Double Bait (Stone Blade Book 2)

by James Cox

  LaGrange handed Robin a datapad and she inserted the 'cert. The document, a contract, had no quirky clauses or obvious loopholes and the nondisclosure clause consisted of text and reference directly from the Financial Board of Standards and Practices. Robin saw nothing amiss at all. She signed the 'pad and gave her rets. After a few seconds to bind and seal the crypcert Robin received her copy of the contract and the others smiled.

  "Thank you, Signora Macy," said Aaron, "You'll start tomorrow."

  That said, he and Barkeley rose and left.

  "Not terribly chatty," said LaGrange, still smiling, "but unicreds have manners all their own. Truth?"

  "Yes sir." Robin rose to leave but LaGrange motioned her back.

  "Are you working the Pettigrew account today?"

  "Yes sir."

  "Good. Finish that, prepare your other assignments for handoff and spend the rest of the day preparing, yes?"

  Robin nodded. "Yes sir! Thank you for recommending me for this."

  "Heh. Wrighten will benefit greatly from a partnership with Durastel. The one who makes that happen will have a very bright and certain future. You won't disappoint, now, will you?"

  "Absolutely not, sir!" Robin couldn't help smiling at the confident humor with which LaGrange spoke.

  "Indeed. Don't think I'm taking a risk, Robin. I and several others know you'll succeed."

  "Thank you, sir."

  This time LaGrange merely nodded.

  Robin powered up her terminal and began her research. Durastel Mercantile was a very large company narrowly specialized in trade and equity balancing.

  The Nebula Worlds Federation, a collection of systems loosely clustered around the Coral Nebula, had strict laws governing extraplanetary and interstellar trade. The collapse of the Terran Imperium left most of the now-Federation worlds mired under massive debt and obligation to a very few high-population worlds incapable of supporting themselves; a fact that stifled their growth and recovery after the Collapse and during the long Interim afterward.

  When the high-pop worlds finally collapsed the systems that would become the Federation clung desperately to bare threads of trade between themselves. Those sparse lifelines made the Federation possible and, once formed, it declared that no worlds within its sovereignty would ever suffer the excesses of economic depredation at the hands of its neighbors.

  While inconvenient for some, the Fair Trade Directive opened the doorway to an entire class of businesses. Trade balancing ensured a healthy external economy while equity balancing guaranteed a secure and robust internal one. It also served both as a defense and a deterrent when the New Stars Trade League grew toward the Federation. Thankfully there were still quite a few sectors and governments between them but the League would not take over the Federation easily!

  Robin felt a thrill of excitement as she worked. She loved her job at Wrighten but she would not let pass an opportunity to make herself a name with other companies, especially ones as large as Durastel. By the time she finished her work for the day she'd built herself a picture as a senior data tech traveling the stars and protecting the pathways from information obstruction.

  Robin chuckled at this. Well and good, she thought, but her pathway to fame and fortune would not start well with a stumble!

  '[system]FoxBird is in +UptownCafe+'

  Robin happily greeted all the folks in channel. To her delight Gemsparkle, Jewelz, Rimfire and rackrock were all there. The twins and rackrock were up meaning she could spend her time down. She started a punsling but it didn't last long. Gemsparkle sent her a chat.

  'Hey, gal,' said Gem, 'you're frisky tonight. What's the why?'

  'New assignment! I'm going on loan to a big company tomorrow. Great opportunity and other benefits. Looking polar.'

  'Awesome++. I also have good news. Jewelz and I brought home commendations from school. PUs decided we weren't grounded any longer.'

  'Great! {action}FoxBird shakes her finger. You shouldn't be misbehaving at your age anyway.'

  '{action}Gemsparkle chugs a brew and belches noxious fumes over FoxBird. {action}Gemsparkle lights a 'stick and blows a cloud over FoxBird.'

  'Gasp! *coff coff choke choke* Shame on yourself!'

  'LOTF. Not all the news, Foxy. U know FuzzyFeet?'

  'As if! Who gave him his first lessons in chat? In vidcapping?'

  'Well who gave him his first... Forget! Forget++. We finally got a place on him. He lives across town from Jewelz and me and we're paying a visit this weekend.'

