Chapter 12

Simmonds sat in his office with Henderson and Hodges. Henderson had just informed him that the observation team on Karl Savage had missed two contacts in a row.

"Maybe their Sat Phone is busted?" Hodges suggested hopefully.

"I've dispatched another unit to investigate," Henderson added.

Henderson's other news was alarming.

"Let me get this straight," Simmonds reiterated. "The cops have analyzed the supplement and linked it to the girl. She's been caught on camera compromising an ATM and if that's not bad enough, she broke into the local radiology lab and scanned herself."

"That pretty much sums up it up," Henderson admitted ruefully.

"And why the smoke am I just hearing about it now?" Simmonds raved.

"Our operative only informed us about it a few hours ago."

"Didn't she think it was important?"

"She only found out herself last night."

"You realize what this means? She's fully activated now. We thought that we had problems when he had her in Companion Mode. This brings a whole new meaning to the term 'disaster waiting to fucking happen'.

"I want this rogue Hybrid found and I want her found quickly. No screwing around anymore. We locate her and take her out of action permanently."

"We've been tapping into hundreds of surveillance feeds from all over the city but she seems to instinctively know how to avoid them," Hodges advised.

"I think it's time to get creative. Use her family as bait. Kill some of them if you have to."

"You're not serious?" Henderson gasped.

"You didn't think we'd let them live after all this is over did you? We need to draw her out into the open. I suspect she's got enough Companion code in her subsystems to make her vulnerable to this sort of leverage."

"But ... But..."

"Kill the husband for the cops to find. Bring the kids here and we'll work out the best way to let her know that we have them."

"You'll think she'll try and rescue them."

"I'm depending on it."

Immediately after breakfast, Claire and Karl sat both girls down on the sofa. "I know things have been crazy lately," Karl told them, "and I expect that you've both probably got hundreds of questions. Your mum and I never wanted all this to happen, but now that it has, we just have to make the best of it."

"What are we going to do?" Hailey asked nervously.

"Well, we can hopefully stay here for a few days and then look at finding somewhere new to live."

"But my friends..." Hailey protested.

"It's much too risky to contact them sweetheart," Claire interrupted. "Syntel are probably monitoring all the numbers you've ever called over the past year."

Claire had confiscated all their phones and removed the batteries to prevent their location from being revealed. Hailey had sulked all the previous evening.

"If Dad hadn't stolen that thing, we wouldn't be in all this trouble," the girl replied moodily.

"And why won't you tell us everything?" Ruth demanded.

"There are some things that we just can't at the moment," Karl replied

"Why not? We're not babies any more."

"I know that Ruth.

"This is about Mum isn't it?"

"In a way, yes. It's true that your mum has a past that you're not aware of."

"I think it's cool," Hailey opined. "She's some kind of secret agent, like on the tank."

Claire smiled at the girl's words but did nothing to contradict her.

"Your mum is keeping us safe. We have to trust her to do what is right. In time, we'll try to explain. But for now, just do what she says."

Their exchange was interrupted by a knock on the door. Claire jumped up and grabbed the rifle whilst tossing the shotgun across to Karl.

"It's Leonard," a muffled voice claimed from behind the door.

Claire cautiously cracked open the door and relaxed once she confirmed he was alone.

"I thought I'd bring you your new toy?" he told her once inside the flat.

"The EMP generator?"

"It's quite old and I'm told it takes a long time to charge compared with the newer models but hey, it's better than nothing."

"You're a star Leonard," she praised. "Where is it?"

"Downstairs in the car. Do you want to come and take a look?"

"I sure do," Claire admitted joyfully.

"I had to bribe this guy at the firing range five grand to swipe it for me. He says it's fully calibrated but hasn't been used in over a year."

The unit was unimposing: a featureless grey metal cube with just a couple of buttons and three graduated dials.

"The guy explained how it works and I'll try to remember. The first dial is a delay timer and the other two control the energy and pulse duration. This button starts the charge cycle and the other is the initiator. If you press both buttons together then the unit triggers automatically as soon as it's ready. Apparently, its isotope chamber is good for a couple of dozen discharges."

"Pretty crude," Claire admitted.

"Everything inside is mechanical. There's no electronics whatsoever."

"Obviously, otherwise it'd fry itself the first time you used it."

"Oh yeah," Leonard admitted. "I didn't think of that."

Claire bent to take it.

"One last thing. It's as fucking heavy as a..." He stared incredulously as Claire picked it up as easily as a bag of groceries.

"I got it." Claire carried it one-handed over to the SUV and dropped it into the rear storage compartment. The car sagged noticeably on its suspension.

