“Yeah, Gabe, really. If I don’t go now, I’ll never go, you know?”
“I understand ya thinking, girl.” He could relate, but he was too scared to go back home just yet. Too many memories, enemies...
Gabe turned to Petal, watched her fall asleep. He hoped their next job would be more straightforward—assuming it was still available. He was getting tired of fighting for his life every time. For once he just wanted to do a simple job in return for food and shelter. No violence, death, or psychopaths. That Shelley kept in touch with the people at the settlement, however, told him they were unlikely to be normal. Crazy was behind every turn in this world; he’d just have to keep fighting, surviving.
“Okay, big guy, you look after her. It’s time for me to leave.” Holly gave him a big grin.
“You take care, girl,” Gabe said, wishing she would go with him and Petal. She’d make a fine companion and maybe he could help keep her safe for a while.
Holly just waved, pressed the accelerator, and rode off, the tires kicking up a cloud of dust.
Gabe throttled the Ranger and drove off in the opposite direction, wishing Holly all the luck in the world.
As he drove away, he watched the scrapyard disappear behind him in the mirror and watched in horror as Shelley’s body moved and stood up. Crap, should he go back? He looked at Petal in the seat next to him. He couldn’t risk it. The hell with it, he thought. He didn’t want go back now; there was only forwards to the next job: some kind of AI that’s got out of control.
It might be routine this time.
Click here to read the next book in the series.
Other Titles by Colin F. Barnes
Novels
Code Breakers: Alpha
Code Breakers: Beta
Code Breakers: Gamma
Code Breakers: Delta
Salt: Book 1 of The Last Flotilla
Novellas
The Daedalus Code
Dead Five’s Pass
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About The Author
Colin F. Barnes is a full-time writer of science fiction and thrillers. He’s a member of both the British Fantasy Society and the British Science Fiction Association. He honed his craft with the London School of Journalism and the Open University (BA, English).
Colin has run a number of tech-based businesses, worked in rat-infested workshops, and scoured the back streets of London looking for characters and stories—which he found in abundance. He has a number of publishing credits with stories alongside authors such as: Brian Lumley, Ramsey Campbell, and Graham Masterton. He lives alone with a black cat in Essex in the UK. Rumours that the cat is the one with the talent is a malicious slur.
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All Rights Reserved
This edition published in 2014 by Anachron Press
This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this work are either fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity is purely coincidental.
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Table of Contents
Part 1 - The Journey
Part 2 - The Tinker
Part 3 - The Job
Part 4 - The Betrayer
Part 5 - The Wolves
Part 6 - The Deal
Part 7 - The Handover
Part 8 - The Node
Part 9 - The Handover II
Part 10 – The Skins
Part 11 - The Reunion
Other Titles by Colin F. Barnes
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Code Breakers: Prequel Page 8
