hive had?” Yoshida asked. “Those wouldn’t show up to our drone’s sensors, would they?”
“Shit, sir, that’s going to complicate things,” Sergeant Rift said.
“Well, those remotes clung to cables, sending and receiving through them. Didn’t use any wireless transmissions at all, which makes them a bitch to find,” Kayla said. “Sir,” she added.
“So we don’t try to find them; we try to block them,” Sergeant Thompson rumbled. He was checking over his Cerberus cannon and didn’t even look up.
“What?” Yoshida asked.
This time, Thompson raised his head. “Rikki doesn’t try to outpower the Spider’s audio signals, just blocks them all out. What if your nerd squad came up with some kind of broadcast or signal that would flood all the sensors with too much input?”
“Shit, Thompson. You’re scaring me,” Rift said. “You telling me you got brains inside all that brawn?”
“Sure, Rift,” he said, raising one massive arm and flexing a bicep as big as my leg. “It’s just the brawn is so overwhelming, you miss all the brains.”
“Good idea, Tyler,” Yoshida said. “What else did we learn?”
Tyler? Sergeant Thompson was a Tyler? It didn’t seem to fit.
“We have the right bait,” Kayla said. “The Spider came out looking for Ajaya and Rikki right after the firefights. Peony saw an opportunity.”
“Yes, good observation, Corporal. Ajaya is high on the priority list. So we continue to dangle him in front of the Spiders.”
“The bait is sitting right here and not loving that metaphor.”
“Quiet, bait. We’ve got planning to do,” Yoshida said. And proceeded to do just that.
Chapter 28
The explosion woke the whole family. It shook the building, rattling the windows, the noise a blast so loud, I thought the world had just ended.
“Rikki?” I asked, hearing my sisters both yell for Mom. My Virtual Assistant was projecting the time on the wall. 03:39.
“Explosion less than ten kilometers to the east. Approximate location near JFK airport,” he said as I rushed out the door, down the hall, and into the living room. Our front windows face east and were currently lit by orange and red light that flared so bright, I had to look away, turning to my drone, who hovered right behind me.
Mom and the twins rushed in, all three freezing just inside the room as a ball of fire rolled up into the sky.
“Rikki says something exploded near or at JFK,” I said. “We should all get dressed.”
Gabby looked at me like I had three heads but Mom understood. “Do you think…”
“No, but I want to play it safe.”
Monique got it a second later, sucking in a sharp breath, and her sister froze in the act of opening her mouth to snark at me.
Aama came out of the hall just then, fully clothed. Mom took one look at her and then ushered the suddenly speechless twins back to their room. I heard my mother ask her virtual assistant for any breaking news about explosions.
Another roiling ball of fire lifted high in the sky and now I could hear sirens, well, more sirens, as there’s always one or two… this is New York.
I went back to my room and quickly dressed in appropriate clothes and boots, slipped on my chest holster, and double-checked that my rifle was loaded and ready, lying on my bed. Then I went back to the living room. Rikki was perched on the back of the couch, optical sensors aimed in the direction of the explosion. Gabby was sitting in front of him, huddled under a blanket. There weren’t any more fireballs, but the skyline glowed an unnatural orange. I could hear Mom talking with Monique back in the bedrooms. Aama was making tea in the kitchen and had the news projecting on the wall.
“Incoming call from Zone Defense,” my own assistant announced in my ear.
“Answer.”
“Ajaya Gurung? This is Lieutenant Samantha Kilroy of Zone Defense Command.”
“Good morning, Lieutenant. Are we under attack?”
“I have no info on that sir, but Major Yoshida would like you to stay put. The incident you are referring to is being addressed, but the major stressed that you’re to stay with your family, shelter in place, and be ready. Does that make sense to you, sir?”
“To a degree. Do you have anything on the explosion east of Brooklyn?”
“I can tell you that the Zone Instant Response Strike Force has been dispatched toward JFK. That’s all I know, sir. Now, if you have a clear understanding of my message, I have other calls to make.”
“Yes, thank you, Lieutenant. Goodbye.”
The line clicked off immediately. Zone D was no doubt a whirlwind of barely ordered activity.
Aama handed me a cup of tea, strong but loaded with sugar and butter. On the wall of the kitchen, the news was projected by Aama’s own Virtual Assistant AI. The shocked-looking anchor announced that the network had received word that a plane had crashed. Drone footage showed a massive debris field on what looked like a runway. Fires burned all acro
ss the scene as the drone circled the site from a distance.
“We’re being told it was an incoming cargo plane. Eyewitnesses report it was on landing approach when the engines flared and the plane started to pull up. It then appeared as if the human pilot attempted to take the controls but was unsuccessful. We have no details on casualties although our source indicates there were no other planes or vehicles in that part of the airport. Stay tuned.”
“Ajaya?” Mom asked. The twins had sandwiched her, clinging as all three looked at me for answers.
“It could be another infiltrator… at the air traffic control towers. Zone Defense has instructed me to remain here. We all need to be ready to move if it’s something more,” I said. “But it doesn’t seem like it’s a widespread attack. Rikki?”
“Concur, Ajaya. There is no sign of drone activity beyond news units.”
I saw my mother visibly relax, my little sisters still scared but clearly a little less so now.
“We’re ready to go in a second’s notice,” Mom said.
