Track 011: Recollection

Awaken my runner, my knight, your time has come

Firewall

This all takes place before my awakening. I’ve faught the resistence every step of the way and will again until my dying breath. I didn’t know what happened to you but, when Carter nearly beat down my door and I saw his face I knew something bad had happened. He looked like he’d seen death and before I joined The Resistance, I never knew what death looked like.

Once I saw the video, I was sold. He talked about how he didn’t know anyone close to you and that was really sad. Sunspot records were the first place he called and their phone was disconnected. The whole world had changed on him and he broke down in my living room. He was desperate, scared, and worried. Eyes flashing like he didn’t know where to turn or what to do next. I got him some whiskey. Eventually, he got it together enough to show me the video.

I was horrified by what happened and I got to work. That’s how I deal. I got to talking to my old contacts in my white hat hacker days and we came up with a bot to leave packets of data in hard to reach places that only people who were looking for stuff like that would be fine. I posted on conspiracy forums and got in touch with a few anti-The Replacement blogs. That first day, I think we worked all day and night making contacts and placing the video anywhere we could get in. We placed geocaches and left things for urban exporters to find it. We even got this tagger to put up QR codes.

Carter got in touch with some of his friends from school and the next day did some interviews for local news, blogs, and podcasts. It didn’t get any traction. There would be a last-minute retraction or a boss or sponsor would have crushed the story. Some of them just thinking he’d gone crazy. It was heartbreaking the amount of times he would pour his heart out to these people beseeching aid. In every instance, a door would shut in his face. He was really demoralized, I could tell, but he kept trying.

At every level, we were met with resistance. From bots, mods, even the sites themselves; One of them crashed when I tried to upload things. I was bouncing my signal all over and they were still cracking down. There was a level of heat on this, and me, that I’d never seen before. If I was smart, I would have given up and gone into hiding. I could walk away and leave your brother and whatever happened to you in the rearview. Someone was watching me and us and were taking every step they could to rub us out. It wasn’t until I talked to a ghost that things changed.

Vintage

That was the name that appeared on my computer screen at 4:41 am. We were four days in. You have to understand, we’d been working like crazy, contacting everyone we knew and thousands we didn’t, trying everything we could to get in touch with as many people as possible. For the first time, we were contacted instead of ignored. It was a relief. We didn’t know what we were getting into.

We’ve heard what you have to say. Meet me here tomorrow @ 2pm :

Cafe de Sol on Jay-Z Boulevard.

We were shocked Rap was only a few blocks away from Jazz. Vintage was here in the city and they probably knew where we were and chose to a place close by to let us know they knew and far enough not to scare us. It was direct if we were smart and it showed us just how vulnerable we were. It was a scare tactic and hard sell. We knew we were out of our depth, but we didn’t know what else to do. There were now some rumblings on the net and small things were happening. If you knew where to look, there were new videos. Things were happening and now this.

Carter had been staying with me. He knew he was grimy and hadn’t changed out of his suit. We’d just been going for days now. What was weird is that I didn’t even remember to call out of work, but I didn’t get any calls from work. I did get pinged from a few coworkers, but no one tried that hard to get in touch and I didn’t reach out. It was the first time we looked up and felt like living beings again. Carter went home and freshened up.

Cafe de Sol was a Columbian-American coffee shop in Rap. They got into the spirit of the street by always playing low volume versions of Columbian hip-hop beats. It was a lively place and while unlike some of the other shops in Lo-Fi; it was lively and alive with color and even the employees moved with a purpose and a faint smile on their face. While weird for most coffee shops. I think people actually liked working here. Margarita, the owner, gives them stock in the company and so they know they’re getting paid for each cup they sell. While it’s definitely not revolutionary, it’s one of the best places to work in the city.

Order.

