by M. D. Cooper
Shannon mused.
Calista hmmphed in agreement.
Calista was about to reply, but felt Shannon’s presence fade as Jason approached the table.
“Nice place,” he said as he leaned against the bar next to her. “You sure they’re going to let me stay, dressed like this?”
Calista glanced around at the darkened restaurant, took in the discreet waitstaff, the muted conversations, and the soft clink of china and crystal as patrons were served.
Then she pretended to examine Jason critically, hmmm-ing a bit at what she saw. His shirt was casual, comfortable and not at all the latest style, yet it didn't matter. The simple white cloth drew every woman's eye to his tanned skin, golden brown eyes and sunbleached hair.
Not that she'd let him in on that little tidbit.
She reached up to touch the sleeve with a questioning expression on her face. “May I?”
“Only if you promise not to change it into something skimpy and revealing,” Jason mock-frowned at her. “A man has to have his modesty, you know.”
She laughed as the nano in her hand connected to the garment’s nano, and she felt Jason send her the token via Link for the shirt’s controls. “Just for that, I should turn it into one of those flashy numbers the strippers are wearing these days.”
“Uh, yeah, that’ll really ensure I get to eat dinner here tonight,” he said as he glanced around at all the well-dressed patrons, milling about, waiting to be seated.
“Spoilsport,” Calista pouted as she directed the nano to conform to one of the finely-woven tailored styles that was currently in fashion. She grinned at Jason's expression as his sleeves lengthened and tapered, a collar extruded and the material tucked in close to his waist.
“You clean up pretty good, flyboy,” she said, slanting a smile up at him. She couldn't resist one last tweak, changing the shirt's color to match the golden brown of his eyes, as she pinged the Maître d’ servitor to let it know that both members of her party had now arrived.
* * * * *
“Hey,” Jason leaned forward over the remains of an excellent steak, his face turning momentarily serious. “Remember that fitness center you said had a pretty decent sparring area?”
She nodded. “Yes, Enfield has a corporate discount there. Why? You want in?”
Jason nodded back. “Yeah, it’s been a while, and I think it might be time to get myself back in shape.”
“Well,” Calista mused, looking at him speculatively. “It might be kind of fun to kick your ass in something other than an air race. Want to head over there after we finish here?”
“Oh yeah.” Jason leaned back with a wicked glint in his eye. “I’ll take that gauntlet you just threw down, Major Rhinehart. Winner buys dessert afterward. Deal?”
“You’re on, flyboy.” She wiped her mouth daintily with the linen napkin, then set it aside and called for the check.
* * * * *
Calista barely blocked the kali stick before it connected with the side of her head. Even then, the force of the block sent a shockwave up her arms, and she danced back to circle her opponent, giving herself a moment to shake it off.
She feinted to the left, then dove her stick low and straight in, in an attempt to score at least one hit on the surprisingly elusive Jason Andrews. She was certain he had her blocked, but at the last moment, his kali stick wavered, then moved away. Not one to miss an opportunity, Calista followed through with a jab that connected firmly.
“Niiiice,” Jason complimented.
He crossed one foot behind the other, knees slightly bent, as he danced a few steps to her right. His arm snapped up suddenly, and she whipped her head back just in time.
Cripes, this guy is fast!
Calista prided herself on her martial arts skill. She had been known as the star ESF Kai-Eskrima practitioner during her time in the corps, winning numerous ribbons for her squadron in the quarterly competitions. She thought she’d been keeping herself in shape since mustering out three years ago. Now she realized she needed to up her game a bit.
Rolling her shoulders slightly as she continued circling, Calista used her peripheral vision to watch for Jason’s tells, those slight movements that most people made to indicate they were about to make a move: a muscle twitch, a slight bunching of the shoulders, a minute hesitation. Her focus remained on Jason’s eyes. He feinted again.
Dammit. I must be losing my edge.
Everyone had something that gave them away; it was just a matter of finding it. Jason was proving to be more challenging than she had anticipated.
* * * * *
Jason slowed his instinctual block of Calista’s feint, then pulled back ever so slightly, allowing her to score a hit.
Tobias chuckled.
Jason let Calista close on him, carefully slowing his pace to match hers.
Jason hesitated, trying to parse what Tobias was saying. Absently, he blocked Calista’s next parry as he replied,
Jason paused, dropping his guard for a moment in confusion at Tobias’ cryptic comment.
Whack!
Jason’s head rung, but not so loudly that he couldn’t clearly hear Calista chortle as he stepped off the mat.
She crowed, “Point! You owe me dessert, Andrews!”
IN PLAIN SIGHT
STELLAR DATE: 07.06.3189 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Enfield Aerospace Headquarters
REGION: El Dorado Ring, El Dorado, Alpha Centauri System
“Reports from earlier about a break-in at Enfield Aerospace appear to have been in error, sources say. We reached out to the company and spoke to Shannon, an engineer in their Developing Technologies division. Shannon assured us that the alarm was just a routine security test, erroneously reported to the authorities by one of their newer employees, who was unfamiliar with Enfield’s routine security assessments.”
He was crouched as close to Enfield Aerospace’s service entrance as he dared without being spotted and didn’t need the distractions.
Jason had hoped that Toby would be able to get behind the company’s firewall from here, without the need to physically enter the complex.
That was not happening.
Worse, as he crouched on the edge of the groomed lawn—oddly cut into a tiered triangle…he’d have to ask Calista about that someday—the lawn’s sprinkler system a
ctivated.
