"New thing," Sam said. "Sensory boost implants. Chor'Tan technology."
"I'm surprised they haven't sold you on them," Jack said.
I leaned away from them. Sensory boost implants?
"A chip is installed, then you take nerve strengthening drugs," GreenMel said. "It takes some training, but the control panel to change volume and signal strength is in your mind's eye."
Do they make an implant that will boost sexual experiences? I had a dirty mind. The Agency is not going to create a chip to boost sensory input for sex.
I asked, "Side effects?"
"The nerve enhancement drugs tend to affect all nerves," Jack said.
Sam nodded. "But we've got a dial for everything. We will most likely never need pain killers."
"Just your team has these enhancements?" I asked. "Are there other teams?"
GreenMel replied, "A couple of teams worldwide."
Sam started to laugh. Jack and GreenMel soon followed.
"You're an idiot," Jack said.
"We don't have microprocessors in our brains and enhanced nerves," GreenMel said.
Sam stopped laughing. "And if we did have such a thing, it would be classified so highly you'd never find out."
At this point, I didn't know what to believe. Then it hit me, I could be kissing Sam instead of talking to her. I leaned in and nuzzled into the side of her neck and kissed her.
She pushed away from the table with her tray and disconnected from me. GreenMel and Jack stood up.
I chased after Sam. "What's your schedule like today?"
She turned a hard stare on me. "You act like we're dating or something."
"Since when haven't we been dating?"
She dumped her tray. "I could be sick of you already."
You're not, though, you crazy-as-Hell-bitch. "I would believe that if we had been married for centuries or something."
"I have to do martial arts bot, then driving game, then lunch. Go run. You can't watch me train."
I'd rather watch her, but the tone of her voice made it clear that she was not joking. "I'll walk you down to the martial arts bot."
She walked very quickly in that direction. I followed. She should let me watch.
She turned to me when we got there. "Now shoo. You're giving me a stalker vibe, waiting for me, following me."
"I'll go run," I said. "Kill the bot."
"I would never train to kill with my bare hands. Some of the people I'm going to be encountering, I'll let go. Many will face trials."
Were we working for the same place? I guess I had missions like that. Ran and lifted. I did not wait at the cafeteria's entrance for Sam. One of the first people through the food line, I sat by myself at a table.
GreenMel came through the food line next and sat beside me. Jack soon followed her. A few guys from my team sat at another table. Zen came through the line and sat across from me in Sam's spot. Jack started dealing the first round of cards while we ate. Sam came in and sat next to me, resting her left hand on my leg. Zen is a good euchre partner, and we played a few rounds. Sam's hand found its way to my crotch, and she was trying to rub on me through my pants.
I pulled her hand off. "Tonight. When we're alone."
"No," she said.
Yes, damn it. "I love you, you're so gorgeous, but I sometimes question your sanity."
"That's fine."
What the Hell does that mean?
I finished eating and headed for the driving simulators. I changed the setting from mission to race and drove all afternoon. With the G forces in the simulator, it was like racing for real, except you didn't die in an accident.
I went to get dinner. Sam was waiting by the entrance to the eatery. She kissed me, and she did not let go. Her hand started reaching in my pants. I disengaged my lips and said, "We're in a hallway."
"We should be in my room," she said. "I'm going on a mission tonight, and I need some luck."
And I need dinner, but I'm not about to say no to Sam. Worst comes to worse, and lack of food will cause my liver to pump sugar into my bloodstream, maybe tap into some fat cells. She was trying to pull me away from the food, and it smelled so good.
I followed her. After we made it to her room, I asked her, "How long do we have?"
"I leave in a couple of hours."
I noticed she was already naked. Like I was busy talking, and she was busy stripping naked. She hopped on the bed and spread her legs wide. I did her twice before she had to leave.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
After she left, I sent a quick text. "Love you. Good luck."
She texted me back, "You're a fucking stalker."
I didn't reply to that. Wasn't willing to argue about it. Slept better than I had in a long time. Sphinx and GeoSix were sitting at a table at breakfast, and I sat with them. Zen and Archangel came through the food line next.
