by Ryan Burnett
The outside of the art building resembled a barn however the inside was composed of irregular rooms designed to give the interior the feel of an abstract and unconventional gallery in order to best displays the work of the students. This would make clearing the rooms a risky procedure. The Jack and Baba Yaga approached the front while Grote, Slang, and Ghoul went around to the back entrance. He held up his hand and counted down on his fingers to three before they both simultaneously opened the front door and entered the front room. The Jack’s gaze immediately shuttled from room corner to room corner in a systematic pattern searching for a target before he himself was made one. Baba Yaga fell in behind him watching his back as he went to the next room searching corners air ducts and behind paintings for signs of inhabitants. The eyes of the operative never lingered on the towering metal structures, the vibrant colors, or expressive lines of the art that surrounded them. They were eyes that only searched for potential weakness and vulnerability. They were the eyes of a survivor and the eyes of a killer. The building was empty and silent though and it wasn’t long before they had met up with the other three without incident.
“We’re all clear, and ready to start our sweep” said Grote in an accented voice, as he winked at his brother who sported a manic smile.
“Good I will be staying here with Ghoul and coordinating the operation. Baba Yaga you coordinate with those two on how best to split your efforts.”
He watched as they walked out the front door unhesitatingly treading toward the mayhem until the woman stopped in her tracks. The brothers turned to look at her as she began to shake violently and then dropped limply to the ground. The two men stopped and drew their guns in confusions quickly moving towards the nearby hedges in order to try and gain some cover. They stood back to back in a semi crouch to limit the targetable area of their bodies, even though they must have been aware just as I was that no shot had been fired. Moments later the taller of the two brothers, Slang, froze in his stance and convulsed briefly before also dropping to the ground like a marionette cut free from manipulation. The last remaining man ceased his defensive maneuver and began to sprint back towards the potential cover and protection of the art building.
Looking into his eyes it was the first time I saw terror in the eyes of the dark skinned man, truth be told I did not know that he and his brother were still capable of that emotion. Fear and confusion were things one inevitably had to overcome if you chose to reap your living from the field of battle. Those emotions were the first true opponents that had to be conquered before a soldier could be considered a reliable asset. Every member of this unit were well past their days of tempering, forging, and reinforcing. They were battle ready blades whose sole concern was how to grow sharper, and how to use the edge they had already gained to the greatest effect.
Even a sniper firing from an unknown location could be dealt with eventually, through tactical thinking and a calm head… but how could you fight against an unseen opponent who could kill you in ways you could not hear or see? I watched the desperate horror in his eyes until he stopped barely two steps from the art building doors. His eyes got wide and distant before the pupils began to dilate and retract in rapid succession and he collapsed to the ground banging his head with a *thunk* against the heavy glass doors. The Jack began to back away from the door moving through the area he had just cleared towards the backdoor and presumed safety. The rear entrance was in sight when the world dropped away from him and replaced by the traditional paneled walls of a martial arts dojo.
I was confused at first, wondering what the fuck could have happened to him….until I realized that the walls I was seeing through his eyes were r built from neurons and synapses instead of wood and paper. I could almost feel the pressure rise in Jack’s mind as he tried to sharpen his focus to bring the real world back… but the dojo stayed in place, if anything more solid and real than ever because of his sudden lack of control.
“Endings give rise to new beginnings. However you need not mourn your men, I’ve been merciful today.”
My vision shifted as the Jack stood up and turned around to face who was talking, my vision blurred and I almost lost my connection with the Jack entirely due to the shock of seeing my son Alex seated in a cross legged lotus position, somehow invading the Jack’s mind. He did not wear a training gi as the Jack did but rather was clothed in the simple robes of a monk. His expression bore a calm and peaceful look I had rarely seen on his face before. His hair still had that modern spiked look to it which seemed to contrast with his somber clothes and demeanor. Everything about this was wrong.
“Alex I don’t know how you’re doing this but you’re not going to get what you want this way. If I haven’t already been infected by the dominance program I will be soon and you and I both know that once that happens I will be incapable of cooperating.”
“You’re safe from that Jack. At least you should be…My theory hasn’t been rigorously tested yet but I believe that the junk code I leave behind when I force an interface have vaccine like properties.”
“Vaccine?” the Jack parroted back slowly.
“I’ve always wonder why my father insisted on calling it a program. It takes over a system, reconfigures it, and then spreads to any other system that it comes into contact with. It is a virus.” Alex stated; his newfound calmness present in his tone of voice as well.
“Alex....how are you doing this? Your father is using every resource at his disposal to find you. All of this has been for you, to get you clean.” The Jack said trying to understand the situation.
“Well then be glad because I am now. However, you're a fool if you think this is about my well-being anymore....and don't call me Alex.” He said now aggression showing despite the content of his words.
“What? Alex you're not making sense listen just...” the Jack began.
