Crack in the Kill Code (AmpCore #2)

68 - Let Me Show You a Little Truth

The plan, such as it was, sucked, in Kirk's opinion.

The Mercury tower had more than one entrance, but that didn't really help them all that much. Any side entrances would be just as guarded as the front, with alarms, drones and cameras. There would be no sneaking in this time.

So they settled on a diversion – a diversion and a warning. That meant someone walking right into the lion's mouth and hoping to hell that they wouldn't get bitten in half in the process.

"This is a bad fucking idea," he said, again.

Piper gave him a wry smile. "You said that already."

"Worth saying again."

"It's got to be me. The rest of you would get shot on sight."

Nevay chuckled. "She's got a point there, Balfour."

"But if it doesn't work, if they don't lis-,"

"If it doesn't work, we're all going to have bigger problems pretty soon."

He subsided into a smouldering, moody silence. He didn't have a better idea, and he knew it, but he couldn't help how he felt. Walking Piper right back to the corporations made bile rise in his throat. Whether they would ever be able to have some kind of reconciliation after everything that had happened, Kirk didn't know, but being with her again, even for a little while, had felt good.

He folded his arms and nodded once.

"Alright then." Piper poked her head around the street corner where the entrance of the media tower beckoned. "You should know pretty quick if they're taking me seriously. If it all goes sideways, I'll make a mess out there. That'll be your chance."

"Good luck," Holly told her. "Try not to die."

"You too."

They split up, Kirk and the others looping around towards the back of the glittering structure, while Piper stepped out and started walking down the street, doing her best to look normal.

"You okay?" Treysi asked as they walked.

He shook his head. "Not really."

"I... you and her got a lot of history."

"A lot."

A knowing smile flickered on her face. "Your ex?"

"Sure."

"You still torchin' for her?"

"No." He shot her an irritated look. "It's not... yeah, I still care about her, but we've just been through a lot." Kirk sighed. "I just want her away from the corporations."

"I wouldn't get my hopes up on that, Kirk," Holly droned from just ahead.

He flipped her a middle finger and trudged on in morose silence. They slunk through the sidestreet and emerged at a small intersection, where the rear portion of the media tower was visible, no less garish than the front. There was a car park and a loading bay – its gaping doors closed for the moment – and two small emergency exits.

Up close, the Mercury media tower was a neon ziggurat of logos and screens and spotlights. It hurt his eyes to look at it. He squinted for a couple of seconds, then looked away, blinking a few times to clear his vision.

"So now we wait?"

"Shouldn't take long."

Before anyone else could speak, the tower suddenly went dark. Kirk recoiled in surprise, feeling like he was suddenly staring into an immense black void. Only the main tower seemed to be affected, only adding to the eerie sensation that Hadrian suddenly had a hole in the middle of it. Scattered shouts of alarm echoed through the streets and he could see dark shapes milling in the car park ahead of them.