The Horrors of the Futuregraph part IV

Javid’s “apartment” turned out to be one of many on the secured complex of the Future Events Unit. The F.E.U., Javid explained on their brisk walk, was a non-government operation. That is, they were not military or sanctioned law enforcement. They were a privately owned and operated organization that took personal contracts. They were a small group of field specialists and operated “under the radar.”

The F.E.U. was founded after the Identity Theft War by a New Age enthusiast that had since passed away. The founder’s name faded in to obscurity, but the role that the Future Events Unit would play in the years to come would be more important than anyone could have realized. Anyone, except a woman who had taken particular interest in the organization – Anne Sidane.

The complex seemed much larger than Javid implied. It was meant to consist of private investigators, bodyguards and scientists. They took on contracts that were reported by – sources. Their credibility may have been questionable, most more often than not, their reported “future occurrences” came true. Their number one employer for private contracts had been Futuregraph ©. Anne Sidane’s death had been of great interest and loss to the company, which is why they were initially involved.

They walked down a cement road along tall buildings lined with windows. They were other employee apartments. No personal vehicle pods roamed the streets, everything was in walking distance. The complex seemed to be compromised of private living quarters and one large, central building. The sky a variant-program; she couldn’t see the skyline of the city she knew had to be in the distance.

They turned down the street and began their approach to the main office of the F.E.U. they called Central. The doors constantly opened, letting a stream of employees in and out of the building. A group of men in white lab jackets exited, carrying datapads and briefcases. They were engaged in conversation that sounded German as they passed by.

The three climbed the stone steps of the large building. Javid was looking through his shirt pocket for a specific badge when _____ beat him to it. She moved ahead of him and approached the doors, which opened automatically for her. Both men exchanged questioning glances, but continued forward.

A woman in her mid-forties stood clutching a file folder. She moved forward to greet the three when they entered the lobby.

“Javid, Stephon – you’ve brought her right? Yes, good. The situation is changing rapidly but if we move now, we may be able to intercept the next Horror.” She was talking over her shoulder as she led them down a crowded hallway. _____ looked around at the workers, all rushing about with datapads and various equipment. The entire building seemed to be buzzing with technology.

They moved quickly through the bright white hallways, past doors and rooms full of people. It looked like a cross between a University and a Hospital. Everywhere the three walked, people turned to look at them. To look at her. She tried to ignore their stares and continued onwards. The woman turned suddenly and opened a door, motioning them all inside. In the dark room, an image was being projected on to the wall. They took seats in the front row and the woman went to a podium at the front of the room.

“We must accept that the hast four Horrors were beyond our control to predict or prevent. We have an opportunity now – our technicians found a breach. A tiny, human breach, but one we were able to follow it. We intercepted a message, sent over the same network as the Horrors. We are pinpointing a location now.”

The image on the screen was pictures of men and women. _____ recognized Jennifer and Nathan. Luckily they were all the living versions, which somehow only added to the sadness of the collection. Six pictures in total. It appeared to be the victims of the Horrors. Two young couples and two women. One as young as Jennifer and the other was older. All had red text beneath their images: Deceased.

The woman at the front of the room turned to _____.

“_____? I don’t really have time to explain. Lives are at stake. May our technicians check your vitals?” She felt as though every person in the room was staring at her, waiting. She nodded and two men in white lab coats approached her. She remained seated. One man held out a datapad and waved it over her like a metal detector. The other attached a blood-pressure cuff to her left arm. They seemed to be waiting for results.

The older woman approached her and checked the readings on the datapad. She pointed at the screen.

“She’s ready. Bring over the material.” A young woman, barely in her twenties, moved past the technicians. She carried a manila envelope. The men backed away to give her room.

“Try not to concentrate too hard. Tell me which of these images.. resonates with you. _____ nodded, not fully understanding, but feeling the seriousness of the situation. Javid and Stephon had moved just behind the technicians, next to the older woman. They both watched her carefully, while Stephon seemed to be keeping an eye on the front door. She thought Javid looked worried but hoped it was just her imagination.

Just as the young woman opened the envelope, she felt her heart begin to race. The girl pulled out a single sheet of 8.5” x 11” paper with faces of people she had never seen before. She counted – twenty faces in all, men and women, from the young to the invalid. She looked across the paper. The quality of the printed image was crystal clear. Still, no one looked familiar or suspicious.

Then, she felt it. Just like earlier in her apartment, the world seemed to shift color and slow down. She continued to look at the image until the world around her faded to black. When light returned, she was floating again, in front of another woman.

The woman looked scared and was sitting on a plush floral couch. She was facing _____ and holding an object between her hands. _____ thought she knew what it might be. She wondered if she could move this time. Just as she considered it, her vision shifted behind the now crying woman. The Futuregraph © she held was broken; the screen was shattered like spider webs. She moved closer. The empty, dark frame was leaking blood. The woman’s hands were covered in it.

