ManaNet

by Hancock, Thomas H.

  I can’t believe I’m doing this, Lily thought as they took off. I’m becoming one of them. But then, whoever sent those mercenaries, they also killed Ethan. Damos may have held the knife, but they sent the order. If Kadan will tell us who they are, it’ll bring me closer to finding Ethan’s killer. Besides, I’m sure we can do this without pain. We’ll just talk to Kadan and I’m sure he’ll come around.

  A while later, Damos landed in a shadowy alley. Lily climbed off the bike and quickly followed him out of the darkness. The city streets were alive with noise and light. Women, half drunk, stumbled across the roads in ridiculous heels and tight dresses while equally intoxicated men hollered and yelled as they passed. The glow from hundreds of lights above and around the entrances to various night-time establishments made the street lamps almost unnecessary. Outside each entrance stood an array of bouncers, each standing tall with their muscular arms folded across their chests.

  Lily tentatively followed Damos as he approached the Lynx Lounge entrance. The sound of music met Lily’s ears, although not the kind she appreciated.

  “ID?” one of the bouncers said.

  Shoot, Lily thought, rapidly tapping her pockets. She let out a sigh of relief when she felt her purse, thanking herself for leaving it in her coat.

  The bouncer nodded and handed a card back to Damos. “And the lady?”

  Lily opened her purse and slid out her ID card, but before she could present it to the bouncer, Damos snapped it out of her grasp and held it up for her. She noticed he covered the name with his fingers as he did, in such a way as to seem innocuous. The bouncer glanced at the card, then at Lily’s face, before nodding. Damos handed the ID back to her.

  “30 credits each,” the bouncer said. Damos reached into his pocket and pulled out a card, presenting it to the bouncer.

  “For both,” he said. The bouncer nodded and swiped it twice against a small machine at his belt. Each time it beeped and flashed. Damos held up his non-gloved hand, which the bouncer stamped before handing the card back. Lily hesitantly held up her own arm. The bouncer grabbed her forearm and yanked it forwards before stamping her as well. She looked at the back of her hand to see half a cartoon Lynx head.

  The pair headed down the steps and into the night club. The music drastically increased in volume as they descended. By the time they reached the bottom, Lily could feel each beat in her chest. An obnoxious singer’s voice carried over the deep beats, singing an apparently random collection of words which made no sense.

  Upon reaching the bottom of the staircase, the pair entered into a large room. Lily was relieved to feel her feet willingly coming away from the floor as they made their way to the back. The club wasn’t full, but a fair number of people had already arrived. Many stood by the bar, glaring at the barwomen as they waited for service, while others shook and writhed on the dance floor in time to the ever-present beat. A strong feeling of joy emanated from the area, but every so often a sliver of jealously or sorrow intruded. Lily suspected the number of intrusions would only grow as the night went on.

  Upon reaching the back, they found the ‘staff only’ door guarded by a surly bouncer. His face was expressionless and his arms folded.

  “Turn around,” he said.

  “We’re here to see Kadan,” Damos replied.

  “Is he expecting you?”

  “Yes.”

  The bouncer nodded and opened the door, leading them down the bare concrete corridor to Kadan’s office. He knocked on the door, waited a second then cracked it open. Damos made to enter. The bouncer blocked his way and gestured for Lily to enter first. Lily felt a flash of pride from the bouncer at his mock act of chivalry.

  Disgusting, she thought as she entered the office.

  “Ah-ha, I knew you’d be back,” Kadan said as he saw Lily enter. Then he noticed Damos. Lily felt fear well up inside of him.

  “Ah, Damos, what are you doing here?” Kadan stammered.

  “Shut it, Kadan,” Damos snapped, slamming the door behind him. “Tell us who sent the mercenaries.”

  “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Don’t lie to me!” Damos yelled, grabbing Kadan’s head and slamming it into the desk. Kadan cried out in pain. Lily staggered back, gripped with terror. Her instincts told her to run, far beyond the reach of Kadan’s emotions and Damos’s brutality, but her mind forced her to stay.

