Now that Captain Chip had explained his actual role, I was hesitant to tell him about my purpose in the slums. The reality was I couldn’t do it without him. I had no knowledge of who the buyer was or where the transaction would go down. I filled him in on my situation and to my surprise he was already aware and expecting me. That explained my warm welcome. Lennox Corp had already filled him in on the situation and advised him to help me in any way possible. He already had all the information on the contact and where the deal would take place. My understanding of the importance of this thumb drive continued to grow, and it had to be a private contractor like me to retrieve it, not a Lennox Corp security team. They didn’t need backlash from the slums if things got out of hand with these hackers. Every time the slums get stirred up they revolt and cause mass damage attacking the city’s perimeter and destroying supply lines. If I ended up killing a bunch of hackers, I’m just a psycho contractor doing a job. We were to contact someone known as “The Beacon”. No one even knew if they were male or female. Lennox Corp had been trying to get a positive identification on this person for months, hence the bonus. I thanked him for the information and headed back to the room to put everything I had learned so far together.
Later that evening, there was a light knock on my door; it was Captain Chip. I invited him in and we sat down at the table where I had been working. He appeared rather apprehensive. I could tell he had something to disclose to me, but I would have never guessed what followed. He got up and checked around the room. After completing the round, he seated himself back at the table. He then said, “Lennox Corp has my entire complex under surveillance. Listen, you can’t hit that deal, I’m the Beacon”. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Here I was convinced he was a lackey for Lennox Corp. He continued, “I’m convinced that thumb drive contains the information to shut down the Lennox Corp barge. Supposedly, Lennox Corp had a boat filled with servers anchored offshore; the nervous system for their entire operation. I had heard stories about the barge all my life, but no one could confirm its existence. If this was true, we were involving ourselves in a deadly game. Shutting them down may be the only way to avoid a takeover and implementation of slavery in the slums. He required my help, but I had to think about it. I had prepared myself to get the thumb drive and collect the pay day not to save the world. With those credits, I could strike out across the Wasteland in search of Kalil or paradise, whichever comes first. I thought about it all night long. What we were talking now was next level dangerous. Nearly every plan I came up with involved me helping Captain Chip and Cloud 9. I recognized what I had to do, but this called for a solid strategy. There was no doubt in my mind, Lennox Corp would be prepared and they have no intention of losing.
I decided I would approach Cloud 9 knowing that Lennox Corp was watching Captain Chip. We needed Lennox Corp to believe the hit took place. To do that, we would need to supply them with a dummy thumb drive. While doing recon on Cloud 9, I had noticed a kid that grew up with me in the slums. He was my best contact with Cloud 9. If I remembered correctly they called him Jake. I approached the back of the quarters where they had taken up lodging, knocked on the door and asked for Jake. Not one of their security team was in the area; worthless drunks. A kid answered the door. He couldn’t have been over 19. He said “no one has called me Jake since I was a kid, they call me J3 now.” He was a little older but I could see the resemblance now. I explained to him I remembered him from when he was just a kid hanging around the blacksmith’s shop and garage. He recognized me, and even remembered some stories the Blacksmith and I used to tell. I wanted to take a stroll down memory lane with him, but now was not the time. I interrupted explaining the Cloud 9 team was in immediate danger. He invited me in and I explained that I needed to sit down with whoever was running Cloud 9 right now. To my surprise that same kid, that used to sit there listening to me and the blacksmith, was now the head of one of the most notorious hacker groups known to the slums. I quickly filled J3 in on the situation and he did not disappoint. He said, “I will create a ghost drive that contains all the same information as the real thumb drive. Here’s the kicker, it would deteriorate a few hours after activation, erasing itself and allowing us to keep possession of the real thumb drive. The meeting will go as planned and you can show up to spoil the party, stealing the ghost drive.”
