November 03, 2361 AIA
Erremos
“God dammit!” Cooney slammed his fist against the desk, causing the soldier sitting beside him to jump.
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“Sorry! Sorry doesn’t fix this mess!”
“I know, sir. But at least we know how to repair it.”
“After destroying our system over a dozen times, we’ve finally figured out the fastest way to resuscitate it. Wonderful! How wonderful!” Cooney pushed off the desk and paced the room.
“We could stop trying to open them.”
Cooney whirled around, trying to identify which of the five soldiers might have made that comment. No one was looking at him. One of them reached into the box and extracted another nan-card.
“Computer trouble?” a voice said.
It was the senator’s turn to start. His hand was still on his chest when he turned to see who’d come up behind him. “Levin! You scared me.”
Carter Levin gazed over the senator’s shoulder, taking in the room. When he was done, he brought his eyes back to Cooney’s face.
“Yes, we’re having some computer problems,” Cooney said.
“Nothing serious?”
“Nothing we can’t handle.” Cooney looked at the man out of the corner of his eye. “Kumar sent you?”
“She did.”
Cooney nodded. “Come on. There’s a private room next door.”
The director used his ID and retinal scan to open the door. As he entered, Levin looked around at the tall metal racks that filled the room. They were human-sized shelves of electronics and exposed wiring.
“What’s this?” Levin asked.
Cooney shut the door behind him. “This is the mechanical heart of the facility.”
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“All this for a prison?”
Pace walked further into the room. “We’re a compact city that has to house and care for over ten thousand people. Roughly seven thousand of those people would gladly murder the remaining three thousand if given a chance.” He turned. “We’re long past the days of metal bars and a big key ring, Levin.”
“You can shut down everything from here?”
“Everything mechanical, yes. Everything that runs the building. The computer servers are here too, but they’re only hubs.” He waved his hand. “It’s complicated. What does Devi want?”
Levin’s eyes scanned each corner of the room. “No cameras?”
“No cameras. No microphones. This is our space. Most of the security we save for the inmates.”
Carter ceased his inspection and turned to Cooney.
The senator ignored the shivers crawling down his arms. That was his normal reaction to dealing with Kumar’s assistant. The man rarely spoke and never smiled. His eyes felt as if they looked right through you.
“I’m glad you’ve come,” Cooney said. “Gardner was here asking questions.”
Carter Levin’s eyebrow twitched up. Despite this rare and intense reaction on his part, his voice was still quiet. “General Emery Gardner?”
“Who did you think I meant?”
“When did he leave?”
“About a half day ago.”
“Do you know where he went?”
“No. Not for certain. That man is trouble! I want you to tell Kumar what happened. Maybe she’ll finally agree we have to do something about him. He took me hostage after badgering me for information I didn’t have!” The mention of the interrogation made Cooney pause. “Levin, is it true Fable’s dead?”
“Yes.”
“Murdered?”
“Assassinated.”
“Assassinated? By who?”
Carter undid the top button of his suit coat. “Me.”
Senator Cooney backed into one of the shelves. Wires popped free around him. A few lights blinked on and off in protest.
Levin raised his arm and pointed an impossibly long, bone-white index finger at Cooney’s forehead. Pace’s breathing grew quicker and quicker, until it stopped altogether.
“Don’t worry, Senator. I’ll take care of Gardner.” Levin drove his claw through the man’s skull.
Seconds passed where the only motion in the room was Cooney’s arms waving uselessly at his sides. After they went still, it was several more seconds before Carter moved. He yanked his claw free and wiped it with the handkerchief he kept in his breast pocket.
Now the ragged breathing was his, but he worked to slow it down. When he managed to calm himself, Carter pulled an e-pistol from his shoulder-holster. He aimed at the hole in Cooney’s skull where blood was bubbling out. A large section of the senator’s head disappeared in the blast.
Levin looked around the room to orient himself, then he went over to the far wall and began pulling down switches and yanking cords. The alarms blared. He ignored them.
When he left, he found three of the five IT soldiers standing at the door to the next room. He shot each one once—two quick chest shots and one in the head. He turned into the room as the other two soldiers realized what had happened. Their chairs hit the floor, but they were dead before they could do anything but stand.
He used his bloody handkerchief to wipe the prints from the e-pistol, and laid it on the ground for some lucky soul to find. Prisoner or guard, they’d be glad to have it.
Military police in riot gear flooded by him, heading toward the penitentiary wing. It sounded like seven thousand people were already taking advantage of their chance. Levin walked along the halls, sorting through his new memories, heedless of the chaos around him.