Zero Day Ghost: An Electrifying Near Future Techno-Thriller of Revenge and Redemption by Scott Olson

Author:Scott Olson [Olson, Scott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scott Olson
Published: 2023-08-31T16:00:00+00:00

SHOPPING

Emily is on her mother’s front steps, waving to a man who stands in the middle of the street. The sun is behind him, his face is in shadow. He waves back, then steps toward her. A silver car appears from nowhere, plowing over him, leaving his mangled body for dead on the pavement. Her mother, Audrey, is at her side, clutching a kitchen knife with one hand and a garden hose with the other.

“Take this,” Audrey commands, holding out the knife.

Emily grasps the handle with a trembling hand as Audrey directs the garden hose toward the man, washing his wounds with a spray of water. Then she turns to Emily.

“Do something!” her mother commands, “even if it’s wrong!”

Emily awakens with a start. She’s in an uncomfortable chair, a blanket draped over her shoulders, her face covered in sweat. Light seeps around filthy beige curtains illuminating Seymour’s motionless body. He’s sprawled across the room’s only bed, his injured arm bound in a red-stained towel, his face drawn and ashen. Memories of the previous evening rush in: Seymour in the tub, whimpering as she washes his wounds, Seymour clenching a leather belt in his teeth, Seymour shivering as she sutures his gash with an ordinary needle and thread. He’s the bravest, craziest person she’s ever known. He may be insane.

She rises stiffly, pins and needles filling her reawakening legs, then limps to the cramped bathroom. She cups her hands under the faucet and throws water over her face, washing away the tears and horror from the night before. She emerges to find Seymour sitting up, remote control in hand, staring at the television.

“Is that your cousin?” he asks, pointing to the screen.

A policeman is ushering Frank through a crowd of reporters. He glances resignedly toward the camera, his fleshy face unspeakably sad.

“Dammit,” she mutters.

She led him to Zahra’s trap, caused his face to be on television, and maybe ruined his life. How many more lives will she ruin before she’s finished?

“What’s our next move?” Seymour asks.

“Ward off gangrene,” she says, pointing to his arm.

“And then?”

“Use your hacking magic to eradicate the surveillance footage that ties you to me and, after that, get you to California.”

“What about you?”

“I surrender to the US consulate.”

He sits up straighter.

“Don’t throw your life away,” he says, his eyes growing hard.

“I only get it back when I quit running.”

“Then surrender with leverage,” he says, holding up the solid-state data drive extracted from Zahra’s computer.

She eyes the dull metal box in his sweaty hand. Does it explain what happened to The Collective? Does it reveal which comrade betrayed Zahra? Does it chronicle the coup d’etat that ended her life?

“My people won’t trust what’s on that thing,” she says. “They’ll assume it’s fabricated.”

“Your people,” he scoffs. “Who cares about the NSA? We’re the ones who need the truth!”

“Find it when you get home.”

“I need at least a week to heal,” he says. “Which means I have time to find the truth right now. Just visit one of those awesome Hong Kong computer stores and grab me some gear.

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