part0018

Go jogged on the Coastal Highway shoulder, face strained with an ever-present grimace, grunts nearly drowning out the growing toll of distant buoys. His body was healing, but the aches were still there, something that had been even more apparent during the early morning workout at the gym Rosario had gotten him access to. Overhead, streetlights dimmed as gold feathered across the deep indigo of the eastern horizon. A lone boat rocked far out in the harbor, its engines a distant gurgle, its shape a faint triangle lit in white and red.

He turned west, picking up the pace as he headed for the Cove. The salty, fishy smells of the docks faded, and he imagined he caught a whiff of the grease from Breakers.

Sweat soaked and feeling better than he had since the parking lot ambush, he sprinted into the motel parking lot and up the stairs.

Just as he had expected, Rosario was still asleep, tangled in the sheets. As he undressed, he admired her long, firm body. It was beautiful and deadly, and she used it as effectively in combat as well as in the sack. Despite their fighting, she made him happy, and he liked to think that he did the same for her.

But he couldn’t love her, no matter how hard he tried. The damage from Sam ran too deep.

When the water was as hot as he could get it, he stepped under the showerhead. Steam rose around him, and the pelting drops were needles pricking his bruises. He stretched and flexed until he had a good idea of what he could endure.

Not one hundred percent, but he was making progress.

His earpiece chimed as he stepped out of the bathroom. A quick tap silenced the device, which he placed on his ear. The call was from Noelle Rackers.

He accepted. “Noelle?” He kept his voice little more than a whisper.

“I’m not surprised you’re up at this hour. If your dyke friend hadn’t driven me off, I could have helped with the problem.” She giggled.

“Are you drunk?”

“I am relaxed . A few stiff drinks, a couple stiff toys, and I’m feeling better. I’d rather not have to use the toys, but someone hasn’t taken advantage of the fringe benefits.”

Rosario’s chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. One look at the smooth lines of her coppery flesh, and Go was able to push thoughts of Noelle away. He stepped into the bathroom. “You were supposed to call me about the contract—”

“I am.” Noelle let out a drawn-out sigh. “We’ll get it to you early this afternoon.”

“Good. I was worried—”

“About the money? Or were you worried about me?”

“Yeah, you’re my customer. I have to worry about you, don’t I then?”

She moaned softly. “Why don’t you swing by this morning? Christopher will be gone soon. Off to fight his dirty little war and fuck his pretty partner.”

“Actually, I think I’ll start the investigation this morning. I want to get a good look at the two of them.”

“Get me video. The more damning, the better.”

“If they’re fooling around, you’ll get your evidence.”

“Oh, they’re fooling around. They have to be. I tried to kiss him last night. He came home late, smelling like an animal. He’d been drinking. And Christopher is not a pleasant drunk.”

“There’s no such thing. Is that what caused the delay?”

“Delay?” She seemed genuinely confused. “Oh! Right. Some things going on. Raisa said that we needed to let things settle down. You want to talk to her?”

An image appeared on the connection—a woman with pale hair and paler eyes. Round cheeks lent a sense of fullness to an otherwise not-unpleasant face, something not even the best makeup could hide. Alcoholic.

Go shook his head. “Maybe later. Any idea what—”

Rosario poked her head into the bathroom. “Who’re you talking to?” Her eyes were still heavy with sleep, and she seemed caught halfway between a smile and a frown.

Go muted the line. “A potential customer.”

Noelle’s voice rose. “Is that the bull dyke from the other night?”

Rosario stepped into the bathroom, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him. “I have to pee.”

Go slapped her butt softly, then stepped around her. He unmuted the line and hurried to the front of the room. “Hey, I’m getting ready to head out.”

Noelle hissed. “With your bull—”

“Stop calling her that. It’s a rude term to be throwing around, yeah?”

“Look, you have any idea what’s going on? Is your husband an alcoholic?”

“Christopher?” She laughed. “He’s so uptight, and he almost never drinks. I wish he would. I think I could push him into getting physical, and then I wouldn’t need a Lancer to get my money.”

“You’re playing a dangerous game. You hear me?” Go thought of Pardis and the blood on her hands and face. “Don’t even joke about that, yeah?”

“Is that concern in your voice?” It sounded like ice rattling against glass on her end.

“I don’t much care for men laying hands on women.”

“Well, I’m touched. I’d like to be more touched, if you can find the time.”

“Sober up. I’ll give you an update this afternoon.”

Noelle purred. “I look forward to it.”

The connection terminated just as Rosario turned on the sink water. She looked at him in the mirror. “You’re up early.”

Go almost snorted at that. “The gym and a jog. Working out the kinks, yeah? Get cleaned up and dressed. I want to grab breakfast.”

She shook her hips and bit her lip. “What? Am I a distraction?”

“You’ve got all my attention, but my stomach’s growling.”

