Gunner: The Hacker's Code by Michelle C. Reilly
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Gunner opened the front door and was greeted with the sound of a woman screaming. He pushed the door wide and froze as the screaming turned to sobs. The glare of the TV shone off the dark floor. Closing the door behind him, he stepped softly into the living room. A blonde woman, tears falling from her coal-lined eyes, cried from the screen.
Nay’s head rested on the sofa’s armrest. She was cocooned in a blanket and sound asleep with the remote in her hand. Gunner quietly stepped past the couch and switched off the TV, and then twisted around to regard Nay. The moon’s light cast her face in an ethereal glow, making her appear almost childlike. Her layered bangs dusted her slightly arched eyebrows and one long strand had landed into the side of her mouth, moving as she breathed. Gunner reached over and swiped the hair from her mouth. His knuckle ran along her lips. They were soft and warm and he let his finger stray there. Flashes of her beneath him and then her straddling him pierced his mind. He yanked his hand away before he acted on those impulses.
Stop screwing around, Gun. Time to find her sister.
He squared his shoulders and headed for his domain. After entering the room, he flipped on the light and froze. His searching gaze immediately found the slightly crooked stance of the large computer. Gunner frowned. The maid wasn’t allowed in this room.
Was Nay fucking with my shit?
She wouldn’t have been able to get into any of the systems because of his security, but that didn’t mean she didn’t try. He shut the door behind him and pivoted to his tool box and opened the drawers one at a time, identifying which tools she had removed and then attempted to replace the way she had found them. The equipment she needed to open anything of his wasn’t in the storage box. It was on his keychain.
Good thing.
He adjusted each and every piece until it was exactly how he wanted it and then stepped up to the desk. “Sha'lull,” he murmured in Anathergian. The monitors and systems came to life.
Gunner took his place within the wide, leather chair. He lifted his hands and a virtual keyboard materialized in midair beneath his fingertips. Each key lit up as he touched them. It wasn’t actually necessary for him to even use a keyboard, but since Nay was in the next room, he didn’t want her to hear him speaking to his systems. Especially when many of the commands were in a language used by an alien race.
He placed his phone on the desk and the computer scanned it and copied the video into its hard drive. Gunner leaned forward and the video feed appeared in front of him, offering him a panoramic view of the footage. He reached into the image and shuffled the reel to the timeframe right before Kristine arrived. Slicing there, he edged the film forward to a few minutes after she was taken and made another splice. He pushed away the extra pieces and expanded the cut he needed.
Gunner meticulously studied every single frame, searching for any small clue to help him determine what happened to the girl. The grainy image made it difficult to decipher a lot, but there were a few decent sections.
When he got to the part where Kristine texted, he murmured, “Determine text message.” Though he couldn’t actually see the girl’s screen, the system could figure out what she was typing by the movement and placement of her fingers. A green, opaque square laid over the video’s image and situated itself over Kristine’s hands and phone. It stretched and morphed until it melded to them. The video slowed and, as each of the girl’s fingers touched her screen, a green light glowed. A screen appeared below the video and text streamed across it.
I told u i don’t want to leave m alone
Pegasus Fairytales
No! I cant im staying
Don’t come here. Just lv me alone!
Jules when will u b here? I need u to pick me up pls
Can u come any quicker? Rick is coming and I don’t want to be here
I know hes an asshole. How long will u be
Ok pls hurry
Gunner clenched his jaw as the car pulled up in front of the building.
Hes here! omg I don’t know what 2 do pls get here now!
A knot formed in his stomach as he watched the girl go outside. Why she ever went, he had no clue. She should’ve stayed put. More than likely the guy wouldn’t have gone into the store to get her. It would’ve been too much of a risk.
When the camera gave him his best shot of the car, he said, “Analyze vehicle.” The green scanner blanketed the screen again and examined the car. A third screen above the feed appeared, showing the make and model of the vehicle. A 2013 Chrysler 300C in metallic silver spun around within the frame.
As the man stepped out of the vehicle, Gunner froze the feed. “Provide human measurements.” As the system scanned the man, allowing one frame at a time to move forward, Gunner switched to another system to access the Nevada DMV database to give him a list of all vehicles with that model and color registered within the state.
When he returned to the first system, a readout showed the man was between five-foot-eleven and six-feet. The approximate weight was around one hundred sixty-five and one hundred seventy pounds. His foot size was either eleven or twelve.
The scanner had taken the one image of the man’s face, froze it, and then slid it onto another virtual monitor. A green light blinked, waiting for his command. “Scan for facial recognition,” he said, hoping the image was enough to hit something.
An indistinct sound from the other side of the door caught his attention. He angled his chin over his shoulder, trying to make out what it was. It came again.
“Nagh'mar,” he said beneath his breath. His systems slipped into slumber mode, though they still continued the work he’d assigned them.
Gunner pushed back the chair and slipped to the door, quietly opening it. He bent his head around the doorframe and peeked at Nay. The girl’s arms flailed beneath the blanket, and she gasped and mumbled to herself. Gunner swiftly kneeled in front of her.
Her lids were closed, but her eyes moved back and forth beneath them. “Nay,” he whispered, lifting his hand up to smooth it along her upper arm. He focused on his core and allowed a small amount of power to seep through to try and soothe her.
Nay’s arm came loose from the blanket and she flung it backward. Gunner reared back to avoid being hit. He leaned forward again, this time placing his palm against her cheek. It was moist from a thin layer of sweat.
“It’s okay, Nay. I got ya’. You’re safe.” His gaze roamed down and caught a glint of silver. He peered closer at it. A silver heart-shaped locket hung from a matching chain around her neck.
Nay let out a long sigh and her muscles relaxed. Gunner glanced back up at her face, perusing her high cheekbones and rounded lips. He kept his hand cupped to her cheek to make sure she calmed. After a few moments of her even breathing, he readjusted the blankets around her, and stood.
A yawn stretched his jaw wide. There wasn’t much else he could do from here. The system could take care of the rest.
Time for some shuteye.
He locked his computer room and swiveled around to stare down at the girl. There was no way he could risk Nay seeing what his system could do. He studied her as he passed. She inhaled and small snores escaped from her nose.
Gunner smiled, rechecked all of the security within the house, and then headed up to the loft. He yanked off his shirts, while kicking off his boots and letting his jeans drop to the floor. Not bothering to crawl beneath the blankets, he was asleep before he hit the pillow.