All Free Novel
75
As they huddled together for warmth in the alley Gee and Bal shared a look. They’d spent a day roasting in the dry Australian outback counting the seconds until their next jump through a Gate only to arrive in a misty rain in one of Japan’s busiest cities. Once more they were going to have to be quick as the local authorities were going to be alerted to their illegal entry and Japan still had a very strict policy regarding visitors to their country.
The Major was getting their bearings. Apparently there was a hotel they had to find. The cache was hidden in one of the rooms. Luckily the weather meant less people on the street and the darkness should have assisted them but this area was well lit with large neon signs and LED displays.
“OK, our destination is only a block away. There is an alley behind the hotel that would make an excellent extraction point. Set it up here.” Cha’Risa said to the group and showed the map to the Tik so they could get into position in the alley. “Leo, Maxim, I want you two to situate yourselves here and here to cover the alley and protect our exit.” She pointed to spots halfway down the alley in either direction to enable them to get back to the Gate which would be across the alley from the back door. She nodded and the two commandos slipped away as the Tik shot upwards.
The Major looked at Nann and the Altarians. “We go in the front door and up to the seventh floor. Room 703. We will need to pop the electronic lock which will likely trip the alarm. We will only have ten minutes at most to collect the cache. Ready? Let’s go.”
Gee confirmed there were no police in sight so they stepped out of the alley and began making their way towards the hotel. They stayed a dozen paces ahead of the Major and Nann so they reached the hotel and looked in the doors as they passed. They saw nothing suspicious in the entrance or the hallway beyond so they slowed their pace and let the others reach the door and enter before they turned to follow. The clerk was arguing with the Major about something so Gee shot him with a tranquilizer dart as she passed on her way to the elevator bank. The clerk slid to the floor slowly with a happy look on his face.
“What the hell was that?” Cha’Risa growled out at she followed the Altarians into the elevator with Nann.
“A happy knock out shot. He will sleep for an hour and awake elated and refreshed with no memory of the last few minutes. This will also give us time before he contacts the authorities.” Gee explained.
The Major frowned but had to admit it was a good idea.
They exited on the seventh and found 703. Before they could pop the lock its light went green so Nann looked at the Major then opened the door and rushed in.
A balding Japanese man stripped down to his undershirt, boxers and tall black socks shrieked in fear as the Major burst into the room after Nann, both with their weapons ready. The two Altarians followed closely and closed the door. They found themselves in a room made up to look like a classroom. The oddest thing was the bed pushed up against the wall with the cat lamps on the end tables; one black and one white.
A pretty young Japanese woman knelt on the bed wearing a school girl uniform staring at them with wide eyes. Gee noted that she was remarkably calm compared to the man. She was looking at the uniforms Nann and the Major were wearing and there seemed to be some recognition in her eyes.
The man began to babble and cry so Gee darted him as well. He slumped to the floor with a smile on his face and fear finally appeared on the young woman’s face as she looked at Gee.
The display mounted on the wall suddenly came to life and Ray was looking out at them.
“Ray-kun!” the woman cried in a happy if desperate voice.
Nann looked at her with raised eyebrows then turned to face Ray, whose mouth was working in surprise but he wasn’t saying anything. He finally got control.
“Nami-chan! I- I didn’t expect you to be here!” Ray’s simulacrum stuttered.
The Major’s eyebrows rose in surprise at how realistic Ray had made his online avatar. “Ray, we don’t have time for this,” she growled.
Ray’s image flickered and he came back with a smile. “The cache in this location is still secure. Major, walk over to the black cat lamp.”
She gave the screen a frown but walked over beside the bed and approached a lamp shaped like a black cat. It was smiling with one eye closed.
“It needs a voice print so tell it your name and say ‘open up neko’,” Ray instructed. She glared back at the display but Ray just nodded. She turned back to the lamp.
“This is Major Cha’Risa Ash. Open up… neko,” she said, scowling at how silly she felt.
