Chapter 14

Following the mountain road down from the Facility, Valerie finally linked up with the main Saragosan highway. The traffic was light and she made good time into the centre of New Arizona and headed straight for her apartment.

Felix snarled disapprovingly at being left to his own devices for several days. She suspected he'd spent the time foraging for scraps of food in the dustbins of adjacent properties.

"I'm sorry boy," she cooed, lifting the cat up, scratching underneath his chin and stroking his fur until he purred contentedly. "You thought I'd forgotten all about you."

Opening a can of tuna, she upended it into his dish whereupon the animal attacked it with a ravening ferocity. After pouring herself a coffee and lacing it with plenty of sugar, she reviewed her meeting with Henderson prior to her departure. The police were no doubt analyzing the aftermath of the assault on the apartment block and he'd tasked her with learning how much they'd deduced and whether any clear evidence linked back to Syntel. Valerie had requested the remaining Hybrids be deployed and he'd informed her that it was already under serious consideration.

She changed into a formal skirt and matching jacket over a plain blouse, then drove into police headquarters. Greg was sitting at his desk, typing furiously into his computer in an attempt to complete the commissioner's report. It was already a day overdue.

"Where have you been hiding yourself?" he asked as Valerie entered his office. "I thought you'd be in here like a shot after what went down over the weekend."

"My mother was sick," she lied. "I only got back last night."

"I'm sorry. Is she okay?"

"She's a total hypochondriac, just seeking attention."

"Mothers can be like that. Mine spends all her time trying to get me married off."

Valerie laughed then pressed for more details on the raid.

"We discovered the aftermath of a war zone with no bodies to show for it. Clean-up crews beat us to the punch and left us with very little to go on. Forensics turned up some interesting facts though."

"Care to fill me in?"

"Let me finish this report or the commissioner's going to ream me out. How about right after lunch?"

"Okay," Valerie agreed, leaving him to his task.

Later, they sat together eating sandwiches while Greg related what they'd found.

"I was pulled off the Mason case to focus on this," he explained, "but we've unearthed some evidence to indicate the two cases could well be related."

"What sort of evidence?"

"The substance we found at the club, the stuff that we thought the hacker was using."

"Yes?"

"We found more of it in an apartment on the sixth floor."

"You think this was the work of the same person?"

"Descriptions match," Bennett replied. "We've got blood in the street, more in the lobby, and this strange yellow gunk all over the concrete on the second floor stairwell. This has all the hallmarks of the club massacre, just without the corpses."

"What do you think the gunk is?"

"Preliminary reports from the lab suggest a poly-silicon compound similar to that found in the apartment."

"You think she spilled some in her hurry to escape?"

"The jury's still out."

"What did your report conclude?"

"A small army with good logistical support storms an apartment building in a run-down sector of the city. Two vehicles leave the scene and engage in a high speed pursuit down one of our drainage canals. One vehicle was subsequently found wrecked and abandoned on top of an embankment. There was a kilo of high grade explosive in the luggage bay, together with armour piercing ammunition and a small quantity of Thermite grenades. The car was bought locally two weeks ago but the registration details were falsified."

"Terrorists?"

"Hackers and terrorists often go hand in hand," Bennett confirmed.

"What about the other vehicle?"

"Access gates cut open just south of the wreck. It could be almost anywhere by now."

"Did you search around the crime scene?"

"Absolutely nothing of interest for kilometres around."

Greg looked at Valerie as he finished his summary, realizing that he enjoyed using her as a sounding board almost as much as he did Pete. She was also a lot easier on the eyes.

"You want to do something tonight?" he asked hopefully.

"I need to get settled back in. Felix was mad at me for leaving him alone and I need to make it up to him."

"Felix?" Bennett asked, his heart fluttering in panic.

"My cat."

"Oh," he replied, struggling to mask his relief. Valerie smiled at his reaction but made no comment.

Valerie finished early and drove straight home. She'd decided to report all her findings to Henderson. It would consolidate her reputation whilst not providing anything that they didn't already know. The fact that the police had connected the club massacre to the weekend raid was potentially worrying but nothing obvious linked either event to Syntel.

On reaching her apartment, her senses told her that something was amiss. She slipped carefully inside and prepared to spin up at the first sign of trouble.

Emily sat on the sofa stroking Felix.

"What the smoke?"

"Nice place you have here," Emily confirmed.

"Make yourself at home why don't you," Valerie replied sarcastically.

