Chapter 25 - Gloria
Discarded Metal
Chapter 25 - Gloria
"Salvation came from a woman…"
Gloria walks toward her back with determination, but her mind is racing.
"Don't even think about stopping me." She thinks to herself.
Pulse is watching her going away from him, he wants to stop her but he can't.
He knows her well and it's the first time he sees this side of her, it paralyzes him.
"Don't run after me." She keeps thinking as she reaches her bike.
Without looking at Pulse, she gets on her bike and starts it.
The engine comes alive in a wild roar.
Gloria refuses to look at Pulse one last time, she pulls the throttle and speeds out of Pulse's sight.
"Damn… G. Why do you make it so hard…" He mutters by himself.
Gloria's bike zigzags through the traffic with ease.
The road is overlaid with information about her speed and her GPS markers, everything is displayed directly on her eye implants.
She navigates easily through the streets of the commons, her determination fuels her speed.
Arriving at the guarded gates separating the commons with the corporate districts, she slows down and lets the officers scan her bike.
A normal procedure to cross the borders, but migrants need to be allowed by the corpos.
Hackers like Gloria have lots of ways to get the fake authorizations, simple daemons can do the trick.
Most of the corporations are aware of them and don't want to put more budget into safer protocoles at the gates.
Most of the people who can cross illegally are good for corporate businesses.
The scanners bip and one officer signal Gloria to go past the gate.
She throttles her bike through the gate and zaps on the streets of the corporate districts.
The corporate districts are cleaner than the commons and the passersby look way more wealthy.
Gloria's GPS is guiding her to Psysoft tower.
Her mind is racing as fast as her bike.
"I have to infiltrate their network, I have to find where they took Syntex…" She thinks.
She accelerates and zigzags through the dense traffic.
The different vehicles on the streets of the corporate district look more luxurious and more advanced than the ones in the commons.
Gloria's bike is an advanced piece of tech, common in the corporate districts but rare in the commons.
She speeds down into the street that leads to the Psysoft tower and comes to an alt in front of the entrance.
People are coming and going through the big front doors of the tower as a usual working day.
Gloria dismounts from her bike and puts on auto pilot, the bike drives itself away as she walks toward the big doors.
She goes straight through them and walks through the big hall that serves as a display area for Psysoft products.
Memories from the heist are rushing through her mind as she walks straight to the service door at the back of the hall.
Flashbacks of Pulse following her into the service corridor and hacking their framework, rendering them invisible to the cameras.
Gloria goes through the exact same process, the task feels even easier than the first time.
She gets out of the service area and without thinking she walks to the elevators.
She quickly gets herself into the queue of people waiting for the elevators.
As the doors open, people start to fill the elevators, Gloria squeezes herself between people.
The camera identifies the employees and the control panel of the elevator displays their ID and their floors.
Gloria hacked an IT employee's ID and she finds the name displayed on the panel followed by the 11th floor.
The elevator starts to go up, each time stopping at floors and slowly the number of employees inside is reducing.
11th floor.
Without looking anywhere, Gloria walks out of the elevator.
Her eye implants display a floor map and a marker to the IT employee's office.
She quickly passes the central room with the reception desk and heads straight to the office.
Nobody really notices her as this floor is mainly used by technical maintenance employees and people from various backgrounds are working there.
IT specialists working alongside mechanical experts, network engineers and even the lowest technicians of Psysoft.
Gloria arrives at the empty office, she quickly sits at the desk and starts the holographic screen.
As the screen displays in thin air, an invite for login and password appears.
She pulls a cable from behind her ear and connects it to a port on the screen, instantly the login box appears directly in her vision.
She quickly deploys a few password crackers and lets them automatically try to bypass the password and login.
She looks nervously at the door, seeing silhouettes come and go behind the tinted glass.
After what seems an eternity for her, one of her software manages to crack the login and password.
Gloria dives into the network, her vision changes and displays a long line resembling a virtual highway.
She is familiar with the environment as she managed to crack the special projects vault during the heist.
Nothing has changed, she finds her way to the field operations section of Psysoft.
The network security of Psysoft is advanced but Gloria's cracking ability with her Meditech military grade cyberdeck allows her to safely bypass any of their protections.