The only thing left to do was find someone to pretend to be the buyer as to not expose Captain Chip. In a slum, mostly controlled by Lennox Corp, it was too dangerous to go out looking for someone up to the task. We would need Captain Chip to set that up and I was going back to his compound next. I had to find a way to let him in on the plan without exposing ourselves to Lennox Corp. He had mentioned to me he only trusted one person, his personal bodyguard. A note slipped to him should get to Captain Chip. I showed up for our official meeting and went over the details of my plan to steal the thumb drive. I would bust in as the exchange was being made and confiscate the drive, then drag the buyer out into the street and hold his face up to the Lennox Corp drone. They should be flying over head and this will give them their identification verification. Whoever Captain Chip chose had better be loyal and strong. It won’t take long after the identification to pick him up, and he will face a brutal interrogation. Captain Chip and I confirmed the timeline and I slipped the note to his bodyguard, containing the actual plans, on my way out. This was all I could do. The wheels were now in motion. I knew the layout of the building where the deal was taking place, and the mercenaries would offer little resistance as they had been drinking for 2 days straight. If I navigated the building properly, I could enter the room where the deal was taking place without being detected by those goons.
We set the meeting for 11 p.m. and I made my way in shortly after. I easily snuck past the mercenaries and through the building to the meeting room. I came in and there was J3 and a couple members of Cloud 9 along with Captain Chip’s guy, a hard looking man with a chip on his shoulder. I asked him if he understood the ramifications of the decision he was making and he acknowledged that he was well aware and wanted to take as much away from Lennox Corp as they had taken away from him. After this was over I needed more information about what had been going on at S.C. 1 and its slums. If Lennox Corp's planned on mandating this new approach across all slums, I needed to prepare and warn the people of the other slums. As we finished, I took possession of the ghost drive and drug Captain Chip’s man out into the street for drone identity verification. Once the drone scanned him, he just waited there for Lennox Corp forces to show up and take him into custody.
Later that evening, I met with the commander of the Lennox Corp security division. He had been back in town at S.C. 1 waiting for me to contact him. I turned over the ghost drive and just as promised he transferred the 50,000 credits plus my bonus, to my account and we parted ways. Something felt a little too easy but all I could think about now was the two-hour window before the data on the drive would start breaking down. I needed to get out of S.C. 1 fast! I had already suggested J3 and Cloud 9 disappear immediately after the deal goes down. This would give them a head start. I was hoping to catch up to them quickly down the road and accompany them back to the S.C. 3 slums. This whole incident gave them cause to fire the security team, and I had now volunteered to escort them across the Wasteland back to S.C. 3. Once we arrive back in the S.C. 3 slums, J3 can hack the thumb drive deeper and pull out more information. We needed to know what we were working with, and now that Captain Chip has helped provide the actual thumb drive, it should be an easy task for J3 to pull all the information so I can start planning our attack.
CHAPTER 7
Hidden Danger
The trip to S.C. 3 was uneventful and I couldn’t have been happier. Now all we had to do was sneak J3 and Cloud 9 to their underground bunker on the East side of the slums. The bunker made a great hideout as everyone thought the area had been decimated by bunker bombs some years ago. Even if some knew of the bunker, the people loved Cloud 9 and would never tell. All t
hat said, we still had to lie low. By now, Lennox Corp would know the drive was a fake and be looking harder than ever for Cloud 9. However, that would change quickly if they saw me with the Cloud 9 members. We all maneuvered through the street avoiding eye contact and, found our way to their East side bunker. Now at the bunker, Cloud 9 would be safe and J3 could focus on breaking the thumb drive pass code. Thinking I was in the clear, I made my way back to the slums. Lennox Corp would be on the hunt and I had to find out if I was on their radar. I made my way over to Tammy’s and checked into my room for some much-needed rest. If Lennox Corp was looking for me, it wouldn’t be long before they showed up. All I knew was I had to get some damn sleep. In the morning, I would check in with some of my contacts. Let’s hope my name isn’t coming up anywhere.
