Silicon Valley 2033
Chapter 6: Crunch Time
Seeing "Larry Ellison Sent to Insane Asylum" in large print on every major publication made Linna feel better. The hardest part of her trip was over. She leaned against Nene in the back seat of a large van. She wanted to take in all the sights - all the billboards, corporate logos, and city names of legend. She had always wanted to visit Menlo Park, the place where Thomas Edison did much of his work. It was a shame that she had to destroy a part of it to survive. Nene was so fast asleep that she did not notice.
The van was at least the same size as the Silky Doll company vehicle, except that it was painted a dull brown with only the name of "Dr. Crow" on its side to identify it. Linna and Nene each had two suitcases of clothing behind them. Linna sighed and did not dare move, else she agitate the wound in her arm.
She did not even feel the van pull into an exit, weave through a few local roads, or stop at an old garage where Dr. Raven, Sylia, and Mackie waited. While the driver hugged Dr. Raven and patted him on the back outside, Nene shifted slightly.
Linna looked up at whoever was banging on the window. Priss shouted from outside, "Hey, sleepyhead!" She was wearing a body brace and a few other random bandages, but Linna could tell that she was still acting as if nothing had happened last night. She smiled and waved back through the window while Nene yawned.
"Rough day at work?" Priss asked.
Linna opened the door nearest her and noted that "You shouldn't be talking!"
Priss helped Linna out - although she was well aware of how much her arm hurt right now - and closed the door. Nene banged on the window screaming, "Hey! Don't lock me in here! You mean people!"
The two kept on walking towards the garage.
They all felt the shock of the explosion, even though they were half a mile away from the scene. They could also see smoke and fire going up in the distance. Zax nodded to a regular police officer and the van was allowed through the traffic barrier.
"Suspects sighted exiting the bank, they are heavily armed and armored, over."
Zax put the radio up to his mouth. "Acknowledged, taking position."
"Suspects appear to be equipped with - WHAT ARE THEY---"
Zax threw the radio into the back of the hair, knocking Leon on the head. He swerved the van around the corner, burning rubber across a series of painted pedestrian lines.
"They're not Boomers, but---" was another unit's death cry.
Zax crashed right into one of the "suspects," a medium-sized man wearing metallic combat armor and wielding an antitank beam launcher. He fell over from being impacted at nearly sixty miles per hour, but got back up.
The man looked for the driver of the van - and, for that matter, the van's occupants. Leon and Daley knew they could buy time by hiding underneath the seats for a few minutes before trying something. Daley crawled close to Leon and whispered, "Let us enjoy ourselves in the midst of the battle."
The man suddenly turned around to watch a strange transparent object punch him in the face. He readjusted his mask and punched back.
Zax's fist landed squarely on the man's, creating a tremendous shock for his whole arm. He felt fabric in the glove start to wear and crack, but the man's arm was crunched into his shoulder. Zax finished him off easily and ran off to take care of the rest of the suspects.
Daley looked up over the seat and saw that Zax had taken care of the suspect. In addition, Zax was dispatching the rest of the suspects even more quickly. It was as if he could create compression waves purely through the power of his gloves. As far as he knew, compression waves normally needed bulky cannons to produce. "Hey, Leon, it's safe. Mr. Kirkbride is taking care of the situation."
As Leon rolled out of the van and onto the pavement, he wondered, "How does he do that?"
"The test subject continues to resist the influence." Fargo was not interested in his drink or the view of Monterey Bay. His straw rested on the edge of a clear blue bubbling drink. Its friendly appearance concealed its chemistry.
"Either he is very gifted, or the master's theory is wrong," replied the woman. She let her hair rest straight down today. Fargo noticed she had given up pretending that she was Sylia. He was no longer worth the effort to her, he assumed.
"I stole the report of his latest blood test. There are traces of SuperBoomer protein in him, but he still fails to hear Master's call." Children were amazed at the sight of so many seals piling onto the piers, statues commemorated John Steinbeck and his book Of Mice and Men, and sailors leisurely wandered the bay.
The woman gave no sign of recognition. Perhaps she would kill him right now. "Obviously, we will experience difficulty taking back the components."
Fargo squinted against the glare of the sun. "Don't you think we're a bit far away from where we need to be, then?"
The woman continued to sip her exotic drink. "I keep a few things here." She dabbed at her mouth with a napkin. "I thought you trusted me."
"I've been arrested - twice - and beat up by the Americans! They know everything that I know! I'm getting just a little bit edgy right now!" Fargo's sweat shook off his face with every exclamation mark. He was squeezing on the table and hurting his own hands.
"Which is why you're staying here." She reached into her pocket for something.
Fargo reclined in his chair while running his hands through his hair. He knew this would have to happen.
The woman threw some false identification and a thick wad of cash onto the table. "You'd best return to Japan."
She got up and left. He no longer had a motivation to live. Sylia knew what his purpose was, so she was never going to get with him. His cybernetic liver's alcohol-filtering capabilities were being pushed to their max. And this woman, who reminded him so much of Sylia, was leaving him too. He put his hand on the supplies, which he would need to escape from the country. He at least had enough mental capacity left in him to figure out what the stuff was for.
She had truly killed him.
Sylia's serious face was not a weclome sight at this meeting. They were not even meeting at their usual place. They were hiding out in Dr. Crow's garage, a friend of Dr. Raven, in the middle of a dirty neighborhood known only as "East Palo Alto." Satisfied that everyone was paying attention to her, and that they would not leave, she began.
"We are being targeted for some purpose. None of you may return to Japan for the time being."
