by P. R. Adams
Danny whistled. “Closer? Um, they’ve got sensors up on that roof. It’s like those old movies where the cities turn on searchlights when bombers are coming in. You know what I mean? No? Old movies?”
“I don’t watch movies.” He knew that.
“Watch Lucy’s feed.”
Lucy was his current favorite, feeding ultraviolet imagery to us. The ultraviolet switched over to infrared, and the sky came alive with a moving lattice of beams. Infrared searchlights.
Even our recon was at risk. “How far out are they searching?”
“Half a mile, maybe more. It’s all more dangerous closer in. Farther out, they may not notice something they barely brush across.” Danny made a low humming noise. “Wait.”
Lucy’s image angle changed, as if the drone were banking hard.
I squinted, but there wasn’t a clear sense anything else had changed. “Did they see you?”
“No. The farther out those beams go, the bigger the gap between them. I think…”
Lucy leveled off, and it seemed like the drone had gotten closer.
Danny chuckled. “Okay. Risky, but what isn’t? Heading to the front for a closer look.”
The infrared camera didn’t have the magnification of the ultraviolet; Danny switched the feed over and drilled down.
Huiyin nodded once, hard. She had what she wanted.
I said, “Get Lucy out of there.”
The feed switched back to infrared, and the angle changed again, climbing this time.
Bright red lines flashed in the video. Lucy was flying straight into the search beams!
The angle shifted even more dramatically than before, and it sounded like Danny was whispering something. More lines appeared, and the whispering became clearer. Lucy twisted, and a strange sound came over the connection as the video became erratic, as if the drone were spinning.
It looked like Lucy was falling straight toward a group of beams. “Danny?”
“Stalled.” Cool as ice. “Just a minute.”
The sound had been an alarm, then. He’d pushed the drone too hard during maneuvering. If Lucy was detected by one of the beams, we would have to make a decision on the spot: head in with minimal planning or abort.
Heading in would be suicide, but aborting would mean abandoning the effort against Cytek and Jacinto’s chimera altogether.
As suddenly as it had started, the alarm stopped, and Lucy’s angle steadied.
Danny laughed. “Got it! Now getting her out of there.”
Once again, the angle shifted, but this time the drone moved slower and veered wide of the visible lines lancing through the sky. Before long, the drone had returned to the safe altitude it had been at before.
“Thanks, Danny. We’ll give the imagery a look.”
He made a noise halfway between a whistle and a sigh. “Almost as bad as that time we hit that diplomatic entourage in Hanoi. Getting Hoàng Oanh. What a shootout that was. You remember? Jacinto took the MSS Gridhounds down with that big virus bomb. Right? That whole team, it was like they went blind. Fish in a barrel.”
Huiyin’s face went rigid. The Chinese—MSS—had suffered horrible casualties during that raid, not to mention the political fallout of trying to suppress a popular Vietnamese politician. Had Huiyin heard of the mission? Had she known any of the people killed? Danny could only have brought it up to irritate her. Or test her.
“Remember that?” Danny cackled. “You were on fire that night!”
Huiyin closed her eyes.
I took him to a private connection and whisper-soft said, “We’ll chat later.”
“Oh, sure. Yeah. Did I—?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just…don’t talk about it again.”
“Oh. Maybe she has some dark secrets. Huh. Hadn’t really thought about that.” Ironic.
“Like I said, we’ll chat later.”
Huiyin shifted the image of the west entry around and handed the data device back to me. Her features had softened, as if nothing had happened, and she purposefully pressed a breast against my hand as I looked the device over. Soft, hot flesh, ghostly walnut in the dark.
Control. She’s exerting control.
The front door looked like it belonged on a bank vault, not a data center. There was a guard outside, and it wasn’t clear if we were looking at a patrol or a fixed position.
“Great,” I whispered. “Chan, what about the people who designed this place? The architectural firm, the people who did all the wiring, HVAC, and the like? Could they have blueprints?”
Chan shrugged. “Print copies. Taken back at the end of work, most likely. No help. Architecture…can research. Won’t be American.”
What was anymore? “I know you’ll find something.”
Chan’s magenta eyes jumped from the display to me, then back. I thought there might be some frustration or anxiety in the look, but then Chan was closed off again, absorbed in the world of the Grid. Using.
Ichi craned her neck to glance over Chan’s shoulder. “Why can I not go in like before?”
I couldn’t tell if she was being naive or flippant. “Well, for one thing, they’ve seen what we’ve done at two previous facilities. They’re not going to allow a repeat of any of the mistakes that made those possible. If Chan’s right—”
Chan flashed an angry glare at me for my wording.
I corrected myself, “All of Jacinto’s traffic ran through here. That means we definitely have Agency gear here, maybe Agency people. Possibly the androids.”
Chan returned all attention to the computing device.
We were all feeling a bit testy, I reminded myself. “So, if this is going to be some sort of joint Cytek-Agency hosting center, it’s going to be worse than the other two. Could be that one of the systems running the chimera is actually inside. Maybe it’s the entire system. Either way, we’ll be looking at a whole new level of security. We can’t expect anything from the first two sites to apply here.”
