by Adam Hamdy
‘Move!’ Wallace shouted.
‘OK, OK,’ Alosi responded submissively.
Wallace turned to the man he and Finley had encountered on their way to the server room. ‘My friend’s been shot,’ he said. ‘When the police get here, tell them we need help. We’re in the main server room.’
The man nodded.
‘The main server room,’ Wallace reiterated as he pulled Alosi towards the building.
Ash sat alone in the room surrounded by the low hum of hundreds of servers. Her head was light and the world had taken on an unreal haze. She wondered whether she was experiencing the effects of blood loss, or the comedown as the adrenalin that had flooded her system dissipated. She pressed her hands against the bullet wound. Pressure. Pressure might save her. Pressure might kill her. The pressure cooker, that’s what they’d called it. The discipline cell. Her father stalking the hall outside, determined to make her a good girl. Pressure will kill you. Pressure will keep you alive. The delirious absurdity of her inconsistent, rambling thoughts scared her. Ash focused and tried to keep her mind rooted in reality. She heard a noise beside her and turned to see figures approaching through the shadows.
Ash looked terrible. Her bloodless white face was tinged by the blue light of the surrounding servers, which gave her an unnatural, ghostly appearance.
‘I’ve got him,’ Wallace called out as he pushed Alosi towards her.
‘It’s uploading a virus that will shut everything down,’ Ash told Alosi, her voice shallow and breathless. ‘You’ve got to stop it.’ She pointed towards the screen above her head which showed the compiler was eighty-two percent complete.
Wallace crouched beside Ash as Alosi stepped up to the terminal.
‘There was someone else.’ Her voice was almost inaudible.
‘What?’ Wallace asked.
‘Someone else,’ Ash repeated weakly.
‘Just rest,’ Wallace advised her. ‘Help is on its way. Keep the pressure on.’
Ash grimaced as he pressed her hands against her bloody abdomen.
Wallace longed to scream. He wanted to turn on Max’s fallen body and rip the flesh from its bones. He fought to prevent himself trembling with the angry impotence that consumed him as he watched Ash’s life slipping away. He knelt beside her and felt a sudden stab of grief as he remembered Connie. This is how she died, Wallace thought bleakly.
‘You’re going to be OK,’ he heard himself lie, but the look on Ash’s face suggested she didn’t believe him.
‘I can’t fix this,’ Alosi declared, his urgent words cutting through Wallace’s dark thoughts. ‘He’s changed the software architecture and security protocols. I’m gonna have to shut it down. You,’ he pointed at Wallace. ‘Come with me!’
Wallace hesitated; he did not want to leave Ash alone.
‘Go,’ she told him.
The status bar was at ninety-two percent.
‘Come on!’ Alosi yelled. ‘We don’t have long!’
Wallace got to his feet and followed Alosi, who started running towards the far end of the room.
Ash watched Wallace and Alosi until they were lost to the forest of servers. She fought the urge to close her eyes as her breathing became ever more rapid and shallow. Her heart pounded erratically and she was sure that she could feel it skipping beats as blood leached out of her body.
She looked up at the status bar and saw that it was at ninety-four percent.
‘Hurry,’ she cried, the feebleness of her voice surprising her.
She refused to simply fade, and made a conscious, painful effort to take a deep breath.
‘Hurry!’ she yelled, as the status bar hit ninety-five percent.
‘Hurry!’
Wallace heard Ash’s voice echo around the vast room, and he and Alosi redoubled their efforts and sprinted on.
‘There are six circuit breakers. If we pull them the power will overload, shorting the entire facility,’ Alosi told Wallace as they reached the far wall, which was covered with heavy cable ducts and an intricate latticework of pipes.
Alosi hurried along the wall until he found six huge junction boxes. He opened the first box to reveal a large circuit breaker held in place by claw-like clasps. Alosi released a paddle lever and the clasps retracted. He grabbed the handle and yanked the circuit breaker out.
‘We gotta do them all,’ he instructed Wallace, who immediately went to the junction box at the end of the row, and hurriedly replicated Alosi’s actions.