“—there, she’s coming back now.” The woman’s voice sounded close to her ear. _____ was still staring at the sheet of photographs. She recognized the smiling woman’s face in the right hand corner of the paper. She pointed at it.

“This one. This is who I saw. She was holding a small Futuregraph © and was.. crying. It looked broken.” The older woman nodded. Javid was taking notes in the background.

“Anything else? Can you describe it? Anything unusual?”

She didn’t answer immediately. She took a calming breath.

“The Futuregraph © was.. bleeding.”

#

As the group of employees appeared to be absorbing _____’s description, the door to the meeting room opened. Stephon put himself immediately between the door and _____; blocking her view – and any potential threats. She couldn’t hear the conversation over the sudden outburst from the crowded room. Nervous chatter rippled through the air.

A small Asian man pushed his way through the preoccupied crowd. He pushed his glasses closer to the brim of his nose. Stephon was right behind him with a heavy hand like a vice on his shoulder.

“Mrs. Smith – we’ve pinpointed the origin of the signal. I’m uploading the coordinates to you now.” The older woman nodded. The man typed quickly on his datapad.

“Doctor Lee will upload the coordinate soon. Stopping this next Horror is our number one priority. We have to stop this before it gets out of hand.” She paused and Javid knew by her expression that she was reading her retinal screen. Her vision seemed to gloss over slightly. She turned back to the man in the lab coat.

“Thank you, Doctor. Return and prepare your team for mobilization.” The man nodded excitedly and attempted to move. Stephon held him a moment longer, looking to Javid. When he received the ‘go ahead’ nod, he released the man. The Doctor brushed his shoulder self-consciously and retreated quickly from the room.

“The transmission originated from an unknown location. Where they transmitted, however, can be traced. Someone made a mistake. The recipient is an employee of Futuregraph © and based on their location, they may be difficult to protect.” The room began to empty as Javid began shouting orders to men in lab coats and security armor. The woman paused to let the last of the people leave before she continued.

“The message was sent to a high profile woman who was close to Anne Sidane. She will be very difficult to locate – without _____.” She turned to look at the Detective.

“Take her and Stephon. Head to the location and find out what you can. Right now, all we know is that very soon, her Futuregraph © will change and she’ll be dead. We have to try and stop it, but the situation is unstable. Whoever is sending the signal doesn’t know they’ve been traced. We got lucky this time.”

Javid understood. Before he could respond, the coordinates flashed across his vision. Their target was in the Futuregraph © building itself.

#

Kitsune paced across the stone floor of her office. Her high heels echoed in the silent room. She watched out her large window, watching the city below. She turned her attention back towards her desk and the datapad that lay waiting. They should have called by now. She double checked the time on her wrist watch. The damn, archaic thing; it had perfect time. They were seven minutes late. Anne had always insisted she wear it just in case technology failed her. It was humanity that failed her now, not technology.

She considered everything that had happened and mentally double-checked her list. They said they would contact her, today. As of seven minutes ago, she had been a nervous wreck. She had done everything they had asked, done everything they had demanded. There was no reason for them to be late in calling her. Her forehead began to sweat. Maybe she had missed something. Had she done something wrong? Maybe they changed their minds..?

A knock came at her office door. Kitsune’s stomach was knotted in fear. She called for the person to enter. A short woman, blonde, forgettable – stepped in to her office.

“Miss Kitsune? The cafeteria is closing soon and we noticed you haven’t eaten today..” The woman’s face was red and puffy around her eyes. Her nose was a slight shade of pink. Damp outlines of tears ran from her eyes down her cheeks.

“Please—please be sure you get something to eat. I know Miss Sidane’s death has been hard—“

Kitsune’s receiver began to ring. She tried to stay calm.

“Thank you,” she looked for the woman’s nametag, “—Lauren. I’ll be down shortly. I have to take this call.” The young woman nodded and closed the door. Kitsune took the call on her wireless receiver. A voice sounded close to her ear. A voice only Kitsune could hear.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

#

“Ok, wait just one minute, please.” _____ stood up from her chair.

“How is that everyone else but me seems to know what’s going on? What the hell was that just now? That’s the third time some weird shit has happened to me and everyone acts like it’s no big deal. Javid?” The Detective looked at her and shrugged sheepishly.

“Honestly, _____, I’m not sure myself. It has something to do with whatever happened to you.. earlier.” He meant while she was “kidnapped.” _____ thought back to her aunt’s notes. She wasn’t just kidnapped, she was being protected. And operated on, like some science lab rat. And now, she seemed to be the only person anyone could depend on but had no idea what, exactly, she was supposed to be doing. The older woman, whom the Doctor had called ‘Mrs. Smith’ stepped closer to her.

