Rebecca woke up in a hospital bed in a sterile-clean room. White. Curtains surrounded her bed. Rhythmic beeping. Her body was stiff but relatively painless due to the morphine fed through an IV drip plugged into her wrist. She had a bandage wrapped around her forehead that covered her right eye. The attempt to move her right arm was met with the rattle of handcuffs that chained her to the bed.
Rebecca flinched as the crushing sensation of the blast wave replayed in her mind. She touched at the bandage just beneath her left collarbone. She had another on her left forearm, and a larger one wrapped around her abdomen.
Fuck… she thought.
The nurses came and went, and once Bec was fully conscious and deemed to be stable a doctor visited her to report on her injuries, which were drastic but not beyond the scope of modern medicine to repair. Given time they could even remove the scars, assuming Rebecca cared enough to put aside that kind of money.
The doctor leafed through her medical file. ‘You took quite a bit of shrapnel from the blast, mostly to your upper back, but we were able to mend it fully. The bruising will take time to heal. You sustained some minor burns and significant scarring, especially to the right side of your face – with the proper surgery that can be reduced. We were also able to mend the damage to your inner ear so eventually your hearing will return to normal.’
A few hours later a nurse stepped into the room followed by a man—who looked like a cop. The man more a leather jacket, his hair was thick but greying and he carried a manila folder in his hands. The pace of Rebecca’s heartrate-monitor increased ever so slightly. The nurse left the two of them alone.
‘Rebecca Marshall,’ he announced. ‘Glad to see you’re still with us. You’ve saved me some paperwork.’
He stood at the end of Rebecca’s bed. She said nothing, but stared at him.
‘My name is Agent Hughes,’ he went on. ‘I work for ASIS. We’re helping the Global Cyber Security Division with a case—’
‘Why am I in handcuffs?’
Agent Hughes looked at Rebecca’s damaged hands with somewhat condescending eyes. Bec couldn’t imagine how she appeared to him. He had the look of a man who just drew the short straw, who had the bad luck of having to deal with a piece of street trash like her.
Hughes cleared his throat. ‘I’ve been sent here to place you under arrest.’
Bec tried to sit up but the pain was like a heavy weight on her body. She did her best not to let it show.
‘On what charges?’ she demanded.
Hughes flicked open the file and began to read, mumbling as he skipped over her previous offenses.
‘Theft, vandalism, resisting arrest, possession of illegal software…’ He looked up. ‘You dropped off the map for five years, buried yourself pretty deep underground but not deep enough.’ Then he kept reading. ‘We’ve got you on charges of organised crime…’
Bec shook her head. ‘That’s impossible.’
‘Four counts of major theft, one count of sabotage…’ He paused. ‘It says here you hacked into a Nexus Store display system and uploaded porn videos to each of the screens. Jesus Christ kid.’ He shook his head and continued. ‘And finally, two counts of cyber-terrorism and a suspicion of your involvement in the development of weaponised artificial intelligence.’ He closed the file. ‘Now, personally I think you deserve to go to jail for a very long time, but I’ve been instructed to inform you than an immunity deal is on the table, some hotshot captain at the GCSD thinks you might be useful to them.’ He turned towards the door. ‘Something to consider. Have a nice day.’
‘Wait!’ Bec flinched as she tried to sit up again. ‘The explosion…’
‘We have nothing conclusive but we suspect that your employers at Nexus Rogue figured out that Zephyr was an informant for the GCSD.’
Suddenly it all made sense, and Rebecca became cold.
‘Zef…’ she whispered.
‘Zephyr and a few of his associates in the Syndicate were working on disabling some of NR’s operations. We were lucky to receive his final report before he died.’
‘Lucky?’ Bec snapped, the anger bubbling up inside her. ‘Zef was my friend!’
‘Yeah, well, my condolences.’ Hughes once again made for the door and then stopped. ‘Oh, if it makes you feel any better I was also told to tell you that your friend Vex is alive. Have a good day.’
The interrogation room was deathly silent. They had taken Rebecca to the police station as soon as she was fit enough to walk and now she sat at a table, a police officer stood in the corner behind her, the file bearing her criminal record deliberately left there on the table. She tapped her finger impatiently, staring at the manila folder and wondering if Zef truly did betray her, and how she was going to get out of this mess.