Ash looked up at the terminal to see that the compiler was ninety-seven percent complete. She thought she was hallucinating when she heard a sound behind her, but turned to see someone moving through the server farm. Not one, but two people. She looked round for something she could use as a weapon, but saw nothing. There was someone else, Ash thought darkly, as the figures drew closer.
Wallace’s hands shook as he fumbled with the fourth breaker. You’re out of time, he told himself. You’re out of time and Ash is dying alone. He ignored his fears, took a deep breath to steady himself and extracted the fourth breaker with a decisive pull.
A few feet away, Alosi pulled the penultimate breaker and watched as Wallace flipped the paddle lever of the final box and yanked the last device from its housing.
Ash saw the compiler hit ninety-nine percent when the power surged. The lights flared brightly for a split second before every piece of electrical equipment in the building failed and the cavernous room was plunged into total darkness. She could hear the indistinct voices of two men talking to each other, and a moment later she saw the flash of a torch, the bright light terrifying her as it moved in her direction.
‘It’s over here,’ Alosi said, fumbling in the darkness.
Wallace heard him release a catch, and something fell on the floor. A moment later there came a blinding beam of light as Alosi turned on a powerful torch. He reached into the emergency supply box next to him and tossed Wallace a second torch. Wallace switched it on and hurried back towards the heart of the sever room, with Alosi following a few steps behind.
Light danced ahead of him, the bright beam cutting through the gaps in the server racks. Long shadows were born, but quickly shortened and died away as he ran on. As they reached the middle of the room, Wallace froze in his tracks when he saw the shadowy shapes of two men crouched over Ash. They were backlit by a torch that rested on a server rack and cast them into solid silhouette. The gun felt heavy as Wallace raised his arm and took aim.
‘What the fuck are you doing?’ Alosi asked, shining his torch directly on the two men to reveal their brightly coloured paramedic uniforms.
‘I thought . . .’ Wallace started, but the sentence died as relief took over. He slipped the gun into his pocket and ran to Ash as the paramedics lifted her on to a gurney.
‘Is she OK?’ Wallace asked.
Ash was unresponsive beneath the oxygen mask that was fastened to her face.
‘Please stand back, sir,’ one of the paramedics requested.
The paramedics double-timed the gurney through the server room, and Wallace ran with them, his tired legs struggling to keep up. Alosi followed as they pushed on through the building, into the wrecked lobby, where a squad of firefighters worked to extinguish the flaming van, and out through the shattered entrance.
The parking lot was jammed with vehicles. Police black and whites lined up with sheriffs’ cars, a fire truck, and three ambulances. Law enforcement officers spoke on their radios, or took statements from the employees huddling outside.
‘If anyone asks,’ Wallace said, turning to Alosi, ‘tell them I’m going with her.’
‘Thanks. Thanks for everything,’ Alosi replied, before peeling off and approaching a pair of police officers.
Wallace hurried to catch the paramedics, who moved quickly but carefully over the packed snow until they reached the furthest ambulance, which was parked on a clear stretch of asphalt. They loaded Ash into the back, and the driver ran round to the cab. Wallace climbed in and sat besi
de Ash, while the attending paramedic crouched over her and shook her gently.
‘Stay with me, honey,’ he instructed. ‘You can sleep later, when we get to the hospital. For now I need you awake. You work with her?’ the paramedic asked, turning to Wallace.
Wallace looked down at Ash, whose skin had turned parchment white. ‘She’s a friend,’ he replied. ‘Her name’s Christine.’
‘Stay with me, Christine!’ the paramedic commanded. ‘You stay awake!’
Fighting whatever foul darkness snatched at her conscious mind, Ash opened her bloodshot eyes, looked up at Wallace and gave him a thin smile.
‘That’s good,’ the paramedic said. ‘You keep smiling.’
Wallace kept his eyes on Ash. For the first time in months, he felt free of fear; the man who had tried to kill him was gone. The sense of freedom came with tremendous shame, as thoughts of Connie filled his mind. He knew he would carry the guilt of her death for the rest of his life, and, resigned to his everlasting burden, made a solemn vow to himself that he would try to live a good one. He could never bring Connie back, but he could honour her memory by striving to do something worthwhile with whatever time he had left. It was poor consolation for the loss of the woman he loved, but it was the only thing he could think of that would give him any sense of purpose as he tried to rebuild his life.
