Decker was confused. It appeared as if the original orders for their arrest had never been rescinded in Massachusetts for some reason. Local law enforcement still believed Lulu and he were at large. Then, he realized the truth.
HAL2. He was behind this. Just as he had taken control of the nation’s military and key infrastructure, he’d also taken command of the media. Using a mixture of subterfuge and CGI wizardry more sophisticated than any available to the most up-to-date movie studio, he could make anyone believe almost anything simply using the airwaves.
What’s next? Decker wondered. Will the President himself appear on TV, or his digital simulacrum, condemning Lulu and me?
There was a sudden bump on the side of the vehicle. Then a louder explosion.
Someone was shooting at them!
Decker slammed the glass shut.
“Move, move,” said the commander beside him and the driver stepped on the gas.
“We’re taking fire,” the driver said in his radio. He looked up through the windshield. Sure enough. They could see figures scurrying about on the rooftops of River Street. A moment later, one of the ASVs behind them opened fire and the figures dropped out of sight. “Must be that reward.”
As they drove, streetlights suddenly overheated above them, glowing bright for a second and popping, sending showers of sparks and broken glass out of the sky like white phosphorous.
At one point, the Humvee ahead of them shot up into the air without warning, as if hit by some powerful IED. But it turned out to be a manhole cover. Steam conduits under the streets were being heated to unbearable temperatures, turning the round iron saucers into powerful projectiles. Luckily, none of the soldiers in the overturned vehicle was hurt. They leapt from the doors of the crippled Humvee and jumped onto the back of the nearest ASV in the convoy.
A few minutes later, they finally arrived at the MIT Media Lab. Two teams of Rangers dashed from the vehicles. They set up a perimeter, and only when they felt it was safe did they allow Decker to step out of his M1117. As soon as he did so, a series of gunshots crackled right overhead.
Decker rolled to the ground. One of the Rangers beside him cried out. Before he could even turn and see what had happened to him, Decker was picked up by two other soldiers and dragged through the front door of the Lab.
They ran through the lobby toward the rear of the building. When they had made it past the front desk, they ignored the elevators and headed straight for the stairs. On and on they ran, up the steps, through another set of doors, until they found themselves in a glass-fronted corridor looking down on the lobby.
The ASVs were still parked right in front of the building. Decker could see soldiers returning fire at the snipers on the rooftops using MK 19 grenade launchers and M2HB Browning machine guns when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Something moving.
A trail of smoke.
“Look out,” he shouted as he started to run.
Some sort of rocket or RPG flew directly into the ASV parked outside the main door. The armored vehicle lifted up for a second on a blossom of flames, then rolled toward the building, plowing through the doors and glass front of the lobby.
Decker flung himself to the floor of the corridor. The windows overlooking the lobby exploded, sending shards of glittering glass into the air all around him. He covered his helmet and face with his arms.
There was a flash of bright light as the ASV burst into flames. It had finally come to rest at the end of the lobby, right next to the welcome desk. Decker watched it burn for a second before he felt himself picked up once again by the underarms, and carried by the two Rangers through the doors at the end of the hallway.
They found themselves at last within the Education Arcade. This time, no lock held them back. They blasted the side panel with their assault rifles and bulldozed their way through the door. The lab with the VR equipment was empty.
Decker ran to the console and began powering up the controls. The soldiers, plus four other Rangers who had entered the Center from the rear of the building, set up another defensive perimeter.
It took only a few minutes for Decker to power up the console and prepare the VR goggles. “Ok,” he said when he was finished. “I’m ready.” He adjusted his body armor and took off his helmet.
A young Captain named Everly stood nearby, an M4 clutched to his chest. “Good luck,” said the soldier.
Decker picked up the Virtual Reality glasses. “Do me a favor,” he said, before slipping them on.
“What’s that?”
“Make sure you’re here when I get back, if you don’t mind.”
The young Captain smiled. He had pale blue eyes that twinkled under his helmet. “Don’t worry. We’ll be here. You know the plan, Agent Decker.”
Indeed, he did. They had mobilized a half dozen special forces units to secure the facility. They’d created a no-fly zone over Cambridge and Boston, locking down everything in the region that could take to the air by draining the fuel out of drones and crippling missiles and rockets. They’d even scrambled old-time, non-computerized fighters to patrol the night skies. All in an effort to keep watch over him, to try and ensure that he had the time he required to penetrate HAL2’s virtual reality world.
“We’ve got your back,” said the Captain. He inserted a fresh magazine into his M4 carbine, hit the bolt release on the left of the receiver, and the bolt traveled forward with an audible click as a new round entered the chamber.
“Thanks,” Decker said.
But what was he meant to do once he got into that world? What could he do? Although they had pondered these questions at length in their planning, no one had come up with any satisfactory answers. In truth, given their lack of experience, no one knew.
Decker stared out the window again, across the river from Cambridge to Boston. The night sky glowed orange and red. Tracer fire lit up the horizon. Smoke billowed up from the street. Somewhere he heard a distant explosion. Despite the Christmas lights and holiday decorations, the city looked more like Damascus than Boston.
Is Washington DC like this now? Decker wondered. The President had assured him that they were going to move Becca to the White House but would she be safe even there?
“Now I know why they call it the Combat Zone,” Decker said with a laugh, trying to quell the fear in his heart, but the Captain was already looking away.
Decker took a deep breath. There was no point delaying. Nothing would change what he had to do. There was no one else waiting in the wings, no reserves, no second team. It was just him.
He slipped the earbuds into his ears and the whole world went suddenly silent, as if he had just dived off a cliff into deep waters. He brought the goggles up over his head, slid them down until they covered his eyes. Then, he started breathing again.
CHAPTER 57
The eleven pound robot was about the size and shape of a hardcover book, with four rugged white plastic wheels, reinforced springs, and a loading mechanism built into its stainless steel frame. It rolled quickly, low to the ground, like an insect down Ames Street, scurrying underneath one car after another. When it reached the corner at Amherst, near the steps, it peered skyward with its one robot eye, pulled itself back on its rear wheels until they locked, and then launched itself into the air. Using gyro stabilization to stay level during flight — and to provide a clear view for the onboard camera — the Flea flew more than ten yards, landing in a parabolic skid on a small ledge located about halfway up the five-story Media Center. Barely twelve inches wide, the ledge was so thin that the robot struggled to keep from slipping over the edge. Moments later, it repeated the action, sending the device skyward again, until it landed on another ledge, then another, until — in a leap of almost twelve yards — it crashed and rolled onto the roof.