Read Online Brainrush 05 - Everlast 02: Ephemeral by Richard Bard - Free Book Online Page B

threatened when he’d hooked into the system.
He felt the tickle again, and imagined the software waiting for his next
command. Or was it doing something else? What possible reason could there be
to get into my mind? Then he thought back to the tournament leader
board he’d seen earlier, with the names of the gatekeepers to some of the
world’s most secure—
     “Holy crap.”  
    ***
    “We’re getting something,” Pak said.
    He swept his hand across the monitor’s touch screen and the
image flew onto the main wall screen. A blur of five-digit numbers scrolled
beneath the phrase Office Zip Code , the first digit a 9, and the subsequent
digits scrolling and dropping into place one after another until the number 90503 filled the space. Jiaolong knew they had TurboHacker. The number flashed and
slid into an Office Zip Code slot on the left side of the screen, under
the name Marshall
Erickson . In the same instant, the title Office Street Address appeared
on the center of the screen, and a list of street names taken from a database
of all streets within the 90503 zip code scrolled beneath it, slowly at first,
and then so fast the words blurred together. The list stopped abruptly on the
name Marshall’s subconscious brain reacted to— Hawthorne Blvd . Then an
escalating series of numbers scrolled in front of it, stopping quickly at
25515. The address slid to its corresponding slot under Marshall’s name and a
new window appeared: Alarm Code .
    Jiaolong smiled. The entire process had taken only a few
seconds, and TurboHacker had no clue what his subconscious mind had given up. With
another day or two of game time, the man’s entire life—public and private—would be laid bare.
    “Brilliant,” Lin whispered.
    Yes, Jiaolong thought, it was brilliant. But why was
the inquiry routine working now? Why hadn’t it functioned properly when
TurboHacker had played from home? Was it because of the modified headset and
new software, or something else?
    “Sir,” a tech shouted from the other side of the room.
“There’s something happening on the street!”
    “On the screen,” Jiaolong ordered.
    A gun battle was being waged in front of their building. It
appeared as though two rival gangs were going at it. Bodies fell and the crowd
fled in all directions. Adrenaline surged through Jiaolong’s limbs as he
gritted his teeth. “Nice try, Mr. Bronson. But I’m not so easily fooled.” He
turned to Zhin. “Notify the teams that it is time.”
    “Already done,” she said, adjusting her headset. Two armed
guards rushed in and took up positions inside the door. Jiaolong saw another
stationed in the hall.
    He nodded and returned his attention to the gun battle down
below. “Alright, let’s find him.”
    ***
    Marshall ripped off his headset just
as the phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out, careful to keep it low
on his lap.
    just heard from shamer. yellows are agitated. showing signs of
getting ready to leave. exit door codes changed. darkmatter and team locked
upstairs.
      Marshall glanced toward the back of the room. A
couple of the older residents were huddled in conversation but the two guards
were steadfast. He texted back: gotta get outta here. can u help?
    yes. shamer gave me the code for your cuffs
    His heart skipped at the news.
    gotta find my wife
    There was a long pause, so he added:
    do you know where she is?
    I will tell you, but you MUST remain calm. your life and mine are at
stake. okay?
    Marshall’s hands trembled.
    okay
    ***
    An eager tension quickened the pulse
in Jiaolong’s temples. His prize was at hand. Capturing Bronson wasn’t key to
his plans for Passcode, but his deep-seated desire to make it happen never
wavered. Not only was Bronson the only hope for his dying grandfather, but Jiaolong
wanted to witness the horror in the American’s eyes when he pressed the button
that would unleash his vengeance. Jiaolong studied the checkerboard of closed-circuit
camera views that had been swept