“We can’t stay here long. I wouldn’t want the likes of these assholes to get a hold of anything here, let alone us!” Nami said.
“Well put, Nams. But how are we supposed to get out of here? We’re completely surrounded and it doesn’t look like they’re going anywhere any time soon,” Hitomi asked.
“Then we wait. We’ll wait for our chance to make a break for it. I did drive here, after all. And you guys are pretty familiar with Caide’s systems here. I’m sure he’s put surveillance cameras in damn near every advantageous spot in and around this place. Can you guys check those feeds and see what’s going on?” Vantz said.
“You’re pretty damn smart yourself. That’s a good idea, let’s check it out,” Hitomi said, impressed with Vantz’s quick thinking.
“Xandra, please bring all security feeds to the main screen. Run a simulation on the best course of escape using Vantz’s car from here, based on the position of the enemy coordinates,” Hitomi commanded.
“Very well, Hitomi. Commencing now,” Xandra replied. There were dozens of holo-screens brought to the forefront and placed in organized rows, allowing the three of them to see every position of every enemy.
“System converting outdoor holo-image security protocol into calculated simulation to determine best course of escape,” Xandra replied.
“Holo-image security protocol? What is that?” Nami asked.
“H-I-S-P utilizes a complex system of holographic projections installed throughout the immediate environment and outside of Home-base to create realistic images of people. Systems can be used to effectively draw intruder’s forces away from Home-base. System was created by primary creator of Home-base,” Xandra explained.
“That freaking brother of mine! What a damn sly dog! Hey, Xandra? Did he install any other protective measures here? Like maybe a weapons system or something that we can use in conjunction with the HISP program?” Vantz asked.
“Hidden turrets have been strategically placed around the premises,” Xandra replied.
“Looks like we have a shot,” Vantz said optimistically.
I’m not surprised he and Caide get along so well, Nami thought. Hitomi understood her sister’s thoughts and nodded in agreement. The Eye of Rune ability allowed them to sync on a telepathic level.
“Okay, girls. It’s been close to twelve minutes since those goons got here and they’ve fanned out significantly. Most their forces have gone a few hundred meters east of the property. If all goes well, we won’t even need to use the security programs. We can just wait till they leave the area and head in the opposite direction, away from Darkside. Let’s just remain hopeful. I hope this place has food. We may be here for a while,” Vantz said.
“Yeah. I guess you’re right,” Nami replied.
CHAPTER 39
---usr/systems/server-x/WINDOWFALL---
It was a quarter past ten in the evening and Rez was sitting at the desk in his room on the seventeenth floor at the The Rowe Hotel. What is up with all this shitty rain over the past few days? Rez angrily asked himself as he looked out of the window, NOVO Lenses active and glowing. He was scanning Zonos Tower and accessing Zonos’s databases.
The rain began to slow, before it let up completely. Rez turned from the window and made his way to the bed. On the bed were weapons and tools, all ready for the infiltration; the black fabric chameleo-ware body suit, and a variety of different magazines for his gunblade, including regular, hollow tip, explosive, smoke, powerpulse, and shock rounds. He’d snagged an E-Grap from a guard he took down at the construction site. He placed his custom-made earpiece in his ear to communicate with Marx and his crew. He also had two specially made data codecs, containing two unique viruses he planned to use, along with the universal keycard that would give him access to all the doors in the building.
Rez’s objectives were simple; infiltrate the building, sabotage both frequency generators, and escape unnoticed. He knew that the job would be far from easy. He turned his focus on utilizing his newly absorbed energy shield. With the updates he made, and his subsequent assimilation of the device, Rez dubbed it the Electro-Kinetic Shield System, or the EKSS for short.
Since checking into the hotel earlier, he had been working on materializing and dematerializing the shield from his left palm. He had worked out the kinks in his mind, applying what he’d learned and using it on each subsequent release. He eventually narrowed the recovery time of three minutes in between use to sixty to ninety seconds. With a little more time and practice, there would be no cool down period in between usage.
Memories of Yvora flooded his mind before he got a hold of himself and pushed the memories away. It had only been a day since the tragedy occurred and it was a miracle that he was stable enough to persevere. Fighting back the tears, he focused all his energy on one goal; destroy. It was ten twenty-four p.m. and everything appeared to be in place before he received a call. It was Knight-1.
“Rez, where are you?”
“Near Zonos Tower,” he replied.
“Whatever plan you have about charging in there head on, it may be wise to reconsider a more plausible option,” Knight-1 said.
“Look, if you think you’re gonna talk me out of it, think again. Zonos brought this on themselves,” Rez stated.
“I really think you should reconsider,” Knight-1 said.
Rez cut the call short. He was hellbent on making the establishment that had been the epicenter of all things wrong in his life pay once and for all.
He packed up his gear and put on the Chameleo-ware fabric bodysuit. On the bed, was a simple black t-shirt, black athletic Joggers, flexible black running sneakers, and a long black overcoat with a hood that he intended to bring with him as well. He programmed his holo-straps and turned them on, leaving the hotel room with all his clothing and belongings in the single strap, all-black backpack. He made his way down to the ground floor lobby, then to the busy
