Read Online Code Breakers: Beta by Colin F. Barnes - Free Book Online Page A

on as if he were in confession. “I didn’t know where else to go. I knew your daughter, Caitlyn, and thought, and well, she’s gone now. Everyone’s gone.” He slumped his shoulders, wiped the tears from his face. It was then that he seemed to finally take Gerry in, and he slumped back with his mouth agape. “What happened to your eye?”
    “Upgrades, Steven. Listen, I don’t have time to explain everything, but know that Caitlyn and her sister, and their mother are safe. I can’t have you staying here.”
    Steven shot out a thin and bruised hand, grabbed Gerry by the wrist. “Please Mr Cardle, don’t chuck me out, I’ve got nowhere to go! My parents were reallocated. I’ll be dead in a few days. I don’t want to die on the streets.”
    “I’ve got an idea to keep you safe.”
    His eyes widened with hope, and then lowered again, “Kind of?”
    “I think I can get you off the network, safe from The Family and the lottery, but you’ll be an outlaw like I was. Like I will be again.”
    “How?”
    Gerry thought of Kaden and his stash of chips. If the kid was going to deal, he might as well deal to Gerry. “A chip added to your dermal implant. It’ll take you off the network. Sever your connection to the mainframe, and the routines that govern the lottery. You’ll be free of The Family, but you won’t ever have a normal life here again. And you’ll likely be hunted down all the time you remain here.”
    “Where would I go?”
    That was a good question. Gerry didn’t know. Was anywhere safe now? “I don’t know,” he said, wanting to be honest with the kid. “But at least you’ll be free to have the choice.”
    He hesitated for a few seconds before saying, “Okay. I’ll do it.”
    Gerry contacted Kaden across a secure private network he’d set up to his apartment room so that the kid could inform Gerry of anything suspicious going on. He answered immediately, clearly doing his job. “What’s up, Mr Cardle?”
    “How’s it going over there, Kaden?”
    “Sweet, no issues at all. The security guys wandered by the front of the building a few times, probably realised ‘you’ were in your apartment and were happy at that. It’s working, for now at least.”
    “Good lad. Listen, those chips. You still have them, right?”
    “Yeah, of course, haven’t been out of the building yet and my contact isn’t due to collect until later this evening.”
    “How many do you have?”
    Kaden hesitated then, sucked in his breath, “Why? What’s happening?”
    “Look, nothing bad, I just need one. Can you spare it?”
    “Well, it’s difficult.”
    “How’s that illegal Aliencraft server doing for you? I bet that brings in some nice benefits. It’d be a shame if—”
    “Okay, fine. I’ll square it. I’ll say one was defective or something. It’s happened before with a shipment so it won’t look too out of the ordinary. But there’s only so far you can keep doing this. Just remember I’m on your side here, doing you a favour. Let’s keep that balance right.”
    “Kaden, be smart. Don’t screw with me.”
    “I, erm, sure, I’ll have someone bring the chip to you. Give me your location and it’ll be with you within the hour.”
    Gerry sent him the location details to a storage unit in the next part of town. He turned to Steven. “Okay, the chip’s on its way. You’ll have to go to this address,” Gerry sent him an encrypted private note with the address.
    “Okay, got it,” Steven said upon receiving the message with the address. “Thank you, Mr Cardle. And I’m sorry about your wife and daughters. It must be tough not having them around.”
    “Yeah. That’s life I guess,” Gerry said, trying to not let the pain show on his face. “Stay to the shadows. And grab some clothes from my room upstairs. You look like crap and suspicious as hell.”
    Steven nodded, shuffled from his blanket nest, and headed out of the room.
    His back was worse than his chest: a grid pattern of cuts and