Ichi leaned against the van wall. “So we go in like you Americans do.” She pointed finger-pistols at me and pretended to shoot me.
“That’s just going to end up with a lot of people dead. Including us.”
I flipped the drone feed around to see if a different view might provide some spark of imagination. Huiyin leaned against me, eyes squinting at the image. It was very casual and familiar, probably meant as much to irritate Ichi as it was to remind me that I was still connected with an MSS agent. With Huiyin. Ichi’s frown said it worked on at least one level. The magnitude of the mission kept me focused on the imagery instead of Huiyin.
Huiyin cocked her head. “Maybe she’s right?”
I suppressed a groan. It was an absurd comment. Intentional? “Go in guns blazing? They’re going to have thirty or more guards, all on alert.”
“Your hardware friend can’t help?”
“Abhishek? He’s already given us more help than we could reasonably expect from—”
Chan’s head popped up. “Wait!”
I nearly jumped to my feet, ready in case we were about to come under attack. “What?”
“Blueprints.” Chan pushed a file out to our devices.
The image blossomed, multilayered, multiple angles, 3D, with frightening levels of detail.
My heart sank. Not a high-security prison. Worse. There were security checkpoints everywhere.
At the bottom of the display, a logo popped up for what I assumed was the architectural firm. “Malaysia?”
Chan’s fingers tapped on the computing device. “About one-tenth the cost.”
Well, that wasn’t so bad. It would’ve been worse before the last depression. Americans had been told for decades we were too expensive, expected too much. Now, instead of the developing world coming up to our living standards, we were speeding toward theirs.
I spun the view around, checked several angles. “This looks impossible. We can’t get in, not without a bloodbath.”
“Why go in?” Chan typed rapidly. “Ha
ve them come out.”
“What? Is that some sort of game you’re referring to?”
“No.” Chan pushed a video of the area to our devices. The private road leading into the facility was highlighted, as were the front gate, our van parked off a wooded trail about a mile on the opposite side, and what we’d dubbed the security compound. “One way in. Works for them, works against them, too. External response goes through there.” The gate flashed brightly.
“Sure.”
“Limits speed, numbers. Makes response predictable.” Chan’s eyes darted to Huiyin.
Whose idea is this? “Is this going to turn into another vote for the guns-blazing scenario? Are you saying draw them out through the gate and pin them down? That won’t work. We won’t be able to get in any easier doing that.”
Chan sighed. “No.” More tapping and swiping.
Huiyin looked up, smiled. “We could blow a hole in the wall. Explosives are easy to get access to.”
“No.” I sounded a little too agitated. Cool breath. “Not if we don’t have to.”
“It’s efficient.”
“And messy. There’s a better way.” Another bunch of corpses laying in a morgue wasn’t much better than us failing. “So what did you have in mind, Chan?”
“Hack them. From here.”
The map updated, with a circle radiating out from a strip mall located about two miles away from the front gate. The buildings were mostly empty, but there had been three restaurants, a couple fast food joints, and a small grocer spread throughout the place when we’d scouted it earlier.
“Hack them from there?” There were a couple of end buildings that would offer safe places to operate from, but they wouldn’t be defendable. Chan had to know that. “You mean let them think we’re hacking from there and have them send a security team?”
A nod. “Ambush them. Get backup. Their communications, we can get into that.”
“All right. So we draw them out a couple miles and have them send backup. Then you take down comms or cause confusion using it. Right? But they won’t send more than half their team. What do we do about the rest?”
“False alarms. Trigger sensors on the east wall.” New circles radiated out from the wall opposite the gate. “Lure more out. Into the woods.”
“Okay. That leaves fewer people inside the facility. Still a tough deal. How are you figuring this helps us get any closer to the chimera system?”
“The lure at the east wall.” Chan’s head bowed. “My signature. Jacinto will come.”
“You want to risk a fight against Jacinto while the rest of us are out fighting…?” I sat down again. “Okay. Let’s run through this. We’re here for two possible objectives: shutting Jacinto’s chimera down, if possible, and acquiring any other data we can get for the FBI and SEC to go after Cytek and its allies. Either one of those, and it’s a win, but I want both. We’ve got the hardware to overcome their security now, but we have to get into a server room. How do you see this plan bringing that about? If I’m handling the ambush at the strip mall, who’s protecting you, and who’s going into that data center?”
Huiyin squeezed my arm. “I can run the ambush. Have your sniper position himself for support. The two of us can hold down a large force.”
Danny said to me over a private channel, “Your sniper? Nice. Really feeling the warmth. You trust her to do something like this?”
“Not now.” I had to mutter that.
Huiyin’s head cocked, but she said nothing.
Ichi smirked, the look I was coming to fear; she was too sure of herself. “And I will protect Chan.”
This had the smell of something at least partially pre-planned among the three of them, without engaging me. Was it all Huiyin’s doing, like the drugs being fed to Chan? “Think about it, Ichi. What if Jacinto has one of his androids in the facility and it comes after you two?”
“I will destroy it.”
“They’re nearly imperv—”
“No. I have seen them fight now. I know what to do.” The look on her face said she wasn’t going to listen.
