by M. D. Cooper
The water reclamation tanks were on the top floor, as was Sage’s office, requiring Reece to only traverse three halls to reach her target.
She pushed through a pair of double doors that served as the demarcation between the utility area in the rear and the executive spaces at the front of the building.
As Reece crept down the hall, a young man came running around a corner, then skidded to a stop as he saw her, almost falling over in the process. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. He pulled himself together, then ran the other way.
That works for me.
There were two junctions between her current location and Sage’s office. She didn’t have far to go, but she doubted she’d get there without a fight—in fact she was all but hoping for it.
Just as she’d expected, a man and a woman came bolting toward her from around the second-to-last corner as she approached it.
Reece hadn’t brought weapons with her, partially because it would have taken extra time to get submersible ones, and partially because she’d wanted a challenge. Regardless, she’d have to take the pair out old-school.
She liked old-school. It wasn’t as effective as shooting someone, but it came with a greater sense of accomplishment. Plus, it would make Sage far more amicable.
“Hold it right there!” the woman yelled.
Reece didn’t reply, instead lifted her hands as the guards approached. At least they were well trained. They came at her together and without hesitation, hands up and ready to fight.
Reece backed up against a wall, using the narrow confines of the hallway to her advantage. When the first guard reached her, she sidestepped his attacking fist, grabbed him by the forearm and yanked him toward her with all her might, spinning aside as she pulled.
The man stumbled forward, hitting his head hard on the wall. Reece immediately refocused her attention on the woman, who attacked, swinging a fist at Reece’s face, then directed a jab at Reece’s chest.
Reece ducked away from the first and twisted so the second grazed her upper arm, the attacker’s forearm getting caught between Reece’s arm and torso. Reece grabbed the guard’s bicep and wrenched it, freeing the woman’s shoulder from its socket.
The male guard game back around, eyes wide and shaking his head as though to clear his vision, but still ready to fight.
Through the scuffle, Reece had gotten past them, and now stood with her back to her destination. She slowly edged backward, away from the junction, just in case more guards arrived.
The man came at Reece again, but more warily this time. His balance seemed a little off. She let him throw a couple punches, and when his weight was on his forward leg, she swept it out from under him with her foot while giving him a shove to the chest.
As he went down, she danced backward a few more steps. The female guard was advancing once more, but now held a pulse pistol. It was a non-lethal model, one that would knock a person down, but wouldn’t do any internal damage.
Well, that made things more exciting.
“I’ll shoot,” she said. “Get down on the ground, now!”
Reece tucked herself close to the wall, keeping the male guard—who was struggling back to his feet—between Reece and the weapon-wielding woman.
Should have brought a baton. Those handle getting wet just fine.
A good hard blow to the woman’s elbow would force her to drop the gun. Reece looked around, but the hallway had no suitable substitute.
Reece would just have to stay out of the way of that weapon. She kept backing away down the hall, making the guards follow her. The woman issued a few more orders for Reece to stop, but for whatever reason she didn’t shoot—likely because the male guard kept stumbling forward and getting in her way. Either he’d been concussed, or he’d been hurt from his fall. Or both.
As she backed up, Reece slid her hand along the wall. Her fingers came in contact with a door handle. She twisted it, and it turned. She paused and leant against the wall, letting the female guard get closer while raising her other hand in surrender.
When the woman was within a meter, Reece yanked the door open—noting that it led to a supply closet— and slammed it into the woman, hitting first her hands and causing the pulse pistol to fall, then bashing her hard in the forehead.
Down went the woman, probably seeing stars. Or possibly losing consciousness. Either way, Reece scrambled for the pulse pistol and fired a shot at the woman’s torso for good measure.
The male guard, who had stepped back to let his partner move in, stopped in his tracks, raising his hands defensively. Apparently, he didn’t want a shot to the head.
Reece kept the weapon trained on him as she sidestepped her way down the hallway. The guard followed after, but kept his distance.
There it was. Sage’s office door.
Locked.
Of course.
The male guard moved in cautiously, the gap between them closing.
She glanced past him. “Look out,” she warned.
“How stupid do I look?” he retorted.
“I only spoke up because I’m nice, but since you don’t want to listen…”
She let her words trail off as Trey gave the guard a knock on the head that caused the man to crumple. Nice guy that he was, Trey grabbed him under the armpits and lowered him to the ground.
“Downstairs secure?” Reece asked.
“Nizhoni’s got it under control. Actually, I think she’s enjoying this a little too much. She missed her calling as a commando. What’s the situation here?”
She pointed at the office door. “Locked.”
He nodded and moved closer to it. From his belt, he extracted a metal strip, then jammed it into the external port. “Hand me that pulse pistol.”
Reece turned it over to her partner, and he pulled out the pistol’s charge cylinder, bending the leads before touching it to the strip he’d inserted into the door’s port.
The mechanism made a soft grinding sound as it rebooted its internal systems. Before it could reinitialize, he shocked it again with the charge cylinder.
The grinding sound got louder.
“We’ve got ten seconds,” Trey said.
Reece watched behind them, making sure no one took them by surprise.