She glanced at the one-way mirror on the wall and realised just how miserable she looked. Her clothes had been all but destroyed in the blast so the police provided her with a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a grey hoodie. Her cuts had healed quickly and cleanly though blotches of purple bruising still marred her pale skin, especially around her eyes where the anger still showed, purple like the colour of her scruffy undercut. Bec still picked out bits of debris when she ran her fingers through her hair.
For an instant the heat of the blast washed over her once again, the terrible thump of the shockwave hurling her over the bar, the glass slicing into her skin. She blinked the image away and turned to observe the empty chair across from her.
There was a heavy click as the door unlocked and a man stepped through, tall and blonde, and neat, he wore his gun holstered on his hip and a brown jacket over an open-neck shirt. Rebecca noticed the military posture, the stillness of his face and his firm jaw. He carried two paper cups in his hands.
‘I brought you a coffee,’ he said, setting the drink down in front of Bec. In the same motion he opened the files and scanned through them, making a note of the pictures taken after the bomb blast. In one of the photos Rebecca caught a glimpse of Zephyr’s mangled body and quickly looked away. The man noticed this.
He sat down and looked at Rebecca in silence, noticing at the tension in her lips and the way she deliberately met his eyes with hers, but also how she wrapped her hands around the warm paper coffee cup.
‘My name is Connor,’ he said.
Rebecca sipped at her coffee without breaking eye-contact.
‘I’m part of the task-force investigating Nexus Rogue,’ he went on. ‘I was told you and Zephyr were friends. I didn’t know him well but know he was a good man.’
Rebecca flinched, barely noticeable but Connor picked it up. He moved on, sliding Rebecca’s file towards himself but leaving the crime-scene photos where they were.
‘An impressive resume.’ He looked up, a discreet half-smile to help break the tension. ‘You’re a talented girl. A skill-set like this would be a valuable asset to our team, not to mention the inside knowledge you have on Nexus Rogue and their associates. But I guess that’s why the captain chose you.’
When Rebecca spoke, her voice was flat and cold, ‘What are you proposing?’
Connor leaned forwards and folded his hands on the table. ‘I’ve been sent to offer you a deal, Rebecca. Immunity – for all known crimes committed by you prior to the twenty-ninth of October twenty thirty-two.’
‘In exchange?’
‘Your services. You will undergo military training and then be assigned to our team, under direct supervision of Captain Kelly Jade of the GCSD.’
Rebecca remained unconvinced.
‘There’s more to this.’
‘You’re right,’ said Connor. ‘In order for all this to be viable we need a signed confession from you for all crimes that you’ve been accused of, in particular your involvement with Nexus Rogue on the development of highly dangerous weaponised AI.’
‘That was just another job,’ Bec assured him. ‘All I did was write code.’
‘But you were aware of their intentions, you had a direct role in the development of this technology.’
‘I was employed by the Syndicate, they were partnered with Nexus Rogue and they assigned me the job.’
‘But you were aware.’ Connor’s voice became firm. He paused for a moment. ‘It doesn’t matter now. Sign the confession, accept the captain’s offer. You can think of it as just another job, if you like.’ He waited but Rebecca gave no response. She thought his next words carried a hint of malice. ‘I don’t need to tell you what the alternative is.’
Rebecca clenched her jaw and breathed slowly through her nose.
‘If I accept, I’ll be making enemies of both Nexus Rogue and the Syndicate.’
‘From their point of view, you’re already compromised,’ Connor assured her.
‘What are the conditions of my association with the GCSD?’
‘The terms of the immunity agreement will state that any violation of the conditions will be considered an act of misbehaviour and the agreement will be cancelled. While working for the GSCD you’ll have to follow all of Captain Jade’s orders to the letter, no exceptions. Under no circumstances will you be allowed to leave headquarters or the mission zone unsupervised unless under direct orders from Captain Jade. Under no circumstances will you be allowed to contact anyone other than the members of the task force unless it is under direct orders from Captain Jade.’
‘That all?’ Bec asked ironically.
Connor shrugged. ‘That’s pretty much the gist of it.’ He glanced at the one-way mirror. ‘I’ll give you a moment to think it over.’
‘No.’
The only member of the Syndicate who Bec carried any loyalty towards was Zef, and now he was dead and she was pissed.