The messaged flashed through my goggles and it took me off guard but I tug on Carter’s suit and he stopped scanning the restaurant. I motion over to the counter and I tap my goggles. He follows behind me a little too close. I can tell he wants to protect me, but is resisting. I wondered if you were like this. Having a protective nature. What part of this is Carter’s nature? What part was nurturing? I wondered if you were like him. Now I know you a bit better now. That is to say, Carter is pushier and you’re a bit more gentle.

At the counter, the line quickly disappears and we’re at the head before I know it. I’m taken aback because it’s the owner, Margarita Ortiz. She wears a red lip which stands out against her warm skin tone. The uniform of the multicolored apron made of blue, yellow, and the occasional red squares.

“Hey what can I get you guys?” She says brightly. Something moves behind her customer service expression.

“I’d like a chai with lemon and dash of cinnamon.” Carter says proudly. I don’t think he recognizes her. I smile, thinking that two pillars of Electric City are right here in this coffee shop and only one of them notices.

“Alright. Got that!” She pulls out a mug from below the counter and starts writing on it.

“Don’t you need a name for order?”

“No,” She chuckled giving him a look over and smiling. “I know who you are.” There was definitely a flirt in her voice and I think if it was any other day Carter may have been receptive but I don’t think he even noticed.

“Oh, uh, thank you.” Carter nervously fiddles with his glasses.

“What about you?” She says, her eyes still drifting back to him.

“Vanilla latte with an extra shot of espresso.” I say.

“Gotcha, we’ll have this out to you in a few minutes.”

“Don’t need my name?”

“No, Ms. Johnson.” She says, smiling, and it pulls me off my center of gravity. “Everything has been taken care of.” My stomach dropped and right then I almost ran. It was ominous and we should have known to stop there, but something drew me onward. I almost didn’t hear her when she continued speaking.

“You have a table already picked out.” She pointed to a table when an older woman sat looking out the window. As if she had not a care in the world, except her ear was uncovered and situated in such a way that it was pointed in our direction. Her long silvery hair draped over her shoulder and her smart business casual shirt and slacks make it obvious she’s here for business. She’s not the kind of person to melt into the background, she’s just so obviously someone I would find out of the ordinary to find here.

I don’t bite.

We turned to each other and stiffly walked over. I could feel so many eyes on me and I wonder if this was some kind of sting and we’re just being drawn into the honey pot. I do always feel eyes on me when I move through the world but, these weren’t the normal looks from people, either disgust at a fat afro-boriqua just walking through the world or ogling me for the same reason. This was different, like the person had their finger on a trigger.

Looking around, the staff was all deep into their work. The ones behind the counter moving in time with the orders. There was a busboy that was working a bit too diligently. His vivid green hair fell over his eyes to cover them. Pale white skin peaks out under his uniform top, contrasting with his sun-touched skin. Before I could call him out as unusual, we arrived at the table.

Once we made it to the table, the woman didn’t look at us, still watching the passersby. Up close she was just as glamourous just a nonchalant. Her skin, while lined, was still youthful in a way. She probably got mistaken for someone in their fifties. If I wasn’t melinated, I’d probably ask her skincare routine. Sharp and knowledgeable, light blue eyes remained fixed outside on the window.

She pulled something from inside her maroon blazer pocket. The blazer matched the roomy, yet fashionable pleated pants and her conservative heel. A screen was lightly tossed on to the table. On the tablet, a video ran of an older man with broad shoulders and being taken by a synchronaut.

The video was obviously shot by someone using a psylink because of the level that it was taken. There were no cuts but there was jostling around cause it was the cameraperson was moving around too much. The quality wasn’t the best. but there could be any reason for that. There’s no doubt in my mind that this is real.

When I look up, the woman looks right into my eyes. “That was the video I took of my husband’s capture.” She smiles warmly. “I think you and I are very similar, Carter.” She puts her hand out and we shake it. “You must be Firewall. I’ve heard a lot of things over the years about you and that job on Dyscope… that was masterfully done. Not many hackers, much less people, could solve the Dinneman Contingency. It was a ” She straightens in her chair. “I’ve been rude. Haven’t introduced myself. I’m Vintage and we’d like you for The Resistance.

