Chapter 33
Soma had used her smart mirror to contact her, giving her an offer she had accepted almost immediately, though he had given her twenty-four hours to think it through. The job was simple; take a chip into Tauras and insert it into the mainframe. The request seemed ludicrous, but Soma had insisted that they needed someone on the inside.
Gabriela had accepted. The first step was to put in for a leave of absence, a holiday. The request was granted almost immediately. Gabriela thought nothing of it. She had no urgent cases and she seldom used leave.
The night of the operation Soma instructed her to meet her liaison on the street corner of her apartment block. It was raining that night, and cold. Gabriela’s breath hung thick and heavy in the damp air, and her fingers were beginning to hurt despite keeping her hands in her pockets.
Her heart skipped a beat when a black sedan pulled up to the curb. Gabriela cautiously approached the car as the driver slowly rolled down the wind.
Tanya Wedge sat in the driver's seat. Her hands clutched the steering wheel in a white knuckle grip.
Gabriela took a step back. Her first thought was that it was a sting, but Tanya shot her a nervous look.
“Get in,” She said. “Before I lose my nerve for this.”
“You’re my contact?”
“Shut up and get in the damn car.” Tanya reached over and opened the passenger door.
Gabriela quickly made her way around the car and slammed the door behind her.
“This is stupid shit, Gab.” Tanya shook her head. “The kind of shit that can get us both flatlined.”
“If you are part of this, why not just do it yourself?” Gabriela eyed the chief. “Why involve me at all?”
“The first person Tauras will look at is me. I have all the access, the means, and the know-how.”
The wipers of the car swooshed back and forth rapidly, keeping the deluge at bay.
”They are going to suspect you regardless.” Gabriela retorted.
“I got that part covered.” Tanya reached in her back pocket and handed Gabriela the chip. “Just make sure you do your part, okay?”
Gabriela turned the chip over in her hands, the small piece of tech was nondescript. Hard plastic and circuits.
“The tech takes a break like clockwork. Part of his routine. You are going to have about two minutes to get in, slip that in the mainframe, and then get out.”
“That’s it?”
Tanya nodded. “That’s it.”
Gabriela tucked the chip in her pocket. “Why do this?” She asked.
Tanya’s eyes darted back and forth. She nervously checked the rearview mirror. “I got a little girl. She's a deviant.”
“You didn’t wait for the lotto?”
“Fuck the lotto. She wasn't planned, but she is my world. I am willing to do anything to make sure she has a better life.”
Tanya turned off the main speedway, taking a longer route to headquarters. “She wants to see the stars,” She explained. “You know about that Mars project.”
“Nationalize Mars, yeah. I have heard about it.”
“First ship is going to launch a year after she gets out of uni, and she's going to be on that ship. She’s going to kiss this shithole goodbye, she’s going to get far away from Bioloxys and the fucking lotto, and I am going to make sure that happens.” Tanya looked over at her. “Why are you doing this?”
“I want a child.”
“So I guess we both understand each other?”
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Gabriela took a deep breath. “Yeah. Do you know what they plan to do in the mainframe?”
Tanya shook her head. “Don’t know, don’t care. But if I was to hazard a guess? They are trying to smuggle someone into one of the cities Taurus monitors.”
Gabriela reached and felt the chip in her pocket. “What happens if we get someone killed?”
“Christ, Gab. Don’t start getting soft now. If you lose your nerve, it will get us both killed.”
“I’m not,” Gabriela shot back. “I am just trying to make sense of all of this. How do you know this isn't a corporate sting?”
They pulled up to a streetlight, the red light casting shadows around them in the rain. Tanya fumbled in her purse and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. She had one lit before the light was green.
“Do you know this hacker we are working with?” Tanya asked her.
“He said is name was Soma.”
“Yeah, do you have any idea who he is?”
Gabriela shrugged.
