Randomers

by Alexis Dogman

  FOURTY FIVE MINUTES AGO

  Just after Kaew exits the black subcompact car, Yuna speeds away from the Sentral station and drives towards a nearby modern five stories high office building. She parks her car by the back alley of the building and rapidly makes her way back to the front.

  Yuna hurries up the stairs to the main entrance and the glass doors slide open. At the center of the low security lobby is a metallic, curved reception desk with two security guards in white uniform sitting behind it. Yuna walks right pass without even stopping to look into their eyes. She makes her way to the elevator lobby where four lifts cater to the building. Yuna presses for the elevator and one of the metal doors opens. She enters and immediately presses the button for level three.

  Yuna pokes her finger impatiently at the door bell and the receptionist, a Malay lady in her early twenties look up awkwardly at Yuna. Not everyday she gets to see someone come knocking with sunglasses and a baseball cap. If she wasn't a woman, the receptionist will not even open the door. The glass door opens with a beep and Yuna marches in straight to the receptionist, demanding, "I need to see Raja Poobalan now."

  The receptionist picks up the receiver and keys in an extension. Placing the receiver by her blue headscarf, she asks for Mr. Raja and then places the receiver back onto the phone.

  "Sorry Miss, he is in a meeting. He will only be free after 4:00 p.m." the receptionist says to Yuna.

  "No, I cannot wait. Tell him to see me now," Yuna insists angrily behind her sunglasses.

  "Miss, I cannot help you in that way. If you want you can leave a message and I'll pass it to him," the receptionist replies crudely.

  "Tell him to see me now if he doesn't want to die soon. Once I leave I'm never coming back," Yuna warns.

  The receptionist is startled by the weight in Yuna’s words and immediately rings for Mr. Raja again.

  "Just go straight and turn left. His office is the last door on your right," the receptionist says as she puts the receiver down.

  Yuna marches in, past the rows of blue cubicles on her left and easily finds his office. Without even caring to knock she swings the door open. There is no time to waste as Kaew's life depends on her. Behind the desk, just pulling out his chair to sit, is the man she is looking for - an honest looking Indian man with a moustache, gold rimmed square glasses and a striped blue tie neatly hanging down the front of his white shirt.

  He is clearly shocked with the sudden intrusion and he glares angrily at Yuna.

  "Who are you and why are you here?" he questions her, standing.

  "Someone will be contacting you very soon, threatening you to complete a task for them. If you don't, they will hurt the ones you love most. If you want your family to be safe, leave. Take them with you, go for a long holiday. Stay away for a month and you will all be safe," Yuna tells with gravity and urgency in her tone.

  "Why should I even believe you?" Raja Poobalan spits.

  "Because my sister was their target and she killed herself to keep us safe. I am not being kind to you. I am doing it for her revenge. Ignore if you want to. Your life doesn't concern me," Yuna says coldly and she turns to leave even before Raja Poobalan can apprehend everything that was told to him.

  Yuna storms out of the office and hurries down the fire escape stairway back to the ground floor. Yuna then hurries out the building and jogs back to the alley but before she manages to reach the back, a dusty, white motorcycle with two helmeted riders on it approaches her. Her heart skips a beat. Can they be the killers? They ride pass her slowly and seeing the woman alone in a quiet street, the motorcycle turns back around and stops just before her. The pillion rider looks around and gets off. Yuna quickly analyzes them. There are no weapons on them. Now she gets it, they're pathetic snatch thieves trying to rob her.

  Yuna takes a quick glimpse at her watch. She needs to be at KLCC in less than fifteen minutes. Yuna does a quick mental calculation. These two assholes are slowing her down and with the traffic out there, she might just not be able to reach Kaew in time. Her glance falls onto the snatch thieves' motorcycle. Just what she needs! Without a word, Yuna sends a hard kick to the side of the motorcycle, causing it to tilt and loose balance. She then follows with a hard kick into the groin of the pillion rider. It all happens so quickly; the motorbike falls sideways and clamps the first rider down with it onto the tar road just as the pillion rider falls onto his knees clutching his crotch in excruciating pain.

  Yuna pulls the motorcycle back up to its position, hops on and rides off, leaving the two thieves groaning in pain.

  "So this is why I took up kick boxing," Yuna utters to herself as she speeds through traffic, pass red lights and onto sidewalks to make it just in time to get Kaew. Mission accomplished.

  Chapter 20

  India: Monday, 17th November 2:10 p.m.

  Ada quietly digs into the archives of the Hive's system, but there are just too many firewalls to protect the archives. Ada is sitting quietly before her workstation deliberating the idea of finding a way around the firewalls when her earphone lets out a beep followed by an incoming message.

  "Report to the Architins now," Goda instructs in his strong Russian accent.

  Ada's heart immediately flutters with fright. Did they find out that she has been trying to access the archives? She takes a deep breath and tries to maintain a calm and cool expression over her face as she puts on her leech and slides her swivel chair backwards from her workstation. Ada gets up and walks confidently towards the pods. Whatever they ask she will just have to deny it.

