The Prometheus Deception

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5.03
October, 2124. Neo London.

Frankie wandered into the hangar, having heard that her mother was up there. She left the lift and spotted the solitary figure standing beside one of the trolleys. Each had a body on it, covered in a white sheet while awaiting transport to the local mortuary.
Her mother was a lonesome-looking soul with her head lowered. Frankie had little doubt that the corpse she was watching over was her father.
These last few days had been chaotic following the escape of several cybernetically enhanced agents who escaped custody and attacked parliament. Frankie and her team arrested several, convinced them of the error of their ways, and used these converts to arrange a meeting with those still at large.
Unfortunately, that meeting was crashed by Psytech and their crazed psychopathic agent, Hellion, who shot and killed her father, resulting in the scene before her.
Frankie sighed and balled her fists, annoyed with how things had turned out. Her parents had been corporation employees for a long time. They’d bought into the company line that the corporations worked for the greater good of the population. But Frankie knew that to be false. The corporation and its executives cared about one thing only, profit, and didn’t care who they stepped on to increase the number at the bottom of their spreadsheets.
Luckily, in recent days, her mother had come around and seen the light, while her father had actively worked against Frankie to try and get her to see his point of view.
Hellion used him to get to her, and it was only when this became crystal clear that her father seemed to change his mind.
Moments later, Hellion had put a bullet through that mind.
Staring across at the covered bodies, she found it difficult to stir up much emotion around her father’s passing. He’d seen a glimpse of the truth at the very end, which she felt grateful for, but it was far too late by then.
The years of disapproval from him grated on Frankie, and she found she didn’t have too many tears to shed over his passing.
Instead, she was more upset about her mother’s emotional state and wanted to ensure she was okay after such a massive loss. He might have been an idiot, but he was her mother’s idiot, and that meant something.
“She’s been there a while.”
Frankie turned to see Jude standing beside her, gazing out over the hanger bay at the bodies and the two silent ACT V-TOL Dropship Flyers beyond.
“I’m not surprised,” Frankie answered, and she glanced over at Jude. “She loved him, despite his flaws.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Jude said and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Thanks.” Frankie smiled briefly but preferred to change the subject. “When are they coming to pick up the bodies?”
“They won’t be long. They’re on their way, I know that. I don’t think she can go with them.”
“No, she can’t,” Frankie confirmed. “But, we can give her every moment between now and then.”
“Of course. No problem,” Jude said. “How are you holding up?”
Frankie nodded as she stared into the middle distance. “All right, all things considered.”
Jude was referring to Oli, her former neighbour from back before all this Cyberization crap had kicked off. She had recently been in touch and gone on a date with him and, to her surprise, found herself quite attracted to the young man. It hadn’t been what she’d expected, but it had been a welcome feeling for the short time it had lasted.
Unfortunately, she’d arranged to meet her parents in her old apartment, next door to Oli’s. Hellion had followed her father there and attacked. Frankie had driven Hellion off, but not before she’d killed Oli after smashing through the dividing wall between their apartments.
That was several days ago, and the emotions surrounding it were still raw. Frankie wasn’t yet sure how she felt about it and knew she needed time.
“Well, if you need anyone to talk to, I’m happy to oblige.”
“Thanks, Jude. I appreciate that.” Frankie smiled. “It’s not been easy.”
“I understand,” Jude replied. “I’ve lost friends and loved ones, too. It’s always tough, but it does get easier with time.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.” Frankie motioned to her mother. “I’ll just let her know I’m around if she wants to talk.”
Jude nodded and turned to walk away. “Sure thing. I’ll be over here.”
Frankie watched him go and, after a moment to gather her thoughts, wandered over to the grid of trolleys and weaved her way through to where her mum was standing.
“Hey, Mum.”
Her mother sniffed and wiped her tears away. “Hello, sweetheart. Sorry.”
“No need to apologise.”
Her mum looked up, then drew Frankie in for a hug and sobbed again. Frankie just held her and said nothing.
“I know you didn’t quite see eye to eye with your dad,” her mum stated. “But, he did love you in his own way. He was only trying to do what he thought was right.”
“I know,” Frankie answered as a note of frustration played through her mind. Her mother was right, and maybe she should feel more upset than she did. But she just couldn’t kindle any great emotion surrounding the loss of her father. She was sad but not at all distraught. “It’s just a shame, I suppose.”
She pulled her mum in for another hug, saw the nearby elevator doors open, and Gibson step out. He spotted them and stopped, preferring not to interrupt.
A link message appeared in her HUD from him. She opened it.
Debrief in the Ops Room. Can you come?
She glanced over at Gibson and nodded.
He mirrored the gesture and returned to the lift.
“I’m sorry, Mum, but I have to go. Duty calls,” she said and stepped away from her grieving mother.
“Of course, I understand. You do what you need to do. I’ll just stay here for a little longer, okay?”
“They’re coming to collect the bodies soon, Mum. You can’t go with him. But you’ll be able to see him again soon if you want to.”
She nodded. “I understand. Thank you.”
Frankie smiled and left her mother to work through her emotions. She made her way back across the room to where Gibson was waiting at the lift.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Gibson said, wearing a meek smile.
“That’s okay. I’m good.”
