Code Breakers: Beta Read Online Free

his head onto his chest and let the tears come as all the years of hurt and grief amalgamated into a flood of burning rage and self-hatred.
    Footsteps came up beside him. He saw a hand pick up the slate; it was Petal. He looked up as she watched the video of his family. At first he thought she wouldn’t understand, but instantly she recognised the resemblance of the people on the video.
    “These are your family,” she said.
    “Were,” Gabe said, wiping the tears from his eyes. “I lost ’em when Natalya died. I lost ’em when I tried... it doesn’t matter now. Because of me, they’ll likely be gone soon.”
    He was numb as he said it. Unable to even comprehend the emotions that boiled within him.
    “How do you know?” Petal said.
    “They were the bargaining chip,” he said. “Their life for hers.”
    “What if she was bluffing?” Petal said. “What if...”
    “I used to do that, too. Play the ‘what-if’ game. I knew ’er. Knew how she worked. I saw evidence when I was with them back in Russia.” Gabe shook his head. “This was the truth.”
    Gabe stood and kissed Petal on the head. “I’m so sorry,” he said.
    “For what?” Petal asked. “You can’t blame yourself for—”
    “I can’t stay. I need to...”
    He turned away from her, unable to take it anymore, and walked away towards the gates of the city.
    Petal followed him. “Where are you going?”
    Without looking back and increasing his pace, he simply said, “I don’t know.”

Chapter 2
    4:30pm — Presidential Suite, Libertas
     
    Sasha read Jimmy Robertson’s report on her slate while sitting in the Presidential Suite: the top floor of the finest hotel in the city. Jimmy, just hours before, had finished interviewing the boy called Steven, who had provided the Libertas interim government with information about these ‘hot’ chips that allowed users to remove themselves from the automation of the citywide network and thus out of the D-lottery. The latter had since been abolished as soon as they set up the temporary government.
    The report went on to explain that these chip users referred to themselves as ronin to indicate their independence from the control of the Dome. Sasha thought it stupid; they might be free of the citywide network and the Family’s control, but now they were just slaves to Elliot, the mad digital entity, existing somewhere out there in the ether, hiding in some vast network, manipulating these human drones.
    The report detailed how Steven had met with a man in the warehousing district of the Dome. As a favour to Gerry, a boy named Kaden gave Steven one of these chips. Desperate and running out of time, Steven installed it, successfully removing himself from the D-Lottery. However, there was a side effect that Gerry was unaware of. One that led to his death—or at least the death of his body: the side effect was a direct line to Elliot’s influence.
    The problem now was that since Petal had killed Kaden in furious vengeance, there was no way of knowing how many of these dangerous chips had been distributed throughout the city. All they knew at this stage was what Steven had told them. That Elliot, via the chip, got inside his head and made him do things he wouldn’t normally do. Elliot could see what Steven saw, thought, and felt. Each ronin became a physical manifestation of Elliot’s will.
    When the two servers, Alpha & Omega, were rejoined and when the Family’s satellite that dampened computer networks across the globe was destroyed, it freed Elliot from his temporary prison. Through these chips, the crazy bastard had ample opportunity to do what he wanted within the city.
    When Sasha finished reading the report, she looked up at the others gathered around the round oak table in the middle of the hotel suite. It overlooked the great lake and park. The artificial light made it seem like a perfect summer’s day. There were numerous citizens sitting on the banks by the lake, playing with their