by Brian Parker
I tapped my retro-style ballpoint pen on the small tablet of paper I always kept on my desktop. Right now, lying to my right, the pages of the notebook were flipped open to my latest case—one that should set me up for a couple of months.
A woman had come into my office last Friday. Mrs. Soriano was agitated and disheveled, and it wasn’t just from the rain. Her teenage son was in a band, a really shitty one if the demo vid I’d seen was any indication about their entire set, and missing. He was also into VR drugs, a known duster. He’d disappeared four days before and the cops didn’t have time for runaways.
I typically tried to avoid dusters. They usually either washed up on the shores of the Mississippi after a few weeks or wandered in from wherever they’d been holed up when they immersed themselves in the Cybersphere. Very rarely was there anything anyone could do for them, the allure of being able to plug in and live virtually in the internet without the real world interfering was simply too great.
Apparently, the drugs that took them there were pretty good too.
Mrs. Soriano had given me tons of information about her kid’s friends, his usual hangouts, and even who his dealer was. She’d seen the dealer’s name on her credfile a few times when her kid had hacked her account for drug money. Dusters were the smartest stupid people I’d ever known.
I’d taken what she gave me, cross-referenced it with street camera feeds and known duster safe houses. I found a kid who looked like hers from behind, but never got a clear picture of his face. I was positive it was him, though. The kid’s stride in the street camera footage matched vidfeed footage of him that his mother had provided. All I needed now was the credit authorization to clear from Mrs. Soriano and I’d go get her boy.
A soft beep from the wall behind me indicated a new message had arrived. “Andi, play the latest received message.”
“It’s a text file, boss,” she replied. “The sum of seventy-five thousand dollars has just arrived in your account. You will not have to dip into your personal savings to cover any expenses for several months with this amount.”
“Good news,” I said, groaning slightly as I lifted my legs off the desk and set them on the floor.
I tapped a button on the window frame and the clear, unobstructed view of The Lane faded away as the visalum frosted over with horizontal white bars, reminiscent of the old Venetian blinds my parents’ house had before it was destroyed in a hurricane.
What can I say? I have a nostalgic streak.
I lifted my shoulder harness off the back of my chair and shrugged into it. I patted the NOPD Sig Sauer I’d purchased at auction and checked the opposite side to ensure I had extra magazines. The Aegis went into its paddle holster on my hip, and my dark gray duster concealed everything.
I walked to the front door and popped the fedora off of its hook. Settling it down on my head, I checked my reflection in the mirror. Handsome as ever.
“Don’t wait up, Andi,” I said as I locked the door to my office behind me.
Two short flights of stairs and a reinforced door, then I was standing on The Lane as people moved back and forth in front of me like seaweed swaying in the surf.
I smiled. I was in my element. I was home.
THE END OF BOOK 3
I hope you enjoyed this novel and leave a review on Amazon to help other readers discover it.
Want more from Brian Parker?
Find all of his books on Amazon.com:
www.amazon.com/Brian-Parker/e/B00DFD98YI
About the Author
A veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Brian Parker was born and raised as an Army brat. He's currently an Active Duty Army soldier who enjoys spending time with his family in Texas, hiking, obstacle course racing, writing and Texas Longhorns football. He's an unashamed Star Wars fan, but prefers to disregard the entire Episode I and II debacle.
Brian is both a traditionally- and self-published author with an ever-growing collection of works across multiple genres, including sci-fi, post-apocalyptic, horror, paranormal thriller, military fiction, self-publishing how-to and even a children's picture book—Zombie in the Basement, which he wrote to help children overcome the perceived stigma of being different from others.
He is also the founder of Muddy Boots Press, an independent publishing company that focuses on quality genre fiction over mass-produced books.
FOLLOW BRIAN ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BrianParkerAuthor
Instagram: @BrianParker_Author
Discover more works by Brian Parker!
Five Roads to Texas
Five Roads to Texas ~ www.amazon.com/dp/B07CV411SH
After the Roads ~ www.amazon.com/dp/B07FPWD1L7
The Road to Hell ~ www.amazon.com/dp/B07N9563CV
Easytown Novels
The Immorality Clause ~ www.amazon.com/dp/B01HWOH1VC
Tears of a Clone ~ www.amazon.com/dp/B01NBDUZSH
West End Droids & East End Dames ~ www.amazon.com/dp/B07436C21L
High Tech/Low Life: An Easytown Anthology ~ www.amazon.com/dp/B0787D6ZY6
The Path of Ashes
A Path of Ashes ~ www.amazon.com/dp/B00XATPU9E
Fireside ~ www.amazon.com/dp/B015ONZOU8
Dark Embers ~ www.amazon.com/dp/B01CPSAI1A
Washington, Dead City
GNASH ~ www.amazon.com/dp/B01ACTBBZQ
REND ~ www.amazon.com/dp/B01AYEQRUI
SEVER ~ www.amazon.com/dp/B01C7VEMG2
Stand Alone Works
Grudge ~ www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y5QS6J6
Enduring Armageddon ~ www.amazon.com/dp/B00XZA2UQY
Origins of the Outbreak ~ www.amazon.com/dp/B00MN7UFBW
The Collective Protocol ~ www.amazon.com/dp/B00KUZDY4O
Battle Damage Assessment ~ www.amazon.com/dp/B00PCND2RI
Zombie in the Basement ~ www.amazon.com/dp/B00H6DUXY2
Self-Publishing the Hard Way ~ www.amazon.com/dp/B00HNQCZ9I
Plus, many more anthology contributions and short stories.
All of the novels above are available in audiobook format on Audible.com as well.
