The Trust (The Downlode Heroes Book 2)

by Mikey Campling

  Stewart charges at her, and as their bodies collide, he wraps his arms tight around her. They hit the ground hard. And then she’s gone, disappearing in front of Stewart’s eyes. “Bloody hell!” She’s beaten him to it and is even now climbing from her chair in the war room. Log off, Stewart thinks. Log off, log off, log off.

  For a heartbeat, nothing happens. And a terrible vision races through Stewart’s mind: Eileen at the controls in the war room, dealing out his fate while he lies helpless, imprisoned in a virtual void. But then the bright lights of the battlefield fade away, and a dizzying wave of disorientation washes over him. He’s tumbling, twisting in the inky nothingness. And something cold wraps itself around his wrists. What the hell?

  Stewart blinks against the glare of a dazzling light. His eyes are bleary, but he’s back in the VR chair, sitting in the war room. But now the place is bathed in bright white light. And when he looks up, Eileen is standing over him, her arms folded across her chest.

  Stewart grunts and tries to push himself up, but he can’t lift his arms. Gleaming metal bands are wrapped around both wrists, tethering him to the chair. And no matter how much he struggles, there’s nothing he can do about it. Not one damn thing.

  CHAPTER 16

  HANK SMILES WHEN THEY REGAIN THE PATH. They’ll make faster progress now, and immediately, Garrick finds his stride, moving quickly and quietly, scarcely disturbing the undergrowth as he passes through. The group snakes along behind him, and nobody talks. They’re all too busy looking around as they walk, though whether they’re being hyper-vigilant or just in awe of their surroundings, Hank can’t tell.

  But they’ve only been walking for a few minutes when Garrick holds up his hand. As one, they stop in their tracks and strain their ears to listen. Hank looks to his right. Did he just hear something? He tilts his head to one side. There. The tiniest shush of someone moving through the undergrowth.

  He focuses in on the sound, moving his head slowly from side to side, trying to pinpoint the source of the noise. He almost has it, but a whisper in his earpiece throws him off the trail: “Is everyone hearing that?”

  Garrick murmurs, “For Christ’s sake, shut up, Osborne. Everyone get ready. It could be an enemy patrol.”

  Hank drops into a half crouch and moves toward the sound, using his hand to gently push a vine to one side as he steps between the trees. He glances to his left. Garrick is moving alongside, creeping through the undergrowth. Forget about him, Hank tells himself, and he stops to listen. The gentle sound of someone approaching is louder now. Closer. Hank holds his rifle ready and checks his target indicator. It shows Garrick’s position in relation to his own, and it shows the rest of the group waiting behind on the path, but otherwise it’s coming up empty. If there is an enemy patrol, then it should be displayed in his UI. What the hell is going on here? Is this part of the test? He clenches his jaw as he remembers his experiences with the AIPR0N mod; he’d used its stealth capabilities to effectively disappear, dropping off the game map as far as his opponents were concerned. In this much more advanced game, it stands to reason that the enemy patrols could have the same capability at their disposal.

  Hank looks across to check Garrick’s position, and the guy carefully steps to the side. He’s circling around the target, Hank thinks. Good move. He counts slowly to three in his head, giving Garrick time to find a good position, then he steps forward. Ahead, the rustling sound stops abruptly, and Hank freezes. He can hear another sound now: the low, rhythmic murmur of a creature’s breath. Hank’s chest tightens. Until now, he hasn’t paid much attention to the noise of animals crying out in the jungle; he assumed they were just part of the atmospheric background. But what about the mosquito that landed on his arm just after he logged in? That was clearly real enough within the confines of the scenario, so what other creatures could be lurking in the jungle?

  Hank turns to warn Garrick. And that’s when he sees the tiger. The beast stands stock still, perfectly poised, its subtle markings blending beautifully into the mottled shadows. And its great, amber eyes are locked on Hank.

  Hank’s breath catches in his throat. His mouth is dry. The game’s safety protocols are set to prevent the players killing each other, but would the same rules apply to this automated creature? And his fight with Osborne had been painful; his torso is still tender where the butt of Osborne’s gun connected with his ribs. But that’s nothing—just a bruise. If the tiger attacks, one swipe from its claws could be excruciating. The game can’t work like that, Hank thinks. That would be insane.

