Emergence (Fox Meridian Book 5) Read online

  ‘They’re running late,’ Fox commented after ten minutes.

  ‘Not an entirely uncommon circumstance in high-profile cases,’ Jason replied.

  ‘True, but annoying. No information on the internal net, which is also about par for the course.’ Rikers was isolated from the internet aside from at designated terminals, which were monitored. It did have its own wireless network which visitors could access to receive information on trials, hearings, wait times for the inmates they might be coming to see, and emergency information. Inmates could also access it, if they had the right privileges, though that was mostly a control measure rather than an information source. ‘They should be bringing Grant up from the secure wing by now.’

  ‘I should imagine he is up. If they have any plans for a timely hearing, he should be almost here. That assumes–’

  And then all Hell broke loose. The first indication was the heavy sound of locks being engaged on the court room doors. Fox looked around to see red lights flashing above the entrance, but she had little time to register the fact before Kit spoke.

  ‘The information net dispatched a “security emergency alert” packet and has now gone offline.’

  ‘No details on the emergency?’

  ‘No. I monitored nothing prior to that indicating any–’

  The building chose that moment to shudder and the sound of a distant explosion echoed through the structure.

  ‘The building is under attack?’ Jason said, getting to his feet.

  ‘I have no idea,’ Fox replied, ‘but that’s what it sounds like. Being unarmed and locked in, there’s fuck all we can do about it. Sit down before one of those paranoid-looking guards shoots you.’

  Jason glanced around at the two men flanking the door. They were in NAPA armour and carrying gun-pods, and their body language, even through their uniforms, did look jumpy. Jason sat. ‘I find the timing uncomfortable.’

  ‘Fox, I am detecting no wireless networks operating,’ Kit said. ‘The public network and the security network are down.’

  ‘Kit says the security network is out,’ Fox said aloud. ‘The guards won’t have any idea what’s going on either.’ She scanned the room and her eyes alighted on the prosecution terminals, which appeared to just be showing error messages. The defence screens were the same, and the men sitting at each desk were looking as confused as everyone else. ‘Something’s taken the entire internal network down. That…’

  Jason finished her sentence for her. ‘Should not be possible, non. And yet, here we are. Were you not looking into a very capable hacker?’ He was all business now, the distracted look gone from his face.

  ‘Minotaur? Well, yeah, but… Whether it’s him or not, total network failure and an explosion, just one explosion, says “prison break.”’

  ‘And prisoner transfers have always been the best time for such an event.’

  ‘Yeah, but that’s generally when someone’s being moved to a different facility. No one’s ever tried to break someone out of Rikers by force.’

  ‘Non, but then no one expects an attempt. Is that not the perfect circumstance for someone with determination to try?’

  ~~~

  Hannah watched as two men in full combat armour strapped her master into a seat. He was still in chains, and would have to stay that way until the immediate danger was clear, but their escape was now more or less assured. The vertol they had used to make the extraction was transitioning into level flight and heading north-east, out across Locust Point toward their escape route over Long Island Sound.

  Grant looked gaunter than he had before his stay in Rikers, but there was something new about him which Hannah had only ever seen when he had a new toy to play with. There was a light in his eyes, a zeal burning there. She chose to believe that this was eagerness at the thought of being free again, but there was a doubt.

  The vertol began to manoeuvre rapidly and Hannah gripped her seat to avoid being thrown around. The defence systems on Rikers Island had been disabled prior to their arrival, but every NAPA precinct building had air-defence systems and the probability of at least some of them being deployed had been factored into the escape plan. The six men in armour appeared entirely unfazed by the deployment of flares and the rapid shifts in trajectory. Grant actually seemed to be enjoying it, and that gave Hannah hope: perhaps her master was simply enjoying his regained freedom and would, as she had planned, lie low.

  In a couple of hours, they would be safe. Then she would know for sure.

