Synthetica (34 page)

He had been so close.

He could see the vibrant multi-tones in her pink hair; he could
smell her sweet perfume. It would've been so easy just to reach out
and snap her pretty little neck.

But something had stopped him. Not pity. He had watched as she
had fought with herself over whether to kill the woman or not. But
in the end, all she had done was remove the woman's ID chip instead.

Why had she done that? Why hadn't she simply killed her? He'd
have to find another way to get rid of the woman now anyway, though
hopefully the shock of having her ID chip cut out would be enough to
finish her off.

His hands were outstretched, ready to do the deed. This girl
needed to be eliminated; whenever he went, she seemed to be sniffing
around like a lost puppy. But then he came to his senses. He could
not kill someone here, in broad daylight. It wasn't his style. He
was more subtle than that. Although the whole city now knew his
face, he wasn't stupid. If he revealed himself here, they'd tear him
to pieces. He wasn't completely in control of the city, not yet.

He dropped his hands. He threw one last glance at the girl as
began to stand up, helped by the boy with the ridiculous purple
hair. He had more pressing matters to attend to. He fingered the
transmitter in his pocket as he glanced at his watch - he would give
them all another fifteen minutes to think they were safe; that they
had outwitted him, the fools. Then, the real fireworks would begin.

He melted into the crowd and was gone in a heartbeat.

Twenty-two

They only had to go a short distance from the Civitas building
before the crowds began to thin out. It seemed that everyone who
wanted to cause destruction, and those who simply wanted to get out
of the line of fire, were only separated by a couple of metres.

Now that they weren't surrounded by a mob, Anais felt as though she
could breathe more easily. But now that they'd slowed down, she was
gradually becoming more aware of the aches and pains in her body;
particularly in her stomach where the man had punched her. There was
a throbbing sensation in her arm. She glanced down as they walked
and she winced. There were fingernail marks and scratches all down
her arm, encrusted in rapidly drying blood. She shrugged her sleeve
down to cover it, resolving to get a bandage from the medicine
cabinet as soon as she got home so it wouldn't alarm her parents.

The screens high up on the buildings around them, and across the
river, had come back to life. News broadcasts were now being played,
showing live footage from the riot at Civitas, as well as replaying
the Hacker's ominous message. Certain 'experts' were already talking
to the newsreaders, analysing the Hacker's footage, wondering who he
was and how they could track him down. Anais couldn't hear what they
were saying over the noise around them. People were still talking
loudly about what had happened, shouting for their families or
partners to hurry up as they made for the station. There were no
auto-cabs in sight.

The large crowd at the train station made it immediately obvious
that they weren't going to be able to get a train for a very long
time, despite the automated announcement that extra services were
running because of the parade. The crowds were beginning to hem them
in again where they stood and Anais' skin crawled. She couldn't
stand to be in a crush again. She felt as though she couldn't
breathe.

“
Let's
just walk,” she said, standing on tiptoe to speak into Xander's
ear so he could hear her. “It's only two stops, anyway.”

Xander nodded his agreement. They turned their back on the crush
and began to walk. They had barely rounded the corner before the
crowds dropped away completely, leaving the streets eerily quiet,
though Anais could still hear the faint sounds of shouting behind
them. There was the faint noise of tinkling, as though glass had
broken, followed by a roar from the mob. Anais glanced over her
shoulder, as though expecting the riot to spill onto the street
behind them. Without saying a word, they both quickened their pace.

It was strange to see the streets so empty, especially after being
in a crowd for what seemed like forever. There were a few people
hurrying past them, who were rushing home to make sure their loved
ones were okay and to listen out for more news. Anais felt a slight
pang at the thought of at least one man not making it home today.
She wondered what he could've possibly have done to have made
himself a target for the Hacker, other than working for Civitas. But
then, with an awful sick feeling, she realised Xander could've been
that man. He almost was. But she couldn't think of a single thing
that could've made Xander a target - he was just a security intern.
He wasn't like he had an important job at the company. She squeezed
Xander's hand tighter, taking in a few deep breaths through her
nose. Xander was fine. He was here, he wasn't dead. He wouldn't end
up like Dalla. He couldn't.