‘Bring me the documents,’ she said, a tremor in her voice, barely distinguishable but she felt it there. Had she meant to say that? She wasn’t sure but the words were out there now. She wasn’t usually one for impulse decisions, always priding herself on being calculated, certain, decisive. She figured she’d probably live to regret those words, but for now, she thought, screw it. With a little more clarity, she looked at Connor and said, ‘I’ll sign the agreement.’
Connor pulled onto the freeway. He hadn’t spoken much since he escorted Rebecca from the police station and told her they were going to meet with the captain. The highway cut straight through the city, in the mid-afternoon the gentle glow already began to emanate from beneath the overpass, while streaks of orange reflected from buildings that soared into a purple sky.
Rebecca stared out the window and listened to the mellow techno music that played on the radio of Connor’s rental car. She changed the station to something a little heavier, a band that she liked, but Connor immediately switched it back.
‘Don’t do that,’ he said, without looking at her.
Rebecca glanced at the GPS route projected on the dash.
‘Take this exit, right there,’ she advised Connor. ‘It’s quicker.’
On the street now, a ghostly air permeated this part of the city, the streets that people never talk about, the place that raised Rebecca. It was as if they were delving into the depths of the city, echoes from the upper levels reverberated down the supports, whispering to the pedestrians below. They passed a burger shop, white steam bellowed from the window into the cool evening air. Next to it was a half-filled carpark where someone had spray-painted an image of a man in a SWAT uniform guarding a trashcan full of bionic limbs, and a message: FREE US.
They reached the park as the sun was beginning to set. With the buried streets far behind them the landscape of the park was luscious, and quite frankly, beautiful. Rebecca hadn’t been here since she was a kid, and that felt like so god damn long ago. Connor turned off the ignition and hopped out of the car. Rebecca followed him across the lawn until they were overlooking the river and its golden sunlight reflection. On a park bench facing away from them sat a woman with red hair.
She stood up and turned around, standing lean and tall with that distinct military posture, wearing a canvas jacket and cargo pants. She was pretty, but a certain gravity showed in her commanding hazel eyes. She offered no polite greeting, no handshake.
‘So, you’re her,’ she said. An American accent. ‘You’re Rebecca.’
Bec took a few slow steps forward. She kept her hands in the front pockets of her hoodie.
‘I take it you’re Kelly Jade.’
‘Captain Kelly Jade. As of this moment you will address me as your superior officer, is that clear?’
‘Of course, ma’am.’
Kelly chose to ignore the sarcasm Bec used in the word ma’am.
‘Whether you like it or not we’re part of a team now,’ Kelly went on. ‘You’ve already met Connor,’ she glanced at him, quietly standing a few meters behind Rebecca. ‘The others you’ll meet after your training. I care very deeply about those under my command. The success of the mission depends on the strength of the team as a whole.’
‘Well, that’s very heart-warming,’ said Bec, a coldness in her voice. ‘You really expect us to be friends?’
‘I expect you to follow orders. Think of it as another job.’ Kelly paused and her voice softened. ‘I’m sorry to hear about Zephyr.’
Bec had quickly grown tired of hearing that.
‘So what? I guess you knew him too, huh?’
‘I did.’
Kelly turned and stared at the river, the reflection had shifted to a burning purple. Bec walked forward and stood next to her.
‘Zephyr is the reason you’re here,’ Kelly said. ‘He wanted permission to talk to you about the operation, he believed he could persuade you to work with us but we weren’t willing to take the chance. Maybe it’s for the best.’
The image of smoke and shattered glass flashed in Bec’s mind once again and she shook it away.
‘Maybe,’ she agreed.
Kelly turned towards her. ‘I need to know that you’re serious about joining the task force.’
Bec shrugged. ‘I signed the agreement, didn’t I?’
‘I need to hear you say it.’ Kelly eyes penetrated straight through her. They were eyes that would know if she were lying.
Rebecca hesitated. She knew what she wanted but didn’t know how to say it. She had always been a realist, a reasonable person who treated life like a computer code. But what she wanted now didn’t make sense. What value could she place on vengeance? What did she really stand to gain?
‘Those bastards killed Zef,’ she finally said, her anger dulled by cold determination. ‘And they fucked up my life.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I’m in, all the way.’
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