It wasn’t much longer until the fighting started. A week or so, Vintage brought us in and it turned out Cafe de Sol was an information hub and a bunch of the people that worked there were read in. Turns out while they wanted Carter. They needed me. I was gonna get them information and do my best to find out what was going on in the wider world and especially at Psytech.

They got me a doctor’s note for the days I missed and I was back at work the next day. I felt ways about it but they told me it wouldn’t be for long. Their aim was the CEO, Rodger Carsile, he’s totally the big idea man and hasn’t been seen for a few months. Some say he’s gone underground. My job was to get as much information on him as possible and find out where he’d gone to ground.

I placed bugs where I could get them. Got access to rooms I’d never been in. For a moment, I was actually a spy. Vintage gave me instruction, and I was good. Really good. I even paid a server to carry a package, which was a bug in the C-suite offices.

Every day I would drop off my intel with Margarita, which was fine. We started talking, and she told me how her brother, Marco, had gotten recruited and when he let slip something, she said she wanted to help as well. She used her connections in the city to open up her place as a dead drop. With tons of people coming and out, no one would be shocked by people coming here regularly.

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As the days went on, I saw fewer and fewer people about. People were going missing at a larger and larger rate. The craziest thing is that no one reacted to it. One of the guy who works at the tech shop I used to go to just simply stopped coming. When I asked Mr. Levinski about it, he just said he probably went back home to see his mother. I asked if he knew that. He said no, but it would make perfect sense if he had. He’d just have to work Stu’s hours or find someone else. When I pointed out Stu wasn’t on speaking terms with his mom for some things she never apologized for. And when I pressed him on it, he gave me another excuse and for a moment I thought maybe he was in on it, but when I poked a hole in excuse after excuse he got angry. Almost like those people who say they want to debate, while they really only want to browbeat you until you run out of energy or will and are “properly chastened.” It had the same vibe, except it was like he ran out of script like he couldn’t possibly do anything else. It was wild and unsettling, to say the least.

It was like that with every other person I asked. No matter what happened, when you got through all the excuses, the anger would pop up. One of the people I interviewed, off the record of course, would begin to get angry. A few even got violent. It was the second scariest thing I’ve still ever seen. It was like a moment you realized you were in the Sci-Fi movie and there was no way out.

When I told Vintage about it, she just got cagey. She said she already had people on it and will make sure that they take this information with them in the next bit of discovery. She basically sent me on my way. It was infuriating. I knew she knew more than I did about what was going on, but I can’t quite grok that she’d do all of this just to keep me ignorant of the truth. One day I want to ask her about the bullshit.

Then the “Terrorist attacks” amped up. I knew things were getting serious because while I got good things, I really couldn’t get much closer to Carlisle. He had gone to ground and the executive floors got more and more quiet. Leads dried up and I could tell things weren’t going the way we thought they were. And eventually people started going missing all together.

I hadn’t seen Carter much in those days, but he’d send along letters asking about how I was sleeping and if I was getting enough vitamins. Your brother is a really sweet guy in his own way. Not on the surface, deep down, though. He told me he wasn’t on any confrontations but that he was helping the wounded. Nothing more than that in case he or the courier was being tracked. I worried about him, but he always told me he was safe.

Eventually, it didn’t make sense for me to go back to work. There was nothing more to glean from the higher ups. That’s when I had the idea to go to Carlisle’s house. No one saw anyone coming in or out there that the place was abandoned, but if there was a scrap of paper, an email, or a package left behind, something should tell us where he’s gone. Vintage signed off on it, to my surprise. I can only assume she thought the worst thing that would happen is that we’d have to escape the police. I don’t know if it was the first break in The Resistance’s wall or the last.

