“Ooof!” The air left Daniel’s lungs in a rush and he staggered back.

Farrah followed up in a rush, punches coming fast, but without a lot of weight behind them. If he hadn’t been recovering from that first punch, he would have been able to fend them off easily. As it was, all he could do is feebly hold his arms up in front of him.

“I think we know who gets the point for that one.” Renee said with a smirk.

Farrah stepped back and let Daniel recover, still bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“Next?” Farrah gestured to Renee.

“Oh no, I think I’ll wait my turn.” Renee answered trying to hide her smile. “Besides, it’s much more fun to watch Daniel try to breathe.”

***

Several hours later it was clear that Renée definitely had the edge when it came to any form of cyber interaction. Her coding and programming background gave her several advantages. While Farrah and Daniel were clearly not in René’s league, the system seem to accept that they had the basic grasp and were able to at least slow her down. Against each other they were more evenly matched. Farah imagined the system was begrudgingly accepting their capabilities and checked off that aspect of the system tutorial. They weren’t going to be hacking NORAD anytime soon, but they were gaining an understanding of how to protect themselves.

The martial fitness aspect had different results. Daniels martial arts and physical fitness background being clearly superior at that aspect of the assessment. However, Renée’s ability to “game” the system proved that there was more to it than just physical strength. There was as much usefulness and advantage to how she used the system is or was to just using it in the physical sense.

Farrah’s medical background had given her several insights that the others hadn’t considered. While they all accepted that they were struggling to understand something that they didn’t fully understand the nature of, they realized that the diversity of their backgrounds gave them useful insights they would not have had alone.

“I’m still working out how you were able to hit me that hard.” Daniel mused. “That’s like black belt hard. That’s harder than I figured you were capable of.”

“Gee thanks. It’s nice to know that a girl can hit you hard.” Farah dropped her arms to her sides, frustrated.

“No, that’s not what I mean. You’ve never taken martial arts, you don’t fight in MMA, and you’re undergoing cancer treatment. I didn’t think that you’d be able to hit as hard as you did. You hit like somebody who’s had training.” Daniel said in disbelief.

“Yeah, about that. Something I found out about how the system works. I figured you would have discovered it by now, with your kinesiology background. It’s not about strength or speed, it’s about leveraging momentum. And… I figured out how to turn the system into a low-grade Taser.” She said with a smirk.

“You did what?” Renée asked, looking up with a start, her eyes widening. “Show me how!”

“The system always has a charge and it’s always getting more from us, so I wondered if it was maybe possible to store some of that charge and let it out in a pulse. It turns out, it is. Not as much as an actual Taser, at least not yet. But it’s enough to give a punch a little extra.”

“How much does that cost you?” Daniel asked worried look on his face.

“Nothing actually, but it does slow down whatever the system is working on, and it could put it in standby. So it’s not something that you want to rely on all the time, but as a last resort at least for now it’s something to tuck away for later.”

“I’m betting there’s a way to build up a reservoir.” Renée said.

“System?”

[Abrasax]

“Can the nanotech create electrical reservoirs within our bodies like batteries so that we can discharge them offensively?”

[Affirmative. Offensive capabilities are listed under the various offensive abilities sections]

“Is it possible to discharge the Abraxas system to the point where it shuts down and does not turn back on?”

[Insufficient power will cause the Abrasax system to enter standby mode. So long as the host remains viable the system will continue in standby mode. If the host is rendered unviable the system would continue in standby mode pending further directions, or until terminal protocols are enacted..]

“What about Michael and Lindsay? The system didn’t stay in standby mode and killed them. What are Terminal protocols?”

[Subject identity is unknown. Abrasax system is unable to provide information it does not contain.]

“Have we completed enough of the system tutorial to contact Victoria Thompson?”

[System tutorial 99% complete. Unable to contact Victoria Thompson. No communication services within range.]

“Well, at least we know it has some limitations.” Renée said. “I’m up for spending a few more days practicing and figuring out what this does for us before heading to town. Then at least we’ll be as prepared as we can be when this thing calls her. Whether it’s the Cavalry or SWAT team coming, we have to find out.”

The other two nodded agreement.

***

“What do you mean they disappeared?” Damien ground out, exasperated. He didn’t like getting bad news from the field, especially when it involved situations he didn’t fully understand to begin with. He preferred to be on the ground preventing problems, or at least being the one to solve them. He didn’t like being halfway around the world, dealing with failures.

“After taking me on a trip around the city, they drove the rental to a park near the Aquarium.” His agent answered over the com. “They got out and walked around the park for a bit then headed into the Aquarium. I waited in the parking lot with a clear view of the entrance until it closed. By the time I realized that they weren’t coming out and it wasn’t accidental, I circled back around to the car, but it was gone. I drove to the rental company and they said they were called for a pickup at the Aquarium, so some guy from the rental company showed up to pick it up. Apparently it’s a part of their regular service, so no one at the rental office thought anything of it.”

“I claimed to be meeting some friends there, he said that the rental had been canceled and turned in, so they picked it up as requested. I couldn’t find out who the driver was or where they had gone without drawing too much attention, so I figured I’d find it another way.”