Suddenly, the alarms stopped. It was an immediate relief, but the resulting silence felt odd.
She counted down the ten seconds in her head. When the mechanism completed the hard reboot, the door’s magnetic locks would release, then re-engage. For three and a half seconds, the only thing between them and Sage would be the physical lock.
The magnets disengaged with a loud click. Reece stood back.
Trey, who had been standing ready, slid a plasma cutter along the door’s seam, then stabbed a paper-thin carbon-fiber pry-bar into the crack.
A loud snapping sound signaled Trey’s success, and he yanked the door open.
Triumphant, they burst through.
Sage sat at his desk, looking disappointingly calm. “Nicely done.”
Reece frowned at him. “You could at least pretend to be concerned for your life.”
“Sorry,” he said. He didn’t sound at all sorry, though. “Mind if I tell everyone that it was just a drill now?”
Trey made a “go ahead” gesture.
Sage cleared his throat, then spoke toward the voice receiver on his desk. “Attention all personnel, this is Sage. This drill is now complete. Thank you for your participation, and apologies for any discomfort it may have caused. Anyone requiring medical attention may leave immediately. After all video has been reviewed, employees who performed according to protocol will receive a bonus. Apologies for any inconvenience, and we look forward to implementing new strategies for our collective safety.”
He closed the channel and sat looking appraisingly at Trey and Reece.
“That’s sporting of you,” Reece said. “Giving bonuses.”
“Seems like the thing to do,” Sage said. “Especially since whoever didn’t do as they�
��d been instructed will be fired. I hope there aren’t many of those. Mass firings are bad for morale.”
He focused his attention on Reece. “Nice outfit, by the way.”
Reece smirked and ran her fingers across her ribcage. The fabric was entirely dry, though her hair still hung wet and stringy around her shoulders. “Surprisingly comfortable, especially for being so damn tight. Took two of us to get me into it, though, and I’m really hoping I don’t have to pee before I have clothes to change into.”
Briefly, Sage looked taken aback, then he laughed. “I like how you speak your mind. It’s refreshing.”
“Refreshing, huh?” Trey walked to a window and looked out. “Well, be prepared to feel very refreshed.”
“Your security isn’t terrible,” Reece said. “But you can see that any determined person could get in here. We didn’t even bring any weapons in with us. Just a few commonly available tools, and Trey’s force-reboot device.”
“I wouldn’t say anyone could do what you did,” Sage argued. “You’re not giving yourself enough credit. But I agree that upgrades are necessary. What do you recommend?”
“Some physical and procedural changes. The physical would take about a week to put in, and the procedural another week after. No big hardship.”
“And your price for designing all this?” he asked.
She hadn’t really thought about the money part of it. He was rich, though, so she might as well take advantage of that. “One hundred thousand credits, and your team handles the implementation. I provide only the plan and review.”
Sage grimaced, then nodded. “All right. Agreed.”
She’d expected him to counteroffer. Instead, he’d simply agreed with her first price.
“You’re surprised,” Sage observed. “You shouldn’t be. I have a rare opportunity to get the expertise of the best there is. I’d be a fool not to take it.”
“Fair enough.” She paused. If he wasn’t going to make a counteroffer, then she’d do it for him. “As it happens, I could use some consulting in your own area of expertise. Specifically, information about the industry and your competitors. If you’re willing to part with a few hours, I’ll cut my fee down to ninety.”
He leaned forward, resting his chin in his hand. “Now that is a very interesting idea. Why do you need this information? Are you thinking about investing, or is this part of your work for Rexcare?”
She smiled. He’d checked up on her, and he wanted her to know it. “It doesn’t matter. Are you in?”
“Get ten thousand dollars off for the pleasure of your company? Easiest decision I ever made.”
Trey wrinkled his nose, but wisely didn’t voice his ideas of how pleasurable her company was.
“Good. I’ll give you the day to clean up the mess here and see to your employees. I’ll work on a more detailed estimate. Will you have time to do your side of the consulting?”
“I’ll clear my afternoon. I’ll order lunch in and we can talk while we eat.”
That sounded a little too much like a date or a social occasion. “Trey will be here, too,” she noted.
“Lunch for three, then.” Sage smiled.
He said it so easily she decided she’d been wrong about the date thing. “Good. Order plenty. We’re big eaters. I don’t care much for sweets, though, outside of container-ice.”
“Noted.” She waited, but he said nothing more. “We’ll leave you to it, then.” She paused. “Actually, would you mind walking us out? Just in case everyone isn’t completely clear that we are not, in fact, kidnappers or terrorists or whatever.”
“Seems reasonable.” Sage stood, smoothed his suit jacket. “Shall we?”
* * * * *
On the way back to H&P, Reece sat in the back of the autotaxi while Nizhoni and Trey rode in the front. For once, Nizhoni showed some enthusiasm and refrained from insulting Reece. The woman appeared to be in high spirits thanks to their adventure, and Reece hoped that would translate to Nizhoni being a little more pleasant toward her.
Maybe in the short term, anyway.
