Jerry nods slowly. “OK. OK. It sounds real good, but tell me something–if you can fix up my avatar so it’s fit to fight then why can’t I just go back to my old platoon?”
The light fades quickly from Stalybridge’s eyes. “Jerry, didn’t they tell you?”
“What? What’s happened? No one in this place ever tells me anything. I haven’t heard a word from my buddies since I got here.”
“I’m sorry, Jerry. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but your old platoon is gone.”
“Gone? What do you mean gone?”
Stalybridge runs his hand across his mouth. “They’re dead, Jerry. All of them. The whole platoon was wiped out when one of them called in a tactical strike. Nobody could log off, and they were all trapped in the blast radius. Nobody survived.”
Jerry stares at him. He opens his mouth to speak, but his breath catches in his throat. He coughs, tries again. “Nobody? Nobody at all?”
“I really am sorry, Jerry. I thought you knew. Someone should have told you. You had a lucky escape. If you hadn’t got out when you did…”
“I don’t believe it. I just don’t understand.” Jerry closes his eyes and lifts his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. All this time, he thinks. All this time and nobody told me.
Stalybridge clears his throat. “You’ve had a shock, Jerry. I’ll leave you in peace. I’ll come back another time and we’ll talk things over.” He turns and starts to walk away.
“Wait! Sir, please wait!”
Stalybridge half turns, but he doesn’t stop walking. “We shouldn’t discuss this now. The timing’s not right. You should take a day or two to process what’s happened.”
“No, sir. With due respect, I’m ready. Sign me up. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Stalybridge hesitates by the door, his hand on the handle. He lets out a loud breath then turns and looks Jerry in the eye. “You’re sure? This is what you want–despite what happened to your friends?”
Jerry pushes himself up until he’s sitting as upright as he can get, grunting with the effort. “Sir, they were good soldiers, but we all knew one thing–whatever happened to any one of us, the fight would go on. I owe it to them to carry on, sir. I owe that much to each and every one of them.”
For a long second, Stalybridge says nothing, and the silence hangs heavy in the air. Then he takes a breath and says, “Very well. I’ll make the necessary arrangements. We’ll get you out to the training center as soon as we can.”
“Thank you, sir. I won’t let you down.”
“I know,” Stalybridge says. “You’re a good man.” Then he gives Jerry a nod and leaves the room, closing the door firmly behind him.
Jerry stays sitting up for a minute then he lowers himself gently back onto his pillows. “I’ll do it for you, Mervin,” he murmurs. “I’ll do it for all of you.”
Chapter 4
Infiltrate, Identify, and Destroy
JERRY WALKS SLOWLY ALONG THE CORRIDOR that leads to the ops room, following the rest of the platoon. Since he arrived at the unit two months ago, he’s lived, worked, and trained in a group of just five men and women, and this is the first time he’s seen the whole platoon assembled together. It’s a big day, a major training exercise, and everyone is quiet, locked into their own thoughts. There are just 20 men and women in the unit, all veterans and all wounded on the virtual battlefield, though you wouldn’t know it today. Everyone stands tall, their VR helmets tucked under their arms, and every black VR suits looks brand new.
Jerry enjoys the quiet thrill of anticipation that stirs in his gut as he nears the ops room, and he picks up the pace. He’s pretty nimble on his feet since they adjusted the prosthetics, and though he won’t be entering a tap dance contest any time soon, he can walk and run just as well as he could before. He has to admire the techs at the unit; he can hardly understand a word they say about sensors and servos, but they know their business and they clearly take a pride in their work.
Jerry steps into the ops room and he’s surprised to find Captain Andrews waiting just inside the door. In the unit, salutes are rare, but the captain gives Jerry a nod and a firm handshake before moving on to the next soldier in line. Must be something going on, Jerry thinks, but he keeps his thoughts to himself.
The men and women are already forming up into two orderly ranks, more out of habit than expectation. Jerry takes his place in the front rank and risks a quick glance around the room, registering a few familiar faces. He allows himself a small smile. It’s nice to be surrounded by his comrades—to be reminded that he’s not just part of team, but a member of an extended family, and all with the same loyalties, the same drive to succeed. They’ll watch each other’s backs. And whatever happens, they’ll never give up.
Captain Andrews steps to the front of the room and scans their faces, waiting patiently. The room falls quiet and Jerry stands to attention. The captain has earned his rank through long years in the field, and he takes care of the men and women under his command. His guidance is like gold dust and Jerry makes a point of hanging on his every word.
“OK, listen up,” the captain says. “This must be your lucky day, ladies and gentlemen, because you’re about to embark on your first live mission.”
A murmur of surprise runs through the platoon, and the energy in the room is instantly amplified. A few of the soldiers exchange excited grins, but Jerry stays still as a statue, his eyes fixed firmly to the front. Sure, he’s eager for some action, but this no time to lose focus.
