Clouded Emotions - Series 1 - X

Game Over

“You'll find a way out,” she reassures the cat

Isabella knows the DataCom search squads are nearby. “Here, kitty kitty.” A hungry black cat meows
As she pets it, she puts a pretty little collar around its neck. Attached are the remains of her microphone; even if destroyed, DataCom can still trace the signal. She thinks again about their escape through the sewers. If Mario and the hackers had known...

in an alley. She holds out some food to entice it: “Look at what I've got for you.”

While the feline eats, Isabella pries open a manhole. She turns back to the kitty, which lets her pick it up and pet it. Holding it in her arms, she goes down the ladder into the sewers. The cat's nails penetrate her flesh. “You'll find a way out,” she reassures it, putting it on the ground. “And you'll drive them crazy while you try to find one.” After a last glance at the cat's pleading eyes, she climbs back to the surface and closes the manhole cover.

On the main street, safe in her new disguise – blonde bob, black sunglasses and brown eyes – she passes a group of DataCom men. Their heads are bent over the maps on their smartphones. “But she's under us!” she hears one of them exclaim.

She reaches the airport and passes the biometric scanner thanks to her new pupils. Isabella pauses to watch the news in the waiting room.

“Let's hear the latest on the President's health from Anna in Washington.”

“Thank you, Maddalena. After a serious fall, the American leader suffered extensive cerebral damage. DataCom promptly offered to cover his treatment in its neurology laboratory – one of the most advanced in the world. The operation took less than two hours and has been successfully completed. A press conference will be held at...”

The White House

The most powerful man in the world! Isabella looks at the board with the flight information. There's not much time left.

Back in his office, John is communicating with the search squad.

“Boss, we can't stay behind her. The signal keeps disappearing.”

“Use all men available. Her capture is a priority,” John responds, leaving the office to go see Mario.The programmer rubs his eyes with his fingers. His head hurts. He's been working nonstop to update the code.

“Any news?” John asks.

“We're at seventy-eight percent. Still a few weeks and we'll be finished,” Mario replies, referring to the suicide success rate. “Did you get her?”

“Not yet. Two dozen men are patrolling through the sewers and that whore is still making us look like fools!”

Whore? The epithet bounces around Mario's head without provoking any particular emotion. “And how's it going with the media?”

John smiles, satisfied: “Have a look for yourself!” He waves his hands in the air and holographic images scroll across Mario's desk. “Here's a reporter with the news recap.”

“It seems as if a wave of suicides has affected several prominent figures from the...” Behind the reporter, a fleet of ambulances is entering a hospital complex.

“This is what the network is getting,” John continues.

The previous images are replaced by the image of a stadium in complete chaos. A reporter's voice refers to the trouble at a soccer match.

“Not bad, huh? Voices and scenes are modified in real time. And if the subject continues to cause problems, your code will take care of him. We're lucky that paper has been obsolete for a few years already.”

“Only smart devices,” Mario smiles. Nanochips, real-time manipulation of communication, killer codes. He thinks for a moment: “Game over for humans.”

Seaplane

Isabella parachutes off a small seaplane towards her objective, two thousand yards below: a green island surrounded by the blue sea. She leaves her parachute on the beach and heads straight towards the jungle.

“Freeze!” says a man's voice behind her. Isabella feels the barrel of a gun press against her back. The voice continues: “What the hell is DataCom doing on our island?”

“What the hell is DataCom doing on our island?”

<-- Previous   Next -->

Table of contents

Full version available in Galactic Energies on Amazon Kindle.

Don't miss next issue. Subscribe to my mailing list.

Follow Clouded Emotion on Bloglovin.