Cyber Dreams 4.28 - Moods

Here's today's chapter! I enjoyed the speculation about who was coming through that door.  :)

-Plum

Angel responded to the exploding door instantly, firing Juliet’s synapses into overdrive to the point where it seemed the flying particles of wood were drifting on a gentle breeze. Juliet, of course, was caught mid-recoil as her mind accelerated, and suddenly, she felt like she was falling back in slow motion, too. Everything except her right arm, still clutching her pistol, that is. As soon as her mind ramped up to speed and she realized what was happening, she took control, bringing the gun to bear, and when a shadow darkened the exploding doorway, she cranked off a round.

Her shot exploded into the figure’s center of mass, and she dropped the sights slightly and squeezed the trigger again just in case she’d hit a body armor plate with the first round. Everything was quiet; Angel had filtered out the loud noises. Suddenly, the world sped back up as she reduced the boost to Juliet’s synapses, perhaps wanting to assess things further before continuing the strain on Juliet’s brain. Juliet continued her reflexive backward roll off the side of the bed and came to her knees, gun up, eyes on the shredded doorway. Had she just shot someone out of reflex? She couldn’t think about that; now wasn’t the time to second-guess her reaction.

The figure she’d shot was sprawled on its back. She could see dark fatigues, a tactical vest, an electro-shotgun still gripped in one hand, and, closest to her, two large, twitching combat boots. Angel flickered her vision through various spectrums, including her new implants’ improved terahertz imaging scan, which revealed no other figures beyond her room’s wall. Juliet stood up, holstered her Texan, and snatched up her new shotgun, leaning against the wall by her dresser. She didn’t have to rack a round; she kept it ready to fire. When she approached the figure, she could tell he was a man, spotting some straw-colored beard protruding beneath his visor.

A soft moan escaped his lips, and she gave him a double-take; her Texan had blasted two very nice holes through his carbon-weave armored vest, and copious gouts of blood had showered forth. By any reasonable expectation, he should be dead. “Don’t move, or the next one will remove your head.” Nothing but another soft moan was forthcoming. Juliet stepped forward, kicked his shotgun out of his hand, and then looked up and down the terraced landing outside her room. All the doors were shut, and not a soul was in sight. She edged forward, scanned down over the railing to the pavement below, and then hurriedly stepped back to the downed hotel room invader.

He still wasn’t moving, so she hurried back into her room, pulled open her top dresser drawer, and took out the little surveillance drone she’d recently unpacked. “Angel, fly that thing out there and keep an eye on the street.”

“On it.” The drone buzzed to life and streaked out the door. Juliet grabbed the injured man’s foot and dragged him into the room. Another moan escaped him, informing her of his not-yet-deceased status, and she turned him onto his side. His helmet covered his data port, so she snatched her vibroblade and slashed the straps, nicking him in the process, but he didn’t seem to notice. She yanked his helmet off, revealing a thick head of ginger-blond hair, a short, well-trimmed beard, and bloodshot, glassy blue eyes that rolled back in his head as he gasped and sputtered for breath, blood flecking his lips.

Juliet had set her shotgun on the foot of the bed amid a thick layer of wood splinters, and she glanced at it as she asked, “Anything, Angel?”

“Not yet. There are several calls out to emergency services, but their public response page indicates a backlog.”

“Okay.” Juliet yanked her data cable out, shoved it into the man’s data port, and said, “Tell me what you can find out.”

“Dealing with ICE—it’s an older model PAI, and the data port doesn’t have any coprocessing; I’m brute forcing it.” Juliet felt the back of her neck warm up slightly, and then Angel said, “In.”

“Sheesh, that new data port working out for you?”

“It’s quite robust! Hmm, it looks like this man has spent most of his extra bits on nanite upgrades. His vitals are very low, but the bugs are stopping his internal bleeding. They won’t be able to replace the damaged bone and organ tissue; he won’t be waking up anytime soon, but he will likely survive if given proper treatment soon.”

“Who is he?”

“He is an operator who specializes in bounty hunting. Let’s see . . . Yes, he has a B ranking on fugitive surveillance and apprehension. It seems he was hired by Rutger Tanaka. A moment, Juliet, I’m reviewing his correspondence and travel history, trying to piece together how he came to find you here.”

