Tag, You're Dead

by J C Lane

  “Syd,” Adam said, “what are you getting at?”

  “What if she finally met someone who did like her? Or at least understood her?”

  Laura still didn’t get it. “How could that possibly happen?”

  Sydney smiled. “We’re going to lure Brandy in. I’m her new best friend.”

  Laura and Adam were silent until Adam said, “Wait. You’re going to be the person who understands her?”

  “Yes.”

  “But how?”

  “Easy. I’ll channel my snotty, icky, resentful side.”

  “No, I mean how will you become friends with her?”

  “I won’t really. I’ll pretend.”

  Adam closed his eyes.

  Laura said, “Sydney, how are we going to get you two together?”

  Adam opened his eyes. “Thank you for expressing what I couldn’t.”

  “Okay.” Sydney shifted sideways in her seat, her bent leg resting on Adam’s. “We’ve got this museum schedule this afternoon, right? Insanely paced, but if we time it right we can get Brandy close to Laura without Laura actually being in danger. And then I pounce.”

  Adam wasn’t convinced. “How do we know Laura won’t be in danger? We don’t know how this girl is planning to…you know…”

  “Kill me?” Laura figured she might as well be blunt.

  “Well…yeah.”

  “Death by thug is my guess,” Laura said. “Those guys could snap me in half.”

  “Or poison,” Sydney said. “Isn’t that supposed to be what women use?”

  “She’s not a woman,” Adam said. “She’s a spoiled little brat, so I don’t think she’d do it herself. She’d get those guys to do it for her.”

  Sydney giggled. “Or she might break a nail.”

  “She could have a gun,” Laura said.

  Adam nodded. “Or a knife.”

  Laura shuddered.

  “She wouldn’t use a knife,” Sydney said. “Too messy. But something else Adam said makes sense.”

  “Really?” Adam laughed. “A first.”

  “Yeah. You said Laura and I were both hot.”

  “So?”

  “You also said Brandy isn’t. Doesn’t that tell you something?”

  Adam looked sideways at Laura. “Was that really not clear enough?”

  “Brandy doesn’t like hot girls,” Sydney said. “All that money she’s spent on her looks, and she still ain’t got it. Look at Laura. She’s been running for her life for hours, and she still looks good.”

  Laura gave a strangled laugh. “Yeah, I look like a million bucks.”

  Adam shrugged. “You do.”

  “See?” Sydney said. “Some girls are naturally pretty, and Brandy…she’s not even fake pretty. So she hates you.”

  “But why me? There are tons of girls she knows who are pretty.”

  “Sure, but can she kill one of them and get away with it? Even if she didn’t kill her, the girl would know who was chasing her. It’s not like Brandy and her thugs are keeping it a secret, handing out cards and everything.” She wrinkled her nose. “You know, that’s really not very smart.”

  The bus slowed to pull into the queue in front of Shedd Aquarium.

  “So what’s the plan?” Adam said. “I still don’t know.”

  “She’s not going to like you, either, Sydney,” Laura said. “Remember, she doesn’t like hot girls, and you are one.”

  Adam shrugged. “It’s true.”

  “I’ll do something. I’ve got makeup in my bag. And I can get an ugly shirt or something.” She brightened. “I’ll borrow Billy’s sweatshirt.”

  “Won’t be enough,” Adam said.

  “It’ll have to be. So when did your watch do its thing?” Sydney asked Laura.

  “A few minutes ago. One-thirty.”

  “Perfect. While we were still on the move. So, we stay here at the aquarium until the next transmission, then you take off, but I stay. I wait until Miss Piggy comes looking, and I make myself known to her. She and I are about to become killer BFFs.”

  Amanda

  “We’re not going to Wrigley?” Amanda said, once they were on the new train.

  “Not even,” the girl replied.

