Ignoring her command, he pulled her more tightly to him. Her body stiffened, but then just as suddenly relaxed. “Anastasia,” he murmured, feeling that his heart had been broken just like hers had, “What happened then, it happened. It doesn’t matter to me. I love you and always have.”
Her voice came out like lead, but she lifted her face to his. “Even though I did...what I did...you still care for—”
Cupping his hand around her cheeks, he stroked the fine fur and whispered, “I do.”
It wasn’t a huge admission, but then again, Harry had never been very good with words. It would have to do, and his girlfriend clung to him, her fingernails digging into his flesh as she broke down anew. Perhaps in the depths of her sorrow, there was always the chance of renewal. The past had to stay in the past. Perhaps one day she’d put her own past behind her.
“Guys, you’d better get down here!”
The call sounded urgent, and Anastasia wiped her face and drew in a deep shuddering breath. “Let’s go downstairs and see how much more trouble we’ve caused.”
Running down the steps, Jason pointed wordlessly at the large screen television in the main room. A live news broadcast was now being aired and a male reporter, redheaded and shaking with excitement, pointed to a familiar building—FBI headquarters. With a sudden, sinking sense that history had repeated itself, Harry listened intently.
“According to eyewitnesses, no more than twenty minutes ago, two creatures, a cat-woman and another creature that defies explanation, smashed through the main door of this law enforcement agency. There were over a thousand people in the building at the time...”
The camera cut away to show no less than twenty ambulances and twice that many police cars speeding away from the scene, the bodies of the wounded and dead presumably inside. The voiceover mentioned that the director of the agency, Andrew Merton, was among the dead. A number of police were busy pushing back the gawking crowd, and some of the bystanders were busily taking selfies.
Tragedy occurs and people just have to put it on a social site, Harry thought as a wave of disgust swept over him. Breathing out, “Oh crap,” he said nothing more, for there was nothing he could say.
Anastasia touched him on the arm. “Wait,” she whispered.
“And we have reports that almost one-third of them were murdered most savagely,” the reporter continued. He turned away to listen to something through his earpiece. “Yes, we have another report coming live from camera crew inside...”
The picture switched to the inside of the building, the floors awash in blood and body parts. Horrified by the carnage, Harry wanted to look away, but couldn’t. Jason’s face had turned pale and only Anastasia remained stolid, growling and muttering under her breath.
A message had been neatly written on the lobby wall, a message in blood. We want the boy. The whore will die, but the boy will be ours.
Jason glanced at both of them, uncertainty written all over his face. “What does that mean?”
“It’s for us,” Anastasia ground out, her ears twitching and the fur standing up on her shoulders. Her body quivered with barely suppressed rage, but she managed to calm herself and faced him. “You know I had an impaired memory before, right?”
“Yeah, I sort of figured.”
“Well,” she shrugged, “I just remembered that I used to be a prostitute.” Her voice still carried that tone of self-loathing, and Harry wondered why she was lying about her being able to recall her previous life. Just as quickly, though, he realized that she wanted to protect him. While it didn’t matter, he felt nothing but respect as well as love for her.
For his part, a sympathetic tone entered Jason’s voice. “Look, uh, if you don’t want to talk about it—”
“No, I do,” she interrupted, the passion coming out clearly as she spoke. “I do. This is my past, this is what I have to own. I don’t know why I did what I did, but if I’m ever going to remember who I was, then I also have to remember what I did, good or bad. I’m going to own this.”
There didn’t seem to be too much to add to that, and with a slight nod, Jason indicated that all was well. “Hey, whatever you did before, you did, right? Harry’s cool, so are you, you’re my guests, and that’s that.”
His honesty, laid out in simple words, made Harry smile and even Anastasia nodded in appreciation. “Fine, so now we all know what I did. The message is pretty cut and dried, though. They want Harry...and they want to kill me. I don’t figure into their plans.”
“You lost me,” Jason said. “What plans?”