She stepped back into the bathroom and turned the shower on. “It’s steamy in here. Did you leave me any hot water?”

“It’s in-line heating. You’ll be fine.”

While she cleaned up, he dressed and ran searches on the clinic, ambulance, and surrounding area for any information on Pardis. Without her full communication identifier and physical address, there wasn’t much he could do to track her down. That was something he would rectify the next time he talked to her.

Her disappearance, Robbie getting away, the lack of contact from the constables, the delay in the contract with Noelle, the strange goings-on with RPC…

Investigations weren’t supposed to be so complicated, not early on.

After a healthy breakfast, Go and Rosario took a short walk, then they rented a crawler and headed into Central City. RPC was located in the Pomeroy building, several blocks south of Main Street. It was eye opening seeing the interior of the newer buildings. This—the refined architecture, and the ubiquity of cutting-edge technology—was what truly set Newcastle apart from Bermuda. There were a few well-to-do families where Go had grown up, but none of them lived anything like what he was seeing now. There was a polish and a brightness and even a freshness in the chilled air that hammered home just how much of an outsider he was.

The RPC office was on the sixth floor. A pleasant, well-dressed man greeted them in the lobby. “Hello! How may I assist you?” Polished teeth, slicked-back black hair, and bright pink skin combined with a tailored suit to give the secretary a truly professional appearance.

Rosario thrust her chest out slightly, perhaps to compensate for her simple shirt and pants. “We have an appointment with Mr. Rackers.”

“Oh! You must be the Lancers.” The young man smiled at Go until Rosario cleared her throat.

“Yes. The rest of my team should be here soon.”

“I’m Roddy. Let me take you to the conference room.” Once again, the young man’s eyes drifted to Go.

This time, Rosario just rolled her eyes.

The conference room was down the hall and to the left, just beyond closed office doors of dark wood. When Go took a seat at the long table stained to match the doors, he noticed just how quiet the office was. Lights and devices gave off a fuzzy glow, but none of them produced the slightest sound.

After Roddy closed the door to leave them alone, Rosario circled the table, arms crossed over her chest. “Looks like you’re getting all the attention.”

“You’re ignoring all the fellas who stared at you while we waited for the lift.”

She smiled slightly. “Looks like we’ll have another late show from—”

The conference door opened, and Jason strode in. He wore a sports jacket over a button-down shirt, pulling off a casually sophisticated look. After nodding at Rosario, he sat across from Go. “I assume that was you in the elevator I missed.”

Rosario stared off into space. “You’re still on time. Unlike Ash.”

Jason placed his hands on the table, palm down. “His problems extend beyond tardiness.”

“We’ll just have to deal with it.”

“Do we? What does he give us, exactly?”

The conference room door opened again, but this time people in business suits filtered in. Go recognized Christopher Rackers, the Chos, and Richard Paulson, the silent partner. As far as Go could tell, the man was a wealthy investor, nothing more. The other two people weren’t part of Rosario’s briefing pack. One was a man probably in his thirties—dark-haired, less handsome than he thought he was, and with a light dusting of whiskers. The other man was shorter, with skin paler than Roddy the secretary, and a crew cut. He was the only one with an attaché case, and his suit looked like it cost more than Go had ever paid for rent in a year.

Christopher Rackers looked older than in the images. Not quite so pale as the lawyer, but there was more silver to Christopher’s beard than his unkempt hair, and his shoulders slumped. His eyes were puffy and red. He pulled a chair out for Lilly Cho, then dropped into the chair to her right and rubbed his eyes. “Thank you, Miss Salazar.”

Go checked off what he could recall of Christopher: advanced engineer, lots of training in hard sciences, and an MBA. It wasn’t quite as impressive as Lilly’s credentials: a PhD in some mumbo-jumbo about brains, another in cybernetics, and degrees in math and biology. It was a criminal wealth of capabilities.

Rosario took the seat opposite Christopher. “I appreciate you making time for this, Mr. Rackers.”

“Well, the situation is fluid.”

Her attention turned to the lawyer. “Is this Mr. Greer?”

The pink-faced man popped open the attaché case. “I am.”

Jason mouthed, “Lawyer.”

Go had seen the law firm mentioned earlier: Annan, Greer, Li, and Romano. Apparently, they were one of the most respected in the city. That left the security advisor: the guy who thought he was a stud. Go couldn’t recall hearing a name, so he turned to the man. “That means you must be the head of security.”

The other man scratched his whiskered cheek. “Nico Olshesky.”

“My name’s Matthias—”

“Matthias Goonetilleke. I know. I reviewed the contract. And I have to tell you, I advised against hiring you.”

Go smiled. “Maybe I can show you the error of your ways, mate.”

“Not likely.” The security expert sneered at Rackers.

Christopher straightened in his seat. “Let’s get this started. The purpose of this meeting is to convey the current status of RPC and the disposition of the Lancers hired to address security concerns—”

Nico spun his chair around to face Rackers. “It’s not a security concern.”