"We can't be cooped up in a prison like this!" objected Priss. She had many plans for when she got back home. She had to send the Replicants away without a sober driver to take them to their homes.
Linna added, "We shouldn't let our enemies affect us."
"Actually," Sylia interjected, "we are going to prepare for our next action very carefully. We are in an unfamiliar area and we cannot afford to rush into things. Furthermore, you will need to get acquainted with some new equipment that we will be working with."
A fifth woman appeared in the doorway.
"I would also like to introduce you all to Reika Chang. Reika, this is Priss Asagiri, Linna Yamazaki, and Nene Romanova."
Linna realized that "We've met," while shaking her hand. The others were too shocked to speak.
"It's good to hear that," Sylia continued, "The first order of business is to pick up Reika's hardsuit and motoroid from a pier in San Francisco."
Reika interrupted, "Pardon me, but I thought that all shipping happened in Oakland. My uncle competed with black people for dominance of the harbors there."
"San Francisco is more suitable for keeping a low profile. It also guarantees that our special order won't get mixed up with all the other shipping crates in the warehouse, because there will be no other."
Reika bowed politely. "I am sorry, Commander."
"Please feel at ease, Reika. We're all best friends here."
"Understood."
Madigan's broken, bloodied body fell on the floor. She rolled slightly from the momentum to reveal the large gunshot wounds in her body. As she lay in the doorway of Brian J. Mason's databank room, a shadow fell over her.
Quincy spoke to the room, "Tell me... during the short time that your name was Madigan, what did you learn?"
The colors and sounds of the room echoed back, "I learned more about my mortal enemy."
Quincy laughed. "Everybody hates the French."
The room was not as amused. "I learned that my enemy is truly the opposite of myself."
"Well, mister V7-28 or Largo or whoever you are, I don't quite see what the big deal is. I presume you mean 'opposite' in the sense that I am mighty and you are not."
A single face-like image formed on the monitors. "This is the true look of a victor! One day, you will bow to me, as well as the rest of the world. You may scoff now, but I am so mighty that I will surely---"
Bits of sizzling mesh and latex hung loosely off of Quincy's cannon-arm, which folded itself back into an arm. "You have no son, no heir to your legacy. I need only to strike at your center and you will die."
One of the speakers of the room struggled to argue otherwise amidst crackling static. "You... underestimate my followers."
"This war has nothing to do with silly mortals. This war is between you and me, and you know well who the victor is."
"But I am greater than you. I am superior in every way, and I continue to become more and more powerful every day."
"Perhaps you may know of a story from the Bible, in which Jesus excorcises a multitude of demons known as 'Legion.' You can figure out the rest."
Quincy reached into his stomach and exploded. When the smoke had cleared, the room was no more.
Quincy walked in from around the corner of a hallway and began digging through the debris.
"So, Kou, how do you like 'em?" asked Mackie.
Kou stared straight ahead at the road while he drove. "I don't understand."
"How do you... you know... like the touch and feel?"
"The engine and drivetrain were certainly well-made, if that's what you mean."
Mackie slapped himself on the forehead. "I mean, what kind of girls do you like?"
Kou waited for a few minutes before answering. "I enjoy a woman who is polite, refined, intelligent, can manage everything at once, and never says more than she needs to." He glanced at Mackie for a second. "If that's what you mean."
Mackie leaned back in his seat and smiled. "I dunno about you, but... I like girls who have plenty to get a hold of, who can cook and take orders from a man. I want a girl who's never gonna question me, and dedicates herself totally to me."
Kou's mouth made a wry smile. "You have much to learn about being a man, Mackie."
"I'm old enough to vote and join the army already! And I do my fair share of fighting, too."
"There is a certain... substance... that separates a man from a spiky-haired boy. Wait a minute."
Kou changed lanes, but the car following close behind had no difficulty following suit. "So they want a piece of me, eh?" He pulled over to the shoulder.
The driver of the car was not only not a Bu-55C, but one of the most infamous Genom board members. "I mean you no harm," he began.
Reika grabbed Kou's arm to hold him back while Sylia stepped forward. Passing traffic blew dust and garbage along the road.
"I have come to make a request of the Knight Sabers."
Priss gritted her teeth.
"In exchange for ceasing to pursue you, even if you should attack us afterwards, we would like you to do two things."
Sylia stated, "I have reason to believe that the Knight Sabers are engaged in their own business."
The Genom executive chuckled. "In fact, we will protect your identities from anyone else, especially the French, if you help protect a new system and then strike at the center of your troubles."
"You are the center of our problems!" exclaimed Priss.
"Hardly. We are sorry that some of our employees are a bit overzealous in protecting Genom against potential threats, but I assure you that the French will bring about the end of the world if we do not have your assistance in stopping them."
"What about this new system you want us to guard?" asked Sylia.
"We will tell you... if you go to it. You must work under our terms, of course."
They stared at each other for a few moments.
Leon kicked one of the bodies over onto the street.
"Whatever you do, don't touch them. There's something suspicious about them," commented Zax from afar.
Leon backed off from the body. "Okay, okay, whatever you say."
The eyes flashed red.
"Um... Zax, when are the investigators supposed to come?"
"Two to four minutes, depending on traffic." Zax was walking back toward Leon again. "Since we've closed down most of the roads near here. Why do you ask?"
"It's looooking at you!" suggested Daley. "They may not be Boomers, but they're certainly not human either."
Leon drew his Earthshaker and pointed it at the body. "Only one way to find out." He bent down on one knee and grabbed the body's face-mask with his free hand.
End Chapter 6: Crunch Time