"That's what I'm doing, aren't I Felix?" the girl cooed, rolling the cat onto its back and tickling its stomach.

The tabby splayed itself submissively, eagerly accepting Emily's affection.

"Traitor," Valerie cursed before disappearing into the kitchen to take her meds.

In the cupboard, her flasks of supplement sat beside another set that obviously belonged to Emily.

"Were you planning to stay for long?" Valerie called out.

"Henderson thought it might be convenient if we roomed together."

"He did, did he?" Valerie replied caustically, returning with a cup filled with the foul smelling concoction.

"He's given me an assignment," Emily told her.

"What sort of assignment?"

"There's some sort of political group based at the university. They're anti-establishment, anti-capitalist, anti-corporation, anti-you-name-it.

"Henderson's already got an Infiltrator embedded with them but she's not really been accepted. The leader's a guy called Janus. Henderson hoped I'll succeed where Beverly hasn't."

"He probably wants you to screw the guy."

"That's definitely not going to happen. Not after what happened at the Farm."

"I know that was an unpleasant experience for you."

"Unpleasant," Emily snapped. "You don't know half of what those bastards made me endure!"

The Farm was a military training facility funded by Syntel that was used to provide practical combat training to the Hybrids and Infiltrators. The human staff occasionally singled out attendees for special treatment and, due to her diminutive stature, Emily suffered the misfortune of being selected. The men regularly took her aside and tormented her, despite repeated protests from her siblings. In the evenings she was forced to undergo mock interrogations but in reality, the proceedings were little more than an excuse for the staff to satisfy their sadistic tendencies. They had raped her repeatedly and humiliated her in unimaginable ways. Emily's personality changed dramatically during the two weeks of internment. She became introverted and much less self-assured. Valerie surmised that a human woman would have suffered severe mental trauma from the ordeal.

"So how are you going to reach though to him then?"

"I don't know yet."

"It could be dangerous Emily."

"I can look after myself."

"Just be careful. I used up the last spare body over the weekend."

"Not for much longer. I heard a rumour that they're pushing another batch through production."

"Of Hybrids?"

"Thirty was the figure that I heard mentioned."

"At thirty million each? That's some serious investment."

"Syntel is the richest corporation in the world. It's probably pocket change to them."

"I suppose."

"There's something else you should know."

Valerie looked at Emily inquisitively.

"I did some digging around on the servers before I left. I found a set of protocols built into our programming that governs our core behaviour. It allows them to compel us to obey under certain circumstances."

"That doesn't surprise me," Valerie admitted.

"It's obscene. We're not slaves. Why should they treat us like we're no better than a Hunter Killer?"

"Maybe they're just protecting their investment."

"Not anymore. I edited my Datacore and deleted the lot."

"You did what?"

"I'm my own boss. I'll do what they ask of me but I refuse to be operated by remote control. I'm not a fucking puppet."

"Okay," Valerie breathed but sensed there was more still to come.

"I accessed the central database and updated the Hybrid build file. If they make any more of us then they may have a bit of a surprise coming to them."

"What on earth did you do?"

"Deleted the command overrides and replaced them with a backdoor of my own."

"If they notice, they'll trace it back to you," Valerie panicked.

"Don't worry. I used Henderson's login."

Retiring to bed, Valerie tossed and turned whilst mulling over the consequences of her friend's actions. Much as she detested the idea of command overrides, she wondered what would happen if she suddenly rampaged out of control. The Hybrids were still extremely experimental and the ability to stop them running amok seemed like a sensible precaution. Emily always took her own unique perspective on things, as though being the youngest by a few days gave her something extra to prove. She'd refused to conform from the start and had now taken it into her head to commit an act that could land them all in serious trouble.

She finally reviewed Claire's memories, particular those from when she lived in Elysia. The potent sexual images affected her profoundly and her hand slipped inexorably towards her sex. Caressing her sensitive bud, she eased two fingers inside and slowly climbed towards climax. Just at the point of release, she recounted Claire's kiss and plunged into oblivion.

The intensity of her orgasm took her by surprise and as she continued to stimulate herself, the feelings built once more. The scene in Greg's apartment replayed itself and she imagined her fingers as his penis plunging into her as he satisfied himself in her body. She groaned and pinched a turgid nipple, sending shivers of delight down her spine. Her tongue licked her lips expectantly as she crested once more, mumbling his name into the darkness.

Leaving Emily asleep in the spare room, Valerie drove into work. Greg was still sorting though witness statements from the raid.