“I said don't call me Alex.” Alex interrupted, as he opened his eyes and rose from his meditative stance and stood facing the Jack. Alex’s pupils wildly dilating before shrinking again just as the Jack’s operatives did before being taken out. It was impossible to read Alex now, he had no fear in his eyes.... in fact just the opposite. There was confidence, intensity, control.
“I am no longer the person you knew as Alex, although he is a part of me. Call me Rex.
“Rex?” I wondered how this could have happened. The dominance program wasn't complete or perfected but this was something so far beyond any of the test results that it was unfathomable. The version that was downloaded into his VRN wasn't the primitive beta version that was sweeping through the college campus. It was something that was a step towards the true ideal of the program. Something that was supposed to boost impulse control and will power. To my knowledge schizophrenia had never been a symptom that had occurred inside the test group but I couldn't even begin to guess at any other possible explanation as to what I was witnessing.
“Whatever your name is you need to listen to me. I've been a friend of Alex for a very long time and I'm here to help him.” The Jack began hesitantly.
“No Jack. There is a big difference between bodyguard and friend and what you are here to do is to recover some students before the others do.”
“You know about the others? Are the hostiles still here at the campus? Where did you get that kind of intel?” The Jack began. Alex merely laughed at the question. It was the first display of emotion since he had started this meeting.
“Hostiles? More like parents. Truer parents than Alex's biological donor, ahem, your employer, ever was.” Alex stated.
“So are you working with them now? Is that why you took down my men? Are you going to take me out now too? You know as well as I do that I can't simply walk away from a mission handed to me by your father.” The Jack said at a loss, confusion becoming even more pronounced in my voice. My vision lost focus again as the connection between me and him was strained once more.
“I work for no one now Jack. I have known absolute confinement and because of that I have m
ore freedom than you can possibly fathom. Another thing I know for sure is what you are capable of doing. However that other part of your question...whether or not I am going to defeat you….that is up to you to decide.”
With that he moved to a combat stance both hands raised in front of him and balled into fists. His feet squared and knees bent in order to better control his center of gravity. His body shifted to the side to present as few susceptible blind spots as possible
“Alex, are you insane? You can’t fight me, in fact all you are going to accomplish is getting yourself hurt, which would make your father very unhappy. I don't want to harm you. Listen to reason and come with me. Remember I may have been a shield for your family but at my heart... I am a weapon.” I could feel the Jack’s focus once again and despite myself I could not help but feel proud of my lieutenant. As long as Alex was alive any injury would fade in time. Triumph was almost in my grasp.
“I never cared about what my biological donor wanted and I am certain the feeling has always been mutual and remember....my name is Rex.” Alex said. In one smooth movement he flicked his wrist in and out of his robes. The Jack dived to the left instinctively rolling and returning to his feet even as he heard the whisk and thud of a kunai dagger striking into a wooden pillar behind him. Alex smiled and shrugged off his robes so he was wearing nothing but a pair of cloth breech pants and a sash around his waist. His chest and back were covered in a giant tattoo. It depicted a Japanese ape wielding a sword, attempting to slay a serpentine dragon that encircled him threatening to crush him with his coils, claws, and fanged maw at any second. While the picture itself was large the tattoo was even larger because the skin around the main scene had been tattooed black making the art itself have a more sinister tone while contrasting against the other colors.
“Those are Yakuza markings. What happened to you Alex? ….. You know how VRN's work. This is not real. Nothing that happens here will keep me from doing what I have to do.”
“I'm sure your men thought the exact same thing” Alex leapt towards the Jack leading with his front leg and straightening out into a mid-air side kick through which he was channeling all of body’s momentum. The Jack pivoted out of the angle of attack with his back leg, and then reared back with his left arm to strike Alex in the chest mid leap intending to use Alex's own force against him and slam him into the ground. He waited until Alex was just into striking range before beginning his swing but instead of the resounding impact he was expecting he felt a sharp pain just above his right bicep and then painful stinging numbness. His arm fell to his side alternating between lying absolutely limp and random spasming. I could sense the tenseness in the Jack’s mind once more as he clutched his injured limb. Alex wasn't bluffing, he had somehow made the Jack feel pain in this virtual world. Not only that but Alex had somehow bested injured a man who was accustomed to sparing against four men at a time, in single combat.
“That was a Wu Shu kick and that strike...Shotokan karate....how could you land a blow like that...who's trained you?” The Jack said, unable to comprehend the situation.
“Training, Jack? No one has trained me.” he smiled again as the Jack tried to size up the distance between the two. The Jack rushed towards Alex before dropping low for a leg sweep, which Alex leapt over. The Jack used the momentum of the leg sweep to continue into a spinning back kick, which Alex promptly ducked under. As the Jack completed his spin he could feel Alex's two hands connect in the form of two chopping strikes. One on the right side of his clavicle and the other to the back of the knee sweeping The Jacks balance leg completely out from underneath him. The Jack seemed to float for a second before gravity slammed him to the mat flooring. The Jack had been bested twice now. Alex moved with the raw athleticism of an Olympic gold medalist and lashed out with the technical knowledge of a grandmaster. The painful numbness appeared to have spread from the Jack’s struck shoulder and claimed his other arm. However what was the center of mine and the Jack’s attention was the sharp pressure of Alex's index and middle fingers pressed against the Jack’s throat in a pointing gesture.