She quickly gains access to the field operations files and starts browsing them.
One stands out, no descriptions or labels available.
Gloria opens it and finds a bunch of operatives files with codenames.
Grinder, Skylark…
She browses the contents of their files and notices the heavy body modifications.
"What the hell… These guys are killers…" She thinks as she continues browsing.
Trajectory course, the commons, small strike team… elimination… target: the Scorched…
"This is it, I need to dig deeper, there must be a location where they took Syntex…" Gloria thinks as she continues to browse the files frantically.
Recovery of Meditech's prototype… location: secret…
"Shit… Nothing on the location… Where did they take him…" She thinks.
As the idea of never finding Syntex back starts to sink in, a new notification appears.
Operation: CTIG
"CTIG… That Mark Spencer is one of their operatives…" Gloria thinks as she rushes to open the files.
Operatives: Skylark, Grinder…
"Damn… The same codenames…" She thinks as she digs deeper.
Mission objective: Retrieval of Meditech's prototype.
Location: CTIG HQ
"CTIG HQ… Syntex is there…" Gloria thinks as she quickly disconnects from the holoscreen.
Her heart is racing, she stands up from the desk and rushes out of the office.
Some employees notice that she is in a hurry but shrug it off.
She runs past the reception desk in the middle area and heads straight for the elevator.
When the doors open, she squeezes herself between people in the crowded elevator.
It feels like an eternity to reach the ground floor, she looks at everybody nervously.
As the doors open, she pushes people around to get out first, she makes her way through the complaining employees.
She doesn't slow down and starts running through the products display area.
A few pushes followed by complaints and she reaches the big front doors.
Her bike comes to pick her up by itself, stopping as close as possible.
She jumps and lands straight on the bike.
On the GPS displaying in her eye implants, she searches for CTIG HQ and makes a marker.
The GPS traces the possible routes and automatically selects the quickest.
Without hesitation, Gloria pulls on the throttle and the bike speeds up, following the GPS route.
The bike dodges cars mostly by itself, achieving full speed and control in the traffic.
CTIG HQ is in view, a big building with heavy garage doors, guards keeping anybody from entering.
Gloria stops the bike near a nearby building and watches from the corner.
Everything looks normal, the area has a very low population, just like every other government's buildings.
The guards don't look very alert, usually nobody attacks government's buildings in the corporate districts.
As she quietly observes them, she notices a flying vehicle circling around the HQ.
"Shit… Pretty good tech for government's operatives…" She thinks to herself.
Her eye implants allow her to zoom closer and she can see the side door is wide open.
She recognizes Skylark from Psysoft's files, he is holding himself with one arm as he aims his other arm toward the guards.
Gloria watches in awe as a cannon pops out of his arm and he starts firing at the guards.
The shots are brutal and send body parts flying against the garage doors.
The flying vehicle descends and lands close to the garage doors.
Skylark jumps down followed by Grinder and they rush to the garage doors.
Gloria keeps watching from the corner of the nearby building, she is in shock and her mind is racing.
"No… I need to do something… But these guys are psychos… Psysoft attacking government's buildings in the corpo districts… What's going on…" She thinks to herself.
She jumps off her bike and takes cover at the corner of the building.
As she is about to look, a huge explosion shakes the surroundings and forces her to cover her ears.
The garage doors are blown away by the blast and she sees Grinder and Skylark rushing inside the building.
Gloria's mind is racing, she can't believe what she's seeing.
"Psysoft attacking CTIG HQ? This isn't just about the prototype, it's a declaration of war!" She whispers to herself.
Her eyes narrow and her jaw clenches.
Gloria watches from her hiding spot as the chaos unfolds.
"I have to find Syntex." She says to herself, feeling a sense of urgency.
Her heart races as she sprints toward the HQ, her mind racing with the potential dangers she might face but she never slows down.
Gloria's boots echo in the alley as she rounds the corner, the sound of gunfire and screams growing louder.
Her eyes widen as she peeks into the garage, seeing the aftermath of the battle.
The smell of burnt metal and blood fills her nostrils, making her stomach churn.
Gloria cautiously steps over the twisted, lifeless bodies of CTIG agents, their eyes wide open, forever trapped in the moment of their demise.