“_____, we’re still investigating what you’re experiencing. Yes, we knew the image would trigger some kind of response. With your help, we can track down the next potential victim.. but we can’t wait for answers, not now. We have to find out where that transmission went. Once we do, we may have time to locate our next victim before she’s killed.” The woman’s voice seemed to strike a nerve. _____ felt her face warm with tears.

“I want answers, but they can wait. Detective – what are they asking me to do?” Javid moved right beside Mrs. Smith. His presence seemed to help calm her down. Now they were even, she imagined. Both had been red in the face and embarrassed in the past few hours.

“The signal transmitted to an office in the Futuregraph © building. From what we can tell, whoever contacted the person there, sent it over the same signal as what has been disrupting the Futuregraphs ©. We caught a glimpse earlier, when they made their first call. Now, it happened again. It was brief, but the recipient is still there. They might know where our next target can be found. We need your help to get in. Simple enough?”

_____ nodded. She had nothing else to say. She was their way in, that was all. She had to keep focused, had to stay positive. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the crying woman’s face. She was depending on her, depending on the Detective and the narcissistic bodyguard. Depending on the Call Center woman who had no real skills and a lot of odd luck…

“I’ll do what I can.”

#

Within twenty minutes, they had stopped back by Javid’s apartment to pick up a few supplies and were loading up on the same hovercraft that had rescued them the day before. _____ managed to rush back to her room and pick up the red envelope from her bag. She opened the handwritten note.

“..but I fear their loyalties could be purchased by the organization.” She picked up where she had left off.

“I left this note with some documents that may help you on your search for the truth. If my intuition is correct, and it usually is, you’ll have met Detective Javid Rain already. He knows about this envelope, along with his friend, the bodyguard. They are two men you can trust. They have done great deeds in their years of service to me and Futuregraph.”

She raised an eyebrow. Really, this whole time..? She let out a sigh. She should have read it all earlier.

“They, along with the staff of Futuregraph, do not know that I was behind your kidnapping. They cannot know the truth or the technology you were implanted with. Trust me. You will be the one who will stop the organization from destroying my creation and using it for their own purposes. I know you can do this. I only wish I could have told you sooner.”

The envelope was signed with a shaky signature.

“Love, Aunt Anne.”

A knock came at her door. She called for Javid to enter. He saw her standing in the room, holding the envelope. She decided on to try and hide it.

“Ah. Well, I had hoped you’d have read it earlier, but better late than never. We can discuss it on the hovercraft.” He handed her a small pile of clothes.

“We won’t be able to enter the Futuregraph © building. It will be up to you to track down our target and find out what they know. Change in to these and meet me by the front door.”

“Do these also belong to your… lady friend?” Javid gave her a confused look and then he understood.

“Oh, right. No, these were given to me by Central. They’re your size and laced with a micro-receiver, so we can communicate while you’re in the building.”

“A disguise? Really?” Javid shrugged.

“You’re the only one who can just walk in to the building. Stephon and I would just set off the alarm.”

“Do I get a gun?”

The Detective did not hesitate.

“No.”

#

The same female pilot as before was sitting patiently in the cockpit. Her name was Kami, if _____ remembered correctly. She watched to make sure that everyone had buckled up and was secured before she closed the cockpit door. Once the exterior door was closed also, the vehicle became just as silent as usual.

Javid and Stephon each sat on one side of _____ on a cramped bench. She knew she wouldn’t have much time. The hovercraft travelled at amazing speeds.

“Ok, Detective. I know you know about the envelope, and probably other things that haven’t yet been revealed to me. You, too, bodyguard.”

Stephon turned and to face her at the mention of his nickname.

“If I’m going to help here, I really need everyone to stop the subversive attitude. I can’t help you if I’m not on the same page.”

Stephon smiled.

“See, I knew she’d figure it out and yell at you first.” Javid shook his head.

“I understand. Your aunt contacted us once she knew something was going on. The whole thing has been a bloody mess, and we weren’t sure who we could trust. The letter was left in your apartment by your aunt, yes. We suspect she was behind your kidnapping, but you’ll have to be the one to confirm that. Since we’re opening up, why not start there?”

_____ knew she had to tell the truth. She reached in to her blazer inside pocket and removed the red envelope. She took out the first piece of paper with her Aunt’s handwriting and handed it to the Detective.

“Since you knew her, probably better than I did, maybe this will make more sense to you.” He took the paper with a nod and read it. She watched his face, looking for any signs at all. He gave a small smile at the end and folded up the note carefully.

“Anne always was good at being cryptic. However – that does help, thank you. Do you know what she means when she says ‘organization’ or ‘her creation’?”

