by M. D. Cooper
“Are we done here?” she demanded, peeved.
“I think so.” Schramm pushed back from the table and stood. “I’ll go straight back to headquarters and see what I can find about Dr. Miral. Give me a day or two.”
Reece crossed her arms, affecting a lackadaisical posture, as if she cared nothing at all about anything. “Sure. But since Rexcare hasn’t decided to delete me, and I’m engaging in activity outside the norm expected for planetside activities, I want the special circumstances hazard pay enacted, retroactive to the date stamp of the pulse bomb.”
Schramm looked at her, and a slow smile spread over his face. “You’ve read your employee handbook, and even memorized the special circumstances clause. Well done.”
She grinned back. “I never miss an opportunity to make more money.”
Trey spoke up. “Uh, does that apply to me, too?”
Reece threw him a look of disdain. “Weren’t you just casting aspersions of my character?”
“No,” Trey said emphatically. Too emphatically. “I was just agreeing with my boss. You know. As one does.”
His innocent expression and Schramm’s amusement were too much. She laughed. “Fine. If Schramm approves it.”
Schramm gave them his best corporate shill smile. “We’ll see. Goodnight.” He rose and left without looking back.
“That was a pretty good exit,” Trey observed. When Reece didn’t respond, he asked, defensively, “What?”
She squinted at him. “You sided with my boss against me. I’m just trying to decide what kind of payback that requires.”
“We were joking,” Trey pointed out.
“Yep. Ha ha. We’ll see who laughs last.”
“You’re more spiteful than I thought,” he said.
Reece laughed. “It’s like you only just met me. You wait. You’ll learn a new meaning for the word ‘spite’.”
He started to say something but closed his mouth before he did. Then he started to point at her and say something else, but thought better of that as well.
With a furtive glance at her, Trey got up and left the room.
She had to give him credit. It was the best move he could have made, really.
INTEL
DATE: 05.07.8948 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Agriculture Sector Six, Akonwara
REGION: Machete System, PED 4B, Orion Freedom Alliance
When Sage finally called, he made good on his promise to contact her that day, but only technically. Reece’s chronometer indicated that a mere five minutes remained of the day. She’d already gotten ready for bed, but instead of lying down, she sat puzzling over the events of the last few days.
She activated the voice circuit in her Link to make sure he heard her tone. Only then could she be sure he received just the right amount of sarcasm.
“Cutting it close, aren’t you?” she drawled.
“I like to think of it as a dramatic twist.” Sage’s voice was as smooth as his personality.
“I’m not really into drama,” she answered coolly.
“Really? You can say that after swimming through my water system, taking my building hostage, and breaking into my office while dripping wet and wearing a skinsuit?”
“That’s not drama,” she argued. “It’s work.”
“So you don’t enjoy it at all, then.”
“I didn’t say that. I’m in this profession because I like it, and I’m good at it.”
He conveyed his smile in his tone. “So you like drama, then. You just like to be able to classify it as something legitimate and serious.”
“Do you have a point?” she demanded. “Because it’s late and I should be sleeping.”
“But you weren’t. And yes. I do have a point.”
“I recommend getting to it immediately.”
“All right, then.” His tone sharpened slightly, becoming more professional. “I’ve found something I think you’ll want to know.”
“What?”
“You expect me to give it away for free? What kind of CEO would do that when there’s something his company needs?”
She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. She wished Rio were there, so she could give him an ear rub and stroke his long, soft fur. “I’m not designing your security system for the mere promise of some tidbit of information.”
“What if that tidbit involved a pulse bomb, and the people who were responsible for it?”
She jerked herself upright. “What did you say?”
“You heard me. I know what happened at Trey’s. And I know who did it.”
“How?” she snapped.
“I’ll admit it was mostly luck, with a wee bit of clever observation on my part.”
“I’ll come see you tomorrow,” she decided. “You’ll tell me what you know. If I can verify it, I’ll drop my quote down to eighty-thousand. You implement the hardware and training drills on your own.”
Sage’s smile returned to his voice. “You expect me to give you this crucial information plus eighty? You’re dreaming.”
She smiled, too. They both knew they were going to make a deal. They just needed to carve out the details, which was always the fun part. “Seventy, then.”
“Look,” Sage said, “it’s almost midnight and I’ve had a long day. I’m going to cut to the end part for the sake of expediency. I’ll pay you fifty thousand, nothing more, and handle the hardware install. You’ll draw up the plans and schedule for the training drills and select a person to run them. I get my security and you’ll find out who tried to kill your partner.”
It was a fair deal. A little more fair than she’d have liked, but at least she wouldn’t lose out. She hesitated, though, just to make him sweat.
“You’re going to be surprised when you find out, I think,” he added teasingly.
She sighed. “Fine. I agree. What time does your building open?”
“Seven. But I won’t be there that early.”
“I’ll be there at seven,” she promised. “If you aren’t there, I’ll give your employees another stress test.”
“Let’s not do that,” he said quickly. “I had two employees quit already, and a couple more threaten to. No more stress tests.”
