Hack.A.I. (The Hack. series Book 1), page 29
“He is going to die!”
“We all are, Nathan, some sooner than others.” Worsley paused and glanced out the window to the driveway. “Ahh, it sounds like I will not finish my story after all.”
A few cars pulled up outside, doors opened and closed. Four doors, one after the other. Nate noted how many.
Worsley smiled. With its contorted and exaggerated expression, it hinted at a lack of knowledge or practice in the art of smiling naturally.
“You see, Nathan, a war is coming. One, we all need to be prepared for. And with this tech that you will kindly donate, I will take Britain back to its rightful place at the top of the new world order.”
“You sound like a deranged psycho.” Bic added, struggling to get the words out.
Footsteps sound off in the stairwell behind Nate.
Bic coughed up blood onto the floor.
“That’s not good,” Bic blurted out, staring at the blood.
“Can I help him, please?”
“I don’t want your help,” Bic replied, dragging himself with one hand into a sitting position against the wall, holding his hand over the wound.
“I told you that shit you made was dangerous, you fucking rat.”
“Bic, I never said a word. I swear on Cassie’s life.”
“Don’t you bring her into this, you piece of shit. You betrayed her, you betrayed us all.”
“I didn’t. I have done nothing but protect everyone of you since I joined.”
“Sure. You keep telling yourself that.”
A tear ran down Nate’s face.
“He told me he had information on my parents, Bic. Showed me their photo.”
Worsley laughed again. “Oh yeah, I forgot about that.”
“They left me at an orphanage when I was a child and promised they would return. People I’ve dreamed about meeting my whole life. And then I would’ve had the answers I’ve been searching for.”
Bic glared at Nate.
“I’m sorry. I never meant to get anyone hurt.”
The tears flowed down his cheek.
“All that power, in the hands of a child, crying out for his mommy.” Worsley laughed.
“Shut the fuck up!” Bic shouted at Worsley, causing him to stop in his tracks.
Two burley men in black funnel neck coats, and black trousers appeared at the top of the stairs.
“Ahh, good timing. Do you have her?” Worsley asked.
Nodding in response, they turned towards the stairs, taking their positions on either side like an honourable guard.
“Her?” Nate asked in a panic, switching his gaze from the men to Worsley and back to the stairs behind him.
Nate could hear the pit pat of her soft footsteps before he saw her.
fifty-one
As Cassie walked in, her tear-streaked face caught everyone's attention.
Except Bic who was looking at his blood-soaked shirt, but when he looked up, he saw her, with a worried expression on her face.
“Cass?”
“Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” Nate questioned further.
She shook her head but couldn’t make eye contact.
“I swear to god if you hurt her I will make you pay!” Nate threatened Worsley.
Worsley smiled his horrible smile and looked at Cassie.
“Now why would I do that to my best asset?”
“I…” Cassie stopped to wipe her snotty nose. “I’m so sorry, Nate.”
It all unravelled like a thread in his mind.
“Oh, not you too,” Bic said in a disheartened tone, his head slumped.
“You promised you wouldn’t hurt anyone?” Cassie said to Worsley after seeing the state of Bic.
“I'm afraid it was self-defence. Now bring it to me and I will ensure that they are taken care of.”
Cassie walked past Bic, who could not bring himself to look at her.
Nate scrutinised her as if she were a passing stranger.
“Give them to me,” Worsley said as she got within a foot.
From her back pocket, she took out the glasses.
“And you have already added me as an admin?”
"I did it earlier, so I didn’t have to dupe the stress software."
“Good.”
“Cass, don’t do this,” Nate said.
“Ahh, but you are too late, young man. We knew you wouldn’t just hand it over to us without just destroying the entire thing. So I found another way.”
He signalled to Cass, who appeared dejected with her head drooping and eyes fixed on the ground.
“I TRUSTED YOU!” Nate screamed at her, causing her to jump and whimper but still not lift her head.
“Trust, such a hopeful device, isn’t it?” Worsley said.
“Why, Cass?” Bic interjected.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Worsley answered. “I have something she needs.”
Nate tried to meet her eyes, but she couldn’t.
"Ava," Nate said, his nod indicating recognition.
“Correctamundo.” Worsley answered.
“Was any of it true?” Nate asked Cassie.
Her eyes never left the floor.
Worsley laughed aloud. “You really are a naïve little child, aren’t you? No wonder she hooked you so well. Offer you a tight pussy and you gave up the world.” Worsley said, turning to Cassie. “We can call you Helen of Troy.”
“Don’t talk about her like that,” Bic raged.
Worsley stared at him like he had forgotten he was in the room.
“Or what?”
“Or I will make you dig your own grave before putting you in it.” Bic replied.
Worsley laughed again.
“Oh, you are in no fit state to be making threats, but I like the act of valour. No wonder these kids admired you. The soldier with all the ethics. The big hero. Look how far that has got you. Dying on the floor, betrayed by everyone you love.”
Worsley nodded to one of his men, who reciprocated and departed downstairs.
“Now, if you would all be quiet, I have an empire to rebuild.”
