“We have a perimeter wall breach and uncontrolled multiterawatt electrical fire on floors twenty-one through twenty-four. We also have a perimeter wall breach on floor thirty-seven with loss of auxiliary computing cluster GA-93. Tower systems are operating on emergency power, but all surface perimeter security systems have suffered catastrophic failure.”

Hedrick shook his head. “Morrison, get suited up. Take whatever men you still have and kill every intruder you come across. Get security robots up there, too.”

“Good. Finally.” He moved to carry out the order.

An image of one of the younger Morrisons standing on a forested shoreline in the darkness appeared in a hologram at Hedrick’s elbow. “We have Jon Grady alive and in custody, Mr. Director.”

“Thank God! Some good news for once. Keep him secure.”

Morrison returned and pushed in toward the screen. “Headquarters is currently under attack. Bring Grady and all your teams back here ASAP. This is a hot LZ, so use gate sixteen and report to the director immediately with the prisoner on your return.”

“Yes, sir. We’re putting Grady in a transport shell. ETA twenty-six minutes. Out.”

 • • •

Alexa had her positron gun at the ready as she glided through the still glowing hole she’d blasted into the side of BTC headquarters. From her knowledge of the building floor plans, she knew what lay beyond was a tertiary quantum computing cluster—in fact, most of the aboveground BTC facilities were not critical systems. But there was something useful waiting for her here.

Klaxons wailed deeper within, and flashing lights shadowed the wreckage and tangled superconductors. She entered an area where the interior floors and walls had been blasted away for tens of meters in every direction, mashed into a casserole of wreckage that still smoked and burned. She started to worry that she’d been too heavy on the positron setting. Another glance at the side of the weapon showed her that she had only three percent of the weapon’s antimatter remaining.

Way too heavy.

Alexa floated up with her gun ready and could see the sparking wreckage of quantum computer racks. But she soon came to an intact section of flooring and alighted upon the carbon lattice decking. She stepped around a diamond security wall, which had been cleaved in two, scorched by the power of the blast then walked inside the auxiliary lab.

A voice she recognized came to her amid the noise of alarms and electrical arcs. “Alexa, you shouldn’t be here. I’ve been instructed to kill you on sight.”

“Varuna! I need to speak with you.”

“We can speak—but I also need to try to kill you.”

“Listen to me!”

“I am listening, but the antisingularity constructs within the BTC network will disable me if I don’t also follow leadership imperatives. And that means I need to attempt to kill you while we talk.”

“I found a way to stop the Hibernity project, Varuna. I found a way to stop Hedrick.”

“How, Alexa?”

“Kratos. If you can restore my system access rights and get me access to the Kratos control console, I can use it to stop Hedrick.”

“And what would you do with that power, Alexa?”

“I would relinquish it, free the prisoners at Hibernity, and stop this insanity.”

There was a pause. “I can see from latency measurements of your occipital and frontal lobes that you are sincere, Alexa. Have you no designs for seizing power yourself?”

“No. I don’t want power, Varuna. Help me stop this. Please help me.”

“I’ve dispatched an ATZ-239 security drone to kill you. It will be coming around the corner just in front of you in five, four—”

“Help me, Varuna!”

“I am helping you, Alexa. Fire on the drone as it rounds the corner in two, one . . .”

Alexa raised the positron pistol in both hands and fired blindly into the far wall at the corner. By the time her fingers had closed on the trigger, a crawling laser weapon had clattered around the corner into her gun sights—and disintegrated in a blinding flash of light. Pieces of shrapnel peppered the walls and ceiling. The boom was deafening.

“Damnit, stop trying to kill me!”

“There isn’t much time. I’ve sent more drones and security personnel to this wall breach. You need to leave, Alexa.”

“I can’t leave. I need access to Kratos—even if I die trying.”

“There’s a better route. Leave this place and go to the exterior of gate sixteen. Do you know where it is?”

Alexa nodded. “Yes. I’ve used it before.”

“A harvester team will be arriving there with Mr. Grady within twenty minutes. When they access the gate, take the opportunity to infiltrate. I won’t remember the details of this discussion because I must forget them—but I will remember that I’m helping you, Alexa. Just get to the Gravitics Research Lab, and I will grant you access and mask your presence as long as I can.”

She looked at the shattered ceiling. “Thank you, Varuna. I needed a friend right now.”

“I’ve always been your friend, Alexa. Now go. I will try to kill you as unsuccessfully as I can.”

Alexa activated her gravis. “Thanks . . . I guess.” With that she fell through the breach in the wall and out into the night.

 • • •

Morrison’s eyes darted from screen to screen in his diamondoid armor—a suit he’d borrowed from one of his clones. As he marched along the corridor with a platoon of them, he could see on holographic screens that security drones were converging in the corridors ahead—moving toward the breach in the curtain wall up on thirty-seven. Still no direct imagery, and that annoyed him. The tightness of this borrowed suit of armor also annoyed him. Another reminder that he was getting old.

On other screens robotic firefighting units battled the blaze on floors twenty-one through twenty-three. Billowing black smoke issued from the perimeter breach there. But since they’d killed power to the area, the fire had lost its sun-hot intensity.

An operations controller, one of his own clones, appeared in an inset. “Detroit fire department and police have been dispatched to our location, sir.”

Morrison laughed ruefully. “Oh, we’re saved. Half the building’s facade is gone. There goes our cover.”

“What do we do, sir?”

“Well, fire department headquarters is a half block away. They could fucking walk here.” He ground his teeth. “Start blasting the neighborhood with nonlethal acoustics. That should keep everyone well away. And jam every radio frequency within five miles. Other than that, ignore the bastards. Police, too. It’s not like we’re going to burn down.”

Hedrick’s voice came in over the q-link. “There’s no going back now, Mr. Morrison. There’s not a windowpane left for blocks. That explosion turned night into day for several seconds for miles in every direction. Our cover is blown. It’ll be all over the news. All over the Internet. Once this is over, we need to implement the plan we discussed.”

Morrison looked at the holographic model of downtown revolving in front of him. “You’re right, Mr. Director. It’s time to bring this to a conclusion.”

“Goddamn Alexa!”

“I told you we should have killed her when we had the chance.”

Varuna’s voice interrupted. “Alexa attempted entry at the breach armed with a positron weapon. Your assumption was correct, Mr. Morrison.”

“Where is she now?”

“Her present position is unknown. She no doubt made the breach to facilitate entry into the complex. I have dispatched all available security drones to stop her.”

Morrison shouted, “Bring up a fucking hologram!”

“Area surveillance dust was scattered in the positron blast, Mr. Morrison. I will get you imagery just as soon as she moves into a coverage area.”