“I’ll see you at seven, then.” Before he could respond, she dropped the connection.
With a satisfied sigh, she lay down and put her head on the pillow. Tomorrow, she’d find out who had set that pulse bomb.
Then she’d have her next target.
* * * * *
“Name first.” Reece stood in Sage’s office, arms crossed, refusing to sit. “If you say anything but the name of whoever planted that pulse bomb, we’re out of here.”
Sage pursed his lips, nonplussed. “I’d kind of hoped for a chance to do a dramatic buildup. You know, to point out how I got from point A to point B, then made my brilliant leap of deductive reasoning.”
Reece turned and stepped toward the door.
Sage held up a hand. “Allied Solutions.”
Reece looked at Trey, but he showed no more understanding than she felt. “Why would they bother? Trey has nothing to do with them. Neither have I—in quite a while. They don’t directly compete with Rexcare in much, and don’t do enough volume to get in Rexcare’s way.”
Sage nodded. “This is why I’d hoped to lead up to the big reveal. Now I have to work backwards. You should have been more patient.”
She fixed him with a look that said she was a woman capable of great violence.
Sage sighed. “Fine. Will you let me just talk, though? I’d like the chance to explain this in my own way.”
She nodded and sat in a chair next to Trey to prove how flexible and reasonable she was being.
Sage didn’t look entirely convinced, but he started talking anyway. “My assistant lives in Trey’s building. Top floor, so he wasn’t affected by the pulse bomb, but he was home at the time and felt the vibrations. Having experienced one before, he knew exactly what it was, and immediate
ly tuned into the news streams.”
Trey and Reece nodded to show they were listening, and to encourage Sage to continue.
“Except nothing showed up on the news steams,” Sage said. “Which is awfully strange when you’re talking about a pulse bomb in an apartment complex just outside of downtown in the capital district. That kind of coverup means big money. Which means a corporation. Only one of the big four would have the connections and money to make that happen.”
Sage paused and considered his next words. “I know someone in the broadcast industry. A close friend who’s risen pretty high. When I asked her if she knew anything, she did. The ‘fee’ for buying the airtime that would have gone to the story about the pulse bomb came from an Allied Solutions slush account.”
He paused and raised his eyebrows at them, inviting comments.
Trey jumped in first. “That’s some pretty good investigative work for the CEO of a liquor company.”
Sage leaned back in his chair, making it recline slightly. “I feel like I should be insulted by that, at least a little, but I’m not. I happened to have friends in the right places to make the details line up. Sometimes life is like that. Good luck. Bad luck. Strange luck.”
“Did you tell anyone else?” Reece asked.
“No. And it’s not in my friend’s interest to tell anyone, either. She’d get blacklisted from broadcasting. So I won’t name her.”
Reece shrugged. “I can confirm via other methods. You might have some lucky acquaintances, but I have Rexcare’s resources at my disposal.”
“Right.” Sage nodded. “Well. When can I expect my upgraded security plan?”
Trey smirked. “You got right to that, didn’t you?”
“Why waste time?” Sage asked.
“Actually, I agree with that,” Reece said. “I have some things I want to deal with immediately, as well. I’ll start working on your plan in my downtime, but I have to warn you that it will take a back seat to more pressing matters.”
“If it were something else,” Sage said, “I might take issue with that. But since we’re talking about nearly getting blown up, I’ll give you some leeway.”
“Hah.” Reece didn’t smile. “How kind of you.”
“I mean,” Sage continued, “if a second attempt turned out to be successful, and my security guru got caught up in it, I wouldn’t get my new system, would I?”
Trey squinted at Sage. “Why are you so caught up on your own security? Is this a sudden thing? You’re starting to make me suspicious.”
Sage smoothed the lapel of his jacket. “It’s not at all sudden. You can find records of my frequent upgrades, and any of my staff can tell you that security is always a priority. It’s just that, suddenly, I have a very valuable resource I wouldn’t otherwise be able to get my hands on. Not to mention how someone attacked a competitor just a few days ago.”
He leveled a pointed smile at Reece.
“Believe it or not,” Reece said, “I appreciate the ability to take advantage of a situation. So we have that in common. Please send me all of the building’s full schematics and I’ll get to work on the security design.”
“I will,” Sage agreed. “But your tone suggests your departure is imminent. I guess I can’t convince you to stay for tea?”
“What would be the point?” Trey asked. “You got what you want. We got what we need. Now we need to get to work.”
“Plus, he’s not a big tea drinker.” Reece stood and brushed her hair back over her shoulders. “We’ll be in touch.”
“If you’re not, I will be.” Sage’s answer didn’t sound like a threat, but rather more of a promise.
Instead of answering, Reece gave him a vague wave as she walked out. Before she even made it to the elevator, she was already thinking about Allied Solutions, and why they would want Trey—and possibly Reece herself—dead.
* * * * *
In the autotaxi on their way back to Nizhoni’s, Trey voiced his concerns. “Please tell me we aren’t going to go all crazy commando and bust into Allied Solutions.”
“Of course not.” Reece shook her head emphatically.
