Savage Bytes

by Sarah Makela

  A few moments later, the door opened, and someone, most likely Leon, stood in the doorway, just barely out of view. The audio had become distorted, making it impossible to follow the conversation. The hooded man entered the home with no obvious resistance from Leon. The door closed, and the feed went dark, before returning to the list of recordings.

  “Did you see that?” Hannah said and tilted her head toward Ian. “What happened to the feed?”

  Ian nodded toward the screen. “It’s the only feed so far that has been unclear in any way. That distortion in both audio and video normally shouldn’t happen. And it conveniently started right after he lifted his gaze.” He turned on the next recording.

  This one had the hooded man walking out, with Leon on his shoulder appearing unconscious. The sound of a car starting was soon heard, and at the very edge of the screen, they saw a black SUV drive by.

  “Gotcha!” Ian said and slowed the recording, showing the last fifteen seconds frame-by-frame.

  At first, they didn’t see anything of the license plate, but the second to last frame showed them a somewhat clear image of it. The plate number was unfamiliar, but the special plate was not. It was a hospital plate.

  Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door, “Leon, open up, it’s Jack. Hey, don’t make me use the badge. Come on, Leon, open up!”

  A look passed between Hannah and Ian. They had to get out of here before they were caught. If not, there would be questions their client would prefer them not to answer.

  Walking quietly, they opened the back door and jogged down a narrow paved road that continued down to a wooded area with thick trees.

  They could hear, even from the distance, the front door being kicked in. “Faster,” Hannah said and sprinted away.

  Chapter Eight

  Back at the apartment, Ian headed toward his computers and retrieved the image of the license plate from his head. Inserting the details into the formal fields of the database only took a few moments. He leaned back in his chair as the database churned through his request.

  Looking up, he saw Hannah sitting on the couch, writing away on her e-ink pad, trying to work out the clues they had so far.

  “Finding anything?” she asked and lifted her gaze.

  “Nothing yet. It sometimes takes a while for their database to go over the queries. Meanwhile, we should make sure the other bodies have substances similar to what we found earlier. I just want to verify it.” He turned his gaze to the screen.

  Having the hospital personnel records available made it easy to find, compile, and send a detailed question to Reeves. Might as well get the ball rolling.

  Hannah kissed him on the cheek. “You know. It’s been a while since we’ve had the place to ourselves. What would you like to do while we’re waiting on the computer, anyway?”

  “We could relax, watch something on the TV, or even make anything we want to have for lunch,” Ian said jokingly. He moved his hands across Hannah’s backside toward the edge of the shirt.

  “Hey, I wasn’t quite thinking of that,” she said with a smirk playing on her lips. Leaning closer, she gave him a kiss while straddling him in the chair. “I wouldn’t mind, though. However, we really need to get this solved,” she said with a sigh. “You’re just awesome. Thank you, for everything.”

  It left him unable to say anything other than a quiet thank you. The computer’s beep thankfully saved him from the situation.

  Reeves had replied that the other victims did indeed show similar nanite masses inside their skulls. However, all the data inside them had been erased, and they were already beginning to decompose, along with the rest of the body. In his email, he also apologized that no one had bothered to check for any such anomaly.

  “Well, at least the killer is consistent. Now we know that one of his methods is to use that stuff in one or another phase to control, or at least limit, the actions of the victims. Sadly, we don’t have a decent sample to find out more details and track the guy that way,” Ian said and closed the email. Glancing at her, he smiled and stood, hefting her into his arms.

  Her eyes lit up, and she locked her legs around his waist.

  He carried her into the bedroom and laid her down. “We probably don’t have much time.”

  She pressed her lips against his and ran her hands down to his belt. Her fingers nimbly worked away the fastenings, stirring up desire within him quicker than he’d expected. He didn’t want to hurry with her, but in between the case and her determination, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to go slow.

  “Besides, you told me you’d show me how great you could be,” she whispered against his lips.