The first thing on the agenda, check in with Laura the blacksmith. I planned to spend a nice chunk of my newly acquired credits with her. She smiled gently and seemed pleased to see me. She had been busy fabricating me an amazing grappling hook, lightweight and durable to pair with my climbing spikes. I could now get into some of those hard-to-reach places I had scoped out in the Wasteland. She tried not to charge me, but I insisted and paid her 1,000 credits. I asked her if she had heard any new news lately. She said Lennox Corp had increased their presence in town the last couple days. They apparently were looking for anyone with information on Cloud 9. I took it as a good sign that she didn’t mention anything about me. While we were talking, I informed Laura of the demise of the Serpents. They would no longer pose a threat to her or the shop I assured her. I could immediately see in her eyes, a huge weight had lifted. She thanked me profusely, and as she hugged me, I felt myself give way and I hugged her, too. There was something about her; I just couldn’t put my finger on it yet. I knew when I was around her, I felt calm. Well, introspection on that would have to wait.
My next stop was to talk to Larry and see what news he had from the slums. I not only had some trading to do, but I was still hoping I would find some decent books. As I was leaving Laura’s, I ran into the Special Commander, now a very familiar face. I thought to myself, this can only mean one thing; they are aware of my involvement and are here to take me in for torture on information involving Cloud 9. I kept thinking this is not acceptable. I would end up exposing my abilities to Lennox Corp and half the slums if this goes bad. The Special Commander approached me, shook my hand and thanked me for the job I had done in the slums of S.C. 1. He then apologized for interrupting my day knowing I had just arrived back. He wanted to hire me for another job and asked if we could set a meeting. My radar went up. Am I really in the clear?! Another job was risky but if I turned it down or refused to listen it could draw suspicion. We agreed to meet in the parlor at Tammy’s at 11 in the evening.
After my encounter with the Special Commander, I headed back out for Larry’s shop. As I entered, he was very excited to see me. He always knew I had plenty of credits to spend. I asked if any books had come in. Unfortunately there were no books. The news for supply replenishment however was much better. He showed me a tactical knapsack I was very interested in purchasing. I thanked him for always looking after me, transferred 250 credits and headed back to Tammy’s with the sack over my shoulder. I wanted to take it easy until it was time to meet with the Special Commander.
Laying there staring at the ceiling, there was no doubt in my mind this job had to do with Cloud 9 and the hard drive deception pulled at the deal in the S.C. 3 slums. I reached over and picked up a book to take my mind off the meeting. When I over think things, I get in trouble. As it often did when reading, the time passed in the blink of an eye. I headed out into the main area to wait for the commander. He was already propped up in the corner waiting for me. The odd thing was, he was alone. A Lennox Corp Special Commander sitting unprotected in the middle of the slums; this was making me nervous. I calmly sat down eager to see what this was all about, and the commander, well, he got straight to it. He explained to me he feared he had a mole on the inside leaking details about his operations to people around the slums. It seems the thumb drive we had retrieved turned out to be a ghost drive. What he still wasn’t sure of is if they meant to trick Lennox Corp or the intended buyer. The real point of our conversation was… he didn’t care. He wanted Cloud 9 and the original thumb-drive.
This was where I came in, the Special Commander wanted to hire me to retrieve the drive from Cloud 9 and eliminate them permanently. He said, “I am close to knowing exactly where they are hiding”. He continued, “When they unlock that drive, it will immediately begin broadcasting a signal to Lennox Corp letting us know the exact location”. He then told me, “You cannot access a single Lennox Corp file, program or operating system without this feature immediately installing itself”. He had said they were able to narrow Cloud 9’s whereabouts down to 4 locations, and he wanted me to be ready to move when the signal broadcasted. The worst part was, he had teams at all 4 locations watching for any activity. One of the locations was the bunker. I couldn’t go back there and risk being exposed. This meeting couldn’t end fast enough. I had to warn J3 not to unlock that drive. The commander concluded our meeting by telling me I was the only one he had filled in because in his words “You’re only in it for the credits. You couldn’t care less what happens to these hackers.” The only thing I could do was take the job. I’d need a plan to get us all out of this, before J3 finished unlocking that drive. All the planning and the danger to secure the thumb drive and the danger no one considered... the drive itself!