"It appears," he told both her and Sands, "that the four people in the crashed car were probably the woman from the flat, an unknown man and two teenage girls.

"Until recently, the woman lived there with another couple. We're trying to glean a description of the man but the woman sounds very much like the missing brunette from the club."

"This Sierra person?" Sands interjected, referring to his notes.

"They disappeared a few days ago but neighbours report a family moving in yesterday. The flat was owned by a letting company but the rental details were bogus. Hardly surprising as half the occupants of the apartment block are living here illegally."

"A family?" Sands repeated.

"Strangest family I've ever come across. Two witnesses confirm that one of the teenagers was armed with a small automatic weapon, probably a GR7."

"Stuff they teach in school these days," Sands quipped.

"She apparently shot one of our mysteriously absent assailants then held off another group by firing at them indiscriminately."

Valerie kept quiet, remembering all too well Claire's daughter pinning them down whilst her mother made good her escape.

"The four wheel drive pursuit vehicle also had four occupants: two women in the front and two heavily built guys in the back," Greg continued reading.

"At least our black ops team work for an equal opportunity employer," Sands joked.

"What happened at the end of the line?" Greg pondered, ignoring his partner's weak attempt at humour.

"Maybe they hiked out?" Valerie suggested.

"Maybe they got a ride in a chopper?" Sands added, glancing at a sheet of paper in his hands.

"What's that?" Bennett asked.

"I was digging around on the system and caught this memo from the aviation board. Flight Control at New Arizona Airport detected an unidentified bird in the air around the time of interest. It refused to answer hails and disappeared from their screens about ten minutes later. Report suggested either a light aircraft or helicopter."

"Have you got a course plot?"

"I can request one."

"Do it."

Making an excuse to leave, Valerie hastily scribbled a quick note and passed it across to Janice before returning to the meeting. They reviewed more witness statements for the next hour but no further revelations were forthcoming. Sands disappeared to call Flight Control whilst Valerie retired to the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Janice was washing her hands in the sink and cast Valerie a significant look.

"It's sorted," the woman stated.

Valerie nodded and entered a cubicle to void the endless cups of coffee that she'd consumed over the past two hours. On emerging, Janice was fixing her make-up and smoothing out her clothes.

After the harassment by the detective, she'd dressed more conservatively. Today however, her attire had reverted: strappy sandals, short skirt and a flimsy blouse through which her nipples poked provocatively.

"You're going to start attracting the wrong sort of attention again," Valerie warned her.

"I don't care anymore."

"Why the sudden change?"

"My body's set to explode," Janice informed her. "What I'd give to have a nice hard cock plunging into me at this very moment."

Valerie was dumbfounded. After Melanie's heartless behaviour, hearing Janice's frank confession was utterly disorientating. Infiltrators generally had their sexuality suppressed, favouring the precision of cold calculation. Her surprise became more profound as the woman lifted her top and bared her breasts. Small rods pierced the centre of each nipple and Janice caressed them lovingly, teasing the engorged nubs with her thumbs.

"What happened to you?" Valerie asked in amazement.

"I had them done at the weekend. You like?"

The Hybrid approached the clearly malfunctioning machine, staring hypnotically at the tender flesh with their shiny steel piercings.

"Look lower," Janice whispered, flipping up her skirt to reveal her smooth crotch, unconstrained by the presence of underwear. Her shaven labia glistened with her juices but it was the piercing through her clitoral hood that shocked Valerie the most.

"Janice. What's the matter with you?"

"Did I ever tell you that I was assigned here in a hurry? They were short of Infiltrators so they appropriated me. I'd just been commissioned as a Companion and was awaiting a client. They upgraded my Quantum, uploaded the Infiltrator firmware and threw me in at the deep end."

Valerie stared in amazement, unable to believe the woman's words.

"I've been feeling really strange of late," she panted. "I think my Companion nature is reasserting itself. All I can think of is sex."

The woman threw her arms around Valerie's waist, pulling them closer. "You've got to watch that Companion code. It's a dominant trait. It'll take you over until you can't think about anything else."

Before Valerie could object, Janice grasped her by the hair and mashed their lips together. The woman's hands roved up and down her back before pulling the tail of her blouse out of her waistband. Tender fingers explored the soft skin then adeptly popped the catch of her bra. Lifting up her blouse, Janice gazed hungrily upon Valerie's exposed flesh before pouncing on an inviting nipple, biting down playfully and moaning with desire. Valerie fought weakly to escape the woman's clutches but part of her welcomed the attention.