  Hank looks deep into the tiger’s eyes, taking in the brutal majesty of its gaze. In one swift leap, the powerful beast could be on him, striking him down with its huge claws, tearing him apart with its vicious fangs. And maybe the game’s systems would protect him from harm. But maybe they wouldn’t.

  Moving as slowly as he can, Hank takes a small step backward. The tiger, watching his every move, relaxes its muscles, changing its posture. It turns its head away from Hank, and with fluid grace, it lopes back toward the sheltering safety of the shadowy jungle. And a single shot splits the silence. At the same moment, a spray of blood erupts from the tiger’s flank. The creature flinches and roars in pain, then it spins around and hurtles toward Hank. Hank’s instincts kick in, and he sights along the barrel of his rifle, ignoring his scope. The tiger kicks off from the ground, launching itself into the air. In a heartbeat, it will land on Hank, pushing him to the ground beneath its feet. But another shot rings out. And another. The last shot thuds into the creature’s skull, and the tiger twists in mid-leap, its paws cycling frantically in the air. Hank grits his teeth and braces himself for the inevitable impact, but the tiger has been thrown off course, and it crashes into the undergrowth at Hank’s side, letting out a guttural grunt of agony as it lands. It writhes on the ground, its claws thrashing, throwing up clods of damp earth as it struggles to right itself.

  Hank stares at the wounded creature, and a surge of horror rushes through him. Garrick! That sick son of a bitch! And here’s the culprit now, striding confidently toward Hank.

  “Yes!” Garrick crows. “I got him!”

  “Jesus Christ!” Hank yells. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  Garrick tilts his head back and looks down his nose. “I’d have thought that was obvious. I just saved your ass. But hey, you can thank me later.”

  Hank steps forward and grabs Garrick by the front of his combat jacket. “Look! Look at what you did, you asshole! It was walking away. It wasn’t a threat. There was no need to kill the goddamned thing.”

  Garrick steps back and shakes himself free from Hank’s grip. “Bullshit! If I hadn’t taken it out—”

  “Hank! What the hell just happened?”

  Hank looks back toward the path. Georgie and Ellen are walking toward him, picking their way through the undergrowth and glancing nervously from side to side.

  Hank grimaces. “Ask Garrick.”

  “I might have known,” Ellen says. “What have you done this time, Garrick?”

  But before Garrick can answer, Georgie follows Hank’s gaze and sees the wounded tiger. “Oh my God!” she cries out. “Oh my God!”

  The tiger moans, and a cruel spasm shudders through its body. Its rib cage expands and contracts rapidly as the creature struggles for breath. It tries to lift its head, but it cannot.

  “For God’s sake, do something, Garrick,” Ellen says. “You can’t leave it like that.”

  “Why not?” Garrick sneers. “It’s not real. It’s just part of the game.”

  “I don’t give a damn,” Ellen shouts. “You’ve got to—”

  But Hank doesn’t give her the chance to finish. As the tiger gathers its strength and finally manages to lift its head, Hank raises his rifle and fires a single shot. A dark crimson hole appears between the tiger’s eyes, and the creature’s head flops heavily onto the ground. Its muscles convulse in a final spasm, and then it lies still.

  Without a word, Hank t
urns away and walks back to the trail. Osborne is still standing on the path, no doubt doing exactly what Garrick told him to. He stares at Hank suspiciously. “What was all that about?”

  “Just Garrick being an asshole,” Hank says. “You should choose your friends more carefully.” Then he walks past Osborne without a glance. The trail is clear, and according to his UI, he’ll be at the waypoint in a couple minutes. And the second he gets there, he’s going to log off. It can’t come soon enough, he thinks. And when he hears the others trailing along behind him, he lowers his head, and he keeps walking.

  CHAPTER 17

  STEWART STRAINS AGAINST THE METAL BANDS holding his wrists tight to the armrests of the VR chair, but Eileen’s expression shows no sympathy. She reaches out and pulls the headset from Stewart, then folds it up and places it carefully into her pocket.