CHAPTER 8
Bunker Buster
I scrambled to figure out a way to contact J3 without being detected. The worst part, we still needed to open that drive even if I knew it would lead them straight to our location. The only way this would work was to wait for J3 to open the drive and let Lennox Corp pass the location on to me. I told the commander, once he gave me the location, I would move in quietly, take out Cloud 9 and then radio him. This would allow he and his men to move and gather whatever information they needed. He agreed to the plan, and I patiently waited for him to contact me with the location that I already knew. My only chance was to lure the commander and his men into the bunker and wipe out the whole team. This was an uncomfortable position to be in. An act like this would put me and Cloud 9 right to the top of the Lennox Corp’s most wanted list. The fact remained, if the drive contained information that could bring down Lennox Corp, we owed it to the people to do everything in our power to hold on to that thumb drive.
I was getting very nervous at the thought of killing a Lennox Corp Special Commander. I had always maneuvered my way to stay off the Lennox Corp radar. Even though I felt reasonably confident in this operation, my second sight had a sense something was off. There are too many moving pieces all coming together at the same time for this not to be part of something much bigger that just hasn’t revealed itself yet. After two uneventful days waiting around, I finally got the call from the Special Commander. They had located Cloud 9 in an old bunker but they weren’t sure how to get inside. This was great news. I told the commander I knew the area and had scavenged the bunker several years earlier. I explained I should be able to find a way in. I suggested I go first and eliminate Cloud 9. Once I cleared the bunker, I would signal for the team to enter. This plan was acceptable to the commander, and he moved his team into position awaiting my call.
Making my way into the bunker, I saw J3 working feverishly, going through the data on the thumb drive. Surprised to see me, he said “Hey Tristan, we just unlocked the drive.” I told him I didn’t have time to explain but Lennox Corp was right outside the door. I urged him, “Copy off as much information as possible”. J3 sorted through the files at blistering speed and suddenly there it was, the plans to a Lennox Corp barge, a list of security codes for shutting down an automated turret system, and the information just kept pouring out onto the screen. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I had always thought the Lennox Corp barges were historic legends made more elusive as the ru
mors changed with each telling. This was no legend; I was seeing it all with my own eyes. There was a blueprint for a massive barge with automated security turrets and a staff of over 25 men and a technical staff of over 100. There was also a floor of the ship designated “Special Projects”. The file for it was too deeply encrypted to open with the short time we had left. I decided we had seen enough for now. It was time to call the commander and his men down into the bunker so I could eliminate them; no witnesses, no survivors. If all went well, and I eliminated the Special Commander, we would have plenty of time to examine the contents of the drive. I sealed the thumb drive in a special case in my sack and radioed the Special Commander. I hoped we hadn’t taken too long and raised the commander’s suspicions.
As I opened the bunker door, a blinding flash of light erupted, knocking me back into the bunker. As I came around, I heard a faint humming sound. While trying to regain my wits, I glanced up to see the bunker door being welded shut from the outside. When I looked behind me, I found the humming noise was four drones strategically placed in each of the corners. As the Cloud 9 team started coming to, I heard the Special Commander’s voice come over a radio, “Mr. Tristan, great scavenger of the Wasteland, did you think you could outsmart me twice? I‘ve been on to you since the first drive broke down and we lost Cloud 9. A man with a reputation like yours doesn’t make mistakes he makes moves. This would have been your last chance to prove me wrong, but I decided why even worry about it, I will just bury all of you and the drive. The drones you see posted around you are the Lennox Corp Bunker Busters. I will detonate the drones at the end of this conversation burying everything and everyone. It is a shame. A man with your experience and knowledge of the Wasteland could have earned a lot of credits working with us. Instead, everything you own, all credits and all assets, now belong to Lennox Corp. “Take a deep breath; it will be your last!” The next few seconds felt like an eternity as the drones exploded. The poor kids from Cloud 9 were incinerated instantly. I had tried to find them and myself some cover, but I could feel the heat of the explosion as it seared my flesh off again and again as it kept trying to mend. Then, the bunker collapsed and the weight of the falling rubble began breaking bones. Finally, the rubble settled, but I was lying trapped underneath, struggling to breathe. The team was gone, the drive was most assuredly destroyed and I was fading fast. Just before blacking out, I remembered wondering if I would heal enough to claw my way out of this premature grave.
Lennox Corporation: Book 1 in the Savior Series Page 4