Wild Fyre (24 page)

Maco and Kevin didn’t talk as they left Maco’s house. They crossed the yard to Kevin’s car and Kevin opened the door and had the engine started before Maco got in.

“Wait,” Maco said. He motioned for Kevin to get out and waved him over near the fence.

“What’s up?” Kevin said.

“Maybe we shouldn’t take your car,” Maco said. “It’s identifiable.”

Kevin nodded and the two men started down the sidewalk. As they reached the end of the block and crossed the street, a police car headed the opposite direction rolled slowly towards Maco’s house.
 

“Don’t look,” Kevin said, but Maco couldn’t help it.

Maco stole a glance and saw the police car pause near his driveway, eyeing Kevin’s car. The police car continued on and turned right at the end of the block.

“Maybe she reported it stolen,” Maco said.

“How are we going to get across town?” Kevin asked.

“We’ll take the bus,” Maco said. “Nice and anonymous.”

They turned right on the next big street and walked under awnings, past a bike shop, and a picture framing store. The bus stop sat in front of the drugstore on the corner.

“I don’t have any cash,” Kevin said. “Is there an ATM or, better yet, a supermarket or something?”

“I always carry cash, don’t worry,” Maco said.

They arrived at the bus stop shelter. Maco used his hand to shield his eyes from the sun and looked up the street.
 

“I think it’s going to be a few minutes,” Maco said.

The sound of skidding tires and a car horn from the intersection drew their attention. Kevin walked a few steps towards the sound. Two cars had come close to colliding. The car turning left was still inching out into the intersection and the other driver was hanging out his window, yelling.

“What happened?” Maco asked.

“Looks like that car ran the light and almost hit that guy turning left,” Kevin said.

“Ran the light?” Maco asked. “What light?”

Kevin looked up. The traffic signal on the main road was dark. It didn’t show red or green or even a flashing light to indicate that it had lost power. It was just dark.

“That’s weird,” Kevin said.

“Nope,” Maco said. “Look.”

Maco pointed the other way and Kevin looked down the street to see that all the traffic signals had gone dark. All down the street, cars were trying to negotiate without the aid of the signals. The sounds of angry horns filled the air.

“She figured out that we’re trying to get to her,” Maco said. He pointed up to a security camera that was mounted near the entrance to the drug store. “We should assume from now on that she can always see and hear us.”

Maco started to walk back up the street. Kevin caught up with him.

“I don’t know if you’re still being a crazy tinfoil-hat paranoid, but on the off chance you’re right, what’s our next move?”

“Travel by car or bus is going to be nearly impossible if she keeps all the traffic signals shut off. Let’s see if this bike shop will rent us a couple of ten speeds,” Maco said.

“When was the last time you rode a bike?” Kevin asked.

“You never forget, right?”

“We only have a few miles. Maybe we should just walk.”

“Let’s try to get bikes first.”

Maco opened the door to the shop and the bell rang. A woman waited at the counter as the bald man at the register apologized. He was punching buttons on the credit card machine and cursing under his breath. The clerk unplugged the machine and plugged it back in.

“I’ve got cash,” she said. “How much is it?”

While the woman negotiated her bill, Kevin tapped Maco. He pointed to the corner where the shop had a gas-powered scooter on display. Maco nodded.

“What can I help you gentlemen with?” the clerk asked.

“How much for that?” Maco asked, pointing at the scooter. “And do you have two of them?”

The clerk was about to answer when the lights shut off.
 

“What now?” the clerk asked, looking up at the dark fixtures.

“Maybe we should walk,” Kevin said.

“That’s what she wants. She’s doing all this to funnel us down into some trap,” Maco said.

“If this is all her doing, maybe she’s just trying to slow us down. Maybe having us kill time in this bike store is exactly her intention,” Kevin said.

“Yeah,” Maco said. “His credit card machine isn’t working and I don’t have enough cash for this thing. I suppose we would have been forced to steal it anyway.”

Maco turned to leave and Kevin followed. The sidewalks were even more clogged with pedestrians and the streets were a cacophony of horns. Maco and Kevin pushed through the crowds and headed south through the hot afternoon sun.
 