  Ada waves her palm at the sensor of the door to the usual meeting room and the door slides open instantly. However, instead of the empty room she anticipates, the Architins and Goda have seated themselves in the four chairs waiting for her. Their expressions are grave and hostile.

  Ada feels a shiver travel down her spine as her hands turn ice cold. But she knows she must maintain her composure no matter what happens. With her shoulders back, chest forward and head held high, she enters the room gracefully.

  Ada bows to the Architins as the door slides close behind her.

  "You may take a seat," the woman Architin invites, trying to sound warm but fails terribly. For the first time, Ada takes a seat onto the single white leather swivel chair before her feeling uncomfortable with the sudden hospitality. Anything out of the ordinary in the Hive is no good.

  Once Ada has taken her seat, the African Architin speaks, "Today, something disappointing happened in the Hive. I'm sure you will be ashamed of it too."

  Ada's face turns pale, her lungs drawing in rapid, short breathes.

  "We have failed in a mission to safeguard our secrets," the Caucasian Architin continues.

  "And the reason we ask you to come is we want you to take full responsibility," the woman Architin says.

  Ada nervously grips at the trimming of her dress as they speak. What are they going to do to me? I shouldn't have listened to Zero. Now I'm in a mess! Ada regrets in her thoughts.

  "Trace Kaew Saowaluk and Lee Yu Na," the African Architin instructs, very much to Ada's relieve. So this is not about her trying to access the archive after all.

  "Lead our lurker to them," the woman Architin adds.

  "We want them eliminated immediately. Do not let them affect our main action plan," the Caucasian Architin says hammering his fist onto the table, infuriated.

  "I will need to know what exactly happened," Ada says.

  "You will be given total access to anything you need. Goda will brief you," the African Architin answers.

  Ada nods obediently to their instructions, feeling beamish that she is going to be able to access the archives and find out the truth about Chaisai Saowaluk.

  "This session is over and you start your work immediately," the Caucasian Architin announces.

  Goda immediately springs from his chair and waves for the wall behind them to slide open. Ada too quickly stands up and bows as the Architins get up from their chairs and turn to leave. Just as t
hey are about to step out of the room, the woman Architin turns back abruptly to warn, "We have high regards about you. Work well and you will be rewarded well, double promotion is definite. But if you fail, the penalty will not be linient either." She then turns back around and all three of the Architins leave the room.

  Goda bows and waits for them to leave before coming back into the room. The wall slides close and he ushers Ada out of the meeting room through the door she came in. They walk briskly and quietly to the pods, both submerged in their thoughts. Once inside the pod, Goda is the first one to break the silence.

  "You must only succeed," he says to Ada as the pod opens its door.

  "Isn't that the basic rule for survival in the Hive?" Ada replies to Goda's statement as they walk hurriedly back to her workstation. This is the first time they are having a proper conversation in the six years that Ada has been here.

  "This is far beyond your usual task. If you fail, there will be no second chance. Your life is at stake. So make no mistakes," Goda tries to advise her, though his harsh and cold tone makes it sound more like a threat.

  Beneath that cold, army shell, Goda isn't heartless after all. He knows that if she fails, her fate will be the same as Khai's, the previous ghost who let Kaew get away. Imminent death awaits her and he just doesn't want to see that.

  Ada starts to feel butterflies in her stomach. If even Goda is warning her, it means that the stakes are really high. The Architins have just put her on a death sentence, unless she succeeds she will never live to see her brother again.

  They are about only a few feet more to her workstation when Ada halts her footsteps. Seeing her stop, Goda stops and turns to give her a questioning glare.

  "We need to talk," Ada demands.

  Goda only replies with a cold, hard stare.

  "If this is going to determine my life and death, I need to know more," Ada demands.

  Goda continues staring at her and finally he nods. Instead of going to her workstation, Goda leads them to the pantry. There is an Indian chap, stirring his coffee at the long table. He looks up and is clearly shocked with Goda marching in fiercely.

  "Out," Goda instructs and the Indian chap immediately takes his coffee and rushes out clumsily.

  Once inside, he waves his hand to close the always open door, turning the pantry into their meeting room. With his position in the Hive, once the door is closed, only someone with equal or higher authority will be able to reopen it. Therefore, they are now confidentially sealed in.

  "What do you need to know?" Goda asks.

  "Who are the Saowaluks? Why is the Hive so afraid of them?" Ada asks.

  "Chaisai Saowaluk betrayed the Hive. He ran away with a copy of the lifegrid. The lurker was sent after him and he is killed. But he never recovered the copy of the MAP Chaisai took. Now that you've located Kaew Saowaluk and her accomplice Lee Yu Na, we can confirm that the MAP is with them. And that is where you come in, to eliminate the both of them and destroy the last trace of the MAP," Goda says.