“Are you sure? I can talk to the director if you need some time. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind…”
“No need. It’s just a debrief.” Frankie recalled the pitched battle they’d been involved with earlier that night. “Thanks for everything you did out there, by the way.”
“No need to thank me, or any of us, you know that. You’d do the same for me.” He looked over at her. “I hope.”
Frankie smirked. “Well, I mean, maybe…”
“Harsh,” Gibson stated but smiled in mirth. The lift dropped to the floor below.
Frankie smiled, too, and thought back over the night’s events, getting them straight in her head before she arrived at the debrief. “How are you holding up?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” Gibson answered. “You don’t need to worry about me. You have enough on your mind.”
She nodded. There’s no arguing with that, she thought. They exited the lift and moved along the corridor to the ops room and walked inside, their cyberbrains pinging the security, unlocking the doors ahead of them.
Inside the ops room, Veronica, Cole, Kalypso, and Dion were all sitting or leaning against desks, facing the director, who was waiting patiently for them to join the meeting.
“Sorry I’m late,” Frankie said.
“That’s okay. I think you can be forgiven,” the director said. “You’ve been through quite the ordeal.”
She agreed. “Thanks.”
“We all want to offer our condolences,” Veronica added with a sympathetic smile. “If there’s anything we can do…”
“Thank you,” Frankie said. “But I’m fine, for now. Shall we continue?”
“Absolutely,” the director said and rose to his full height. “In spite of the casualties, I think you all handled yourself well tonight, and we had a satisfactory conclusion.” He stared over at Frankie. “Your call to spare Hellion was perhaps not what I would have done, but that was your call, and I respect your choice…”
“Thanks,” Frankie answered. “It was clear that Psytech had abandoned her and was leaving her there to die, and given that I’d already killed Hellion’s sister prior to this during the Support Building siege, I considered us even.”
“I understand,” William said.
“You know what was odd?” Gibson asked. “Psytech’s retreat from the fight and their abandonment of one of their top agents. It seemed very out of character for them. Do we have any thoughts about this?”
“I assume that Hellion became something of a liability,” Frankie said, summarising her thoughts on the issue.
“That was my conclusion, too,” the director agreed. “Hellion had a vendetta against Frankie which made her difficult to control and thus a liability. Psytech will have little patience for indulging that kind of thing.”
“Are you sure?” Kalypso asked. “They’ve had it in for Xenox since the moment he escaped. Frankie, too.”
“Absolutely,” Gibson said. “Hell, they kidnapped my wife and child, remember. They’re the kings of petty vendettas.”
“Fair point,” the director conceded. “So why did they retreat and abandon Hellion?”
“I think I have an idea why,” Dion said. He was sitting at a desk, staring at a terminal screen. After a couple of quick clicks, the main viewing screen on the wall lit up with a news report, the presenter’s voice filling the room.
“It seems that the Prime Minister’s official country house has been attacked tonight by a force of highly trained and well-armed special forces who have left several dead and the house itself ablaze. Details are few and far between, but we are getting word that the Prime Minister, Susan Weaver, is, as of right now, missing. Yes, you heard me correctly, the Prime Minister of the UK is missing and presumed kidnapped by this armed group. We have no idea where she is or what the demands of this group are. We also don’t know if these are part of a terrorist group or are state-sponsored actors working for a foreign government…”
Instantly the room was abuzz with activity. Everyone watched in shock and accessed the net to find out whatever they could.
“What the hell is going on?” Veronica asked.
“Is this the corporations?” Cole added.
“This would explain Psytech’s sudden retreat if they had bigger fish to fry,” Dion stated.
Frankie nodded. “It certainly would.”
“Are you suggesting Psytech has something to do with this?” Veronica asked. “Kidnapping the PM? I mean, really?”
“I wouldn’t put it past them,” Gibson stated.
“Me neither,” Frankie said. “Susan was the one to found the ACT, and she’s been fighting the corps the whole time. They hate her, so why wouldn’t they do this?”
“This is madness,” Veronica muttered.
“This is war,” Cole countered, verbalising Frankie’s thoughts.
Psytech didn’t care about Prime Ministers. They cared about their own power. Power that Susan and the ACT had been chipping away at.
“I agree. This has the corporations written all over it,” Frankie eyed the director. “Sir? Is there anything we can do?”
He glanced her way. “Right now, I’m not sure. I’m trying to link up with our intelligence services, but I’m not having much luck.”
Frankie frowned. That didn’t sound right. “Really?”
The word had barely left her mouth when the lights shut off, and the hum of the computers and air-conditioning whirred down to a stop. One second later, the generators and emergency lighting kicked in, along with the red glow of a security alarm.
In the brief silence that followed, several explosions in quick succession blasted in the distance.
“I’m registering several security breaches around the building,” Dion called out. “We’re under attack.”
“Damn it,” Frankie hissed. “Where?”
“All over the place. The main ground-floor entrance, the parking garage, hanger bay loading doors, rooftop, and a wall breach on the eastern side, in the alleyway. But I’m having trouble tracking them using emergency power.”
“You mentioned the hangar bay…” Shock caught Frankie’s breath.
“I did,” Dion confirmed and peered up.
“Mum,” Frankie hissed.