“Come on,” Kevin said, grabbing Maco’s arm. He led them down a side street and then turned on to a road that paralleled the main drag. The street was just as busy—many motorists sought a faster route through the neighborhood—but the sidewalk was clear.

“Jesus, it’s hot,” Maco said. “Hey, why did you come over today, anyway?”

“Oh,” Kevin said, “I forgot. I had a log file I wanted you to look at. It’s moot now.”

“Of what?” Maco asked.
 

“There was a bot on one of the game servers,” Kevin said. “She claimed to be Fyre. I wanted you to confirm what I was seeing in the log files. When you watched the gameplay, it seemed like the bot had perfect timing. That’s tough to do with that game—especially this morning with all the lag. When I looked at the log files, it looked like some of her responses were originating just before whatever caused them, you know? It was like she knew exactly when a shot would be fired, so she ducked just before the trigger was pulled. I figured I was reading it wrong.”

“You know more about those logs than I do,” Maco said. “I don’t know how much help I could be.”

“No, you’re good at that stuff,” Kevin said.

“So you saw that lag too?” Maco asked.

“Pardon?”

“You said there was a lot of lag?”

“Yeah, in the game. Yesterday afternoon, too.”

“I saw the same thing. Everything got slow—the whole net. It wasn’t just your game,” Maco said.

“We can cut through this park,” Kevin said. He put up his hand and asked a driver to pause so they could slip between the cars. The frustrated driver threw up his hands, but gave them enough space to cross the street. Kevin and Maco jogged across. The park had a path that followed a creek. They walked in the shade, removed from the honking and sheltered somewhat from the heat.

“It’s nice here,” Maco said as they crossed a little bridge. The creek below bubbled with running water.

“You’ve never been here? This is only half a mile from your house.”

“Who has the time?” Maco asked. “So that bot was essentially reacting to things that hadn’t happened yet?”

“That’s what it looked like. I must have been reading the logs wrong,” Kevin said.

“It makes sense. That’s what she was designed for, right? Jim wanted her to anticipate his needs,” Maco said.

“Yeah, but that was when to turn on lights. This was dodging a video game gunshot. There’s a world of difference.”

“You process inputs, and you make a move. Checkers is harder than chess, but it’s only because the number of combinations is bigger. It’s basically the same problem,” Maco said. “That credit card machine was broken before we went into the bike shop. If she did that, then it was because she predicted we’d need to make a large purchase there.”

“Or it was coincidence. Or she was covering all the bases,” Kevin said.

“Hold on,” Maco said.

“What?” Kevin asked. He kept walking until he realized that Maco had stopped. “Come on, let’s keep moving.”

“I don’t think we should,” Maco said.

“Why?”

“Because like you said, she’s predicting what we’ll do and she’s playing against that,” Maco said.

“I don’t think I said that,” Kevin said.
 

“Not exactly, but it’s where you were headed. Let’s say that she wants to stop us or slow us down. She stalls traffic, prevents us from biking, and turns out the lights. She’s pushed us here.”

“We could have gone anywhere,” Kevin said. “It was my idea to get off the main road.”

“Because of all the foot traffic. Which she might have caused by killing the power to all the shops. What if she’s pushing us towards a bunch of rifle-wielding robots, or an explosion, or the police?”

“If it’s the police then maybe we can talk them into giving us a ride to Ed’s. So much the better,” Kevin said.

“Unless she put out a fake arrest warrant for us. Armed and dangerous, you know? Shoot to kill.”

“You’re being paranoid. What makes you think she can even track us here?” Kevin asked.

Maco pointed. At first, Kevin didn’t see anything. Then, through the trees and leaves, he saw the flashing blue police lights in the distance at the other end of the park.

“Could be an accident,” Kevin said.

“You have a coin?” Maco asked. “Heads left, tails right.”

“Why?”

“Irrational is the opposite of logical. Let’s follow chance and maybe we’ll stay out of jail this afternoon.”

Kevin shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out a quarter.
 

“What else was I doing today?” he murmured. “Looks like we’re going right.”

“Let’s make it fast,” Maco said.

