“Meaning?”
“They’re probably dead or cut us off to build a new team without us because of what happened last month. Guess I failed after getting exposed and labeled as a terrorist. Shit, was I gone for a month…? Holy fuck I feel bad now.”
“Tell you what; you can make it up by coming with me to the docks.”
“What’s going on there that has you piqued?”
“A cargo freighter called the Kobayashi went missing, it belonged to Yoshida. It was last seen at the Port of Los Angeles before traveling across the Pacific to Tokyo. I want to review all the information about it.”
“Why?”
“Because the Bald Skulls were discovered in the Federation, remember? The only way IWs could cross the ocean is by a ship at sea, and I got a reason to believe Regal Genetics’ cloning program might have been more of a success than they’ve revealed. And if that’s the case, then Regal’s been cloning the Skulls. And get this, the Kobayashi is the same ship that delivered equipment to a military base owned by Yoshida’s private army in Anchorage. The same one Ray’s gonna check out. There’s gotta be a connection.”
For the first time in a month, Estrella saw Piper motivated. The pixie kiwi leaped from the bed, grabbed her pistols, storing them in her synthetic arm, and her black cloak, using its hood to darken her face apart from her glowing eyes. The pixie kiwi became the enthralling cyber sorceress. The two walked to the door.
“Oh,” Piper said, halting Estrella with a snap of her fingers.
Estrella turned to face her. “What is it?”
“You got any batteries to spare?” A Mona Lisa smile appeared from the darkness of the cloak’s hood. “Coke, booze, and sex made me go through them faster…”
Estrella split her left arm open and dug through its contents. She grimaced while tossing a spare battery to Piper. She was running low on her supply of batteries, and the next care package wasn’t expected for another week. If either of the two weren’t careful, then one of them could be dead by the end of the week because of no power. Or both.
Twenty-Six
Ray
Ray approached LAX. He swallowed and stepped forward, flashbacks to the last time he was there were racing through his head. He recognized the area where Estrella and Piper had a shootout and the parking lot where Piper took him on a high-speed car chase. Inside, near the check-in area with Theo and Bashiir, and he saw the moment his life was about to change forever when he boarded that flight to New York. The trip that set off a chain reaction of events that ultimately led him to his current position.
Theo and Bashiir’s presences didn’t keep him calm. Their bodies reminded him of the day he went to JFK International, the day he went to pick up Arianna when he had a feeling something wasn’t right. Theo and Bashiir were shady looking men to him at the time, as they followed behind Nobuo and his gang using mind control powers to sneak past security.
The animal instinct fear in Ray told him it would happen again. It told him he should turn around and flee while that was still an option. Ignoring that voice was the hardest thing he did all month. It was that voice that kept him alive, and ignoring it meant putting his life in danger. He wondered if this would be the last time he’d be alive in Los Angeles.
Ray got waved forward by the clerk at the check-in desk. He reached for the phony passport, keeping his hands still, hoping he got the fake beard and mustache on his face correct. If not, then this was the end of the trip, and they might face another car chase. The clerk examined the passport, scanned it with their computer, and then handed it back. No questions got asked other than the expected. They waved Ray through, and the same happened for Theo and Bashiir.
Part one worked. Ray waited for part two, the security screening, and that was doomed to fail until he worked his computer wizardry. Little-by-little the line shrank, and soon they would ask Ray to deposit all electronic devices into the scanner trays. Theo and Bashiir were ahead, they looked back at Ray when the genetic body scanners awaited the two. Ray wished Piper hadn’t gone AWOL. Her powers would have been helpful now.
He reached for his phone, activating his arsenal of hacking apps. The genetic scanners were vulnerable devices and in range. He had to be quick and disable them before turning in his phone for security scans. A progress bar scrolled, 0 percent, 43, percent, 89 percent 100 percent. Ray’s botnet kicked in the door. The genetic scanner was his. A push of a button switched it off, and he deposited the phone along with his backpack and laptop on the scanner trays. Ray moved down the line, one that came to a halt.
Bashiir and Theo hadn’t crossed the deactivated genetic scanner. A swarm of airport security staff stood with puzzled faces wondering what happened. The security asked Theo and Bashiir to step through the scanner again, so they did. No lights flashed on. They weren’t given clearance to proceed. Ray wondered if this was a good idea. Without his phone, he wouldn’t be able to hack the device again should they activate it. They needed to let them pass and believe that Theo and Bashiir were humans.
“Excuse me, sir,” said an airport security guard, drawing Ray’s attention to them.
Ray spoke with a fake southern accent. “What?” And hoped he nailed it, he never practiced it, or practiced acting like he had a beard.
“We’re having technical problems with our equipment,” the security guard said. “The wait may take longer while we reboot the system.”
The phone was long out of sight, traveling down the conveyer belt into the electronic device scanner. Backing away was their only option, and it wasn’t a good one. Ray still needed his phone, laptop and tablet, the source of his power.
He looked the guard in the eye, making a fierce scowl. “I don’t wanna miss my flight!”
“You shouldn’t. This will only be a small delay—”
“What is the hold-up?”
It was Bashiir bellowing. Ray didn’t know the calm man had it in him.