  “I hadn’t planned on the next time being quite like this.” He tugged down her jeans and panties, tossing them to the floor before crawling onto the bed to be with her. He lifted her blouse and kissed her breasts, licking circles around her nipples a moment before switching sides. Her skin was silky and smelled like sweet honey.

  “Come on, Ian. Take me.” She rubbed her smooth, soft leg up his and circled it around his waist. His body hardened instantly in response to her request. She didn’t have to ask him twice.

  He fumbled for a condom and put it on before nestling between her legs and staring down at her lying beneath him. Her golden-blonde hair lay spread across the pillow like a halo, and her blue eyes were like looking into a clear, clean ocean. He pushed his cock inside her and rocked his hips in a quick, steady rhythm.

  She closed her eyes and tilted her head back. A moan leapt from her lips, and he groaned at the way she reacted to him. He loved seeing her like this, so vibrant and turned on. He loved her.

  She grabbed him by the back of the neck and tugged him to her. Her lips covered his, and he tasted her mouth, like strawberries and sugar. She trailed her hands down his back to cup his ass. He sped up the pace, feeling her body clench and tense up.

  He dipped his head and sucked on the firm nipples taunting him. His hand tweaked the other perky bud calling out for attention.

  She opened her eyes and looked up at him, a smile spreading across her lips before pleasure took them over. She cried out and dug her nails into his butt, jerking him further into action, pounding his hips against hers.

  He stilled as the climax ebbed away and rolled to his side. He could lay like this forever with her. He trailed his hand down her torso, over her ribcage and down to her stomach, swirling it around her belly button.

  “Thank you, Ian,” Hannah said, her voice coming out huskily.

  He glanced up at her and raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have to thank me for that.” He grinned. “I’m happy to pleasure you whenever possible.”

  “No, I just want to thank you for taking time for us in the midst of all of this.” She cradled her palm to his cheek, and he pressed against it.

  “That’s what I should be doing. It’s important for our relationship.”

  The computer beeped. He breathed a sigh of relief that it hadn’t happened sooner. He didn’t want things to prevent their moments of peace and quiet.

  “You should check that out. It might be someone getting back to us,” Hannah said and climbed out of bed.

  Ian looked up at her, and slowly got up from the bed. “Yeah, I know. I just hate to break this moment together.” He smiled and headed to the bathroom first to clean up, before dressing and then heading to the computer.

  She had pulled her jeans back on and stood behind him, her hands kneading at the muscles in his shoulders.

  “It’s the searches. Someone at the hospital did a background check on us, and it’s from quite high up. Who knows why they did that? But regardless, the other search came back as a hospital car. Get this. It was set to be used by Mrs. Hendrickson that day. I think that woman set us up,” he said with a hint of agitation in his voice. He glanced up at Hannah and sighed.

  “Well, do you have her address? If so, let’s go ahead and pay her a visit,” Hannah said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

  He glanced back
at the screen and let his chip memorize the data before him. Once it completed, he swiveled the chair and nodded. “Yeah. I have it. Let’s go see what she has to say.”

  * * *

  The afternoon started to turn to the evening as Ian and Hannah reached Hendrickson’s home. The outside was brown sandstone, blown to shiny organic shapes by a sand blower in hopes of improving the value of the area. While not rundown, the area had a definite feel of a middle to lower class neighborhood. The cars and the driveways were well maintained, although slightly worn.

  The wooden roof of the building had lasted so far against the strong winds and acid rain. The few trees in the yard seemed to be in full bloom, spreading light yellow dust everywhere.

  Reaching the second floor entrance, they paid little attention to the neighbors’ fighting, and Ian knocked on the door.

  A few moments passed, until a tired voice answered from the other side. “Who are you? No, I don’t want any. Go away!”

  “Mrs. Hendrickson, I believe we talked over the phone a few hours ago. My name is Ian. May we come in?” Ian asked gently and showed his ID in front of the peephole.