  ~~~

  Frederick Ungar did not look like a happy man. Fox was not exactly surprised about that: the first ever escape from Rikers Island since the new facility had been constructed was hardly likely to reflect favourably on the man in charge.

  It had taken almost an hour before the court room doors had been unlocked, though the information network had restarted after about thirty minutes, providing the occupants with the news that a security emergency required that they all stay where they were. Nothing else was forthcoming until armed guards had arrived to secure the room, and then the announcement had changed to indicate that everyone would have to undergo an interview before they could leave.

  Jason had been the first person out of the room, because he had diplomatic immunity and had to be handled with care. He had, at least, looked reluctant to leave Fox behind. Fox had settled down for a potentially long wait, and had not been disappointed. She was finally escorted to an office just after Grant’s defence team had been led out. She was the last to leave, but Ungar seemed to have decided that he should handle her interview personally. Whether that was good or bad was something she was eager to find out.

  ‘I’m sorry for the wait,’ Ungar said as Fox sat down. ‘I wanted to be sure we had as much information as possible before I talked to you. Let’s face it, I doubt NAPA are going to be telling you much, given the reports I got before this happened.’

  That, at least, sounded good. ‘So it was Grant who got taken out?’

  Ungar nodded. ‘Somehow, and they’re still working on how, our entire network system was taken out by a cyberattack. That took all our air-defence systems offline.’

  ‘Military vertol… They blew a hole in one of the bridges and took him off by air.’

  ‘Fast, efficient. The aircraft had high-end stealth. We never saw it coming in and it vanished over Long Island Sound heading out toward the Atlantic. He could be anywhere.’

  ‘A mercenary unit. South African, maybe Russian or Brazilian. Expensive. Add in the cyberattack and the setup, and you’re looking at a well-planned operation. Someone had to have been working this for months.’

  ‘The setup?’

  ‘The three new murders,’ Fox said. ‘Someone killed three men…’ She frowned. ‘They were all men this time, no women. Anyway, someone killed them to get enough leverage to get Grant out of the secure area to the courts. That would mean he had to be moved across one of the bridges, and that gave them the opportunity to mount the operation. Something this out-of-the-box… There’s no way you could predict or counter it unless they made a mistake executing the plan.’

  Ungar gave a grunt of displeasure. ‘I’ll call you for my defence at the investigation hearing. I’m required to ask whether you had any foreknowledge of this escape.’

  ‘Me? Only reason I knew about the hearing at all is that the UNTPP was informed and they thought I should be told. NAPA have been keeping me entirely out of the loop on all of this. Anyway, why would I want him out? I don’t believe Grant’s the kind of man who takes being arrested lightly. He’s going to come after me the first chance he gets.’

  ‘Probably. We didn’t get much out of his analysis while he was here, but we do know he holds you responsible for his incarceration. Of course, he claims it was wrongful incarceration.’

  Fox cracked a half-smile. ‘Is there anyone in the high-security section who thinks they should be there?’

  ‘None I can think of. Hell, half the low-security inmates who committed a crime jus
t to get locked up and avoid the Sprawl claim they were set up.’

  ‘I’ll be taking appropriate precautions. I assume NAPA are going to handle Dandridge and his family?’

  Ungar gave a shrug. ‘Like they’re going to tell me.’

