Ghost In The Machine Ch 13

Author's Notes:

As usual, a huge "Thank you" for my faithful editor, bikoukumori. Well done!

I am sorry to inform you all that this chapter contains no sex whatsoever. I hope you'll manage.

#13: Drastic measures

Ever since we or, rather, Richard's assault programmers nuked Cat to hell, it was suspiciously quiet about her. No strange occurrences, no spontaneous incidents involving people going crazy online and most importantly, no attempts of Cat to contact me. Either the attack on her had been successful or she honored the promise she gave at gunpoint. Anyway, now that I needed to find her, it was almost impossible to get a hold of her. I had left the office and returned to my apartment in downtown L.A. The quiet helped me focus and, at least here, I was sure no one would interrupt me if another of my arousal spikes would hit me out of the blue. After a refreshing shower, which I ended with a quick ride on one of my toys, to be extra-relaxed, I sat at my desk and hammered out a game plan.

Apart from Richard and myself, I was aware of only two more people knew about Cat, namely the Squier boys. Maybe their interactions with it had led to any useful information. I knew I was grasping at straws here but a one in a million shot was better than no shot at all. Finding out Richard Squier Junior's cell number was easy enough and, a few moments later, he picked up the phone. With a pang of guilt I remembered that it had to be almost two am in Conneticut, MA, no time for business calls anymore. Whatever.

"Huh?"

"Richard Squier?"

"Yeah. And you are?" He sounded distracted but not sleepy. A lucky break for once.

"Violet Smith, Mindlink special operations. I work with your father..." I began.

A sensual moan interrupted me, followed by a noisy slurp.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" I snapped.

Some more noises, rather wet, some giggles, then his voice again.

"Yeah? I'm listening... hey Pete, wait a sec. I can't phone with your dick up my mouth, dude!"

I rolled my eyes. College boys, really.

"So, what is this about, Miss Smith?" he asked, before groaning in heat.

"Could I have your undivided attention for at least a few moments," I grumbled. "This is important! The fate of Mindlink might hinge on this."

"Meh, shop talk? You know what, call me up tomorrow. Good night, honey!" Amidst bouts of laughter, he clicked off the phone. I balled my free hand into a fist until my nails broke the skin. Arrogant little fucker! I didn't know if I was jealous or offended at his attitude. Parts of my body had perked up when they heard the obviously sex-related moises but my rage helped me quell any notions about pleasuring myself. At least for the time being.

Damn. One down, one to go. Of course I knew that Parker Squier had vanished off the grid but in today's globalized world, it was hard to really vanish without a trace. Even with a malicious AI ravaging our systems we had more than enough ways to find people if we wanted to, especially when they were using Mindlink tech. Opening the top drawer of my desk, I pulled out a thick binder containing Parker Squier's dossier. Lucky for me that I kept a copy here instead of Mindlink Central. Thanks to my investigation on Cat, the binder came complete with brainwave patterns. Feeding the chip containing them into my deck, I hacked together an automated search program and let it loose. Even if he would use a new deck, the brainwaves could be picked up, at least if you ran our proprietary system-level tracking software, stuff most people didn't know existed. If that came out, it would make the NSA surveillance affair of 2013 look like a mild breeze in comparison. I let the deck do its thing and went into my kitchen, fixing a small late-night snack.

When I returned to my desk with a piping hot bowl of insta-ramen, the screen was lit up in alarming red script. It seemed not only did I find a matching set of brainwave patterns but the user in question was online right now... and having a serious problem. It took me only a few heartbeats to exchange the food for my Mindlink cable and plug in.

***

Apart from a few job-related visits to the Mindlink systems, I had avoided jacking in for the last few months as much as possible. I wasn't quite sure if it was to keep Cat at bay or if I was genuinely afraid of having my brain toasted for good in another incident. To avoid giving Nero any advantage, I first cloaked my brainwave signature with a scrambler program which would make it nigh impossible to trace and identify me. It would be an ironic twist indeed if he could locate me as easily as I did Parker so I didn't want to take any chances. Then I dove headfirst into the 'Net.

