Nobuo slipped through, what looked like, a hole he cut in the air. Ray’s pistol, Bashiir’s jaws, and Theo’s drawn rifle couldn’t spot any sign of him. Theo approached Ray.
“You two love to make an entrance, huh?” Ray said to him.
“You call that an entrance?” Theo said with a chuckle. “You ain’t seen nothing yet, malaka.”
Theo showed Ray what was beyond the collapsed wall.
Forty-Three
Estrella
The four giant legs of the robot were in motion again. This time, it moved to the broken remains of the glass doors and windows. Piper silently leaped aboard, using psychokinesis to make her jump high. Estrella felt Piper’s hands wrap around her waist, holding her from behind.
Estrella flushed. “Piper, go with your people!”
Piper giggled. “I don’t take orders from the new girl.”
“Really? ‘Cause your friends did. Now go join them.”
The robot was outside now, covered by the darkness of the sun-blocking towers of downtown Los Angeles. There wasn’t an emergency vehicle in sight. Given what they experienced, that might have been a good thing. Estrella had the robot make circles around the property. Cars on the roads slowed to observe. They should be speeding away.
“I wanna know exactly how you plan on getting this up?” Piper asked.
Geoffrey, find the ship. A messy trek through the front garden found it. It was still hovering next to the tower that took the brunt of the assault. Get its attention.
Geoffrey relayed the order. The mechanized joints holding the twin Gatling cannons lifted, taking aim at the drifting ship shooting into the tower, creating random explosions here and there. The flames expanded. On Estrella’s mark, the guns snarled. The cars in the streets moved thirty over the speed limit after that.
The rounds firing up hit the ship, tearing holes through its central section. Sparks flared. A second barrage followed up. The gunship was no longer shooting the building. It dove, firing rounds at them. Geoffrey had got its attention.
Piper snorted. “Smart girl.”
“Last call to get off, Piper.”
She felt Piper’s arms around her loosen. Then felt the injection of a nanotube hit her back. Estrella’s nanite count increased to one. “I got more nanites than you. I think you’ll need them for this.”
Estrella grinned. “Smart girl.”
From behind, Piper’s hand in her NC gauntlet held onto Estrella’s gauntlet. It made her sweat. “It’s like we’re a perfect match.”
“Uh.” Estrella was at a loss for words.
“Relax,” Piper chucked. “I’m transferring my nanites to your glove. It should help with its operation.”
She is correct; her nanites are surrendering their control to me.
The gunship plunged, taking random shots at the group. Its bullets missed when Geoffrey ordered the robot to run into the streets. Plumes of soil from the garden flung up in their wake. Piper grabbed a network cable from her arm and jacked into Estrella’s head. Their heads were connected again via a short wire. A prompt informed Estrella of the users in her head.
My AI and yours can share computing power too, Piper’s digital voice echoed in Estrella’s head. Should speed things up.
Pleasure to meet you at last, Geoffrey. Piper’s AI voiced.
Geoffrey sounded pleased. Akane, your assistance is much appreciated in this matter.
Please be aware that my construct is not Yoshida in origin.
Understood, sharing with you all security codes and operational patterns of this unit’s operating system.
With both their nano powers combined and the gunship at a lower altitude, Estrella made her attack. Geoffrey and Akane’s computing kept the robot highly agile in the roads. An exchange of twisting Gatling gunfire ensured. Only the streets and the gunship got hit. Cars approaching the battle U-turned and sped away. Vehicles parked at the side of the road were turned to a flaming mess of scattered parts and glass.
Palm trees crackled and burned, the streets trembled whenever the robot had to make a jump, leaping over the wreckage of a parked car. Missiles exploded with bright red flames; the robot’s guns took aim at the missiles seconds after they launched from the ship. The heat from the blast seared Estrella’s flesh. Her Defence Matrix held, but she saw a drop in her battery life, down to 56%.
She felt Piper’s chin rest over her left shoulder. She wouldn’t be surprised if Piper was enjoying the physical contact. Seriously?
They dodged another salvo of missiles. The van they’d arrived in turned to blackened slag. Your hair’s in the fucking way, Piper said. I can’t see shit.