  'Cryo++! *ahem* U better have me some good pix!'

  'k+ and willdo!'

  Robin felt thrilled for her friends. By her thoughts a day with the twins would do Edward a galaxy of good!

  ***

  Robin rose early the next morning. Interestingly the card didn't lead to Durastel's main office but a smaller location not far from a residential area. Still, Durastel's hologo appeared on the doorway and Robin's card opened it so she assumed it a satellite office.

  "Ms. Macy." Aaron's demeanor had not softened at all. "This way please."

  He led her down a long hallway with several doors. Robin didn't see anyone else but she heard the sound of a busy office behind several of them. She also noticed biometric security locks on each one. Aaron opened a doorway at the end of the hall and Robin found herself in a smaller office. Opposite the office's door stood a heavy security doorway, obviously an exit, visibly locked but with the mandatory emergency-escape bar.

  "Ahh! Ms. Macy. An honor and a pleasure!"

  This man's expression was as warm and friendly as Aaron's was cold.

  "I'm Claud Everett and I am so very pleased you decided to work with us."

  He took her hand and shook it warmly.

  "Thank you, sir."

  "Oh, blather. Call me Claud. And... If I may call you Robin?"

  She smiled her assent.

  "Excellent! Ted LaGrange spoke most highly of you." He handed her a chip. "Here is the data you'll need. I must ask that you not remove it from this room and if you leave that you lock it securely in your desk."

  Robin nodded.

  "Now, if you please, we need to prepare your ident."

  Aaron had a retinal scanner attached to a datapad. Robin gave her rets and prints and after a moment he handed her a card.

  "And we are done," smiled Everett, "My office is the third on the left going out if you need me."

  Robin spent most of the morning assimilating the data on the chip. She saw nothing to warrant nondisclosure but she didn't really want to. No doubt something about the data was sensitive or at least time-sensitive.

  Once she felt comfortable with the data Robin checked the warez she had to work on it. Not satisfied she connected to the net and started downloading her usual tools. Almost immediately the door opened and Aaron walked in.

  "What are you doing," he demanded.

  "I'm downloading some tools I need."

  "That is not authorized. Cancel them immediately."

  "B-but..."

  "I said cancel them."

  Robin moved to comply, totally unsettled by Aaron's mien but the door opened again and Everett walked in.

  "What is it, Cyril?"

  "She's downloading unauthorized programs."

  Everett looked at Robin.

  "It's all openware," stammered Robin, "I use it exclusively at Wrighten. It's open, verifiable and all certified by the Security Standards Committee."

  Everett thought hard a moment. "Let me have the names, hashes and certs. Don't install them until I have approval. If you need anything else, please ask first."

  "Sh-shall I cancel them?"

  Everett smiled. "No, Robin. That won't be necessary. It's Cyril's job to be cautions and he's quite good at it. I'm certain we'll be able to approve them. In fact, why don't you take lunch. I'll try to have them ready when you return."

  Robin ate quickly but waited her entire break before returning. She watched people walking and bustling about, mentally assigning the
m chat nicks. No one greeted her when she returned to her office but Everett sent her a message approving her downloads.

  Robin wasted no time installing her warez and starting on the data. Within ten minutes she knew why Everett needed an experienced data tech. The access routines worked counter-intuitively and the intrinsic data format matched nothing in Robin's experience. Still, she was nothing if not versatile and before long she had reformatting routines worked out.

  Her terminal beeped fifteen minutes before quitting time and notified her that it would automatically power down and securely archive her data. She finished her current transactions within seven minutes so she closed them and cleaned out her temp files.

  '[system]FoxBird is in +UptownCafe+'

  Robin seriously considered slapping her terminal. The net was abnormally slow tonight and she really didn't feel like tolerating it. She lit a 'stick and checked her email.

  'Foxy!' 'Hey, FB. How doing?'

  Robin smiled in spite of the slow flow. MoldyGrape was up and so was viXxXen. Gemsparkle, Jewelz and FuzzyFeet lurked in the channel but didn't immediately respond to her huggles. As she expected Thomas still hadn't appeared.

