Outside the cabin, Shelby placed the melon on top of a disused mailbox.
“What’s that for?” she asked.
“You’ll see.”
They followed a trail through the woods together, which led up the mountainside. They walked in silence. After a time Scarlet took a deep breath to speak.
“How long will you keep me here?”
“No one’s keeping you here. You can leave any time.”
“Without transport, that’s difficult.”
“When it’s safe, I’ll take you to Angel City. That’s where you want to go, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Can’t we go today?”
“We need to check we haven’t been followed.”
Maybe he would be friendlier to her if she could get him to open up. She remembered the wedding ring. “You’re married?”
He paused. “Was.”
“Any children?”
“I don’t talk about personal stuff. Let’s keep it strictly professional please.”
He seemed angry. She must have touched a nerve. “I’m sorry.” The words jumped out of her mouth before she had a chance to think. Why should she apologise? She had done nothing wrong. He was strange, cold, lost in his own world. She wondered why.
They walked again in silence until they reached Jess perched on a mountain ledge with the fifty-millimetre sniper rifle. Jess smiled at them.
“I’ve set up the target for you: the melon. It’s about half a mile; wind is about five miles per hour. Take it out.”
Jess cocked the rifle, took aim, and fired. The melon exploded into a million pieces.
“Why do you use those old firearms?” said Scarlet.
“The new lasers require power packs and are not as reliable. You can’t beat a good old-fashioned bolt-action rifle. There’s nothing to go wrong.”
Shelby pulled a small set of binoculars out of his jacket and used them to check Jess’s hit. He turned to Jess. “You’re nearly as good as me. But you made one mistake…” Shelby pointed to the sun. “Always ensure you cover the scope with adequate camouflage. You don’t want to let scope glint give away your position. It makes you a sitting target.”
Jess nodded agreement.
“What a view from here,” said Scarlet.
Shelby looked around him. “Yep. That’s why I got the cabin: miles and miles of nature and no one in sight to spoil it… We can go back now.”
He was a strange man who seemed to like solitude.
He took her back to the cabin.
“We might need to stay here a few days,” said Shelby. “I need to get some more provisions.” He opened a cabinet full of weapons and picked a pistol from a rack. “Do you know how to use this?”
She nodded. It was the same weapon her mother used. She had used it many times at her mother’s rifle club.
It didn’t stop him from showing her how to take the safety off before handing it to her. She could have told him she knew, but he was prickly enough with her already.
“It’s unlikely you’ll need to use it while I’m away. Jess is covering the cabin, so you should be safe. However, if anyone tries to come through that door and they’re not me or Jess, point the gun and pull the trigger. Don’t hesitate.”
“When will you be back?”
“I’ll be back by dark. There’s food in the cabinet,” he said.
Scarlet watched him take the snowmobile out of the barn and leave. She was on her own for the day. She opened the food cabinet and found a tin of beans. In the refrigerator, she found more eggs, some milk that had turned sour, and some bacon. It wasn’t much, but she wouldn’t starve.
She turned on the satellite hologram box and pressed channel one. In front of her appeared a hologram of three couples having sex together in some kind of orgy. She turned her head to the side, trying to decide who was doing what to whom. It was another one of those game shows sponsored by the government encouraging free love where couples competed for prizes.
After five minutes she was bored and changed channels — another sex show. She tried to watch it, but after a couple of minutes she changed channels again. This time it was an advert for Libido. She changed channel yet again. Now it was a woman’s show about how best to achieve orgasm without a man. A group of naked women were sitting in a circle with mirrors in front of their crotches.
“I’m not that desperate yet,” she said to the holoscreen, and changed the channel yet again. This time it was a movie channel. The latest movie, ‘Android Love’, had just started. She sat back down to watch it. The hologram of a naked young man in the shower with a king-sized penis appeared in front of her, making her jump.
“Is that for real?” she said to herself holding her hand out as a measuring comparison. “It must be at least…” She pressed the remote again. “The world’s gone barmy. There must be a holo-vision show that’s not about sex?”
An African wild life program appeared.
“At last, something different,” she said. But two minutes later, she was watching two zebras copulating. She turned off the holo-vision and sat in silence.
By the evening, Scarlet was bored out of her mind. Hours had passed, and he still wasn’t back. Darkness had fallen. What if something has happened to him?
Then she saw a light in the distance coming towards the cabin. It must be Shelby, she thought. But what if it’s not? She looked around her — there was nowhere to hide. She picked up the gun and waited. She watched him park the snowmobile and walk towards the cabin. It was him carrying a bulky holdall. She opened the door for him. He kicked the snow off his boots and walked in.
“Where’ve you been?” said Scarlet.
“Where do you think? …I’m tired. We have an early start tomorrow and need to get some sleep.”
“A windy night too.”
He frowned at her.
“I had the beans.”
He didn’t seem amused with her quip. Did this guy ever chill out?
“It’s going to be another cold night.”
“I get it,” she said. “We’ll need to share body heat again.”
“You prefer hypothermia?”
“I’m not complaining. Why are you so uptight?”
He didn't answer.
