Code Breakers Complete Series: Books 1-4 (129 page)

When his body collapsed to the ground, he heard the screams.

Chapter 21

Petal dashed back away from Endymion’s flailing limbs. His body jerked and stiffened before collapsing against the wall. His eyes dimmed and his jaw hung loose. The same happened to the two trackers.
 

“Shit on a stick, what did he do?” Holly said, aiming the rifle at the trackers attached to the server via their neck ports. Galvin stood aside from them, watching on with horror.
 

Petal rushed to Gerry. She gripped the cable and was about to pull it from his neck when he grabbed her wrist.

— Not yet,
he said.
 

— What’s going on?

— I’m sending you some data. Think you can cope?

— I’ll try.

Petal fell back with the force of the data burst and had to throttle her systems to prevent herself from blacking out. There was no way to tell Gerry to slow down; she could tell he was locked up, working as a data conduit for the server.
 

She was unable to inspect the data as it filled her memory. It’d be like dipping a toe into a white-water river. She’d be dragged away and drowned, so she just shut her eyes and concentrated on filtering the data into her memory. When her internal systems were nearly at full capacity, she shut off the flow.
 

She collapsed to the floor, clutching her skull, the pain pounding through every nerve.

“Gerry, stop!” Holly screamed, catching on to what was happening. Petal reached out a hand to Gerry, but it flopped uselessly on the floor. The pain was still coming, Gerry’s connection threatening to overwhelm her.
 

Through one eye, Petal watched with blurry vision as Holly reached down and pulled the cable from Gerry’s neck port. The flow of data stopped, like the pressure of a river against a dam receding and sinking away into the earth.
 

Holly knelt beside Petal. “Oh my god, Petal, are you okay? What happened? You’re bleeding.”

Groaning with the agony of movement, Petal rolled over to her side and touched a finger to her upper lip. Her nose was indeed bleeding. Still, she’d experienced worse. At least smoke wasn’t coming out of her ears.
 

She tried to stand and nearly fell over. Holly propped her up on one side. Galvin rushed in and helped from the other side. Using them for support, Petal took a few deep breaths and waited for her heart to stop trying to launch itself out of her chest.
 

The adrenaline ceased filling her veins, and she yawned with the sudden fatigue.
 

“Petal… are you…”

Gerry slumped forward. Sweat dripped from his wet hair, making his face glossy and pale in the white light. His eyes looked shrunken, and deep bruising covered his sockets. He reached out for her.
 

On unsteady legs, Petal stepped forward and pulled Gerry to his feet. They hugged, using each other for support. Whispering into her ear, Gerry said, “I’m sorry, I couldn’t stop it once it started. There was so much data… more than I could control. Are you all right?”

“I think so,” Petal said, clinging to Gerry. Over his shoulder she watched as the three others connected to the server stopped moving altogether. “What did you do?”

Gerry gave her a squeeze and stepped back to look at his handiwork.
 

“Just a little taste of their own game,” he said. “Listen, we need to leave. I saw what the viroborg is after. We’ve got to stop him; otherwise it’s all over—for everyone. The data I sent you: it’s all in there. And… other stuff. I’ll explain later.”

Holly overheard and stepped closer, patting Gerry on the shoulder. “That was some impressive shit,” she said, pointing to the three still bodies. “I heard so many things about you.”

“And you thought it was all bullshit?” Gerry said with a smile.
 

“Yeah, kinda, though I still haven’t seen you turn into the devil, so I guess some of it still is.”
 

“He’s no devil,” Petal said, running her fingers through his hair.
 

“Yeah, maybe save the sexy times for later,” Holly said. “Don’t we have an archive to bust open?”

“Yes,” Galvin said. “And your friend here needs attention.” He stood over Jachz, holding the chest strap, now thankfully switched off.
 

Jachz sat up slowly and shook his head. “That was… exceedingly painful,” he said. “How do you humans cope with pain?”

“We don’t, not always,” Holly said. “What the hell happened to you, anyway?”