“I understand your desire to qualify the data leak as an operational issue—”

“I’ve reviewed every system and the architecture you’re running on. The only way data is getting outside of your network is if someone is maliciously extracting from within.”

Christopher pinched his brow. “Thank you, Nico. So, that cuts to the heart of the matter: The solution we want to implement as we enter the final phase of our research.”

Go realized he was staring at Lilly Cho and looked away with some effort. “Excuse me?”

“Mr. Rackers—”

“Christopher, please.”

“Sure, mate. You mind telling me what your research is?”

“Well…” Christopher looked first at Lilly, then turned to the lawyer, Greer. “Raul?”

The fresh-faced lawyer looked up from the smoked display embedded in the attaché case he’d been focused on. “If you intend for them to handle this investigation, Christopher, then you’re going to have to assume some level of risk.”

“We have them processed through all the normal agreements—”

“And they face fines, license suspensions, and jail time if they violate any of those.”

The older scientist grunted. His bloodshot eyes turned to Go. “Are you familiar with HMI?”

“HMI? Can’t say—”

Jason squinted slightly. “Human–Machine Interface. Critical for advanced cybernetics and as an effective means of robot and proxy control and for advanced tele-presence operations. It’s one of the hottest fields for advancement. But there isn’t any money in the sort of incremental tweaks that dominate the field right now. I was under the impression you were doing high-value research.”

Christopher and Lilly exchanged a quick glance, then she leaned forward. “What we’ve been working on isn’t next-generation HMI. It’s three or four generations beyond. We call it OMI. Organic–Machine Interface. Our intent is to not only increase the throughput in the interface but to remove the restrictions that exist today. Our work will enable connection between lower order animals and machinery, and that’s just the start.”

“Metacorporations aren’t known for embracing radical jumps.”

A smile split the woman’s lips. “And yet there is demand for this.”

“I…see.” Jason glanced down at his hands.

Go couldn’t read the other man’s features. There was understanding, but that was the only obvious thing. Go would have to ask for details later. “You mind a non-technical question, Christopher?”

Christopher smiled indulgently. “Of course.”

“I understand that this meeting was delayed because of this latest breach.”

“You said you have something in mind to address this problem?”

“I do.” The older man turned to the other principals. “We do. Since we’ve seen so many security leaks that come down to operational breaches, as Nico points out, the best solution is to remove the possibility of something physically leaving our lab.”

“So, your team will undergo scans and pat-downs?”

“That won’t be enough. We already have methods in place to prevent media entering or leaving the lab.”

“We intend to move the lab to the moon.”

Go caught himself before he laughed. The scientist was serious. “The moon, mate?”

“We’ve already arranged to rent a facility there. All that remains is to load our gear and systems.”

Harry Cho had been chafing during the discussion—chubby cheeks transforming from pale gold to a darker flush, wispy black eyebrows crawling like caterpillars, wide nostrils flaring. Now he rocked back and forth in his seat. “Just as simple as that.”

His inventory of skills was easier: bioengineering, computer engineer.

Christopher kept his eyes on Go. “Yes, Harry. As simple as that.”

“Except we had to dissolve the current ownership structure. And we had to seek out a venture capitalist to finance this. And now your ownership percentage is even larger than it was before.”

“I have more money at risk, yes.”

“And more to gain if we succeed.”

Christopher set his elbows on the table and clasped his hands so that he could rest his forehead against them. “That’s generally how risk and reward works.”

“Except most of the serious research has been done by Lilly, not you.”

“Why don’t we focus first on making this a success? I’m sure we will all be adequately compensated once that’s done.”

Lilly patted her husband’s hand. “It’s the right thing to do.”

Harry pushed back from the table. “Well, since everyone else is in agreement, I think it’s time I headed back to the lab.”

He stormed out and slammed the door behind him.

Nico leaned back in his chair. He had tracked Harry’s movement with wide eyes. “Why didn’t he challenge the dissolution if he felt so strongly?”

Lilly frowned. “He doesn’t have enough shares to challenge. All he could do was pull out, and that would mean walking away from the potential payout.”

“Wouldn’t that be better for everyone? You don’t need an angry insider.”

“Actually, he’s deeply involved in the research at this point.” She stood. “I should talk to him.”

Once she was out of the conference room, Rosario leaned forward. “Christopher, how does this affect our contract?”

Christopher adjusted his tie. “Well, obviously, the company you signed on with has been dissolved.”

The older man shook his head. “Just a moment, please. We have the funds to go forward with the contract, and that is our intent. However, the timeline has been accelerated. We need you to plug this leak before we head to the moon.”

Go knew the tension in Rosario’s neck and face. This would be a bad time for her to talk, so he slipped a hand under the table and squeezed her knee. “You have a date in mind for this move to the moon?”