The garage, once a bastion of order and protection, now a grisly battleground. She tries to ignore the metallic tang of blood in the air, focusing on the mission.
Gloria moves stealthily, her eyes darting around the garage, taking in the carnage. The once pristine floor now stained with crimson, scattered with the lifeless forms of CTIG agents.
Her eyes fall on Captain Haaris, lying in a pool of his own blood, his body broken and lifeless. Skylark and Grinder stand over him, their laughter echoing through the space, a twisted symphony of cruelty.
She hears the voice of Mark Spencer from behind a reinforced SUV, she can't hear what he says but he sounds extremely angry.
Her hand goes for her gun, she can't let them take Syntex, not after everything all the AI has done for her and her crew.
"Syntex..." She whispers to herself.
Gloria's anger turns to ice in her veins as she sees Mark walking defiantly toward Skylark and Grinder, surrounded by the chaos.
The scene doesn't make any sense, Mark is walking to his death.
With a pinch in her heart, she decides to intervene and raises up from her cover, getting ready to shoot.
Her eye implant starts to blink, registering spikes in the electromagnetic field surrounding her.
In a flash, she sees a blue pulse coming from Mark Spencer and spreading everywhere.
Her eye implant goes dark and starts to spark, she quickly takes it off her eye socket and throw it on the ground.
Gloria squints her natural eye, the scene in front of her is a mix of horror and disbelief.
The blue pulse from Mark Spencer is expanding rapidly, reaching out to every piece of technology around, making them spark and crackle like a symphony of electrical death.
Gloria watches as the pulse envelops Skylark and Grinder, their cybernetic bodies convulsing, their laughter cut off abruptly as they fall to the ground, unconscious.
The scene unfolds in a chaotic ballet of sparks and explosions, the garage lights flickering erratically. She sees Mark's body crumple to the ground, lifeless.
Gloria feels a pang of fear, she didn't know Mark had that kind of power, she suddenly wonder if Syntex got affected too.
The fear of losing him sends a shiver of ice cold sweat in her body.
Her cybernetic eye smokes on the floor, useless now.
Gloria blinks rapidly, her natural eye adjusting to the dim light as she moves closer to Mark's lifeless body.
Her boots tap lightly against the cold concrete floor, her gaze darting from the sparking wreckage of the garage to the still forms of Skylark and Grinder.
"Fuckers!" she spurts at their sparkling bodies.
Gloria takes a step forward, her eyes adjusting to the dimness as she approaches Mark.
Her hands shake slightly as she kneels beside him, the coldness of the floor seeping through her knees.
Gloria's heart thunders in her chest as she reaches out to check Mark's pulse. His skin is cool to the touch, but she feels the steady beat beneath her fingertips, a comforting rhythm in the chaos.
"He's alive... Syntex... There's still a chance..." She murmurs to herself.
Gloria tries to lift Mark's body but it's like trying to move a fallen statue.
"Stupid soldiers and their heavy modifications... Shit... Shit..." Gloria spurts in frustration as she stands up and starts kicking Mark's arm.
Her eyes darts around the garage looking for something, anything that could help her move him.
Her mind races as she looks over the smoking pile of wreckage, searching for a glimmer of hope amidst the destruction.
Gloria's eyes lock onto a tarp-covered object in the corner of the garage. With renewed determination, she sprints over and pulls it away to reveal a medical gurney.
"Fuck yes!" She shoots as she quickly moves it to Mark.
She lowers it down as much as possible and lock the small wheels.
"Come on G. you can do it!" She motivates herself as she starts pulling Mark's limp body onto the medical gurney.
Her arms scream with effort as she tugs and heaves, each muscle in her body straining against his dead weight.
"Come on, come on..." Gloria whispers through gritted teeth, her eyes never leaving Mark's still form.
With a grunt, she manages to get his torso onto the gurney, but his legs are like dead weights, resisting her every pull.
Gloria takes a deep breath and with a final burst of strength, she hoists his legs up and swings them onto the gurney.
Her breathing is ragged and her body is covered in sweat, but she refuses to give up.
With a grunt, Gloria starts pushing the gurney through the garage, her eyes narrowed with determination.
The wheels of the gurney squeal against the concrete floor, a piercing sound that echoes through the large space.
