Read Online Division Zero by Matthew S. Cox - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Matthew S. Cox
Tags: Science-Fiction, adventure, Literature & Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, supernatural, cyberpunk, Psychics, Dystopian, Police Procedurals
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give me a minute before you take off in case something comes up.”
Li chuckled and stooped over the wreckage. “Oh, we’ll be here for a few hours yet.”
Kirsten paced around the doll. The frame sprawled on the ground with two large holes scorched through the chest. From the extent of the damage, one of the Division 5 crew must have tagged it with an ABR20. Kirsten frowned, shaking her head at how they never hesitated to point a gun made to take out Class 5 military-grade cyborgs at things like this.
They should call them Division Overkill, not Five.
She squatted and put one hand on the doll’s shoulder, careful not to put her knee down in the fluid saturating the carpet.
She closed her eyes and reached out with her mind, searching for any strange feelings. While she lacked talent at clairvoyance, and had no ability to take psychometric readings, her sensitivity to the astral realm allowed her to detect a residual presence on the parts. It gave her the impression a paranormal force had touched it within the past few hours. Granted, it could also be latent psionic energy. Either way, she knew Division 0 had to be involved.
“Yeah, there’s something here…”
“The survivors look like hell.” Dorian returned from the other side of the lobby. “My guess is you’re right. This thing couldn’t have been strong enough on its own to inflict those kinds of injuries.”
Kirsten pulled out her NetMini and thumb-typed some notes. One of the male tech-twos examining the doll looked up.
“Don’t you have an M3? It’s faster to think than type.”
Kirsten shook her head. “No. I don’t do the whole cyberware thing.”
Dorian held a finger up. “It interferes with psionic ability.”
“Wow, really, no ‘ware at all?” He sounded shocked. “How can you survive these days without it?”
“I get by.”
“That’s hot,” added an obvious rookie. “Pure girls are the best. No metal, nothing messing up their perfection.”
The tech-two sighed, looking embarrassed at the rookie’s comment.
She braced for the inevitable pick up line, but he just shrugged and went back to work. Kirsten appraised him with an unprepared blink, surprised at her disappointment in the lack of a direct come on.
“He’s probably gay.” Dorian folded his arms.
She snapped at him in a whisper. “Dorian! That’s rude.”
The rookie, about the same height as Kirsten or perhaps an inch taller, looked up again and smiled. She lapsed into a staring daze and found a silly smile on her own face. For once, she thought that she would accept if he asked her out, but he just seemed happy to have met her.
She turned, lamenting how the ones she would consider dating found her intimidating. Scrolling through the files on Eze’s datapad, she rechecked the notes. This would make the fourth time a doll flipped out under mysterious circumstances. Division 2 command made the decision to punt after they came up with nothing three times. This one looked like a repeat of the others, but escalating.
“Tech Xiao?”
“Yes, Agent?” Li looked up from where she knelt.
“Regarding the other dolls that went nuts, was there anything they had in common?”
Xiao pondered. “Well, the first one was a umm…” She fidgeted and broke eye contact.
Kirsten blushed. “I can guess, one of
those
dolls.”
“Yeah.” Li seemed thankful Kirsten spared her having to say it. “It killed the man it was with and then went through the wall to attack two live girls, but they got away. The second unit worked as a baggage handler at the starport. It tried to detonate a tank of Cryomil being pumped into a Mars shuttle, but only caused minor injuries to about fifty people before they put it down. The one right before this worked as a receptionist at an office building. That one tore its clothes off and walked into a board meeting where it stabbed a VP in the chest with a light pen and started dancing on the conference table.”
“I thought this was the
Li chuckled and stooped over the wreckage. “Oh, we’ll be here for a few hours yet.”
Kirsten paced around the doll. The frame sprawled on the ground with two large holes scorched through the chest. From the extent of the damage, one of the Division 5 crew must have tagged it with an ABR20. Kirsten frowned, shaking her head at how they never hesitated to point a gun made to take out Class 5 military-grade cyborgs at things like this.
They should call them Division Overkill, not Five.
She squatted and put one hand on the doll’s shoulder, careful not to put her knee down in the fluid saturating the carpet.
She closed her eyes and reached out with her mind, searching for any strange feelings. While she lacked talent at clairvoyance, and had no ability to take psychometric readings, her sensitivity to the astral realm allowed her to detect a residual presence on the parts. It gave her the impression a paranormal force had touched it within the past few hours. Granted, it could also be latent psionic energy. Either way, she knew Division 0 had to be involved.
“Yeah, there’s something here…”
“The survivors look like hell.” Dorian returned from the other side of the lobby. “My guess is you’re right. This thing couldn’t have been strong enough on its own to inflict those kinds of injuries.”
Kirsten pulled out her NetMini and thumb-typed some notes. One of the male tech-twos examining the doll looked up.
“Don’t you have an M3? It’s faster to think than type.”
Kirsten shook her head. “No. I don’t do the whole cyberware thing.”
Dorian held a finger up. “It interferes with psionic ability.”
“Wow, really, no ‘ware at all?” He sounded shocked. “How can you survive these days without it?”
“I get by.”
“That’s hot,” added an obvious rookie. “Pure girls are the best. No metal, nothing messing up their perfection.”
The tech-two sighed, looking embarrassed at the rookie’s comment.
She braced for the inevitable pick up line, but he just shrugged and went back to work. Kirsten appraised him with an unprepared blink, surprised at her disappointment in the lack of a direct come on.
“He’s probably gay.” Dorian folded his arms.
She snapped at him in a whisper. “Dorian! That’s rude.”
The rookie, about the same height as Kirsten or perhaps an inch taller, looked up again and smiled. She lapsed into a staring daze and found a silly smile on her own face. For once, she thought that she would accept if he asked her out, but he just seemed happy to have met her.
She turned, lamenting how the ones she would consider dating found her intimidating. Scrolling through the files on Eze’s datapad, she rechecked the notes. This would make the fourth time a doll flipped out under mysterious circumstances. Division 2 command made the decision to punt after they came up with nothing three times. This one looked like a repeat of the others, but escalating.
“Tech Xiao?”
“Yes, Agent?” Li looked up from where she knelt.
“Regarding the other dolls that went nuts, was there anything they had in common?”
Xiao pondered. “Well, the first one was a umm…” She fidgeted and broke eye contact.
Kirsten blushed. “I can guess, one of
those
dolls.”
“Yeah.” Li seemed thankful Kirsten spared her having to say it. “It killed the man it was with and then went through the wall to attack two live girls, but they got away. The second unit worked as a baggage handler at the starport. It tried to detonate a tank of Cryomil being pumped into a Mars shuttle, but only caused minor injuries to about fifty people before they put it down. The one right before this worked as a receptionist at an office building. That one tore its clothes off and walked into a board meeting where it stabbed a VP in the chest with a light pen and started dancing on the conference table.”
“I thought this was the
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