Safety Shipping Solutions sat nestled in the dark forest that was the entire state of lower Michigan. Tracy actually had the drone dropped them off at a convenience store a few blocks from the building, and then she and Jessica hoofed it toward the building. She was suddenly glad for the extra warmth of the jacket.
She’d managed to stuff a few of the charcoal sticks into her jacket and chewed on one as they approached Geoffrey Stikine’s company headquarters.
She pulled up what information she could find about the company, including office layouts on file with Stikine’s commercial real estate broker. According to the diagrams, they should expect to find an ordinary cube farm with a server room at the back, and a fairly ordinary lobby up front facing a reception desk. Insurance was not a sexy business. Lucrative yes, sexy? No.
Tracy lead the way around to the back of the building and found the loading dock. She scanned the keypad and found the serial number and service imprint. Building security was not a high priority. All the value for this business would be in its data archives, or so they thought.
Tracy looked up the hack code, and selected it on her phone. She pointed the device at the pad and a moment later she heard the door lick then swing open.
Jessica raised an eyebrow.
“Rodney sent me the app. He’s handy like that.”
“And you use it a lot?”
“My dad used to forget and lock himself in his house. Near the end it was useful.”
Jessica frowned. “How is your dad?”
“Dead,” Tracy said, feeling and hearing her voice go flat. “He passed last year.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Jessica replied, but there was no warmth in her tone.
Tracy pushed the door open and stepped inside. Lights blossomed on as they walked forward, showing them the way into the building and into the offices of S4.
Tracy had two simple goals in mind. Make sure the company was a real company, and not a front or something. The other was to get into Stikine’s office and see what she could find. The first objective was still best handled by showing up in person, especially when no one expected you. The second was more hunch than fact. Yet, it still shocked her how much of people brought their lives to work.
They entered the main cube from the back. The office was completely deserted, but there were nicknacks and mementos everywhere. Tracy could tell instantly this was a real company. Cheesy promotional signs adorned the walls, and several floor to ceiling displays scrolled shipping information, time zones, and a news scrawl about global commodity prices.
Tracy knew almost instantly where Stikine’s office was. Dead center of the building, like a castle on a hill. Tracy made a beeline for the extra large cube, the only one with full-size walls and a door. She guessed Stikine was a first among “equals”.
She grabbed the handle of his door and gave it a twist. The thing was for show. It had no no lock. It swung back silently and the interior lights warmed into a bright glow, in a nice gentle progression.
A single deck, facing a couple of chairs, occupied most of the room. Tracy looked at the walls, which were covered with photos of Stikine’s kids and photo ops with friends and buddy’s. She scanned the photos quickly. A family photo from a vacation at Disney. Geoffrey Stikine’s wife was gorgeous, and their two kids were adorable. She saw another with a picture inside the Rushmore dome in South Dakato, and another aboard the yacht. There were pictures of him golfing, and fishing… then then she froze. Staring back at her was a face she recognized. Standing next to Geoffrey Stikine was a dead man, at least, a man she believed to be dead. “What the fuck…” she said in a low voice.
“Problem?” Jessica asked.
Tracy shook her head, she didn’t even know how to explain this to Jess. Did she know him? No, he was already dead by then. She pulled the photo off the wall and stuck it in her coat pocket. She would have to show this to Rodney. He wouldn’t believe it. Just touching the photo gave her the shivers. How? But there was no time, she had a job to do.
She turned her attention to the desk. To her surprise saw an old school calendar. A paper calendar. The most recent page was opened to a week at a glance sheet. The time blocks were marked in colors with little doodles of flowers. She noticed a variety of colored pens on the desk. Geoff was an artist? She scanned the calendar and found what she was looking for, an appointment with Tim C and a number. She snapped a photo then froze.
A sound from outside the office made her heart skip a beat. It was the whoosh-click of the the back door closing. She turned to Jessica who had dropped into a crouch holding a picture of Geoff Stikine on a fishing boat. He had caught a giant blue fish, a Marlin - a pricey catch. Jessica set the picture down noiselessly and drew her pistol a motion she did much too smoothly and calmly to be doing it for the first time.
In a low voice, Tracy asked, “We closed the back door right?”
I closed it myself.” Jessica switched off the office lights. Tracy crouched down and used her augments to amplify her night vision in the dark room. She thought up turning up her hearing but changed her mind when she heard the voices. Suddenly, she wished envied Jessica her gun.
A man’s voice, deep and husky like it was coming from deep inside a massive chest asked, “Burn it?” He was not loud, but he was not quiet either. More conversational, matter of fact, as if he had nothing to worry about.
“Yeah, boss wants it all gone.” The second voice was higher pitched but no less confident. A smaller man?
“What happened in Florida?” Husky voice man asked.
