Code Breakers Complete Series: Books 1-4 (117 page)

“You ain’t so different. Just look out for Bonny like you did for me, and you’ll be fine. Just don’t take on some crazy journey to recover a server that’ll end the world or anything, okay?”

Gabe smiled, wiped the back of his hands across his eyes, and brought Petal into a bear hug. “I’m gonna miss ya so much, my crazy little friend.”

Petal just nodded and gripped him tighter, swallowing her own welling emotion. She hated goodbyes. Hell, she hated emotions like this. Despite her skills with coding and viruses, she had never truly learned how to express herself in ordinary languages that people could understand. So she just held on for a moment before composing herself enough to let go and fire up the H-core engine of the quad bike.
 

A plume of water vapour exited the exhaust like a miniature cloud. Gabe stepped back and smiled at her. “Ride like the wind and be safe, girl, ya hear? And don’t hesitate to contact me if ya get into trouble.”

“Thanks, Gabe, for everything, for being you, and for keeping me alive all these years despite the madness. I’ll speak to you real soon, okay? Look after your family.”

“Aye, I will. Now go, find a way to bring Gerry back.”
 

Petal hesitated. It seemed so final, so… fuck it. She leaned over and kissed Gabe before turning back and ramming the throttle wide open. With dust and debris striking her face, she leaned into the wind and refused to look back. She’d already gone through the grief of losing Gabe when he had made her leave him behind in the shelter. The shelter within which she had assumed he had been killed.
 

This was different. He’d still always be there for her if she needed him. She just needed to focus on the future—and that was the scary part. Myriad ‘what ifs’ bubbled up in her mind regarding the potential of bringing Gerry back.
 

She’d know soon enough. For now, she just needed to get those miles behind her and reach Libertas. After a full five minutes she looked back and watched as the Hong Kong skyline shrank, taking Gabe with it.
 

“Onwards,” she said, shouting in the wind, giving herself strength to start a new stage of her life.
 

***

Five days later, and on a quad bike that had definitely seen better days, Petal saw the Libertas dome shining on the horizon like a beacon. The evening sun’s golden pink hues reflected off the geodesic surface.
 

She chewed on a chalky protein bar and eased off the throttle. She didn’t really understand why she was so hesitant now. She’d spent the last five days gunning it for eighteen hours a day, determined to make up the miles as fast as she could.
 

Seeing the city again evoked a maelstrom of conflicting emotions. For years she viewed the place as the home of her enemies: the Family, the ones who had ruined the world with their egomania and out-of-control technology.
 

Even when they left for Mars, Petal wasn’t entirely convinced they wouldn’t still be a thorn in humanity’s side. The dome had become an icon for all the struggles. From the Red Widows to Fuentes and the Ronin, the last year or so the place represented bloodshed and struggle.
 

However, now Enna was in control, Petal believed life for all those inside, and those outside, would be considerably improved. As she approached closer to the dome, she worried about how she would be welcomed back.
 

She had left so suddenly after the battle at Cemprom. Unable to cope with the memorial service for all those allies that had died during the fighting, and eager to recover Gabe, Petal had no choice but to leave.
 

And then as the days rolled on, it became harder and harder to get in touch.
 

Would they view her as a traitor, a coward, perhaps?

In truth, she didn’t care too much about what the general populace thought of her. Enna and those close to her knew what she had given up for Libertas—on more than one occasion, but now was the chance to get some of that karma back.
 

Lights glowed inside the dome, making it resemble an old Christmas decoration she had once seen in a blown-out shop within Darkhan. A few hundred metres from the dome’s entrance, she made out the mushroom-tower of the air traffic control tower. And further in the distance, the tallest building and the epicentre of the worst fighting: Cemprom.
 

An unarmed blue-uniformed guard stood by the entrance.
 

That was a welcome change.
 

He smiled at Petal when she pulled up.
 

The H-Core engine made a high-pitched whine as it revved down before cutting out completely. A puff of smoke billowed from the side vent by her leg. She jumped off and grabbed her pack of supplies before launching herself out of the way.

