Bubblegum Crisis Fan Fiction ❯ Black Knights, Steel Hearts ❯ Chapter 25

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

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The Bubble Gum Crisis OVA's (which this story is based on) are copyrighted by
Artmic Inc. and Youmex, Inc. I am just borrowing the characters for a little
while for non-monetary reasons. I can be contacted at the Email address above.
Serious C&C will be accepted, out-and-out flames will result in a Boomer
or two being sent after you, once they get around to building them.

Please, enjoy my take on the Bubble Gum Crisis universe . . .

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Chapt er 25

Highway 4
MegaTokyo, Japan
Saturday, December 22, 2035
12:24pm

Sylia waited until she had steered her car out into traffic before she dialed Mackie on the more secured car phone. He answered it on the second ring. /Is it OK to talk now, Sis?/

"Yes."

/How did it go?/

"Better then I thought." She outlined the conversation in several sentences. After she finished, she said, "I think we can cancel the Medusa protocols."

Sylia heard her brother exhale slowly in relief. /You won't get an argument from me on that. What now?/

"Can you get hold of Linna and Nene? I want us all at Priss' trailer when Leon shows up."

/I think I can swing it. What about the job for Greg?/

"After you call Nene and Linna, check the Hong Kong account. Once you've confirmed the money's been transferred, start a rundown on Gulf and Bradley Japan. Once we've retrieved Priss, I'll have Nene crack into their system."

/I'm on it. Er . . . one other thing, Sis?/

"What?"

/How is Greg Mallory these days?/

Sylia was silent for a minute as she tried to put her thoughts together. "He's still much the same, and yet . . . " she stopped, uncertain of how to continue.

/Yet what?/

"I don't know. It's kind of hard to describe right now."

/Try me./

"I'm having dinner with him tonight."

/You're WHAT?/

Sylia smiled. "You seemed surprised, little brother."

/I...er...well..YES!/

"And the dinner's going to be at GENOM Tower."

She heard the sounds of disbelief and shock on the other end of the phone line. After several seconds, Mackie managed to croak out, /Are you crazy, Sis? This could be a trap!/

"It isn't."

/How do you know that?/

"I just know." She glanced at her watch. "You better get started. I'll see you in about an hour."

/OK, Sis. I just hope you know what you're doing./

"I do. Good-bye, Mackie."

/Good-bye./

Sylia replaced the receiver in its cradle, and concentrated on her driving.

**********

AD Police Headquarters
Saturday, December 22, 2035
12:29pm

"...system is three years out of date," continued Alan, pointing to several lines on his computer screen.

"Why haven't they upgraded?" asked Nene. The ADP system security was worse than she thought. She hadn't realized how bad it was until Alan calmly described the problems and possible solutions. It had been an informative hour on the massive task ahead of her.

Alan frowned. "One word: Money."

"I should have guessed. Can we cobble something together ourselves?"

"We can try. It may take some time though."

Nene bit her lip in thought. She was beginning to warm up to the task ahead of her. To secure ADP's computer system was going to be interesting indeed. "How often do Crackers use this path into the system?"

"One out of ten. But the ones who use it are the serious type, including Hacker forty-four."

Nene stiffed a giggle behind a coughing fit. In the last hour, she'd discovered that Hacker forty-four had become a personal bugbear of Alan's. He was convinced this cracker was a member of the Knight Sabers, and had taken more then a little interest in tracking her down. The irony that his nemesis was now his superior was almost laughable. It also meant she was going to be extremely careful from now on.

"You OK, Boss?"

Nene inhaled. "I'm fine," she assured him. "Let's start with the closing up of the obvious holes in the system and go from there."

The phone ran, interrupting them. Before Nene could react, Alan reached over and picked up the receiver. "Computer Security Officer, Corporal Tremolini speaking . . . Yes she is. Who's calling please?...One moment, please." He looked at Nene. "Phone for you, Boss," he said
grinning. "Says he's your boyfriend."

The redhead snatched the receiver out of his hand and glared at him. Alan was still smiling as he stood. "I'm going for a short walk," he announced, stretching slowly. "Back in a bit." With a wave, he walked out of the office and closed the door behind him.

Once the door clicked into place, Nene spoke into the receiver, "Mackie?"