“Soma is one of the most prolific hackers in the world. There isn’t a country or corporation that’s not looking for him. He is a goddamn ghost. No one knows where he is from, his race, sex, or even gender.”
“Could be someone posing.”
Tanya blew out a large breath of smoke. “No, it's him. I can’t explain how I know, but I know.”
Tanya’s words did little to ease her anxiety. The offer seemed too good to be true, part of her wanted to leave then and there, never speak of it again, but the more rational part of her mind told her that a sting was unlikely. It would be a waste of time and money to entrap two employees who had nothing to offer them other than their years of service.
“Okay, then what's the plan?” Gabriela rolled the window down, letting the cloud of smoke dissipate from the car. “I put this in the mainframe and then what?”
“Nothing. You count to ten and pull it out.”
“How do I get into the building?”
“There is a service entrance on the west side.”
“No good.” Gabriela shook her head. “Bio scanners will pick me up right away, and that’s not taking into account the surveillance.”
“Once Soma has access to Tauros he will delete you from the logs, doctor the images. It will be like you were never there.”
“And what are you going to do?”
“Nothing. I am going to go in and sit at my desk and work. Plausible deniability.”
Gabriela snorted. “So why involve you in this at all?”
“There is going to be an investigation. No way the company doesn’t find out about this. My part is to keep them sniffing in the wrong spots, chasing their tails. We are here.”
Gabriela’s heart skipped a beat when they pulled up to the building, and parked in the main garage.
“You wait here for two hours. Don’t get out for anything. If you gotta piss then you piss in your pants. Here.” Tanya handed her a knit cap and a pair of leather gloves, as well as a face mask. “You put these on before you get out of the car. Soma can scrub you digitally, but if you leave any DNA behind we are both fucked.”
Gabriela took the items and sat them in her lap. “And what do I do after?”
“You get back in the car and you wait.” Tanya opened her car door and slammed it behind her, leaving Gabriela alone.
It had all gone according to plan. The service door opened, the tech was gone, and Gabriela was able to get in and out without being seen. Tanya joined her almost three hours later.
“You get it done?” She asked
“Just like you said to do.”
“Good, I’ll drop you off near your place.”
Gabreila had a long time to contemplate what she had done, and the more she thought about it the more uneasy she felt about it. Already the guilt was gnawing at her, not for what she did to the company, but for what could happen next. There was just no way of knowing what damage she could have caused.
It was a moment of weakness when she accepted the job. She knew that. What happened in the Lower City had rattled her, the small baby she held in her arms tore away the scar tissue that had built up around the memories of her own daughter.
What was done was done. She couldn’t unring that bell even if she tried. Soma was going to do what he had already done. There was no stopping it.
“I don’t want you to take me home.”
“Then where do I take you, Gab? You can’t sit in my car all night.”
“Do you know any brain hackers?”
Tanya narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
“I think it might be best if I wipe this from my memory, have new ones implanted. Plausible deniability, you know?”
They both jumped when Tanya’s terminal rang.
“Yes?” Tanya answered, holding the terminal up to her.
Gabriela tried to listen to what was being said, but the voice on the other side was too quiet, and Tanya mostly nodded and grunted.
When she hung up the terminal, she started the car and they drove away.
“Who was that?”
“Soma,” She answered quickly. “He agrees with you. Told me where to go for a brain hacker, says he will handle the rest.”
Gabriela leaned back and let out an uneasy breath. Her hands were shaking, and she didn’t know if it was because she was going to have her mind hacked, which terrified her, or because she would be able to forget this night and all that it entailed.
They said little to each other during the ride. Tanya chain smoked and Gabriela mostly looked out the window. They finally pulled up to a shop called Vixens on Wet Street.
“This is it.” Tanya put the car in park and looked over at her.
Gabriela opened the door and before she left she leaned in. “Thank you, Tanya. I won't forget this.”
“Yes you will.” Tanya leaned across the seats, closed the door and drove away, leaving her in the cold rain.