“Watch out,” she said to the young man as he approached.

He dived to the side a split second after the engine caught fire and exploded, using the remaining hydrogen gas as fuel. He hit the ground hard a few inches from Petal. She instinctively turned her back to the fire and covered him.
 

Bits of metal and the remains of her other bags rained down on her back, burning through the leather of her jacket. Yet more scars. The jacket had become an iconic metaphor for all the battles she had been in.
 

Still, better on the jacket than her skin. Especially since getting hold of any ’Stem had become tricky.
 

“You’re on my balls,” the young man said, his face puce.
 

“Shit, sorry,” Petal said, removing her knee from the guard’s groin.
 

He rolled over and took a deep breath while cradling his jewels. Petal stood and held out a hand for him. Behind them the quad bike was truly fucked. Blackened and charred by flame, the engine and the controls were ruined.
 

“At least I made it in one piece,” Petal said to herself.
 

The guard took her hand, and she helped him up.
 

With shallow breaths, the guard looked into Petal’s goggles. His mouth dropped open in an expression of recognition. “I know you,” he said. “You’re Petal, the survivor from the Battle of Cemprom.”

He thrust out his hand. “My name’s Franklin. I can’t believe it’s you… here. You’re back!”

Petal tentatively shook his hand, unsure if his reaction was sincere. She’d become far too distrusting to fully believe this reception. “Yeah, I’m Petal,” she said. “I was unsure of how I’d be received… I just came back to meet a friend. You think you could perhaps keep this between you and me. I don’t want—”

“Too late for that, my dear. Your arrival wasn’t exactly quiet, was it?”
 

Petal spun round to face the dome’s entrance. The tall, elegant figure of Enna stepped out to join them. She had a wide grin on her face and pointed to the smoldering remains of the quad bike.
 

“Yeah, about that,” Petal said. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Enna said. “You’re here!” The ex-Family member sauntered over and hugged Petal with a surprising ferocity. Although they’d been good friends, Enna had always had that scientific impartial character to her, with her emotions in check.
 

Eventually Enna let her go and stood back. The older woman still looked so sophisticated and calm as she had always done. Only now, as the democratic leader of Libertas, she wore a tailored grey and light blue trouser suit. Although it suited her frame and Family-inherited natural beauty, she looked odd without her white lab coat flapping about her long legs.

“It’s so good to see you again,” Enna said, smiling with general happiness. Franklin scratched his chin and inspected the ground, presumably waiting for direction from his leader.
 

Seems Petal’s time away had proved one old adage: absence makes the heart grow fonder.
 

“It’s… um, good to be back,” Petal said. She blushed under the scrutiny of Enna and Franklin, unused to the attention, having always been one to stay in the shadows.
 

“Can we go in?” Petal said. “Maybe keep things low-key?”
 

“Oh, you’ve got a lot to learn, my dear. Come, let’s get you settled. I’ve got someone who you’ll want to meet. Franklin—can you arrange a clean-up crew to deal with the wreckage?”

“Yes, Minister, right away.”

“Thank you, Franklin, and I’d appreciate if you wouldn’t let everyone know that Petal is here.”

“Of course, Minister. Understood.”
 

Franklin stared at Petal with a face of awe and wonder for a brief moment before finally rushing off to arrange for clean-up.
 

“What’s with the kid?” Petal asked.
 

“You’ve become quite the pin-up for most men in the city. Since your success and daring actions were made public, your image now adorns billboards, posters, and every imaginable slate device. You’re a bona fide hero. You and Gerry have statues outside Cemprom and dotted around the city. There’s even a tour.”

“Groovy.”

As Enna led Petal into the dome, they crossed the familiar GreenWay Park and headed toward the presidential building. Petal couldn’t believe what Enna was saying, but as they got further in, she saw them: her picture plastered digitally on the public screens, in shop fronts, and the most disturbing thing of all, the statues.
 

There was one outside the presidential building.
 

