One ten! Something that small took out four of my men? Something made to do nothing more than fuck? Yeah, right! Something’s rotten at GenetX. Fucking McCallister! Holding out on me! When this is over, I’ll see to him! That’s for sure!
“Boss!” The panicked urgency in Cee Tee’s voice brought Frost out of his spiteful brooding instantly.
“What is it?”
“Somebody’s jamming our equipment again!”
“Damnit! Who could it be? I thought you told me DeWitt was on his way to the hospital.”
“He is! Whoever is doing this is not a living-in their-parents-basement hacker. It’s a pro! Fuck! My scanner just went down.”
“Can you get it back?”
“I’m trying. This can only be the work of one person. The Baroness!”
“Jesus!” Frost was aghast. “They still haven’t caught that bitch yet?”
“No sir! And now it appears she’s helping our quarry. Damn! There goes our satlink again!”
“They’re on the move!” It all made sense to Frost now. “They’re blinding us so we can’t see which way they’re heading!”
“Well, there’s only two ways you can go when you turn outta that subdivision … so it’s fifty-fi—!”
“Damnit!” Frost cursed, as the commlink went dead. Electronically, he was blind and deaf now. Millions of points in electronic equipment and computers, and he was now down to instincts and intuition. But it wouldn’t be the first time. He’d have to make a decision, based on his gut feelings, and hope he was right. If he was wrong, the vixen would slip off into the night, right through his fingers.
And he had to make it now. Time was wasting. Without another moment’s hesitation, the decision was made. He began running toward the byway, the exoskeleton transforming his leg power into longer, loping gaits. It wouldn’t take him long with those monstrous strides. He just hoped he was headed in the right direction.
***
“Thanks for your help, Baroness,” Tiger said appreciatively to the hologram of the buxom, green beauty many hackers, including Jocko, considered the Igor Vesolovsky of their century. “I had no idea you and ol’ Jock knew each other so well. I know he spoke very highly of you.”
He and Amber were now lounging comfortably in the backseat of Tex’s Skyliner, as the old Ranger drove away from the subdivision. Tiger had been right. The cops had indeed searched every inch of Tex’s Skyliner at the gate entrance. Satisfied that everything was kosher, they let him go without incident. A hundred yards down the road, where Tiger and Amber had jumped the subdivision wall, he picked them up.
Twenty minutes earlier, just prior to their leaving Tex’s house, the Baroness had called Jock’s PDC, unaware of his fate. Once Tiger apprised her of the situation, she warned them not to leave the hangar yet, that she was tracking merc gunships stalking them. She said she was going to hack into their surveillance and communications equipment and disrupt it as long as she could. She had succeeded, and now they were making their break.
“When he told me what was happening earlier, I was glad to help. He’s told me so much about you over the years, even though this is the first time we’ve ever talked, I almost feel like I’ve known you for so much longer.”
“Don’t believe half of what you heard, and take the other half with a grain of salt,” he jested.
“He thinks very highly of you. I almost get the sense he feels he owes you a great deal for all you did for him when you were children.”
Tiger turned somber and looked down, hiding his emotions. “He doesn’t owe me a thing.”
And if he did … the slate’s wiped clean now!
She sensed she’d touched on something raw and painful. “I’m very sorry to hear about what happened to Reggie,” she was genuine in her lament.
Reggie? Damn! You think you know a guy …
She was continuing, “But you might take comfort in knowing I have just tapped into the local hospital system. He arrived at the ER a few moments ago and they’re sending him straight to surgery.”
“Thank you so much,” he felt a surge of relief, tempered by renewed guilt. “I appreciate that info.” At least now, he had a fighting chance.
“If I find out anymore, I’ll let you know.” Those big, green eyes seem to sparkle, even thru the electronic haziness of the transparent hologram. He found them captivating, disarming, inviting.
“You’re very kind, er … uh, Your Highness?” he stumbled sheepishly. He suddenly realized he’d lost his train of thought momentarily, hypnotized by the lady’s beauty. Immediately, he felt guilt at such blatant selfishness in light of the fact they were discussing such a serious matter. Still, the lady was a stunner. You just couldn’t get around that. Even as a Moon Maiden. He’d never been big on the whole “little green woman” thing, but it definitely worked for her. Worked very well indeed!
“Like I said earlier, what good is a friend if you can’t help each other out in situations like these?” she asked. She then nodded to Amber. “However, I do think it’s important you and your little friend there … you need to bring that data Reginald gathered and lemme have a look at it. See if we can find out her story … her whole story.” She turned back to Tiger, looking him dead in the eye, making sure he understood the importance of her next words. “And I