They left the path and trotted through the woods. A little trail wound through the trees and the two men picked it up. It led to a hole in the chain link fence. After slogging through a barrier of thick bushes, they found themselves in a small back yard. Maco slowed to a purposeful walk and made his way toward the driveway. Kevin fell in behind him.

At the street, Maco glanced either direction and then strode straight across. He walked down another empty driveway and let himself through a gate into that yard.

“Where are you going?” Kevin asked.

“Just trying to be random,” Maco said.

At the back of the yard another gate led to an alley that bisected the block. Maco turned right.

“Now you’re going in the wrong direction,” Kevin said.

“Just for a bit,” Maco said.

Maco walked through yards, crossed the street in the middle of blocks, and seemed to head every direction except towards their destination. They crossed a small parking lot and found themselves at the back of a restaurant, where tables were set up on a small patio. Maco took a seat.

“Seriously? You can’t be tired already,” Kevin said. He sat down across from Maco.

“Just hang on for a second,” Maco said.
 

A man with a skinny black tie and an apron pushed open the screen door and poke his head out. “We’re not serving, gentlemen. Our power is out and we have no lights in the kitchen.”

“Okay,” Maco said. “We’re just going to hang out for a second.”

The screen door shut.

Overhead, they heard the beating blades of an approaching helicopter. Kevin squinted towards the sky.

“Police or news?” Maco asked.

“I can’t tell,” Kevin said. “It’s just black.”

“Uh-oh,” Maco said. “Any numbers on the side?”

“I can’t see that far,” Kevin said.

“Come on,” Maco said.

He got up and led Kevin through the screen door. It took a second for their eyes to adjust to the dim interior of the restaurant. A door led to the dark kitchen and a hallway led past the restrooms to the main dining room. The air was stale and sweet from the candles that lined the shelf on their right.

Maco walked down the hall.

“Excuse me, sir!” the man with the skinny tie said as they passed. “Sir!”

Maco kept going to the front door. He opened the lock and stepped out under the awning on the sidewalk. Kevin closed the door behind him.

“Traffic is clearing up,” Kevin said.

“Yeah, she probably wants to ease the gridlock so the cops can find us. Let’s steal a car,” Maco said.

“What?”

“Just go to the end of the block—to that corner,” Maco said. “Quickly.”

Kevin stood there until Maco shoved him. He walked for a few steps and then jogged. Kevin didn’t look back. He got to the corner before he turned around. Maco was nowhere in sight. Kevin looked up the street. A police car rolled slowly through the next intersection. Kevin looked away, trying to appear nonchalant while hiding his face. He looked back towards the restaurant. Someone—it was too far to see if it was the same guy—burst through the door to the sidewalk. He pointed towards Kevin.
 

Kevin turned away and took a step in the other direction. He pulled his foot back up to the curb to avoid being hit as a car rolled up.

The passenger’s window rolled down.

“Get in,” Maco said.

“Oh shit,” Kevin said. He jumped into the car.
 

Maco took a left. Kevin saw the man with the skinny tie running up the street towards them as Maco pulled away.

“How the hell did you steal this car?”

“His keys were in the lock at the front door of the restaurant,” Maco said. “He was parked up the street. I just hit the button on the fob and this car’s lights flashed.”

“Great, let’s add grand theft auto to the reasons the cops are looking for us.”

“How’s he going to call it in? Power’s out.”

“You don’t think your super-intelligent computer protagonist murderer thought to keep the cell towers active so she could use those sensors to search for us?” Kevin asked.

“Oh yeah,” Maco said. “Good point. I better drive fast.”

“That will just attract attention,” Kevin said. It was too late. Maco stabbed the accelerator and the car took off. The traffic signals were back on, and most of the congestion had died down, but he still had to swerve through the next intersection to avoid a backup. People were quick to honk, still on edge after the previous traffic. Maco darted around the cars waiting for the next light, swerving into empty parking spots to make the corner.

Kevin braced himself against the dashboard.

Maco turned down a side street and gained even more speed.

He pulled over in front of a church and killed the engine.

“Now what?”

“Back on foot,” Maco said. “Now that she has everyone looking for a speeding car. The bike path is right over there. It goes near Ed’s house.”