He put on the glasses, anticipating a digital display, but found nothing.
“Where is it?”
“Say ‘SQAI’ to activate it.”
“Sky?” the display burst onto the lenses before him.
“Yes, John?” SQAI replied.
“Wow, well, would you look at that?”
“What would you like me to look at?” SQAI answered.
“Nothing. I want you to open all Nuclear Silo doors worldwide, all at once.”
“Working, estimated time of completion five minutes.”
“Impressive. Also, display some footage from inside the silos on the television here.”
“Yes, John.”
The TV in the office came to life.
On the massive screen was footage of hundreds of workers within silos worldwide going about their workdays.
“You can’t do this. It will cause a massive panic. You could start world war three.”
“Oh, I’m counting on it. The only difference is that I will hold all the weapons.” Worsley replied. “Not even the yanks can stop me.”
All the workers inside the silos froze and stared at the lights.
Lights that they hoped they would never see. It could only mean one thing.
And then the panic ensued as the doors above them opened.
“You are insane. Millions of people will die.” Nate said.
“Insane? You have seen nothing yet. SQAI, find me the heads of all the secret agencies, MI5, MI6, CIA, KGB, etcetera?”
“Searching.” she replied in his ear.
“Besides, I’m not the person who built this weapon, Nathan.”
The TV screen changed in Dochlan’s office and the locations of several people appeared on maps throughout the world. And then live video footage of several more that were near a camera.
“Excellent. Kill them all.”
Cassie cried out.
“That action is not possible. I can not directly cause harm to any living organism. It violates my code of morals.” SQAI replied.
“Ha, Ha, Ha,” Nate chuckled slowly with a distinctive mocking tone.
Worsley took off the glasses and charged towards him.
He thrust his fist into his stomach, causing Nate to lurch over and blasted his other hand into his open jaw, knocking him to the floor next to Bic.
“How do I change it?”
“You can’t. That fundamental building block was what she was built upon. It bleeds through everything. You change it and she will become inoperable.” Nate spluttered.
Worsley kicked him in the stomach while on the ground.
Nate was certain that he saw a smile on Bic's face.
The helicopter came into view over the lake as the beating sound of a rotor entered within earshot.
The guard returned from downstairs and nodded to Worsley.
“No matter. I will get my people to change it! The infrastructure is in place, after all.”
Worsley regained his composure and corrected his eccentric tie with his dull grey suit. “SQAI, I want you to remove Nate as an administrator, and anything else to do with him.”
“Working.”
“Excellent.” Worsley gestured to the two guards. “Kill them all.”
fifty-two
As the two guards approached Nate, their footsteps echoed ominously. But their intentions quickly shifted when they witnessed Cassie's fearless charge towards Worsley.
“No, you promised you wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
He aimed his gun at her head, which made her stop in front of him, the gun was touching her nose.
“I lied.” Worsley said coldly, the wicked smile on his face. “Like that kid in the lake, I doubt any of you will make it out of here.”
“What kid in the lake?” Bic asked as he turned to see Worsley staring at him with a smirk.
“Oh yeah, before I cut out Dochlan’s tongue, he was apologising about some kid he tortured and murdered. A kid called Charlie. Of course I didn’t know who he was referring to and I didn’t care, if anything it gives a perfect cover for a gang war ....”
“You’re lying.” Bic said with rage building in his voice, searching his face for the truth.
“Oh is that your son?”
Bic’s eyes twitched.
“You’re lying! Tell me you’re fucking lying!” He raged through gritted teeth.
“Why would I lie? Oh, I found this. Maybe it means something to you?”
Worsley pulled something out of his pocket and threw it on the ground in front of Bic.
Bic immediately recognized it the moment it came into his view and his anger fizzled away like a cheap firework.
On the ground in front of him was a bloody, black king from a chess set. Nate recognised it as the king from the first time Check beat Bic at chess.
Bic shook and pounded the ground with his hand.
“NO! NO! No, please god no, NOT MY BOY, NO!”
“Oh no, no, no, Charlie, no,” Cassie cried.
Worsley thrust the butt of his gun into the side of her head, causing her to drop to the floor.
“Shut up, you whiny brat!”
Nate moved to stand to her defence, but the guard sat him back down with a gun held in his face.
A hand shot out and snatched the gun aimed at Nate.
The guard and Nate glanced at the hand and followed it up Bic’s arm, whose face was hard and cold.
No tears, no emotion.
Just numb coldness.
Bic kicked the guard’s ankle as he yanked him sideways, clattering him into the second guard.
A gunshot pierced all their eardrums as blood spatter shot from Bic’s shoulder onto the wall behind him.
He grunted but didn’t stop.
Worsley pointed his gun at them, yet Nate acted faster and delivered a powerful heel strike to Worsley's knee, resulting in his stumble.
Nate jumped to his feet and grabbed Worsley’s gun arm.
Bic forcefully forced the gun back in the guard's hand, causing his wrist to invert and let out a crunching snap.
The guard let out an ear curdling scream.