Wallace gave Ash a sad smile and leaned forward to take her hand, then squeezed it gently as the ambulance sped out of the parking lot.
EPILOGUE
Ash watched the members of the Disciplinary Review Board file back into the room. It had been three months since Twin Lakes, but she could still feel the dull throb of the bullet wound. She shifted in her seat and winced as her stomach muscles spasmed. Assistant Director Randall glanced in her direction as he took his seat, and the other five board members also acknowledged her as they sat. Ash looked at Isla Vaughn, her attorney, who smiled.
‘Promising,’ Isla whispered.
Ash nodded and turned to see SAIC David Harrell sitting in the otherwise empty row of seats at the back of the room. He slouched forward, his head buried in his hands, but when he realised proceedings were about to recommence, he sat up, catching Ash’s gaze. His grey face was topped by a neatly cut crop of straight salt-and-pepper hair, but Ash thought he looked gaunt and washed out. Two years away from retirement, Harrell had been devastated by the loss of Hector, Alvarez and so many of his team. Ash nodded at Harrell, who offered a sad smile in return. She turned to see Ed Omar watching her, but there was none of the animosity of the previous hearing. Ash got the distinct impression that the Bureau’s attorney had been going through the motions, because, like many others, he believed she’d suffered enough.
‘Special Agent Ash,’ Randall began, ‘the Disciplinary Review Board has been asked to reconsider your appeal in relation to the Marcel Washington shooting. We’ve been asked to reassess it in light of information that has emerged about your background. We’ve also been asked to review your conduct during the Pendulum investigation. Your attorney Miss Vaughn has argued that your childhood records were sealed and were only made public as the result of a criminal invasion of your privacy. We’ve reviewed the records and believe that your past has already caused you enough pain. We see no reason to believe that it had any bearing on the Washington shooting and our decision in respect of that appeal stands.’
Ash glanced at Isla, who returned a relieved smile.
‘With regard to the Pendulum investigation,’ Randall continued, ‘you disobeyed orders, destroyed private property, assaulted fellow officers and members of the public and generally behaved erratically and irresponsibly. However, it is also abundantly clear that had it not been for your dedication, John Wallace would almost certainly have been killed and we would never have discovered that Max Byrne was responsible for the murders, nor would we have been able to prevent the devastating cyber-attack he had planned. For that reason, the board recommends that you receive a citation for your work and that you are promoted at the first opportunity.’
Ash nodded and smiled at Randall. ‘I’d like to thank the board for reviewing my case so thoroughly,’ she said gratefully. ‘Good work,’ she told Isla, patting her on the shoulder.
She turned to see Harrell leaving the room. ‘Excuse me,’ she announced, wincing as she stood to follow him.
Harrell was halfway along the corridor when Ash finally caught up with him. They stopped by a large picture window and Ash felt the warmth of the late afternoon sun soaking into the fabric of her dark jacket.
‘I wanted to speak with you, sir,’ she began.
‘That was a good result,’ Harrell replied, his voice devoid of enthusiasm. Backing away, he added, ‘I don’t really have time to talk; I’m late for a meeting.’
‘When are you going to do something about the second man?’ Ash challenged loudly.
Harrell stopped in his tracks and bowed his head for a moment, before looking up and glancing at the faces of the agents passing by.
Ash could tell that he did not want to be embarrassed. ‘I saw someone else at Twin Lakes,’ she persisted.
Harrell drew close to Ash, his face inches away from hers. ‘You think you saw someone, but the investigation has shown that Max Byrne was acting alone. Isn’t it possible that you made a mistake? That you experienced a hallucination brought on by a blow to the head?’
‘The cameras were disabled,’ Ash protested. ‘We can’t be sure he was alone.’
‘The cameras were always disabled,’ Harrell argued. ‘London, the safe house, the Manhattan Regent; Max Byrne shut down all those cameras too. That was his MO.’