“That’s just gross,” Petal said. She climbed the stone steps, ignoring the whispers and looks from the dozens of people passing by on the sidewalks. On either side of the glass doors of the building were identical statues: Petal and Sasha. Petal had her spikes out and crossed over her chest. They’d even got the detail of her jacket and the pink tone of her Mohican correct.
 

For Sasha, they’d equipped her with a pair of pistols and pigtails. If Petal looked at it quickly enough, it was almost like Sasha was still there. Petal stopped. Enna carried on to open the doors. Behind the glass, a group of three security men and women were staring out, pointing at Petal.
 

A deep sense of sorrow overwhelmed her, and she approached the statue of her sister. Her clone. The closest she had to a sibling and someone she had known for far too brief a time. Petal reached out, almost wishing it was a prank and actually was Sasha standing there, stifling the desire to laugh and give away the trick.
 

It wasn’t a trick. The marble was cold to the touch. The eyes dead.
 

As close as the similarity was, Sasha was still dead, and this was still just a statue.
 

Before Petal turned away, someone tugged at the cuff of her jacket.
 

She looked round and then down. A young girl, couldn’t be older than twelve or thirteen, stared up at Petal with the same wide-eyed expression.
 

“Excuse me, miss,” the girl said with the typical upper-class Libertas accent, all perfect tone and annunciation. “May I have your autograph?”

“Um… sure…” Petal reached down for the girl’s slate. It had Petal’s face plastered on the screensaver and on the case. Whoever was producing this stuff sure was making a lot of money off it. Petal pressed her thumb to the screen and with her index finger scrawled an exaggerated “P” with a small “x” next to it.
 

The girl beamed a wide grin. “Thanks,” she said, taking the slate back. She hugged Petal around the waist briefly before giggling and skipping off down the stairs to join her parents and brother standing by on the sidewalk. The mother and father mouthed, “Thank you,” before heading off.
 

“That’s fucking weird,” Petal said as she turned to enter Enna’s HQ.
 

“Get used to it,” Enna said. “You’re a celebrity these days.”

Ignoring the onlookers, Petal followed Enna to the elevator. They climbed to the presidential floor and, passing through extra layers of biometric security, entered Enna’s new purpose-built lab.
 

Although she was the prime minister now, it appeared that Enna was still heavily involved in her science and research. They entered the white room with all the shiny marble and ceramic surfaces. A pair of familiar transcendent tanks took up the right side and a large computer rack the left. Wires and cables trailed throughout, coiling around the legs of an operating table.
 

Lying casually on the table was the figure of a youngish woman. Thinking it was one of Enna’s newest transcendants, Petal slapped her hand across its thigh. “Nice mode, Ens.”

“Oi, bitch, watch who you go slapping!”

The transcendent lurched up as it reached out a pair of clawed hands, aiming for Petal’s throat.

Chapter 10

Petal dashed back into a combat stance and brought her forearm spikes up in front of her.
 

“No, it’s okay,” Enna said, dashing in between the two women. “She’s not a transcendent.”

Between her spikes, and staring around Enna’s body, Petal saw a wide grin and mischievous eyes. She couldn’t believe it. “Holly? Is that you?”

Enna stepped out from between the two to let them talk.
 

“Petal!” Holly said, swinging her legs off the table and standing upright. “It’s me. Remember? I told you I’d see you again.”

“Holy shitballs, it is you. How the hell have you been? Where’ve you been all this time?” Petal stepped forward and grabbed the girl by the shoulders. She was shorter by a few inches than Petal but not less capable or spirited.
 

“Since I left you and Gabe after that little incident at Shelley’s, I just wandered about a bit. Travelled west, wanting to see if there were any other towns or settlements.”

“And were there?” Petal said.
 

“Nah, nothing. It’s why I came back, traced you and Gabe’s exploits until I came here.”

Enna returned with a syringe. Holly rolled up her sleeve and held out her forearm. She winced a little when Enna jabbed her and injected the liquid.