Another spray of Gatling fire from the robot destroyed the ship’s cockpit, and it crashed to the street, making a small crater. The ship was still intact, but not operational. Estrella had the AI duo walk the robot to the ship’s main troop deployment hatch. Gatling fire shot it open as the robot stepped inside and found the cockpit, or what was left of it.
Estrella opened her synthetic arm, handing Piper a network cable which she pulled from it. The second network jack on Estrella’s head allowed her to connect to the ship’s ruined cockpit dashboard. Piper had run off briefly to make it happen, shoving aside the smoldering IW pilots. She climbed back on the robot, holding Estrella’s gauntleted hand, resting her chin on her shoulder.
She felt her mind become more machine than RW. There were two network cables plugged into Estrella, her NC gauntlet was feeding nanites into the robot, and she had multiple digitized voices in her head, including two advanced AIs. The sights and sounds outside the shot open ship’s door moved; Geoffrey took control of the gunship. They were airborne and ascending to the 150th floor, fast.
The gunplay resumed, this time in the air. Multiple quadcopter attack drones, loyal to the Federation, noticed the gunship was no longer under their control. The dogfighting and rolls were intense as the triple towers of Yoshida and the rest of the Los Angeles skyline stood as idle witnesses. Little by little, the quadcopter drones with their annoying machine guns exploded into tiny bits of molten metal and flames, raining down on the streets below.
Estrella gritted her teeth. Her head was in pain. You okay? Piper’s digitized voice asked.
This is taking its toll on me.
Keep at it, we’re almost through.
We might have to chance it and just run in.
No, it’s too dangerous. Piper’s synthetic hand held Estrella’s, her fingers locking in with hers. She gave it a shake of encouragement. You can do this Estrella. I believe in you.
We. Estrella corrected her.
Without Piper and everyone else, they wouldn’t have made it this far.
Estrella took a quick breather, her mind issuing orders to pilot the ship away from the three remaining quadcopter drones. Piper was now holding both her hands, the wind blowing in from the opened entrance whipped her black hair about and Piper’s pixie hair too. Estrella felt Piper’s long red highlighted bangs tickle her cheek and neck, mixed in with the warmth of Piper’s breathing on her neck.
It was encouraging. It was making Estrella smile. It made her destroy a drone. And then another. One was left.
You got this, Estrella!
The final drone appeared in Estrella’s sights, one of many clusters of windows populating her eyes. Geoffrey pulled the trigger. She watched with anticipation as the red tracer light soared to the drone. It exploded when contact was made. The skies were clear.
Carefully, the ship piloted and hovered next to the gaping hole in the building, exposing the interior of the office space to the outside world. The dead office workers and mangled security personnel made Estrella wretch. The Federation slew innocents in the crossfire, all because Ray had information in his brain he didn’t ask for.
Justice had to be delivered.
The gap between the ship’s entrance and the exposed and war-torn 150th floor was less than a meter apart according to scans. Estrella jerked her head backward. The sudden p
ull back forced the second cable in her head out from the ship’s cockpit dashboard. There was no time to retrieve that cable as it dangled from her head. She had the robot face the entrance and jump into the building.
A small team of Federation IWs survived the bullet barrage from the assault robots Ray deployed. They didn’t last long when Estrella and the gang found them and exploded into chunks of warlock flesh and bones. The gore gave the walls a new look.
The robot Estrella and Piper rode faced away, its four legs crawling about, taking them on a journey through the office halls. Estrella ran optical searches for Ray; she directed Piper to do so as well. Neither of the two scans produced good results.
Estrella smashed her synthetic hand on the robot. It left a dent on its hull. Where the fuck is Ray?!
She found a familiar face further in, past a collapsed wall. It was Nobuo. A quick battle ensued with Gatling gunfire exchanged for pistol shots from Nobuo. A bullet grazed Nobuo’s arm, and he dropped his weapon. Ray grabbed it. They found him. The final barrage of bullets was stopped in midair thanks to Nobuo’s white glowing hands.
He sent the massive rounds back at the robot Estrella and Piper rode.