Using the guard’s floppy hand, Bic aimed at the second guard and pulled the trigger.
Two shots, both hit centre mass, and the guard hit the floor.
Nate smashed Worsley’s arm into the nearby wall, causing him to drop the gun, causing another gunshot to fly into the wall above Bic.
Bic turned the wrist and gun onto the guard whose hand was holding it, disregarding the flying bullet that skimmed his head.
One shot to the head and the guard's entire body went limp and dropped onto Bic’s lap.
Worsley head-butted Nate in the nose, causing his cut to reopen and splatter blood everywhere.
Dazed, Nate dropped to one knee, reaching up to his nose.
In the daze, he witnessed Worsley take off toward the stairs.
Shaking off the dizziness, Nate slowly rose to his feet, experiencing a sense of unsteadiness in his legs.
Cassie was out cold on the floor and he thought about going to her. But thought better of it. She betrayed him.
He stumbled towards the stairs, holding his nose.
“I need to get SQAI.” He mumbled to himself.
A door from the floor above crashed shut.
Nate peered up the stairs and then ascended.
With every step, the helicopter's rotor thuds became increasingly noticeable.
He reached the top floor and burst through the door to see the helicopter hovering just above the unfinished rooftop bar.
Joists and beams made up most of the floor.
Everywhere you look, building materials were strewn about, and you can spot furniture items that were delivered too soon, still in their boxes.
An empty infinity pool was what was blocking out the view from the office below. The corner featured a tiki bar, equipped with a barbecue and pizza oven.
Nate observed a fist materialise into view on his right side.
The clean connection with his jaw knocked Nate into the door.
Another sucker punch in the same spot.
At first, impressed by his own resilience, Nate then collapsed on his face.
The blurred vision returned, as did the pain in his jaw.
He spotted his bloody drool on the decking floor.
The helicopter's presence had cleared most dust from the building site floor, leaving Nate to feel the cold, hard ground against his face.
Worsley used his foot to turn Nate over onto his back.
Nate kicked out at his knee, but Worsley pulled it away in time.
Undeterred by his first try, he once again tried to swipe Worsley’s standing foot with his leg, but Worsley expected the move and withdrew his leg in time, retaliating by driving his heel into Nate's unprotected abdomen.
Letting out a scream of intense agony that echoed through the air, as if something had burst within him. Nate, in agony, protected his abdomen, anticipating another strike as he rolled around on the floor.
Worsley took off the glasses and loomed over Nate.
“This tech is mighty impressive, young Nathan.” Worsley shouted over the loud rhythmic rotor thuds, “You should be proud of yourself. This woman knows every move before you do. Apparently, that little kick I did has ruptured your spleen. And if you underwent surgical intervention, you could fully recover within three months. Too bad I’m going to kill you instead.”
Worsley held out the gun, aiming at Nate’s head.
Gunshots pierced the helicopter's whirring.
fifty-three
Cassie tackled Worsley with a swift and powerful motion, saving Nate just in the nick of time.
As Nate continued rocking on the floor, Cassie collapsed next to him, their movements synchronised.
Blood started seeping through the hole in the middle of her dress, staining the fabric.
“NO!” Nate cried.
A fire lit within Nate and he forced himself to his feet and charged at Worsley, who was also getting back to his feet.
Worsley tried to raise his gun, but was too late.
Like a human projectile, Nate tackled him with such force that they both crashed into the empty pool.
Upon impact, the pool floor shattered, as did the glass ceiling beneath, causing them to crash onto the billiards table in the office on the floor below.
Worsley fired his entire magazine, aiming to strike Nate while he was in the air, instead, the storm of bullets bombarded the helicopter’s cockpit.
The pilot moved to evade them. His initial triumph in thinking he succeeded quickly turned to agony as he looked down and experienced the immediate burning sensation of a bullet lodged in his chest.
The helicopter swayed in his hands and veered in the sky above them.
A fire erupted from the tail, and the pilot fought the stick to maintain control.
Plummeting from the sky, the helicopter collided with the building’s side.
The ground shook as it hit the lower floor and exploded.
A puff of fire and smoke shot up into the night sky.
Nate snapped out of his daze when a gust of hot air brushed against his skin, following the crash.
The office had taken a lot of damage. Benny and the entire back section, including the desk and chair, had disappeared but for a large hole filled with debris and fire.
Worsley shot up and off the table to his feet. By holding onto Nate when they fell, he shielded himself from a severe impact.
He aimed his gun at Nate’s eyes.
“You couldn’t just leave it alone now, could you? You had to be the hero!” Worsley shouted, his hearing impaired in the explosion.
Worsley appeared even more deranged than before.
His suit looked dishevelled, torn, and bloody. Blood dripped from his ears and mouth.
“I’d rather die than let you get away!” Nate shouted back.
“Then you will get your wish!”
Nate waited for the gunshot and heard it before he experienced anything.
He felt the warm splatter of blood over him, covering his face.
When Nate opened his eyes, the unexpected sight of Worsley greeted him, whose eyes were bulging.
