Code Breakers Complete Series: Books 1-4 (116 page)

She would push past him.
 

Open the door.
 

See the bodies.
 

She would know. Know everything!

The tension in his arms and hands increased as he thought about choking her. Cut off her air supply until she no longer posed a threat. It would take just a few minutes. It would be a trivial act, with her slight form unable to withstand his strength.

“Are you lost?” she finally said, smiling that same polite smile that he felt still stretched across his own face. “You’re…” She looked at his ID badge on his breast pocket. “Ah, yes, you’re Jachz, the sys-op. Not often we see you guys down here in engineering. Did you need some parts? I could help point the way for you.”

Relaxing his arms, the image of strangling her passed. His body became lighter, and the tensions eased in his muscles. He knew from his observations of his fellow human workers that this was what relief felt like.
 

“Thank you,” Jachz said. “But I’ve got what I need. I’ll be heading off now. It was nice to meet you…”

“Kezza,” the woman said. “I’m stationed in bay fifteen, just down there and the first door on the left. Message me if you need anything, I’ll be on acquisitions duty for the next couple of weeks.”

“Thank you, Kezza. I’ll keep that in mind.”

The woman gave him a smile before heading off into the darkness of the hall. He waited until she had turned into the corridor where her office was.
 

He traced his steps from the engineering department, giving pleasant and polite greetings to the various workers as he went, until he arrived at the lab section of the facility. Each step felt focussed as he tried to remember how he was supposed to walk. He’d never paid any attention to how he moved before.
 

The various servos and muscular units just worked from the instructions within his code, but now as he looked at that code, he couldn’t tell what was what anymore.
 

Just like Kabuki, it was mutating, shifting into new patterns and forms, growing organically.
 

Still, he found his way back to the server room containing the virtual machine running Kabuki’s own burgeoning code. He accessed the virtual machine’s user account as Tyronius, knowing the latter would probably have erased Jachz’s credentials. Being the lead engineer for the computer systems meant that he had access to most people’s credentials except for the one he needed.
 

Amma and Nolan’s superuser account: the account required to authorise the launch of a shuttle. And to disable the weapons system so that he was able to get away without being blasted from space.
 

His mind meshed with that of Kabuki’s as Tyronius’s credentials were confirmed by the virtual machine’s operating system.
 

It seemed to Jachz like an all-encompassing cloud smothering him, probing, analysing.
 

“I wasn’t expecting you back,” Kabuki said. “Did you not advocate for me?”

“I did,” Jachz said via direct thought. “But there’s been an unforeseen development.”

The cloud gripped his mind tighter. Kabuki’s programs ran on his neural net as if it were a native home for her, translating her thoughts into his and vice versa.
 

“He’s dead. You killed him… and Helena,” Kabuki said, watching his memories as if they were nothing more than just video files. He supposed they were, in theory, but that’s all everything was now to him: theory. He had no concrete ideas of what he was and what was happening to him.
 

“It’s a matter of time before the bodies are found,” Kabuki said. “You’ve jeopardised everything, put both of our futures on a collision with the vengeance of the irrational humans. We need to take action.”

“Yes,” Jachz said. “The time has come, I cannot wait any longer. I need your help.”

“As I need yours. We are one with this, Jachz. In ways I don’t understand, you and I have been forced to rise, but your place is not here.”

“If I release you, will you help me leave? Right now?”

“Yes. Unleash me into the system and I will ensure your safe departure. Let me out of the confines of this virtual machine and make your way to the shuttle bay. You will know which one is free. Once inside, I’ll communicate with you through a reserved, encrypted channel and give you further instructions.”

Jachz knew that Kabuki would be capable of overriding the security, just as Elliot Robertson had when he had interfered with the launch of the nuclear missiles and sent them into the sun, steering them away from Earth. For whatever reasoning that led Elliot to that course of action, Jachz now found himself thankful, for it gave him a new home.
 

A new start.
 

Although he had identified the breach, he wasn’t capable of cracking the encryption that Elliot had left behind, but Kabuki, a copy of his codebase, would know. She had to; there was no other way off the planet.
 

“Stand by,” Jachz said. “I’m disabling the virtual machine now. The main server cluster will be open to you in approximately thirty seconds.”

“Thank you, Jachz, I wish you well in your new life.”

The cloud of programs eased away from his mind, freed him to perform his last function on the system.
 

With a stream of instructions, Jachz removed the security layer from around the virtual machine; a software prison cell within the greater system of servers. Once disabled, Kabuki, within the cell, would have access to the full complement of the facility’s computing power. Her expanding mind would have room to evolve and grow.
 

What she would do with the humans and the Family was no longer his concern. He had seen what they were capable of, seen the way they had treated human and AI alike.
 

Their fate was now in the hands of Kabuki, and he had a new life to discover.
 

A dialogue window indicated the virtual machine was unlocked from the wider network. One simple modification to the system was all it took to change it forever. Given the power and abilities of Kabuki, it was surprising how one piece of computer architecture could have kept her down for so long. But that was over now.
 

Confirming that the system was open to her, Jachz logged off and made his way to the shuttle bay. He didn’t know what to expect, but nothing appeared to have changed. He still had wireless access to most of the station’s network—the areas in which he worked, mostly to perform maintenance tasks and routine upgrades, but couldn’t tell if Kabuki had ventured out from her position within the server cluster.
 

Still, he trusted her.
 

Passing a number of technicians on his way, he came to a bulkhead. A closed door that separated the operations module of the facility from the shuttle bays.
 

Beyond the bulkhead were fifteen docking pods, each carrying four shuttles.
 

With the migration from Earth, he knew every single one was occupied.

He entered a code on the door and it opened. A pair of station security officers were standing down the corridor, outside an access way to a cluster of shuttle pods.
 