It exploded upon impact.
Forty-Four
Ray
Ray laughed at the surprise Theo showed him beyond the wall. He saw Estrella and Piper, and they waved to Ray. The two sat on top of the remains of a command robot full of holes and spraying sparks. He took back what he said. Estrella and Piper were the ones that made the entrance.
Theo grabbed Ray’s arm. “Let’s get you out of here, shall we?”
Ray shook him off and went running back to the computer console.
“Not yet.” He typed quickly on the keyboard, bringing up the profiles of the IWs on it. All of them were telepathic. Theo stood with Ray eying the screen. “I want to know why the fuck Yoshida would have a database like this.” Ray pulled up a new screen. “And what is the Avatar program?”
Theo grimaced. “Don’t we all, but—”
“I’m not leaving,” Ray cut him off, his hands still controlling the computer. “I think Arianna’s disappearance has to do with this. I’m pretty sure Yoshida never intended to have anyone to make it this deep into this building, let alone reveal its presence in the floor plans. Just give me five minutes!”
Ray got one minute.
Nobuo returned, cutting a hole through space and time again with his nanite blade.
“Holy fucking shit!” Theo roared, lifting his rifle.
A 360 wide psychokinetic push sent everyone flying backward. Three bodies, one of them a lion, crashed into the computer screens and equipment. Sparks flared from the parts that were damaged. Nobuo was back, and he gave his shimmering katana a twirl, then resumed his previous task. He asked politely for Ray to stand and walk to him with his chin raised, telepathically.
Ray did what Nobuo told him to do. Vibrations trembled across the floor. Ray caught a glimpse of the ruined robot Estrella and Piper rode, limp to the secret computer chamber from the corner of his eye. As sad as the robot looked, it was probably faster for Piper and Estrella to ride it forward than running. He hoped they got there on time.
Nobuo aimed his blade to Ray’s neck. “Now, Ray, where were we?”
Nobuo didn’t catch Estrella and Piper’s surprise attack. Some telepath he turned out to be. It gave Ray hope. The two witches entered the fray, leaping off the robot. Its guns were in pieces dangling about. Estrella was wearing a tight red biker outfit, and the glow from the red lights above gave it an unforgettable shine. A single network cable was plugged into her head but not connected to anything else and it swayed with her movement. Piper had one too.
Estrella’s twin pistols cracked, laying down covering fire, and breaking Nobuo’s hold on Ray’s brain. Ray was free yet again and assisted with his gun. Piper blasted with her dual SMGs. Ray saw nothing but bullets fly, and computer screens explode during the violence. Nobuo laughed.
Debris was flung forward when Nobuo pointed at it. Piper deflected it with a wave of her hand, forcing it to orbit her before she launched it back to Nobuo. His indigo glowing katana cut it in half. A horizontal slash cut the second and third hulks of rubble Piper’s psychokinesis sent. Ray fired his gun, but his bullets floated in the air ahead of Nobuo then dropped. Estrella’s bullets did the same. A slice through the air and Nobuo vanished. He slipped into the temporal void again. When Nobuo returned, he stood behind Piper. A slash and a splash of red pushed her to the floor. Piper wasn’t moving, and she didn’t scream when it happened.
Estrella and Ray were next.
Estrella went into overdrive, running so fast all Ray saw was a wave of red and black run for Nobuo. His katana hit nobody, but rapidly kicked boots and flying fists from the red and black blur staggered him backwards. Ray shot again, still nothing. Cables from the floor rose and knotted around the colorful blur. It forced Estrella’s overdrive to an end. She stood still, trapped, her limbs bound by the cables that took life and tied her up. Her nanites turned the cables binding her into goo, she snapped back when free, sending a second swarm at Nobuo.
Nobuo screamed at first, waving his hands, trying to swat the nanite swarm away. His flesh burst into flames. This was it. Or was it? His glowing hands thrust forward, and psychokinetic winds blew out the fires. He was perfectly fine, then he slashed his blade again. A computer screen came off the wall toward Estrella. She didn’t see it coming. Ray leaped her way, pushing her to safety.