  ‘Great being in the dark, isn’t it?’

  ~~~

  ‘Are you fucking serious?!’ Fox was getting to the end of her tether, which was a short journey following recent events and never a long one where Captain Canard was concerned. ‘You drag me off the transport from Rikers after I was hanging around there for four hours, and now you want–’

  ‘To place you under protective custody,’ Canard said. He was trying to look concerned, and only managing smug.

  ‘Well, you can arrest me if you want, but I won’t go voluntarily. If you do, I’ll be out in an hour and you’ll be out of a job within the week.’

  ‘Grant’s psychological profile indicates that he is likely to attempt revenge against you. Your current address is within precinct nineteen. For your own safety–’

  ‘I should avoid any NAPA facility.’

  ‘We have some of the most secure facilities on the planet.’

  ‘That’s untrue, for starters, and he just broke out of one of them. Do you know how he took out the entire defensive system at Rikers? No? Thought not. So until you have that nailed down and countered, this building is the last place I want to be. Consider yourself covered. I do not want or accept NAPA protection. If you want to put me under surveillance in the hopes that he’s stupid enough to try something where you can see it, I can’t stop you. I will not accept a protection detail when I can get one from my own company. I assume you’re handling security for Leonard and Chantal Dandridge?’

  ‘They’re precinct fifteen’s problem. I can’t force you to take a detail, but if you refuse, I can’t protect you on the way home either.’ Canard’s smugness was getting irritating.

  ‘Reginald Grant is probably on a boat in the Atlantic by now. And he plans. He isn’t going to be coming after me for a while. When he does, I’ll take him down just like I did last time. Maybe NAPA will pull their finger out this time and ship him straight to the Moon.’

  ‘Not my problem,’ Canard replied.

  ‘No, nothing is. You’re in favour of transferring policing to private contracts in the metros, right?’

  ‘You know I am.’ Canard’s eyes narrowed. Fox also knew that Canard was basically in the pocket of one of Palladium’s competitors, Wayden Executive Services.

  ‘If it goes through, Palladium will bid for the contracts. Just as with the regional bill, we’d prefer the status quo, but we’ll be ready for either eventuality. I suggest you think about how well Wayden has done with the regional contracts compared to us, Captain. Just think about that.’ Fox got to her feet. ‘If that’s all, I’m going home. I’ve got work to do.’

  ~~~

  Marie was looking nervous and Fox could not really blame her. Grant had targeted her before and since she was filming for her show in a station which had a rather overenthusiastic news department, the first she had heard of Grant’s escape had been when a reporter had rushed to the studio to interview her. Fox had been rather pleased to hear that Marie’s producer, Nathan Shark, had thrown his colleague out with some force.

  ‘Do you think he might come after me again?’ Marie asked as Fox escorted her home from the studio.

  ‘Honestly? No idea. Also, honestly, not yet. I told Canard that Grant would be lying low for at least the immediate future. Grant’s a planner. He’ll want information. He can’t even rely on his old MO since we patched all his backdoors into LifeWeb. He’s got to figure out an entirely new way of getting to people.’

  ‘Well, he’s got one, hasn’t he? The Central Park murders?’

  Fox shook her head. ‘Works for random victims. I’m willing to bet they were taken at random, off the street. Victims of circumstance, basically. If Grant wants to torture more people to death, then it’s a way to go, but if he wants me, then he needs to think about what he’s doing.’

  ‘Right… Good… So you’re escorting me home because?’

  ‘Because I figured you’d have heard and you’d be worried.’

  ‘Yeah…’

  ‘Because better safe than sorry.’

  ‘That’s a good point.’

  ‘And because you’re not going anywhere without some form of security, and Sam’s out on a job.’

  ‘So you do think he’ll come after me?’

  Fox flashed Marie a grin. ‘See above regarding safety and sorrow. I’ve spoken to IB-Nineteen about some extra on-site security. If neither me nor Sam is available to get you to and from the studio, I’ll arrange for Helen to do it.’

  ‘And at home there’s a gunship on the roof.’

  ‘Yeah, basically. You’re safe. I don’t think he’ll come at me through you anyway, but giving him an easy point of attack is stupid. He’s going to assume I’ll think of that route, so he’s going to go a different way. I just wish I knew what it was.’

  ‘Jason?’

  ‘Far too hard a target.’

  ‘Your parents?’

  ‘Covered. Basically, I’ve left him very few avenues to try for except the direct one and that’s not going to be easy.’

  ‘But he’ll try.’

  ‘God, I hope so. I hope he tries really hard. Because this time I don’t want to give him any chance of escaping again. Absolutely no chance at all.’

  4th February.

