FIFTY ONE

Another scream from outside.

‘You sure we’re safe in here?’ Sarah asked.

Charles rolled out a handful of coils from his desk drawer, shooting a glimpse at the locked down shutters across his store windows.

‘We’re safe,’ he said.

He connected three of the coils to his cells, then reached amongst the dreadlocks to find a further four plugs.

‘You have got to be kidding me,’ Johnny said, ‘you have seven plugs in your head?!’

Charles glared at him.

‘Of course I do. I’m Charles fucking 7. What did you expect?!’

‘I didn’t know the number meant anything literal.’

‘Well now you know, Johnny Lyon. So hurry your ass up and get wired. That tech,’ Charles pointed to the firewall, ‘allows multiple connections. You need it for protection, so he don’t fry your ass soon as he sees you. So get your wiretap on.’ Charles paused, thought for a moment.

‘What?’ Johnny said, suddenly worried. ‘Is it not going to work?’

‘It’ll work,’ Charles said. ‘But it’ll work better, if you connect here,’ and he tapped his own head.

A dirty look from Sarah.

‘No way,’ she said. ‘Johnny don’t you dare.’

But Charles ignored her, wagged his finger.

‘I’m telling you, man, you need extra protection. I know a guy who could have that plug in your skull before you can say Jesus H Christ.’

Johnny shook his head.

‘No.’

‘One call.’

‘NO!’

‘Okay, Johnny Lyon!’ Charles raised his hands. ‘But don’t come crying to me if you get your ass handed to you out there. Those ol’ wiretaps can be slow. And with the kinda shit we’ll be facing, you could do with the extra kick.’

‘I’ll manage,’ Johnny said, connecting his wiretap to the main firewall tech.

He looked to Sarah, breathed some air out, holding the wiretap at his face.

‘Be careful,’ she mouthed to him.

He nodded then turned to Charles.

‘You ready?’ he asked.

The tech hack sure looked ready. His Logic Bomb was primed. Every coil was plugged into some tech or other, various types of firewall and security as well as tech coded for extra speed and versatility.

He grinned at Johnny, like a kid with too much candy in his mouth.

‘You bet your ass I’m ready,’ he said. ‘Let’s do this thing.’