Harry grabbed the remote and shut off the television. “We’re not sure, either, but we have to start somewhere. Maybe there’s a link with ASR that we don’t know about. Maybe there isn’t, but we have to try.”
Jason went back to his computer and started typing. Like before, he uttered a sound of disgust as the screen message read Access Denied. He then tried a different route and the screen message read you are trying to enter a restricted site. “That’s it,” he said and spread his hands wide. “I tried to get in. You don’t understand what’s going on here. The ASR, the FBI....every federal agency has encrypted their files.”
“People have hacked into mainframes before,” Anastasia reminded him. “No system is foolproof or hack-proof. There must be someone out there.”
As if Fate had been listening in, the phone suddenly rang and Jason quickly snatched up the receiver. Speaking in hushed tones, he said, “See you soon,” and hung up.
He went into the kitchen and Harry heard the sounds of him rummaging around. He returned with a plastic bag in his hand. After grabbing his jacket from the hallway stand, he opened the closet, searched through it, and found another jacket and tossed it to Harry. “Well, this is it. We might have a chance, but I’m not sure.”
“Who were you speaking to?” Harry asked.
“My contact,” Jason said with a mysterious smile on his face. “Let’s go. You’ve got a car and my contact doesn’t live far away.”
Harry slipped on the jacket and went over to the door, his girlfriend by his side. “Where are we going?”
“We have to see Maze.”
Chapter Five: Cracking the code
Harry drove carefully, always keeping an eye out for the police. Aware that he was a suspect, he wondered if the police had put out an APB on Farrell’s car. They probably had, but it was too late to try and find another one. Anastasia sat in the back seat while Jason took the passenger side, giving directions.
Fortunately, between his house and his contact’s place, there was very little traffic at this time of day. “Keep the speed down, anyway, man,” Jason whispered. He was practically shaking in his shoes.
“I don’t see any police cars,” Harry answered, checking the rearview mirror.
“You probably won’t, not yet.”
Jason took a worried glance out the window. “But they got neighborhood watch here, and someone’s always spying on someone else’s house, just in case. My contact, uh, warned me about that.”
He said nothing for a time. Harry wondered why people had to be so paranoid, but again, he silently chastised himself. People were dumb, blind, and often panicky animals. He’d seen Halsey’s reaction, and Jason hadn’t been much different with Anastasia the first time around.
Silence continued, and while making a left turn, Harry glanced at the bag in his friend’s hand. “What’s inside?” he asked.
“Maze is a serious chocoholic,” Jason said with a chuckle. “I ask a favor, this is payment. Maze doesn’t take money for services rendered.”
That was the extent of their conversation for the moment. Two minutes later, they reached their destination. It was another nicely appointed house with a neatly swept front walk. Exiting the car, Harry told Anastasia to stay in the car while he and Jason ran to the door.
“She should be home now,” Jason said and pounded on it while repeatedly pressing the doorbell. “Hey, we’re here!” he announced in a loud voice. “You
said that your parents were still at work, right? So open up, will you?”
Wonderful, bring more attention to us, Harry thought as he made a cursory check of the area. He cursed his friend’s careless attitude, but at this time of the day, school hadn’t let out, and most of the residents were at their jobs. Only the cold air and the sights of winter snow and sleet abounded. Oh wait, neighborhood watch, and the yelling continued.
A second later the sound of a woman’s voice yelled back, “I’m coming, stop ringing so loud, I heard you!”
The door opened, and a tall, slender young woman with long straight black hair stood there wearing the same clothes as Jason.
His gaze went back and forth between them. They resembled bookends, a matched pair.
“Okay, I’m here,” she announced, “So what’s...?”
Her voice died away when she saw the figure of Anastasia approach and her eyes widened with a look of this isn’t happening in them. A tiny squeak of disbelief burst from her throat. “Uh, Halloween came and went a couple of months ago.”
Anastasia’s lips tightened and her voice came out with a warning note in it. Swiveling to face Harry, she said, “I didn’t feel like waiting in the car.”