A guard approached Bashiir. “I’m sorry sir, we’re having technical difficulties—”
“I do not care!” Bashiir yelled. “I am on official corporate business!”
“Yes, I know, sir; just give us a few more…”
Bashiir leaned closer to the guard maintaining his irate customer look. “Do you know where I am from?”
“Says here you’re from…” The guard waved his handheld facial scanner before Bashiir’s face. He read the data outputting to its screen. The guard’s jaw opened with no words coming out for the first three seconds. “Oh, fuck. The African Dominion?”
Bashiir crossed his arms. “Alliance corporations have been eagerly waiting to do business with my country. It is imperative there be no further delays. Let me and my assistants…” Bashiir pointed an index finger at Ray, and then Theo standing with him. “… pass right now.”
“I understand sir, but please—”
“Do you really think a corporate entity such as myself would endanger the safety of the crew?” Bashiir cut in. “Get us through, now. Or I will see to it you be the one that answers as to why my corporation choose to remain behind African borders.”
The guard waved the two through, and then waved a hand at Ray. It was permission to jump the line and move ahead. “Get these men through! Only these three, and nobody else!”
Groaning and rampant cursing from waiting passengers followed. Ray didn’t care. They were through the security check, and free to collect their items and move about the airport. Ray retrieved his phone, smart glasses, and the assortment of electronic gadgets he had stored in his backpack. His world changed once again when he placed the glasses over his eyes. Icons, facial scan data, and the location of all electronic devices connected to a network augmented his reality.
He moved with Theo and Bashiir to their flight terminal. “Nice cover,” Ray said to Bashiir.
Bashiir smiled. “I know that in this part of the world, corporations are above everyone. Even airport security.”
“I didn’t know there were corporate empires in
the Dominion,” Theo said.
“One of many things that rarely leave our country,” Bashiir said. “Many corporations from around the globe want to do business and trade the technology we have. I admit however, I had no idea that act would work.”
Not much had changed about this section of LAX. Ray glimpsed the area where he met the first set of mind-controlled cops, after landing a month ago. He also saw the boarding area where he caught his flight to New York, hoping to surprise Arianna with the engagement ring. If only there were a way to travel back in time and tell himself, from last month, what was going to happen.
They were in the skies an hour and a half later, a nonstop trip to the city of Anchorage. Below was the urban sprawl of Los Angeles, slowly moving away as their flight flew north, over the mountains, over the inhospitable surroundings of the wastelands, and the thousands of ghosts lingering in the remains of the cities once populated before third world war bombs and IWs leveled it.
It was a chilling reminder of Los Angeles’ future unless Ray put an end to Ashford and the actions that might plunge the Alliance into war with the Federation.
Twenty-Seven
Estrella
The wheels of Estrella’s bike splashed through the puddles on the road. The motorcycle ride south to the Port of Los Angeles gave Estrella an interesting view of the industrial district of the city. The rain let up by the time she entered the sector with the gray skies parting and making way for the golden afternoon sun to bid farewell to the metropolis for the day, not that those living in the middle of the densely packed skyline could see it.
Strange fumes lingered in the air, released from the manufacturing plants and recycling centers. She was afraid to run environment scans and learn what she’d been breathing in. It was the first signs Estrella arrived in the district, other than the security checkpoint she had to cross. She wondered what other surprises awaited.
The ride gave her a view of factories spewing their exhaust contents into the sky, a thick orange haze enveloped all structures in sight. Three Short-range Cargo Shuttles (SCS) hovered above recycling plants, awaiting clearance to deposit the waste collected from the city. Warehouses lined with cargo containers in their yard were common, as were industrial mechs, operated by a single pilot, lifting boxes to and from idling trucks. Above she saw four delivery drones ascend to the skies having left large quantity kitchens, whose jobs were to mass-produce food to fulfill orders to thousands of people that lacked time to cook dinner, assuming they even had a kitchen. Most didn’t.
She rushed past a factory on her motorcycle, with underpaid workers sitting on shipping crates with cigarettes in hand. Breaktime before the second half of their double shift started. Beyond that were fences blocking off abandoned warehouses, and what a terrible job they did. The homeless population claimed those buildings as their place of shelter and security. Men wearing torn jackets and jeans harassed some of them, choking others using glowing hands. They were IWs. A gang of unregistereds shook down the business and those without a place to live. She turned the corner and continued her ride. Massive shipping containers became commonplace in the surrounding yards. The Port of Los Angeles drew near.
Estrella parked her bike in the port’s parking lot, got off, and locked it down. She pulled her helmet off, and a gust of wind scattered her black hair. The helmet in her hands melted when her nanites touched it, the goo retreating inside her arm.
A woman leaned against the fence, dark cloak on with its concealing hood over her head, hands in the pockets. The winds carried away white smoke from a single glowing dot of red from where her lips should be. Estrella approached her, frowning at the cigarette smoke odor after confirming it was Piper. The shimmering emerald eyes being the biggest giveaway.
“Why the long smile?” Piper asked, her mouth keeping the cigarette in place as she spoke.