“Don’t know but the boss is twisted.”
Tracy started hearing soft plops, like the sounds of cornhole bags being tossed around. She had feeling these would not be full of corn seeds. Jessica eased open the office door. Stikine’s office faced the front of the building. The interlopers had come in the back just as they had, so two men were out of the line of sight.
Tracy looked up at the ceiling. She had the feeling they didn’t have much time.
Jessica started to move forward, in a low crouch. Tracy was grateful for the form fitting, but comfortable clothing. She followed close behind, being sure to stay below the cube walls. She checked her nanite levels. 52%. She wouldn’t survive a fire fight or direct hit. He heard the men moving round behind her. Jessica looked around, listening and them lead the two of them down an aisle perpendicular to the back office. A thump rattled the cube wall next to Tracy’s head, signifying another bag of something had been tossed indiscriminately in their direction. Jessica was heading for the front door. They couldn’t go out the back.
Jessica picked up her pace, they were almost at a low run. Fortunately the office wasn’t big, she pulled up just in front of the hallway that separated the cubes from the waiting area, they glanced around - they could hear the men in the back but could not see them. Together they sprinted low and fast into the waiting area and straight for the door. They pushed it open, triggering an alarm just in time to draw the attention of the two thugs waiting out front.
Show down
Tracy’s training kicked in and she hit the ground in a duck and roll to the side away from the goons in silver grey suits with red lining standing next to the luxury SUV. Jessica for her part did not hesitate. With marksmen like perfection, she dropped the closest one, a man, with a shot that exploded in blue electricity. His entire body jiggled in electrified tension and foam started to flow out of his mouth. He fell to his knees and then face down.
The woman standing beside him, also in a silver grey suit with red lining spun and threw a knife which Jessica blocked with a forearm. The blade bounced harmlessly off but it gave her attacker enough time to draw her own gun. Jessica fired again, striking her in the knee. Her lower body exploded in blue sparks but she managed to squeeze off one shot before she collapsed to the ground writhing in pain. The shell went wide and exploded the upper left half of the front door inward and back. Narrowly missing the large man the size of a brahman bull walking through it. He didn’t even flinch. To Tracy he looked to be three feet wide and twice that all, a massive wall of humanity wearing a silver grey suit. She hardly noticed the smaller man trailing behind him.
Jessica turned and sprinted to the left, crossing Tracy reaching down and pulling her up from the back of her coat with one hand. Tracy was shocked at how strong she was. “Move” Jessica said with incredible intensity. Tracy fairly flew to her feet and raced after her friend. She didn’t dare look back, but she heard the shot and assumed she would be dead. Instead, Jessica’s coat pulsed a deep purple, then started to burn. Jessica shrugged out of the jacket and let it drop behind her, never breaking her stride. Tracy pushed herself to keep up the pace, but her broken shoulder made it extremely difficult.
It was immediately obvious that Jessica had as many, if not more enhancements as Tracy. She was moving much too fast for a woman of her age, or any woman for that matter. Tracy dared a glance. She saw the silver wall of humanity raise his gun and take aim once more but and enormous explosion disrupted his aim. The buildings windows exploded outward in a fireball, throwing shattered glass in every direction. Jessica ducked down an alley without slowing. She made another turn, and then another, only stopping when she spotted a manhole cover. She squatted down and grabbed the edges with her fingers. Straining, she lifted the cover and slid it to the side.
“Down there?” Tracy paused, breathing hard.
“Now!” Jessica pointed, pulling out her gun and looking back down the alley.
Tracy’s skin itched and the smell of the place made her stomach turn but she jumped into the hole hoping her nanites would keep her from breaking more bones. Jessica followed by climbing down the ladder so she could close the lid. It was pitch black and dank in the tunnel.
“I don’t know if they saw us or not,” Jessica said, her voice just a whisper more out breath than normal. “But we have to assume they will figure it out quickly.”
“Now what?” Tracy asked. There was so much more she wanted to ask, but first she felt a powerful need to get away from this place.
“These tunnels run for miles,” Jessica motioned in each direction. “Step one. Get lost. Step two, find a way out.”
“They can’t trace us down here?” Tracy looked up at the black hole that was the ladder tunnel leading up to the manhole cover. “Won’t they send drones or androids?”
Jessica shook her head. “No, because they don’t want to be tracked down here. It’s officially and unofficially off grid. There’s something to do with the pipes and water - the whole area is like a giant faraday cage. No signal in out. If drones come down here they collapse within a few yards. It’s fucked up but it’s simultaneously the safest and most dangerous spot we can be. It’s like a DMZ, not safe but we bought some time. The key is not to be here long.”
“Jessica, what the hell is going on?” Tracy said trying not to sound as agitated as she felt.
“You’re asking me?” Jessica stood up.