There was a whirring noise and the cat’s lower jaw dropped exposing one sharp white upper fang pointing downwards.
“Touch the pad of your bare pinky fingertip to the tooth. It will prick you and take a DNA sample to confirm you are you. If you pass then the cache will activate. Otherwise the cache gets fried.”
Glaring once more at Ray’s image the Major jabbed her finger on the tooth and felt the pinch. After a moment the cat’s closed eye opened and both eyes lit up. Nami squeaked with glee and clapped her hands.
“So cute, Ray-kun!” she cheered.
“Thank you Nami-chan! Major, the cache is active. You need to physically connect your comm to it as the cache requires a wired connection. The port is in the mouth,” Ray instructed.
Cha’Risa unspooled the tether from her comm and connected it to the small port in the mouth of the cat lamp. Her comm came online and she tapped the screen to confirm she wanted to accept the data. The transfer began.
Nann stepped closer to the bed. “Hi, I’m Ray’s friend Nann. How do you know Ray?” she asked Nami.
The pretty girl smiled shyly. “Ray-kun is my boyfriend!”
Nann’s face froze. She wanted to grin and tease Ray but the thing on the screen was just a digital copy. Nami obviously hadn’t been told yet about Ray’s death. The poor girl wasn’t going to like the news. She looked to the display and was surprised to see the simulacrum’s face showing so much compassion. She wondered exactly how advanced this program was.
The comm beeped indicating the file transfer was done. The Major unplugged the comm and retracted its cable back inside the device.
“It’s time to go Major. You have four minutes to vacate the building. Police are incoming,” Ray warned. “I’m going to set off the fire alarm in one minute. That will sow some chaos to cover your exit.”Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org
“When are you coming to visit me Ray-kun?” Nami asked sweetly.
The Major looked awkwardly at Nann who had an uncomfortable expression on her face. The sweet young woman looked between the two of them.
“It’s ok Major. You and Nann get moving. I will speak with Nami-chan,” Ray smiled and the girl beamed a smile at him. “Major. Nann, it was an honor serving with you both.”
They nodded to Ray, once more wondering at the eerie realism he’d added to his surrogate. They turned and gestured to Gee and Bal who slipped out into the hall and raced for the rear stair case. The Major and Nann were close behind. The fire alarm went off before they descended more than a single flight. Ray’s voice was repeating a Japanese word over the building PA system and he sounded intense.
“Something’s not right.” Nann said. They managed two more flights before civilians in their underwear and dressing gowns began rushing into the stairwell in a panic. This slowed their descent but they finally managed to get to the back door and slip outside with the others. Once more the mist helped hide them. They pressed themselves up against the back wall of the building as the others ran quickly down the alley in either direction.
“Something’s definitely wrong. Where are the Tik? Where are Maxim and Leo?” Nann asked. She pulled her comm and sent a quick note. Just as she hit send there was a mighty thump and the building shook behind them. The team dashed across the alley and dove behind a dumpster just as the falling glass hit the road’s surface and exploded in all directions. They looked up and fire was gushing out of most of the windows on the seventh floor.
The rear door burst open again and Nami stumbled out with three others falling onto the road. Gee and Bal darted forward and collected the dazed woman from the ground and hustled her back to the relative safety of their temporary shelter. The girl had been crying but now her face was covered in soot and grime.
“Nami! You need to go home, now. Get to safety!” the Major said once she’d caught the girl’s attention.
Nami nodded and pointed up the alley.
With a nod from the Major, Gee and Bal quickly escorted Nami to the end of the alley. They confirmed the way was clear and the young woman rushed off in the direction of the subway. The two agents rushed back to the dumpster.
“Maxim contacted me. They and the Tik are hiding in a small park at the south end of this alley. The Tik had a little accident in the park and they never made it to the alley. The four of them can’t now because there are four Earth Security Council Force personnel at the park entrance across the street from the building. They were the ones who fired the incendiary grenades into the windows of the room we were just in.”