  “Oh, it’s you, Ian. Just a moment,” the woman said and opened the door slowly. “My apologies. There’s a lot going on around here, and I just wanted to be sure. Come in, come in. Please tell me you’ve found Leon. He is a nice boy. Doesn’t mind talking with and hiring someone like me.” The woman walked farther down a small hallway. “I clean houses on the side.” She winked. “I could give you my rates.”

  Following her in, they entered the hallway, which ended up as an open mix of living room and bedroom. It seemed there was only so much room inside. The feeling was claustrophobic. The kitchen, visible over a small, raised bar, seemed clean, but too small for comfortable living.

  Sitting down on an old, iron welder’s chair overlaid with various patches of fabric, Ian looked at Mrs. Hendrickson. “We have someone who cleans for us already. Thanks.” He couldn’t imagine having anyone in his apartment. Not with Bernard roaming around. “What do you mean someone like you?”

  “Well, if you don’t know by now, Ian, you must be blind. Both of my legs are worth more than the roof over my head. Mind you, they are just so easy to maintain, sexy and most importantly permanent. Now, I don’t really like talking about this, but I lost my own in a traffic accident, caused by an ambulance at St. Gregory’s hospital. As such, they promised to replace the legs if I remained quiet. I could have sued, but I think I prefer walking upright to anything else.” She whacked the side of her leg with a force that created a hollow, metallic sound. “They were also kind enough to fix my failing kidneys with those new, high-end toys of theirs.” She rose from the chair.

  “Wait, you have one of the new bio-organs?” Hannah glanced at Ian.

  “Yep, they patched me up nicely. Why do you ask?” Mrs. Hendrickson cocked her head to the side.

  “Where were you two days ago, around eight o’clock in the evening?” Ian asked and crossed his arms over his chest.

  “I’m not telling you squat. What is this? I let you in because I want to know if Leon is okay, and you start bugging me? Get out.” She walked toward the kitchen, shaking her head slightly. Anger came through in her voice.

  Ian saw her reach for something and yelled a quick warning to Hannah. Mrs. Hendrickson held up a frying pan with both hands and shook it at him. Hannah had drawn her gun and pointed it at the woman. Hendrickson went pale but didn’t put down the pan.

  “You listen to me, Hendrickson. There have been multiple killings as of late, and every one of the victims has a bio-organ such as yours. Now, tell me, where were you that evening?” Hannah said, annoyance radiating in her tone.

  “I was at my poor Jimmy’s funeral, okay? He was my hero. In the military for over thirty-five years, and we were married for just as long.” She paused and stared at them. “Wait. What do you mean? Someone out there going around and killing us off? There were twelve of us to begin with on that experiment. Screw this. I need to leave this crazy city. Enough is enough,” she said, finally lowering the pan.

  “Twelve of you? Could you tell us what you know? It could help us bring this guy down. Did Leon mention we’re working on this case?” Ian said and signaled Hannah to put away her gun.

  “Poor Leon. I hope he’s okay.” Her lips curved in a frown. “Let’s see. If memory serves correctly, there were twelve of us. Two lawyers, one janitor, three suits from downtown, me, and I don’t know much about the rest. We didn’t really have time to talk.” She sighed and shook her head. “I’m sorry I’m not more help. It was a traumatic time. How could someone go around and kill those of us who had such a wonderful opportunity given to us?”

  “You’re sure you can’t remember anything else?” Ian grimaced, but he figured from the look on her face that they’d gotten all that they would out of her. At least they knew a little more. His next move would be to figure out who’d had the surgery done. If someone was picking these people off, they needed to have inside information on them.

  She shook her head and smiled sadly. “I’m sorry, but no, I don’t. If I think of anything, I’ll call. Oh, wait just a moment.” She went to a chest beside her couch and dug through a few things. “Here are Leon’s things. Make sure they make it back to him safely, okay? He’s a good boy.” Her face scrunched up a little, as if she were thinking about that, but she quickly shook her head. “If you don’t mind, my shift starts again in a few hours, and I need some rest. These old bones, regardless of the fancy gadgets, need some beauty sleep.”

