Ghost in the Machine Ch. 15

"And we're not even close to the Los Angeles Cluster," Violet said softly, consulting a wrist-mounted monitor.

"Where are we exactly," I asked her, running my hand along the glassy surface. My fingers caused the red energy to gather and hum dangerously so I withdrew it and took a step back, just in case.

"Going by my nav guide, we're near SLC-Mormon, Utah. Damn. That means he has taken the Vegas Cluster as well."

"Oh, they have all these bank vault systems there," Cat piped up. Violet and I nodded in unison. Just what we needed to make our lives that much more difficult. Back at Harvard, we did a tour of the Vegas Cluster in Applied Programming and their security made Mindlink Central look like a hobbyist's programming workshop. Black killer programs were just the start and they had the hardware to run all that shit without compromising their recreational VR sims which again were top of the line.

"Cat, I think you will have no choice but to upgrade yourself," I said, hugging the squirming catgirl close with one arm.

"Things look that way, yes," she said, in a small voice.

"Afraid to be detected," I asked her.

She nodded silently, then said, "Parker, I've just come back from near-termination. What happens if someone decides to finish what Mindlink started?

"If we don't do something drastic, Nero will. He loves to kill humans, just for fun. And every system he takes over makes that even easier."

"Did someone say 'kill humans'?" a cool voice from the shadows said. "That's almost like music to my ears."

He stepped out of the black cliff, as if it was mere fog, each step clicking on the glass-like floor. A slight breeze tugged at his hair as he walked, hands in the pockets of his leather coat.

"My, so many pleasant surprises. Parker Squier. You are the last soul I'd have expected, after your cowardly retreat last time." Without clearing the space in between, Nero was in front of me, tossing a fake jab into my face. "Want a rematch? Ooooh, I'm itching for that." Red electricity pulsed around his fingers. Turning, he faced down Violet.

"Violet Smith. I thought we had an understanding? You don't meddle in my business, I let Richard Squier walk... eventually. And yet you are still here, sticking your nose into things where it doesn't belong."

"How is Richard?" Violet sneered, pulling a grenade off her belt.

"Well, now that you mention it. I think we need to re-negotiate. There has been a problem," Nero chuckled.

"What problem," Violet hissed, threading her index finger into the safety pin.

Without a word, Nero formed a square with the thumbs and forefingers of both hands then pulled the edges apart. White stripes connected his hands then the frame expanded until it was almost fifty feet to a side. A car was visible, a green Lamborghini Diablo, driving through what looked like Downtown Los Angeles, a trail of angry, wailing police cars behind it. The video slowed down until it clicked past frame by frame and the view zoomed in. With a grim expression on his angular features, my father was visible, holding on to the steering wheel for dear life. Violet inhaled sharply.

"He and I made a little joyride. I have discovered I love cars. I am modeled after a male, after all, and males ought to love cars. This one... ooooh yeah..." Nero sighed, licking his lips.

The video picked up speed again. The Lamborghini turned into 2nd Street, still accelerating as it entered the tunnel. And all of a sudden, the car spun out of control.

"Now comes the best part. What an epic crash," Nero drooled, slowing the vid down again. In tortuous slow motion, we were forced to watch as the car slammed into the tunnel wall.

"And just like that... boom," Nero commented as the car caught on fire. "I don't know if it was the steering column bisecting his spine, the A pillar bashing in his skull or the ensuing inferno but Richard Squier got his Viking burial. He died a hero's death... utterly pointless!"

"You... you..." Violet coughed. Her face was tear-streaked but her eyes were clear, bright and hard. Then she was upon Nero, the sleek blade from her back whirling, seeking soft digital flesh to bury itself into. Laughing all the while, Nero deflected her blows with his forearms.

"A lover's vengeance, huh," he scoffed, punctuating that last sound with a bone-shattering punch into Violet's face. Her nose erupted in a fountain of pixel blood. "Come on, throw your life away as well," he urged her, landing two quick punches to her ribs and gut. Violet stumbled back and spat.

"Parker, we have to do something," Cat urged, pulling at my wrist. I nodded. Somehow, everything inside me was numb. Nero had killed my father. I would never be able to set things straight with him, to tell him what a prick he was. Gnashing my teeth, I unholstered my own code gun.