  Stewart stops struggling. He stares up at Eileen, and when he speaks, his voice is a low growl. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Let me out of this thing, right now.”

  Eileen purses her lips and regards her captive coolly. “Oh, I’ll let you go, Stewart.”

  Stewart breathes a sigh of relief. But before he can say anything, Eileen takes a step closer to him and leans forward to fix him with a look, her gray eyes boring into his. “But first you’ve got to tell me exactly what’s going on. And I want to know every detail, Stewart. Every single thing.”

  “Don’t be stupid,” Stewart sneers. “I’ve already told you everything I can. There’s a security problem and I’ve been tasked with tracking it down. I asked Brunner for some help, and I, in my infinite wisdom, suggested you could help. God knows what possessed me, but I really thought I could trust you. Until now.”

  “I’m not buying it. You were asking questions about those timestamps, but you must’ve known I was the only one with enough clearance to alter them.” She shakes her head slowly and stands up straight. “You’ll have to do better than that, Stewart. You were on a fishing expedition—throwing out a few scraps of information to see if you could rattle me.”

  “Nonsense,” Stewart barks. “But if it was true, you’ve made a damned good job of incriminating yourself.”

  “That’s a risk I’m prepared to take.”

  “Why, Eileen? Come on. You must see that this doesn’t make sense.”

  A smile curls the corners of Eileen’s lips. “Maybe not from where you’re sitting. But then, maybe it’s you who doesn’t have the full picture, Stewart. Did you ever think of that?”

  Stewart frowns. “I’ve been given full access to all the data I need. I know exactly what I’m doing, and I’ll get to the bottom of this without your dubious advice thank you very much.”

  “Data!” Eileen laughs out loud. “Everything doesn’t come down to data.” She smiles and runs the tip of her tongue along her perfect white teeth. “Oh, man, you really have no idea what you’re into here.”

  Stewart stays tight-lipped. He glares up at Eileen while a thousand half-formed ideas flood through his mind.

  “Let me make a guess,” Eileen goes on. “When Stradford Brunner set you up on this little mission, he told you not to share it with any of the staff. I’m right, aren’t I?”

  “I already told you that much,” Stewart says. “You could’ve worked that out from what I said a moment ago.”

  “OK. But I’d guess he steamrollered this past Cameron and Angela. And it’s probably safe to say he forced Teller into giving you access to Agrippine’s systems. But I’ll bet you anything that Curtis Valcourt wasn’t there at the time. I’m right, aren’t I?”

  Stewart presses his lips together and makes his face a mask, determined not to give anything away.

  “You know I’m right,” Eileen says. “And the funny thing is, you do have all the pieces. You just don’t know how to put them together.”

  “Maybe you’re right,” Stewart says. “But listen, Eileen, you must know that after what you’ve done, you’re finished here. I can’t let you get away with this, and the board will listen to me. The only thing you can do now is let me go, and then I’ll see if I can persuade them to go easy on you. I’ll put in a good word. But not if you persist in carrying on like this.”

  “Wow,” she says drily. “That’s very big of you, Stewart.”

  Stewart softens his expression. “The board don’t want this security problem getting out into the open. They’ll pay you off to keep you quiet. You’ll get a nice pension and a non-disclosure agreement, then you can leave here and get on with the rest of your life. Hell, they’ll probably even provide you with a glowing reference—anything to keep you quiet and out of the way.”

  Eileen raises her eyebrows. “Is that what you really think will happen? Can you seriously be that naive?”

  “I’ve seen it happen plenty of times. You must’ve heard of people getting a golden handshake to make sure they lie low and keep their mouths closed. Sure, they’ll want to debrief you and find out what you know but—”

  “What I know?” She rubs her forehead theatrically. “What I know, Stewart, is that my life expectancy just plummeted to zero. And I won’t allow them to wipe me off the map.”

  “You’re being ridiculous,” Stewart says slowly. “Just listen to yourself, Eileen. Even if you are involved in this breach, you can walk away. You’ll be fine. Nothing’s going to happen to you. They won’t even prosecute. A court case would be ruinous for the Trust.”