“Yes.”
“This is your job Sweet Cakes, don’t ask me what’s happening here.”
“No, not with the job, well yes with the Job,” Tracy was… what was she feeling, anxious, upset, but also pissed. “I mean, what happened to you? You were a nurse.” “Then I was a survival guide.” “You just shot two people.” There as a long silence. Jessica said in a low tone that indicated she was not going to speak to that, “We had better get moving. Come on.” Jessica picked a direction and headed off down the tunnel at a slow run. Tracy waited a moment. She didn’t want to be standing there when the man-mountain showed up. But would he even fit through the manhole? She decided that was a question better left unanswered.
A Dating Life
In one sense, it was impossible for Tracy to lose track of time, but in another, she just couldn’t make sense of what her wrist comp and phone were telling her. She knew her attention and ability to focus were being jacked around by all the adrenaline in her system. The extended jogging was not helping her nanite condition either. She noticed that she had burned almost 15% of her resources and she hadn’t even taken a hit. Extreme exertion while injured was not ideal.
Jessica started to share after they jogged in the tunnels for a while. “While I was a nurse I started to date Shoni. He was interesting, exciting and… well…” she broke off into silence for a time. “He made me feel like I was twenty again.” Tracy suddenly flushed with warmth at Jessica’s unexpected vulnerability. She was such a tough person. Tracy hadn’t expected her sudden openness. Stuborn silence would have been more comfortable, and predictable. “He treated me… like a woman, like someone sexy, and attractive, and after my first husband… I knew I was being stupid, but god it felt so good to be wanted.” Tracy could only imagine. Her own love life was not something she liked to think about, much less talk about. She was glad Jessica could not see the flush on her cheeks. She couldn’t believe she was feeling envious, but there it was. “Of course the bastard turned out to be Clan, and not just clan but high up. Fuck, I didn’t even know what I didn’t know at the time.”. She paused at an intersection, then asked, “You doing okay?”
Tracy considered it checking her nanites. They were stable. Not improving but not falling behind. “I’m good.”
Jessica turned left. “You know, when I’d see other women in fucked up relationships, and trust me, you see a lot of them in the ER, I thought no way. That is never going to be me.”
She paused in a long silence.
“So what happened?”
Tracy heard what sounded like sniffling. “That was never going to be me… and then he told me to quit. And I did. I fucking left the hospital because he told me to. Can you believe that shit? Me, with a nurses degree? Leaving because some prick told me to?”
Tracy sensed there was more to the story. “Really? Just because he told you to?”
Now she heard a sound like an arm wiping a nose. “One night, a bunch of goons barged into the emergency room and…” silence “and they executed two patients. I mean, they just blew threw security. Didn’t give a shit about about the cameras. They fucking shut down the security droids. Turned them off like they were toaster. For a moment, I thought I was going to die.” Another long pause, then she continued. “After they left Soni came and got me. He told me he could keep me safe but I had to change careers. He even apologized. Told me If the other clan found out who I was, that I meant something to him… He let it hang there.” a sudden sob. “God I was such an idiot.”
Jessica stopped running. Tracy caught up to her, and put an arm on her shoulder. “You weren’t an idiot. You had just witnessed something horrific.”
Jessica’s voice became hard, “I was an idiot for believing him. For all I know he’s the one who ordered the hits.”
Tracy mulled that over. “Wait, are you talking about… the VA? But there ere not assasinations a the VA”
Jessica laughed. It was a hollow sound, cold and empty. “You think the clan can’t touch the military?”
“But…”
“Don’t be so naive. You never heard about it because it was an embarrassment for the brass. They can’t have street criminals offing people inside a government military hospital.”
“So what happened?”
“I left, and walked right into the gilded trap Soni laid for me. I thought I was fleeing the Clan but I ran straight into their arms. Soni was never going to let me go.”. Jessics started to run again, and Tracy followed.
“He set me up,” Jessica continued. “His laywer’s set me up in my own business. But he trained me. They trained me. The clan know what they’re doing. They trained me to be safe. To be smart. They made me dangerous. I would spend a month guiding rich guys around to exotic and dangerous places, then I’d spend a month… training.” Jessica ran in silence. Tracy didn’t know what to say or ask. She tried to reconcile that she knew Jessica while she was living under the influence of the clan. Fuck, how well can you know anyone?
“I sword I would never be some guys bimbo. I ended up being his property.” Jessica sniffled again. It seemed obvious to Tracy this was the first time she was sharing this with anyone. She just hoped it would not prove to be a deathbed confession.
As much as she cared about her friend, a friend who had deceived her, a new burning question came to her mind. One she needed to have answered now. “How many enhancements do you have?”