  In two stops she pushed Amanda onto the platform and they sprinted up to street level. A beat-up Mustang sat double-parked, causing horns to blow, people to yell, and middle fingers to be presented freely. The girl flung open the back door and dove inside, pulling Amanda with her.

  The driver, a skinny, dark-skinned kid who looked too young to drive, took off amidst the chaos he’d caused, chewing gum and singing along with Queen. He glanced into the rearview mirror with his buggy eyes and gave Amanda a quick smile.

  “Seat belt.” The girl clipped her own.

  “But—”

  “Now.”

  Amanda put it on.

  “Your watch.” The girl held out her hand.

  Amanda placed her wrist in the girl’s fingers.

  “Describe,” the driver said, interrupting “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

  “New Apple Watch. Latest OS. Affixed to her wrist with what looks like steel-enforced banding. She’s been instructed to leave it on, on pain of death. From what I can see, several apps have been placed onto the watch’s platform. Transmitter, GPS chip, Internet tracker, call tracker, block on return transmissions.”

  The car squealed around a corner as the driver sang, “Gallileo, Gallileo, Gallileo, Figaro!”

  The girl whipped out a tape measure and held it perpendicular to the watch. “Three millimeters thicker than standard. Something’s on the bottom.”

  Amanda pulled her wrist up to study the watch at eye level. “They’ve put something on it?”

  “Probably the whole ‘pain of death’ thing they warned you about.”

  “The watch is going to kill me?”

  “Time,” the driver said during a singing pause.

  The girl twisted Amanda’s wrist. “Thirteen minutes.”

  “Spare him his life,” the driver sang, and exited onto a freeway, accelerating with abandon.

  “Get this watch off me!” Amanda yanked at it, but the girl stayed her hand.

  “You don’t want to set it off.”

  Amanda took a deep breath, and let it out. “Um, is that speedometer right?”

  “It is.” The driver grinned over his shoulder.

  “Watch the road!” the girl shouted.

  “No worries. This car has spatial sense. Plus, I’ve got Barbie, here.” He patted a box affixed to the dash. “She informs me of the presence of law enforcement, and even radar.”

  “How about certain death?” the girl growled.

  “Hey, Nerys said to get as far from our destination as possible. I’m only doing what I was told.”

  “Did he also mention he wants us all to live?”

  “All criticism, no affirmation. It’s hard to work under these conditions.”

  The girl shook her head and pulled what looked like a magnifying glass from a bag in the front seat.

  “What’s that?” Amanda asked.

  The girl gave her a look. “A magnifying glass.”

  “Oh. Right.”

  The girl scrutinized the face of the watch and everything she could see without pulling the watch away from Amanda’s skin. “We need the CMOS.”

  Amanda choked. Were they talking about a Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor? She’d never seen one, let alone used one. “You have access to a CMOS?”

  “We have access to everything,” the driver said. “Time?”

  “Eleven minutes,” Amanda said.

  He tapped the steering wheel. “I think we’ll keep going.” He sped up.

  Amanda crossed herself.

  “Tell me when we’re
at two minutes,” the driver said.

  “Who are you?” Amanda asked again.

  The girl didn’t answer, her nose practically on Amanda’s arm.

  “DeadlyPoisonTripleX,” the driver said. “But you can call me X. She’s SanctimoniousFruitcake.”

  The girl banged the driver’s seat with her elbow. “HanSoloPleasureQueen. But you can call me Solo.”

  “You’re friends with Nerys?”

  “Friends?” She caught X’s eye in the rearview mirror. “More like…colleagues.”

  “More like slaves,” X grumbled.

  “He’s your boss?” Amanda asked.

  “No.” Solo held the magnifying glass above her own hand, as if studying it. “Let’s just say we owe him. Big.”

  “Slavemaster,” X said.

  “So you’re helping me because he told you to?”

  Solo shrugged. “Partly. But also because he said you were in trouble. That’s what X and I do.”

  “Get in trouble?”

  “Help other people out of it.”

