Tag Archives: Zola

Mere Anarchy: Part 31

Almost as he hit the floor, I stepped on his cyborg arm, and not in the casual, “I’m holding it down and I’m not going you move it,” sense. I stepped on his arm more in a, “finishing move,” sense.

My booted foot hit with enough force to shatter concrete and armored forearms along with it. The armor around Rook’s forearm bent and cracked, revealing machinery, wires, circuit boards in reinforced protective cages, and below the forearm the barrel of Rook’s Abominator energy weapon with its batteries and tech that made my implant activate and all but scream for attention. Continue reading Mere Anarchy: Part 31

Mere Anarchy: Part 28

“Funny that you’re doing the tech stuff and I’m the one out here fighting everybody?” I mean, it was.

“Shut up and hit people!” I could feel her irritation over the implant link.

Knowing that she had a point, I fired off a few more goobots, covering all the people near me, and then I ran around them down the side of the room, passing the newly born True who were crawling, or in some cases running and falling, toward the edge of the room.

They didn’t seem to be a threat for now, but if they got control over their muscles, I’d have to do something. Continue reading Mere Anarchy: Part 28

Mere Anarchy: Part 25

Even though I had no time to process it, my implant told me what the purple shot meant. Some Abominator guns had been given the ability to attack out of phase with reality, passing their victims armor. The technology turned out to be related to FTL technology, teleportation, and Abominator intangibility tech. Rook must have reverse engineered it or been inspired by what Jared’s device did.

Either way, it wasn’t Rook firing at me. It was one of the True, a male version of Stephanie wearing silver-tinged Abominator designed armor. Continue reading Mere Anarchy: Part 25

Who Are The True?: Part 5

Ryan muttered, “Huh?” He followed it up with, “Shit. Someone broke in and went through the—”

He stopped talking and then I heard a series of electronic clicking noises. He had to be calling someone.

Over the communicator, I told everyone, “They found the broken drawer and Ryan’s calling someone for help. I don’t know who, but we need to get out before they come this way.”

“What do you think we should do,” Vaughn asked, “Run?” Continue reading Who Are The True?: Part 5

Who Are The True?: Part 4

Despite my curiosity about the armor, my mind went back to the thing I should really be worried about. “Hey everyone, they’ve already got the True. Also, Art and Zola are coming along with Ronnie, Uncle Russ, and Ryan, so we’d better get out of here.”

Putting the papers back in the folder and handing it to Vaughn, Stephanie said, “Ok. Done. I was going to go over them once to see if I missed anything, but we don’t have time.”

Vaughn put the folder in the drawer and pushed it shut. “How are we doing?” Continue reading Who Are The True?: Part 4

Who Are The True?: Part 3

How much of a chance was a question I had the next time the door opened. Ronnie, the security guard we sometimes saw on the helicopter, walked out and with him came Russell Hardwick and Ryan McCall.

It didn’t take long to guess where they might be going next—the office that we stood in. It was possible that they might walk to the helicopter and leave, but anyone who took Murphy’s Law seriously knew better. Continue reading Who Are The True?: Part 3

Truth and the True: Part 5

Whatever emotion showed on my face, he took it as disbelief. “Look, you saw us talking. We’ve been talking a lot since she broke up with Sandy.”

I glanced around. While Emmy and Sandy’s relationship might have been an open secret for some people, it was possible that saying it aloud might force someone to take official notice.

The people in line for the door ahead of us weren’t close and no one stood behind us. On the other hand, there were people coming in our direction—Art and Zola. I hadn’t been wrong in thinking that Art was both a good six inches shorter and 20 years older than I was. It did surprise me that he could get away with wearing a “Rick and Morty” t-shirt in an office environment. On the other hand the shirt’s message, “I’m not arguing. I’m explaining why I’m right,” fit Art well enough. Continue reading Truth and the True: Part 5

Jekyll Or Hyde: Part 15

Using alien technology to empower people to break into Hardwick Industries and maybe commit other crimes as well had to be in violation of some agreement. Plus, they were talking about me. Didn’t the FBI quit while they were ahead if they had something and a civilian “asset” was in danger?

They hadn’t said, “That kid makes me nervous. Let’s kill him,” in so many words yet, but a risk to life and limb seemed implied in the way they were talking. Continue reading Jekyll Or Hyde: Part 15

Jekyll Or Hyde: Part 14

Art laughed. “I don’t know how many guys like him you knew in college, but here’s a little secret. Guys that age want women desperately and have no idea what to do about it. You’re good looking. Even if he never says anything, he’ll probably get nervous every time he gets near you.”

Zola shook her head. “I hope not, but I’m not sure it’s nervousness. I’m still figuring out what all these smells mean, but that doesn’t seem quite right. Besides, doesn’t he have a girlfriend? I thought I heard he was with someone or maybe Stephanie?” Continue reading Jekyll Or Hyde: Part 14

Jekyll Or Hyde: Part 13

I sat down, not wanting them to think I was watching them. Thanks to the bots I’d hidden around the offices and the lab, I didn’t have to watch them with my eyes. Allowing communication between my bots and my implant let me sit at my desk and watch the two of them move with my brain.

No doubt that opened up issues related to both privacy and humanity’s cyborg future, but I wasn’t worried about them. For me, being able to watch the two of them as they walked over to one of the small conference rooms meant that life was good.

I’d bugged that small conference room. Continue reading Jekyll Or Hyde: Part 13