Crack in the Kill Code (AmpCore #2)

69 - Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

Like someone tossing a coin, the whole of the Oldcastle media plaza had descended into mayhem.

Piper never got the chance to even attempt her oh-so-clever ruse. Osric had appeared, and time had frozen, until he'd hacked Karga's head from his shoulders in front of millions of people. That shocked her enough to send her scuttling back into the shadows as corporate security – along with everyone else – exploded into panic.

Then, as she tried to collect her thoughts, the whole fucking plaza went dark. Darker than dark. A frightening blackness that she'd never actually experienced in Hadrian before – not above ground least. No matter where you were in the city, there was always something – some LED light or a flickering monitor, or the distant ever-lasting halo of the corporate heart.

The sky remained dark for several stomach-flipping seconds. Then sporadic lights began springing through the streets: spotlights, flashlights, headlights, gun-mounted torches, helmet visors and more. Up above she spotted a copter, its lights sweeping across the windows of the tower high above. It swung in a sharp turn, side on to the building, and hovered there.

Then a whole floor's worth of windows exploded. Piper craned her neck, and saw figures zipping across barely visible lines.

At least someone turned up to work today, she thought grimly as she glanced down at the other milling security teams who were still trying to coordinate.

Piper wasn't about to wait around for them. She sprinted back the way she'd come, racing around to where Kirk and the others still waited, all of them stunned into indecision. Right now, she couldn't exactly blame them, but they didn't have time to stand around gawping. Her eyes flashed to the back entrance of the media tower, where the handful of corporate guards on duty were frantically shouting to each other between flashing comm messages.

"Everybody okay?" she hissed, focusing the attention of her companions.

"For now," Nevay said, jerking a thumb towards the dark tower, "but looks like one hell of a fuckin' mess."

"Yeah tell me about it. What's with the blackout?"

"They've cut power grid completely," Holly replied. "Fastest way to wipe out Osric's broadcast."

"Better late than never," Kirk muttered.

"So what do we do now?"

"Go in and find that bastard before he can slither away again," Piper told them, looking around. "Unless anybody's got a better idea?"

Treysi gave her a bitter smile, flexing the fingers of her cybernetic hand. "Let's just make sure we find him before corps do. I wanna look that fucker in the eye before I rip his heart out."

"Get in line, halfsie," Nevay grated, hefting her stunner.

"Yeah, yeah, you're all a bunch of bloodthirsty bad-asses," Kirk sneered, shaking his in exasperation. "How about we argue about who gets to stick Osric's head on a fucking spear after we find him?"

"He's right," Holly agreed, inclining her head to the back entrance. "We should go now, while the alarms are still down. It won't be long before they reboot the power."

Piper nodded, flexing her fingers. Not having an amplifier left her feeling untethered, like driving a car on icy roads, but there was nothing for it now. She just had to trust in herself, and in the unique architecture of her implants, and hope it would be enough.

"Then let's do this," she told them, turning and walking towards the dark shadow of the building, "and if we find Osric, let's make sure this is the last time."