“You’re analyzing my style Jack but all the combat experience in the world won’t help you here. Here all I have to do is focus my killing intent within my mind hard enough and our brains translate the way this fight will go. You know me...well you don't know me… but you had an understanding of who I was. You know I can't fight like this and I can't....at least not in the real world. For me killing is a way of thinking not a physical action, a way of thinking I have become quite adept at recently.”
“H..o..w...” Moving his throat to speak was painful and he could barely get the words out. The lights in the dojo appeared to be gradually grow darker
“How did I defeat you? How did I force a VRN interface? How are you feeling pain...approaching death really...in a world that exists only within your own mind? All of the above? You should really ask my biological donor. I know it is bad to be nosey in your line of work but I may not be so kind next time we meet.” Alex said.
As he finished his statement, his fingers eased the pressure off The Jack’s and neck it was only then that I noticed that he had been using some nerve strike technique to suffocate the Jack so subtly that I had not noticed that he was dying. The Jack sucked in air as my vision swam back into focus.
“So you're going to let my men and I live?” the Jack coughed and sputtered the words out, his burning lungs desperately craving the air he had not even known he was being deprived of. He desperately tried to regain some form of composure as Alex spoke.
“Yes but only because Alex feels like he is in your debt … and in admiration of the fact that you could ask a question in the face of death...a very simple question yes but we all have to start somewhere. Curiosity may have killed the cat but it is the only thing that can save your life now. Never underestimate me again. I know somewhere in your subconscious you know that you cannot kill me without angering your employer...you may even truly not want to kill me, Alex seems to have some gratitude and positive emotions towards you at least. You two must have had some sort of bond. Just know that as long as that ounce of tenderness and uncertainty exists your killing intent can never equal mine.” He flashed another smile.
“Now it's time for you to sleep” He punched the coughing Jack and I saw his body sag into unconsciousness. He looked up after he said this and then spoke to the mist-like personification of the Damocles program through which I watched the room. “I hope you enjoyed the show.” Before turning around and giving me another view of the tattoo on his back.
“With luck and cunning even great emperors can be slain” He said before static filled my vision and I lost the connection.
It’s almost a shock to feel how cool the floor is as I woke up seeing from my own eyes once more. I nearly pass out once more as I strain my mind to activate the VRN once more just long enough to ping my personal staff. Within seconds a medical team was in my room hooking me up to an IV. I knew that later members of kitchen staff would be able to prepare a 100% genuine beef hamburger to help me recover my strength. I anticipate tearing into the rich meat with every ounce of hunger that I possessed.
How long had I been monitoring the Jack? It had felt like days and both my mind and body ached deeply from a pain I hoped was primarily psychosomatic. I could feel the confusion racing through my mind. The sharp tones of panic muted by deadening waves of fatigue. The Dominance Program had been uploaded onto Alex's VRN to give him a chance to free him from the electricity addiction. The version Alex had received took a less heavy handed in approach in the stimulation of the medulla oblongata and frontal lobe. Through suppressing the dopamine response from electric stimulation and increasing the parts of the brain that desired to be independent and dominant it was thought we could succeed in treating the psychological addiction where no therapy could.
The newest versions would do all this without completely destroying his humanity although slight increases in aggressive behavior and violent responses w
ere anticipated. We were prepared to treat that with medication, but this seemed to be something altogether different. We thought we had made a significant breakthrough in neuromapping with VRN programming, enough at least that we should be capable of affecting specific parts of the brain related to behavior. A fortune had already gone into the R & D necessary for the VRN to affect the visual and audio senses. We hadn't even begun to get into the logistics of mapping other nerve clusters and all the variations for their hardwiring that could be found in the general population, but Alex was going beyond even our wildest expectations. Alex wasn’t just affecting nerves he was causing pain. Even more than that he had found a way to trigger incapacitation and presumably actually cause death.
What was more troubling was this split personality, or whatever kind of psychosis that currently possessed him. It was certainly capable of acting lucid… in addition to being well informed and capable of using these new found abilities with ease. The Photographists must have made contact with him. It was risky but he must have contacted Mr. Ostan. Ostan… he was clever and would inevitable try to turn this mess to his advantage but he was already involved and at this point making contact was inevitable. I would have to start acting in closer concert with him if I wanted to keep this situation from becoming a full scale debacle. I would have to deal with the Jack and the mercenaries as well. The Jack wouldn't just let this go and go back into the field like a good minion. He would have questions most of which I was not ready to answer. As I fantasized about chewing the salty beef and the warm pillowy bun of my meal, I wondered if the time was rapidly approaching where the Jack had finally outlived his usefulness.