/Yep./

"You idiot!" she hissed. "What's the idea of calling me here and telling my subordinate you're my boyfriend?"

/I didn't want to give him my name./

"I'm going to have enough trouble with him without him thinking I'm some giggling schoolgirl!"

/I didn't lie to him, did I?/

Nene sighed. "No, you didn't. Just don't this a habit, OK?"

/Don't worry. I called to tell you Sylia met with Greg Mallory for lunch, and Greg told Sylia that Priss is alive./

A sense of relief washed over Nene. "How is she?"

/Banged up but still breathing. Sylia wants to know if you'll be free this afternoon./

"What's up?"

/Leon's dropping off Priss at her trailer this afternoon. Want to be part of the welcome wagon?/

"I think I can be there. Does Sylia want us in formal dress for this?"

/Yep. Pick you up about two o'clock?/

"That sounds good. I'd better get going. See you about two."

/Bye./

Nene hung up the phone, leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Tension she hadn't realized she had loosened in her neck and shoulders, and she relaxed completely. Priss was alive!

Alan opened the door and strolled back into the office. "Ah, the excitement of having a social life," he said dryly when he saw Nene. "I hope you're not too attached to it."

She opened her eyes and frowned at him. "What do you mean?"

He returned it with a shrug. "I haven't had a date in eighteen months, and I can't remember the last time I talked to someone about any subject that didn't involve the ADP, computer security, or Crackers. It wasn't until I got home yesterday that I realized I'd spent the last
two and a half days in this office. To say this department is understaffed is like saying GENOM Tower is big."

Nene closed her eyes and tried hard not to grit her teeth. "How understaffed?"

"There should be a minium of four people in this department, with eight being even better."

"What does Lieutenant Asaikeda say?"

Alan glanced outside the office door before he closed it slowly and walked over to Nene. "Lieutenant Asaikeda has absolutly no standing in the ADP hierarchy," he said in a low voice. "He's been doing his best to squeeze out more funds, but the Chief's too busy adding layers of bureaucratic red tape, which just makes Asaikeda's job harder." He waved his hand in the air. "The lieutenant's trying, but he's fighting a losing battle."

"What about the other departments?"

Alan shuddered. "They guard their turf like a mama grizzly bear guarding its young. Most won't even talk to me, as I'm 'acting' department head. They'll talk to you, but I wouldn't expect a miracle. It'll be easier getting blood out of a Boomer."

Nene closed her eyes again, the beginning of a rather large headache forming in her temples. She heard Alan move to his desk, remove something from a desk drawer, then move into her cubical. She opened her eyes as he dropped two small pills into her hand. "What are these?"
she asked.

"Pain killers," he replied quietly, handing her a glass of water. "You look like you could use them."

"Thanks." Nene took the pills, followed it with the contents of the glass. "I hadn't realized the situation was so screwed up."

"No one outside the department does. You're going to spending as much time fighting with the other support sections as you will be fending off crackers and other intruders."

"Oh great," moaned Nene

"It's not that bad. I know the people involved, who to trust, and who not to. You may have to fight the other sections, but you won't be fighting in the dark. That's a promise."

"Thanks, Alan."

"No problem, Boss." He gave her a silly grin. "I'm now dependent on your performance evaluations, so I'd better help you do you job."

"You're not upset that I've come in to take charge of the department?"

"Why should I be? They're not going to give me the department anytime soon. Besides, I'd like to have someone to talk to besides myself."

"You don't miss the street?"

The smile faded from Alan's face. "I do. I won't give you the entire song and dance routine, but I don't belong here."

"Your medical condition?"

He nodded. "I was given a choice, either take a support position inside the ADP, or retire on a medical disability. I took the support position."

"You don't want to tell me about your condition?"

"Not right now. Sometime in the future, maybe. All I will say is that I'm not going to got crazy and start shooting people at random anything soon."

"Do you want to give your fellow officers a hand in evening the odds somewhat against Boomers?"

Alan snorted. "Short of joining the Knight Sabers, I don't see how."

Nene looked at Alan carefully, looking for signs of nervousness or unease. There was none in his stance. "Nothing as active as that," she said finally.

"Do you want to start a blood drive among the support staff?"

Nene took a deep breath. No time like the present. "I'm putting together a team to do some special work for Daley and Leon. Are you interested?"