_____ shook her head regretfully.

“I can only hope she figured it out in the end. We’ll have to hope that whomever we’re going after today will give us the information we need.” Stephon leaned forward and Javid started to hand him the note.

“Do you mind if Stephon sees, as well?” She looked at the bodyguard. He was wearing heavy armor underneath his duster today. She nodded. If the man was willing to protect her, she figured he was worth trusting. She hoped that sharing the note would help shed some light on the situation. The hovercraft shuddered and started to descend. _____ still couldn’t fathom how fast the vehicle moved.

“So you had both worked for Anne in the past?” Both men shared a look and nodded.

“Futuregraph © was our number one employer. Unofficially, of course. On paper, our client was Anne Tiphyrous; and she was a bit of a paranormal investigator. Her information was always reliable. We began to suspect it was more than reliable – it was accurate.” Stephon spoke casually but soft, as though he was remembering Anne. He folded the letter slowly and handed it back to _____. Javid continued.

“When the Future Events Unit first began, their primary source of income was from private contracts for paranormal and psychic investigation. It sounds like a hoax, but apparently it was good money. It was just after the Identity Theft War and people needed a serious distraction.” Javid sounded amused.

“Paranormal and psychic? You mean, like tarot cards and fortune tellers?”

“Well, yeah. You make it sound like we ran a circus. They called it ‘New Age Investigations’ and provided services like detective work and bodyguard services to the paranoid. The very rich and paranoid. Eventually, their predictions became eerily accurate, but there was no money left.”

_____ thought about her aunt. Anne had always been interested in the unexplained. She had always collected tarot decks and crystals and spent her time with psychics. That’s where she had met her husband. Through the local psychic network. It had been a whirlwind romance just as Anne was starting college. _____ had never met her uncle; he died before she was born. Her mother used to say that his death changed everything for Anne.

“The company started small. Eventually, it ran out of money and was purchased.” Javid’s statement sounded more like a question. She turned to him and knew he was waiting for her to answer.

“Wait – did Anne purchase the company? Did she own the Future Events Unit?” Javid nodded in confirmation.

“Also off the record. Anne owned it, not Futuregraph ©. She purchased the company and single handedly kept everyone employed. She already owned the company when Stephon and I came on board. Anne seemed specifically interested in our work in predictive crime. She knew we had gotten a few phone calls warning about people who were about to be killed, and that we had managed to stop a few.”

_____ tried to get a clear picture. Her aunt’s husband had died, and it changed everything. She purchased a company on the brink of failure and became interested in their research that dealt with predicting the future.

“You said you received the information, from outside sources? Your own company didn’t predict the murders?”

The Detective laughed and shook his head.

“You think I’d work for a bunch of charlatans and con artists? No. We were simply provided the information and dealt with it. We had our own scientists and workers who dealt with that. The Future Events Unit just responded to the information we were provided. That is, until Anne came on board.”

“Go on…” _____ wished she had a notepad to write everything down on. She felt close to something. Something big. She was gripping the red envelope with a nervous tension.

“After Anne took over, she spent months with our own scientists. During that time, she announced the creation of the Futuregraph ©. After she returned to dealing with her own company, she would provide us several contracts a month, with growing frequency, to investigate ‘predications’ that had been sent to her from Futuregraph © owners.”

“And all this time, no one knew that Anne Tiphyrous was the same Anne Sidane?”

“No, it was very hush-hush. We knew, but that was our job. No one at Futuregraph © knew she owned the F.E.U.” _____ felt defeated. It all had to connect somewhere. She looked at the envelope and pulled out the next few pieces of paper. The first was an image of Jennifer and Nathan. The picture also included Anne. She knew this couple, somehow. She flipped over the image and read the date: October, 2047. This was before their death, before Jennifer was pregnant. What was their connection? She handed the photograph to Javid and continued.

The hovercraft shuddered again and began to descend rapidly. The pilot opened the cockpit door.

“Alright, we’re going to land just down the street. I’ve got clearance for a temporary land but you’ll have to hoof it the rest of the way.” They could hardly argue and the pilot seemed to understand. She gave them an apologetic shrug and closed the door. _____ handed the envelope to Javid.

“Please, if anything in there helps, use it. I shouldn’t take it with me. We’ll see if any of this makes more sense when I get back.” The Detective took the envelope.

“Thank you. Any questions on how to use the micro-receiver?”

She had never used anything more than a datapad and a wireless headset at her work. She was embarrassed to say ‘no.’

“Basically – anything you say, we can hear you. No cameras, no visuals, nothing like that. I can see your location on my datapad. If you need us, let me know. We’ll find a way to get you out.”

“What should I expect?”