  "What do they want with the MAP? Sell it?" Ada asks, hoping to gain more insight into the case.

  "We do not know," Goda replies, "But I can assure you that what you have heard about Chaisai before this is not true. The Hive did not do him injustice. He betrayed us."

  Ada looks at Goda blankly, purely taken by surprise that Goda knows about the legend.

  "That is what you wanted to know isn't it?" Goda asks, knowing Ada well.

  Ada nods, her cheeks turning red. She feels silly and ashamed for having believed in the rumors. It was unprofessional to have doubted the Hive in the first place.

  "Is there anything else before you can start work?" Goda asks, walking so close to her he is literally breathing onto the top of her head.

  Ada backs up a step and shakes her head, replying a short, meek reply, "No."

  "Good. Remember, they are your enemies. If they live, you die," Goda says and marches over to the door. With a wave of his palm at the sensor, the door slides open and they stride back towards Ada's workstation.

  Once back at her station, Ada removes her leech and her workstation comes to life again.

  "We are giving you the highest authority to complete your task. To assist you to the maximum, you will have full access to every system and file in the Hive. From now on, only the Architins will have the authority to bar anything you do," Goda says as he leans over Ada's keyboard and keys in a string of codes calling out a security access box to change Ada's authority level on her workstation.

  'The computer starts with prompting on screen for a password.

  Key in authority code to proceed.

  Goda keys in a sequence of his personal password as Ada pretends not to be looking. The computer continues to prompt for confirmation.

  Requesting confirmation of bio-metrics.

  Goda bows down to stare into the bio-metrics sensor and lets it scan his iris. The computer displays a medsage once the scan is complete.

  Bio-metrics confirmed.

  Her computer interface changes thereafter and panels of advanced controls and functions that Ada has never seen before are immediately added to her current interface. Ada marvels as her supercomputer is converted into an even more powerful world of its own.

  "Remember, H-7842 is scheduled to happen five days away. You have to finish them before that," Goda says as he gives her a pet on her left shoulder and leaves for the pods.

  Once Goda leaves, the first thing Ada does is to download the previous ghost Khai's activity log and the CCTV recordings of the failed extermination. Ada rapidly goes through them to understand what exactly went wrong in the process of the extermination.

  She stares into the screen, watching Kaew and Chin play cat and mouse. Watching through Chin's digital contact lenses' recording, it is her first time to watch a lurker execute an extermination. It gives her the chill just to imagine if a lurker is after her.

  She watches as Kaew takes Chin's picture and they both have an eye to eye stand off before Chin finally enters the screening hall. She could have run off long before he came. Why risk her life waiting for him and why the camera? Unless she is trying to identify the lurker's identity. That is one crazy woman to put such a huge bet on her life. But this shows that she does know the Hive well. She must know of the Hive's 'one country - one lurker' policy and now that she has managed to flee; she is at the advantage of knowing her killer and be able to well prepare herself to spot him in his next move.

  This time her task is a lot more difficult. She feels like she has assumed the role of a detective and to catch her fugtitives, she will need to find out their motives and deduce their next action.

  "Kaew and Yuna were last seen together at Shark Palace. Then they disappeared. Kaew resurfaces to challenge us. But where is Yuna? What have she been up to at the same time? Are they working together? Why would anybody in the right mind challenge death?" Ada asks herself.

  Something just doesn't feel right here. A normal fugitive would try to hide and survive. And if Chaisai had stolen the MAP and passed it to his accomplices for profit, they would have long disappeared with the money made. Why would they try to decipher it or even look for information on the randomers, especially after such along time? There are just too many questions to be answered. Right now, both Kaew and Yuna has gone into hiding again.

  Ada decides to start afresh. With Kaew being a master at eluding the Hive's surveillance, Ada will have a tough time searching for them. It's lucky the Architins didn't set a dateline for her. Ada, though has come to believe in Goda's version of Chaisai's story, still decides to go through his files to find out what exactly were his plans with the MAP. Maybe if she can find out the missing link then everything will connect and she will be able to deduce their next action plan and have the lurker intercept and exterminate effectively.

  With no more firewalls to bar her, she rapidly searches through the archive for all files related to the name Chaisai Saowaluk. The information found are extensive and highly c
onfidential.

  "Came into the Hive three years ago... He was my junior? Defaulted two years ago and became legend huh? Reason for extermination... breach of confidentiality," Ada reads to herself. Ada then opens another file, the daily log of a ghost's workstation. She goes through the log trying to trace any suspicious activities. Maybe he was an undercover cop? Or maybe he worked for a rival criminal syndicate? The log seems pretty normal for the first eleven months and then towards the twelfth month she sees a multiple request to terminate his service with the Hive prematurely. The first request is denied and he re-requests for it another week later, which was also denied. Then he re-applied for termination another week later and was also denied. He kept requesting weekly for six times before he finally stopped. On another tab, Ada opens the termination request forms to check and reads the first one, "Reason: personal". The bottom of his form is checked: Rejected.