The plan left only me to go into the facility. “All right. How do you expect someone to make it inside without anyone noticing? Everyone’s going to be on alert once these attacks begin.”
Chan smiled, dreamy-eyed. Actually smiled. “You’ll be inside already. Doing my hacking.”
Chapter 29
It was nearly three in the morning, and as much as I hated them, the only thing keeping me going was the shakes; it felt like I was on the verge of exploding from my skin. My rental car smelled like the cleaning team had a chemical orgy—shampoos, glass cleaner, and who knew what else. I certainly didn’t want to know what had required so much effort to cover it up. My stomach did a couple flips as the headlights revealed fog, dark grass, and darker road, and ahead, the guard shack and gate.
I turned the thermostat down a few degrees and told myself it was going to be fine. No one was going to die.
It wasn’t very convincing, even to me.
As I slowed, the contents of the attaché case on the passenger seat rattled. Other than the fan, that rattling was the only sound. The road was smooth, without even one pothole. Where that private road connected to the main, public road, it was a different story, like a war zone.
I came to a stop a couple feet from the security bar blocking the gate and leaned back in my seat, taking in the fine luxury of the hard plastic seat frame and light padding.
Just here for emergency software patching. No murder. No sabotage.
I kicked a timer off as an overlay in the corner of my left eye.
There were two guards in the shack, one watching from behind bulletproof glass while the other ambled out through a two-door airlock toward the car. Armored vest, sidearm, and a gait that said no one was being stupid today. And who would be at such an hour?
I lowered my window and put on the sort of charm I usually reserved for big targets, convincing myself the cotton shirt, tie, and suit coat complete with fountain pens and pocket protector were as believable as the black hair dye, bronzing, and contacts. I felt comfortable and looked convincing. Believe in this. “You guys always get fog like this? I nearly missed the turnoff.”
The guard relaxed slightly, gray-green eyes taking in the gray carpet of moisture I’d just driven through. Bushy, silver eyebrows rose slowly, deep wrinkles in sun-baked skin—outdoorsman, working the job to pay for his hobby. “All depends on fast temperature changes.” He had a real slow drawl that matched the way he moved, the way he studied the car, the way he squinted at my face. “Not from around here, I take it?”
Andrews. That was on his nametag.
“Just landed a little bit ago. You should have a message from corporate saying I would be out.” I pulled a printout from my jacket pocket, then the driver’s license and Cytek ID we’d hired a local forger to fabricate. “Would’ve been here earlier, but my flight was delayed. Missed my connecting flight.”
He looked from the ID card and printout to me, then wagged the license. “Need to check this.”
“Sure.” We’d had authentic Cytek ID to work from, so I was confident about the look of things. It was my credentials that were the unknown. Just how good was Chan’s hack?
Andrews slid the document and identification into a tray for the other guard to check. Everything was slow, calm. No sudden move for the gun or the phone.
I was operating alone—no ninja, no sniper.
Through the bulletproof glass, I could make out the other guard—probably about half the age of Andrews, and half as dangerous—short, heavy-jowled, wearing plastic-frame glasses that screamed a need for attention. He examined the ID first, which was the right thing to do. There would be a scanner somewhere nearby. Yes. He lifted the card and turned slightly.
Chan’s first test.
I lowered my left hand, ready to yank the pistol from beneath my seat at the first sign things were going sideways.
Plastic Frames turned back to
the paperwork in front of him and set the ID card down.
Passed. The driver’s license would check out easily enough. The printout, though…
He slid the driver’s license into a different scanner that would connect to the DMV, and what looked like a disappointed scowl came over his face. He tossed the license on top of the ID badge.
Two for three.
Now he turned to the printout. My itinerary, my assignment, my travel code—all very tough to fake. But Chan had limited access to their back office systems.
Plastic Frames tapped at a terminal, round cheeks reddening.
Was he spoiling for trouble? Had he seen something amiss?
Andrews leaned against the shack window, wrinkled face giving away absolutely nothing.
I propped the computing device I’d recovered from the assassin outside Denver against the steering wheel and tapped away with my right hand, quite obviously concerned with whatever I was reading. I even mouthed the first few lines of the software patch instructions Chan had left for me. I spoke three languages, none of them as dense and useless as the technical jargon.
Plastic Frames pushed the tray out, and Andrews gathered everything up from within while his partner glared at me.
They exchanged a few words, then Andrews moseyed back to me. “It all looks t’be in order,” he said as he passed everything back to me. “I’m afraid you’ll need to come back later, though. We’re under strict orders not to let anyone in outside of regular personnel during regular work shifts.”
I’d expected that. “This is a critical activity. The patch is from corporate. It’s for sensitive tenant systems.” Tenant. Chan said that would be how the Agency’s systems would be referred to if they had anything inside the data center. I pushed the printout back at Andrews. “Call Mr. Amu if you need confirmation.”
Andrews curled in his bottom lip. “Well, if you already missed your connecting flight—”
“I can catch a flight to Atlanta in a bit and get back onto schedule.” And if they checked, they would see that I could, just as they would see that my supposed flight from Chicago had been delayed. “I don’t want to bust your balls, but I’ve got two more sites to wrap in three days.”