"Doing what?" Alan's face was serious, despite the light tone of his words. "Cracking GENOM's computer security for Boomer design specs?"

"In a word, yes."

There was silence for several seconds. Nene's mouth went dry as she thought that maybe she'd moved too fast. The expression on Alan's face was unreadable. Finally, Alan smiled. "Sure, boss. Count me in."

Nene didn't realize she'd been holding her breath until she exhaled. "Thanks Alan."

Alan shrugged. "If I can't blast Boomers on the street myself, I can try and give my friends a shot at it." He cocked his head. "You got a hot date tonight?"

Nene reddened. "That was my boyfriend. He'd called to tell me a friend who was in an accident last night is getting out of the hospital today."

"What time?"

"Three o'clock today."

"Going to go see your friend?"

"Yes. Is that all right?"

Alan shrugged. "Hey, you're the boss. You set your own hours."

"It's not like that!" Nene shouted. "My friend was traveling along the Coastal Highway last night, when the...."

"Hold on!" Alan put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "You convinced me, Boss. What time is your boyfriend picking you up?"

"Two."

"Good." He looked at his watch. "That gives us time for lunch, then another hour of explaining the system. speaking of which, are you ready for lunch?"

"Sure. You buying?"

"I suppose I can, this being your first day and all...."

**********

Near Highway 17
District 6
Saturday, December 22, 2035
1:29pm

Daley got out of the car slowly, putting on his sunglasses as he did so. I feel like a bloody vampire, he thought. He glanced at the crater that started less then a hundred meters from where he was standing. There were hundreds of emergency personnel, with a smaller number of emergency Boomers assisting, swarming across the wreckage like ants over a piece of fruit.Several cranes were in operation, removing rubble and other signs of damage from the surrounding areas.

Ko climbed out of the car and leaned on the roof. He'd done most of the talking during the drive, filling in Daley on his background. He was twenty seven years old, single, and had spent three years with the N-Police before requesting a transfer to the ADP. He'd become a police
officer because his father, uncles, and grandfather had all been police officers.

Daley scowled as he ignored Ko, and just stared at the mass of broken concrete before him. According to the information Daley had already read, there were at least a dozen craters within a kilometer's radius of this spot. They had been created by at least fifteen objects that had
struck the earth in a matter of a few minutes ten hours before. The shallowest of the craters were only fifteen meters deep, while the deepest was close to a hundred meters deep and still too hot to safely approach.

Ko stared at the twisted wreckage that had been the Coastal Highway twelve hours before. "It didn't look this nasty on television," he said slowly.

Daley looked at him. "It never does," he said roughly. "Be thankful that it happened at three o'clock in the morning. Imagine the carnage if it had happened twelve hours sooner or later."

"I don't want to." Ko looked off to his left. "Hold on, we've got a welcoming committee."

Daley glanced in the direction Ko was looking in. A trio of figures was making their way through the rubble towards the ADP officers. Two of them he recognized at once.

One was Assistant Police Commissioner Mizahara, a tall lean man with narrow eyes and a look of distaste perpetually etched on his sharp features. He wasn't well like among the officers on the street. Most thought he was on GENOM's payroll, while others believed he was too stupid to be worth bribing. After having to deal with him several times, Daley thought it was the latter.

Trailing after Mizahara was a thin woman with flat features, short yellow hair, and wearing glasses that made her look like a misplaced librarian. She wore the same expression as did the Police Commissioner, and Daley flinched slightly. Ms. Amiko Dasen, Special Assistant to the Prim Minster of Japan. The stories about her weren't much better then the ones about Mizahara. Neither one could be considered a friend of the ADP.

The only one Daly didn't recognize was a short, powerful looking man wearing mottled green-and-black army fatigues and boots. Unlike the other two, his expression appeared to be neutral, but Daley had enough experience in reading expression to guess that he had already sized up both Mizahara and Dasen, and wasn't happy with either one of them.

"Ah, there you are, Inspector," said Mizahara in a nasal voice that was grating on the nerves at the best of times. This wasn't the best of times. "Have you anything new to report?"

"No sir," replied Daley briskly. "It might take up weeks to sort through this mess."