"Thanks Leonard," Claire sighed as she hugged him. "I don't know what I'd have done without you."

"Stay safe and remember to drop in on us at any time."

"I will. I promise."

"They're dead?" Simmonds ranted furiously at his two subordinates.

"Blown into tiny pieces; we're scooping up the HKs with a shovel," Henderson explained. "We found Melanie in the woods with her head smashed in and Kathy was a real mess."

"How could this happen?"

"Claire got the drop on them, no question about it."

"This is a nightmare scenario. A renegade synthetic on the loose could jeopardize everything that we've worked towards."

"I know," Henderson admitted glumly.

"Reincarnate the Infiltrators immediately and put them back to work."

"There might be a problem with Kathy," Henderson replied hesitantly. "Claire set off some kind of incendiary device right next to her Datacore, we're thinking probably Thermite. She's gone for good."

Simmonds kicked over his chair in anger.

"She's really pissing me off now," he blazed. "What about the family?"

Henderson shook his head.

"There might be some good news," Hodges stated.

"Please tell me because I'm struggling here," Simmonds snapped.

"There's a homing beacon on Savage's car. It wasn't at the campsite so we're assuming he's still using it."

Simmonds stared open-mouthed.

"If we find him and the kids then there's a good chance Claire will be close by."

"Put everything you've got into this," Simmonds ordered, his composure instantly restored. "Send in three assault teams and make use of the Hybrid as well."

The men nodded and raced off whilst the CEO righted his chair and dropped into it. This time, he promised himself, this time we'll finish things for good.

The girls were asleep in the lounge and Claire felt relaxed for the first time in days. The previous night, she allowed Karl to make love to her in the manner of his choosing. He'd teased her with his mouth, licking every pore of her skin before feasting on the abundant juices that flowed from her sex. After bringing her to climax, he'd suckled at her breasts, telling her how much he loved them. When she could bear it no more, he'd rolled on top of her and slid tenderly into her tightness, stroking passionately until she crested a second time. She welcomed his warmth within her, feeling loved beyond measure.

It was early morning. Karl was exploring her body, tenderly tracing the gentle swell of her belly and the soft inner slopes of her breasts. Her nipples stood up proudly, begging attention but Karl took his time, keeping her on edge. Claire sighed, taking pleasure in the torment and trying to anticipate his next move.

A sense of unease suddenly washed over her and it took a few seconds to determine the cause. The outside traffic noise had ceased completely.

Pushing Karl away, she jumped off the bed and padded naked over to the window to look outside. The street six floors below was deathly quiet, but her main concern was the four wheeled drive vehicle parked at the far end blocking their exit. A similar vehicle sealed the opposite end of the road.

"They've found us," Claire exclaimed, instantly alert.

"What? How?" Karl gasped. "Lenny?"

"No way," Claire snapped. "There's no way he'd do that."

She thought hard about how they could have been located so easily and only one conclusion sprang to mind.

"Your car," she announced. "They must have planted a tracking device on it."

She cursed herself for not considering it earlier but she'd been too caught up in events. Both their vehicles were parked close together in front of the apartment block. From her vantage point she saw a man and a woman standing beside Karl's car looking up at the building.

"They're going to have to search door to door," she announced. "That gives us some breathing space."

She grabbed her clothes and began to dress, keeping her eye on the scene below. Two men and two women exited one of the distant vehicles and moved along the footpath towards them from the east. At the west end of the street, yet another large SUV drew up behind the one already parked there and four more figures climbed out.

"Hand me the binoculars," Claire urged. Karl rushed to pass them to her before starting to get dressed himself.

Just one look at the newcomers told her all she needed to know. The redhead was the one she'd killed in the forest. Another dark haired woman stood beside her, together with two Hunter Killers.

"How many?" Karl asked.

"I can see ten, but there could be more."

"How the smoke can we fight that many?"

"We have to try. Get the girls ready. We need to move."

Karl finished tying his shoelaces then dashed into the next room, waking the girls and preparing them to leave. Claire formulated the best plan given the time constraints and knew that Karl wouldn't like it one little bit. She went into the kitchen, grabbed a long bladed carving knife and handed it to Karl.

"If you need to use this, go for the neck. The main feed from their Quantums comes down a central conduit and if you can damage the data fibres you'll stop them in their tracks."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to create a diversion. With luck, you can make the SUV. There's a GR7 sub-machine gun hidden under the front seat."

Claire began checking the shotgun and assault rifle, assessing the number of rounds in each. All the spare ammunition was in her car so she would have to use the weapons sparingly.

"Mum?" Hailey cried in distress.

"Go with your dad. Stick close together."

"No," she whimpered.

