Free Netcast: Zero by Ryk Brown Page A

viewer wall came to life, displaying a live netcast from NCN:World. The images shifted from hospital emergency departments, to communicable disease quarantine wards, even to health clinics. The images were coming from every corner of the planet, and they were grim.
    “Klaria is sweeping the Earth,” Graham declared.
    The concern in Graham’s voice was alarming. In the week that Hanna had known him, she couldn’t remember ever seeing him scared. “It’s fucking everywhere. We’re talking hundreds of thousands of cases, if not millions, in only a few hours. People are panicking like you wouldn’t believe. They’re even ripping out each other’s implants with kitchen knives. It’s insane!”
    Hanna suddenly saw herself on the viewer and gasped. It was a shot from yesterday’s press conference, as she was trying to escape the mob of reporters that had turned their attentions to her so suddenly. The caption read ‘Authorities seek reporter.’ Hanna gasped. “Why do they want me?”
    “They think you know something,” Arielle realized. “We’ve got to get dressed.”
    “All I did was ask the question!” Hanna exclaimed.
    “They probably want to know how you knew the GDCO people had their implants changed,” Arielle said as she pulled on her pants.
    “Here, each of you take one of these,” Graham said as he handed each of them a small, black device.
    “Smart-comms?” Hanna wondered. “People still buy these?”
    “Not everyone has implants, Hanna,” Arielle said. “Where did you get them?” she asked Graham.
    “A shop down the street. I picked them up last night. I disabled the GPS chips in them. They’ll still be able to intercept our data streams, but they won’t be able to track our location.”
    “What? Are we fugitives now?” Hanna asked, getting more worried.
    “We are until we talk to an attorney,” Graham insisted.
    “We have to call Sahmeed,” Arielle said.
    “No, that’s the first unit they’ll be monitoring. That, and your parents, Hanna.” Graham paced around for a moment as Hanna and Arielle finished dressing.
    “Oh, my God,” Hanna exclaimed as she watched the viewer wall. “Why would anyone do this? It’s insane.”
    Graham’s smart-comm beeped. Both girls looked at him.
    Graham took his smart-comm out of his pocket and looked at the face of it. “It’s okay, it’s a friend of mine. I called him last night and gave him this number.” Graham accepted the call and put the comm to his ear. “Yeah.” Graham listened for a minute, then said, “Sure” and pulled the phone away from his ear. “It’s NCN:World,” he told them.
    “What?” Hanna exclaimed.
    “What do they want?” Arielle asked.
    “They want us to meet them on the roof in five minutes.”
    “What?” Hanna exclaimed again.
    “They said the Mounties are on their way to our hotel,” Graham explained. “NCN World is offering us protection and representation.”
    “Why?” Hanna asked.
    “Who cares why?” Graham explained.
    “What about the hotel bill?” Arielle said.
    “Fuck the hotel bill, Ari,” Graham replied.
    “Won’t they charge it to our account automatically?” Hanna wondered.
    “Sure, if our accounts aren’t already frozen.”
    “I’m with Graham, Ari,” Hanna said. “Fuck the hotel bill. Let NCN take care of it. I don’t want to spend the next week in a Canadian jail cell. Not while the biggest story in history is breaking.” Hanna grabbed both their bags from the sofa, tossing Arielle’s bag to her. “We’re leaving.”
    Graham put his smart-comm back to his ear. “We’re on our way up.” Graham ended the call and put the smart-comm back in his pocket. “You ladies got everything?” He asked as he moved over to the window and looked down at the street below.
    “I still have stuff in the bathroom,” Hanna said, turning to retrieve her belongings.
    “No time,” Graham said as he turned back from the window and headed toward the door. “Mounties are already