“We make a great team,” Gomez said with a smile. “That’s a good sign for things to come. Now, as soon as they settle up with us, we can get the hell out of here.”
Jacob agreed. He was ready to get out of the warehouse. He would say he was ready to go home and go to sleep, but he had just had three doses of stimulant. He wouldn’t be going to sleep for a few more hours. Besides, his mind kept coming back to that quiet noise. The speed in his system wouldn’t let him leave it alone, and every time he went back to it, it got louder.
That was it. Make the noise loud enough and it sounded like the noise he dealt with when he helped the overloads. It was the same noise. The same signature. Some unskilled code flicker must have gotten hold of one of the NirvanaWare decks, or maybe they just tried to copy the code and didn’t get it right. He didn’t know, but he planned to find out.
Chapter 21
“I can’t believe those bastards,” Sandy said, pacing the floor of the back bar in DeSoto’s. It was mid-afternoon on Sunday and the club was empty. Everyone was running on fumes after the long hours working on the code decks, but how they were treated by the SRS after they completed the job had them energized with anger.
Everyone except Gomez. He stood with his back to everyone, playing a game of Pac-Man. “Look,” he said, still playing, “we just do this one more thing for them, and they will give us the ID cards.”
“One more thing? Then it will be one more thing. It’s bullshit,” Sandy said as she sat down across from Jacob and Xia.
“How did you get mixed up with the SRS, anyway?” Xia asked.
“It’s a long story,” Jacob said.
“Damn it! They got me,” Gomez said. He hit the game and came to the table. “It’s a really long story.”
“We’ve got some time,” Xia said.
“I used to work with Evgeny in corporate security. I didn’t know it at the time, but he was an SRS plant, supplying info to them,” Gomez said. “After I left the corporate world for a more honest lifestyle, we ran into each other again. He’d been promoted in the SRS and offered me jobs here and there. It’s worked out pretty well, until now.”
“Dance with the devil,” Xia said.
Jacob knew she was right, but sometimes you have to dance with the devil, he thought. The SRS had been the best option they had to get weapons that the Your Better Life security scan wouldn’t pick up, the best option they had to get the correct ID cards, and the best option they had to get enough quick credits for the job. Sometimes you even have to invite the devil to the dance. Which didn’t seem like a problem since Gomez’s relationship with Evgeny was tight and went back a long way, and he had always made sure Gomez and his friends were treated fairly by the SRS. Mr. Li was another story.
“It’s that Li guy,” Jacob said. “I don’t like him. There’s just something about him that rubs me the wrong way.”
“I’m with you on that,” Xia said. “He’s an ass.”
Sandy stood and let out an exasperated sigh. She seemed to be more bothered about the situation than anyone else. “Does anyone want a drink?” she asked. “Beer on the house.”
“Why not. It’s not just for breakfast anymore,” Gomez said.
Sandy went behind the bar and returned with four bottles.
“Mr. Li or no Mr. Li, we need those cards,” Jacob said.
“Let’s hope we need those cards,” Gomez said. “If Slade doesn’t agree to help us, the cards might not make much of a difference.” Slade was Gomez’s friend who worked security at the Your Better Life building. Gomez had arranged a meeting with him, and he would be coming by the club later.
Everyone looked at Gomez.
“What do you mean, ‘if’ he helps us?” Sandy asked. “I thought this was a sure thing.”
Gomez shook his head. “I don’t think I said that. I said he owes me a favor or two. But don’t worry, he’ll be on board. You just got to have some faith.”
“Speaking of faith,” Jacob said, “when is Kat getting back from her pilgrimage?”
Gomez smiled. “Later tonight.”
“Not to be a downer,” Xia said, “but any idea what the SRS wants us to do to get the cards?”
“No, not yet. Evgeny told me he would let me know in the next few days.”
“I hope it’s not as crazy as hijacking eighteen-wheelers with grenade launchers. That was a bit extreme,” Sandy said.
Gomez nodded in agreement.
“The middle school science class battery was pretty cool, though,” Jacob said.
He wondered if he should say more about the code on the NirvanaWare decks. He hadn’t mentioned what he thought about it and its similarities to the code that caused the overloads. Ultimately, it was just a hunch he had, and there was no point in dropping one more thing on everyone because of a hunch. They were already dealing with enough because of him. Xia was right when she said a guilt trip only worked if you let it, but that didn’t change the fact his friends were in a serious situation because he asked them to be there. They may have made the choice, but he was the one that presented it to them. He was the catalyst.
Xia stood. “I better get going. I haven’t had much sleep since I woke up Friday morning, and I have to go to work tomorrow.”
“That’s cool,” Jacob said. He stood and hugged her. Gomez and Sandy followed his lead and also hugged her.
“I’m going to go do some programming on the lights before we open,” Sandy said. “You two can just hang here until your guy gets here. Just don’t drink all of the beer.”
Jacob and Gomez sat, silent, drinking the beer Sandy brought them, video games running in the
