Desmoterion, page 33
“He told me how to fix your problem.” Mike smiled.
Emyr blinked in confusion. “Problem?”
“Yes, the three dots appear on your computer. He said to turn it off and reboot it again after a few minutes. If that didn’t fix it, then come see him in twenty minutes.”
Emyr was about to ask what this was all about, and then it dawned on him. “Ah, I see. I’ll have to try that. Um, thanks for the help.”
“Not a problem. I hope that helps, and let me know if I need to contact Kipper again.” Mike started to move away. “I’ll be in the workout area if you need me.”
* * *
Tense as a bowstring, Kipper looked up at the clock. They’d been planning this for so long that it shouldn’t be that big of a deal, and yet he was terrified it might all go wrong in an instant.
Ten minutes had passed since Mike approached him, and he hoped Mike got the hint he was trying to convey while giving nothing away. His luck, Mike would show up again in twenty minutes and ask him to come over to Emyr’s domain.
That’s the last place he wanted to be, considering that’s where everything would go down, and he didn’t want to be linked to it that fast. It would mean their leader could circumvent it and ruin their hard work.
Nothing must link him to Emyr’s actions.
No, he had to stay in his usual spot for it to appear as a sudden attack instead of a choreographed event.
He wasn’t sure what would happen. They ran simulations on what might happen, but considering the event was a long time in the planning and with older computer kit, it was anyone’s guess how it would go down.
Kipper looked at the clock again, and only a minute had passed since the last time. He needed to stop being so obvious in his clock-watching habits. It was liable to get him into trouble.
“Waiting for something?”
Kipper stopped himself from jumping at their leader’s voice behind him. He had to seem calm and collected on the outside as he normally was.
“Renard?”
Kipper turned to look at their leader. “Just for a maintenance program to stop running. I wasn’t sure if it might cause problems with the communication systems, but it doesn’t look like it.”
The leader’s eyebrow rose. “A maintenance program? Why would you run one of those now? Don’t they run during downtimes?”
“Nothing is going on at the moment, so I figured, why not? It’s been running since I was in the meeting with you. I had my team monitor it while I was gone. It should finish up in a few minutes.”
Burkis called out from the other terminal. “It’s finished now, sir. No problems that I can see.”
Kipper smiled at Burkis, thankful he was playing along with the deception without knowing beforehand. He wished he could take him when it all went down. “Thanks for the update. Now I don’t have to watch the clock and record the time when any problems start.”
The leader cocked his head to the side. “You record the time when problems occur?”
“Oh yes, in my log later. I review the events of the day and record them so I can track them. That way, if they occur at regular intervals, I can have my team research for probable causes.”
“That’s a smart idea. Can I have access to that log?”
Kipper turned to a free terminal to type out a few commands. “I’m giving you access to it right now. I don’t know if anything will make sense since I reference servers and databases, but you might get something out of it. I also record maintenance reports and other things my team works on now. I don’t have today’s in there, but the rest are logged.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it. I’m always interested in what things are going on around me. That way, I can help in procuring new gear or fix things you don’t have access to.”
I’m happy to help. I just keep it for my own purposes.” Kipper hid the smile that was about to break out on his face. There was nothing he didn’t have access to without a bit of patience.
He’d browsed plenty of files that were locked and private for only the eyes of the leader and the higher ups. He’d seen the contracts, and he’d dug deeper and found out more about the clients.
Kipper knew the leader lied to them all about much of the work. They weren’t working for law enforcement. They weren’t a covert division of the Orion Sector Anti-Slavery Agency.
Oh, yes, they took down violent criminals, drug lords, and kingpins in the slave trade. But the top dogs in Desmoterion worked for who ever paid best. Often the clients were rival criminals who wanted to end the competition and steal the assets from the targets. And sometimes the targets were law enforcers.
Their leader told the operatives whatever story would motivate them to do the work, not that there was much choice between obeying orders and death.
Kipper had kept the terrible truth to himself. It would only make everyone’s life harder if they all knew.
The leader was about to walk away when Ward called out to Kipper. He moved back over to Kipper. “What’s wrong?”
Kipper stared at the monitor, which displayed three dots.
Then all hell broke loose.
* * *
Emyr shuffled away from his area to listen for Kipper’s voice. He waited a few seconds and then heard Kipper call out in alarm to his team.
With a grin, he went back to his domain. He packed up guns and ammunition for the trip. They didn’t expect anyone to follow them out, but Emyr didn’t feel safe without something just in case.
Mike entered Emyr’s area. “Something is happening with the monitors. They’re all going weird.”
“Yeah, they are. I wonder what caused them to be like that. Could Arden be having problems in the target room?”
Mike grinned at Emyr. “I’ll go check on him.”
Emyr returned to packing the bags with gear while waiting for Kipper to do his thing.
* * *
Kipper scrambled around his area, looking at screens and hammering at keypads. “Goddammit, what the hell is going on?”
“I think we’re being attacked. Our files are being deleted from our servers.” Ward banged on his keyboard and didn’t look away from his screen. “I think it’s a virus.”