  The office door flew open and the bouncer entered.

  “What’s-” he began. Damos kicked back, throwing the bouncer into the corridor.

  “Shut the door,” Damos commanded. Lily did as she was told, driven by fear, both Kadan’s and her own.

  “I’ll ask again. Who sent the mercenaries?”

  “I can’t…”

  Damos threw Kadan’s head into the desk again before dragging it back up by the hair. Lily looked through her fingers to see blood running from Kadan’s nose. Kadan swung his arm round. Damos caught it with his free hand and forced it behind Kadan’s back. Kadan cried out again as Damos lifted him from his chair and forced him up against a wall.

  “Who sent them?” Damos yelled.

  “I don’t know who, but I know where they’re based,” Kadan cried back.

  “Where?”

  “An abandoned military base outside the city, in the forest beyond the east district.”

  “Anything else you want to tell me?”

  “That’s all I know, I swear.”

  “Thank you,” Damos said, letting go. Kadan slumped to the floor. He began to cry.

  “Come on,” Damos said as he walked past Lily and out of the office.

  Lily was still in too much shock to move. A moment later Damos grabbed her arm, dragging her out and leaving the sobbing Kadan alone. He led her back through the club. The dance music pounded in her ears, but it still wasn’t enough to muffle Kadan’s screams.

  * * * *

  23:30, Unknown Location

  The communicator crackled to life in the corner of the room.

  “Hello,” came the familiar voice.

  Uncurling from the chair, Owen trudged across the room and picked up the communicator.

  “I’m here,” Owen mumbled back, returning to the chair.

  “It’s taken all day and a lot of overtime, but we have testing up and running, as you requested,” the voice said.

  “Great,” Owen replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

  “I suggest you use it and finish your work. Unless you want another of your friends to die?”

  “You’ll never find them. They’ll have all gone underground the moment you blew up the house.”

  “Room two-one-six, South District Hospital. Patient, Mathew Londow. Suffering from head trauma and recovering from a leg graft.” The voice chuckled. “He wouldn’t even be able to run.”

  “Leave him alone,” Owen growled.

  “Better get working,” the voice replied.

  Owen threw the communicator back across the room. Resigned to his fate, he flicked up a keyboard and connected it to the screen. He instantly noticed a small icon had been added. Selecting it, a small window popped up with what Owen recognised as a ManaNet device ID.

  God help the poor sod they’ve hooked up for me to test on, he thought as he sent the order to connect. After a few seconds, another window popped up. He recognised the interface, having designed it himself several years ago.

  What was I thinking, getting involved in a project like this? I was such a fool.

  Pulling himself out of his self-regret, he focused on the interface, checking the various read-outs.

  Wait a minute. Surely they haven’t...

  As he checked each dial and graph, he became more and more sure.

  What idiots! They have. They’ve given me Victoria. Now, where is she?

  Owen typed a command on the screen and pressed execute. A number popped up on the screen: ‘67’.

  Sixty-seven meters away; they’ve even put her in the same building. Oh, what fool
s.

  Owen’s fingers flashed across the keyboard, the commands he’d built into Victoria’s firmware coming back to him in moments.

  And… reboot, he thought, tapping the execute key. The window flashed red; ‘Execution failed.’

  Damn it, Owen thought, retyping the command. The window flashed red again.

  They must have something preventing her from waking up. Shoot, they’re smarter than I thought. The only way I can activate her is from my end, by completing my remote control algorithms.

  A message suddenly flashed up on the screen, a small box which read ‘Owen?’

  What? How?

  Another one appeared. ‘Owen, is that you?’

  Owen quickly typed into the command line, ‘echo “yes, it’s me”.’

  ‘Where am I?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Owen typed back. He quickly glanced around the room, checking for cameras. He couldn’t see any, but that didn’t prove anything, and so he opened a load of spare windows, cluttering the screen as much as possible to obscure the messages.