  '{action}FoxBird is doing *very* well! Started new assignment today. Lots of fun, almost like work but not really.'

  'Cryo-cubed,' posted Grape, 'Does that mean you're gonna buy me lunch now?'

  'idts. {action}FoxBird stares blandly at the silly Grape.'

  '{action}MoldyGrape shrugs. Was worth a t...'

  Robin's terminal blanked out and beeped irately. After a quick check she almost did as well. The ambient traffic plus her email app slowed the net until it dropped connection. Robin shut down her email, IM and other active net apps then tried chat again.

  '[system]FoxBird is in +UptownCafe+'

  'wbBirdie,' posted Jewelz.

  'What got me,' asked Robin.

  'Timed out,' responded Grape, 'How's your ping?'

  'Cr*ppy,' said Robin after a quick check, 'I closed all my actives except this. Grr... {action}FoxBird is paying for a data *pipe* and she doesn't like just having a *straw*!!'

  Several people chuckled and Robin saw her ping bordering on yellow.

  'Crud++! {action}FoxBird is gonna log out until I get some fast flow. *Hugz* and *smoochies* around. Bye.'

  Robin logged out. On a hunch she loaded and ran some analytics. Then she checked for active adware. Next she tried a simple flow analyzer. Nothing, nothing and nothing. Well, she thought, sometimes the net was just slow.

  The next morning Robin once again saw no other person but this time all of the offices sounded busy. She spent most of the morning finishing what she started the previous day. When she started a new dataset she again found the archive access protocols strange. What she did with the data wasn't terribly complex but access and interpretation more than made up for that. She spent most of the afternoon doing what she normally accomplished in a single hour simply because of format and protocol incompatibility. Still, she finished within her fifteen minutes before mandatory power-down.

  Home and with a light supper in her Robin had just settled in front of her terminal when her door beeped. Puzzled, she put out her 'stick and opened the door.

  "FREEZE!!"

  Chapter 3. I-Jacked!

  Images.

  The door bursting open to a flood of blue-garbed men.

  A sudden rush of panic-driven terror washing through her. Her heart racing.

  One of the men pointing a weapon at her, its bore large enough for a hovervan.

  Voices. Several of the others rushing through the other rooms in her apartment, weapons drawn and ready.

  Harsh instructions. Trying to hear them, her mind too numb to.

  Rough hands grabbing her and slamming her against the wall. Her own hands shackled behind her. Her knees shaking. Sinking to the floor.

  Fingers under her chin forcing her face upward. The bright flash of a retscanner.

  More words. Incomprehensible. Her mouth gibbering, trying to answer.

  Two of them half-dragging and half-carrying her outside.

  Two Central Authority hovervans, their lightbars flashing, illuminating the area in red and blue.

  The people staring at her...

  ***

  Robin came to her senses in slow stages. The back compartment of the hover stank of sweat and urine and vomit. She shook violently. Something was terribly wrong! Her body moved this way and that as the hover maneuvered through traffic. The wind whistling, occasionally jostling the craft. The officers up front talking, the one beside her silent.

  The hover settled to a stop. When the doors opened Robin saw the massive edifice of a Central Authority office, brightly illuminated against the darkness of the night. Blue-uniformed officers walked purposefully about, some chatting with their fellows others not. Some of them stopped to stare at their newest arrival.

  "C'mon, perp." The officer beside Robin finally spoke. "The sooner we get you in the sooner we can go off shift."

  Robin managed a slow, shuffling stumble. More officers stopped to look. To the man beside her, thought Robin, she was nothing more than an object to be placed where it belonged. She took a deep breath but calmness avoided her. The man left her in the custody of a pair of female officers. They released her shackles only to pinion her to a ring in the wall.

  "Strip, perp," said one of the ladies.

  Robin managed with their ungentle assistance. Her mind wobbled, trying vainly to encompass her surroundings and situation. Once the last of her clothing vanished the two officers searched her thoroughly, efficiently and impersonally. An eternity later they finished and handed her a flimsy wrap. Once they had it fastened around her they marched her to a hard bench and shackled her to it.

  "Macy."

  Robin looked up dully. The man said her name several times before it registered.

