Day Zero

here, Danny?”
“Orders, innit?” he said. “They say stand here, I stand here.”
“Sounds dull.”
“Seems to me you were doing much the same.” He glanced back towards Hattersley, and the other operative gave him a thumbs-up. Jenks saw it and snorted.
“This has been interesting, but maybe you ought to – hoi!” Jenks turned, and Danny did as well. Faulkner was going through the evidence. He stepped back quickly, hands raised as Jenks stalked towards him. More plods swarmed in, drawn by her shout. The tension, on a low simmer, suddenly ratcheted up. Hattersley hurried over.
Danny, torn for a moment, hesitated. Then training took over and moved to Faulkner’s side. He kept his weapon aimed at the ground, and signalled Hattersley to do the same. The last thing they needed was for this to become a standoff.
“Ease up,” Faulkner was saying. “Honest mistake, that’s all.”
“There’s such a thing as chain of evidence, mate,” Jenks said. “That means you keep your mitts off it, right?”
“Why not just let me have a look, eh? Bit of professional co-operation?” Faulkner was smiling, but it wasn’t friendly. “We’ll get our hands on it eventually.”
“‘Eventually’ is a problem for someone else,” Jenks said. “Right now, you’re mine. Back up.” Her eyes flicked towards Danny. Hard now, not friendly at all. “You too, Danny-Danny Hayes. Back on your side of the line.”
“This is a mistake, love,” Faulkner said. “You plods are on the way out. Clever girl like you might want to make sure she’s got friends. Albion is always looking for experienced people, and we’re an equal opportunity employer…”
“Shut it,” Jenks said. She had her back up now, and Danny realized that she wasn’t the only one. The other plods were pressing in from all sides, bumping them back from the evidence. Hattersley was looking nervous. They were armed but, that didn’t mean much at the moment. Danny waved Hattersley back.
Faulkner kept smiling, but it was strained now. “Fine. Like I said, misunderstanding. No need to get bent out of shape. We’re going.” He pointed at Jenks. “But I’ll be speaking to your superiors about this.” He turned. “Come on. Nothing more to be gained here.”
Danny and Hattersley followed him. Faulkner glanced back at Danny. “Good job, lad. Though I doubt you’ll get a second look in. Shame too… she seemed to like you.”
Danny glanced back. Jenks was watching them, a hard look on her face. Uncomfortable, he turned away. “What were you looking for, Sarge?”
Faulkner chuckled harshly. “Never you mind, Danny Hayes. Keep your head down and follow orders, and all will be well.” He looked back, and there was a warning in his eyes. “Big things come to those who keep their mouths shut, eh?”
Danny swallowed. “Yes Sarge,” he said.
Wakey-wakey, young Oliver.
Bagley’s voice was an insistent purr. Hard to ignore. Olly blinked and stirred. A dull pain radiated along his back and shoulders. Trying to nap on the couch had been a bad idea. He groaned softly and checked the time.
“You awake then?”
Olly peered over at Liz, still standing where he’d last seen her, watching the news feeds. He wondered whether she’d even moved. “Coffee,” he moaned.
“Later. Bagley?”
My calculations are complete.
Liz sat and swung her legs up onto the table. “Good. Bring up the map.”
Olly watched in fascination as pixels coalesced in the air over the centre of the table, shaping themselves into a digital map of East London and its environs. He whistled appreciatively. Liz smiled. “Military tech,” she said. “Cracked it myself. And synched it to the GPS apps on every DedSec Optik.” Her smile faded. “Can’t trust off the peg GPS these days. Too many fingers in that particular pie. This way we get a more accurate picture of the city.” She looked up. “Bagley? Tighten in on Lister House.”
Shall I add the new data as well?
“Yes,” Liz said, somewhat impatiently.
“New data?” Olly asked, somewhat muzzily.
Liz glanced at him. “Bagley took a peek at what the Filth have been up to. We’ve folded their data into ours for a more complete analysis.” She gestured. “Look.”
The image changed – it was sketchy, primitive, but Olly recognized it as Lister House. A formless blob – the crowd – appeared. A moving shape he took to be himself raced along its fringes, colliding with Alex. Even as impersonal as the images were, he couldn’t help but feel his stomach tighten at the sight. He knew what was coming next. He cut his eyes towards Liz, and wondered if she were feeling the same. It was hard to tell.
I ran every possible scenario. Only one makes sense, given the evidence.
A red line reached down to intercept the Alex-figure. Down, not across. Olly huffed in surprise. “Bloody Nora. A sniper?”
Indeed. And not just a sniper. The shot was incredibly precise, and given the velocity and force of impact – it did not come from either of the nearby structures. Rather farther away, in fact.
The red line rose at a steep angle. Olly blinked. “That don’t look possible.”
“Shows what you know,” Liz said. She was leaning forward, chin resting on her clenched fists as she studied the image. “What type of weapon?”
I will know as soon as the police do. Bagley paused. I should inform you that I am not the only one attempting to discover that information.
Liz looked up. “Someone else is trying to hack the Old Bill?”
Several someones, by the looks of things. It seems we are not alone in our suspicions.
“What was he involved in?” Olly blurted.
Liz sat back, her arms crossed. “And why did it get him killed?”
I may have an answer to that. I detected an unexpected data-pulse moments before the shot occurred…
Olly snapped his fingers. “I remember that. What was it?”
A GPS ping.
“His Optik,” Olly said. He leaned forward, mind racing. “They determined his position through his GPS signal. Holy shit – that’s fucking clever. Evil as fuck, but clever.”
“That’s impossible,” Liz said.
Olly looked at her, bewildered. “Nah, dead easy innit? I could do it – not that I want to shoot