“We believe that the person on the inside, whoever received the transmission, is under duress. We may be able to convince them to let the next victim’s identification slip in exchange for their safety. That’s the hope, anyways.”

The hovercraft landed. The force of the impact made _____ thankful she was wearing her seatbelt. The door to the hovercraft opened and the three of them exited quickly. They had landed on the top of a parking garage. _____ turned to look at the vehicle but was surprised when it had disappeared from sight. She could still hear but it was ascending rapidly. She’d never get used to its science fiction cloaking device.

“Stephon and I will follow you to the building. As I said, we can’t go in. It’ll be up to you to get in to the building and up to the—“ he paused to double check his coordinates. “—twentieth floor. They haven’t moved for the past few minutes.”

“And if they move?” She was already going to be tired from the walk from the helipad to the building.

“Then we move one step ahead of them. We’ll support you every step of the way.” Javid sounded confidant and she reminded herself, again, that other people were counting on her.

“Before I forget.” Stephon reached in to his duster pocket. She saw a flash of metal and realized his jacket was lined with weapons. He pulled out a device. It looked like a portable datapad – small, square with a glass screen.

“I thought I was using a micro-receiver-thingy?” She looked back and forth the two men.

“You are. Stephon and I decided we’d give you something a little extra. It’s not lethal, but if your target.. overreacts, press the screen.”

“And then run.” Stephon chimed in.

“I was getting to that.” The Detective looked a little irritated.

“It will set off an alarm inside Futuregraph ©. You won’t be hurt, so don’t worry. Just make sure you’re running when you start it.” She winced at the thought of running again but nodded, taking the small device and putting it in her blazer pocket.

Javid pointed down the street.

“Just a block or two that way. You know the place?” She nodded. She had visited the office a few times to respond personally to her aunt’s numerous job offers. Responded to try and stop them, anyways. Even if it hadn’t been one of the biggest buildings in the hive-city, she did have a short history with the building itself.

Javid and Stephon trailed behind her silently. She was thankful they had given her sensible shoes. She did not want to have to walk down the street in high heels for the sake of her disguise. She looked herself over and decided she could pull off being an employee. Her dark gray blazer jacket fit snuggly over her pristine white dress shirt. Her matching gray slacks were ironed and sharp looking. It was one of the nicest outfits she had ever worn.

Before they started walking, Javid stopped her. He put a hand on her shoulder quietly and pulled her to the side.

“Listen, without getting too sentimental, would you do something for me?” Javid had a very serious tone. She watched Stephon give them some distance.

“Of course.” She realized that she did trust him. She wasn’t sure why. He moved his hands behind his neck and unclasped his necklace. Without a word, he moved around behind her and connected the chain around her neck. The ring was warm from resting against his chest. She knew the necklace was special to him but he had never shared why.

“It’s for good luck.” She thought he wanted to say more but they were on a strict time schedule. His eyes glazed over.

“The target is moving. We need to go.” The three started at a brisk walk towards the Futuregraph building.

#

Kitsune recognized the voice on her receiver. She didn’t know their identity, but it was the call she had been waiting for. It was a man’s voice and every time he spoke, she cried.

“Please, tell me my son is with you.” Kitsune stared out the window. She didn’t want anyone in the office to see her crying.

“Yes, your little boy is here. As promised, we said we would repay you for your work. We’ll return your son to you in two hours exactly. No earlier, no less. Meet us two blocks from your office building. The vehicle pod garage, lower level. We’ll transfer your money as well. Make sure you come alone.”

The transmission ended. Kitsune steadied herself on her desk. It was so close. Two hours, no earlier and no later. She decided she’d have to at least get something to eat. She felt sick to her stomach but she knew once Jin was returned, she’d want to take him straight home without any distractions. She blotted her eyes with a tissue and exited her office door. The young blonde woman was sitting in the cafeteria, staring in to a bowl of hot soup. She stood when she saw Kitsune appear.

“Miss Kitsune—“ Lauren waved for the assistant to join her. “Here, they’ve almost closed. Thank you for taking our advice.” Once Kitsune acknowledged the woman and took her place in the cafeteria line, she noticed Lauren began to eat. She wondered if she had waited for her. She moved through the cafeteria and selected a few pieces of fruit and her usual protein drink. She decided to take a few extra pieces for Jin. He loved cantaloupe.

Her hands shook as she approached the register. She had lost track of how long it had been since she had seen her son. Tonight, it would all be over. She sat next to Lauren and ate her food, though she could barely taste it. She checked her watch. She had just less than two hours left.

#

_____ approached the front doors of the Futuregraph © building. Two guards were posted outside, monitoring the street traffic. She knew she looked convincing; the trick was, to remain that way. She walked confidently towards the doors and stepped within scanning distance. Her non-existent Identification Badge operated exactly how they had hoped. The doors slid open and the two men nodded to her in acknowledgement.