“I’ve been going out of my mind all day with no one to talk to. And now you come back and ignore me.”
“I’m sorry. I'm tired.”
Scarlet went into the bathroom. She washed and got ready for bed. She looked in the mirror. “What did I do wrong to deserve this guy?” she said to herself. “He’s gorgeous, but I may as well share a bed with a eunuch.” She pulled the tape of Libido pills from her bag and looked at them. One pill was left. “Not much use for this,” she said, and flushed it down the toilet.
“Damn, he’s got me talking to myself.”
She returned to the main room and climbed into bed next to him. And then a thought occurred to her: he said he wasn’t married. Fair game, she thought.
“I’m cold,” she said. “Can you cosy up?”
“Okay,” he mumbled.
“Wait.” She pulled off the t-shirt, tossed it on the floor and snuggled down with her back to him. He turned over, snuggled up to her back and wrapped an arm around her.
She smiled to herself. One last attempt, she thought, as she wriggled her rear against his crotch.
“I’m tired. Go to sleep,” he said.
It seemed strange sharing a bed with a man whose only interest in her was the heat she provided.
* * *
A bleeping noise woke Shelby. He slipped out of the bedclothes and turned off the small alarm on the bedside table. Shelby flipped a switch on the wall, and the wall panel lit up with twelve different flat screen monitors linked to security cameras hidden outside the cabin. Six dark figures were moving towards the cabin wearing night vision goggles and all were carrying machine pistols.
“What is it?” said Scarlet, stretching her arms out.
“We have visitors.”
Scarlet jumped out of bed. She looked terrified, but he had no time to comfort her. The figures were converging on the cabin. It was time to take the initiative.
Shelby picked up a pair of sunglasses that were lying on the bedside table and put them on. He pulled a lever on the side of the wall. Outside the cabin, ten magnesium flares burst into light. A second later, the noise of three rounds of the fifty-millimetre sniper rifle broke the still of the night in quick succession. Shelby burst out of the cabin door. Three of the men were already down. Shelby fired twice at each man standing and then saw the third man’s head blown apart by the fifty-millimetre rifle. All six men were down in less than three seconds.
They never had a chance. The magnesium flares would have blinded them through the night vision goggles and made them sitting targets.
Shelby removed the sunglasses and surveyed the carnage. Jess had done well: four perfect headshots that killed their targets. Shelby looked at his own work: two straight kills both with shots to the head and chest.
Shelby relaxed, only to hear another gunshot behind him. He turned to see Scarlet in the doorway pointing a pistol to his right. Shelby followed the direction of her arm to see a seventh man crumple up in the snow. He walked over to inspect the body. It was one of the Morelli cousins, and he had a bullet hole between the eyes.
He turned towards Scarlet. “Where did you learn to shoot like that?”
“Mother taught me. She's obsessive about personal security.” Her eyes were staring into space as though she had zoned out. “I killed him.”
“You didn’t have any choice. He would have killed you.”
The words didn’t seem to provide any comfort to her. She had withdrawn to somewhere inside herself.
Shelby looked up towards the mountainside and waved his arm for Jess to come down. There was little point in waiting around for possible Morelli reinforcements to arrive. They had to leave.
How did they track them to the cabin? That was a mystery. It would have required the best military satellite reconnaissance. How did the Morelli family have access to that kind of resource? Shelby thought about it. He had just killed the son of the head of the largest crime family in Apple City. Franco Morelli had billions of credits at his disposal. Shelby had made a very powerful enemy that would stop at nothing to kill him. He must have bought the information from someone in the Justice Department. It made him sick to think one of his own might have betrayed him. But money talks. Shelby put his thoughts to one side. His priority now was to get them all to safety in Angel City as soon as possible.
CHAPTER FOUR
Dawn was breaking when they set off for Angel City. Jess was flying the heli-car. Scarlet had been silent since the shooting. Shelby was used to death; he had seen so much of it in the military that it failed to shock or move him. But he knew how the effect of a kill could traumatise someone. He had seen well trained soldiers throw-up after their first kill, and some never got over the trauma. So how was a young woman going to process that kind of experience?
He put his arm around her to offer some comfort, and she snuggled into his chest. It reminded him of the way his daughter used to snuggle up to him when she needed a hug. It released feelings he had not experienced for some time.
Shelby tried to focus on a plan for the fallout from the previous night. Two of the victims were Morelli’s brothers, two were cousins, and three were the hired muscle. In one night, Shelby had taken out most of the Morelli crime family. Only the head of the family, Franco Morelli, remained. He had made a powerful enemy that night. An enemy that would stop at nothing to get payback.
Shelby’s plan was to take Scarlet to the Central Justice Building in Angel City and put her in protective custody. The building was like a fortress. Even Franco Morelli would not try to attack them there. In time, he could transfer her into Witness Protection. His own safety was less important. The plan made sense.
Three hours later, they landed on the Justice Department’s helipad and descended in an elevator to the Department’s check-in. Behind the check-in desk was Sergeant Mary Doyle, a rotund Irish lady that Shelby knew all too well.
Shelby approached the desk leaving Jess and Scarlet out of earshot.