Jachz filled them in on his escape and concluded how similar his approach was to Gerry’s, pointing to Endymion and the two trackers. Petal detected a hint of friction between Gerry and Jachz. She’d ask him about that later before it became a problem.
 

“So, are we going to get to the archive and switch off the defence system?” Gal asked, waiting expectantly by a door panel that was almost invisible by the side of the server. He pushed at it and nothing happened. Turning back to Gerry, he raised an eyebrow. “Did you not find the security program?” he asked.
 

Gerry stepped forward over the prone bodies. “Oh, I did. I found out everything about this precious archive of yours. Would you like to be the first in?”
 

“Um, sure,” Gal said. “How does it open?”

“You just say—abracadabra.”

Petal was about to laugh when the door panel slid open seemingly at Gerry’s command. Beyond the door lay a small room half the size of the one they were currently in. Two bodies lay on the floor, hand in hand. Between their bodies stood a clear square column about a metre high, inside of which lay a single piece of paper suspended by wire.

Everyone stepped inside, careful not to disturb the bodies or the column.
 

“What is this?” Gal said, his arms wide. “Where’s the data vault?” His eyes grew wide with panic, and he stepped around the room, tracing his hands across the wall tiles looking for something else.
 

“There is no data vault,” Gerry said. “It was a myth. All there is… is this.” He stepped over the first body and reached into the column, releasing the wires holding the paper. He pulled the sheet out and handed it to Petal.
 

Printed upon its surface were a series of 256-bit encryption keys.
 

“Who are these poor bastards?” Holly said, pointing to the bodies.
 

Gerry smiled but said nothing. Jachz kneeled down and looked closer. Even though the flesh was rotting, he still recognised them. Petal could tell from the surprise in his eyes when he looked up at Gerry. “It’s Amma and Nolan,” he said. “How?”
 

“Wait, what? Your parents?” Petal said, trying to understand. “I thought they were on Mars?”

“They were,” Jachz said. “I saw them just prior to my leaving. How can this be?”
 

Holly shook her head, unable to take it all in. “This place is fucked up.”

“So where’s the data vault?” Gal said, still looking for something.
 

“I told you, Gal, there is no vault. Not here anyway,” Gerry said. “And as for my parents, think about it. If they’re here and up on Mars, and they’re not AIs or cyborgs, then what are they?”

“Clones,” Petal said, thinking of herself, her sisters, Elliot and James Robertson. She now understood what Endymion meant when he said they were all related to the Family.
 

“Yeah, clones,” Gerry confirmed. “The first ones. How do you think they brought me back to life when they first took me up to the station? I thought it was my original body that they had upgraded. Over time I noticed small differences, but not enough to realise it was a clone. Also, how do you think Enna got the tech to bring me back into this body?”

“That was me,” Jachz said. “I stole the information from the Family, but it had never been done before.”

“Oh really?” Gerry asked. “And what makes you think that?”

Jachz had no answer. He dropped his shoulders and stared at the bodies by his feet. Petal could tell he had assumed and got it wrong, and now his AI brain was trying to cope with failure and the idea that he had done something all too human.

“I saw the data in the server,” Gerry said. “The experiments, the failures.” He turned to Galvin. “Have you wondered why your people are the way they are?”

“It’s the illness, the disease of this land.”

“No,” Gerry said. “You’re clones gone wrong, bred with bad DNA.”

“It can’t be,” Galvin said, staring at his hands. He fell back against the wall, slumping his head against his chest. Mumbling over and over that it can’t be right.
 

“So what’s this?” Petal said, referring to the sheet of paper.
 

“Our ticket out of here and the key to stopping the viroborg.”

—
They’re the top-level launch/abort codes for the facilities’ nukes,
Gerry sent.
 

—
And the bodies?

—
Amma and Nolan’s first clones. The data is all in your memory.
 

—
This is crazy.

—
It’s the Family.

Gerry approached Galvin. “I’m sorry, Gal, but there’ll be no more games or bargains. We’re leaving. I’m afraid we won’t need your services anymore. I suggest you return to whatever family you have and live out the rest of your life in peace.”

Gal didn’t seem to hear. He just mumbled, “It can’t be,” over and over.
 