She walked through the doors in to the decadent lobby of Futuregraph © L.L.C. It was a beautiful and flamboyant office, filled with flowers of every color. The front desk had three secretaries and one large screen for the virtual secretary. _____ had heard about the technology, but her own office had nothing in comparison to it. Luckily she had seen it before on a previous visit. She remembered to walk straight ahead and take the right hallway. The two women at the front desk where too preoccupied with chatting amongst themselves that one extra woman in a stream of people did not attract their attention.

The open archway on the right hallway led down a series of demonstration rooms. Futuregraphs © of all shapes and sizes lined the walls on either side. She could see them being displayed past large, bulletproof glass. One room was sealed off with a man posted at the door. The light inside the room had been turned off. She tried not to stare as she walked by and continued down the hallway.

“We may have trouble with the home Futuregraphs © as well. Any reports?” She spoke quietly to herself, lifting her portable datapad to her head to make it look as though she was talking on her phone. She continued to walk, waiting for a response. A moment later, Javid responded.

“No, but we’ll listen carefully. Your target has been moving around the twentieth floor. They’re in the cafeteria it looks like. Hope you’re hungry.” She smiled and shook her head. The only elevator she could remember was the one that led straight to Anne’s office. She looked around and eventually spotted a group of women coming around the corner. She trailed behind them and made her way to the elevator.

The elevator was nearly as big as her apartment. The group of women fit easily in with _____ right behind them. They waited for a few more employees to enter.

“What floor?” An older man asked her.

“Oh – the cafeteria, please.” He nodded and pressed the “20 FLR” button on the elevator. She’d try and remember if it they asked again. She was beginning to perspire. The ride on the elevator seemed to take forever. She listened as the women chattered about the news and the rest of the people kept quiet, waiting patiently. She hoped she’d find their target quickly and that they’d be willing to speak to her.

The door to the elevator slid open and ______ pushed her way through the crowd. The doors opened up to a full cafeteria with a dozen rows of seating and nearly as many food vendors. She wandered towards the vendors when a voice guided her.

“To your left. We traced the signal to their personal receiver. Keep going.” She nodded, forgetting they couldn’t see her. She looked straight ahead and noticed two women sitting at a table eating in silence. One was a young, sad looking blonde and the other was an older Japanese woman.

“Thank you for your concern, Lauren.” The Japanese woman stood up from the table. The blonde woman nodded and gave a soft smile. Even her smile looked sad.

The woman left the table, carrying her trash to a bin. She started to walk away from the cafeteria.

“Follow them.” She walked slowly, trying to stay out of the woman’s view, pretending to put away her personal receiver. The woman disappeared around the corner of the cafeteria and was headed towards a series of doors. She knew now was her only chance. She moved closer and waited for the woman to enter one of the doors. Once the door was closed, she approached carefully. She knew she wouldn’t need anything special to enter the room.

As soon as she approached the door, it unlocked. She moved quickly and opened the door, shutting it behind her. She moved to the side quickly to avoid a strike in the face by the woman.

“No, please! Don’t hurt me—“ she breathed, pushing herself up against the door window. The woman was wide-eyed with her fist clenched. Whether she was scared or angry, _____ couldn’t tell.

“Who are you? How did you get in here, I just locked that door.” The woman had backed against her desk and was looking around for an exit.

“I’m not here to hurt you. Please, hear me out. My name is _____ Sidane.” The last part seemed to catch her attention and her eyes narrowed.

“Sidane? A relative of Anne’s? I… yes, I believe you. You were able to get past the secured door. Please…” She seemed to sink back against her desk.

“It’s alright. We don’t have much time. Were you contacted recently? Are you in some kind of trouble?” Javid was helping to direct her questions by speaking through her receiver in to her ear. It felt odd to be repeating what she was hearing, but the words seemed effective.

“My name is Kitsune Amano. I was Anne’s personal assistant, and friend. Until someone kidnapped my son.. it’s not safe here.. if they find out I’ve been talking to you, they’ll kill him. They’ll kill me.”

“Please, sit down. They won’t find out. People’s lives are at risk tonight. Very soon, whoever is in charge of this – Anne’s murder, the Futuregraph Horrors – will kill another innocent person. That may be your son, or someone else, but it will definitely be more if we don’t stop them.” The woman seemed to understand and nodded slowly.

“I… I may be able to help you, but you must help me get my son back. I have to meet someone in less than two hours. They’re the reason—the reason Anne is dead. If we can get to them, they might be able to tell you where the next Horror will happen.” So she knows they’re connected, at least. Was she responsible for Anne’s death, I wonder? She pushed her thoughts aside. Javid told her to accept the deal and to meet them outside.

