He focuses his attention on the yellow line then looks straight ahead and turns his body until the path aligns perfectly with the blue arrow. The safe path should be right in front of him, and the route looks good. But should he trust it? He’s relied on his HUD many times before, but this feels different. He’s always used his own mods before: every one of them tried and tested. But this tactical display is totally new to him. And it’s strange that Will never mentioned it before.
A sudden doubt flutters in the pit of his stomach. Kilgore has used tactical map mods before, but he’s never had much time for them. He prefers to get stuck into the action, and tactical maps are designed to be used while standing still. No one in his right mind would ever try to navigate across a battlefield with only a diagram to rely on.
Maybe he should call Will and ask his advice. But the thought sets Kilgore’s teeth on edge. So far, Will has refused to answer Kilgore’s questions about AIPR0N. The asshole wouldn’t even explain how to use the shield when Hellfire missiles were raining down around their ears, so there’s no point asking for his help now. He’ll only sneer and pour scorn on his efforts.
No. He can do this on his own. After all, AIPR0N has performed perfectly so far. There’s no reason to doubt the display, no reason not to go on. And anyway, the only alternative is to retrace his steps and try to find another route. But that would take forever, and there’s every chance he’ll find the belt of cluster bombs blocking his path whichever route he takes.
This is the only way.
Kilgore runs his tongue over his dry lips. It’s time to move out. He lifts his foot and leans forward, but as he moves, the display shifts and shimmers as though the ground were tilting up to meet him. Even worse, the lethal red dots suddenly leap upward, quivering and dancing in midair. Kilgore freezes in mid-step, disoriented. It’s no good. It’s not going to work. But after an agonizing moment, the display stabilizes and the bomb markers drift downward and remain still. A whispered thought at the back of his mind tells him the markers have settled back in exactly the right places, but he can’t be absolutely sure and he has no way to check.
“Come on,” he murmurs. “Get it together.” One thing’s for sure—he can’t stand on one leg forever. He bites his bottom lip and steps forward, transferring his weight as slowly as he can.
“Boom!” he whispers. But he’s safe. For the moment. Now he just has to do it all over again. He turns slowly to his left, aligning himself with the path, and this time, he’s prepared for the display to shift as he moves forward. “Easy,” he murmurs.
One more step. Two. He turns to his right. Again, he moves forward, step by step, measuring his progress along the yellow line in his HUD. Another turn to his left, another step. And he’s clear.
He turns his head very slowly, but there are no red dots in front of him, even when he zooms the display back out. “I’ve done it,” he says. “I’ve actually done it.” He tips his head back and closes his eyes. And when he opens them again, he can see the sky. Cool. His HUD has reset itself. Everything is back to normal.
He looks down and checks the ground. There are no hidden objects here, and his EM probe shows no tripwires. He really has succeeded.
He takes a few more steps forward then lets out a long sigh of relief and squats down on his haunches.
“Get yourself together, man,” he says. “Get yourself together.” He’s out of danger. He’s safe. But his heart is beating hard. And when he runs his hand across his forehead there’s a film of grimy sweat on his brow. That was insane, he thinks. After that, anything else will be a walk in the park. He breathes deep a couple times, staring into the distance, reliving the nightmare of the last half hour: the moment he almost stepped on the wire, the time he nearly fell onto the cluster bombs, the strange way his HUD seemed to take control of the situation.
So many bizarre things have happened to him since he met Will. And always, he’s the one in mortal danger while Will steps back and watches from the sidelines. It cannot be a coincidence. Will must have planned it this way.
What’s your story, Will? Kilgore wonders. What do you really want? He shakes his head slowly. Will has a game plan, that’s for sure, but he’s not going to share it. Not yet. Still, there’s no reason to let the asshole have it all his own way. Perhaps it’s time to call in—time to stir things up a little.
Kilgore opens the voice channel. “Will, you there?”
He doesn’t have to wait for Will’s reply. “Jesus! I was worried. You OK?”
“Yeah. It’s all good. I made it through the mines.” He hesitates. “No problem at all.”
“Way to go, Sarge! Good job, man. I knew you could do it.”
