John Shirley - Watch Dogs - Dark Clouds

“Meaning he’s gonna bring a lot of cops down here?”

“I doubt it. That’d cause too much talk around the ol’ department. No, the prick is probably calling Verrick right now asking what to do.”

“You think they know where we’re going?”

“Hope not. With any luck—no. They’d have waited for us there if they did. I figure the Chunkies know about me… and you. And they saw us coming.”

“We should get the hell on, then.”

“A sound strategy. You’re like a female Napoleon.”

“Oh shut up.” But she laughed softly and led the way with the light.

He unstrapped the AK and kept it ready.

The floor was wet and slippery but they went as quickly as they could. The tunnel stretched on endlessly, occasionally streaked with light from manhole covers and drainage grates. They’d gone what must’ve been several blocks when Wolfe said, “Hold on.”

They were just entering the vertical shaft of a manhole. A steel ladder went up the side. A little light came down…

“You thinking of going up there, Wolfe? Might get your head shot off like a gopher if you stick it up there.”

“No, I’m gonna try something else.” He handed her the AK57. “Keep an eye on the tunnel for me. And better turn off that light—save the battery.”

“Yeah okay.”

Wolfe climbed the ladder, almost to the top. He listened. He heard no traffic going by. He reached up, and pushed on the manhole. It moved, just a little. He pushed harder—it came unstuck from the asphalt, and he moved it a few inches aside. He listened again. Nothing.

He took out the PearcePhone, put it on speaker, and lifted it up so it would have a chance of getting a decent signal. Then he shifted it through its scanning modes with his thumb. It took him a while to locate Tranter’s phone number…

Tranter hadn’t changed it. Arrogant or sloppy. “…They tell me he’s there with that woman, Verrick. Our guys in the Chunkies spotted him.”

“You gave them his description?”

“Hell I gave them that photo of him… He’s somewhere in that four-block area. I can get it blocked off so we can operate kinda quiet. You know, I got some guys in the department who’ll block off the street for me, no questions, if they get a little Paypal bump for it… ”

“Can’t they go in there and do the job?”

“You don’t own the whole department. Neither does the Club and neither do I, Verrick. Told you that before.”

“Okay, fine, then have ’em block off the area and I’ll send in… well, tell ’em to ignore anything they see flying over the area.”

“Flying? You mean like choppers?”

“No, it’ll come out of a helicopter. So that too.”

“Out of a… you mean some kinda drone?”

“Yeah, and so what?”

There was silence on the line for a moment. “Whatever. If any of them go down they’re your responsibility.”

“Yeah, they’re not marked in anyway that’ll… just don’t worry about it. I’m sending them in—it’ll give us a chance to test them in Chicago airspace, make sure the control signals work okay. Just get your men on the street to point the way. Let ’em know they’re going to see drones.”

“Next the gangs’ll want their own goddamn drones.”

“Might sell them some, too.”

“You’re not serious.”

“Just do what I said, Tranter.”

A click, and Verrick hung up.

“That’s just what we need,” Wolfe muttered.

“What?” Seline asked. “I couldn’t hear much from here.”

“Tell you in a minute.”

Wolfe went through his speed dial, found the one he wanted, dialed it and put the phone to his ear.

“Wolfe? Where you at?” Pearce’s voice.

“You can’t see my position?”

“Yeah. I see it. Kind of a weak signal. Wait—you underground?”

“Yeah. Drainage tunnel. About five blocks from where I need to be. Tranter’s called Verrick—he’s sending in drones.”

“The clowns?”

“The drones, Pearce.”

“They can’t get to you down there.”

“These could—and the Chunkies know I’m underground.”

“Chunkies? As in Chunky Crunkies?”

“Yeah. Shuggie thinks they’re working for The Club. Anything you can do to help us out here?”

“There? Underground? I don’t know. You’ve got the phone—you could probably do most of what I could do. If I burst any water pipes, it’ll make it as bad for you as them.”

“Okay, fine. Just so you know where we are. I’m gonna try something else.”

“Wait—”

But Wolfe was dialing another number. Shuggie answered. “Who that?”

“It’s me, Shuggie. Wolfe. Um… I’m down in the drainage tunnels…” He gave the address. “And I got Chunkies all around me, up above anyway. And uh… I think we’re gonna get some drones here.”

“Drones. Like back in North Africa-type drones?”

“Yeah.”

“They going to be shooting Sidewinders at me and my boys?”

“I doubt it. I don’t think these use those kind of weapons and I don’t think they’re looking for you.” His arm was aching from holding onto the metal rungs and he pulled closer to it, to distribute his weight better. “I was just wondering if you could pull some of this heat off of us.”

“I thought I told you, you were on your own if you went down there?”

“Yeah but uh… I just wanted to say, bro: De Oppresso Liber .” The Delta Force motto.

Shuggie laughed bitterly. “You know what that motto even means? It means ‘To Liberate the Oppressed.’ Anybody here oppressed, it’s me, man. You should be liberating me, motherfucker.”

“Next time I liberate you. We take turns.”

Shuggie snorted. “Yeah right. De Oppresso Liber , fuck! Let me think on it. But I doubt I’m gonna be able to help. Doubt it a lot. Fucking drones…”

Shuggie hung up.

Wolfe growled to himself and put the phone in his pocket.

He descended the ladder. “So much for the cavalry, I guess.”

“What were you saying to him about drones?”

“Yeah. Going to be looking for us. This is Verrick’s way to test them in Chicago too. So we’re part of testing the Iceberg Project. Always good to feel useful to Major Roger Verrick. You see anybody coming? Hear anything?”

“Not so far.”

“Let’s keep going.”

They went on down the tunnel. Water dripped down their necks. It began to rush along in a gutter beside the slimy concrete walls.

Seline said, “That phone of yours… The one you use for hacking…”

“Yeah. You’re thinking I can use it to control the drones? If it’s the same kind as last time—maybe. But not more than one at a time. And there’s more than one.”

“How do you know?”

“Because…” He pointed down the tunnel. “Two of ’em are coming at us right now…”

The UAVs were faintly outlined, small red lights tracing their edges. The drones were both delta shaped, like the one Wolfe had seen at the country SmartHouse, but these were each about a third the size of that one.

The drones were armed, though. A gun muzzle protruded from the snout of each drone.

“Retreat, Wolfe?” Seline asked.

“Hell yes retreat! Go, Seline!”

They’d passed a manhole access space about five strides back. Seline ran back and he ran behind her. Bullets cracked on the floor just behind them.

Then they were in the cylindrical chamber. They flattened to either side of the tunnel entrance. Wolfe could hear the drones moving their way, their engine noise more high pitched than the larger one that had patrolled the SmartHouse grounds.