Anais was almost glad of the interruption to the way her thoughts
were going. They only had a few more streets to go until they were
at the factory, when the screens above them went dark once more.
Anais glanced up as the sound of the endless chattering of the
newsreaders cut off. Slowly they both stopped walking and stared up
at the nearest screen.

It crackled back into life, and the Hacker's face appeared once
more. This video seemed different from the first – there was a
slight sheen of sweat across the Hacker's forehead, and his eyes
seemed more alive. It took a second for Anais to put her finger on
it – wherever this man was, he was filming this live.

Fear and dread contracted in Anais' stomach as she waited with
bated breath. What more could he do to them? At least one more man
was dead; the citizens of the city were in a frenzy, and the Civitas
building was on course to be destroyed, if the riot kept going the
way it was. What more could he want?

The Hacker's cold eyes seemed to pierce straight through Anais. Her
mouth was dry and her heart hammered in her chest. She felt Xander
squeeze her hand for reassurance and she squeezed back.

“
My
friends,” the Hacker's strange voice seemed to echo all around
them, grating on Anais' ears. She wanted to turn away, to block her
ears from whatever awful thing he was about to say, but her feet
seemed glued to the ground.

“
I
wanted to thank. You for listening. To my advice. I told you to run.
And you ran. Now it's time. For me to give you. Another piece of
advice. Don't do a. Goddamn thing. Anyone tells you to do.”

His grey eyes gleamed.

“
Fools.
You stupid. Utter fools. Do You. Really think you're safe? Do you
think. Civitas will protect you? Or the police? No one is safe. Not
from me. I have one last. Present for you. I hope you. Like it. It
is. Non-refundable. After all.”

The Hacker's face was replaced by the live aerial shot of a wide,
squat building. Anais stared at it not comprehending...not fully
understanding what significance the building had. Then the
realisation crashed over her like a tsunami. It was the picochip
factory.

The Hacker's voice came over the shot once more, to say three
insignificant words.

“
Happy.
Birthday. Civitas.”

As
he spoke, the left hand side of the factory exploded in a fireball.
Anais wouldn't have believed it, if there hadn't been a deep
boom
at
the same time and the very ground quaked where she stood. Blood was
pounding in her ears as she looked up, still disbelieving, at the
sky. A plume of smoke was rising behind the building in front of
her.

“
No,”
she became aware of the moan, not realising at first it was her
voice.

Without
stopping to think, she tore away from Xander. She raced towards the
column of smoke and fire, keeping her eyes on the sky. She could
hear Xander's voice shouting behind her, but she didn't stop to
listen. She had to reach the factory. She had to reach her parents.
Terrified, primal fear was clawing at her gut as she ran.
Please
be okay
,
she found herself praying as her trainers pounded on the streets,
you
have to be okay. Mum, dad, I'm coming, please please please be
alright...

The
other few people on the street were running the same way as her, but
they were all blurs as she bolted past them, her fear and adrenaline
forcing her onwards.

She skidded round the last corner, and stopped dead. The left hand
side of the factory had almost been completely destroyed; fire and
smoke was billowing out of the gaping hole where the walls used to
be. People were screaming; workers from the factory were clambering
over the rubble, trying to get away as fast as they could, mindless
of their injuries. From the streets all around, more and more people
were appearing, gazing at the scene in shock and horror. A wail cut
through the air as a bright red fire service hovercraft whirled
overhead.

Anais began to run again, crossing the roads without looking. She
was running the opposite way to the hysterical crowds flooding out
of the factory, but there was only one thing on her mind. She shoved
her way through, not caring if she hurt anyone, not caring about
anything except getting to her parents.

There was a deafening noise and Anais was thrown to the ground,
along with everyone else. Anais looked up. The right hand side of
the building was now on fire; rubble and shards of glass fell from
the sky like a perverse form of rain. Panic and hysteria began to
spread like wildfire, as the workers around her began to fight to
get away. Anais got back to her feet, but she was being buffered
from all directions by the crowd. A strong arm grabbed her, pulling
her backwards.