Zen looked me in the eyes. "Did you sleep with Sam?"
I didn't really feel like that was anybody's business but mine and Sam's, but I nodded anyhow.
"Is this your first time?" GeoSix asked.
I decked that fucker right on the mouth, and he went sprawling across the floor. No. I did not hit him. "I wish. First time was the best time."
"That's not what he's talking about," Zen said. "Is this the first time you've had a girlfriend on a dangerous mission, and you're not there?"
I thought back. Maybe this was the first time for that. "I don't know. I hadn't been thinking about it."
Nancy came through the food line and sat at our table.
"Is Sam on a dangerous mission?" I asked.
"Oh yes, the computer's giving them less than two percent chance of success," Nancy said.
My mouth dropped open. "Say it isn't so!"
"They're on a simple mission to extract one of our informants. The informant wants to come in, and it should be a very basic meetup and escort."
That made me feel a lot better. The wheels started to turn in my mind. What if the meetup is really a trap? "Did you just send GreenMel, Jack, and Sam?"
Nancy started cutting pancakes into pie shaped pieces. "We wanted to send one car, so three agents made sense."
Sam better be ok. I don't know what I'd do if she wasn't. Well, I would likely live.
Zen pointed a plastic fork at me. "Are you going to sleep with all the noobs one by one?"
"He should do them in pairs. It's more efficient," Sphinx said.
"Sam is special," I said. "She tells the most brilliant stories. Have any of you heard her bat story?"
"I've heard enough of it," Nancy said.
Thomas came through the food line with bloodshot eyes. He sat with us.
GeoSix said, "Before breakfast?"
Thomas held up a foil-wrapped square. "Before, during, and after. It's Saturday. I've got nothing planned."
"An emergency could come up," I said.
"Have I ever failed in an emergency before?"
I didn't have an answer. Worried about Sam. Wanted to send her a text, but I figured I'd get the same response as the last one.
I was finished with breakfast. Moved to take my tray and put it away. Nancy said, "conference room after breakfast."
I went there and waited. Thomas, Zen, GeoSix, Enigma, Archangel, and Sphinx all showed up. Nancy arrived and hit some buttons on the keyboard to summon a three-dimensional image of a mansion set up on a hill. "This residence is owned by a man named Jackal. Our intelligence indicates he was in charge of the installation your team just took out."
We nodded. Nancy continued, "Satellite photos indicate there are four people other than the Jackal at this mansion. They seem to be holed up inside, for now, so we need to hit it quickly."
Thomas asked, "Stunners?"
"You're not going."
"Shucks."
Nancy looked at me. "Name your team."
"I want the power cut, and Internet cut to their facility before we breach the doors," I said. "GeoSix and Sphinx on the rear door, with Archange
l and me on the front door. Explosive charges to bring the doors down."
"Viable."
"Sounds good to me," Sphinx said.
Enigma reached out to the 3D image of the mansion and made it spin. "This is not right. Not taking a medic."
I almost said you can come too, baby doll, but I held my tongue.
Nancy sighed. "I'll watch Lobster."
"He likes you," Enigma said.
"He expects me to throw the toy for hours. He never gets tired."
"I'll help. I'll take him running," Thomas said.
"And I am being excluded," Zen said.
Sphinx reached over and touched Zen's forearm. "You can cover the rear with us. There are only five people in the place."
"I'm fine. You guys don't need me. Maybe I'll find a noob and tie him up."
"Sam's friend Jack might be interested in that," I said.
"That's not a bad idea. He's good looking."
He's ugly as fuck. At that point, the look in Zen's eyes, she just wanted a nice hard on. I had seen that look in her eyes before. Before she met Ben.
Nancy said, "The clock is ticking."
We ran to the parking garage. Drove fast to the airport. Put two sedans into the cargo hold and took off. It dawned on me I didn't even know where we were flying to, but the GPS in the cars were preprogrammed. I reviewed satellite photos of our target. By all indicators, five people were in the mansion and had not left, unless they had an escape tunnel of some kind.
