Shutdown Syntax - Chapter 7
If you are new to Shutdown Syntax, start from the beginning.
Note: This chapter includes violence and strong language, as the entire story does. If you are new and starting this story, please be aware of the potential triggers in a dark story as this.
Ali
IrisLink had been working overtime. Contrary to popular opinion, IrisLink required a lot of mental load. Data was fed to the user, and their brain needed to interpret it. Organic brains were great at data decoding, interpretation, and more, without the user realizing it. But it was also an utterly exhausting process - for power usage, for the brain, and for the IrisLink's processor.
The power problem was the internal battery of IrisLink. It required a recharge. (Ali's understanding was that some people wanted to power IrisLink directly from the human, similar to some less invasive mods… because there were no flaws in that plan.)
Because of all that, she only relied on Ghosthand when absolutely necessary, but she couldn't rely on it the entire way from the docks to the Dregs. Warnings flashed about the time remaining until a shutdown occurred or a recharge would be necessary. For the trip to the docks, it had been fine. Enough blind spots and Syndicate filtering kept her usage down.
The hours were wearing on Ali. And her brain slogged along, hindered by the pain in her legs and hip from the fall, while IrisLink continued to pump out information.
When she’d entered Mr. G’s apartment from the fire escape, her IrisLink immediately picked up on a signal, like a ringing in Ali’s ear. Not painful, but dissonant and irritating.
Thumper hadn’t filtered any new information her way. His protocols included identifying when he saw someone more than once. And he didn’t pick up on rogue signals like the sensitive IrisLink equipment did.
Of course, Mr. G was not exactly most people’s favorite PI… or person. He'd been targeted by rogues, the Syndicate, ex-girlfriends... his old mechanic, etc. Traps were always a possibility.
Walking in on some kid over Mr. G was… surprising. But the kid hovering over Mr. G wasn’t a threat. Hell, he could barely keep his dinner down.
God, the feed…
It wouldn’t shut up!
Unverified signal
Foreign device handshaking [access denied]
External device acting as a signal repeater
Echo interference - source untraceable
Battery low - recharge required or IrisLink shut down in 25 minutes
Protocols and services limited due to low battery
Messages like these repeated, scrolling, and were coming faster.
Ali's gut screamed. Something was outside the window; on the street, lingering. But IrisLink wasn't alerting her about it. Were the security protocols being overwhelmed? Was it partly because of the low battery?
There! Faint.
A buzz in the air.
Drones? Bots?
IrisLink's continuum of information became faster and more incessant, and she just couldn't keep up. Words scrolling by her vision were occasionally recognized, even by her exhausted brain. Particularly if they stood out. Like conflict, or control, or (best yet) unauthorized.
[GhostHand Protocol] — Unauthorized Control Link Attempt
Another IrisLink is attempting access to this device.
WARNING: Recursive signal detected.
Fresh pain straight from the depths of hell shot up Ali's back. A new signal drilled through every cell in her body, making her eyes water. Ali nearly fell back, but righted herself. The pain created another wave, and Ali arched her back. The VibroBlade attached to her back disagreed emphatically and dug deep into a fatty part of her lower back when she tripped over her feet.
Something skittered and hit the closet door. A small, oval-shaped device like the one she'd picked up back in her precinct gym locker. While clutching her head, Ali used one hand and patted her pocket. The device she'd picked up from her locker was still there. The one on the floor was a new one. Through bleary eyes, she eventually realized it was identical to the smooth object in her pocket. And possibly the device trying to access her IrisLink equipment.
Wait.
Brain connections were slow through the pain.
A strange device.
In Mr. G’s apartment.
When he'd had a brand spanking new FrankenLink put in?
Despite her body’s—and the VibroBlade’s—better wishes, Ali rolled to her hands and knees and eased back to her feet as Mr. G came to.
“See… it…” The words were slow, like they traveled through molasses before getting to her. “Ali? What the hell happened to you?”
“What the hell happened to me???" she screeched. Not the smartest move. That pain was a new kind of hell. “I leave for two weeks and you’re a fucking glue rig held together with wishful thinking at best!”
"Ali, huh? Not Angel?" Tim wheeled on her. Actually, from her current point of view, two of Tim turned on her.
This was not the time!
Mr. G stumbled through his fragmented thoughts, "I was following the Mikels' case… the hospital… and… then there was..."
Pain made her anger burn hotter. “That sounds like short-term memory loss.” Ali snapped. “Gee, I wonder why!" Tim grabbed her shoulders as she dashed - the slowest, most stumbling dash she could make. Her brain thought it was a dash; in reality, it was a cross between loping and hobbling and all misery. "I told you to wait! The captain told you to wait! You didn't listen! You never listen!" she hissed.
“Time sensitive, Alison!" Mr. G hissed right back, even as she winced. The ringing in her ears blared louder. She could barely hear Mr. G when he said, "Missing persons cases are always…"
“Maybe there was a reason," Ali stopped mid-thought. Through the ringing, the signals, the red flashing… she started wiping at the windows. "Did your FrankenLink pick up on anyone following you? Bots or people. Any errant signals? Does it even have any memory backup?" New alerts flashed, and closing her eyes didn't help. It was like all the alerts projected behind her eyelids, too.
Startled into reality, Mr. G's eyes roamed around, as if he was trying to read or access his hardware, but… wasn’t able to. She remembered those early days learning to navigate both IrisLink and also the world with IrisLink. It's disorienting. Non-intuitive, even, especially based on whatever the user's settings were. "No," Mr. G sighed as if he were the child in this room. For all intents and purposes he was, but that was beside the point.