“
What
are you doing?!” Xander's shout rose above the pandemonium around
them.

“
Let
me go!” Anais screamed at him, trying to pull away from him, but
he held her fast.

“
It's
too dangerous! Anais, no!” Xander kept his grip firm, even as
Anais fought against him. She turned and kicked him, panic and fear
overriding everything else.

“
My
parents are in there!” she screamed at him, but Xander simply held
onto her, no matter how hard she hit him.

“
No!
I've already lost one person I cared about, I'm not going to lose
you too!” he roared above the noise of people screaming, the
crackle of the fire and falling masonry.

“
Let
me -”

“
ANAIS!”

The shout made her stop. Pure, powerful relief flooded through her
as she saw her dad running towards her through the crowd.

“
Dad,”
she whispered. This time when she pulled away from Xander, he let
her go though he followed close behind her.

Anais pushed through the crowd until she got to her father. She ran
and flung her arms around him, breathing in the familiar minty, oily
smell that always lingered on his clothes. For a long moment, they
clung tightly to each other, an oasis in the sea of turmoil around
them. Eventually, Mr Finch gently pulled away to look into Anais'
face. He reached out and brushed a tear away from her cheek. She
hadn't even realised she'd been crying.

“
You're
okay,” she managed to choke out.

“
I'm
fine, we were all starting to go home anyway. Your mother -” Mr
Finch stopped talking, his anxiety clouding his face as he looked
back at the factory. Anais clutched his hand tightly, never feeling
so lost and little as she did now.

“
She'll
be okay,” she said to him, as much to reassure herself as him.

“
I
have to go back and find her -” he said, beginning to turn away.

“
What?
No! Dad, don't go back there – please!” Anais said frantically,
grabbing his arm.

Mr Finch turned, confused.

“
I
have to find her, Anais,” he said, his voice still gentle, despite
the horror around them.

“
No
-”

“
Anais,
listen to me – I want you to wait over there, as far back from the
factory as you can get,” her dad said, leaning down to look her in
the eye. He pointed back across the road, where large crowds of
workers and onlookers alike were gathering, as more scarlet
hovercraft began to descend. White medi-cabs were beginning to
arrive, their green lights flashing, though Anais couldn't hear
their sirens over the noise of roar of the fire. “I'll be back as
soon as I've found your mother.”

As he turned to go again, another wave of workers came out of the
ruins of the main entrance. Among them, Anais could see Ola's dark
blue hair. There was a dark slash across her forehead, and she was
supporting a heavily bleeding Peg.

She spotted a familiar head of short pale green hair just behind
Ola and Peg. Her mum's face was pale and scared as she made her way
down the steps.

“
Dad!”
she shouted, pointing. “Over there!”

“
Freya!
FREYA!” her dad set off towards the doors, against the tide of
people coming out of the factory. Anais saw her mum look up and see
her dad, relief washing over her face.

Anais took a step forward, eager to be reunited with her mother
too, but something stopped her. She looked down – Xander had a
tight grip on her arm.

“
Wha
– Xander, what the hell? Let me go -” she began to struggle
again, but Xander wasn't even looking at her. His eyes were fixed on
the sky above the main section of the building. Anais raised her
eyes to see what he was looking at. A dark column of smoke was
billowing into the sky, just behind the main entrance. Her eyes
dropped to the throng of people that were still vacating the
building, which included her parents.

“
NO!
MUM! DAD!” She began to scream at the top of her lungs, throwing
herself forwards, not caring about the danger, her only thought
being that she had to reach them. If she could just reach them, they
would be safe -

Xander pulled her sharply backwards, screaming in her ear. He began
dragging her backwards, but she fought him every step of the way.
She was still screaming for her parents, still fighting against
Xander. For one split second, her parents looked up and spotted her.
Her mum smiled and took a step towards her, going with the flow of
people around them. They hadn't even seen the pillar of smoke
towering above them, though the crowds on the other side of the road
had, and were beginning to scream and shout.