A week later, at midnight, we were deep in the Oceanside suburbs. There’s not much room for suburbs on the island, so they made it. Bulldozed one-eighth of the city to make room for their mansions. The amount of water, sand, and soil they brought in probably was worth as much as the entire island. They even made hills for golfing. It’s so fucked up. And they want to jack up the prices too, like its nobody’s business.

The first members of our crew were two of the comandos from The Resistance, Marco and Klaus, big guys really, and they knew their ways around a firearm. Armed to the teeth and strapped down, so they didn’t even make a sound when they moved. I broached the topic of them being overkill, but they said with what they’ve been dealing with, just the two of them might be enough. Marco talked in vaguely about the things they saw like energy blast leveling a building or something so fast it could take out one of your squad mates under your nose while you were blinking. Klaus told him then to shut the fuck up. That they weren’t cleared to talk about field work with non-combatants. It struck me as odd back then. This was before I knew what The Dominance was.

The fourth member of our team was a literal cat burgular. I couldn’t believe it either, but apparently she’s the daughter of Vintage’s old contacts back in the day. She had her silky blonde hair tied in a bow. I She was trained by her mother and her mother was trained by her grandmother. Annabell is her name. She wore just some leggings and a workout top. All made of lycra so it’s comfortable and easy to move in.

Getting in was kind of simple. Oddly enough, I thought I would have been needed to get through the mind lock but, Annabell went right through the bolt with a thermal cutter. While it was kind of a low-tech solution, I couldn’t fault the efficiency. Fast, sharp, and precise. The heated glowing blade was only the size of a butter knife and it went through the bolt like well a hot knife through butter. That was just like Annabell. Efficent. No words, just smooth action.

The final member is supposed to meet us on our way out. Our wheel man. I hadn’t met him. Supposedly, he was borrowed from Annabell’s people. Apparently he did work for the Annabell’s family. Vintage’s connects weren’t messing around with this heist.

I was the one who made sure the security system would loop. I ran a script, so the only receiver which has befuddles the AI in the system and when it reaches for another contact, it just ends up contacting itself. The end result will be it suffering a DDoS attack. It was vicious and I couldn’t help the self-satisfied smile from coming on my face.

Klaus took the lead, and we were all file in behind him, with Marco taking the rear. We crouch-ran as Klaus checked around the door. We moved quickly, like the FBI on a mission. I snapped out my psydeck. Vintage gave me a Hive. A beehive shaped nest that held a fleet of mini drones. I sent the beauties at every piece of tech I could see and they jacked in immediately. A wave of information hit my psylink. I activated the Queen, an AI inside the Hive that would sort through the data. It felt powerful. Honestly, if I can get my hands on a Hive again. They would have to take it from my cold, dead hands.

Annabell hit every piece of paper, drawer, nook, cranny, every pocket. She moved like a machine and even then returned everything back just the way she found it. I could just see her on a shopping spree, taking every piece of jewelry or piece of tech. She even checked under furniture and for loose floorboards without the sound of a scrape.

We did this for each room, finding nothing of any real importance that stood out. Though the mention of aliens constantly was a bit odd. When did Carlisle become a conspiracy theorist? Aliens in the government. Taking over Fortune 500 companies. Even replacing heads of state. It was so wacky. I couldn’t help but giggle a bit. And everyone looked back at me.

“He believes in aliens!” I said, chuckling. “This guy’s a-”

I’ll never forget the look I got from Klaus and the feeling of the great stare needling the back of my head.

“W-What?” I said. The look of horror reflected on their faces was now on mine. My stomach dropped. Cold bled down my spine and my world was put on an axis.

“It really is a wonder.” The voice was smooth and deep and came from none of my The air artifacted behind Klaus. Like a glitch in the matrix. One minute, the only thing behind him were shadows and streetlights passing through the floor to ceiling windows. And the next, a tall, spiked alien in bone armor. His face was covered in a bone cage like an umpire’s mask. “How your kind have lasted this long in open rebellion of The Dominance and then you don’t even tell them. She never knew who the true enemy was? How to you consider that?” The alien pulled a spike from his shoulder and a blade come along with it. The bone blade was long and curved like a katana.

