Clouded Emotions - Series 1 - VII

Fake places, false identities

“Arrest them!” orders John Dannington, head of security at DataCom. The police officers enter menacingly and try to seize Mario, Lin and Eugenio. But the agents' hands pass through their bodies, touching nothing.

“Sir -” a police officer starts. “What is this?” exclaims John. “They're holograms! Son of a bitch!” he adds, exasperated by the second missed capture.

There are videocameras on every door, 

in every car, every public and private 

place and every street corner. We already 

sent the police into the sewer system. 

Where do you think you can escape to?”

In the real lab, Mario, Isabella and the two hackers listen to every word coming through the speakers. Lin turns towards the DataCom head of security: “Another fail, right John?”

Purple in the face, John, in the fake lab, responds to Lin's hologram: “How long do you think you'll be able to stay hidden? Anyone with a smartphone in their hand is our ally, whether they like it or not. There are videocameras on every door, in every car, every public and private place and every street corner. We already sent the police into the sewer system. Where do you think you can escape to?”

“Escape?” Lin responds. “Your precious programmer and Isabella are in our hands now. You thought it'd be easy to follow them to get to us, but that didn't work out so well, did it? We don't need to go anywhere.”

“Oh Lin, Lin! You think those two are really that important to us?”

“Oh John, John! You need Mario now more than ever, because you know full well that if you want to extend your operation to a larger scale, you'll need to be able to modify the code in real time. Otherwise it's just going to be a disaster.”

John glances over at his deputy, hoping for confirmation that the fugitives have been located. “You won't be able to stay hidden for long!”

Lin smiles sarcastically. “Your usual excess of security: the reason behind the extra message in Roberto's suicide procedure, and Isabella revealing much more than she should have. Now we know what your objective is and how you intend to reach it. Do you think you're omnipotent because you can control the lives of individuals? What if everyone found out about your plans? Millions of people would be horrified, they'd throw their smartphones into the trash!”

Isabella, still sitting in the chair, takes a pistol out 

of her purse. She points the weapon towards Lin 

and pulls the trigger.

In the real lab, Mario is faced with new doubts. How does Lin, his hacker friend, know the head of security at DataCom so well? And how does he have so much information on the multinational's plans and their work? And what about those words, how he and Isabella are in their hands now? While Mario is lost in his own thoughts and the two hackers are focusing on John, Isabella, still sitting in the chair, takes a pistol out of her purse. She points the weapon towards Lin and pulls the trigger.

The hacker's body falls to the ground. Blood begins to flow from the bullet's exit hole at the base of his neck,

widening into a puddle on the floor. Isabella moves closer to the cadaver and nudges it with the tip of her shoe: “In your hands, eh? Moron!” Out of the corner of her eye, she notices Eugenio reaching towards a desk drawer. “Don't even try it! Alright you two, lie down on the floor!” she orders. “Side by side!”

As he follows her orders, Mario wonders who this woman in front of him really is. He thinks of the sadomasochistic sex scene between her and his boss, Roberto. And the cigarette? He didn't know she smoked. And now the pistol and the cold-blooded murder of his friend!

Isabella moves towards Mario and kicks him in the face. Then she approaches Eugenio and presses her shoe hard against his cheek: “From the way you were watching it looks like you wouldn't mind replacing Roberto. Tell me the truth, you want to become my new little slave, don't you?” Then she turns towards John, who's still following the holograms in the fake lab: “Everything is shielded here. How can I figure out a way around it and send you the location coordinates for this place?”

Mario lies at her feet, his nostrils dripping blood. He violently grabs her ankle, making her lose her balance. Isabella falls to the ground.

<-- Previous   Next -->

Table of contents

Full version available in Galactic Energies on Amazon Kindle.

Don't miss next issue. Subscribe to my mailing list.

Follow Clouded Emotion with Bloglovin.