“Come on,” Gerry said to everyone else. “I’m sick of this place, and we have no time to spare. I know where the viroborg is, and we’ll need to hurry.”

“Where do we go from here?” Holly said.
 

Gerry smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ve got a map.” He tapped the side of his head and led them out of the so-called vault. Petal folded the paper and placed it safely into an interior pocket of her jacket.
 

With Gerry by Petal’s side, he led them out of the labyrinth. By the time they came outside into the jungle clearing, it was approaching 05:00. Another couple of hours and the sun would be up. Petal stifled a yawn at the thought of all the hours they’d been up and ignored the feelings of tiredness in her bones.

She knew it to be psychosomatic. Her full memory making her brain feel sluggish. But with the truth exposed and the codes in hand, she at least felt more confident about getting Jess back.
 

“We need to head east of here,” Gerry said, pointing into the thick darkness of the trees. The silvery moon and starlight turned the scene to monochrome.

“What about all them?” Jachz said, pointing to the hundred or so mutant clones gathering around their filthy shacks.
 

“We leave them be,” Gerry said. “They won’t cause us any problems now Endymion’s gone.” Gerry stopped, drawing up short. “But wait, they can help with something, Jachz. A job for you. Try to get the rest of our supplies from them. We’ll need the other two rifles, pistols and ammo packs.”

“Okay,” Jachz said after a pause. Petal sensed there was something going on with him but couldn’t quite place it. Perhaps the electro-stun treatment had fried some of his processors…
 

“Petal, Holly, can you wait for me here for a moment. I just need to do something,” Gerry said.

“Wait,” Petal said. “Where you going?”

“I’ll be five minutes, I promise. I just need to go thank someone.”

Petal understood as Gerry dashed across the dark clearing to the bunker, grabbing a flashlight from one of the clones as he passed by. It must have been Chaos, the old dude, who gave Gerry the access code.

While Gerry was dealing with that, Petal helped Holly check over their weapons. Jachz eventually returned with the other firearms and the ammo. “Where’s Gerry?” Jachz asked.
 

“Tying up a loose end,” Petal replied. “Listen, Jachz, dude, what the fuck’s up? You’re being strange.”

“Oh, am I? I didn’t realise. I’m sorry.”

“What happened in there? With those two people in the terminal room.”

Jachz stared at her, his face not betraying any emotion. Seems his AI had learned not just to feel, but to also hide those feelings. “They were going to torture me, strip me for parts,” he said. “I guess I’ve learned the power of self-preservation.”
 

“Are you still good to finish this mission? Can we rely on you if it comes to it?” Holly said, clearly picking up on his change too.
 

“You can,” he said. “I want to stop the viroborg as much as you do. I didn’t escape the Family to have my life extinguished so soon after arriving. And well, I feel responsible. I want to fix this.”

“Good to hear it,” Petal said.
 

Jachz nodded and turned to attend to the backpacks of supplies.
 

Holly leaned in and whispered, “Do you trust him?”

“Not one bit.”

“Me neither.”

“I’ll keep an eye on him. Don’t worry.”

Jachz looked over his shoulder and locked eyes with Petal for a brief second before turning back to organising his pack. Petal thought about putting a bullet in his brain right here right now, but then she’d be no different than the Family. He’d been nothing but helpful throughout this ordeal, she couldn’t just go around killing people—or AIs—on suspicion alone… could she?

Chapter 22

Gerry switched on the flashlight and entered the bunker. Rats scurried away into the shadows as though the beam were lethal. Tracing his earlier steps, he found the old man, Chaos, still huddled in the corner.
 

“You’re back,” he croaked.
 

Gerry shifted the flashlight to the side to avoid blinding him. His eyes were milky white with untreated cataracts. “I’m back.”

“What do you want now?”
 

“Answers.”

“You have them all,” he said. “I gave you the code. That you’re here now tells me you survived and dealt with Endymion. Did you find what he was looking for? The vault?”

“The vault was a lie, but you knew that, didn’t you?” Gerry said, kneeling down to the old man’s level. “And so is your name.”