"Archangel," I said. "I want you to carry a 5.56mm submachine gun. You too, GeoSix."
"We're supposed to be going in with stunners," Sphinx said.
"You, Enigma, and I will have stunners, no problem. Side arms in hip holsters, but I want us to have some heavy guns just in case."
"Agreed."
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Sphinx and GeoSix split off in their own sedan. I had my bomb stuff in a backpack, and Enigma had a good sized medicine bag. Each of us put white phosphorous grenades in our pockets.
The mansion sat on an incline. The lawn was perfect. Three fast cars sat in the driveway. We did our best to sneak up on the place. Archangel planted the explosives on the door. We were wearing helmets, and Sphinx radioed, "Ready."
We backed away about fifteen meters. Archangel said, "On three. One. Two. Three."
Boom. The door exploded inward. We ran into the smoke. A combat robot was right behind the door, and I had a damn stunner in my hand. Archangel blinded it with machine gun fire, but it started blazing away in our general direction. Enigma screamed and fell. I undid her jacket and applied two magic bandages to her right shoulder on both sides.
"Radio for help," I said.
The combat robot ran out of ammo, and Archangel and I advanced into the house. It was some kind of foyer that ran all the way to the rear of the structure. There was another blind combat robot at the end of the hall. Sphinx and GeoSix were there.
Two stairways led up to the left and right. Electric pulses of webs shot from rifles at the top of the stairs. The pulses hit Archangel in the chest, and he fell in a twitching mass of spasms. I shot my stunner at the guy with the rifle. Another man took his place, aiming for me, and I stunned him, too.
The gunner on the other side stunned GeoSix, but Sphinx cut him down. A fourth man took his place, and a stun round grazed Sphinx. I stunned that last man. I was alone. A great bellowing laughter filled the room. A tall, bulky man with red hair stepped to the stairs on the right.
I shot him with the stunner. The web of electrostatic discharge hit him in the chest, but he simply grabbed it and tossed it to the side. He ran down the stairs fast, right at me.
I didn't think to pull my pistol or a grenade. The man grabbed my helmet and ripped it off my skull. I stunned him again. It had no effect.
"We finally meet, Bear." He grabbed me by the lapel and lifted me off my feet. "I am Jackal. Carbon fiber coated bones. The stunner? That kicks my enhanced adrenaline gland into gear."
I reached both hands into my pockets and pulled the grenades out. He dropped me, grabbed my hands, and ripped the grenades out of my possession. "Or should I call you Joshua?"
That got my adrenaline gland going for sure. My hand instinctively went for my 9mm. Jackal was faster, and he caught it first. "Centurian wants you alive. And it's my job to deliver."
I hit that fucker as hard as I could with my right. His head jerked back, but he simply laughed. He hit me in the jaw, and I spit out two teeth. Things were not going well.
He grabbed me by the throat and picked me off the ground. My airflow stopped. I hit at his hands. I hit his face. My lungs started to burn.
Sphinx's beautiful foot crashed into the side of Jackal's head, and he let go of me.
I breathed. Jackal turned his back on me and hit Sphinx with both his fists at the same time. She went flying. I jumped with every bit of juice I still had, landing on Jackal's back. I wrapped my right arm around his throat, hooking my hand into my elbow, with my left hand pushing on Jackal's head.
I squeezed as hard as I could, not really caring at that point if Jackal lived or died. He hit my hands with his. He tried kicking with his heel into my legs. I kept the pressure on as strong as I could. He smashed me into a wall. I didn't let go. I was not going to lose to this fucker.
He fell. I held on. Sphinx showed up with zip ties, and she secured his arms while I kept the chokehold going. I let go. We zip tied the other four men.
Enigma stood in the doorway. "I have smelling salts."
She held them out to me, then sat down in a chair. I put them under Archangel's nose, and he stirred awake. I did GeoSix next.
I looked at Enigma. "How far out are the locals?"
She lifted her head up. "Twenty minutes."
I pointed at Jackal. "Help me, Archangel."