“Mary, I need a favour. I need to put Scarlet Chambers into protective custody for the time being until I can transfer her to Witness Protection.”
“You don’t want to lock her up. She’s just a waif of a young girl. She would be terrified. You can use one of the marshal’s overnight call rooms on the tenth floor. Room 1007. I’ll sanction it to your badge.”
“Another thing. She needs clothes. She’s only got what she’s standing in.”
“You’ll need to buy her some.”
“Oh, come on. What do I know about ladies' fashion?”
“Okay, but it’ll cost you 5,000 credits.”
“What?”
“Or you can shop yourself. Do you know what panties she wears? Briefs, high cut, low cut, bikini, thong, string, sideless? What type of top? What bust size? What shoe size?”
“Okay, I don’t have a clue.”
“Then 5,000 credits and I’ll deal with it.”
Shelby handed over the money.
Mary waved Jess over to her.
“Jess, here’s 4,500 credits. Get the young lady some clothes from the store next door,” said Mary.
“I’ve been had,” said Shelby.
“It’s not what you know. It’s who you know. Jess is quite capable of shopping for the young lady. And she can work out the girl's sizing down to a micron by just looking at her.”
Shelby walked over to Scarlet. “I’ve got a room for you where you can shower and change. Jess is getting you some new clothes. I’ll take you up there now.”
Mary called him back, “Shelby, one last thing. Chief Justice Haglon wants to see you.”
“What’s it about?”
“Don’t ask me. She doesn’t share that kinda stuff with me.”
Shelby thought it must be about the Morelli arrest and the aftermath. He had a ton of reports to complete about the arrest before he saw her. They had to be perfect. It would take him hours.
“Mary, I’ll see the Chief Justice tomorrow morning. If anyone asks, you haven’t seen me.”
Mary scowled back at him.
“I’ll make it worth your while, 250 credits?”
She put out her hand.
“You’ve already wiped me out. You know I’m good for it.”
“All right. Just this one time.”
Shelby gave her a big smile and walked Scarlet to the elevator. “I’ll take you up.”
“Shouldn’t you see the Chief Justice?”
“She can wait.”
The elevator opened, and they ascended to the tenth floor. Shelby flashed his badge at the security scanner and the door opened. Inside was a modest apartment with a bed, desk, wardrobe, chair, and a separate bathroom. The wall contained a standard multi-screen video panel activated by voice control. The room had all the basic essentials that any marshal needed to stay overnight and access the Justice Department information systems.
“Ooh, a proper shower with hot water. Luxury,” said Scarlet opening the door of the bathroom.
Shelby looked around the room for potential threats. He didn’t expect any in a Justice Department room, but his instinct was always to err on the side of caution. Having finished his check, he needed to tell Scarlet he was leaving.
The bathroom door was ajar. The shower was on and Scarlet was naked waiting for the water to heat. For a moment, he couldn’t help but stare at her, fascinated by her lean body. She turned and noticed him. He had been caught staring at her. He smiled. “Sorry, you left the door open… I’ll check up on you later.”
He expected her to complain. Instead, she smiled back. “Don’t leave it too long.”
He felt guilty. Once he had processed her through Witness Protection, she would be out of his life. In his line of work, it made little sense to form attachments. They were a distrac
tion from work and made you vulnerable. He needed to move on.
* * *
An hour after Shelby had left her in the marshal’s call room, there was a knock at the door. Scarlet walked over to the door, checked at the door’s security screen, and saw it was Jess.
She opened the door. “Where’s Shelby?”
Jess responded with hand signals that Scarlet didn’t understand.
“I’m sorry, I don’t sign. I forgot you’re mute. Come on in.”
Jess was carrying several shopping bags of clothes.
“Are those for me?” said Scarlet.
Jess nodded.
Scarlet peeked into one of the bags: three tops, two pairs of trousers and a pack of disposable underwear.
“That’s very thoughtful, Jess.” Then a thought occurred to Scarlet. “Your voice box: I can fix it. I’ve worked with droids since I was a child. Would you like me to fix your voice box, so you can speak?”
Jess’s eyes opened wide, and she nodded.
“Do you have a maintenance kit with you?”
Jess shook her head.
“Don’t worry, there’s a nail file in the bathroom. I’ll get it. Sit down on the chair.”
She was pleased she had something to do that at last took her mind away from what happened the previous night. She retrieved the nail file and in two minutes she had removed Jess’s cranial cover. There were two cortex chip structures: a fembot cortex, and a separate structure of military design.
“This is easy to fix,” said Scarlet. “Just a little tweak. How’s that?”
“Fine. I think,” said Jess. Her speech was a slow monotone. She tweaked the controls again, and a more melodic and calming tone emerged.
“You have a pleasant voice.”
“Thank you.”
“I could see from your cortex you’re a modified fembot.”
“I am a model SX9000 with an additional tactical weapon skills chip. I am proficient at what I do.”
“So you’re a sex toy that can kill.”
“The two skills are unrelated. I don’t kill while having sex.”
“Scarlet laughed. I’m pleased to hear it. I’m just a little surprised that Shelby has a sex toy?”
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