Two guards stood silhouetted at the end of the tunnel in front of a barricade, aiming at the oncoming truck.
“Can you duck and keep it straight?” Jacob asked.
“I hope so,” Two-Step said.
The guards opened fire, and Two-Step jerked back, a red mist spraying from a hole in the shoulder of his shirt. They all ducked down in the seat, trying to get below the windshield. Two-step clutched his shoulder while holding the steering wheel steady with his other hand.
There were more shots and shouts from the guards, then the sound and impact of the truck breaking through the barrier.
They all sat up. Two-Step pressed the accelerator to the floor, and the guards continued to fire at them as they sped off.
After a few blocks, Jacob said, “Take a left up here and go into the old housing projects. We’ll ditch the truck there.”
They were silent for a long moment.
Finally, Sandy said, “We did it.”
They looked at each other and smiled, then went back to being silent.
Now I know how a dog who caught the car and got away with it feels, Jacob thought.
Chapter 58
“You’re both damn lucky,” Kat said. She opened a tube of surgical glue and applied it to Two-Step’s shoulder. “A little deeper and we would have to take you to the hospital, and that would lead to too many questions. I guess we’re all damn lucky that didn’t happen.”
“I’ll take luck any day,” Jacob said.
The three of them sat with Sandy in the backroom of Retro Media. After they ditched the delivery truck behind an old burnt-out gas station in the housing projects, they made their way to a rendezvous point where Kat met them with the Retro Media van.
“Well, you’ll both be sore for a few days. And you should try to stay off that leg as much as possible.”
“You got it, doc.”
Kat wrapped Two-Step’s shoulder with a bandage and leaned back in her chair. “And you try not to use the arm too much. A sling might be a good idea.”
“All right,” Two-Step said.
“Any word from Xia yet?” Sandy asked.
“No,” Jacob said, trying to hide any hint of concern in his voice. “But that makes sense. Even without the backup system setting off the alarms, the test would have her busy for most of the rest of the day.”
“I guess you’re right, but I’ll feel a lot better when she contacts us.”
“So,” Kat said, “what’s the next step?”
“I have to get in touch with Johnson and set up a meeting. I want to do that ASAP. The sooner this whole thing is done, the better.”
“It was kind of fun, though,” Two-Step said.
Everyone looked at him with blank stares.
“It was,” he insisted. “Well, not the getting shot part.”
“Or the shooting someone part,” Sandy added.
“You get used to it, or at least learn to deal with it,” Kat said.
“I don’t want to make it a habit.”
Kat put the surgical glue away and stood. “I’m going to go get us some food. Any requests?”
After she took everyone’s order, she headed down to the food court. Two-Step went to his work station and turned on the monitor. Sandy brought a stool over for Jacob to prop up his leg.
“Thanks,” he said.
She smiled, a look that was a mix of relief and concern in her eyes.
“Holy shit,” Two-Step said. “We made the news feeds.” He swiveled the monitor for them to see and tuned up the volume.
A reporter stood in front of the Your Better Life building as text ran across the bottom of the screen.
“…claim the company was hit by cyber terrorists, wiping out vital security systems, as well as large amounts of research data. While no one has claimed responsibility, speculation is that either a radical faction of the LTL or a rival corporation is behind the attack. Earlier, I spoke to YBL representatives about the implications of the attack and the possible attackers.”
The image cut to a group of reporters in the lobby of the Your Better Life building. They questioned a woman in a power suit standing behind a podium bearing the company logo. The text below her identified her as Amy Bintu, Director of Corporate Security Public Affairs.
“And what actions will be taken when you discover the perpetrators of the attack?” the original reporter asked.
Amy Bintu took a moment to give a calculated answer. “I can assure you the perpetrators will be discovered. We intend to throw all available resources into this investigation, whether they be corporate, state, or federal. This sort of attack is unforgivable and will be dealt with appropriately.”
“Will the response differ if it is the LTL or a rival corporation?”
Amy Bintu smiled before she answered. “I can promise you the terrorist behind this attack, corporate or otherwise, will be dealt with swiftly and forcefully. They will regret their actions.” She turned and walked off-screen.
The image cut back to the reporter in front of the building.
“So, as you can see…”
Two-Step lowered the volume. “Amy Bintu is not happy,” he said. “I can’t blame her. She just got owned.”
“That makes me more worried about Xia,” Sandy said.
“It might give us an excuse to contact her. Sandy, message her and say you saw the news feed and you’re worried about her.”
She did and they waited for the response. Jacob couldn’t feel relief until he knew Xia was all right. Of course, just because she was all right now - if she was - didn’t mean she would be for long. Your Better Life would run a full investigation and could uncover her part later when it wasn’t expected. The security failsafe system was the big “if” in the equation. If it was just there to sound an alarm, they would be fine. If it was designed to backup all of the main system’s data, they would be in trouble. There was the chance that even if there was a data backup, the data