We picked him up and put him in the trunk of our sedan.
"The locals can have the other four," I said. "Jackal we take straight to Phoenix."
Sphinx smiled. "You and Archangel go. We'll wait."
We nodded and piled into our sedan. The drive to the airport was uneventful. We were back in Phoenix soon enough. Sam had not returned and had not texted me.
I sent her a text, "Mission successful."
Nancy locked Jackal up in one of our deepest, darkest cells.
Chapter Forty
Sam still hadn't texted me back. I crawled into bed. My head hit my pillow.
"Bear's team to conference room Z, the basement."
Z? I had to pull up a map to find it. Across the hall from Joe's server room. I raced down the stairs. Zen, Archangel, and Sphinx were waiting.
Nancy stepped into the room. "We have a problem."
"Then where is everybody?" I asked.
"Thomas, GeoSix, and Enigma are in conference room A. We're also calling in JenSix's team out of LA. They're already on their way."
The simplest of thoughts raced through my mind. Sam's team got captured or taken out or something.
Nancy pushed a few buttons. A short, squat building appeared over the table. "We're going to war. Jack, GreenMel, and Sam were assaulted. Sam escaped, but GreenMel and Jack are in Centurian's hands, transmitting through a neural network connection." Nancy pointed at the short building and made it rotate. "You will go in with the submachine guns, grenades, and 9mm. Archangel will be equipped with a Chor'Tan blast rifle, in case you encounter anybody wearing armor."
She looked each of us right in the eyes. One by one we said the magic words, "We accept this mission."
"Jack's in this facility. It's a two-hour drive. The clock is ticking."
Sphinx said, "Armory."
We ran. Sam texted me. "It was so horrible."
I called her. Screw texting. "What happened?" I asked.
"We pulled up. Our contact didn't come out. GreenMel and Jack got out of the damn car and approached the house. They had those stun gun rifles. The only thing that let me escape is I was driving."
We equipped at the armo
ry. Archangel seemed really calm like the blast rifle was humbling. Zen grabbed all explosive tipped bullet magazines. I picked one spare of those.
"I'm going to get Jack and bring him home," I said to Sam.
We made it to the car, and I drove. I cranked it up to 160 kph and rocketed down the road. Jack's location was plugged into our GPS. The map software was telling me to stay on these country roads, and I got stuck behind a slow moving caravan. There wasn't an emergency lane, and the oncoming lane was constantly full of vehicles driving about 70-80 kph.
So I drove slow. We had the GPS on Jack. I hit the hands-free on the phone panel and dialed Nancy. "What are these network implants in Jack and GreenMel?"
"Experimental Chor'Tan technology, except it relies on wireless cell phone wavelengths, instead of a subspace band. It's possible those signals are going to get detected, but the device is small and mimics bone in an x-ray," she replied.
"We're stuck behind a damn caravan."
"I'll radio locals for an escort."
Thanks. I hung up the phone. "Somebody pull up a satellite photo of our target, and tell me about this structure."
"It looks like a simple office building with a 20-car parking lot that is half empty," Zen said. "According to our files, medical offices, lawyers, at least one software technology firm. Wait. According to this, the software firm has a big data center."
"They could be legit," Archangel said.
A state patrol car with lights going pulled up behind us. Out of instinct, I moved to the right. They made a hole in the traffic for us, and I steered past the slow moving vehicles.
I punched the gas down. "Zen, how much space is between the building and the parking lot? Chances are there is a motion detector in that parking lot. We've got to park nearby and gear up from the trunk."
"There's street parking all up and down the road it's on," Zen said. "Spaces are open."
The GPS showed a distance of five kilometers. Jack's signal started to move. The mapping software started to adjust for the anomaly. I downshifted into third gear and passed the patrol car giving us escort. "Get us satellite photos on the GPS. Find out what we're up against."
Sphinx and Archangel were in the back seat. Sphinx pushed Archangel forward. "Lean out of the way."
Codename: Bear II: Secret Agent (Codename Universe Book 2) Page 13