“You know what, Will? Making it through the minefield just now, it kind of gave me a different perspective.”
There’s a pause. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. It occurs to me that you can’t follow me here.”
Will snaps back at him, “So what?”
“So, maybe I have a little more bargaining power right now.”
Will doesn’t reply.
Kilgore grins to himself. He’s finally shut the wise guy up. “I’m thinking maybe I should get that million credits upfront. And maybe a couple million more when I bring back the key. I figure money’s going to be no object to you. You’ll have billions right?”
Another pause. And then: “Here’s my answer, kid.”
A warning flashes up on Kilgore’s HUD:
AIPR0N DEACTIVATED
Kilgore’s smile dies on his lips. “What?”
Another message:
THREAT DETECTED: HOSTILE DRONE INBOUND
“Hey!” Kilgore yells. He stands up and looks at the sky, scanning the horizon. There’s no drone in sight, but that doesn’t mean a thing. If it’s coming in high, he won’t see it. But a drone will pick him out easy enough. He’s trapped on open ground with no cover at all. And there’s a minefield at his back and unknown territory all around. He doesn’t stand a chance. “What the hell are you doing, man?”
Will’s voice is calm and clear over the channel. “Do you want AIPR0N back? Are you going to stick to our agreement?”
“Listen, man, if you let me die here, you’ll never get your damned key.”
“I don’t know,” Will says casually. “I guess the drone strike will set off the mines. Maybe I can stroll through before they’re replaced.”
Kilgore’s HUD changes again:
WARNING: HOSTILE DRONE HAS ACQUIRED TARGET
IMMINENT ATTACK
TAKE EVASIVE ACTION
Kilgore shakes his head. “All right,” he snaps. “I’ll stick to the deal. Just give me AIPR0N back.”
A faint buzz echoes in the still air, and Kilgore looks up again, searching the sky. There’s a black spot in the distance. Could it be the drone? Jesus! This is it. I’m finished.
“You know, AIPR0N is my mod,” Will says. “I shared it with you, but I control it. And I can take it back any time I want.”
“This is bullshit,” Kilgore says. “I’m logging off.”
“I don’t advise it,” Will says. “You won’t see me again, and you’ll never see those credits.”
I don’t give a shit, Kilgore thinks. Log off.
He flexes his fingers and waits for the feel of the gel pads against his skin.
Nothing.
His HUD flickers, freezes. Kilgore turns his head—or tries to. He can’t move. His whole body is frozen, every muscle paralyzed. He can’t even blink or open his mouth to speak. But the game hasn’t ground to a halt. The buzz of the drone is louder now. The sound swamps Kilgore’s senses. Every instinct screams at him to run, every muscle fiber burns with the urge to launch into motion. A wave of panic swells in his belly, races through his veins. His chest tightens, squeezing the air from his lungs.
He forces himself to concentrate. Log off. Log off. Emergency override. Log off. But it’s useless. Nothing works. Then suddenly, his HUD flickers back into life. Bold red letters spel
l out a slew of warnings, line after line of messages scrolling across his vision faster than he can read them. His inbound weapons alarm whines for all it’s worth.
And in that moment of blind panic, Kilgore is struck with a deadly realization. When the drone strikes, it won’t just be the game that’s over. Will is going to make sure he burns. He remembers the screams he heard when the nanobot swarm did its deadly work, recalls the careless way Will shot at the barricade, the way he stood and watched the drones launch their Hellfires. And Kilgore finally understands something: Will has power here. The man doesn’t need to abide by the rules; he can do anything he goddamn wants. Anything at all. Jesus Christ! What the hell have I done?
Suddenly, he can move again. “Will!” he shouts. “I’m sorry. I was being stupid. I’ll stick to the deal. Just help me out!”
AIPR0N ACTIVATED
WARNING: MISSILE LAUNCH IMMINENT
“Christ!” Kilgore mutters. But it’s no good cursing. He’s got to be calm and control his thoughts or he’s finished anyway. AIPR0N, activate shield, level nine.
AIPR0N SHIELD ACTIVATED: LEVEL NINE
“Thank you,” Kilgore whispers. “Thank you, thank you.” He bites his lip and watches the sky, tracing the path of the tiny black dot against the clouds. Is it still heading toward him?
