Survival Gene. Science Fiction Novel

Barkov knew little about Lippo Lorenzetti. According to stories from other policemen who investigated cyber-crimes, Lippo was a genius. In his youth, he spent a short time in prison for breaking a bank network. Since then, all his activity had been legal. Working for large commercial and state companies, he found vulnerabilities practically in any system. Sometimes the police used his services when it was necessary to find some prominent illegal hackers. At that, Lippo led a covert life. Andrew had never met him in person and hadn’t even seen his photo. He only knew where Lorenzetti resided – also from colleagues’ stories.

“Hello!” the concierge continued. “Glad to hear you, Rosalinda.” Hearing the name, Andrew and Emily exchanged glances. “Is Lippo home? Very well. I’m sorry to trouble you, there are visitors here, police lieutenant Andrew Barkov and a lady.” Covering the mindphone with his hand, he said to Andrew, “Mr. Lorenzetti’s assistant asks about the purpose of your visit.”

Andrew said, “We have a special order for him.”

The concierge transmitted his words and, listening to the answer, looked at his watch.

“I don’t think our business can wait for fifteen minutes,” Emily said suddenly.

The man stared at her, frowning. “How do you know what she told me?”

The girl smiled. “I have a sensitive ear.”

The concierge still frowned, then listened to his earpiece and said, “Rosalinda says you can go up now,” and pointed with his thumb over his shoulder. “Please proceed to Mr. Lorenzetti’s elevator. It’s the last one on the right. Unfortunately, you can’t go to the penthouse by the stairs as there is no way. Only by the elevator.”

Barkov was surprised. “Who would go to the seventieth floor on foot?”

The man hesitated. “Probably you don’t know yet… Half of our elevators crashed because of the asteroid. Nine people were killed. Many dwellers prefer to go on foot now. Don’t be scared, Mr. Lorenzetti’s elevator is the most reliable one. It is light, armored, safe. By the way, they will ask you to remove your gun before entering the apartment.”

“Sorry, buddy. I’m a cop!”

The man shrugged his shoulders. “You can refuse, of course. It’s up to you. Have a good trip!”

Andrew and Emily directed their steps to the elevator lobby across a wide blue-colored corridor with the succession of white elevator doors whose outlines resembled sails of ancient ships. Some of them were closed up with striped red and yellow sticky tape crosswise over the doors.

“It’s a real nightmare. Nine people!” Emily muttered.

“Yes, among millions of others. Billions are in jeopardy, I’m afraid. Why did you interfere in my conversation with the concierge? We had an agreement that you would keep silent!”

“Yes, at the hacker’s place. We had no agreement concerning the concierge, did we?”

“Okay. There’s one more thing. If you can hear electromagnetic waves, it is not necessary to boast about it to everybody.”

“I didn’t mean to. I got worried, since we don’t have time to wait around. Besides, the guy had no clue. He believed that I simply had a good ear.”

They approached the last elevator on the right. Entering it, Andrew saw a console with just two buttons, “Up’ and “Down’. He pressed the “Up’ button. The doors closed, but the elevator didn’t move. A female voice came from above, “Attention. An armed passenger. Weapon model: Colt. Type of ammunition: service cartridges. Please deposit your weapon for the period of your visit.”

The same text in capital black letters ran from left to right on the white wall of the elevator at eye level. A massive box without locks or handles slid out from under the push-button panel. It was so deep that it could accommodate a dozen pistols.

Probably an intellectual scanner was installed in the elevator, just like at some important government sites. Lorenzetti must have spent quite a lot of money to ensure his safety!

“I’m a policeman!” Barkov announced as he took out his badge and showed it to the camera in the ceiling. “You have no right to request my weapon!”

A few seconds later, the doors opened. The female voice announced, “The armed passenger, you have thirty seconds to leave the elevator or to deposit the weapon. Otherwise, the doors will be blocked until guards and an attorney arrive.”

The text version of the same statement appeared on the wall. Then bright red digits started to flash there. 30, 29, 28… Each digit was accompanied by a loud beep.

“Damn!” Barkov mumbled.

He had neither the authority nor the desire to give his gun away for storage to other people, let alone to put it into a box in an elevator. But meeting Lorenzetti was absolutely essential. He was the only one Andrew had heard of who could get hold of top-secret information.

Pulling the gun out of the holster, Barkov put it into the box. The countdown stopped at once and the box slid into the wall.

“Thank you for cooperation,” the female voice became kindly. “Welcome, dear guests!”

The doors closed and the elevator started. Its movement was so smooth that it was not clear if they were going up or down.

Emily neared Andrew and whispered in his ear, “I’ve heard the signal supplied to the box for it to open and the signal to start the elevator!”

Boasting again. What a strange mania!

“Congratulations,” Barkov replied in low voice. “But I know about your abilities. I don’t need you to remind of them constantly.”

“You don’t understand. I can send the same signal to open the box. I can transmit signals as well as read them. You can take the gun, and I’ll re-start the elevator!”

It was an interesting idea. Andrew didn’t know who would meet their “dear guests’ at the top or what the reception might be. It could happen that the weapon might prove useful. However, if Andrew took the gun again, Lorenzetti might panic and escape. It was possible that the hacker had provided for some other safeguards for himself besides the elevator blockade.

“No. Don’t do anything.”

“Are you sure?”

Barkov nodded. His senses would alert him if danger awaited them. Then again, what had the concierge said about the elevator? “It is light, armored, safe.” Safe for who? Maybe it could block out his sense of danger too.

About ten seconds passed. The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Andrew saw a multi-colored flowerbed lit with the sun’s rays and surrounded with precision cut green bushes. Have they sent us down instead of up?

Leaving the elevator, he saw that they were in the penthouse. Sunshine filtered through the windows occupying all the space from the floor to the ceiling and through the glass roof. Around the bed on the marble floor there were some sofas and chairs made of light bamboo. The opposite wall was decorated with flowers in bamboo pots. Tightly closed compartment doors also trimmed with bamboo were located in the wall opposite the elevator. On each side there were two trolleys with trays filled with fruit and berries – apples, pears, peaches, strawberry and grapes.

“Let’s go back downstairs!” Emily exclaimed, her voice tight, forced.

Barkov looked back. She huddled in a corner of the elevator.

“Why?”

“I don’t feel well. This room is stuffed with electronics!”

Andrew grinned. “Electronics? It looks like a garden to me? It’s nice!”

The girl didn’t answer. She turned her gaze past Andrew.

Turning around, he saw a middle-aged woman. She was a short stout blonde with blue eyes and pink round cheeks, dressed in a multilayered green dress reaching down to her ankles, and wearing white moccasins. She had just entered through sliding bamboo doors, behind which Andrew could see what appeared to be an empty room; she went to the visitors quickly. There was radiant smile on her face. The doors closed automatically behind her.

“Welcome! I’m Rosalinda. You must be lieutenant Andrew Barkov. What’s your lady’s name?”

“Emi…,” Andrew almost blurted out the real girl’s name. “Her name’s Katherine.”

“Katherine, dear, why are you standing in the elevator? Come in, please, we don’t have savage dogs here!”

Saying that, Rosalinda gave a ringing laugh.