“A lot,” Jessica admitted. “At first Soni told me they were for my protection. You know, when he was not around. Then I realized he kept ordering improvements because he wanted me to be invincible. He kept the keys to the kingdom of course. The passwords that controlled my augments were under his command. He claimed he couldn’t share the password for my own protection, to prevent people from torturing me. But it was all bullshit. It was all part of his manipulation. His lies. I was his toy, his pretty knife. I was only safe as long as I was under his control…” her tone dropped into an angry gravel tone, “and I fucking let him do it. I knew he was lying but I told myself it was okay. I went along with it. I believed he was looking out for me.”
Tracy understood. “Did he love you?”
Jessica made a coughing laughing sound. “I told myself he did. But I suppose I always knew he was just being the ruthless selfish bastard he’d always been. The truth is I lied to myself. I didn’t want to believe I was being manipulated. I wanted to believe I was smarter than that. Better than that. I mean, he wouldn’t want anyone to me as leverage against him would he? I wouldn’t want that would I? It was all bullshit. I just didn’t want to face the truth. I told myself he was trying to protect me, but I knew he was turning me into a weapon.”
“He made you into a killer,” Tracy thought about how Jessica had fired those shots without hesitation.
“No,” Jessica said solemnly. “I was always a killer. He just knew how to bring it out.”. The tone in her voice made Tracy’s blood run cold. “You don’t know how close you are to doing the unthinkable until you actually do it.”
“That can’t be you,” Tracy said hopefully. “He manipulated you.”
“His training, clan training isn’t that different form military training. They find the killer in you and then teach you how to tap into it. They don’t turn you loose as much as they turn you on.”
Tracy had a sudden realization. “You were waiting for me? At your place.”
Jessica did not answer for a long time. “Not you specifically, but yeah. I was waiting. The clans were on the move. Something big. I was on edge. You have to understand. I always listen to the clan chatter. The first thing Soni gave me was the scanner. He wanted to shatter my illusion that life is safe, that bad things happen somewhere else.”
“That’s cruel.”
“It’s also real. And not without benefit. I could know when to run if things went sideways. Which they did. It was probably the only thing Soni really did that showed me he loved me. And I suppose he did love me, as much as he was capable of loving anyone. You live in that world long enough and it turns you inside out. It fucks with your compass, what is right, what is wrong. Pretty soon you don’t know up from down. You know what he told me when he gave me the scanner?”
“No,” was all Tracy could think to say.
“‘Those stupid bastards, think they’re safe, because no one is listening in,’ is what he said. But I was listening. Soni set me up so I could eves drop on them. That’s why I knew something was going down in Boca. I prepared, just like he trained me. Just in case.”
Tracy shook her head. “Where is Soni? If he loved you so much, set you up, why wasn’t he at your place?”
“Because he’s dead. Despite all of his planning, all his cunning, and all his preparation. He wasn’t ready when they came for him. The clans are ruthless Trace. They are absolutely god damned ruthless. They executed him before he could ever use me. And that’s hit it goes. One day you’re king of South Florida, a minor region in the Clan and the next day you’re dead.” Tracy did not hear a sob, not even a sniffle. “Soni told me he wanted me to be his god damned Egyptian bride! You know? go down in death with her king. But he kept everything so close, no one knew about it except me and Jazz. Jazz just showed up on my doorstep. I was expecting a bullet, but he put a gun in my hand - “ Tracy realized it was the weapon Jessica was carrying. “Jazz told me to run. Never show my face again. So that’s what I did. I took off. I was Shoni’s little secret, his pretty knife, but I’ve been running like an ex-con ever since.”
“If you’ve been running then why did you stay in touch with me?”
Jessica laughed. “Sorry sister, but they don’t give shit about you. They don’t give a fuck about trueblues. It’s the other clans they’re afraid of. They don’t want me mixing and mingling with the wrong people.”
Tracy thought about it for a moment, “Who was that? Who was up there?”
“Aki Kumo,” Jessica said. “The Red Spider Clan. They are among the most deadly clans in the system.”
“And you shot one of their members?”
“Guards,” Jessica corrected her. “And I shot two of them. I didn’t kill them. But I don’t think that matters much to them. They were ready to kill us and torture us regardless.”
“Why!?”
“Because it’s what they do first of all. It’s fun for them. But mostly to find out what we know. What you know.”
Tracy started to think about it. A clan erasing all evidence of a missing executive and his family. But why?
Tracy grunted.
“What?”
“I have an idea but you’re not going to like it.”
“What’s that?” Jessica folded her arms across her chest.
“We have to go back.”
“Go back!?”
Tracy nodded and said, “Yeah. back there.”
“Are you crazy?”
“Probably,” Tracy admitted. “But we’re going to need to find out what the Red Spider clan is trying to hide. And one of the best ways I know how to do that is to ask them.”