AIPR0N: DRONE DISENGAGED
THREAT AVERTED
Kilgore takes a sharp breath. “Man, that was close,” he murmurs.
“Yeah,” Will says. “Now turn the shield off. Watch your energy level. You don’t have time to rest.”
“Oh, my god,” Kilgore mutters. AIPR0N, deactivate shield.
His HUD responds, and Kilgore double checks his stats. He should be OK. “Will,” he breathes, “you are one heartless son of a bitch.”
“Maybe. But I stick to my word. You’ll have your credits. But listen, you try and screw me one more time, and I’ll cut you loose.”
“You made your point,” Kilgore says. “Just don’t pull any crazy shit like that again.”
“Let’s hope I won’t have to.”
“All right,” Kilgore says. “But what the hell, man! You stopped me from logging off—how can you even do that?”
“Oh, that wasn’t me,” Will says. “That was your fault. You shouldn’t have tried to bail on me. Did you freeze up?”
“You know I did,” Kilgore snaps. “And the drone—is that your insane way of making a point too?”
“I already told you, kid, I didn’t stop you logging off. But when you tried to quit, the system immobilized you for a few seconds. That’s the way it works over there. As for the drone, well…” He pauses. “That was the icing on the cake—just a routine patrol.”
Kilgore looks back over the minefield, picturing Will’s triumphant grin. What the hell have I got myself into?
“Listen up, kid,” Will says. “You’ve crossed over onto GDL command center territory. The whole area is locked down. No one can log on or off except for in a few secure locations.”
“What?” A dizzying rush of blood surges to Kilgore’s head. “I can’t log off? What happens if I get shot?”
Will doesn’t reply.
“I said, what happens if I get—”
“Take a wild guess,” Will snaps. “You might survive. You might not. But one thing’s for sure—it isn’t going to be pretty.”
Kilgore’s lips struggle to form the right words. “I could die?”
“You’re in deep, kid. Playing with the big boys. Right now you’re synched so tight the game can barely tell where Kilgore finishes and Hank begins.” He pauses. “The game won’t let go of you without a fight. Hell, it might not let go of you at all.”
“Jesus Christ! Why the hell didn’t you warn me?”
Will chuckles softly. “Would you have gone ahead if I’d told you?”
Kilgore stares up at the sky. He’s never believed in Heaven and Hell, but today he’s made a deal with the devil himself.
“Are you done being dramatic?” Will asks. “Are you ready to go on?”
Kilgore closes his eyes for a moment. “I really don’t have a choice, do I?”
“OK, that’s the spirit. Now, if you look north, you’ll see a group of low concrete buildings.”
Kilgore turns to face north. In the distance, he can just make out the blocky outlines of a cluster of buildings. “Yeah, I see them.”
“Approach cautiously. If a drone comes over, use the shield. The first thing you’ll come up against is the perimeter wall. Find the entrance gate, then call me back. OK?”
“All right,” Kilgore says, then he cuts the voice channel. He rubs his hand across his face and takes a deep breath. He glances over his shoulder toward the minefield, but he can’t face the thought of going back. And that means he has no choice but to do whatever Will wants. He won’t survive without AIPR0N. He has no choice but to play the game.
Kilgore sets his jaw in a grim line and heads north.
CHAPTER 16
The Real Thing
KILGORE SLOWS DOWN as he nears the concrete perimeter wall. As far as he can see, there’s only one entrance, and he approaches it carefully, circling around to one side. The entrance is blocked by a heavy-duty gate: tall and built from thick, vertical bars of steel. Kilgore presses himself against the wall and leans toward the gate, peering cautiously through the steel bars and into the vast concrete yard beyond. On the other side of the yard, the squat gray buildings are featureless: no sign of doors or windows. The yard looks empty, and he’s tempted to give the gate a shove, just in case it isn’t locked. But his experience after the minefield makes him wary. Now that he can’t log off, the stakes are just about as high as they can get. He activates the voice channel.
“OK, Will. I’m at a metal gate. Looks standard as far as I can see. What’s the drill?”
