The Astral Hacker (Cryptopunk Revolution Book 1) by Brian Terenna (best ebook reader .txt) 📗

it should be much simpler to hack than the military-grade security of the drones.

I target the tower and fire off verbal commands as fast as I can.

Forty seconds left…thirty. I picture our burned and mangled corpses on the street. No. I force the gory images away and continue to hack.

Twenty seconds…fifteen. I crash through the tower’s firewall, boost the power, and target the drones. “There. I got it!”

Everyone except Tom focuses on the drone swarm.

Nothing happens.

My stomach sinks, and dread grips me. Impossible.

Suddenly, scores of drones tumble to the ground, smoking as their batteries overheat.

“Legendary,” says Alexander. “I knew it.”

Americus shakes his head, amazement plain on his face. Asher’s eyebrows are raised as he watches the fiery explosions.

“Thank Navin,” says Tom as he wipes sweat off his forehead.

I want to beam at the praise, but Yumi and Astrid’s deaths drag me into oblivion. Sunny must feel the same way. His usually bright eyes are now a dull green.

We speed away, the other two SUVs in front. I turn to watch the remaining drones crash, letting myself relax a bit.

A hundred or so of them abruptly veer upward, soaring higher before their batteries overheat. Once the drones are out of the tower’s range, they zip back toward us.

Americus stares in disbelief. Tom prays to Navin even more franticly. Horror seizes me as I desperately try to think of a solution. Conscious thought eludes me, though, and all I can do is watch the swarm and shake. That’s it then, I failed to redeem myself to you, Nav. I’m sorry.

She must see my dread because she hugs me and says, “It’s okay. If we have to die here, at least you’ll see your mother, and I’ll see Ty.”

Americus grabs me and yells, “We can’t let the NIA get away with this. Can you do anything else, Fae?”

It increases my panic and makes it even harder to think. What else could I do? There’s no way I can network them in time.

We zoom around another corner, but the drones follow even closer. They open fire, and a spray of bullets tears up the street just before our SUV.

Sunny clamps down on my arm, ripping me from my paralysis. “Fae remember what you did at the final battle in Silent City.”

He’s right! “Americus, do you have infrared blankets?”

“Yes. What do we do?”

“Hurry. Pump the infrared blocking gas again,” I say. “And get the blankets ready.”

He does, giving me a moment to explain the plan. We peel around another corner, and he tells the other SUVs what to do. Americus programs the vehicles to keep driving, and we slow down enough to leap out.

I hit the ground with a thump and roll to a stop. Nav crashes into me, and the others stop nearby. We pull the infrared blankets over us and shut down our q-links. I hold Sunny close as he enters sleep mode.

The drones turn the corner and angle toward us, closing in.

If I miscalculated, bullets will shred us in moments. I hold my breath, filled with tension, and Nav grips my hand just like the last time we faced death by drone. Long seconds pass as we wait.

The swarm passes us by, following the SUVs. The ruse worked.

☼☼☼

I let out my breath and slump forward, exhausted from the ordeal.

Nav squeezes my hand. “Wow. You are StarFeather.”

I nod at the compliment, some of my energy returning. At least I’ll have a second chance to make things up to her.

Americus clenches his fist and jaw. “Director Tempton and the NIA will pay for our losses. We’ll show no mercy.”

“Yeah, Boss,” says Alexander.

“Zill,” says Americus. “Contact the base and have them send more SUVs to pick us up.”

Shortly after, we drive back to the base. I shiver as cooler wind blows through my hair. The overcast sky is darker than before, just like our lives. We ride back in silence, Americus’ face hard. Alexander’s gaze is fixed on the ground. Nav holds her head in her hands.

We’re rattled by the attack but crushed by Yumi and Astrid’s deaths. Everyone in my life dies. Who’s next? Alexander? Americus? Nav? We need to end this before that happens.

We had a reasonable plan, and it probably would have worked if not for Sunny blowing our cover. Diablo Sunny, now everyone is going to hate you. I should have run out for him, but fear got the better of me. Yumi, who just started to connect with Sunny, risked her life and saved him. I’ll always feel grateful…and guilty. At least we got the asset. Let’s hope this information is worth it.

Tom looks at Sunny, his expression hidden behind his beard. I wonder what he’s thinking. They’ve spent a lot of time together, so I imagine he feels bad for him.

We reach our base with no more drone sightings.

“We’ll have a service tonight for Yumi and Astrid,” says Americus, his fist balled.

The gate grinds open, and soon, we’ll have to tell Bob, Silas, and the others.

We drag ourselves from the SUVs, silence still weighing heavy in the air. Gerald steps in front of me, unaware of what he cost. By the look of his office-worker body, and knowing that he served under Americus, I’d say he must be about fifty. He’s aged well, though with minimal wrinkles and sun damage. Must be the office life.

I know that the Loyalists scanned him for the Evo, face-shift tech, trackers, and other technology, but I scan him again just to make sure. Someone was trying to capture us at the distribution center, after all.

He’s clear. I let my shoulders relax.

Americus pulls the man into a hug. They pat each other’s backs, then pull away.

“Good to see you, Major,” says Gerald. “I didn’t know if I’d ever