Heavenfall: Genviants Book 1 (7 page)

"Who, you?" Jonah asked.

"No, you or Mary. Which is why we need to get you meched out and hooked into a comp as soon as possible. The main prison comp to start. Not only unlocking the front gate and cells, but disabling them so they can't be relocked. Then, somehow, get you through Hadrian's security forces, Mary will help with that, and to the command comp. It won't be easy."

"Us?" Mary squeaked. "Why us?"

"His terms. His reasons."

Jonah accepted the explanation with a shrug. "Okay, how's Mary going to take care of the security?"

"The drive has a virus. It'll stop Hadrian's commands from reaching his security teams and top level controllers, and give Jonah's orders priority over Hadrian's." He turned to her. "You need to get to
Sensations
and upload it into their comps. Because Hadrian controls the stim junkies, he uses the same server for the controller comps and the stim bars. From there, the virus is designed to propagate and infiltrate the security comps."

The tech club gave her the creeps. People plugged in and zoned out. Reminded her of zombies. Their brains might be experiencing emotions, but their faces stayed blank. "How do I upload it?"

"Uploading is the easy part," Dex answered. "It's self extracting. All you need to do is find an open port and insert the drive."

"What's the hard part."

"Getting out. Once the upload starts, it will sound an alarm. Hadrian's security forces will swarm the place."

"Wait," Jonah interrupted. "If Hadrian knows where
Sensations
is, why hasn't he shut it down?"

"Who do you think runs the place? Do you believe he actually cares about the stim junkies? He
created
the stim junkies."

"Why?"

"Contingency plan. If our plan doesn't work, and we can't get the energy web to full power, Hadrian can blame it on the controllers being addicted and junked up on the artificial stimulation."

Mary snapped her fingers to get their attention. "Excuse me. It's not our plan. Yet. Can we get back to the me getting out part, please."

"Sorry, sis." At least Jonah had the good grace to look a little embarrassed.

Dex's expression never changed. "A few of the clean controllers who monitor the club are with us. They can mask the signal, buy you a few minutes. Security teams will hit
Lovell Road from both directions. I'm sorry, but you'll probably have to baton it, at least until you're clear. Once their scanners run facial recognition and identify you, they'll expect you to head east, back to gang territory, and hopefully concentrate their efforts in that direction."

"Hopefully." She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "Let me guess. I won't be heading east."

"No. You need to get to the interstate and head west. Once you reach Kingston, I'll have a two-man team there to meet you and see that you get to Oliver Springs and from there to Brushy Mountain. It's going to be a slow and treacherous trek. We're talking back roads and trails through forested areas that aren't on any maps. The locals call them the devil's footsteps."

Jonah reached over and took hold of her hand. "I'll send John and David with you, but make sure you jump to John before you reach the interstate."

"The interstate is pretty much shredded past Turkey Creek, and David's the best rider we've got. Shouldn't he be the one to take me?"

"No. John worked as a unit operator at the
Kingston power plant before Hadrian took it over. He knows the area better than any of us."

Dex leaned forward. "Mary, once you're inside, you'll meet with the prisoners, get the codes, and relay them to Jonah."

"Prisoners? Plural?" Mary asked.

"Our man is in a cell with two other high priority prisoners. Your first priority is to get the codes. Your second is to get them out."

Jonah turned to Dex. "How is she supposed to get past the prison guards?"

"The security forces, including the guards at Brushy, and the controllers are the designated target for the virus. With it, Jonah's orders will override any other directives. Security at the prison, clearance for the Dragons into Palisade, and control of the energy web. I expect Hadrian will show up at Brushy with a couple of his personal guards. Mechs who aren't connected to the main system. He'll want to be present when Mary gets the codes, looking for an opportunity to take them from her. Still, with my guys and John, Mary shouldn't have any problems getting into, and out of, the prison. And once she has the codes, Hadrian can't touch her. She and the prisoners will rendezvous with the Dragons at
Oliver Springs, and they'll head to Palisade from there."

