Looking around the scene, I noticed something interesting. The organs taken from the bodies were all those linked to uniquely Elite biotechnical augmentations-especially our circuitry-enhanced brains. It suggested something even more disturbing: the massacre at the store wasn’t random, or motivated by robbery-this wasn’t an explosion of shortsighted rebellion and rage that occasionally flares in the human ranks.
Instead, this had all the elements of a complex and premeditated murder plot.
I shook my head and walked the route between the two crime scenes, cataloging traces that the cold- blooded attackers had left.
They’d come in at the rear-the blood of the first corpses I’d seen was more congealed than the others-and they’d moved fast to execute their daring plan. Footprints in the blood-sizes ten and a half, twelve, and two size elevens, all popular-brand athletic shoes-told me that there’d been four of them. Large males. Animalistic. Acting without any regard for right or wrong.
A forensic team was on its way, but I already knew my assignment: I had to go bag myself four murdering skunks before they could kill again.
The Toyz premier items on display tonight were, of course, Jessica and Jacob dolls. Dozens of them had been placed in the store’s huge front window, undoubtedly to lure in traffic.
The dolls had wandered away from their display stations and were now standing behind the glass barrier.
They were staring at the mutilated Elite corpses, pointing at them, talking among themselves like so many looky-loos at a terrible, terrible traffic accident.
To the Jessicas and Jacobs, the crime scene seemed to be the featured amusement for tonight. Talk about disturbing-
Lizbeth was right-there was no way our Chloe and April were going to get any of these little bastards for the holidays. Not while I was Dad.
Chapter 14
“Dr. Baker,
I was already running for my car. I wanted in on this capture in the worst way. I had never investigated a crime as daring and unspeakable as this one.
This time I took over the driving controls. As I sped out onto the streets, I barked a command at the dashboard computer: “Four motorcycles, north lakefront. Rapid pursuit until intersect.”
That order activated a link to the city’s network of surveillance cameras.
Instantly, a grid appeared on-screen, showing a cluster of four shapes hunched over their bikes.
The readout gave their speed as 187 miles per hour and their location as 7.347 miles away. Other shapes on-screen showed me that airborne police pods were already chasing them and ground vehicles were forming roadblocks ahead.
The fact that they’d gotten as far as they had was astonishing and made me feel anything but secure about a peaceful arrest.
McGill’s avatar suddenly appeared on my display. I blinked my eye at the communications icon, signaling the computer to pick up his call.
“Hays, we’ve ID’d the vics at the store,” he reported to me now. “They were all Toyz Corp execs.”
“What?”
“Yeah, and we’re not talking district managers either. They were members of the Toyz board. Moore’s crazed about it. So, you know, no pressure or anything. Just catch-and kill-the bastards. No mercy.”
“I’m closing in on the vermin right now,” I said, then clicked off McGill’s feed with a blink.
Chapter 15
I could definitely see the humans motoring at full speed up ahead. As if on cue, the cluster of bikes suddenly split apart, peeling off in different directions like campfire sparks scattered by high winds.
They dove down back alleys and even onto narrow walkways, where the maneuverable bikes could evade the roadblocks and stay sheltered from police aircraft.
“Your muscle tension is extremely high, sir,” observed Elle. “Would you like me to engage ultrasonic massage?”
“Not now, Elle-I’m skunkhunting.”
“Of course, sir,” she replied, and her status light turned from bright yellow to dim green. “Good luck with that.”
I was getting close to the outskirts of the city and the chaotic human settlements where my targets would have a decent chance at disappearing among their kind of filth and vermin. What a terrible outcome that would be for the Agency-and for my own record.
I rammed the joystick forward and the pod went airborne, streaking up at a thirty-degree trajectory to an altitude of approximately one hundred feet. Then it leveled out.
Within seconds I was closing in on the nearest rider. I was doing more than twice his speed, actually. God, I wanted at him.
The punk killer was still on a fairly wide street, but he never had a chance to swerve away. I didn’t give him one. I swooped down between the buildings and came in over him like an eagle snaring a gopher.
The car’s belly grazed his back-just hard enough to flip him.
As I shot on by, the dashboard screen showed him skidding along the pavement, then bouncing wildly off several building fronts.
At close to two hundred miles per hour, there probably wouldn’t be much left of that one.
The next closest rider was.74 miles away. The on-screen grid showed a path where I could stay hidden between buildings until I intercepted him.
I dropped the sports-pod back down onto the street and peeled out on a stretch of smooth concrete pavement.
Seconds later, I whipped around a tight corner in front of him-then skidded broadside to cut him off.
But he was good with a bike. I’ll give him that much credit. He braked and laid the motorcycle down on its side, crouching on top and riding it like a sled.
At the last second, the rider leaped clear and tumbled away with the skill of a gymnast. The bike was still hurtling toward me, bouncing and throwing off sparks.
It slammed into my car hard enough to completely demolish the passenger side and send me violently off course.
Bright red warning lights flashed on the dashboard, and the shrill beep of an alarm sounded.
Sometimes artificial intelligence doesn’t quite live up to its name.
Chapter 16