Now that I was back in the wilds, running my high-spec combat deck, I realized how much I had missed it. Fully loaded with combat programs, ready for any surprise, or so I hoped, I blasted through the transatlantic connections and zeroed in to the system Parker Squier's brainwave was coming from. I checked my avatar's wrist, a small monitor was mirroring the output of the search algorithm. By the data I got, Parker was in massive pain and feared for his life. Squeezing the last bit of acceleration out of my movement routines, I barrelled into the Berlin cluster at ludicrous speed. I stopped my headlong rush for a few nanoseconds to get my bearings. The area around me looked like a suburban residential zone, most systems around here flickered in the rather dull but dense glow of low-powered PCs and small servers, hardly matching the highly stylized and sculpted neon skyline of downtown. And then I spotted it, a system brighter than anything else around it. And I also saw tell-tales strobes of angry, angular electricity pulsing around it. I accelerated towards it, landing on fine gravel surrounding some kind of Japanese structure. The outside looked as if it had been hit by a Hellfire missile, almost half of it missing. But before I could enter the node, I heard the deep rumble of large, angry animals then the rapid patter of paws on gravel. Panting and growling they rushed me, four red-and-black killer programs, monstrous quadrupeds somewhere between a Rottweiler and a draft horse. I fired off my levitation systems and arced over them, pulling my code gun from its sheath. Landing gracefully behind them, I pumped the first one of them full of hostile code. All four of them snarled in unison and turned to face me, including the one I just blasted. It's neon-red armor flickered unsteadily in a dozen places, but it didn't look damaged.

"This is your only chance to leave in one piece," the combat programs growled. From behind me, I heard the shrill shriek of a female in agony. I raised my gun again and loosened a broad swath of death, hitting every program in front of me a dozen times. Again, nothing happened.

"This Mindlink attack protocol doesn't work on us. You have been warned," the things barked then they leaped, jaws open, static-riddled teeth flaring.

With a start, I recognized Nero's voice. What the hell was he doing here? In response to my stress levels, my panic systems kicked in. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as my deck turbocharged my avatar. I cartwheeled out of the way of the first two killer programs and booted up a little something I had bought two days after I left the neuro clinic, as an insurance against Cat. With a metallic scraping, a disc-shaped proximity mine slid between the monstrous combat programs, beeped twice, then detonated, tearing them to pieces. I felt my avatar grin wildly. The black market had delivered once again and, by the feebly twitching remains, this time the attack had worked. So I stashed my Mindlink attack program and fired up another one. Compared to the sleek and elegant combat rifle I wielded earlier, it looked archaic and blocky, like Judge Dredd's oversized Lawgiver pistol, but it was the only other non-Mindlink piece of software I had. Leaving the smoking remains of the first four killer programs behind, I entered the system.

The inside of the node looked like an ancient Japanese bedroom in shambles. Sliding doors had been torn apart, the futon was a shredded mess and digital blood was generously spattered all over the floor and walls. A naked male, barely visible under three more hulking attack dog programs, feebly twitched, his breath coming in sharp, ragged blasts. No wonder, one of the things had him by the ankle and the other one was happily crushing his wrist while the third held him pinned to the floorboards by its sheer weight. Three more had a naked female cornered. Her body was criss-crossed by bite marks and scratches, and she cupped her sex with both hands, which seemed to be bleeding furiously. All six of them were speaking at once.

"I finally found you, Parker Squier. Next time, you should disconnect your 'Net connection when you're having fun with your programs. You'll never know who might come looking. But I am afraid, when I'm done with you, there will be no next-".

I pulled the trigger and shot the one sitting on the chest of Parker's avatar straight between the eyes with satisfying results. The dog-like visage with its compound eyes and sparking teeth detonated, leaving the thing headless for a moment before it dispersed in a red and black pixel cloud.