“I know you weren’t expecting this,” the captain goes on, “but an opportunity just came up and it’s a straightforward mission. We talked it over and we’re 100% certain that you’re ready. You’ll get your full brief and target allocation when you go to your chairs. This is nothing fancy, people. It’s a simple raid–infiltrate, identify, and destroy. It’s almost identical to the training mission you did last week, and you excelled in that exercise. You’ve all fought alongside simulated teams, but today you’ll fight alongside each other. That gives us more flexibility as a unit, but it introduces the possibility of human error. And let’s be clear—errors cost lives and we cannot allow that to happen. We run this operation by the book. We follow our orders to the letter. No exceptions.” He pauses. “Questions?”
One man at the far end of the front rank raises his hand, and the captain acknowledges him with a nod and says, “Go ahead.”
“Thank you, sir,” the man says. “Just one question. Will we be keeping to the same teams as in training?”
“The same teams,” Captain says. “Is that a problem?”
“No, sir. I just wondered if we might be taking the opportunity to change things up. I’d like to get to know the rest of my platoon, sir.”
“Not on this mission,” the captain says. “Later on, when we’ve had the chance to assess you more thoroughly, we’ll set the teams according to the objectives for each task. We’ll aim to make the best use of your individual skills and abilities. But for now, you’ll stick with the people you know. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir. Very clear. Thank you, sir.”
And a sudden thought hits Jerry like a slap in the face: I know that voice. Jerry cranes his neck to see this man whose voice is so familiar, but he’s at the far end of the rank and he can’t see him clearly. Jerry racks his brain. I’d know that voice anywhere. So why can’t I place it?
“OK, it’s time,” Andrews says. “You know your allocated stations. Take your positions and familiarize yourself with the brief. Deployment is in three minutes. Let’s make this first mission the start of something big. Let’s make it a mission we can be proud of.” He pauses for a second, and there’s a glint in his eye, as if he intends to savor this moment. “Platoon, move out.”
20 eager voices chorus, “Sir, yes sir!” at maximum volume, and as one, they salute their captain. Captain Andrews returns their salute, and in the next instant, the soldiers swing smoothly into motion. With the proficient ease that comes only throug
h long practice, the men and women move quickly to their assigned VR chairs and begin their preparations.
As Jerry heads to his own chair, he takes a sideways look at the man with the familiar voice. Jerry doesn’t mean to stare, but there’s something distinctive about the way the man moves; he has the upright posture of a soldier, but he stalks across the room in an oddly furtive way, sidling between the others. Jerry takes his seat, but he watches the man from the corner of his eye and he has the uneasy feeling that the man is homing in on him. Just keep walking, pal, he thinks. Just keep walking. Then he pushes the man from his mind and starts checking his equipment, turning his VR helmet over in his hands. He hasn’t quite got used to all the new gear they have in the unit, and he’s still pretty impressed at how light the helmet is. It was custom made, just for him, so it fits perfectly, and the connection speed with the VR system has to be experienced to be believed.
When Jerry looks up, the man with the familiar voice still hasn’t taken his seat. He’s hesitating as if he’s forgotten where to go. What a loser, Jerry thinks. Letting the platoon down like that. And we haven’t even got started yet. Jerry frowns. He should call out to the guy and tell him to get moving, but something holds him back. He’s still bothered by the nagging thought that he knows this man from before, even though there’s no way the guy could be from his old platoon. Perhaps they’d been part of the same intake of new recruits—that would explain a lot; basic training felt like a lifetime ago.
As Jerry watches, the man turns, his eyes darting up and down the rows of VR chairs. A frown furrows the man’s brow, but then he looks relieved as if he’s found the place he’s looking for. A crooked grin creeps across his lips and he looks at Jerry.
Oh hell! The chair next to Jerry is empty, and everyone else has already taken their places. The man raises his eyebrows and he gazes at Jerry for a little too long. There’s a flash of recognition in his eyes—and there’s something else there too. Something not quite right.
Jerry breaks eye contact and turns his attention to the small screen in front of him. The guy’s clearly a flake, and Jerry has neither the time nor the inclination to deal with him. The mission briefing is already displayed on the screen, and he needs to absorb the details before it’s too late.
“Hi,” the man says as he takes the chair next to Jerry’s. “We meet again.”
“Hi,” Jerry says, but he doesn’t look up. He’s immersed in the briefing now, committing every detail to memory. The raid seems simple on the face of it; the unit’s new battlefield technology will infiltrate the enemy’s defenses and place each soldier’s avatar in precisely the right position for the attack to begin. Then, all they have to do is move forward with their teams, monitoring the environment for enemy activity while providing covering fire for each other. Every soldier will be armed with a state of the art phase rifle: a superior weapon that makes Jerry’s old pulse cannon look like a peashooter.