  ‘I think I’m dreaming, but I can’t wake up,’ came Victoria’s reply.

  ‘They seem to have locked down your grafts. I can’t reboot wake you up.’

  ‘How are you speaking to me?’

  ‘They’ve given me a direct channel through ManaNet. I’m supposed to complete my work from before.’

  ‘Will you?’

  ‘I don’t want to, but they killed Izzy. And they know where Matt is.’

  There was a pause before the next message appeared.

  ‘If you complete it, can you control me while I’m asleep?’

  Owen thought for a moment.

  ‘No, my work only deals with the timing element. The control was always external. However, if I can get it working, I can force a reboot before the device suppressing your grafts can stop the command.’

  There was another pause before Victoria replied.

  ‘Then do it.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Finish your work and get us both out of here.’

  ‘But they’ll be able to control you remotely, from anywhere. You’ll literally be a pawn in their army.’

  ‘You can scramble my signature once we’re out. I’ll never be able to activate again, but we’ll be free. It’s this or Matt dies.’

  ‘Okay, if you’re sure. I’ll let you know when it’s done.’

  After a few seconds another message popped up.

  ‘Owen?’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘I’m scared.’

  ‘Me too.’

  ‘Promise you’ll make them pay?’

  ‘Oh, don’t worry. I will.’

  Chapter 11 - Confidence

  00:22, East District boundary

  Damos and Lily shot between towers of glass. A ring of pressure squeezed around his chest where Lily gripped him. She’d been silent since they had left the club.

  Damos felt no regrets about what had happened. It had gotten results and that was all that mattered. Fortunately, Damos had heard about the military base before. The fact it was being used again was news to him though.

  The buildings quickly shrunk as they approached the edge of the city. Eventually, they reached the point where the city stopped and the slums began. Makeshift buildings and dirt paths passed beneath them. The slum extended out in the direction of the river which flowed through the city, but Damos banked left and headed for the forest he could make out in the distance. As they approached he brought the bike in low, slowing down to quieten the engine and switching the lights off all together.

  High above them hung the moon, its light casting a dim illumination over the countryside. Trees rushed by. Damos skimmed above them. Occasionally he had to swerve to miss an unusually tall one, however overall their way was clear.

  There it is, Damos thought as he noticed a clearing coming up in front of them. He slowed further and dipped below the canopy. Driving inside the forest was incredibly dangerous and required quick reflexes, but that didn’t bother Damos. After a short distance, he brought the bike down and landed behind a tree.

  “Wait with the bike. I won’t be long,” he said to Lily, before leaping off and stalking into the night. Moving from tree to tree, Damos made his way towards the encampment. All his senses were on high alert, scanning in every direction for hints of life. In the distance he could see a tall wire fence, rising up with the trees. Far above, a helix of barbed wire capped the top.

  Blade, Damos thought, a dagger forming in his hand. He skidded to a halt beside the fence and focused his attention on the knife’s edge. Heat. The edge of the blade turned red. Pushing it between the wires, he began to cut a small hole. As the knife cut, he surveyed the not-so-abandoned base. Most of it was empty space which would have been used for drills. Dotted around the area were several small cabins made from corrugated iron.

  One of them will be a comms centre.

  Damos continued to cut. He kept looking left and right, checking for patrolling guards. If there were any he couldn’t see them amongst the darkness.

  Chink. The section of fence fell flat on the floor. Damos crawled through and dashed over to the nearest cabin. He knelt down beside it and thought, heat once again. The end of his index finger lit up. Damos pressed in to the iron, melting the metal. It wasn’t thick and quickly gave way. Damos bent low and peered inside. The building seemed to be some kind of weapon store. Various guns hung from the walls. At the back stood shelves littered with various grenades and mines.