  ‘How are things going with security in Tokyo?’ Fox asked, looking across the virtual table at Jarvis.

  ‘We’ve set up a liaison with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Your girl Fukui was pretty useful setting that up, actually.’

  Fox grinned. ‘I know how to pick talent.’

  Jarvis grinned back. ‘Yeah, well, we’ve got police support outside the venue and our Tokyo office. Inside it’s our gig. We just have the final arrangements to make. We’ll have everything ready by the end of next week.’

  ‘Just in time for us to arrive with Sakura.’

  ‘Anything from your people on Minotaur?’

  ‘Baum in Germany has managed to get everything the Europeans managed to find on his activities. It’s not much that we don’t already know, but he added a few details to the attack profile the techs have been building. Fukui’s been digging into Sakura’s background. No indications that Minotaur was involved with her back then, but she was signed with ATW and the information is that the break-up was not entirely clean. ATW Japan has a number of links with the Fukui-kai and there could be some issues because of that.’

  ‘You’re sure of our Fukui’s loyalties in the matter?’ Eaves asked.

  Fox turned to look up the table. ‘I’m sure. If anything, Yuriko is likely to be more motivated because of this. I have no trouble working with our Fukui on this one. To be honest, my main complaint is that we’re going to be in Japan on the fourteenth and I bought this special outfit…’

  ‘I don’t want to know.’

  ‘I could stand to–’ Jarvis began.

  ‘That’s all you’re getting, Ryan,’ Fox told him. ‘Unless you can get the selfie I took for Alice out of her.’

  Alice Vaughn, sitting beside Jarvis, smirked. ‘My memory is sealed.’

  ‘Huh,’ Jarvis said. ‘Everyone’s got a price…’

  ‘Yeah, but you couldn’t afford it.’

  ~~~

  ‘Fox, Jason is at the door.’

  Belle’s announcement resulted in a frown and a time check. ‘He’s early,’ Fox said. ‘Very early. Let him in, obviously. Tell him to come up.’ Fox felt her heart rate climbing, and she got to her feet to wait for Jason to arrive in her lounge. He had been quiet since Grant’s escape and the one time Fox had spoken to him, via teleconference, he had been back to that distracted demeanour and had cut the conversation short. Now he was here, at the house, four hours before she had been expecting him.

  ‘I am sure he can simply
no longer wait to see you,’ Kit said, keeping to the inside of Fox’s head rather than manifesting an avatar. ‘Or perhaps there has been a development in the Grant case.’

  ‘Yeah. Sure.’

  The distracted look was gone when Jason appeared in the doorway. In its place was… worry? Concern, certainly, but also conflict. He looked almost as though he wanted to throw up, and Fox’s stomach lifted and turned over in sympathy.

  ‘Jason,’ Fox said, trying to sound as positive as she could manage. ‘You’re a little early for our date.’

  ‘Oui…’ The pause seemed to go on for minutes. ‘Fox, we need to talk.’

  Fox’s stomach decided that it should take an elevator down to her ankles. ‘That, um, doesn’t sound good.’ She settled back onto her sofa. ‘Sit down and talk.’

  Instead, he walked around to the space in front of the sofa and paced, which did nothing for Fox’s composure. ‘It is both good… and not good. I am not sure how good, or not good, it is. I have been trying to… You have noticed that I have been… distant, I have no doubt. I… I have been attempting to come to some decision, but… I don’t…’

  ‘Jason, just tell me what’s wrong.’

  He stopped pacing and stared at her. ‘I have been offered a position as the head of a new UNTPP unit. It is to handle off-world terrorist activities such as the recent cyberattack on Luna City. There would be a promotion.’

  ‘That’s great news,’ Fox said. Even she thought her voice sounded hollow.

  ‘The unit is based on… the L-one station.’ Jason was getting more faltering again. ‘There would be un term initiale of three years…’ And slipping into fragments of French.

  ‘Okay,’ Fox said.

  ‘Okay?’