When the two got to their feet, they stood back-to-back. Nobuo had vanished again into a portal. Estrella reloaded her pistols and tossed a clip for Ray. He was back in action. The two spun, searching for signs of his temporal portal, eyes moving around rapidly, backs still pressed against each other. Ray wanted to check Piper, he also wanted to look at Theo and Bashiir, as neither of them moved from the floor where they fell.
“Ray,” Estrella said. “You’re a very hard man to find and talk to.”
Ray smiled, not that she could see it. “You know, I was open to talk when we first met,” he said. “But you told me to fuck off, so …”
“I told you to go fuck yourself.”
“Fuck off. Fuck myself. It’s the same shit!”
Nobuo was back. Ray and Estrella stood shoulder to shoulder firing their pistols rapidly. Invisible forces held their bullets idle in the air, and a slash of Nobuo’s blade scattered them. A leaping cleave from Nobuo came next. Running was pointless as they’d still be in range, and Estrella knew it. She pushed Ray over and stood above him, lifting her synthetic arm up like it was a shield.
Ray looked up just in time to see Nobuo’s blade slice Estrella’s arm and then slice again. Half her synthetic arm hit the floor in three smoking pieces. He saw a fountain of sparks erupt from the severed wires within the fraction of her arm still attached to her body. It was a grim reminder of how much of a machine Estrella was, compared to Ray. She didn’t flinch or cry out in suffering, her ability to experience true pain with her left arm was gone the day she sold her soul to Yoshida.
She sprayed Nobuo again with her nanites, and again his body convulsed. It bought Ray just enough time to get to his feet, retreat, and watch as Nobuo slashed again. Estrella went down like Piper with a vertical gash down the middle of her torso. It exposed blood mixed with metal and wires. Estrella refused to give up and reached for the remains of her arm. They hit the opposite ends of the room after three kicks from Nobuo.
Nobuo twitched. Whatever it was Estrella ordered her nanites to do, continued working, wreaking havoc on Nobuo muscles. He struggled to hold his blade steady to finish Estrella off. Ray shot him again, and the bullets froze in the air. Nobuo’s psychokinesis powers were unaffected. Ray cursed.
Everyone was down except Ray, and he knew once Estrella was dead, he would be too. Ray reached for his phone, pulling it out and searching for a vulnerable object. At that point, he didn’t care what it was. He needed something.
An icon hovered over
Estrella’s body. Her AI was still operating and labeled a vulnerable target. Not that he’d try to hack it. His phone gave him a quick peek at her AI’s status. Estrella’s battery was low, 11% to be exact, as her Defense Matrix ate up her power to keep her nanites alive longer. Ray grimaced when a similar icon flashed over Piper’s body. She too was a vulnerable device. That meant her AI was still active.
Ray ran for Piper, and he felt the eyes of a staggering Nobuo watch him. Nobuo was still struggling to work his muscles, fighting off Estrella’s nanites that would eventually lose power. Once that happened, it was over. Ray kneeled, rolling Piper’s body over. Her chest, despite being drenched in blood with sparking wires coming from the wound, was still moving. She was alive.
“Piper?”
She didn’t respond. She looked to the ceiling, and he noticed her head still had a network cable attached. He plugged it into his tablet, worked the keypad, and powered his botnet on, looking to gain access to her AI. It wasn’t necessary. A holographic raven perched itself on the top edge of his pad. Akane granted Ray access.
A chat window opened, and Piper’s text-only words appeared on his tablet’s screen.
Piper Taylor: Fuck, fuck, fuck …
Ray typed his reply.
DigiSamurai69: Estrella won’t last long. She needs more nanites and a new battery.
Piper Taylor: We spent most of them getting to you. She might have a spare in her arm.
DigiSamurai69: Her arm got sliced to pieces. I don’t know where he kicked it.
Ray looked down at Piper’s synthetic arm. He pointed at it.
DigiSamurai69: Got anything in there?
Piper Taylor: One nanotube and I need you to inject me with it. I need first-aid treatment from it.
DigiSamurai69: What good is that when he finishes her then us off?
Cyber Witch Page 34