Jason was drenched, and Tobias was snickering.
Jason was about to ask the AI what their status was, when Tobias said,
With a soft click, the service entrance doors slid open. Jason needed no further invitation.
Once over the threshold, he paused and unslung his backpack, rummaging around Tobias’ cylinder for the spare shirt he kept inside. He used it to dry off as best he could, paying special attention to his shoes. Nothing like a wet footprint to advertise that someone was there.
Jason rolled his eyes at the AI as he started down the hall at a steady jog. What a time to start cracking jokes.
Jason resumed jogging, pausing at each intersection to drop a passel of nano. Each time, it crept around the corner first, providing confirmation that nothing was waiting to leap out at him from the wings; each time, Tobias sent a mental image of his avatar rolling his eyes at Jason’s overabundance of caution.
he muttered mentally.
Ten minutes later, they reached the hangar that garaged the company’s shuttle fleet. Jason started toward the first one in the row, but a burst of blinding light crashed into him, and he knew nothing but pain.
* * * * *
Calista’s anger changed to concern as she stared down at the man writhing in agony at her feet.
“I don’t recall a stun hurting that much,” she commented to Daniel, as one of the security officer’s men tried rolling Jason over to restrain him.
Jason’s body was bent back, his face a rictus of pain, making the task impossible to accomplish.
“I don’t understand—it shouldn’t have that effect on anyone.” Daniel looked down to confirm his weapon’s setting; it was on low. “It should have given him a bit of a shock, but nothing like this.”
* * * * *
The node that had appeared to house an NSAI suddenly morphed into a glittering cage, trapping Tobias on all sides.
A woman dressed all in white, with silver strands of hair wafting in a nonexistent breeze, approached. Her eyes, shot through with silver, gazed steadily at him.
Tobias looked down to see he’d taken the human form he favored, that of the redheaded youth. He smiled crookedly across the tendrils of the gilded cage.
He reached out, testing the tendrils around him, and found an efficient, tight weave. Tight, and familiar.
It was one of the methods many of the Weapon Born had used to capture opponents in the Game.
How did she—?
Shannon’s eyes grew round, and her mouth opened in a silent ‘O’.
With the equivalent of a mental flick, Tobias deactivated the cage and stood, hands outstretched, palms up.
Shannon snorted.
Tobias cocked his head.
Jerking his head back around to Shannon, he fixed her with an intent stare.
* * * * *
Shannon’s voice broke in, interrupting the medic’s instructions on how to administer the sedative to Jason.
Daniel’s gun arm had snapped up at Shannon’s words, and he immediately began scanning the area. “Who is Tobias, Shannon?” he demanded now. “And where is he?”
* * * * *
“Any idea what he was after?”
Calista glanced over at the unconscious form of Jason Andrews, then back up to answer her boss. “Honestly? I have no idea.” She sighed. “We were sparring earlier tonight—” She broke off at the expression on Terrance’s face, and felt her face coloring slightly. “Not that, sir. We really were sparring.”
Calista shrugged and continued. “Anyway, he asked me if I’d get him a guest pass to the gym, so I did. We went a few rounds on the mat, he stopped for a second, looking distracted, and I whacked him upside the head.”
She scrunched her face up in thought. “At the time, I just thought he was being a sore loser, leaving as quickly as he did afterward. But sore losers don’t go to these lengths to get back at you.”
“Not…sore…loser,” Jason’s voice, slurred from the drugs, came to them from the bed.
He forced his eyes open, blinked once, twice, and shook his head. Evidently that was a mistake, because he groaned and tried to grab his head—and was brought up short by the restraints.
“Wow, did you get the license of the aircar that hit me?” Jason muttered, eyes closed.
Calista walked over to the bed and peered down at him. “Why’d you do it, Jason?”
One eye cracked open. “Let you win,” he muttered. The eye closed.
She reached out to shake him on the shoulder, but was stopped by the medic, who shook her head.
“Right now, ma’am, every last one of his nerve endings is on fire. Even a simple touch will feel like shards of glass, cutting into him.”
The medic tapped at a readout on her console and frowned sternly down at her patient. “And I would advise you, sir, to stop that right now. Telling your nano to scrub this drug out of your system before your nerve endings have had a chance to recover is just inviting the pain to have a party all over your body. So stop it, young man.”
Terrance’s brows drew together as he joined Calista by Jason’s bedside. “What are you talking about, Tara?” he asked the medic.
“Shannon’s the one who discovered it; your guy here is an L2,” Tara explained. “That means he’s evolved. His entire nervous system is enhanced. He’s faster physically and mentally—probably a lot stronger, too, at least
when using his fast-twitch muscles.” She shrugged. “Stamina probably suffers a bit as a result, but what do I know? First L2 I’ve ever seen.”
Jason’s voice sounded rusty, shot through with pain. “Damn. Now you know all my secrets, Calista, and it’s only our third date.”
* * * * *
* * * * *
“Sir?” One of Daniel’s men raised the backpack Jason Andrews had been carrying. Lifting the flap, he turned the pack so that Daniel could see the AI cylinder that lay inside.
“Terrance, Calista,” Daniel waved the two over. “Looks like we do have another guest, after all.”
She was joined by a man with bright blue eyes and curly red hair. The AI nodded to the humans.
* * * * *
“You have got to be kidding me,” Tobias heard Calista say, as she stared stonily at the man who sat across from her.
His face was drawn and serious, hands cradling a glass of electrolytes that the medic had handed him but he hadn’t yet sampled.