Ash wavered, unsure of herself. Harrell was getting it from every direction. The Pendulum killings had dominated the media, with the Bureau coming under fire for many perceived failings, the most damning of which was the accusation that it should have made the connection between the victims sooner. Ash sympathised with Harrell. Max Byrne had deleted Erin’s YouTube video, and Ken Pallo’s involvement with Next Life had been a shameful secret he’d worked hard to conceal. Agents from the Los Angeles Field Office discovered the Next Life servers in an apartment Pallo rented via a dummy corporation. Pallo had a death fetish, with a particular fascination for strangulation, and used Next Life for his own perverted sexual fantasies. Bonnie Mann’s involvement with the Vegas underworld had sent the investigating agents down the wrong path. Erin’s harassment complaint was one of thousands that Bonnie had concealed from her bosses as her gambling addiction had spun out of control.
The Bureau had learned a great deal from the Pendulum case. It had proved that the digital world connected victims and criminals in ways that had never previously been possible. If it hadn’t been for Wallace, they might never have made the link and Max’s crimes could have gone entirely undetected.
In addition to those who criticised the Bureau for not acting fast enough, there were some who attacked it for having prevented Pendulum’s final crime. Max’s attempt to reverse decades of technological progress had divided opinion. There were many who agreed with his objectives and a small, anonymous minority online who approved of his methods. Censorship was cited by those who sought to argue against any form of control, as though free speech should trump child protection, social cohesion and even human life. Ash empathised with the suffering caused by Erin’s death – she knew what it was to lose a loved one and understood how the desire for revenge could twist the mind – but she could not condone Max’s desire to punish the world for the perceived failings of a few.
Ash looked at her beleaguered boss, his eyes pleading with her to be reasonable. With the controversy and public outcry that surrounded the case, she could understand why Harrell was keen to hold the official line.
‘We’ve spent two months on this, Special Agent Ash,’ he said calmly. ‘We lost thirty-two people at Alosi’s house. Four of our own. Hector was a friend. If there was any evidence of a second man, we’d be scouring the Earth for him.’
As
h studied the experienced old agent for a moment, before nodding slowly.
‘You did good,’ Harrell told her. ‘But it’s time to move on,’ he added before turning away and heading down the corridor.
Ash stood in the sunshine and watched her boss walk wearily away. She wanted Harrell to be right, she wanted to accept the simple explanation, to take the easy option, to fit in, but she couldn’t shake her deep-rooted belief that someone else had been working with Max Byrne. Ash looked at the agents passing her, and wondered how many of them would suppress their beliefs, ignore their instincts, and follow orders. She envied the ease with which they assimilated, their willingness to be functioning parts of a whole, a communal approach to life that stood in stark contrast to her own difficult solitary existence. For all the horrors he’d inflicted, Ash’s time with her father had marked her with a deeply ingrained distrust of authority and an inherent belief in her own instincts. She couldn’t be part of the pack. She couldn’t ignore what she believed. Whatever the Bureau saw in her, she was only of value to it if she had the courage to be an outsider and stand alone. As she watched Harrell recede into the distance, vague ideas of investigation began to crystallise as lines of inquiry, and Ash knew that her work on the Pendulum case was far from over.
The bright-green sycamore leaves danced in the gentle breeze and sheltered Wallace from the late afternoon sun. The chill he felt had nothing to do with the shade of the towering trees that lined the road. Like the pounding beat of his racing heart, his cold, numb limbs were a symptom of his anxiety. He’d been afraid for so long that he’d almost forgotten what it was like to be at ease. Every passing car, every sudden movement, every loud noise provoked the primal fight-or-flight response.
Given the choice, there was no way that Wallace would have opted to return to London. He tried to tell himself that there was nothing to be afraid of, that Max Byrne was dead, but Ash’s words ate away at him. She had been so sure of herself, so certain that there had been someone else working with Max, and the more Wallace replayed the day’s events, the more he wondered what Max had been doing in the parking lot. Why hadn’t he been inside? Who had programmed the computers and triggered the machines that alerted DS Bailey to what was happening? The official explanation was that Max had started the process remotely from inside his van before moving into the building to finish it, but Wallace wasn’t so sure. Ash had earned his everlasting trust, and if she said there was someone else . . . then I’ll never be safe. I’ll never be free to live a normal life.