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

“Here, take this too.” I hand him the amethyst bracelet that Nav gave me. “I don’t want anything to happen to it.”

Alexander steps up to Americus. “You got this, Boss.”

Americus pats the slimmer man on the back. “Make sure you take care of Ron Paul while I’m gone.”

“You know I will,” says Alexander as he glances at the raven on the nearby bench.

Americus nods and holds out his hand to Nav. I roll my eyes, then make sure no one saw. Nav shakes his hand, her expression dejected.

He touches her shoulder. “I know that we don’t always agree on things, but I value your opinion. You’ve been a tremendous help to our liberation cause. You’ve turned out to be a remarkable woman, an excellent hacker, and a better daughter than I deserve. I love you.”

I nearly faint at the words.

Nav’s eyes widen, then a huge smile breaks out on her lips. “I love you too, Dad.” She hugs him.

He looks dumbfounded for a second and then wraps his arms around her. “When I get back, I want us to spend more time together.”

She grins even wider.

He pulls back to address the room. “We’ll have services for Yumi and Astrid when we return. President Toscano and Vice President Garza are patriots. They’ve served us well, and we’re going to repay them. In doing so, we’ll save all Americans and take back this country. This ends today!”

The Loyalists cheer, clap, and whistle.

Alexander pumps his fist to us. Asher waves, his nunchucks tucked under his arm, and everyone else wishes us well.

Before long, Gerald, Americus, and I are driving to the tunnel in silence. About twenty minutes later, we park, then hike through a dark and musty tunnel, our flashlights the only illumination.

On the other side, we find the car that Gerald’s contact left and drive to the facility. After the short drive, we park and exit the vehicle.

Americus walks up to me. “I wanted to say, I’m sorry that I was hard on you earlier. I’m not mad at Sunny for Yumi and Astrid’s deaths. I know that he was only trying to help, and if it weren’t for him, we’d be dead anyway. You’ve been a fantastic addition to the team. I know you don’t have any parents, but you have me as long as I’m around.”

All at once, any anger or doubts I held about Americus vanish. I’ve had so few people in my life ever say anything half as sweet. He’s rough around the edges, but I’ll always appreciate when he fed me and all he’s taught me about history, politics, the economy, and fighting.

“That means a lot to me, sir,” I say.

Gerald slaps Americus’ shoulder. “We’ll pull this off, Major. Just like old times.”

Americus pats Gerald back and nods.

“It’s good that you’re close to your daughter,” says Gerald. “I wish I was with my kids. You never know how much time you’re going to have with them. After this is done, I’m making them my priority.”

“Me too,” says Americus.

Nav is going to love that. I hope they can make it work.

“We’ll walk in calmly like we’re going to work,” says Americus. “Once we have the president and VP, we’ll leave quickly through the same door. From the intel, we shouldn’t face serious resistance. Are you both ready?”

Gerald rubs his face, his head bobbing in agreement.

We hike to the prison, Gerald leading the way. A twenty-foot armored wall surrounds the complex, protected by two guards.

My nerves buzz as we approach, so I recite all the protections I have in place: a uniform, a badge, and a holographic mask. Flash and smoke grenades, vest, pistol, dazzlers. I think about all the contingency plans Alexander and I devised, hoping I won’t need them, but making sure I know them.

An astute looking guard scans our badges. Another stands next to him. My heart pounds as we wait for admittance.

After he scans Americus’ badge, he looks up quickly. “Ramirez, I almost didn’t realize it was you. Have you been working out? You look bigger.”

“Girlfriend likes it,” says Americus, his voice now with a slight accent.

The guard’s eyebrows rise. “Girlfriend?”

I freeze, panic surging inside me. Americus tenses, looking like he’s ready to cripple both guards.

“You better not tell your wife about her,” says the guard with a chuckle. “Well, enjoy another boring day of doing nothing.” He steps aside.

The tension in Americus’ shoulders relaxes and I exhale. The inside is quiet, with no security. A peculiar smell hangs in the air, but I can’t quite place it. At the end of a long hall, an exit leads to a courtyard. Halfway up, there’s a third door, opposite a hallway.

We brought four extra q-links for the president and VP, so they can cloak as soon as we have them. I put my hand on my Torg as Gerald types in the code to the door. It flashes green, and he opens it for us. The strange smell is more noxious inside the room, and I scrunch my nose.

Relief floods through me when I see President Toscano and Vice President Garza sitting in chairs at the back of the room, tied up and gagged. Despite my relief, I scan the area for defensive structures and alternate exits. A table lines one wall, several steel file cabinets line the other, and there are two more doors on either side of the room. It’s really more of a conference room than a prison.

Finally, this ends. I allow myself a smile, and my worries fade into the background.

We walk up, and Americus removes Toscano’s gag. I take out the q-links for them.

“Ms. President?” he asks.

She doesn’t respond. Garza looks equally subdued.

They sit slumped as if they’ve given up. But it’s not just