Quickly turning back to face the woman, Anastasia made her position clear. “I’m not trick-or-treating, this isn’t makeup, and if you don’t move I’m going to do what the cat does to Snoopy. You understand me?”
Time stood still, the girl didn’t move, and she threw a helpless look at Jason. “Is she kidding?”
“No, she isn’t,” he answered evenly.
Her mouth fluttered. “But...this is...”
Anastasia grabbed Maze’s shoulder and the other girl winced. “My name’s Anastasia, I’m a transgenic, and this is my boyfriend,” she announced while indicating Harry with a jerk of her thumb. Introduction over, she pushed her way in. “Deal with it and be a good hostess, okay?”
Harry and Jason entered and Jason shut the door. Maze stood there, stiff as a statue. Then she grabbed Jason’s hand in order to pull him into another room, presumably the kitchen.
A few seconds later, the sounds of running water, a glass smashing on the floor, and loud whispers flew back and forth. Even though the door was closed, Harry still took in every word.
“You didn’t tell me you were bringing someone like that over here!”
“If I had told you, you would have said no,” Jason responded, a pleading tone in his voice. “You gotta do something.”
Their conversation continued, the voices growing more heated. If they were angry, then Anastasia was turning positively nuclear, as her fur stood up, her ears twitched madly, and her eyes narrowed into slits. Finally, she growled in a voice loud enough to reach into the next county, “I heard you. I really don’t want to lose my temper. Jason said you could help, and we don’t have much time.”
One second later, the geek duo returned with Maze’s mouth opening and shutting like a fish that had suddenly been dropped onto land. After a few seconds, she ushered them into the living room, a place awash in electronics. Computers, most of which were desktops, dominated the area, and the rest of the space was taken up with a few couches and one rocking chair.
“Are you...are you real?” Maze said.
“Do people have to ask stupid questions?” Anastasia shot back. “Yeah, I’m as real as you are. I have fur, but as for the rest of me, I’m a girl.”
Maze continued to stare, and then let out a somewhat incongruous giggle. “Your outfit is cute.”
“Uh-huh.” Anastasia didn’t seem impressed by the compliment at all. “I like yellow. So what’s your story?”
Perhaps it was the commanding tone in Anastasia’s voice, for the other girl gulped and nodded. “My parents are computer techs, and I take after them,” she said in a small shaky voice, still staring—but trying not to. “Yeah, I’m a geek.”
Anastasia returned the stare, but without the anger. Instead, a look of amusement crossed her face and she echoed Harry’s earlier thought aloud. “Yeah, and you and your boyfriend were made for each other.”
For his part, Jason cleared his throat and proffered the bag. “Tina, we need a little information and—”
“And it’s over your head,” she interrupted. She snatched the bag, rooted around in it, and took out a large chocolate bar.
Examining it critically, she put it back and continued to sift through the bags’ contents until she gave a satisfied “aah” and pulled out a handful of carefully wrapped-in-silver foil balls.
“I didn’t have much time,” Jason said, offering what seemed to be an apology. “I grabbed what I could.”
Maze flicked her hand in the air in dismissal. “You always say the same thing.” She glanced into the bag and a smile crossed her lips. “This is the stuff of life,” she murmured and went over to the nearest computer.
Sitting down on a chair, she unwrapped the offering, popped it into her mouth and swallowed it without so much as chewing it once. “You guys, you might as well take a seat while I work. I don’t like to have anyone hanging over my shoulder.”
Explanation given, Harry and Anastasia took a seat on a couch while Jason sat at another computer. “Tina works better when she’s got chocolate in her system,” Jason explained while booting up a desktop. The screen lit, and he tapped a few buttons. Seconds later, the main screen of a game appeared...something about alien invaders and starships. “It’s all about the sugar rush.”
Maze let out an angry grunt. “I’ve told you a million times that my name is Maze.” She swiveled around in her seat, a look of supreme exasperation on her face. “My real name is Tina Mazerowski, but only my parents call me Tina.”