“Just download it all, then delete everything on that PAI that isn’t necessary to keep him alive.” Angel didn’t reply, but Juliet knew she’d speak up if she couldn’t do what she’d asked. While she worked, Juliet went through the merc’s pockets. She didn’t find anything of note—not surprising, considering everything was digital these days, from door locks to money to video and audio files. “Does he have a vehicle?”

“He walked here from his hotel. It’s only ten minutes away. I have his biometric data. You can remove the cable. I have everything.”

“Okay, let’s get out of here.” Juliet picked up her duffel, opened the zipper, and tossed her few unpacked belongings inside. She’d checked into the hotel under a false ID, so she wasn’t worried about that. Still, she put her new helmet on her head and said, “Make it black.” She watched in the chipped, dirty mirror above the dresser as the powder-blue, scarred-up helmet turned black, and the mirrored faceplate lost its sheen and darkened to match the enamel. She tossed her shotgun into the bag, then said, “Follow me with the drone.”

Juliet stepped over the unconscious mercenary, contemplated taking his shotgun, then decided it wasn’t worth the weight. She carried her already bulky duffel with her left hand, her right hand hovering near her pistol grip as she stretched her legs into long strides and hurried away from her hotel. Angel followed her with the drone, keeping tabs on the people she passed, watching to see if anyone pursued her. “Guide me to his hotel, but take a kind of roundabout path.”

“On it. While you walk, shall I fill you in on the bounty hunter?”

“Yeah.”

“His name is Ulric Barr, and he took a job from Tanaka on Luna. He was hired to follow Frida, keep tabs on her, and ‘clean up any messes she made.’ Studying his PAI’s location data, it seems he watched your meeting with Frida, at least from the outside; I don’t believe he had eyes or ears on the inside. When he saw you leave intact, he followed you back to your hotel. He’s been monitoring you ever since. It seems he never reached out to Tanaka to acquire new orders and decided to take matters into his own hands. I would speculate that he sought to earn favor with Tanaka by capturing or, perhaps, even killing you.”

“If he was sent to watch Frida, why would he think Tanaka wanted me? I didn’t kill Frida . . .”

“You did shoot her. Perhaps Ulric concluded that you won a physical confrontation by observing her injury as she left. Your pistol is not quiet.”

Juliet turned down a busy street, garnering a few looks in her dark helmet, lugging her heavy bag. No one followed her, though, and soon she was turning down another, less crowded sidewalk. “Send a message to Frida on an encrypted line. Wait, have you infiltrated her new PAI yet?”

“No, they haven’t set up new team comms. The three of them took two different transports back to Luna.”

“That’s . . . interesting.” Juliet saw her destination ahead: a red-stained concrete tower with a big, flashing green and orange neon sign announcing Jupiter Inn and Suites. It was a popular automated hotel chain in the Jovian system; she’d seen several in her time on Callisto. “You think that’s part of their standard operating procedures? Traveling separately?”

“Perhaps. In any case, I know her contact info from my connection to her team’s PAIs.”

“Okay, send the following: Frida, your boss hired a bounty hunter to keep tabs on you. He decided to try to capture me. Please tell your boss I’m tired of shooting his goons, and I’d appreciate it if he’d call off any other dogs he’s got sniffing around. Tell him it doesn’t lend to a warm, confident feeling about our upcoming meeting. I’m interested in an amicable settlement, but my plans can change if he’s going to keep coming after me.”

“Sent.”

“Is my palm ready?”

“Yes, you have Ulric’s print. His room is 413.”

Juliet reached out to grasp the hotel door’s handle, and it clicked when it read Ulric’s info, recognizing her as a current patron. She yanked the door open and hurried to the elevator. Inside, she thumbed the fourth-floor button and waited as it surged upward. “How much time do you think I have before Ulric comes back to his room?”

“At least a day, depending on when he’s taken to a trauma center. It’ll take time to repair the damage those rounds did to his organs. According to his nanites, his spinal cord was severed by your first shot.”

“Sheesh, good nanites.”

“Yes, his suite was even more robust than yours.”