  Eileen stands in silence for a moment, looking down at him. “You know, I never really liked you, Stewart. But maybe, under all that stiff upper lip bullshit, you’re a pretty decent guy. Maybe. But that’s not important because you have no idea what you’re doing. You’re out of your depth.” She reaches behind her head and pulls out her hair band, shaking her long, auburn hair free. “I’m going to make tracks now, Stewart. If you have any sense, you’ll get the hell out of this place. Because if you keep digging, you’re not going to like what you find.”

  “No!” Stewart snaps. “You’ve got to let me out of this thing.”

  Eileen takes a step back. “I’ve put the restraints on a timer. They’ll release you in about an hour. That should be long enough.”

  Stewart raises his voice. “Just let me out now, Eileen. This has gone far enough.”

  “An hour,” Eileen says. “And when you get out of there, I’ll be gone.” She turns away and heads across the room.

  “Eileen! Don’t do this!” Stewart yells. But she doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t slow down. And when she gets to the door, she lets herself out without a backward glance.

  “Eileen! Come back here and let me out!” Stewart shouts, as loud as he can. “Eileen!” But the door is locked tight. And no one can hear him. No one at all.

  CHAPTER 18

  SANJAY CHECKS THE TIME IN HER UI and stares out the grime-streaked window. This scenario is run on Eastern Standard Time, so though her body clock tells her it’s ten o’clock at night, it’s only five pm in this virtual world and still daylight outside. She turns away from the window and crosses to the long table in the center of the room. She runs her hand across the tops of the leather-backed chairs as she passes, but she has no urge to pull out a chair and sit down. This place is a joke, she tells herself. No doubt it’s meant to look like a corporate boardroom, with its oak-paneled walls and mahogany table, but it just doesn’t work. “Fake,” she murmurs. “Pathetic.”

  She checks the time again. Sue Derrick is late. She promised she’d be here at five and made a point of telling Sanjay to be punctual. Stupid, stuck-up snob, Sanjay thinks. Who the hell does she think she’s dealing with?

  “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

  Sanjay spins around, her heart in her mouth. Sue is standing at the head of the table, already pulling out a chair. I didn’t hear her coming, Sanjay thinks. There was no warning in my UI. Sanjay takes a breath and lets it out slowly. This is Sue’s scenario, her turf, and it runs by her rules. And I know better than anyone how that works.

  Sue sits down an
d lays her hands flat on the table. “Please, take a seat, Corporal Sanjay. And tell me what’s so important.”

  Sanjay lifts her chin in acknowledgment then takes the nearest seat. She sits facing Sue and leans forward, her elbows on the table. “OK. You must’ve had a chance to review the stats from my mission. I was hoping you could tell me what’s happening with my application to the Beta Program.”

  Sue purses her lips. “I glanced through the stats. Looks like you did pretty good.”

  “Pretty good? I’d say I aced it. I evaded capture and took out every single one of your squad. I don’t call that pretty good, I call that outstanding.”

  “All right. The stats were good. But a few of us felt that something wasn’t quite right.”

  Sanjay sits back. “What?”

  “It doesn’t add up. We looked back through your records. Until recently, your scores were below average, and your performance was nothing spectacular. Then all of a sudden, boom! About a month ago, your stats went through the roof, and then you came along to us, demanding a tryout for the Beta Program.”

  “So? I improved. I worked hard. I put in the time. That’s the way it’s got to be.”

  Sue narrows her eyes. “We all put the time in, Sanjay. But progress like yours? It just doesn’t happen.”

  Sanjay folds her arms across her chest. “Check the logs. Check the hours I spent in the demo of your precious jungle scenario. And when I wasn’t logged in, I was doing my research, learning everything I could about the maps, the terrain, the algorithms. Everything.”

  “All right, Sanjay, I get what you’re saying. And I guess that could be the reason you were able to hide in the jungle for so long, and maybe it even explains how you managed to get the drop on our squad.” Sue shakes her head slowly. “But you have to admit, the way you took everyone out so fast, and each with only one shot…it can’t be right.”

  “So, what are you saying? You think I cheated? You think I broke the rules somehow?”