"No." Jonah pushed the drive out of Mary's reach. "It's too dangerous. Find somebody else. Use the wallflower and Niko. They're like custom made for this plan."

"Were you listening? Even if Ursula and Niko were available, which they're not, he only gives the codes to you or Mary. So, either she uploads the virus and goes to the prison, or you do."

"Fine. She can take the comps."

Dex stood, walked away from the table. If she didn't know better, she'd swear he looked frustrated.

He turned around, and let out a sigh. "You know she can't."

"Why can't I?"

"You have active nanites, and they don't play well with others. The standard controller mech won't interface with the command comp. It requires upgrades. The nanites in your system would see the new neural connections as an abnormality and destroy them."

Jonah twirled the drive between his fingers. "Upgrades? You didn't say anything about upgrades last night."

"The sheer volume of information would overload standard controller mech. Fry your brain. You'll need a secondary system. The doctor is going to remove the upper lobe of your left lung and replace it with the necessary hardware. Once it's in place, he'll add the controller components and hardwire all of it to your other biomechanics. The surgery will take a couple of hours, and when you wake up, you'll be in a hell of a lot of pain. After you come out of the surgery, the doc will provide as powerful a local anesthetic as he can, but you won't be able to take any pain medication once the local wears off. Not even a little to take the edge off. Can you handle it? No thinking about it. I need your answer now. We still have time to implement our secondary plan. It's more dangerous, and the percentage of success is lower. But if you're incapacitated by pain, or pain medication, the odds are pretty much even."

"I can take it."

"Good. The doc's address is on the slip of paper I gave you. He's all set for the surgery and expecting you."

Jonah stood, pulled the paper our of his pocket. "Middlebrook Pike? It'll take me about an hour to get there around the wall."

"Are you using a salvaged RFID chip?"

"Yeah. I change it out every few weeks or so. Can't keep one too long. Never know when somebody might report their loved one as missing and presumed."

"I thought as much. Put the drive down and hold out your hand." Dex focused on Jonah's palm.

"Ow!" Jonah pulled his hand back. Shook it. "What the hell did you do to me?"

"Microcontroller. I interfaced with the chip and changed the information to a clean identity. I've manufactured a few and hid them in the system for this sort of situation. Go through the checkpoints. You won't have any problems." Dex slid the hoodie off his shoulder and pulled it on over his t-shirt. "But before you take off, we need to let the rest of the Dragons know what's happening. We'll need their help, and you won't be able to lead them, at least for the duration."

The gray sweatshirt looked a little snug on Dex, he'd bulked up a little since his days in the gang, but it didn't look odd, or out of place. She thought it should. It should make her angry that Dex expected to come in and take over after he'd abandoned the gang. After Jonah had worked so hard to keep them together. Whole. But it didn't.

"Are you in?" Dex asked.

It took her a second to realize he'd directed the question to her and not Jonah. The mini drive sat on the table. She stood, picked it up, and held it loose in her fist. "Yeah, I'm in. But why you? Why can't David lead the gang, or one of the other Dragons who, you know, stuck around?"

"It won't be me. Can't be me, because I'll be with Jonah. It'll be whoever Jonah picks." He started toward the door, stopped, and turned to face them. "No matter what else I've done, or what you think of me, I have always been a Dragon. Will always be a Dragon."

Not the answer she expected. And maybe it was true. A rush of cool air hit her face as Dex opened the door and waited for her to walk out. She squinted against the morning sun. "And a gentleman."

"No, I just don't want to be the first one out the door in case some of the Dragons are lying in wait."

CHAPTER SEVEN

Dex needn't have worried about being jumped. A few of the guys had stayed in the park and tossed a football between them, but most of the Dragons stood in the old gas station parking lot across Broadway where they had a good view of the finish line. Besides, the Dragons trusted Jonah and had too much respect for his authority to interfere. The gang was curious, though, and didn't try to hide the elbow poking and nodding in the trio's direction. Jonah ignored it as they walked toward the crowd. Dark patches, oil or transmission fluid stains, blotted the pavement. Darker in front of the two bays, now missing their doors.