Someone knocked on the door.
Aama started for it but Rikki shot past her, even as I moved to get there first. The drone beat me by a kilometer, hovering in front of the door, gun primed. “Harper Leeds detected.”
“Yeah, it’s your friend Harper,” Gabby said, looking at her own tablet. Probably looking at the door cam.
I opened the door and found a fully dressed, highly agitated Harper standing there, a light pack slung over her shoulder.
“Come in. Plane crashed at JFK,” I said, pulling her in as a couple of doors down the hall started to open.
“Harper, come sit with us. We’re watching the news,” my mother said, patting the sofa next to her. Gabby moved over without any attitude, making room for her.
“But what does Rikki say?” Harper asked, looking at my drone as she slowly settled into the spot.
“Initial explosion and secondary explosions all located at JFK airport. No abnormal drone activity within sensor range, Harper Leeds.”
Her shoulders relaxed minutely as she accepted his report.
“You’re as prepared for this as we are,” Mom noted. It wasn’t quite a question, but almost.
“I have a huge respect for how deadly the Zone drones are,” Harper said carefully.
“Ajaya said you’ve been working for Trinity, protecting the show’s drones from getting hacked?” Monique asked.
“Yeah, it’s been good work. Those Flottercots pay real well,” Harper said, accepting a cup of tea from Aama with a surprised look on her face.
“How do you know how to do that? Ajaya knows all kinds of drone stuff, and I doubt he could do it,” Monique pressed. Her twin leaned forward too. Clearly my sisters had suspicions regarding Harper… and a lack of faith in my technical abilities.
“Well, your brother knows quite a bit, but the Zone drones are my entire area of specialty.”
Gabby looked at me to gauge my reaction. I nodded. “Yup. Harper knows more about them than I do.”
“But you know more about the Zone than she does, right?” Gabby asked. Harper started to open her mouth, a smirk forming, but I jumped in first.
“Well, of course. I’ve spent a lot of time inside. Harper could only match that if she had done the same,” I said, glancing at the girl who literally grew up in the Zone.
Her expression cleared instantly and she reluctantly nodded. “Yeah, I don’t like to admit your brother knows anything, but you’ve got me there,” she agreed.
“Well, it’s nice to know someone who can put him in his place about the technical stuff,” Monique said.
“Come get breakfast,” Aama said. “Everyone must eat.”
Aama had made a bunch of food, her way of prepping the family for anything that might happen next. But nothing happened. The dark of early morning turned into a rosy dawn as I washed the dishes over my grandmother’s objections. Harper chatted with my mom while the twins connected with all of their social media platforms to read what others had seen and, of course, write their own versions. Aama supervised my cleaning with a critical eye.
The call came a bit before six a.m.
“Ajaya, an incoming call from Major Yoshida,” my VA said in my ear.
“I’ll take it.” Everyone in the room turned my way.
“Ajaya, I just wanted to check in. Everyone good?”
“Yes, Major, just sitting around and watching the news feeds. Was it another one?”
“No… another two. They took over the close landing control system on a commercial delivery cargo plane. It’s early in the investigation, but we think the bot tried to abort the landing so it could crash it in the nearest neighborhood. The pilot tried to take back control and crashed it on the end of the runway. You’d be proud of your students. They cleared the whole airport. Found one of the bastards under the control tower and another one at LaGuardia. I sent a third team to Newark, but they came up clear.”
“So Peony’s fighting back,” I said.
“Seems that way. Be careful ascribing human-type rationales to their actions. I doubt the Spider sees it as tit for tat.”
“No, but it is logical to make a counterstrike against your enemy or, if you want, Peony could just be activating assets before we find them, doing what damage it can while it can.”
“Either way, it worked—we’re going to have to clear all of JFK and LaGuardia, fully. Then we have to do the same to any and all other smaller airfields in a sixty-kilometer circle.”
“You want me and Rikki to come in to help?”
“No, I want you brainstorming how to kill these Spider fuckers with less manpower. Most of our newly trained teams are going to be clearing high-value locations for the foreseeable future. Not just the airports but the shipping ports, military bases, the city water system, basically everything that could hurt a lot of people at once.”
“What about infectious disease labs, like the CDC runs?”
“They’re on the list, although I don’t think we have Plum Island on it. We’ll add it.”
“Plum Island?”
“Animal disease lab. But never mind that; I’ve got people who do nothing but list vulnerable sites. You, young sniper, need to come up with a way to destroy these things.”
“Roger that, Major,” I said, looking at the rest of my family and Harper. “I’ll get right on it.”
Chapter 29
“Look, if you’re telling me that they’re making their own drones, then I think you have to assume that the entire area around a Spider’s home base will be riddled with those passive sensor units. I like the blocking idea. Those remote units in the drone hive had ultrasonic detectors, right?” Harper asked. We were in my room, brainstorming after I had filled her in on recent developments.
“Yes, why?”
“Well, just like you use fox urine to fool the feral dogs and rats, we can create a sound package to fool the ultrasonic sensors. In fact, maybe one that mimics a big dog would be best,” she said, face lighting up with excitement.
“Actually, that makes sense, but if we have a group of people sounding like dogs coming in from all over the place, I gotta think it’s going to make the Spiders suspicious. They’re super sensitive to patterns.”