Kipper swore and went over to Burkis. “Can you see anything on your terminal?”
“No, sir. It’s sending out all sorts of fake links that I have to weed through to get to the heart of it. By that time, the files will be gone.”
Kipper shook his head. “That’s not what I want to hear. Work faster!”
Burkis typed into his keyboard a flurry of commands.
The leader leaned forward to see Ward’s terminal. “What kind of files are they?”
“At the moment, it’s mission logs and system inventory. It looks like it’ll go for the personal records and operative statuses. The problem is I don’t know whether it’s copying them somewhere else or just outright deleting them from our database.”
Kipper shook his head. “We have to save the data. I can beam what we have left to a satellite server, and then if ours gets wiped out, it will save it for us.”
He hit the button to send to the satellite when Burkis called out behind him. “No, sir don’t do that!”
Kipper froze and turned. “What is it?”
Burkis winced. “It’s moving through the satellite and deleting it from there, too. We need to stop the connection from ours to it.”
Kipper swore and patted on Ward and Delgado’s chair. “You two need to come with me. I need you both logged into the server room to help me stop this from spreading.”
Burkis frowned at the statement but stayed at his workstation.
Kipper moved away with the two men, stopping at Burkis’ station and saying, “I need you to eliminate this from our servers. I’m going to disable the link, but if it doesn’t work, then you’re my backup on it.” He stopped to type something into Burkis’ computer. “That should give you more access to other databases to find it and kill it.”
Burkis stared at the message Kipper had typed on his monitor that read, “I’m initiating the ten-minute self-destruct. Get out if you can!” He swallowed hard and closed the message. “Right, I understand, sir. I hope I don’t mess up too much.”
Kipper patted Burkis on the shoulder. “I know you won’t. Now get to work at killing it.”
* * *
Emyr moved away from the communications area once he heard Kipper was heading to the server room. It would only be a matter of minutes before Kipper triggered the silent self-destruct sequence.
He grabbed the packed bags and headed for Mike’s domain.
Mike was in the process of dropping duffel bags in the workout area along with Arden.
Arden glanced up when Emyr approached. “Has he done it yet?”
“He’s headed for the server room now. It’s not long. If I remember straight, it’s a ten-minute countdown.
“A silent countdown, though.” Arden grimaced. “We might as well head out right now.”
“Then let’s get the fuck out of here.” Mike shouldered a few of the bags.
They walked forward only to run into Rowland, who gaped at them.
Mike dropped the duffels and went over to him. “You were a good student, one of my favorites. That being said, get the fuck out of the building right now. It’s set to self-destruct in ten minutes.”
Rowland’s eyes widened.
Mike pointed to the hallway further down. “There should be two transporters in the garage. Take the one further away from the entrance. The keys should be in it already, as no one would be stupid enough to steal it with all the cameras on them.”
Rowland pointed to the camera above them. “What about that one?”
Emyr laughed. “All the cameras are dead at the moment. As is everything else inside, hence why we can do this in plain sight of everyone.”
Rowland shook his head. “They’ll find you. There’s no way out of this place except for dying.”
Mike gripped Rowland’s shoulder tight. “There is a way out if you have friends in high places like we do. The records on everyone are being destroyed, as I tell you this. They won’t find you nor even know you were even in this place.”
Rowland blinked. “Really?”
“Really, now get the fuck out of here!”
Rowland hurried to the crew quarters and then stopped short. “Thanks, sir.”
Mike smiled at him and shouldered the duffels again. “No thanks needed, Rowland.”
After watching him leave, they headed for the hallway.
* * *
Kipper headed for the server room, going inside with Ward and Delgado. He turned around as they shut the door. “Right, here’s the deal. We will not do a damn thing about the virus eating away at our personal records. What we are going to do is set a silent self-destruct and blow this building sky high.”
Ward stared at Kipper. “You’re going to kill everyone?”
“It’s the only way to make sure our leader goes down before he figures it out. I’ve alerted our team members, but I can’t save everyone at once. I’m sorry.”
Ward motioned to himself and Delgado. “So you’re going to kill us after you do the self-destruct?”
Kipper smiled. “No, you two are my favorites, along with Burkis, who I’ve already warned. I’m giving you the chance to escape with me and get rid of this place forever. You can refuse, and that’s your choice, but you’ll be killed if you stay here beyond the ten-minute countdown.”
Delgado frowned. “And if we try to stop you?”
Kipper reached down and pulled out a gun. “I don’t think you want to do that. In fact, I’m pretty sure that both of you would rather be free and causing havoc out there in the world than a prisoner in here and monitoring operatives getting raped and tortured, all in the name of our leader’s will. You haven’t been here as long as I have, but I can see the repulsion on your faces when that happens. I’m giving you the chance to be free of it.”
Ward glanced over at Delgado. “What do you think? Wanna be free of this place?”
“Yeah, I do. Fuck this place.”
Kipper smiled, reaching for the computer and loading the email program. “Once I hit the send button, it will start the silent countdown. If you have anything important in your rooms, tell me now, and we can swing by them before we leave.”