Klaus pulled out his assault rifle. The almost soundless flashes spat bullet after bullet at the new visitor. Marco, a second later, joined him with his own. The glitch happened again, the sound of someone tearing television static and half. The world went sideways as the alien teleported. Not like yours. This was violent. Yours just leaves ripples in the air like you’re asking the world to bend. For this one, it was like he demanded the world to split and be tamed in his hand.

The bone horror kicked Klaus so hard he rocketed up to the ceiling. As Klaus rose toward it, he glitched again, warping to Marco and decapitated him. It was all I could do to watch it happen. To watch men I knew die in front of me. I wondered in that moment if that was how Carter felt. He glitched back just as Klaus fell and skewered him on his awaiting blade. The alien pulled the blade from Klaus and was tossed to the floor as Klaus, who barely knew what was happening, trying to staunch the bleeding of a wound already doomed to bleed dry.

“I want to know why you decided to come here.” The alien said he sliced the air, cleaning the blood from his blade. As he walked towards Annabell and me. Anna ran. I understood. If I could do anything but be frozen in this moment, I would have. As she ran toward escape screaming like, she’d lost her mind. Doing the only thing that would only make sense in a situation like this.

Faster than thought, another bone spike was in the murder’s hand and a dagger was in his hand and he threw it. Tearing deep into her thigh and hitting her like a bullet. She falls over and I shake as I watch it happen. He watches her on the floor as she crawls away. Eyes glow behind his mask. The face I can barely see twisted and scared. Was that the look of murderous glee? He stalked towards me. I made a choice. I collapsed.

“Please don’t kill me. I will tell you everything.” He said nothing, just looked upon me but, stopping where he was. So I explained as tears fell from my face. I burble, snotted, and cried through everything until I told him. About you being held captive and about trying to warn as many people as possible. I left out The Resistance but, told him I found some people who would help me. He watched me silently the whole time without moving.

“All of this done for one person? That will need to be catalogued. Humanity is such an odd beast.” He looked away for the last time. It was an oddly human thing to do for the completely alien creature in front of me. To actually take in and ruminate on the words I’d said. But I pulled something from Klaus’ corpse in front of me. I took this moment. I flashed out with the weapon strapped to his thigh. A thermal cutter.

I stabbed out with the thermal cutter, slicing deep into the stomach of the death standing above me.

He staggered back, a violent laceration stretching across his torso. He staggers back, spitting. “How dare you? I have never felt a mark upon this new body. How could your pitiful arms hurt me when you firearms could not?” Eyes glowed back fiercely. No inhuman yelp of pain. Only curses. Only hate. No genuine reaction to the pain except to curse.

He stood again as if the pain had left him. “You…” He grabbed me, bringing my face to his yelled. “You will know pain in this life and in the next, if I have my way.” Spittle flew all over my face. “I, Andeseo, will end you and everyone close to you and when I have gathered them all I will kill them in front of you for this, desecration!” And without warning, he smashed me across the face and that was the last I remembered until I woke up.

That was the most scared I had ever been in my life and if I had half of my abilities, I do have now, I would’ve destroyed him. I will get him, I promise. I will never be weak like that again. I will never hesitate.

The moment I woke up. Something appeared in my vision.

A Vendetta has been placed on you.

Andeseo, a hunter of great renown, has chosen you as the object of his obsession.

Kill or be Killed

If you defeat the one that has placed a vendetta on you, you will gain a portion of their power.

It was the first message I had gotten from The Minority and it is the only message that I’ve seen that doesn’t start with congratulations. The whole thing was ominous, but the blood-red letters made it clear. Andeseo is coming for me, but I won’t go quietly.

I’m telling you this for multiple reasons. I think I might know how to get in touch with Carter and I am marked for death. Andeseo will come for me at some point and we won’t be safe when he does. I think if we’re going to continue to work together, that’s something you should know.