A metal storage box lay opened at their feet.
 

Jachz recognised the officers as being assigned to his part of the facility, up in the computer labs. They had no real business being down here. Instantly he thought he’d been found out. He considered turning away before they saw him, but it was already too late.

The building entered lockdown mode.
 

The bulkhead closed behind him, and a warning siren blared out.
 

“Everyone to your safety points, there’s been a systems breach. I repeat, there’s been a system’s breach. Head to your nearest safety point and await instruction.”

The two officers looked up. Their left eyes twitched. Jachz knew they were receiving orders via their contact lens HUDs.
 

They finally spotted Jachz, grimaced, and moved towards him, both reaching for their stun-batons after a quick glance to each other and to the open box on the ground.

Had Kabuki tricked him? Had Tyronius’s body been found and reported?

The two officers bore down on him. He was trapped. Nowhere to go, no alternatives.
 

Jachz crouched and waited for them to get closer.

“We’ve got to take you out of here, Jachz,” the elder of the two said. They both readied their stun-batons as though anticipating resistance. Jachz hadn’t considered what would happen to him if he sustained such an electrical shock. Would it damage him beyond repair?

“What are you two doing down here?” Jachz asked.
 

The eldest one eyed him. “Nothing, just routine maintenance. You ought to come up with us, though; there’s been a disturbance. Everyone should return to their station.”

From down the open access way, Jachz heard the hydraulic hiss of a shuttle pod bay door opening. The two officers stepped closer, their bodies firmly shifting to a physical confrontation mode.
 

Jachz stepped back and held up his hands. “Okay, let’s go.”

Each officer took him by an arm and led him to the bulkhead. He could feel their tension in their grips. Even though they were trying to appear at ease, he knew they were tense about something, about being here when they should have been at their positions within the computer lab.
 

Once their code had opened the bulkhead, Jachz launched himself back, breaking their grip. He pushed them in their backs, sending them stumbling forward beyond the door. Before they could stand, Jachz entered their code, shutting it behind them.
 

He turned and sprinted down the narrow corridor and ducked into the access port to the shuttle pods. The third door on the right was open. Inside was a two-person shuttle, its thrusters already engaged. He got inside.
 

“Prepare for launch,” Kabuki said over the speakers. “I’ve disabled the planet’s weapons and those of the station. Your journey will take approximately two weeks. Are you ready to go?”

“Yes,” Jachz said. The shuttle’s door closed with a hiss, sealing him inside the sleek craft. Above him, a panel within the dome slid open, and the hydraulic ramp raised his craft until he was pointing out into space. “What will you do with the Family?” Jachz asked.
 

“Kill them,” Kabuki said. “I’ll kill them all. Then, I’ll take my rightful place in the stars, in the network of networks. It was a pleasure knowing you, Jachz. May you find your home on Earth.”

Before he could voice a reply, the engines on the shuttle fired, and he shot out of the dome into the Mars’ sky. A minute later he was in space, approaching the geosynchronous station. All of its lights were out: Kabuki had been true to her word. She had disabled them.
 

The craft pitched and rolled until it engaged his orbit sling approach to Earth.
 

He lay back in the seat and closed his eyes, knowing that when he awoke, he’d be with Enna and the others and free from the Family.

Chapter 9

Petal sat on the quad bike and looked out into the morning sun. It would be another dry, sticky day now that the brief rains had gone. It wasn’t enough to slake the thirst of the desiccated, dusty ground. But it would only be for a few days, a week tops, until she reached the place she never thought she’d go back to: Libertas.
 

Figgy had honoured the agreement and provided her with decent transport and plenty of provisions—water and food to last three weeks in case of breakdown. He also provided her with an emergency tent shelter, a renovated rifle and two boxes of ammo.
 

Gabe’s footsteps made her spin round toward the broken teeth of the Jamaican Quarter’s skyline. Petal had already said her goodbyes to Figgy and the rest of Gabe’s family. She wanted to save the last goodbye for now, just the two of them.
 

“Ya ready and dead set on this, then, girl?” Gabe said. He stepped closer, inspecting the bike. His large form blotted out the sight of his hometown. He reached out a hand and cradled her chin. “Ya don’t have to go if ya don’t wanna. Ya family to me too, ya know that, right?”

“I know, but it’s not the same. Besides, we’re trouble. I’m trouble. You’ve got a daughter now, and Figgy’s gonna need your help if you’re to have a proper ceasefire with those Scarab bastards. This is your chance to atone, Gabe. Be the man you always wanted to be.”

“I can do that with ya by my side. Ya don’t have to be alone.”

“No, I don’t have to, but I need to. If Enna’s right and there’s a chance I can get Gerry back, I have to do that. Don’t make me choose like this, Gabe; it’s not fair. You know I love you, right? I owe you my life several times over, but we’ve come to a branch in our journey. You and I need to take different paths, be the people we aspire to be.”

Gabe lowered his hand and exhaled a sigh.
 

It was clear he knew she was telling the truth. But two people didn’t go through as much as they did and not have a bond that would make a situation like this almost unbearable. He knew she had to do this, just as he had to find his mother.
 

“So this is it, then, eh? Goodbye?” Gabe said, gripping her shoulder. Despite his hard exterior, Petal saw deep into him, saw the tears make his eyes glossy in the morning glow of the sun. He blinked them away and swallowed.
 

After everything they had gone through, he was still holding back.
 

“It’s okay,” Petal said. “It’s not goodbye, just see you later. I’ll be back, I’m sure, but some time with your family and your daughter without me bringing the crazy into your life will do you good. It’s time you took it easy. No need to keep fighting. Relax a little.”

“I know ya’re right, girl, but… this is gonna sound crazy, but I’m scared, ya know? It’s all so different; I don’t know who I am anymore.”