  “Certainly. You take care of yourself.” Ian nodded his head and then walked to the door with Hannah. He glanced back once more time, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time he saw the pleasant older woman alive.

  * * *

  Hannah gripped Ian’s arm as they stood on the street in front of Mrs. Hendrickson’s building. How in the world was that woman one of the people granted a bio-organ when the others had been rich and influential, so far at least? Something just didn’t sit right with her. Yes, the hospital had caused the accident with her legs, but what did that have to do with her getting kidneys? And if so, why not give her a normal one? Why the bio-organ?

  If her husband was in the military, Hannah could possibly understand why they’d chosen Mrs. Hendrickson, especially on top of the accident with her legs. She would’ve been able to take the hospital to the bank.

  She grimaced and looked back at the building to see Mrs. Hendrickson peek out the window at them. Hannah tugged Ian toward the sidewalk. She wanted to get away from there. They needed to figure out who was behind all of this.

  “So what’s the plan?” she asked, glancing around at their surroundings and feeling on edge. Something she’d felt ever since being mugged a couple days ago. Yet another piece of the puzzle that didn’t make sense.

  “We need to figure out who all was given a bio-organ,” Ian said, his voice low. He obviously wasn’t a fan of discussing their business while whoever was behind this could be lurking, waiting to attack.

  A loud bang sounded across the street, and she jerked her head to see a man slam the lid on his trashcan before walking up a few stairs to his door. He narrowed his eyes at her before heading inside and shutting his front door with equal force.

  Geez. She wasn’t the one with the problem. He was. Why narrow his eyes at her as if she was some creep out to get him?

  Ian tugged on her arm and leaned close, his breath a caress against her neck. “Stop freaking out the locals. We need to get back to the apartment.”

  She glared at him. “Me? I didn’t do anything to him.” Catching the look in Ian’s eye, she gave in and continued walking. She wished they’d get a damn car once and for all. Maybe that’s something she could talk Ian into after this case. After all, she wouldn’t have been mugged if they’d had a car, right?

  The trek home was long, but thankfully uneventful. By the time they reached Ian’s apartment, she wanted nothing more than to kick off her s
hoes and lounge around on the couch for a while. Instead, she saw the silly little gnome sitting on it, looking fat and content.

  He grinned at her licentiously. She groaned and shook her head, not wanting to deal with him, and yet a small part of her was relieved that he wasn’t off in a Dumpster, dead.

  “Where the hell have you been?” Ian nearly yelled. “What the fuck happened?” He stomped over to the gnome but didn’t touch him. The gnome fed off emotion, so they tried not to display strong feelings near him. That was something they’d both learned the hard way.

  Bernard could toy with emotions of other people, driving them to do things uncharacteristic to their personality, which could drastically reduce someone’s lifespan, or in a certain locksmith’s case, meant being in a mental ward.

  The gnome snickered and stretched. “Well, that is a good question. I was minding my own business here when a man tried to BREAK IN. He got so frustrated.” He sighed and stared up at the ceiling, as if remembering the moment with sheer fondness. “I got so bloody drunk off that idiot.”

  Hannah froze. That confirmed what they’d discovered yesterday with the wards being corrupted and someone trying to break in. “What happened? Did the guy make it in? Did you see what he looked like?”

  Bernard shot her a look. “Did he make it in? What kind of question is THAT? Of course not. The punk was strong, but I’m STRONGER. I’ve lived ages just by pissing people OFF and sometimes ON them.”

  Ian glared down at the gnome. “Did you catch what he looks like?”

  “Eh, just the basics. Average height, average build. Brown hair. Held himself all haughty. Like he thought he was someone damn important.” Bernard hopped off the couch and scampered off toward the kitchen. “Mmmm… Chow time!”

  “Great. Now we have a stoned gnome roaming around getting the munchies.” Hannah cautiously sat on the couch. “At least he didn’t kill anyone.”