Keeping Silence

Chapter 1

I slide my blades out of their holsters. Killing silently is always better with blades, suppressors and guns all together are nosy. Despite the advances in armor and other technologies, one well-placed blade anywhere can kill anything. Besides blades, I'd choose a sniper rifle, and only if I'm providing cover fire for others.

I crouch, make sure the blades don't slide across the concrete floor, and then slowly make my way across the room. I've already decapitated the three guards that guarded this place; my Intel wasn't very clear on how many on the inside. Boss says she wants the new A.I. that these scientists created here. This is the last chance to get the A.I. before it leaves for another planet in this system.

That can't happen.

So I pick up the pace only stopping against a pillar for a few seconds. I check the radio frequencies to see if any alarms were set off. Nothing so far. I continue on, finally coming across a guard in a hallway, facing away from me.

I shake my head under my hood and mask, too easy. So I 'dispose' of the guard quickly, no noise made, no alarms set off by him. I drag his body to a door, check to see if anyone is in the room, and then quickly toss the body in the room. Crouching by the wall outside of the room, I use eye movements to move the eyepiece screen to a map of the base and check to see how far away I am from the objective. 500 meters and closing, and scans show that there are three more guards on the way here.

I give a low laugh, stand up, and begin a silent run down the hall. This is high level security? Must have been the triple encoded lock on the front door, and then the outer guards with high caliber weapons. Not the worst place I've broken into.

I'd say the worst place I've broken into was Barebanks, a hundred or so guards, some with stun guns, others are with shotguns and other such high caliber weapons. Four stories, mostly outside, and had one objective on each floor. I had sniper cover for a majority of the time, my oldest friend Archer behind the sights. Set off the alarms the first ten minutes in, got out in and out in a total of thirty minutes. Planning took almost a month, and in the end only ran into trouble once. Archer was there to bail me out, but we cut it close on the evacuation.

Getting back to my current objective, I crouch-walk around another corner and look again on the mini-map of my eyepiece. I stand, and look at each door, and decide on the one to the left. Inside is a mess of computers and god knows what else. One screen turns on and a face appears.

"Tell me why you have entered a restricted zone."

I smile, the Boss was right, the A.I. is smart.

"I've come for something that doesn't rightfully belong to the scientists here."

"What would you use it for?"

I pause for a second; most A.I.'s would have set off the alarms. It also isn't sending itself off to another system in this base.

"I'd figure out the best way for everyone else to use it, certain technologies shouldn't be kept a secret."

"Is that all?" It asks like it's expecting another answer besides the one I gave it. I smile, defiantly smarter.

"No, I was also hired to get the technology. But if I had my way, I would do what I said before."

The screen that it was on goes black. Then the rest of the room lights up, as if someone turned on a light switch.

"I'd like it if you didn't lie to me Miss Wren."

"How did you-"

"Despite your mask, and hood, other scans can penetrate and read your face."

I'm dumb founded for a second. I clear my voice and then speak. "Well, if you know my face, my intentions, and god knows what else. Why haven't you triggered the alarms or summoned guards?"

"Let's just say I have a hunch." Something filters across most of the screens, and then appears on the flat screen. "Tell you what, I'll go with you. You get me out of here and we'll arrange something."

I walk in a circle, and wave my hands above me in frustration. "All I have is a tiny flash-drive."

"No problem, I can jump into your eyepiece." The flat screen flickers, then a face is shown. The A.I. almost looks human, but the pixilation of the face makes me re-think that. Short black hair, very blue eyes, and a slightly pissed off look. "Can I join you? Or do I have to become a virus in order to escape?"

"All right, all right." I remove my mask and earpiece. "Where do you want it?"

"Just hold it near any computer hard drive and I'll jump."

A slight little shock jumps from the computer to my earpiece. I place everything back, turn on the earpiece and I hear the A.I.'s voice.

"Wasn't as hard as I thought. Now, to get out of here, take a left out of the door-" An alarms starts to blare. "Oh."

"OH!? That's all you have to say?!" I sprint out the door, pissed off and adrenaline pumping through me. "Can you turn it off?"

"No unless you let me use the wireless."

"Do whatever you have to, just turn it off."

I hear the A.I. humming a tune, and then stop short. "I can't. It activated when I left the system. I'll have to go back-"

"No chance about that. How do I get out of here?"

"The air vents. Take a right up ahead, then skip the next three halls, finally take a left and unlatch that vent."

I huff in response; I'm more focused on running and escaping. The A.I. is even kind enough to put a map up of where I have to go. Hearing shouts of alerted guards make me run faster.

"STOP!" A guard walks out of a room in front of me, I have enough speed and I know that the floor is slick enough. I slide like I use to in softball games, past his barricade of arms and legs. I jump back up and continue running, a smile placed on my face.

"Go up the air vent, and crawl a few meters. You should be outside the lock-down area, and you can walk out the front door because most of the people are looking for you elsewhere."

"Simple enough."

I take out one blade; chuck it at the grate that blocks the vent. The grate falls; I grab my blade and take a breath. I jump and grab the edge of the vent, and climb up.

Five minutes later, I have a motorcycle and I'm leaving the front gate.

"Do you have a name?" I ask, figuring that I'd have a normal conversation with something to pass the time.

"Yes. It is Silence."

"Weird name."

"I didn't get to choose it. The man who created me had other plans for me."

"Want to tell me what the plans were?"

"In time Wren, in time. Just focus on escaping for now."

Silence goes quiet, and I'm left to my thoughts once again.