Ten minutes into their journey, Reece’s Link activated, showing a call from Schramm. Fighting the urge to answer it immediately, she let out a slow breath and waited. She wanted to hear what he had to say and have some time to process it before she had to respond.
Looking out the autotaxi window, she watched the urban landscape pass by. The buildings got shorter as they moved further from the commercial center of the district.
The scenery wasn’t distracting her. She felt each second ticking by as she waited for a message alert.
Was Schramm talking a long time, or was the Link lagging? It happened sometimes, when one of the Big Four corporations was pulling an unusual amount of bandwidth. Corporations always got priority, and everyone else just had to wait their turn.
Finally, a light to the left of her vision alerted her to a voice message. She immediately accessed it.
“Reece. At first, when I didn’t hear from you, I thought you might have been injured by the pulse bomb at Trey’s. If you were dead, though, I imagine I’d have heard about that by now. That leads me to believe that you’ve gone underground because you’re in grave danger. The question is, what is that danger? I have some suspicions but want to talk to you about them in person. I’ve been trying to figure out what’s going on and have information that might be helpful to you. However, I recognize that trusting me right now may be difficult for you. Name a place and a time, and I’ll meet you there. Alone, and under whatever conditions you require.”
The message ended, and Reece tried to figure out what it meant. He seemed aware that she suspected Rexcare. Or maybe that she suspected everyone. She pretty much did, with only a handful of exceptions.
Why hadn’t he tried to call sooner? If someone she worked closely with disappeared under mysterious circumstances, she’d have been a lot more proactive. Unless, of course, she’d been the one to cause them to disappear, because she’d already know what had happened.
Hmmm.
She looked to Trey, who was listening to Nizhoni explain the growing stages of barley. It sounded dreadfully dull to Reece, but she’d never seen Nizhoni so animated and cheerful.
She’d wait to tell Trey about the message. Even though Nizhoni had accompanied them on this gig, Reece wanted to speak to Trey privately. They could hash it out between them, then talk to Nizhoni about it afterward.
Decision made, she closed her eyes and rested her head against the back of the seat. The comforting motion of the car made her sleepy. Might as well take a nap. The cold, damp press of her hair against her back reminded her to flip it over the seat.
She’d talk to Sage the next day and see if he knew anything about why Nizhoni would be targeted, or why Trey, and presumably Reece, had been. He probably didn’t, but at least he could give her some personal insights into the people in question.
Most likely, she’d talk to Schramm, too. She’d have to put some thought into what to say, and how to arrange a meeting that wouldn’t be painting herself with a big blinking sign that said, “Go here to destroy.”
Outside of Trey, Marky, Aunt Ruth, Kippy, and maybe Nizhoni, she still didn’t know who she could trust.
With any luck, the next day would bring some answers.
BOSS
DATE: 05.07.8948 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Agriculture Sector Six, Akonwara
REGION: Machete System, PED 4B, Orion Freedom Alliance
“Move to a new system, I thought. A fresh start on a planet where I could prove my value would be perfect, I thought,” Trey muttered to himself loudly enough for Reece to overhear. “And here I am, hiding from unknown enemies, and meeting with people who might or might not want me dead. This really isn’t what I signed up for.”
Reece eyed him across the front seat of the autotaxi. Though they had arrived at Nizhoni’s, the two of them had remained inside the cab for privacy. Even though Nizhoni had allowed them use of a guest room and her li
ving room, the place was crawling with three security guards, Nizhoni, and her employees that came and went around the clock at odd intervals. Quiet time inside was hard to come by.
“Well, we don’t really sign up for it, but it is a part of the job,” she reminded him. “But who really ever ‘signs up’ for the life they have? Only the people who are rich and privileged and already had access to everything they wanted. The rest of us get what we get and fight to make the best of it.”
Trey groaned. “Please stop with the philosophy. Can we take a more practical approach?”
“We already have. All we have to do is decide how we’re going to go about meeting with Schramm.”
“Are you sure we should?” he asked.
“My gut says we should. He’s putting himself at our mercy. We’ll control the situation. I think he has something to tell us.”
Trey sighed. “I just hope it isn’t, ‘You meddled in our servers, prepare to die’.”
“Wow, you’re really being dramatic here.”
“I think you’re being underdramatic,” he argued.
“That’s not a word.”
“It should be.”
She went silent. Either he was arguing to let off some steam, or he had deep reservations about meeting with Schramm. Whichever it was, it was getting them nowhere.
“Fine,” he groused. “How are we going to do this thing?”
“I had an idea or two.”
“I’ve had a couple of them myself,” he admitted.
“Glad to hear it. It’s about time you started pulling your weight.”
He smiled, and she was surprised by how much of a relief it was. She didn’t like the doubtful, worried version of Trey. She preferred the wisecracking smartass who liked to make fun of her.
Funny how that had worked out.
* * * * *
The way Reece figured it, if she was going to meet with her boss, who might or might not want to destroy her for stealing Rexcare files, she might as well make it fun.
She waited at Hatchet and Pipe, sipping a whiskey that Nizhoni had provided with minimal protest.