Ward shook his head. “I have nothing in mine.” He turned to Delgado. “What about you?”
“No, I got nothing either. In fact, we don’t even have money to our names. How are we going to survive out there?”
Kipper hit send, and the countdown flashed on the computer terminal. It started counting down from ten minutes. “Don’t worry about that; we’ve got a place to live and a way to get money. This has been in the making for years now.”
Ward turned to Delgado, holding out his hand and biting his lip. “Ready to leave this place?”
Delgado looked down at it and flushed. He looked back up at Ward with a surprised expression.
Ward grinned, taking Delgado’s hand. “Come on, we have to go.”
* * *
Heavily armed, Mike and Emyr stood at the entrance to the garage hallway, waiting for Kipper to arrive. They wanted to make sure Kipper wasn’t left defenseless without a gun. They were ready for anything that would come up.
Emyr made a face when he noticed Kipper coming for them with two others in tow. “What the hell?”
Mike chuckled. “Kipper’s bleeding heart. I knew he’d try to save one of his men, but apparently, he went for two. The house is big enough, so it’s not like we don’t have the room for them.”
Kipper approached them and noticed Emyr’s face. “Don’t give me that look, Laurent. If you actually had a damn team, you’d try to save some too.”
Emyr rolled his eyes and started to walk down the hall. “Whatever you say, Renard.”
Kipper was about to follow when someone called out. He turned back and snorted. “Of course.”
Samson shuffled forward. “I know what you’re doing, and I won’t let it happen.” He pulled out a gun and aimed at them.
Kipper turned to glance at Emyr. “Nice job keeping your gear out of other’s hands.”
Mike waited until Samson was focused on Kipper with an annoyed face before making his move.
Too late, Samson turned back to see Mike barreling at him. He fumbled with the gun and tried to aim at Mike. He didn’t get the chance and slammed into the concrete ground, smacking it hard and screaming out in agony.
Mike got up and stepped on Samson’s ankles, cracking the bones under his solid weight. “There’s no point in killing you, as that would be too easy. Instead, I’m going to make you watch your own death and not be able to do a damn thing about it.”
Emyr’s eyebrow rose. “Isn’t that a little extreme? What did he do to you? I mean, he’s a pain in everyone’s ass, but I just ignore him.”
Mike stomped down on Samson’s fingers. “The fucker was terrorizing Trent early on. I knew because I caught him, but I couldn’t do anything about it. Trent wouldn’t admit as much, and since he’s not here, this is on his behalf.”
“We don’t have time for bullshit,” Kipper snapped. “C’mon.”
Mike finished smashing Samson’s other hand before moving away. “I’m done. Get going for the transporter.”
Samson gasped for a breath and said, “You’ll never get away with this. The leader will find you.”
Mike turned to stare down at Samson. “Yeah?”
* * *
They hurried down the tunnel to the exit and their means of escape. Arden was waiting for them beside it. He hopped into the driver’s seat, they weren’t trusting the getaway vehicle to self-drive.
As they were getting inside, someone called out for them to wait.
Mike frowned and said, “Burkis? Kipper, did you bring another damn person from your team?”
Kipper got out and pointed for the other vehicle. “We don’t have room in this one. Go to the other one. The keys are in there.”
Burkis nodded. “See you, sir.”
Kipper smiled at him. “I’m not your boss any more. You can call me Kipper.”
“I don’t think I can do that, sir!” He called out and headed for the other transporter.
Mike rolled his eyes, muttering about bleeding hearts and getting inside.
Arden stepped on the gas and zoomed out of the garage.
A few minutes later, a huge explosion lit up the sky behind them.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Trent was downstairs watching Girish sweep up the kitchen when the phone buzzed. He picked it up and grinned at the display. “We’re officially erased from every government record.”
Girish stopped sweeping. “We are? How the hell did that happen?”
“You can thank Emyr, myself, and Kipper for that. Kipper and I chipped in to create the program, and Emyr was the one who executed it. They’re on their way here as I speak.”
Girish shook his head. “It can’t be that easy. What if someone saw them leave?”
“With a bit of luck, there wasn’t anyone to see them go.” Trent set the phone down.
“Luck? We’ve been lucky, but luck can run out,” Girish said uneasily.
“Well, in this case, we’re making our luck. The program disables all systems as it erases each file. It goes for the simple stuff first, like missions, and then does the personal stuff. Kipper would be the one who linked it up to every single satellite, which then infected every government database connected to those satellites. Goodbye information in a matter of minutes.”
“Whoa, you mean we’re not wanted anymore?”
“It would appear so. However, keep on your guard just in case some organization might be behind the times with satellite server backups. It’s possibly not one hundred percent, but close to it.”
Girish went back to sweeping until there was a knock on the door. He glanced over at Trent, who readied a gun before heading to it. With a sigh, he opened the door and blinked at Katya, who was carrying two large bags. “Um, what is it?”
Shoving past Girish, Katya headed for the kitchen.