  “Just like Nerys helped you.”

  She tilted her head, like yes.

  “Did he tell you this could put you in danger?”

  “He did.”

  “And you’re doing it anyway?”

  “We will not let you go!” X sang.

  “We’ve got your back,” Solo said.

  “So how did Nerys help you?”

  Solo shoved the magnifying glass back into the bag. “Not now.”

  “Time,” X sang.

  “Six minutes,” Amanda said.

  X turned up the music so no more conversation was possible, which it shouldn’t have been anyway, seeing how they were traveling faster than the speed of sound. When the watch counted down to two minutes, Amanda shoved it forward so X could see it.

  “Hang on!” he screamed, and made a terrifying illegal turn into the median. As soon as the watch transmitted at one-thirty, he pulled into the opposite traffic, jumped off at the next exit, and raced another direction into a bland suburban development. X punched a button. A garage at the far end of a cul-de-sac slid open. He sped in, barely slowing, braking so hard the seat belt cut into Amanda’s chest, rocketing her head against the seat.

  The garage door was already closing. Solo and X exited the car. Amanda yanked off her seat belt and tore after the others into a normal, middle-class kitchen. A woman stood at the sink, washing dishes. She didn’t even turn around. “Hello, Solo!”

  “Mrs. X!” Solo yelled as they raced by.

  Amanda didn’t say anything.

  The three of them thundered to the basement, where X flipped on the light to reveal a hacker’s heaven. Computers, TVs, headphones, game systems, gaming chairs, even a HAM radio.

  “Now,” said X, “we get to work.”

  1:30 p.m.

  Tyrese

  Tyrese changed trains several times, always watching for Robert, until he couldn’t stand it anymore. He’d circled Wrigley, gone past and back again, until even he was confused about what he was doing. The Cubs game was going to start soon, and he needed to use the crowds to get in. After the next location transmission he disembarked and stepped up to the street, wherever it was.

  No Robert. Nothing familiar.

  He waited at a bus stop and asked the next driver if that line would take him to Wrigley. The driver told him the right bus number, leaving Tyrese to wait anxiously for one to come along. He got on, moved directly to the back, and watched the signs to the stadium.

  “Wrigley Field,” the driver called.

  “This the only stop?” Tyrese asked, going up front.

  “Another one a few blocks down, but you’d have to walk back partway.”

  “I’ll take that one.”

  “Whatever you want.”

  Those few blocks later Tyrese got off the bus, again watching for Robert, who could easily be waiting. He’d probably be by the front gates, but who could tell?

  Tyrese debated whether it was better to go in the front, where there were lots of people, or a side gate, where there would be fewer. He picked one at random, watching for Robert. Heading to the box office, he pulled into himself his exhaustion, his pain, and his rage, combining them all for that last push to victory.

  It was time to win.

  Amanda

  “Here.” X patted a stool. “Quick.”

  Amanda took the seat. X grabbed her arm, plugging the watch into his computer.

  “They’ll be able to trace it,” Amanda said.

  X didn’t respond, busy typing.

  “Not on this computer,” Solo said. “It’s not connected to anything. Runs solely on battery power. We’re clean.”

  “What’s he doing?”

  “Analyzing the watch’s systems.”

  Which Amanda would have done, had she been back in her own basement with her own equipment. Had she not been told to run for her life. When she first left home, she hadn’t considered the watch—or even the Game—a threat. Now that she knew better, it was too late for her own investigation.

  A map appeared on X’s screen. A green spot indicated where the last transmission had placed Amanda when they were out driving, plus there was an eagle-eye view of the day, showing Amanda’s entire trip from the moment she placed the watch on her arm. Her house made the first green dot on the map.

  X twisted Amanda’s arm to view the watch. “Twenty-three minutes. Good.” He brought up a new screen and typed maniacally, mumbling under his breath, looking back and forth from the watch to his screen.

