Code Walker

By Gayla Drummond

In the fickle worlds created when cyberspace and reality overlap, it's all too easy to blur and shift lines… moral lines, lawful lines, lines of code and destiny, until the surreal becomes real. Walking those lines back to the source, and rebooting the system, isn't exactly a job for a girl who plays nice - but it does pay extremely well.

As Riley Cabot never qualified as a nice girl, life as the Code Walker is sweet.

Only thing about codes is that they break.

Novella with word count of 20,942.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Katarr Kanticles Press
• Release date: Dec 22, 2016
• ISBN: 9781536518702

Gayla Drummond

Author and rescue advocate. Metal Dog. Adopt, don't shop!

Book preview

Party Crasher

Brain jacked and ready to rock. Riley cracked her neck while letting her hand fall from the jack she’d just placed in the tiny socket behind her right ear. She was preparing to step into the holo field representation of her favorite place: cyberspace. Smiling faintly, she asked her best friend, TJ, you ready?

Entry point set, target tracker waiting. Make it a quick one, Riley babe. I’ve got a hot date lined up with one of NASA’s AIs, okay?

Riley grinned while pulling on her gloves. You stud, you. I’ll do my best; would hate to be the reason you missed out on some space lovin’.

She stepped across the line separating reality from virtual reality, instantly assuming her Virtual Reality Character Avatar, a Warrior Goddess. With a blink, the holo field displayed a crowded corridor instead of blank space. Lesser VRCAs scurried, as they sensed the sudden presence of a ghostly shark and began retreating from it, clearing her path. Riley’s now-glowing eyes tracked the progress of each; she pointed a finger at one that moved a little too slowly for her taste, delivering a mild shock.

/In San Fran, a teenage boy tears off his VR visor, blinking tears out of his eyes from the unexpected burst of light. His computer starts flashing ‘Fatal Error.’/

Grinning, Riley sauntered down the hall, meeting up with the target tracker. The tracker was a ball of blue with a bloodhound’s head jutting out the front. It bobbed along in front of her a pace, and Riley began blinking her eyes, accessing new nodes, the corridor scene changing as she skipped across the world. When her glowing eyes stayed open, the tracker brightened, a wagging tail appearing opposite the head. Riley extended a thin line of code to leash the tracker as it stopped bobbing and began moving with purpose, letting it pull her forward. It came to a stop after several minutes, outside a door set in a stone wall.

Good boy, she said. Treat? The tracker shivered as she fed it a jolt of joy, and Riley’s grin widened as it began weaving drunkenly. Back to the kennel now.

She watched it weave-bob away, then turned her attention to the door. Target acquired. He’s in there, TJ, and check out the heavy encryp! You think the man likes his privacy when he’s holoing?

Wonder what his perversion is? the AI’s voice buzzed in her mind.

Let’s find out, shall we? Full ghost in three, two, now. Riley disappeared, her invisible fingers becoming a set of lock picks with which she delicately began working on the heavy code lock on the door. No alarm sounded when she broke the encryption and slid through the security code into the room beyond. Nanoseconds of flickers as the lines darkened with her silent passage, none long enough to catch the attention of the security program’s holo avatar—a Bengal tiger gazing with immense boredom at the scene before it.

Good kitty. Riley looped the security code with a twist of her wrist, rendering the tiger still and sightless. That taken care of, she took in the holo room. Her target was disappointingly non-perverse. A holo geisha was massaging his supine figure. Boring.

Riley took three steps and slid into the holo geisha’s shell, assuming its appearance as a temporary avatar over her ghosted one. Her hands continued the work of massaging the man’s back as she glanced around the space for the physical entrance. Finding the hidden spot, she narrowed her eyes, assuming enough control of the holo room to fade the program to make certain the door was closed. The security’s tiger avatar remained motionless.

No challenge at all. Riley deleted the holo geisha shell covering hers and disabled the holo room’s safety protocols, re-assuming her own avatar and visibility before she spoke. Really, Shen Li, I’m bummed. Your security sucks.

The man lying under her hands stiffened, and his tone was cautious when he asked, Who are you?

Riley grinned, flipping him over onto his back and straddling him. His face paled at the sight of her glowing eyes. Bad news.

He opened his mouth to call for help, but it was too late as metal claws slid out of her gauntleted fist. The entrance slid open as she stabbed the claws toward his chest. Looking up, Riley saw a figure dressed all in black entering the room.

***

Damn it, Seth Monroe muttered, taking in the scene. A dark-haired warrior goddess with glowing eyes gazed calmly at him while she finished shoving a set of metal claws into his target’s chest. Shen Li convulsed violently before going still.

I hate uninvited guests, the woman said, rising to stand over the corpse.

My party. You’re the crasher, princess. Now, Seth nodded toward the dead body, we have a problem, you and I.

Not my problem you’re slow. Love your eyes. A wicked smile appeared on her face. Can I have them?

Seth dodged the swipe of claws when she lunged toward him. Damn, she’s fast! He went for his small, lethal gun, firing it at her chest. The woman dropped to her knees, and then bent over. Got her.

He stared, gun forgotten, when she raised her head. There was a delighted expression on her face. New problem, Green Eyes. I’m not really here.

Shit, code walker. Seth dove for the entrance of the holo room as she flickered into standing position. Her laughter followed him out.

Not so slow after all. She was smiling when he turned to look back into the room. A flicker, and she was on the other side of the invisible barrier from him, close enough to kiss. Her smile faded as they gazed at each other. I really do like your eyes.

I’ll keep them, thanks. Seth studied the code walker’s avatar carefully, memorizing every detail.

Won’t do you any good, Green Eyes, she said. At least you’ll be able to report to your boss that you survived.

Seth grinned behind the black mask. I’m certain he’ll be shocked. I tend to survive.

Few do, meeting me. In fact, you’re the first. You might want to avoid holo rooms for a while, Green Eyes. A merry smile curved her lips. I get pissy about loose ends.

What’s your handle, princess? Seth asked, certain she’d either laugh