"Weeks?" replied Dasen. She shook her head. "We can't afford to wait weeks for you to finish shifting through this, this . . . . " She waved a hand in the direction of the craters.

"Disaster," said the soldier in a deep rumbling voice. He was close enough for Daley to see the single star on the collar of the fatigues and read WOLFE off the name tag. "But, the Inspector is right. It could take weeks to shift through all of this."

"Inspector Wong," said Mizahara in a bored tone, "this is Brigadier General Nathan Wolfe, United States Army. The General is spearheading the American team looking into this event. General Wolfe, this is Inspector Daley Wong, AD Police." He ignored Ko, who was watching every-thing in silence.

Wolfe and Daley shook hands. Wolfe's grip was strong, but not overpowering. He gave Daley a searching look before he stepped back and nodded slightly.

Mizahara looked around, then looked at Daley. "Where's Inspector McNichols?"

"On another assignment, Sir."

"What's more important then getting to the bottom of this?"

"He's undercover, Sir. He's in with one of the groups involved with this destruction."

The Assistant Police Commissioner frowned. "I see." He glanced at his watch. "I've a meeting to attend with the Mayor and Police Commissioner." He turned to his companions. "Care to join me?"

Wolfe shook his head. "I want to stay and take another look at what my people have found."

Dasen nodded grimly. "I need to talk to the Mayor about funding for the new construction. The sooner we settle that, the better."

"Fine." Mizahara glanced at Daley. "I'll let you gentlemen to your work, then." He turned and walked off to a waiting limo, Dasen following.

Wolfe waited until the limo drove off before he said, "Candy-assed bastards."

Daley shrugged. "They sign the checks."

"Maybe, but they're still Candy-assed bastards." He looked at Daley. "How do you people function with that bunch making the policy decisions?"

"Badly." Daley pointed at GENOM Tower. "That's the reason why. They're scared of pissing off Quincy and company."

Wolfe shook his head. "Loose anyone last night in this?"

"We were lucky. We pulled back when we saw the incoming strike."

"What exactly did you see?"

Daley turned and looked at Ko. "Stay here," he said. "The General and I are going to take a look at the nearest crater."

"Sure thing, Daley."

The pair walked away from the car, toward the lip of the crater. They were halfway when Daley spoke. "We picked them up as they dropped out of the sky on radar. Some sort of plasma weapon is my guess."

Wolfe shook his head. "Not exactly a plasma weapon. What happened here was the result of a Thor strike."

"A what?"

"A Thor Strike. Imagine large steel needles, each weighing a ton, dropped from orbit onto any target you choose. The heat and friction as the spike passes through the atmosphere turns the steel into white-hot plasma. When the spike hits, it releases all it's accumulated energy in one massive explosion."

"Shit," Daley breathed. "Whose satellite?"

Wolfe grimaced. "It was American. A relic from before the Space Weapons Deployment Ban Treaty. The President didn't know, and I doubt more then a handful of long time Congressmen who even remember the system being put into place." He glanced in the direction of the crater. "Hell, the Pentagon only told me about it two fucking hours ago - Three hours after I got here!"

"Does Mizahara know about this?"

Wolfe snorted. "I wouldn't trust that bozo with my shoe size, let alone anything important."

Daley kept his voice level. "This wasn't an accident then?"

"Hell no! Those bastards thought some yahoo with more RAM then common sense hacked into the system and tripped the fail safe." The General reached into a pocket and pulled out a pack of gum. He pulled a stick out of the pack, unwrapped it, and placed it in his mouth. He offered the pack to Daley, who accepted.

After Daley started chewing his stick, Wolfe continued, "This isn't some Hacker prank gone wrong. Somebody on this planet did this deliberately." He looked at Daley. "I need to know what the hell happened here last night to cause such a reaction."

"How many spikes hit here?"

"At least a dozen and a half. I've got people checking the status of the few Thor satel-lites still in orbit. It won't be too difficult to figure out which one was used." He stopped and stared at the Inspector. "I read McNichol's and your file before I arrive. If those yellow-backed bastards gave ADP half the support you needed, you wouldn't be up shit's creek without a paddle. What happened here last night?"

Daley licked his lips. Better tell him the truth. He doesn't look like he'll take anything less. "Have you ever hear of the Knight Sabers?"

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