  “You’re deleting the location transmitter app?” Amanda said. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? The Ref will know instantly, and kill me remotely with whatever they put on the watch.”

  “Not deleting the app,” Solo said. “Re-routing. The next transmission will show you somewhere new.”

  X muttered some more, then dropped back into his seat, breathing heavily and cracking his knuckles. The map reappeared with the green dot still at its old location. X didn’t type any more.

  “Now we wait?” Amanda was doubtful. If X missed something, if the computer showed her at her present spot, she could die. It would know where to find her and her two new friends.

  “This will work,” X said. “The next transmission will show you still on your way to Wrigley Field.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “He’s sure,” Solo said. “But in the meantime…”

  X jumped up and rummaged through a closet, tossing things over his shoulder like a kid emptying a toy box. Finally, he brought out a machine that looked like an oversized microscope. The CMOS they’d talked about in the car. He plugged it in, turned on a bright light, and gestured Amanda over. She placed her wrist on the large pad. X squinted through the eyepiece. He swore softly.

  A chill ran up Amanda’s spine. “What?”

  He met her eyes, indicating she should look for herself.

  Wrenching around so her wrist stayed on its spot, she squinted through the lens. It took her a second to orient herself before she realized she was looking at the watch’s inner workings. Circuitry, hardware, casing…“What is that?”

  Solo jerked Amanda’s shoulder back, taking her place at the eyepiece, holding Amanda’s wrist on the pad. Her grip tightened. “It’s a needle. That spot beside it is some kind of chemical. That’s how they’re going to kill you.”

  “And we don’t know who all has the option to activate it,” X said.

  Amanda dropped onto the stool, her knees giving out. “What should I do? They could trigger it any time.” She grabbed the watch and pulled, her nails tearing at both the clasp and her skin. “Cut it off!” She looked frantically for scissors.

  Solo clutched her hand. “Remember? Steel-enforced.”

  Amanda pushed her away. “They’re
going to kill me!”

  X grabbed Amanda around the shoulders while Solo got a fresh hold on her arms and muscled them to her sides. “You are not going to die. You are not.”

  Amanda inhaled several shaky breaths, kicking and squirming, until the fight suddenly left her. She sagged against X. “I’m sorry.”

  Solo studied her face until she must have been satisfied Amanda was done thrashing. “Okay. Now. Options.”

  “Cut it off!” Amanda said again.

  “You know we can’t. Plus, you saw the circuitry. It runs all the way through the band. You cut it, it would probably go off automatically.”

  “What can we do?”

  “Get something between the needle and your skin.” X gently touched the watch and scrutinized the bottom edges.

  “Will they be able to tell? Won’t they know right away and set it off?”

  “Doesn’t matter, really, because it can’t go through metal. It’s either that, or worry that any second they’ll shoot you up. It’s up to you.”

  He and Solo waited for Amanda’s answer. She wanted to cry. Or scream. Or something. Instead, she nodded. “Okay. Shield my arm.”

  X dove back into his closet and came out with several thin squares of metal with rounded corners. “One of these should work. They’re pieces I scavenged from my first tablet.”

  “How do we make sure the needle doesn’t come out automatically when we slide the metal under?” Solo said. “We can’t know its sensitivity. What if it’s set to detonate at the slightest touch of something other than Amanda’s skin?”

  X didn’t answer.

  “X…” Solo said.

  “I don’t know. We don’t have enough time to figure out how to deactivate it before the next transmission, and if something does go wrong with that, not that I expect it to…”

  Amanda glanced at her watch. “Seven minutes. Come on. Just do it.” She set her arm on the table. “I’m ready.”

  X knelt beside her, measuring the squares against the watch. They were all slightly too large, but Amanda didn’t care. The less the watch touched her skin, the better. X blinked rapidly and held a square by her arm. Sweat sprouted on his forehead. His hand shook.

  Amanda put her hand on his. “I’ll do it.”