“Kitsune, I promise. We’ll get your son back. We plan on stopping whatever, or whoever, is causing the Horrors.” The woman took a deep breath and pushed herself up from her desk.

“We should leave. Are you able to take the rest of the day off? My team will want to go over the details about later. We’re running out of time.” Kitsune nodded.

“Let me just gather a few things and I’ll be ready.”

The woman seemed to hesitate and then added.

“Thank you…”

#

As Kitsune and _____ exited the front doors of the Futuregraph © building, the older woman dropped her briefcase. She knelt down to pick up the papers and _____ joined her.

“It’s not safe – they can track where I’m going. If I go anywhere suspicious, they’ll know.” She shuffled with her papers and stood back up. _____ nodded.

“Well, we might as well get some coffee then. Know a good place – close by?” Kitsune nodded. They walked down the block in silence. Javid sent a message over _____’s retinal screen: “We’re in the back. We’ll make sure they can’t listen in.” _____ led Kitsune to the third table in the little café and took a seat. Stephon and Javid were there. Four hot cups of hot coffee sat waiting.

Stephon leaned forward and slid a sugar packet to Kitsune.

“For your coffee. You don’t like it black, right?” Kitsune frowned but opened it without hesitation and mixed it in to her coffee. She took a sip.

“Give it a moment.” Stephon said, taking a sip of his own coffee.

“What—what have you done—“ Kitsune put a hand to her head. She set her coffee down.

“It’s a small program I wrote myself. It’s installing a dummy signal for the next few minutes. Nanomachines in powder form – don’t ask. They won’t be able to hear us.”

“We will help you regardless of how you answer these new few questions, ok?” _____ held her cup of coffee, savoring its warmth. She was reminded of a day in November that seemed so long ago.

“I didn’t kill Miss Anne. I need you to know that now. But I may have made it possible. I didn’t know it at the time. Tonight, they want me to meet them in a parking garage and—“ she paused, hastily wiping away tears that threatened to fall. “—they’ll return my son.”

The three of them realized how they had gotten the woman to cooperate.

“Do you know who they are?” Javid asked, trying to be as efficient as possible. Stephon watched the time on his portable datapad.

“Three minutes.”

“No, they found me, not the other way around. They took Jin—and I was forced to cooperate ever since. There is no going to the police. They stole something of Anne’s and it really shook her up. Then, the Horrors started to appear, and Futuregraph © was overrun.”

“Do you know when the next Horror will happen? Do you know who they are targeting?”

“Two minutes.”

“I did overhear the man on the receiver talking. He may not have known I was still on the line. I—I think it may be a former employee. He said something about the – Prism Apartments?”

“Stephon, you make sure Kitsune gets her son back. As soon as they’re both safe, you come and meet _____ and I at the Prism Apartments.”

“Enough.” Stephon interrupted. “Enjoy your coffee.” Javid and _____ stood up and left Stephon behind. He would escort her to the parking garage but would stay out of harm’s way.

Once outside the café, Javid spoke over his micro-receiver.

“Central, we need a vehicle-pod to the Prism Apartments. Search the database for any former Futuregraph © employees who may have property there.” _____ waited, watching the street. She didn’t know what to think anymore. Who was this organization that kidnapped children to use as blackmail? Who had enough power and influence to murder one of the greatest philanthropists of all time? Someone with money and motive. They just hadn’t figured it out yet.

Within a few minutes, a yellow-colored vehicle pod slid to the side of the street. Kami rolled down the reflective window.

“Two for the Prism Apartments, yeah?” Her blue eyes sparkled.

“I don’t even want to know where you got this.”

Javid nodded and opened the door to allow _____ to climb in first. Once both were safely inside, Kami made sure to lock the interior doors.

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be impressive anymore.”

#

She screamed when she saw the blood. Her hands were soaked and it was spilling on to her gray carpet. She thought maybe her hand was cut from the glass. She dropped the Futuregraph © frame and it thudded on the damp carpet, face down. She stood up shakily and walked to her kitchen. She left a bloody hand print on the sink handle when she turned on the warm water. Blood mixed with water and swirled down the drain, but no wound was left behind.

She turned towards the living room. She could see the red stain spreading out on the carpet. How can it be coming from the.. the picture frame? She stared in horror and started to move towards her front door. That’s when the screaming began – a low, moaning wail of a little girl. Not loud enough to alert her neighbors, just loud enough to raise the hair on the back of her neck. It sounded like a child crying. She couldn’t take another step.

#

Kami sped through the afternoon streets of the hive-city with ease. She weaved in and out of traffic and took the shortest route possible towards the Prism Apartments. She was as graceful a driver as she was a pilot. Javid took out his notepad and circled the word ‘Prism.’