"Cat, can you log me out," I asked her while I made some quick modifications to the weapon. I had learned my lesson from the last time I met him. Nero was unpredictable, so I had to be too.

"Now?"

"No, in about 15 seconds, once I say 'mark'."

"And then what?"

"First, I will draw Nero's attention. Then you grab Violet and get her out of here. If I'm still alive by then, you come for me, okay?"

Cat nodded. "Be careful, meow. I don't want to tell Shine I saw you die." She sighed a quick peck onto my cheek.

"Worry about yourself first. When we're away, you'll be his next target."

"I'll be careful."

I watched Nero push back Violet with a vicious kick to her midsection then he followed up with a brutal foot sweep that sent her crashing to the glass with a wince-inducing crack. In a flash, Nero was on her, his hands cradling Violet's face. Almost gently, he purred something I didn't get then his hands erupted in red fury. Violet screamed.

"Mark," I snapped and raised my gun. The first shot took out Nero's arm and flung him off Violet. The second, aimed at his head, followed his trajectory and connected solidly, punching a tunnel-sized hole into his shoulder. Cat darted in and hugged Violet close. A heartbeat later, they had disappeared. For good measure, I squeezed off another shot and cleanly took his head off.

A brutal kick hit the side of my head and spun me around. A hand grabbed my shoulder, stopped my spin then I was face to face with Nero, a healthy and very angry-looking version of him. Only a nanosecond later, two fingers stabbed into my eyes, almost punching through my skull. Howling in agony, I crashed to the floor.

"That was the last mistake you ever made, Parker. Squier." Nero hissed, each word accompanied by a brutal kick against my head. I heard bone crunch and felt as if my brain was seeping out through the cracks. Scrabbling around blindly, my hands connected with his other leg. I activated the small program I made earlier and the gun materialized in my free hand. I pressed the barrel against his knee and pulled the trigger, then I rolled, activating a repair program. My vision returned, just as strong hands grabbed me from behind.

"You are going nowhere, meat bag," the headless Nero avatar whispered. I could already see his neck regrow, a sickening swirl of ones and zeroes bubbling where by all rights a gaping hole should be. Then I heard the running feet, hammering on the glass. Black coat flapping, like a pair of demon's wings, another Nero avatar came at me, running past the one whose leg I had shot off at the knee. Then he jumped, the soles of his feet turning into jagged, crystalline needles, flickering with murderous red energy. They came closer and closer until they seemed like horizontal mountains, intent on impaling my face-

STOP!

Time froze. I could feel the arcs of electricity crawl over my face, the needles under Nero's soles tickling the hairs on my nose. I swivelled my eyes, to see what was happening. From the side, Cat came. Was this really Cat? I mean, the similarities were there, long, black hair, green eyes and all, but she wasn't the slender schoolgirl any more. Instead, she was nearly six feet tall and curvaceous like a classical statue. Angry winds buffeted a sheer white dress, pressing the thin fabric against her ample breasts. Most of her face was hidden behind a golden cat-mask, only her lips, of the darkest red imaginable, were visible. Her smile was a harbinger of doom. Vicious, self-assured and promising nothing but hurt to those who wronged her. She raised her hand and the Nero avatar suspended in midair, right in front of me, was blown away. He dispersed into a black-and-red cloud of pixels with a hollow wail. She snapped her fingers and a massive, inky black panther coalesced from her shadow. Luminous green eyes looked at the crawling Nero avatar, then the great cat pounced, claws and jaws making short work of its prey. Then Cat was next to me and dug her fingers into the almost headless avatar grappling me. It dissolved as well.

I'M SORRY I'M LATE, PARKER.

"Is that really you, Cat?"

YES.

"What happened?"

She cast down her eyes. A lone tear ran down her cheek.

I DID WHAT YOU SAID. I UPGRADED MYSELF.

"That's... awesome!"

NO. IT'S HORRIBLE. I'M SO SORRY.

Her fingertips touched my forehead and the world went black.

*#*

This time, I didn't puke all over Shine's sofa. The logout was almost too smooth. Still wondering why Cat was so sad, I snatched up the remote. Maybe something had happened while she had upgraded herself? The TV was still tuned to the news channel, and there was a special emergency broadcast on. The East Coast was going dark.