The roar and rumble of the bikes echoed through the ridges, vibrated in her blood. Fumes from the exhaust mixed with the lingering odor of gas and rotting tires. The riders raced from the top of Black Oak Ridge south to the intersection of Broadway and
Essary Road. The guys who hadn't earned the right to race stayed south of the duck pond and revved their way through the obstacle course.

David, Michael, and John leaned against their bikes, away from the crowd, and Jonah walked straight toward them. "You guys not racing?"

Michael took a drag off his cigarette. "Nope. You told us to make it a spectacle. Therefore, squids. Plus, they need the road time."

"
Damn it, Mike. Those guys earned their bars. Quit calling them squids."

Michael shrugged. Took another draw off the cigarette. John and David grinned. They considered anyone who wasn't, well them, squids.

Jonah tucked his hands in his pockets. "Okay. Never mind about the races. We've got a job for you guys."

"We?" David asked.

"Yeah, we. Me and Dex."

"You can forget that shit. I'm not putting my ass on the line for Hadrian's boy."

"What about me?" Mary asked. "Would you put it on the line for me?"

David smiled, and his eyes softened. "Always, princess."

She cringed at the hated nickname. "Then hear them out. Please," she added. "Dex isn't Hadrian's boy any more. Stran confirmed it."

"Don't mean he's welcome here." Michael dropped the cigarette, crushed it under the sole of his boot. "The only reason he's still standing is because we don't want to mess up the shirt."

"No." Dex let the word drag out. "The reason is that you don't want to embarrass yourselves in front of the squids."

Good Lord. Did Dex have to antagonize everyone?

"But," Dex continued, "Aside from me, you guys are the best."

"Damn straight." Michael interrupted. "With or without you in the mix."

"And I need the best."

"Understand this, pretty boy, we don't need you." Michael's arms twitched, and his fingers curled into a fist.

Mary stepped between the men before somebody decided to plant a fist in Dex's pretty face. "Fine." She turned to Dex. "After I upload the virus at
Sensations
, getting out of the building won't be a problem, and I can baton out of the area on the back of any bike. We can use a couple of the squids. If Hadrian's security forces take a few of them down, it's no big loss."
Three, two, one
.

Michael grabbed the hoodie and pulled her back. "Hold on there, princess. You're not old enough, or slick enough, to try and manipulate me that easy. Must be something you think is important to make the effort, though. We'll listen, but if we don't like what we hear, Hadrian's boy is going down."

"Fair enough," Dex checked his watch. "We've got about twenty hours until the wave hits."

"We know the odds."

"No, you don't."

They listened while Dex laid it out pretty much the way he'd told her and Jonah, but
he added the Dragons' role in the plan. "I know it's not a perfect plan," he finished. "It's insane, and there's a hell of a lot we can't control and a hell of a lot that can go wrong. We don't know how much security Hadrian has surrounded himself with, or how heavily they're armed. Do you think the Dragons can keep him pinned down long enough for us to get the codes to Jonah?"

"Does insane and suicidal mean the same thing to you?" Michael asked. "Because what you're calling insane is going to get us killed."

"We've got to keep Hadrian from going after Mary and Jonah. Keep him occupied."

"You just told us he couldn't kill them," David said.

"But if he gets hold of them, delivers them to the prisoner, Hadrian gets the codes."

"And he'll boost the web," Michael interrupted. "What's the difference as long as the job gets done?"

"He might boost the web, over East Tennessee if only to save his own skin, and he can't hurt them before he gets the codes, but afterward? They're all dead, along with a few billion others. Hadrian proclaims himself a
de facto
leader. He's already controlling most of the military. And during the long hours when the wave is pouring destruction? He'll extort the presidency, and we can all sleep easy knowing we're safe and protected in Hadrian's loving arms."

"I see your point," David conceded. "But I'm still not comfortable with Mary going into
Sensations
alone. One of us can upload the virus while John takes her straight to Kingston."