"Karl. Take the girls down the far stairwell but don't try to leave the building until you hear shooting. Run for my car and try and smash through the cordon at the east end of the street."

"Claire..." he began.

"I don't want anybody with me; there's too great a risk that one of you will end up getting hurt. I can't protect you and do my thing."

"But..."

"I'll be okay. Get to the car and I'll join you as soon as I can."

Karl understood that he had to rely on Claire's tactical ability. His only fear was that she was deliberately sacrificing herself to save them.

With both Hailey and Ruth protesting, Claire watched as her family disappeared up the corridor. She returned to the bedroom window and peered out. The two standing beside the car were conversing together whilst the four that she'd seen immediately afterwards approached the front of the building. The last group to arrive had chosen to stay with their vehicle and observe for the time being.

Raising the rifle, she lined up the sights and fired a short burst, satisfied as the pair by Karl's car staggered and fell to the ground. The four near the entrance dashed under her line of vision and she suspected would soon converge on her position. Grabbing a large towel from the bathroom, she slung it over her arm to partially conceal the weapon. Finally, she picked up the shotgun and carried it by the barrel in her free hand.

She hurried out of the apartment and raced down the central stairwell, taking the steps two at a time. Hearing the sounds of heavy footsteps from below, she halted her descent and peered over the balustrade. She saw two heavily armed Hunter Killers several flights below her, climbing rapidly to where she stood. Considering the short time that it had taken them to get there, Claire surmised that these were two that she'd not seen earlier.

Smiling as she approached them, Claire was almost on top of the Hunter Killers before their limited intelligence identified her and attempted to raise their weapons. Dropping the shotgun, she spun up and pulled the trigger on the rifle, spraying them with the tungsten carbide tipped rounds. The nearest of the pair collapsed straight away but the second, despite taking heavy damage, was still very much alive. With the rifle empty, Claire ducked beneath his aim and swung the weapon by the barrel, slamming it heavily against his chest. The machine tumbled backwards and she pressed forward, driving the butt hard against his neck and shearing the fibres that carried the command and control signals to the rest of his body. He slumped lifelessly to the ground beside his dead comrade.

Karl heard the distant rattle of gunfire and dragged the children into an alcove just as the outer door of the lobby flew open and four armed figures strode in from outside. The family froze, fearing imminent discovery but the strike team's attention was drawn by more shots, louder and much closer.

Go get them Claire, Karl willed.

Two men carrying machine pistols raced for the stairwell leaving the two women in the lobby, each armed with a nine millimetre pistol. One stood in the centre of the foyer with her back to Karl whilst the other positioned herself by the entrance to the stairwell, following the progress of her colleagues.

Taking a deep breath, Karl unsheathed the knife and rushed the nearest of the Infiltrators, plunging the blade into the side of her neck. Hot blood showered him and the woman gasped as she collapsed to the floor. The sickening cry attracted the second Infiltrator's attention but Karl had already extracted the knife and was blindly charging forward. He ducked low and felt a bullet flash past his ear. With no room for error, he dived at the woman and buried the blade deep into her belly.

The Infiltrator screamed and dropped the gun, putting her hands around the hilt of the knife in an attempt to stem the flow of blood. She dropped to her knees and groaned, her eyes looking up at Karl with an expression of intense hatred. Confiscating her weapon, Karl joined his daughters by the front door, checking outside for signs of imminent danger.

"Get to the car," he urged as he pushed them into the street, knowing that to delay meant almost certain death.

They sprinted across the road, twenty metres from where the SUV was parked. Karl unlocked the doors remotely and the girls piled inside as he raced around to the driver's side. He spun around on hearing rapidly approaching footsteps, panicking as the wounded woman from the lobby bore down on him at incredible speed. He tried to raise his gun but she flew into him, sending the pistol clattering along the footpath. His attacker held the bloody carving knife and Karl grabbed her wrist before she gutted him with it. The woman snarled as she used her full force to overpower Karl and direct the knife towards his chest. Groaning with the strain of resisting, he realized that in a few more moments nothing would matter.

The gunfire was deafening and his assailant's grip slackened and she collapsed on top of him. He heaved with all his strength, depositing the dead Infiltrator on the ground. Hailey stood in front of the car, shrieking in terror but still clinging tightly to the sub-machine gun that she'd used to save his life. She raced back to the passenger door but noticed the uncommitted strike team rapidly converging on them. Raising the gun, she screamed at the top of her voice whilst firing random bursts in their direction, sending them scattering for cover.

