“Yessir, they have indeed,” she reported, as she removed her battle helmet. Her vivid red hair trimmed into a pixie cut, was like a fire suddenly ablaze in the dark of night. “As you can guess, the other craft belongs to our good friend Frost, and they left before we arrived. The homeowner, on the other hand, claims it was all self-defense, that he was provoked by a spacer who’s intent on driving him crazy.”
“Sounds like he succeeded,” Burlington chuckled. “Good God, where did he get pulse cannons, anyway?”
“The ultranet, sir. That new bidding site, Buymyjunk.com.”
“Jesus,” Burlington shook his head in amazement. “The same place I buy socks? What’s this world coming to? Ok, so what about the Pegasus?”
“It was registered to a Tanner Thomas, a rocket pilot, no real address to speak of. Seems he spends 99.9 percent of his time off-planet. The one occupant they found still inside was badly wounded. He’s on his way to the hospital, but they said it was bad. They dunno if he’s gonna pull through emergency surgery.”
“Thomas?”
“No sir. One Reginald DeWitt, aka “Jocko,” aka “The Net Ninja.” A former computer services technician from Madison. Terminated from several places of employment due to dubious activities.”
“Such as?”
“He’s also a notoriously well-known hacker.”
“Ahhhh. Still, how the hell did a computer geek end up in a shootout with Forrest Frost? Doesn’t fit the bill.”
“I dunno, sir. Maybe if we find the other two that were with him we might could ask them.”
“Other two?” Burlington raised an eyebrow. “What are you, Jones? Some kind of cock-tease?”
Her lightly-glossed lips turned up in the slightest of sly little smiles. “Let’s just say, I like to build up to a powerful climax.”
“Careful, Officer Jones,” he gave her a sideways glance. “I might mistake that for sexual harassment.”
“If you’re not mistaking it, I’d be wondering about which team you were playing on.”
“Well, maybe we need to get together for some batting practice soon.” He gave her a hungry leer, but then sighed dejectedly. “Alas, business first. You were saying?”
“According to witnesses, another man who fit the description of our Mr. Tanner Thomas fled the scene before we arrived.”
“So, we’re on the right track. We got an APB out?”
“Yessir!”
“Good! And I want an around-the-clock guard on DeWitt. No one gets in to see him but me, unless they’re a doctor or nurse directly involved in his care. In fact, I wanna SWAT team deployed. Tonight!”
“Roger that, sir!”
“Do it on your PDC. I’d bet my life those merc bastards are monitoring our transmissions.”
“There’s also something else you’ll wanna hear.”
“Oh, you really are a tease!” He loved the way her gun belt sat on her hips at just the right point. Very sexy. He stepped closer into her personal space, staring down at her, a challenge. “You’re charging my laser with all this foreplay.”
She held her ground … and held his eyes. He was well-pleased at both. She had taken his challenge. Promising.
“Well, you’re probably going to jizz your boxers when you hear this,” she replied, her voice low and husky now as she leaned in close. “They also reported another person escaped with him. And you’re gonna love this part … They described her as a naked woman covered in hair … with dog ears and a bushy tail.”
Burlington cocked an ear in closer to her. “I’m sorry … what did you say?”
“You heard me right,” she replied as she took a dangerous step closer now, too close for public. Too many other officers around! It made him antsy, self-conscious, but at the same time, he had to admit, the danger excited him. When she spoke again, he could feel her hot, sweet breath on his face. “You can read it yourself. I already took the liberty of forwarding the field report to your PDC.”
“Was there any vid like what we saw at the Blackwater?”
“None has shown up yet. But I’m betting there will be.”
“I wanna know if it does. I’m thinking all this may tie in … what happened here tonight … the Blackwater murder … this mysterious naked girl. What do you say we ride out there and check it out ourselves? I wanna see this for myself.”
“Right behind you, sir.”
“Afterwards, how do you feel about getting a cup of coffee and comparing some notes?” He didn’t seem as tired now. Her forwardness had re-energized him. He felt his second wind kicking in.
“You got some cream and sugar for me, Special Inspector Burlington?” Again, that seductive twinkle.
“Rich and sweet. Just the way you like it.” He turned and reached for the door of his cruiser. “And call me Matt.”
***
“Got ‘em, sir!” Cee Tee shouted back to Frost. “Number Three reports they have a fix on the asset!”
“Outstanding!” Frost roared in elation. “Have they found a LZ yet?”
“Yessir! A pasture just west of the subdivision. They say they’re gonna put down right at the fence line bordering the neighborhood.”
“Good! I want these two rats cornered and caught this time … no exceptions!”
“Yessir!”
“Tell the boys if we finish up tonight there’s an extra twenty-five thousand bonus for everybody if we’re back in Georgia in the morning.”
“Yessir! Proper motivation, sir!”
***
Several blocks from the crash site, Tiger and Amber had slipped into an unlocked double hangar. The rest of the house looked dark, and it appeared no one was home. Inside, he found an immaculate SkyLiner aerocraft. Whoever lived here had class to own a vehicle like this. He knew he would never be able to hotwire it, but beside it sat an older hovercar. With his minimal skills, he thought he might possibly be capable of bypassing the antiquated ignition code. He decided to