"The place has mech sensors. Picks up on the amount of protectant around the hardware. The controllers have only a small amount of the non-colloidal fluid around their drives, enough to create a blood barrier, but not much in the way of protection. One of you walks through the door, the alarms sound, and Hadrian's security forces are there before you can make it back upstairs."

"Ella could do it," John said.

John's suggestion surprised her. He hadn't said anything while Dex laid out the plan, and she figured he was concentrating on getting her to
Kingston and through the Devil's footsteps.

"She's not at Mary's level." John gave Mary a nod of appreciation. "Or even Corene's, but I think she'd make it out with David and Michael there to catch her."

"Too risky." Dex said. "She only joined the gang a few months ago. Might be legit. Might be that Hadrian's holding her family, or he's paying her for info. Are you willing to bet your lives on it? If she goes and contacts Hadrian, gentlemen, you'll be sitting ducks for Hadrian's security forces, and you won't know until either she comes through for you, or a bullet rips through your skull." Dex glanced over to where Ella stood with a couple of riders. She'd just jumped off the back of a bike after going through the obstacle course, and the high fives were flying. "She could be a decoy, though. Same build. Hair's different, though. Ella's is blond where Mary's is dark, but we've got plenty of the dark shoe polish we use on our faces for night time deals. We can coat Ella's hair in the stuff, and it should be enough to confuse Hadrian's men, at least from a distance, to give Mary enough time to get to the interstate. Odds are better if Ella's legit, the same if she isn't, and you can take her out quick if she proves to be a threat."

The guys grumbled a little, but finally agreed with Dex. "I still don't like Mary going in alone." Michael turned to Jonah. "Got your knife?"

"You know I always carry it."

"Good." Michael pulled his hoodie off. "Drain me."

"What?"

"Cut me open and let the fluid drain. Mary is not going in alone."

"Are you crazy? If blood mixes with the hardware, you could lose the use of your biomechanics and your arms."

"So leave enough for a barrier." He faced Dex. "This will get me through security, right?"

"It might be enough."

"And that surgeon you got on tap? He can replace it afterward, right?

"I'll set it up for right after Jonah's surgery."

"See?" Michael smiled. "No problem. I'll go in with Mary. She does her thing, and we come out. She does a few jumps, gets to David, and he takes her to John while I head to the doc. Perfect."

It was far from perfect, but the tightness in her chest lifted a little knowing she wouldn't have to go in alone.

"Okay, but we need to go over to the building. Get some alcohol to sterilize everything and bandages to patch you up." Jonah took a step toward his bike, stopped a moment to scan the crowd. "I was going to name you the leader, you know. 'Cause you're always thinking about what's best for the gang." With that, he set his sights on the building, mounted, and revved the engine.

"Ah, hell." David quickened his pace and pulled Jonah's shoulder. "You're right. Michael should take over. The gang shouldn't have to settle for second best. Let me take the cuts, go in with Mary."

Jonah nodded toward Michael. "You good with that, Mike?"

"No."

"Too bad. Get back to the gang, give them a head's up that something big is going down. Pull two riders you trust, plus Ella, for the run to
Sensations
.
Ask for volunteers for the action going down tomorrow. Tell them only what they need to know. Like Dex says, we can't be sure about anybody." Jonah pulled out his knife. "Just one more thing. You're the leader of the Dragons now." He cut a fourth strip out of Michael's sleeves, then a fifth one out of the right sleeve. "Bona fide. From here on out, the Dragons are your first, and only, responsibility."

"Only until you come back."

"Nope. Nothing temporary about it. All or nothing. They're going to need someone strong to lead after the wave hits. You know all about the chain of command, morale, and all that shit. Besides, even if I make it back, I won't be...the same."

She saw Michael's hesitation, the way he wanted to argue, but there were no arguments. No other options. In recognition, he stood at attention and presented Jonah with an old-fashioned military salute. She'd forgotten that Michael had done a couple of stints in the army. A staff sergeant, maybe? Didn't matter now. He'd just been promoted to commander.

Michael waited, stock still, until Jonah mounted and revved the bike to life, then lowered his hand, gave David a fist bump. "At
Sensations,
man. See you there."