The bell chimed, and the doors opened. Juliet looked out, cautiously peering up and down the empty, orange-carpeted hallway. “He was alone, right?” Juliet assumed Angel would have alerted her if he had a team on his comms or something.

“As far as I could tell. I didn’t find any correspondence that would indicate he was working with anyone. He has a girlfriend on Luna that he messages daily, as well as one in New Galveston.”

“Seriously, Mars?” Juliet turned to the left, following the room numbers toward the one she wanted.

“Yes, and the one on Luna is pregnant.”

“Oh, God, Angel! Did you have to tell me that?”

“Sorry . . .”

Juliet paused before the door to room 413. “Is he going to live?”

“I think so. Emergency services are still indicating a backlog, but his nanites had his bleeding under control, and his heart and lungs were still functional . . .”

“Did you leave a bug in his PAI?”

“Naturally.”

“Well, let me know if he gets . . .” Juliet shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut for a second. What was she doing? She couldn’t help him now. Was she feeling guilty? She didn’t blow down his door! She also didn’t finish him off like a lot of operators would have! “Never mind. I don’t want to know.” She gripped the doorknob, and it clicked unlocked. She switched her left hand to the knob, then drew her Texan, holding it ready as she pulled the door wide.

The doorway afforded a clear view of the entire room. She saw a big black backpack on the bed, food packages and wrappers on the little dinette table, and a pile of dirty laundry and towels near the open bathroom door. Juliet’s vision flickered as Angel scanned the room. Then, with a green flash, she announced, “All clear.” Juliet stepped in, turned to drag her duffel in from the hallway, and let the door swing closed. She moved to the bathroom door in three quick steps and cleared it, slicing the pie and holding her gun close to her body.

“Just making sure,” she said, popping open the cylinder on the Texan and replacing the two spent rounds. “All right,” she sighed, moving to the bed and approaching the black backpack. “Let me see what Mr. Barr was working with. Get Nick on comms, please.” While the connection beeped, she unzipped the pack and started unpacking her would-be captor or assassin’s belongings. She’d pulled out several athletic shirts and shorts, some underwear, socks, and a pair of training shoes when Nick finally answered.

“Lucky?”

“I’m gonna need to crash in the Lady until we’re ready to go.”

“Well, I’m fine, thank you. How are you feeling?”

“Seriously, Nick! Some merc just busted into my hotel room, and I had to shoot him.” While she spoke, she unzipped the bottom section of the big pack, revealing four black plastic cases that read V.E.G. in big white letters. “What’s this?”

“I believe that’s versatile explosive gel; probably what he used to blow your door.”

“What’s what? And did you say a merc busted into your room? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, but I’m kind of trying to lay low. I don’t want to get mixed up with some corpo-sec investigation or get my face plastered on the news vids.”

“Okay, head over to the hangar! You have permissions on the door.”

“All right, cool. I just wanted to make sure you were all right with it.” Juliet picked up one of the plastic boxes. It was about twice the size of her data deck, and when she opened it, she found a clear, rubbery gel inside. Clipped to the inside of the cover were a dozen shiny little objects that looked very much like thumbtacks. “This could come in handy.”

“What, now?”

“Nothing. Any word from Larry?”

“He was bitching about having to raise the bids. I have a feeling the client gave him a budget, and he’s trying to get something cheap so he can keep the difference.”

“Uh-huh,” Juliet said as she unpacked the three boxes of V.E.G. and brought them over to her duffel.

“Where are you?”

“In the merc’s hotel room.”

“You . . . went to his room?”

“Sure. Figured he wouldn’t be needing it, and no one knows to look for me here.” Juliet went over to the little fridge and pulled it open. “Oh, yes! He has beer.”

Nick snorted a quick laugh and said, “You’re awfully upbeat.”

“I am, aren’t I?” Juliet frowned and analyzed her feelings. Was she acting out of character? She didn’t think so; she was in a good mood because she’d gotten out of yet another close scrape unscathed. She’d learned the bounty hunter probably didn’t have backup coming, and she had a plan to go forward. She always felt a little high after a close call. Even when her rush used to come from fast cars instead of bullets, that’s what she’d been like. “It’s all good, Nick. I’m gonna snag this guy’s six-pack and head down to the hangar. Let me know when Larry seals the deal.”