She moves quickly, dodging the sparks and debris that litter the area.
Her heart races as she thinks of Syntex, trapped in the head of a man who just brought down the wrath of Psysoft upon CTIG.
Gloria pushes the gurney with all her might, adrenaline pumping through her veins as she weaves through the debris-filled garage.
Her eye darts around, looking for any signs of movement from the unconscious forms of Skylark and Grinder.
They lay still, their mechanical limbs twitching slightly as the electrical discharge from Mark's brain fried everything electronic.
Her breathing was ragged and her muscles screamed for rest, but Gloria knew she couldn't afford to stop now.
She had to get Mark out of here, had to get him to safety. And she had to do it fast.
With the gurney in tow, she sprinted through the shattered garage doors and into the street. The air outside was thick with the scent of burnt electronics and the acrid tang of ozone.
Her bike, a sleek shadow against the flickering neon lights of the corporate district, waited for her like a loyal steed.
Her eyes scanned the area frantically, searching for any sign of pursuit, any movement that might betray the presence of more of Psysoft's psychos.
The streets were eerily quiet, the distant wail of sirens the only sound to break the silence.
With a grunt, Gloria maneuvered the gurney onto the sidewalk, her boots echoing on the pavement.
She could feel the weight of the world on her shoulders, the fate of the one person who truly understood her resting on her ability to keep Mark safe.
Her eyes locked on her bike, the gleaming chrome seeming to call out to her like a beacon in the night.
She lined the gurney up next to it, her movements precise and determined.
With a swift motion, she unclipped the straps holding Mark to the gurney and slid his limp body over to the bike.
Struggling to lift him, she managed to get his torso over the back of the seat, his arms hanging loosely to the side.
She straddles the bike, her legs trembling slightly with the effort of holding him up. Her hands grips the handles tightly, knuckles white with tension.
With a final look back at the smoking wreckage of CTIG's garage, Gloria kicks the engine to life.
The bike roars beneath them, a fierce sound that seems to echo her own determination.
She takes off, weaving through the darkened streets of the corporate districts.
The buildings loom tall and uncaring above her, their gleaming facades a stark contrast to the chaos she's left behind.
Her eyes scan the surroundings, searching for any sign of danger, any hint of a place to hide.
The streets are eerily empty, the usual bustle of the corporate elite replaced by a tense silence.
The gates leading back to the commons are out of the question; they're sure to be on high alert after what happened at the CTIG HQ.
Her mind races through the layout of the district, trying to recall any hidden spots, any safe houses that could serve as a temporary shelter. The sirens in the distance grow louder, a stark reminder that time is not on their side.
Gloria's grip tightens on the handlebars as she swerves through the narrow alleyways, her bike's engine snarling in protest at the speed she's pushing it.
Her thoughts race back to the stolen intel she had read during her infiltration at Psysoft. The canalization system. It's a gamble, but it might just be their ticket out of here.
Gloria steers the bike down a narrow alley, her eyes peeled for any sign of the access point she remembers seeing on the blueprints. The sirens are now a constant wail in the background, pushing her to go faster, to stay ahead of the net closing in on them.
Her heart skips a beat when she sees it, a small, unassuming hatch in the side of the alley, half-hidden by shadows and debris. Without a second thought, she veers the bike towards it and swerves into the opening.
The tunnel is narrow and dimly lit, the only sound the roar of her engine reverberating off the concrete walls. She feels a rush of cold air against her face as she speeds down the incline, the darkness slowly swallowing them whole.
"We're ghosting out of here," she murmurs to Mark's unconscious form, her voice barely audible over the din of the engine.
The bike's headlight pierces the gloom ahead, the only source of light in the otherwise pitch-black tunnel. She's riding fast, leaning into the turns, her heart racing in time with the bike's purr.
The walls are slick with moisture, the smell of damp earth and decaying metal filling her nose. It's a stark contrast to the gleaming chrome and neon of the corporate world above, but she feels a strange comfort in its desolate embrace.
As she allows herself to sigh in relief, the biggest challenge remains ahead of her, finding Syntex inside his host.
She starts to plan her next move.
"Need to get back to BinaryGhost…" She thinks to herself.
Where it all started.
End of part 1