Estrella yanked the cigarette from Piper’s lips and held it up. “C’mon…”
“I’m far from my comfort zone now.”
“What? The booze and sex?” Estrella threw it on the ground and stamped it out with her right foot.
“The IW district,” Piper replied. They moved to the central operations center of the port. Piper pulled out a new cigarette, lit it, and took a long puff. “Ray’s the only human I trust now. And we’re half surrounded by individuals I can’t trust.”
“Half?”
“A lot of these people are underpaid,” Piper said gesturing to the tired-eyed workers in the distance operating cranes that were loading shipping containers to shuttles and boats. “Part of the reason is the businesses here are forced to give a percentage of their profits to local gangs. Most of those gangs have IW members.”
“Yeah, kinda saw that on my way in.”
“It’s easier to pay the thugs what they want rather than rely on the cops who are too busy making the human and corporate districts nice and clean, while keeping IWs in district 666.”
“I could imagine,” Estrella said and looked back at the warehouse and factory’s she rode past. “A gang shooting up your business is rough enough. But sending warlocks to toast it…”
Piper smiled, puffed her cigarette, and patted Estrella’s shoulder gently. “You picked a lousy spot for our date, love.”
She felt Piper’s index fingertip slide down her arm, slowly. And if Estrella wasn’t busy thinking of the IWs she passed, she might have responded. The IW gangs in the district were unregistered. The thought had her grimacing.
“Tell me, Piper…”
“Mmm?”
“If you, Theo, and Bashiir increased the unregistered IW population, does that mean IW gangs are your doing too?”
Piper quickly twisted her lips as the clicks of their boots and heels continued through the shrinking puddles.
“Maybe,” she drawled. “What IWs do after we give them their freedom is up to them. That’s why it’s called freedom; you’re free to do what you want.”
“Even crime?”
“We don’t free IWs to commit crimes. And honestly, we’d prefer they don’t. Just makes us look bad when they’re caught, you know?”
“That why Nexus doesn’t like you and won’t dispatch new messengers?” Estrella asked. “’cause from my point of view, and experience in life, half the unregistered IWs cause grief for everyone.”
“Who knows?” Piper brought her cigarette to her lips, puffed, and exhaled its white and deadly smoke. “Don’t forget though, not all unregistered IWs result from us. The system legitimately missed some, others received defective GPS implants and took advantage, or paid a hacker to make them vanish.”
They were deep into the port now, deep enough to view the sad trash-filled ocean beyond two anchored boats. Moving away from that and they strode through a maze of multiple-colored shipping containers. Above those were second and third platforms used for boarding long and short-range shuttles, or rocket launch pads for orbital capable shuttles.
Ports like this were commonplace in the world, a one-stop location for boats and shuttles to dock, land, refuel or resupply before taking off, space bound shuttles especially as launching them into orbit, from a port, was cheaper. The reason being was the trajectory they took, the shuttles ascended to space over the oceans immediately after launch. The blast from the spacecraft won’t damage buildings, and with returning to Earth those shuttles splashdown in the ocean and get recovered from docked vessels at the port. Sometimes, shuttles had systems in place allowing them to transform into a boat, and then drift back to the harbor. And if there was a problem during takeoff or reentry, they’d crater the floor of the ocean, rather than a city.
Piper flicked her dead cigarette away. It sank to the bottom of a puddle. “Where do we start?” she asked.
That’s a good question. Geoffrey?
I believe I have located the primary administration center over here.
A navi-point appeared to her right. She turned her head in that direction, laying eyes on a three-story building with a staircase leading
up to its main floor.
Think we’ll find what we need there?
It will be a good start. The computer inside should have a log of all incoming and outgoing ships and a list of their cargo, crew, and passengers.
Works for me.
I recommend you go alone.
Estrella looked at Piper and realized why Geoffrey suggested she lone wolf it. Damn it. Piper. “Hey, Piper.”
“Yes?”
Estrella pointed at the building. “I’m going inside; wanna watch my back out here?”
“Ditching me already?”
“I’d imagine that place is full of unpaid humans that’d love to get the reward money for your capture…”
“That’s… a fair point.”
Estrella walked forward; Piper moved backward. “See if you find anything else about the Kobayashi out here.”
And then they were separated, Estrella walking up the stairs, and Piper lurking around the lot, staying hidden while searching for others that might be. Silence hit when Estrella opened the door and stepped in and a dozen male eyes ogled her figure and chest. She was certain everyone had been engaged in chitchat seconds earlier. Now they all had hard dicks in their trousers.
She rolled her eyes and continued to the front desk.
“Whoa, whoa, look at you,” said one dock worker.
She ignored him and stood at the counter, her unsmiling face glaring at the bearded man standing behind. “I need access to one of your computers with full admin rights,” Estrella said.
The man laughed. “And you are?”
She flashed her holographic ID. “I’m on official corporate business.”
He leaned forward, eyes squinting at the ID. “Fucking Yoshida Corp,” he snorted. “Since when did big businesses care about the smaller ones here?”
“Since one of their ships went missing after it left port.” And with a wave of her hand, the hologram ID vanished. “Now you gonna help me or do I gotta nano hack my way in?”
Specter Protocol Page 22