“Good. Go to the left of the gate. About three feet up, there’s a hidden panel, can you see it?”
Kilgore steps over and checks in his HUD. The panel is a classic hidden object, so to him, it’s clear to see: a ten-inch square of fake concrete. “Got it.”
“Excellent. Put your hand on it.”
Kilgore stretches his fingers and presses them against the fake block. The concrete shimmers then fades away, revealing an old school alphanumeric keypad. “Man, is this a decoy or something?”
“No, that’s the real thing, kid.”
Kilgore reaches out for the keys. The only time he’s ever seen anything like this is in old movies. “It looks like it belongs in a museum,” he murmurs.
“Don’t touch it,” Will snaps.
Kilgore freezes, his fingertips inches from the keys. “Is it wired? Why didn’t you tell me that in the first place?”
There’s a hiss on the voice channel as Will draws in a sharp breath, then he speaks slowly, deliberately. “Because, kid, it didn’t occur me to that anyone would just blunder in with no thought of the consequences.”
Kilgore grimaces. “Save your lecture, old man. Just tell me what to do, and maybe the next time there’s some vital information, you could hand it out ahead of time.”
“And maybe you could try and exercise a little judgment and caution.”
“Whatever, Will. Just tell me how to open the goddamned gate.”
There’s a pause, a hiss of static. Kilgore imagines Will turning off his mic so he can scream or punch the wall. He smiles to himself. Maybe it isn’t smart to yank Will’s chain right now, but a little revenge goes a long way, and god knows, Will deserves it.
But Will doesn’t give him long to gloat. “OK, kid. We don’t have time to argue, so pay attention. You’re going to use AIPR0N to hack the lock. That means you need to get your mind straight. Now first, you’re going to activate the—”
“Security interface,” Kilgore butts in. “I’ve got it.”
“You have?”
“Sure. No need to sound so surprised. I’m good at this stuff, remember?”
“All right,” Will says. “Run the p
rogram. AIPR0N will tell you when you’re in. But listen—I’m telling you ahead of time here—once the gate is open, you’ll need to use the shield before you go through. There’s an automated defense, probably a sentry gun. You’ll need to get past it.”
“Got it.” Kilgore lets his mind access AIPR0N’s module library. AIPR0N, activate security interface, initiate unlock sequence.
AIPR0N SECURITY INTERFACE ACTIVATED
UNLOCK SEQUENCE RUNNING
Kilgore smiles. He’s never known anything like this mod. The game’s regular neural interface seems clumsy and crude by comparison: simple commands that have to be learned by rote. But AIPR0N is something else. It’s like his innermost thoughts made instantly real. Like being a god. He laughs under his breath.
UNLOCK SEQUENCE COMPLETE
SUCCESS
Will’s voice cuts in. “OK, you’re in. Don’t forget to use your shield before you go through.”
Kilgore frowns. He can see my notifications. It must be because they’re sharing the mod, but even so, he doesn’t like the idea of Will spying on him. “Got it, Will. I’m going to cut the voice channel.”
“Wait! I haven’t told you what comes next.”
“Forget it. I want to concentrate on getting past the gun. I’ll call you back.” Kilgore cuts the channel, then he activates his shield. It’s time to move on.
Kilgore watches the yard and the buildings beyond as he steps in front of the gate and takes hold of the metal bars. The gate opens outward, and when he pulls it toward him, it swings out easily, gliding smoothly on its hinges. Kilgore opens it just wide enough then slips inside, his weapon ready in his hands. He takes a step into the yard, turning his head swiftly to scan for threats. There. Two fixed sentry guns stand on their heavy duty mountings: one on the left of the yard, the other on the right. They’re an identical pair: specially adapted miniguns, each one equipped with a side-mounted sensor array, and Kilgore’s HUD tells him they’re both actively scanning the yard. His mouth is suddenly dry. Am I really going to do this? He checks his shield, checks it again. It fooled the drones, he tells himself. But a nagging voice in the back of his mind reminds him the drones were thousands of feet up in air, whereas these goddamned miniguns are almost within spitting distance: half a heartbeat away from reducing him to a mess of ground meat on the concrete.
Cheatc0de Page 12