“Errant signals?” Ali muttered, graphs overlaying her vision. Graphs she didn’t ask for. But the wavelengths… Wait, she remembered these. They were the same as when she worked with the tech guys from Vanguard’s CSI division. From chatter and remote signals and things they were trying to intercept. “Wait… his computer.” She turned back to Tim, and he was closer than she remembered. Awkwardly, she hit his chest. “Can you…?”
Tim forced a laugh. “Me? Help you? You can’t even give me your real name, you point a gun at me…”
"That's par for the course," Mr. G sighed. Without the heat on him, his concern, and even his lost look dissolved into curiosity over some unknown element. He started opening drawers, reading scraps of paper he'd jotted quick, indecipherable notes on.
"Helpful, aren't you lot?" Ali backed up a step, bumping into the desk, and smacked Thumper on the head. "I want to know if Mr. G’s IrisLink tried to gain access to Mr. G’s computer.”
Tim leveled a sharp scowl at Ali.
“Can you?” Ali asked again, less harshly. Trying to ask nicely.
“Why?” Tim snapped. “Why should I help you, you crazy—?”
Something hard hit the glass of the window to Ali’s right, startling Tim.
"Because the FrankenLink might have been installed to find out what Mr. G has on whatever case he's been working on. Was Mr. G…?"
“Stop calling him that!” Uh-oh. That was a familiar look. Wild panic at what could have hit the window stuck Tim’s breath in his throat like a lump.
"It's his name, God damn it!" Ali whispered harshly. She needed to keep her voice down. Good to know her gut still worked fine. "What am I supposed to call him?"
Tim wrestled with invisible words. “I… don’t know! But he’s not…”
Another plink, but louder.
Ali's heart rate raced wildly, prompting IrisLink to send another notification. She grabbed at Tim's wrists to stop him from making more sounds. As if his hands were what was making the sounds. "IrisLink, can you mask our digital signals that are detectable to others?"
Insufficient power to sustain frequency shielding.
Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT! “Is there sufficient power for a perimeter scan?” she asked quietly.
Affirmative.
Tim started to fidget. His nerves were growing. She grabbed at his hands before they could do something destructive or loud, and she said, "Initialize and overlay."
Lovely. A 3-D wire map of the apartment overlaid her vision, scaled down. Drone outlines hovered at each window, including Mr. G’s bedroom and the small bathroom window. At least a dozen.
Mr. G stood, ripped the cords connecting him to his computer out, and slapped Tim on the shoulder before pulling him from Ali and into a stiff, awkward hug.
“Ignore Alison. She’s rough around the edges but means well. Did I say how good it was to see you, son…”
Son?
Son???
No. That wasn't… he… He was THAT Tim?
Well, isn’t that just great?
Mr. G just barreled onto the next thing without waiting for Tim or even acknowledging the obvious tension or literally anything she had said in the last two minutes. Tim seemed to catch on that his father hadn't heard anything. At least it was typical Mr. G, rather than manic. "Now that file. I just need to find…" He staggered, grabbing the edge of the desk. Hand over the eye next to the IrisLink.
"Well, he can't be overclocked now. I-I… reset all the parameters," Tim, however, let out a slightly crazed laugh that mimicked his father's 'when shit hit the fan' laugh in an eerie way. "What is out there?"
Ali, however, lost all hint of amusement. Her jaw twitched. “Mr. G?”
“Hmm?” He was lost in his thoughts and mumbling now, all notion of pain quickly abandoned like it hadn’t even happened.
She snapped in his face, something that always annoyed the hell out of him. She’d been inspecting that damn FrankenLink before. Something was off about it. And there, she could see the bulge that shouldn’t be there. Even on a FrankenLink. No! No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. “Mr. G! We need to have Bernie take a look at you.” She pressed him with her eyes. God, the kid—his kid—couldn’t know how wrong things were.
“It’ll be…” Mr. G started.
Ali growled, “Now." Her tone finally broke through. Mr. G actually looked her in the eye. "To check. Your. IrisLink.” She forced a thick lump in her throat down.
Mr. G's eyes glazed over as he read something. The eyes move instinctively, even if the movement is minute and almost unnecessary with the IrisLink overlays.
Glass shattered. Exploding into the apartment. Ali slid into the desk, knocking Thumper into Tim, which threw him into the wall. Reaching under her jacket, she released the VibroBlade. A flick and it unfolded, latching together magnetically, humming. And she sliced a small, oval-shaped, crab-like drone in half.
Tim screamed. A rather understated scream as her blade sliced near his head. Grabbing handfuls of his jacket, Ali threw Tim towards the kitchen and his father.
Crossing the room in a few strides, Ali snatched a handful of files from one open box, then another, and slammed them into Mr. G’s chest. “Go bag, now! Thumper—” With a heave, Ali yanked the dirty blinds cord for the window behind the desk as another small orb-like drone came careening in, which she sliced with another lazy swing, and pointed. “—clear the perimeter. There are at least ten left.”
Mr. G took his son by the shoulder and pushed him towards the door. However, Mr. G seemed to be moving slowly, unable to move faster than a walk. Oh, God, they'd not seen him move much since his… 'reboot' or whatever it was considered.
“What the hell—?" Tim fell into a barstool at the kitchen island as half a drone hurled into the apartment. Ali rushed to grab its jittering arm and throw it back out the window.
“Away from us, bud!” she called back. “Clear the perimeter AWAY FROM US! Damn it, Thumper…” Because, of course, Thumper would cause problems when things were going from bad to so much worse… and they were going to have to abandon going for a ‘go bag.’ Damn.
Chapter 8 coming soon!
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