“That’s a relief. I had concerns.”
“We’re going to sneak in.” Reece rubbed at a rough edge on her index finger. She needed to file that before it got hung up on something.
Trey sighed. “Why is it we’re always forcing our way into somewhere we don’t belong?”
“Because that’s where the answers are. But we don’t always do that. You’re exaggerating.”
“We’ve been doing kind of a lot lately,” he pointed out.
“Well…true. But only because the situation calls for it. It’s not part of the regular routine or anything.”
“Does this job ever call for lazy days at the beach, soaking up the sun and enjoying a cold beer?”
She turned to stare at him. “You’ve been outside on Akon, right? Perihelion conjunction year? A planet so close to the suns that your face feels like it’s melting when you go outside, and it never gets dark?”
He looked abashed. “Yeah, well…that passes, right? I mean, it’s not like this every year. I hear it’ll be much nicer in a year or two.”
“Sure. Maybe by then we can take that vacation to the beach.”
He gaped at her.
“What?” She blinked.
“You said we’d go on a vacation. We. Like, together.”
Oops. She had implied that. “I didn’t necessarily mean at the same time, in the same place. I meant theoretically.”
Trey was having none of it. “You love me. You not only don’t complain about working with me very much anymore, but you’re thinking about being with me in your off-time, too. Yep. It’s straight-up love.”
“I will kick you out of the car right now and leave you to desiccate in the sun.” She stared at him, unblinking and unsmiling. “Would I do that to someone I love?”
“Hm. Probably not.” He frowned thoughtfully. “You’re mean, though, so maybe.”
“I am not mean.”
“All jokes aside, you really are kind of a jerk sometimes, a bully, too.” He said it pleasantly and without any spite at all.
“When am I a jerk?” she demanded.
“Like when you called me an offensive name when we first met, and then ran off when I tried to get to know you.”
She had done that. Did that make her a jerk? She liked to think of it as being delightfully spontaneous and fun-loving. “Do you really think I’m mean?”
He looked at her for a long, serious moment. “Sometimes. But I like that about you. You’re not a phony. If you don’t like something, you say so. I’ve never had to wonder where I stand with you, and that’s worth something.”
Was he messing with her again? She searched his expression but found only sincerity. “Okay.”
“Okay what?” Now he looked uncertain. “Okay to going to the beach?”
She laughed. “No. Just okay. I’m kind of a jerk sometimes and you like it, and I can deal with you making fun of me. We’re good. As partners. As friends, or whatever.”
He let out a theatrical sigh. “And I thought you loved me. What a letdown.”
But then he bumped her with his elbow and sent her a sideways grin.
She bumped him back, harder, and laughed.
* * * * *
Schramm called before they arrived back at Nizhoni’s and since they had no driver to worry about, Reece looped Trey in and activated the audio channel.
“I’ll be brief because I’m headed into a meeting,” Schramm said without preamble. “I found Dr. Miral’s contract and looked into it.”
“Is it about developing some sort of medical treatment?” Trey asked.
“No. That was what I expected too, since that’s our primary enterprise. What Miral’s doing is tangentially related. She’s working on creating an industrial solvent that will destroy viruses and bacteria, but won’t harm human cells. A non-toxic, highly effective means of sanitation.”
“It’s the barley,” Schramm said. “The unique subspecies of barley that Nizhoni grows, to be specific. The whiskey part is somewhat irrelevant, but the distillation process is a pre-existing means of potential mass production and encourages exactly the chemical process needed for the extraction of the enzymatic compounds.”
“Okay.” Reece doubted these details were going to be helpful to her. “Is there someone who would want to stop that product from existing? Some other manufacturer of sterilizing supplies, maybe?”
“Possibly,” Schramm answered. “No one I immediately think of, but I haven’t had time to investigate yet.”
“It seems a more likely theory than the one about competitors of Hatchet and Pipe wanting to take the company out. So far I haven’t found anything to suggest something like that.” Reece chewed her lip thoughtfully.
“We can’t count anything out yet. We have to keep looking at everything until we find a connection.” Schramm hurried on, “I have to go, and I’ll be in meetings the rest of the day. Send me messages with what you find. I’ll do the same.”
“Will do,” Reece agreed. “Maybe Allied Solutions will reveal something. I’ll send you the info on that; turns out they’re the ones that tried to kill us.”
“You could have led with that,” Schramm said, his voice carrying a tone of annoyance. “We’ll talk soon.”
The connection closed.
“You did kind of put the most important thing at the end, there.” Trey pointed out.
“He said he didn’t have time, and I wanted to know what he’d found out. Besides, I managed to squeeze it in.”
Trey shrugged, as if it didn’t matter, but then he was the one who said something about it. “Okay. What’s next, though? Do we keep staying at Nizhoni’s? We went there because we thought Rexcare was trying to kill us, but that’s no longer the case.”
“Someone set off that pulse bomb, and they’re still out there, but I thought about that, too. Since we still have Schramm and Rexcare behind us. We could stay somewhere else, so long as it has advanced security.”