Claire sprinted along the second floor landing, driven back by bursts of automatic fire from below. The bullets had ricocheted around the stairwell making it far too dangerous to remain. With only four shells remaining in the shotgun, she knew that her chances against two Infiltrators armed with machine pistols were not encouraging. She could hear them closing in on her and carefully considered her options. As the stairwell door flew open behind her, she fired at the glass panel at the far end of the hallway and dived through the shattered window to plummet two floors to the ground below.

Karl started the car and revved the engine, wondering if there was any chance that Claire would escape the building alive. A second floor window suddenly exploded outwards and he watched in horror as Claire's body tumbled from it.

"Mum!" Hailey screamed, seeing the woman impact heavily on the roof of a vehicle parked opposite then collapse in a heap in the middle of the road.

Amazingly, Claire gathered herself up and staggered backwards towards the car. With one arm hanging loosely at her side, she pointed the shotgun at the second floor window and fired shot after shot, preventing the Infiltrators from targeting her. Ruth threw open the car's rear door and Claire dived in as Karl spun the tyres and sped the SUV towards the barrier at the end of the street.

"Thanks for waiting," Claire gasped.

The popping sounds of small arms fire rang after them but they were soon beyond the effective range of the weapons. Claire sat up and inspected her damaged arm before gritting her teeth and forcefully yanking it back into position. She screamed in agony as it reseated but was relieved when some range of movement was restored. The strike team at the opposite end of the street had already retreated back to their vehicle and was now in the process of preparing to pursue them.

"Pull over," Claire demanded. "Let me drive."

"We haven't got time," Karl exclaimed, observing the four wheeled drive pulling out behind them in the rear view mirror.

"Don't argue," she shouted, "just do as I say."

Karl slammed on the brakes and raced around to swap positions with Claire. The pursuit car had closed the gap to less than fifty metres by the time Claire gunned the throttle and sped into the roadblock, smashing the SUV against the front wing of the obstruction and sending it flying out of their path. Suppressing the pain of her injured arm, she flipped the car into a sharp turn, causing the girls to scream in panic.

"Just like the school run girls," she told them, "nothing to worry about."

The SUV accelerated away, weaving frantically in and out of oncoming traffic and nearly causing numerous collisions. A set of steel gates a kilometre further on gave access to the drainage canal. One of three that ran from the outskirts of New Arizona to the banks of the Belmont, they were constructed to carry excess rainwater during the many torrential downpours that plagued the city.

The gates flew off their hinges as the car smashed into them whereupon Claire turned the vehicle around and headed out of the city. Their pursuers, having lost ground to Claire's aggressive driving, sped onto the concrete flood defence and accelerated after their quarry.

The canal comprised a five metre deep trench about the width of two cars with steeply sloping sides. Every few hundred metres, a bridge carried a roadway over the top with a central pillar for support. Claire repeatedly mounted the banking in order to avoid smashing into them.

The engine screamed as she drove faster and faster, spinning up her cognition to enable her to dodge around the many obstacles that littered their path. Hailey shrieked in terror almost continuously, expecting any second for them to impact concrete and meet a violent death.

In the pursuit car, Melanie was anxious to catch up with the woman that had painfully ended her existence, necessitating the traumatic reintegration into her current body. She planned in exquisite detail the amount of suffering she'd inflict on Claire and her family before finally killing them. The dark haired woman beside her was unnaturally calm and it frustrated Melanie that she'd been prevented by her from joining the assault upon the apartment block.

"You really don't want to go in there," the Hybrid had told her. Minutes later, she'd seen three Infiltrators gunned down before her eyes, one by a mere child.

Even spun up, it took all Melanie's skill to keep up with the crazed driving of the car in front. She expected at any moment the disappointment of witnessing a concrete pillar deny her the chance of retribution. Emulating Claire's technique of avoiding the bridge supports, she fervently wished that she'd persuaded her colleague to drive.

"They're going to run out of road in another couple of kilometres," the Hybrid announced. "Then we can take them."

Melanie accepted the statement without passing comment. She'd been told in no uncertain terms that she was to follow the woman's instructions without question, but it still irked her that she wasn't allowed to exercise her own judgement.

The Hunter Killers in the back seat remained impassive, their low intellect providing them with few skills other than those necessary to complete their set tasks. She hated working with them, regarding them as little more than vicious animals. For all their strength and ruggedness, Claire had taken them out with an embarrassing ease leaving her to fend off the rogue Hybrid alone. She forced herself not to dwell on the humiliating defeat in the forest but was grateful that she'd not suffered the same ignominious fate as Kathy, destroyed beyond salvation.

Claire red-lined the car, gaining more and more separation from the one behind. Her satisfaction was short-lived as she observed the abrupt end to their escape route as it terminated in a dead end.