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

damn fool is still playing games with us,”
Jiaolong said. He’d hoped that the threat of the bracelets and the fear for his
wife’s safety would entice TurboHacker to strike back with the only weapon at
his disposal—hacking into the system again through the Spider.
    Sister Zhin said, “Unless it’s within the tutorial that he
discovered the program’s vulnerability?”
    “Perhaps,” he said, watching the avatar pick up a grenade and
throw it. The projectile didn’t come close to the target. “But the man is a
master coder. He knows we’re watching. Trust me, he’s playing us, biding his
time for an opportunity to turn the tables.”
    “I can fix that,” Min said with a gleam in her eye, caressing
the bobbles dangling from the end of her long braid.
    “And perhaps you’ll have to when we return with him to the
village after tonight’s tournament...” His voice trailed off as he watched the
avatar pitch a second grenade, and then a third, each one landing closer to the
target. The fourth one blew it apart and he heard a whoop through the system’s
loudspeaker. Jiaolong turned to Pak. “Anything?”
    The engineer’s monitor displayed an active 3D model of
TurboHacker’s brain, various regions glowing and sparking in a seemingly random
fashion. The image was generated from the specialized probes in the Spider
headset. Pak studied the wave patterns and streaming data beneath the image.
“Nothing unusual,” Pak said. “He’s presenting as if he’s a new user.”
    Jiaolong frowned. “How is that even possible?”
    “With any other user I’d say it isn’t possible,” Pak
said. “But we learned long ago that everything is different with this man’s
patterns. In his previous games, parts of his brain didn’t present at all, as
if his mind recognized the intrusion and blocked it out. That isn’t the case
today, thanks to the new probes. Which means that when he attempts the hack
this time around, we’ll have him, every mental keystroke, every turn, every
action—the system will track it all. Shall I activate the advanced program?”
    “Not until we begin to see at least some activity.”
    Jiaolong turned back to the game screen. The avatar was
downing targets with an assault rifle. The movements were more fluid, but still
nothing close to the whip-fast speed he’d witnessed in the past from the famous
hacker. TurboHacker was putting up a good front. Almost too good—
    “We need to loosen him up,” Lin said. “So he’ll lower his
guard and get lost in the game. I have just the thing.”
    “Of course,” Jiaolong said, appreciating the symmetry of her
suggestion. He’d used video games as his personal coping mechanism all his
life, as had each of the high-ranking targets of the Spider program. It’s what
had made them vulnerable to his approach in the first place. TurboHacker was
resisting in light of the unusual circumstances he’d been placed in, but
with the right cocktail...  
    “Let the beta testers join him,” he said to Lin. “He seemed
more relaxed with them around. Can you work the drug into a snack or something?”
    “Easily,” Lin said.
    “Then let’s make it happen. Get him free and easy before the
tournament. Between the drugs and the involvement of his peers, perhaps the
real TurboHacker will surface.” Looking to Min, he added, “Otherwise, he’s all
yours.”
    She smiled.
    “In the meantime,” he said to Zhin, “are we ready for Mr.
Bronson?”
    Zhin nodded. “Oh, yes.”

Chapter 8
Hong Kong
    J AKE
AND PETE STUDIED the west face of the domino-shaped building from a
darkened twelfth-floor apartment across the street. They were dressed in black
jumpsuits and equipment vests, with MP5 submachine guns slung over their
shoulders and quick-donning face masks strapped at their sides. Each held a
pair of binoculars to his eyes, panning them slowly as they looked for signs of
Geppetto’s team.
    There were four hundred rooms on this face of the building,
twenty per