When each team reaches its primary objective, they’ll report back, requesting confirmation that they’re positioned correctly. The system will respond immediately, and if all is well, they’ll get the green light to deploy their secondary weapons. For this mission, their rifles will be equipped with a grenade launcher and a set of four data grenades. Fully automated, the grenades are simply point and shoot. Each grenade will lock onto a node, home in and detonate, releasing a massive burst of corrupt data. Taken together, the combined effect of the foreign data, will blind the enemy’s defensive software and throw their systems into chaos. At that point, the battlefield computer will take over. Locking onto the nodes blown open by the grenades, the unit’s central computer will stream a deadly payload of invasive software into the enemy’s network.
Jerry’s eyes grow wider as he finishes the briefing. If this is a simple raid then he can’t help but wonder what a complex one would look like.
“Pretty cool, huh?”
Jerry looks up. The man in the next chair is staring at him, his expression alive with nervous excitement. “Should be fine,” Jerry says. “Like the captain told us—all we have to do is play it by the book.” He forces a thin smile and gives the man a nod. And in that moment, the lights in the operations room dim. But Jerry can still see the man staring at him. And even in the gloom, the man’s eyes glitter with an eerie intensity.
Oh my God! Jerry thinks. It’s him! And there can be no doubt. The soldier next to him is the strange man from the hospital; the patient who crept into his room and stood over his bed while he was unconscious. And this man, this person who is so clearly unhinged, will soon be thrown into the thick of a virtual battlefield at Jerry’s side.
“Ah, I see you remember me now,” the man says. “It took you long enough.”
Jerry lets out a noncommittal grunt and looks away. “No time to talk. The countdown’s started.”
But the man carries on as though Jerry hasn’t spoken. “Your name’s Jerome, isn’t it?”
“Quiet,” Jerry snaps. “You need to get ready to deploy.”
“Oh, I’m ready. I’ve never been more ready in my life.” The man lets out a giggle of nervous laughter. “My name’s Joseph. Or Joe. Joe Sanderson.”
The man giggles again, and Jerry concentrates furiously on his screen, blocking out the incongruous sound of laughter, and hoping upon hope that this nutcase and his team will be deployed as far as possible from him on the battlefield.
“I can see we’re going to be friends, Jerome,” Sanderson whispers. “So you can call me by my special name. You see, I like my friends to call me Will.”
And the screen on Jerry’s chair flickers and displays a single word: DEPLOY.
Thank you for Reading C0NTINUE?
If you’d like to read more stories set in the CHEATC0DE universe then you’ll be interested to know that there are several more novels in the works. The sequel to CHEATC0DE will be called The Trust and is due for launch in the fall of 2016. I usually launch new titles at a specially discounted price and then give my newsletter subscribers a heads up, so if you haven’t signed up already and you want to make sure you don’t miss out on a bargain, sign up today at: mikeycampling.com/freebooks
I love hearing from readers so there are lots of ways to reach me. You can email me at: [email protected], but the best place to see all my social media links in one place is on my website: www.mikeycampling.com/contact/
Coming Soon
The Trust—The Sequel to CHEATC0DE
Hank is back, and this time, he’s playing for keeps. Hank’s next thrilling adventure is due for release in 2016.
Scaderstone Pit–The Darkeningstone Book III
The tale across time continues.
In the year 3550 BC, a woman runs for her life. She must find shelter before nightfall. But why is she so afraid?
In 1919, the new owners of Scaderstone Rock prepare to open a quarry on the site. But what will they discover? Will the secrets of Scaderstone finally be unveiled?
And in the future, what lies in store for Jake? He needs answers. But where can he turn? There is perhaps one person who can help him.
Scheduled for release in 2016.
Don’t Miss Out
The best way to keep up to date with Mikey’s new releases is to sign up for his newsletter at: mikeycampling.com/freebooks
About the Author
On Mikey’s first day at school he discovered the wondrous world that is The Book Corner, and he has never really left it.
On writing, Mikey says: “I love the savage magic of wordcraft - it’s edgy, exciting and much harder work than everyone thinks.”
He lives in the UK on the edge of the wilds of Dartmoor, with his wife, two children, and a Labrador called Lottie. He has more books than are strictly necessary, but not quite enough to have his house reclassified as a library. Apparently.
You can find out more on Mikey’s website: mikeycampling.com
You can also get two free books, free audio stories and free artwork by joining his mailing list a
t: mikeycampling.com/freebooks
Now we bring you the anecdote:
Mikey has had lunch with the late Sir Terry Pratchett a couple of times. And you’ll be pleased to know that Sir Terry was just as warm and humorous as his books.
Also by Mikey Campling
Trespass: A Tale of Mystery and Suspense Across Time—The Darkeningstone Book I
Three stories, separated by five thousand years, united by one deadly secret: Somewhere, sometime, the stone is waiting.
Trespass combines gritty, edgy modern-day action with a thrilling adventure across time. Discovered over five thousand years ago, the Darkeningstone affects everyone who finds it.
Jake was too smart to believe the rumours about Scaderstone Pit, but now he’s in more danger than he could ever have imagined.
In 1939, as World War II looms, the lives of two men will be changed forever.
C0NTINUE? Page 2