“So what’s your story?” Harry asked.
Maze let out a snort of either amusement or disgust. “My boyfriend didn’t tell you?”
“He didn’t say anything,” Anastasia answered. “We just got here, remember?”
Another snort came their way. “That figures,” Maze said. “Like I told you, my parents are computer techs. I grew up around this stuff, wrote my first program at seven, built my own computer—programmed it, too. When I was twelve, I got kicked out of high school for bypassing the security code and changing all the records. I did the same for a couple of friends of mine who went to different schools.”
“She also managed to change a few bank records,” Jason added. “ATM’s are really easy to mess with.”
“Satisfied now?” Maze asked.
Harry was suitably impressed. “Yeah, you must be good.”
“Darn right, I am.” She aimed a look of curiosity at Anastasia. “So what’s your story? I mean, I get that you’re transgenic, but...I don’t get how—”
“I got this way?” Anastasia finished for her. “I’ll make it really simple. I was born in Russia. A scientist changed me, and my boyfriend’s been trying to change me back. But first, I have to know who’s been behind two other people like me, and that’s why we’re here.”
“Two other people...”Maze started to say, and then her eyes widened. “The news reports!” she exclaimed and snapped her fingers. “I heard about it when I was at university this morning, but I thought it was all bogus...and now you’re here. It’s all...it’s all true.”
“Yeah, there are monsters walking around,” Anastasia stated entirely without sarcasm. “And I need to find out who’s making them.”
For a moment, it seemed as though Maze was deciding whether to chuck it all or go through with it, as her hands fluttered around the keyboard. Harry held his breath and hoped she’d come through for them. One second, then two, and then two more passed, and with a sharp exhalation of breath, Maze hunched over the buttons, furiously typing in some commands and soon the screen lit up. “I’m ready,” she proclaimed.
While Harry breathed out an audible sigh of relief, Jason’s face wore a look of pride. “After she got kicked out of school, she went to the Board of Education and apologized. She promised not to do it again.”
>
“And of course I did,” Tina said, her fingers dancing over the keys at light speed. “But I don’t use it to steal money. I’ve got ethics, okay? I mean, outside of computer programming, I’m also studying economics. Make the system work for you.”
Jason stifled a brief laugh and offered a little more information. “She got her nickname because she can navigate any firewall trap, program, and system there is. “If she wanted, she could hack into the Pentagon or the Kremlin tomorrow and crash their systems.”
“I’d do it, too, but they don’t serve chocolate in prison,” she mumbled. Her mouth was now full of the sweet stuff, and a tiny river of chocolate dribbled down her lip before she hastily wiped it away and asked, “So what am I looking for?”
“We need you to run a check on a private company called ASR, Advanced Systems Research,” Harry said, gazing around the room, totally astounded by the vast array of computers and software. This place was seriously wired.
“They made some kind of deal with the FBI and funded some research, but I need to know if they have any ties to foreign companies or are doing anything unusual, like paying out unnecessary expenditures or having links to foreign governments.”
“Piece of cake,” she replied. “Give me ten minutes.”
Like a pianist about to play a symphony, she raised her arms and started to pound on the keys, but lightly, gently, almost reverently, and as she played, the magic began to happen. Numbers and diagrams and screens flashed and disappeared like a meteor shower of data. After eight minutes of continuous work interrupted only by her snatching chocolate from the bag with a lightning fast hand, she leaned back in her chair and gave her verdict. “I got nothing.”
“What?” Harry exclaimed, starting out of his seat. “You found—”
“Nothing,” she repeated, and sagged down, voice weary as if the sugar rush had suddenly dissipated. “ASR is what it says it is. I went through the mainframe of its database, went through all the levels searching for something like what you wanted, and came up with zilch. I’m not an accountant—yet—but according to their official documents, every expenditure has been accounted for, all the personnel check out—at least on the surface—and they have no ties to any foreign government.”
Rise of the Transgenics Page 8