Glitch in the God Complex (AmpCore #1)

62 - Bad Vibes

Kirk landed on the opposite side of the wall, fully expecting to get shot the second his feet touched the ground.

He should have given himself more credit. His estimates of the plant layout against the blueprints had been close so far, and they dropped over the wall far from the main buildings, shielded from prying eyes by a clump of towering pylons in the north-west corner of the plant.

Glancing along the wall, he could see the gathering guards and technical staff around the stricken cargo vehicle. Two drones hovered overhead, diverted from their patrols to examine the cause of the disruption.

It would take time for them to figure out exactly what had crippled the hauler, and by then they would hopefully be inside the facility. Kirk licked dry lips and pulled off the thick rubber gloves, stuffing them into his backpack. Even with the protective gear, he'd struggled to not envision himself touching the fence and being instantly scorched into a black husk.

Shaking those unpleasant images from his mind, he tugged his jolter from its holster and slid out of sight behind one of the pylon struts, pivoting to look back at the wall. Delgado appeared at the top, one gloved hand clinging to the highly charged wiring. With the other she reached down on the wall's opposite side.

Nevay popped up alongside a moment later. Both women didn't waste any time springing from the wall top, landing and rolling smoothly from the impact. They scurried over to join him, glancing around for any sign of patrolling guards.

"You good, Kirk?" Delgado asked quietly.

He tapped the jolter's barrel. "Ready as I'm going to be."

"Then let's go find a door to knock on." Nevay peeked around the corner of the pylon, her synthetic eye whirring.

"Over there," Kirk advised, indicating a nearby transformer station with his weapon. "Maintenance hatchway on the west side. That's our best way in."

The building jutted out of the ground maybe a hundred yards from their hiding place, and between them was a line of pylons and a small yard filled with mobile loading vehicles and crates. Nevay looked back at them once, tapped two fingers against her chest.

Then she was moving. At a nudge from Delgado, he set off after her, moving low and quiet with the detective bringing up the rear. They moved from pylon to pylon – each one of the towering scaffolds more than forty feet tall. Holographic displays glittered up and down the supports, showing stress integrity and power readings. He wondered how much of this was actually functional, and how much was just the facade to hide the devilry going on beneath their feet.

Probably he'd never know. He focused on keeping quiet, and keeping his head down. The building crept towards them. As they drew closer, though, he spotted the slim, shining lines of corporate sensor strips ringing the out wall of the structure. He reached out; tapped Nevay on the back.

Sensors, he mouthed when she glanced back at him.

Nevay looked back at the building, her eye whirring. Then she nodded. The trio halted, sinking down out of sight of the array.

"Hold this." Nevay handed Kirk her rifle, and went digging around in her pack until she found a bulbous sphere the size of a clenched fist, it surface pockmarked with tiny craters like a golf ball. "This should muffle that spiv-tech long enough for us to get to the door."

Taking a hold of the sphere on the top and bottom, Nevay gently twisted it. A small seam appeared at the equator, letting the two halves turn ninety degrees before they locked in place again. Kirk didn't hear anything; didn't see anything, but after a few seconds she hooked the device against her belt and nodded to them.