“You got it.” Nick waved and cut the connection.

“You have two messages that came in while you were on that call.”

“Two?”

“One from Frida and one from Honey.”

“Frida got back to me already? Her ship must not be too far . . .”

“No, her passenger liner departed last night. Which message do you want to see first?”

Juliet took one of the beers from the fridge and pulled the tab; it was in a pouch, indicating its exceptionally low quality. Still, it was cold, and she was thirsty, so she sipped at the thick, foamy beverage and sat down at the dinette. “Well, let’s get Frida’s over with first.”

A window resolved on her AUI to show Frida with her orange hair, bright green eyes, and pale, freckled skin. She spoke quickly, nervously, and kept leaning forward as though to emphasize her earnestness, “Lucky, I’m so very sorry that happened. My boss definitely gave the order for all pursuit to fall back, but that particular operator was, apparently, not meant to be pursuing you, so he didn’t think he needed to warn him off. We all see how that panned out. I hope you won’t take this personally, and I hope you’ll still be willing to meet with my boss, with Rutger, when you return to Luna. I’m glad to hear you came out on top. If there’s anything I can do, please let me know.” She licked her lips a little nervously, then quickly added, “I swear I didn’t know about him, Lucky. I’m pissed about this too.”

“That’s the end,” Angel said as the window closed.

“Well, kind of what I expected. She sounded honest, but the whole thing makes me think Tanaka will require some serious scrutiny. If Frida’s his ‘right-hand’ woman, but he sends a merc to keep tabs on her, it kind of calls into question his loyalty, doesn’t it?”

“His loyalty, perhaps, or Frida’s. He may have reason to distrust her.”

“Hmm, yeah.” Juliet took another long, slow sip of the beer. It was tough to stomach, but she could tell it had a high alcohol content. “Well, let’s see how Honey reacted to my crazy message.”

Another window opened, and Juliet saw Honey’s face in front of a glass-paned window overlooking an expansive green lawn. She looked good. Her skin was practically glowing in the sunlight coming through the glass. That same light also hit her eyes just right, pulling out the gold and yellow bands in her pale brown irises. She smiled that big smile of hers and said, “Juliet! I’m using your real name ‘cause you sent me this on an encrypted line. I’m so, so, so sorry for being a flake the last few weeks when you were on Luna. I really did mean to get back to you and meet with you, but things kept coming up, and, oh shit! I’m just making excuses! I owe you better than that, sis! I . . . well, I’ve been dealing with a lot—PTSD, my shrink says. That and heartache and denial. It took a while for Temo’s death truly to sink in, J. That on top of what happened to Alexander . . . our kidnapping, everything. I was totally burying everything while we traveled back here, but it hit me like a ton of bricks when I finally realized we were safe.”

“Pause it.” Juliet took another drink of her beer and wiped at her eyes with her balled-up fist. “Dammit, Angel. I can’t be mad at her. I just want to give her a hug. I’m such a dummy! Of course, she didn’t have time to process everything! I was trying to have lunch and hang out like old times, but it will never be ‘old times’ with us again. There’s too much that’s happened.”

“I, too, feel sorry for her, Juliet, but think how much worse off she’d be without your help, without your friendship. You’ll get back to how things were; I really believe it.”

“I hope so.” Juliet thought about everything she’d been through in the last year, about how she’d been exposed to betrayal, violence, guilt, and a million other negative . . . things. Honey wasn’t like her. She’d taken what she thought would be a fun, light job of training and looking after a sort of rich kid prodigy. Instead, she’d been through hell and thought she was going to die before Juliet showed up. Of course, it would take time to process all that! “Okay, play it.”

“Anyway, that’s what my problem was. I’m feeling so much better, though. When you get back, let me know right away, okay? Oh! I might have some exciting news for you! Peter’s buying a place on Mars. Have you ever been? I was trying to think of a way we could spend some time together, and I had an idea—aren’t you guys working on getting that fighter ship up and running? What if I talked him into hiring you as an escort? Let me know what you think! Love you, sis!”

As the window closed, Juliet felt her cheeks stretched into a taut smile. “You were right, Angel.”

“About?”

“About me getting a ‘large mood boost’ from contacting Honey.”