  "S-sir?"

  "Do you have a statement to make?"

  The question puzzled her.

  "No statement, then. Come on."

  The man unshackled her and led her to a small, sparse and cramped room and locked her inside. With a curious and emotionless detachment Robin examined her surroundings. She sat on a hard bunk, an unpadded shelf on one wall with a thin, folded coverlet at the foot. A rudimentary toilet and sink occupied the other wall. A cheap, blurry mirror showed Robin a haggard face staring back at her.

  The tears finally came. Robin's emotions caught up with her and she cried hard, racking silent sobs, each of them shaking her. She felt completely alone and friendless. She knew, distantly, that she should have some rights but she couldn't cudgel them from her brain. Without warning the lights dimmed but didn't go completely out. Robin lay back and pulled the thin coverlet over her and lay back.

  "Macy! On your feet, perp. Your counsel's here."

  That voice belonged to a very large and intimidating officer. Without ado he shackled her hands, pulled her to her feet and marched her out of her cell and down the hallway. The walk ended in a windowless conference room with a table, two chairs and a distinguished-looking lady with a briefcase and terminal open before her.

  "Annette Macy? I'm Lorna Gallaway and the CA appointed me your counsel." Gallaway indicated the other chair.

  Robin fell into the chair more than sat but Gallaway didn't notice.

  "Your report says you didn't make a statement. Is that correct?"

  "Yes ma'am." Robin tried to make her voice strong but failed miserably.

  "Did they inform you of the charges against you?"

  Robin thought hard. "They... they might have. I... I don't... I don't remember much." She felt tears forming at the edges of her eyes. "Charged? With... a crime?"

  Gallaway made some notes. "Yes. Several, and fairly serious ones." Her expression softened. "I have a strong feeling you're going to tell me you're innocent."

  "I... I am. I am! I haven't... I haven't..." Robin coughed back a sob. "I don't know what they're doing to me or why or... Or... Or..."

&nb
sp; An arm around her shoulder released all the emotion Robin had held at bay. Finally, when she finished, Gallaway handed her a tissue.

  "Slib. I'm convinced," said Gallaway, "I've seen some good actors but that's ruddy genuine."

  Gallaway offered Robin a drugstick. To Robin's surprise she accepted it.

  "First of all I'll need some details. Do you go by Annette, Anne..."

  "R-robin."

  "Good," smiled Gallaway, "Are you Annette Robin Macy, age 28, employed as a data technician at Wrighten Shipping?"

  "Yes ma'am."

  From there Gallaway proceeded into a much more detailed account of Robin's life, from birth to her arrest. She merely confirmed the accident but went into fine detail about Robin's education and grades. Then she faced her squarely.

  "Robin, you've been charged with data theft, unauthorized access to private resources, system penetration and destruction of security. I've filed a discovery for details but the CA thinks it has a solid case against you."

  "But..." Robin felt the room spin, "I... I haven't..."

  Gallaway motioned her to silence. "I believe you, Robin. They may think they have a sealed case against you but I've defended more than one i-jacking since I started working. Yours has the classic signs. Once the discovery clears we'll be able to start deconstructing their case." She looked sympathetically at Robin. "Until then, though, I probably won't be able to get you released. Can you stand another day or three here?"

  "NO!!!" Robin's brain screamed this but she merely nodded.

  "Good. I realize this is a shock to you but stay tough. I'll be back sometime tomorrow or the next day. Until then you keep your mouth shut. They can't question you without me here and I want to know about it if they try."

  "Yes ma'am."

  After giving Robin another 'stick and the time to finish it Gallaway motioned to the guard. He escorted her back to her cell and not long after that the door beeped and a tray slid through a slot on it. Robin devoured the bland food hungrily and slid the tray back through the slot.

  Some time later the guard returned for Robin. This time he led her to an enclosed yard. Robin blinked at the midmorning sun as she shambled outside. When her eyes cleared she saw several dozen other women in the yard with her, some of them eying her appraisingly. Afraid to stop, Robin began walking the perimeter of the yard. She felt more than one gaze settle on her but , by some unknown strength, she managed to ignore them and keep walking.