"Aw, shut up," I hissed, blasting at the others. They were surprised for barely a second but that was enough time for me to kill another one and wound a second. They even leaped off Parker's avatar. Despite his injuries, he rolled aside, picked up a discarded code gun and fired as well. Nero clearly didn't expect a surprise rescuer, as his programs acted far from coordinated. I took a nasty scratch to the face from one of their claws and Parker nearly lost his hand to another attack on his wrists but after a few hectic moments, it was only him, me and the bleeding girl in the corner. Panting, he looked up at me and his jaw dropped.

"You?" Disbelief, shock, then barely controlled anger. All of that in just one single word.

"You're welcome," I sweetly purred. My heart hammered inside my chest and I felt more alive than in months. Saluting with my gun, I grinned at him.

"What... how... why," he stammered, his anger replaced by confusion. I really couldn't blame him. After all, it was me who told him that he was the one who led us to Cat. Maybe he thought I was the one who drove him into hiding. I felt that a bit of de-escalation was called for here.

"How about this? You take care of your girlfriend there then we'll meet outside for a quick chat. I need to talk to you. After you've heard me out, you are free to kick my ass, okay?" Bending down, I tossed him a pair of army fatigues which I presumed were his. "See ya." Then I left the system. While he sorted himself out, I prepared a nasty surprise for anything Nero might send our way.

***

"Violet Smith, of all people," Parker sighed as he joined me. I finished laying down the last of the landmines and rose to face him.

"How is your girlfriend?" I asked him instead of an explanation.

"My girl-... no, wait. Hibiko isn't my girlfriend. She's a program, sort of. And these things hurt her really bad."

"Need a repair program?"

I clearly could see his conflicted emotions flitting over his face. I tossed him a virtual first-aid kit.

"Come on, take it. It won't bite and neither will I. Actually, when you're done, I could use your help."

He gave a bitter, little laugh then he turned and went back into the node. I watched him kneel down next to the injured girl, prying her hands off her ravaged sex. He placed the repair program over her mound and activated it. With a faint blue glow, her avatar was repaired and I blinked in confusion. Why was she growing a dick? Yes, there was no mistaking it. Jutting from her clean-shaven mound was a sizeable penis. The last of the blood disappeared from her body then this Hibiko hugged Parker and smothered his face with kisses. Some kind of sex program? Maybe an avatar of Cat? This was getting more and more interesting by the minute. He extricated himself from her embrace, bent down, placed a tender kiss on her member and rose, blushing furiously as our eyes met. Hibiko left the node through a newly-materialzed door then Parker was at my side.

"You know, if you wanted some virtual sex toys, you could've asked," I smirked.

Parker scowled at me. "Don't tell me Father sent you. He can suck my dick, for all I care," he snarled.

"No, he didn't send me at all. But it has to do with him. You know about Nero, don't you?"

"Obviously. These things were sent by him."

"What exactly do you know," I prodded.

"Why should I tell you? It this your next step up in the corporate pecking order?"

His attitude annoyed me. I flicked a virtual blond lock behind my ear and counted the reasons off on my fingers.

"First, how about a little gratitude? From where I was standing, it looked like you were fucking done for. Then there's the small fact that there is a murderous intelligence out there which not only likes to melt people's brains but loves to play 'press the button and see shit burn.' Even if you hate your father with every fiber of your being, the information you might have could help us stop him. Or is he a friend of yours too," I hissed, indicating the door this Hibiko program went through. Softer, I added, "And Nero is holding your father hostage."

Despite himself, Parker cocked an eyebrow. "How?"

"Last time I saw him, Richard was still plugged into his deck and, going by what Nero said, his mind is still in the 'Net, under Nero's control."

"What could he want with him," he asked, much of his bluster gone.

"Search me. Passcodes, information, maybe he thinks Richard knows something about Cat."

"Well, the last time I met Nero, he was happily torturing Mindlink employees, asking them about Cat."

Now it was my turn to raise an investigative eyebrow.

"You met him? How? Where?"

"When I was in Mindlink Central, trying to steal a couple hundred grand, five days ago." He took a deep breath. "What exactly do you want from me, Miss Smith?"

"It's really quite simple, Parker. I want to you to help me find Cat and convince her to kill Nero. And please, call me Violet."