“They planned this, likely before the women got on the plane.” Damien said. “He would’ve had to set it up in advance. Do you have any access to CCTV or any other coverage?”

“Nothing. It’s a public park. By the time I realized they were actively avoiding me, they could have made it to the far side of the park and picked up a vehicle from any of the lots. They could’ve even left the park, or been picked up.”

“ You have a new mission in life. Find them. We need to know why this sudden change in behaviour.” Damien demanded.

“Do we know enough about them to know if this is a change in behaviour?”

“Until we have more information the objective is the same. Find them. Observe them. 24/7 surveillance, audio, and video everything we can find out about them. Get video from the Aquarium.”

“Yes sir.”

The connection winked out.

Damien returned to scanning the information on his displays, as he swiped between their workups. They had precious little on these three, not because they were covert operatives, but because they were normal boring people who didn’t spend their lives blogging about themselves on social media.

All were educated, employed, and active. They appeared to have met while attending University in Vancouver several years previously.

Farrah was currently attending UBC medical school and Daniel was pursuing his Masters in Kinesiology. Renée had graduated previously and was working as a programmer for one of the gaming companies in Vancouver.

None of them were particularly wealthy, at least in the sense that Damien was used to dealing with. Farrah’s family was reasonably well off from property development in Toronto. Daniel’s family was decidedly middle-class but he had made a name for himself as a mid-level professional poker player. That explained how he could afford to pursue his university studies, train in biathlon, and still afford to take periodic vacations. There were rumors that he might try out for the Olympics one day. Renée had a side job that her employer obviously didn’t seem to have a problem with, and appeared to be in technology. They hadn’t yet found out what it was.

***

A small light started pulsing in the upper left corner of the Thompson’s vision. She had wondered if it was ever going to appear. Part of her dreaded seeing it, and yet part of her dreaded she would never see it.

At least one of them had survived to the end of the system tutorial she had left with them, and was now within range of a public cellular or Wi-Fi system. The system was slowly sending out the alert that her spiders were constantly on the lookout for. Part of her responsibilities involved scouring the Internet and other communication systems for information regarding Abraxas, its subscribers, and anything she could use to improve the program. Since Abraxas ?

Where were they? Where were they? She mused. The system was coming from… Had they gone straight back to Canada? Had they continued on with their vacation? She sent out the commands to trace the alert back...back... Back through the Internet and various server hubs. North America. Canada. Western Canada. Vancouver. Outside of Vancouver.

Interesting, they didn’t even have broadband there, she realised with a start.

It looked like they had come within range of a Wi-Fi hub in a coffee shop near a town that didn’t even have a name on her map. They had stayed for a little over an hour before the signal was lost. It didn’t appear to have been terminated by any system protocol, so she was optimistic that they were still alive and had simply traveled out of range.

How to handle this? She turned over in her mind as she swirled the ice left in her drink. She couldn’t exactly send the tactical team in. She had no reason to send any of her people or resources. There was nothing in the area that would warrant her official attention. Perhaps, she could draw them out? Perhaps she could get them to come to a place that she could establish more direct contact?

UBC. Common thread between the three of them. Medical school. Technology. Perhaps… Perhaps it was time to investigate a new outreach centre.The super wealthy were flocking to Vancouver in ever larger numbers all the time.

“Kevin, dear please come in. I have a few tasks for you.”

***

“Do you think they got the message?” Farrah asked after the long quiet drive back to the camp.

“I hope so.” Daniel said. “But there’s only one way to know, and that’s to sit in town and wait within range of cell service or Wi-Fi until they show up, or we get bored and give up.”

“Eventually we have to get back to class. Uni breaks are only so long.”

“Speak for yourself. If I’m not back on time I’ll have more to worry about than missing some classes.” Renée said, her frustration starting to show.

“System.” Daniel said.

[Abraxas]

“Can you estimate how long it will take Victoria Thompson to respond? Can you estimate the nature of that response?”

[Response time will be variable depending on her location and commitments. Based on existing data, response parameters will involve assessment, study, and likely interrogation.]

“Is it possible to leave a communications device or relay back in town as a stepping stone for her to find that way we don’t have to remain there constantly?”

[Affirmative]

“How would we build such a device?”

[Abraxas can extrude nanotechnology constructors to fabricate such a device. Using an external power source will greatly minimize resource demands.]

“Wait! What? Say that again.” Renee stammered. “You can extrude nanotechnology that can build something outside of our bodies? Why haven’t we learned about this before?”

[Function is outside limitations of system tutorial.]

“But you’re telling us now?”

[Abraxas has determined the only way to complete Executive Directive to establish communication with Victoria Thompson at minimal risk to variance subjects is to create a signal device. Creation of signal device requires external nanotechnology creation.]

“… And if we don’t?” Renée asked.

[All other alternatives involve significant risks to variance subjects. Risk levels conflict with Executive Directives to keep the subjects at minimal risk levels.]

“Executive Directives? Where do these directives come from?”

[Executive Directive source Victoria Thompson.]

“What is the nature of this directive? “

[Unable to disclose.]

“Why not?” Renee asked with obvious frustration.

[Security clearance required to access directives. Variance subjects do not possess a security clearance.]