“Isn’t that the name of the international bank downtown? The weird looking one?” She asked, checking her seatbelt as the pod shifted slightly. Kami was an excellent driver but _____ was always cautious. Javid closed his notebook with a nod. The pod was silent. She realized she had no idea what to expect.

“Javid – is this going to be a crime scene? Are we going to see – someone like Jennifer or Nathan?” She felt fear rising in her throat. She could taste the texture of dread against the roof of her mouth.

“With the technology you’re equipped with, we have an incredible chance to not only predict, but to protect this person. We never had that chance before.”

“Will it be the woman I saw, the one back from Central? They did something.. I saw someone. She was scared.”

“The sheet of paper with the faces that the woman showed you? The woman you identified, you mean?” _____ nodded slowly. She couldn’t get the image of her blood covered hands out of her mind.

“I trust your instincts – we have no records of the identities on that sheet of paper. It was digitally transmitted from Anne without any accompanying notes. We believe she meant to send more.”

“Why didn’t she?”

The Detective sighed.

“She died.”

It started to make sense – she wasn’t their best chance, she was their only chance. Anne, what have you done? She closed her eyes and focused on Jennifer. She remembered her smile and her little girl. Her little family that she’d never have… A thought occurred to her.

“How were they murdered?” The word seemed odd. She had only ever had relatives die and every single one had been from natural causes. Asking about murder seemed like asking about someone else’s life.

“We have no suspects. No evidence. As you saw – the wounds were quite… extensive.” It was an understatement but she understood while he didn’t see the need to elaborate. They both understood. He was trying to spare the gory details and uncomfortable mental images.

“They all bled to death. Their killers left no DNA evidence, no foot prints on the bloodied floors and no abnormalities in the blood spatter. At this point, they were all killed by ghosts, for what tangible evidence we have. We are left with no real clues and six bodies. We’re hoping to stop the seventh today.” Javid was staring down at his notepad again, looking for anything he might have missed.

Kami’s voice came from the front of the vehicle-pod and _____ was grateful for the change of subject.

“The Prism is ahead and on our right. I’ll park and wait for you. Alert Central if you need me to meet you both somewhere, or if we need to transport another – person.” She seemed to stumble over the word and _____ was certain she nearly said ‘body.’ Javid checked the time. They still had over and hour before Stephon and Kitsune would check-in. The pod-vehicle rolled to a stop and they climbed out.

The Prism apartments were just as flamboyant as the bank with the shared name. Solar panels lined the walls, slanting towards the simulated sunlight. The apartment complex also had the same sharp features and stylized blood-red glass. _____ thought it looked like a giant red pineapple. She had visited the downtown branch before to try and open an account; when they requested a deposit, she had taken her meager savings elsewhere. She recalled the cold starkness of the architecture. It was not a welcoming building.

It was still early afternoon and most of the tenants were at work or indoors. The building was protected by a large privacy fence with. Javid walked slowly to allow _____ to walk beside him.

“Have you had any – visions?” He asked as they approached the large outdoor doors that led through the barricade and in to the lobby. She shook her head, unsure of what to say. No one had ever told her to look for them. They still weren’t sure who, precisely, they were looking for. ______ found herself staring at the glass. It reminded her of blood. The women from before came to mind. She reached out and grasped at Javid’s shoulder with a surprised gasp. He steadied her and waited.

The “vision” as Javid called it wasn’t the same as last time. Even as she saw the woman, her vision flashed red. An overwhelming fear threatened all other rational thoughts. She wanted to run but something, someone, held her back.

“Concentrate, _____. They need you.” Distantly, she felt herself be pulled in to a strong embrace. The world around her was still red. She closed her eyes again. She could see the woman. A low, wailing noise filled the room. It sounded like a child.

The woman was crawling across the floor. She was moving desperately slow towards a doorway. _____ tried to move closer. She wondered if she could move through anything. She forced herself to move past the woman, past her fear. She moved to the doorway – and went straight through it. She felt so much paid. She could hardly breath. She turned and looked frantically for a door number.

“721—“ she breathed, shivering against Javid’s chest. He pulled away and put his hands on her shoulders to look her square in the eyes.

“Are you sure?” She nodded. She had no doubt.

“I—I think it’s happening now. I didn’t see anyone else there.” _____ tried to catch her breath. Javid picked up his pace and she followed. They walked through the front doors and now ran for the open elevator. The lobby was empty except for a bored receptionist who was underemployed. _____ still felt a tightness in her chest.

“It’s the woman I saw earlier—“ she swallowed. Her mouth felt dry.

“She’s here, somewhere. It was like she had fallen. She can’t move. I heard a sound, a terrible sound. I heard a child crying, only worse.”