  These guys are serious, Damos thought. He noticed a faint thumping sound to his right and looked round to see a pair of mercenaries walking by the perimeter fence. Damos slunk back into the building’s shadow, skimming round it to hide himself. In doing so, he noticed a dull glow emanating from a window of one of the nearby cabins.

  That looks promising. Light means technology.

  After peeking back to check on the patrolling mercenaries’ progress, Damos ducked down and dashed between the buildings. He pressed himself against the wall below the illuminated window, then slipped around the corner and repeated the hole trick. In front of him a pair of legs sat at a desk, accompanied by a tangle of wires and the glow from several screens.

  This is definitely it. Angling his head to see as much as possible, Damos located a door around the corner from his spot. He withdrew from his peep hole and skulked around. Damos carefully reached out and tried the door’s handle. It pressed without resistance. He tentatively pushed it open. Looking round the doorframe, the mercenary seemed not to have noticed, his attention fixed on a screen. Damos eased the door further open, just enough to slip inside. He crept across the room, his footfalls near silent. Before the man knew what was happening, he was torn away from the desk, Damos’s hand clamped over his mouth.

  “Don’t scream”, Damos whispered. The man reached for his hip-side gun. Damos kneed it out of the man’s hand as he grabbed it. The gun clattered across the floor. Before he could react, Damos grabbed the man’s arm and twisted it round behind his back. The man cried out into Damos’s hand.

  Lily’s traumatised face suddenly appeared in Damos’s mind.

  What? No, focus, Damos thought, although subconsciously his grip on the man’s arm loosened. The man tugged down and slipped free. He jabbed his elbow back. Pain flared in Damos’s ribs, but his grip remained strong. He grabbed the man in a tight hug, locking his arms against his sides. Kicking the back of the man’s knee, Damos forced him into a kneeling position.

  “Do I have your attention?” Damos asked. The man nodded as best he could.

  “Scream and you’re dead,” Damos said, releasing the man’s mouth. The man took a deep breath but remained silent.

  “Your hit last night. Who hired you?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Find out,” Damos said, pulling the man to his feet and pushing him to a screen.

  “I need my arms.”

  “Again, try anything and you’re dead,” Damos said, rele
asing a single arm.

  Blade, Damos thought. His blue knife appeared in his hand, pressed under the man’s shoulder. The man reached up with his free hand and slowly began to type. Damos watched intensely as he did, making sure the man didn’t send out any kind of distress signal.

  “Here,” the man said after a few seconds. Damos looked at the screen to see a short message sent through ManaNet.

  That’s unusual. ManaNet messages are far too easy to track to be used by this sort of group.

  Ignoring that for a moment, he skimmed over the message. It outlined the attack and the objectives, to retrieve the data disc and take hostages for questioning. The signature at the bottom simply said ‘Y’.

  “Who sent this?” Damos asked.

  “An unknown contact,” the man replied, clicking on a small icon which brought up a ManaNet contact card. The same ‘Y’ appeared in the name field, and the rest was only a contact address, likely deactivated by now.

  “Trace the message’s location of origin,” Damos said.

  “But-”

  “Just do it,” Damos replied, increasing the knife’s pressure into the man’s side. Bringing up a second window, the man copied the sender’s address. A small bar appeared, slowly filling. An address appeared on screen: ‘23 Pike Street, Plexus City.’

  That’s the address Lily was hiding at.

  Masking his surprise, Damos pulled the man back away from the screen.

  “I’m about to leave. I’ll close the door behind me. I want you to wait here in silence for at least five minutes. Tell no one I was here, especially the contact who hired you. You owe them no loyalty. Do you understand?”

  The man nodded.

  “Good,” Damos said, pulling the blade away and releasing the man. No sooner had Damos done it that the man dived to the floor for his gun. Damos reacted instantly, dropping to the ground and plunging his knife into the man’s throat. The man gargled and choked, blood spraying across the floor, until eventually he lay still. Damos dissipated his knife and headed for the door.