“What’s in the next room?” she shouted to Glynn.
“Corridors leading to office space.”
“Exits?”
“None from that direction.”
“He could be looking for a window or—”
“Ruby, stand down. I’m on my way.”
She would have to deal with Glynn’s disapproval later. One more rogue this month and she beat Nikoli’s record. She charged into the corridor beyond the kitchen. A right turn. Another short stretch of corridor, leading to more doors. Ruby ran through into a storage room. Boxes and crates were stacked high. Sheets covered larger exhibits. Lots of cover for someone to take advantage of. She slowed, her heart beating fast, eyes sharp.
Clang.
Ruby raced out of the storage space into another short stretch of corridor. A short flight of stairs led to an open door. A strong breeze tumbled down the steps.
“He’s on the roof.”
“Wait,” Glynn shouted. He was running, his breath was ragged.
She took the steps two at a time, again cursing her dress for being so restrictive and knocked aside the roof door that the wind was knocking back into place. In the open, she forced herself to slow down and focus. He had the advantage. Ruby looked across the flat room, concerned by the large air conditioning units that were tall enough to hide behind. Besides that, there was a small base station unit with a dish aimed at the sky. The next building was dozens of metres away, he couldn’t have made it that far. Unless, he’d found the fire escape. Her eyes flicked around the environment, her mouth dry. In her ear, the heavy breathing of Glynn as he hurried to meet her.
Focus.
A body slammed into hers, crashing her to the ground where the asphalt grazed her bare arms and the wind was punched from her lungs. The bastard had been waiting behind the door for her.
He was on top of her—his sneering face inches from her own, spittle dropping onto her cheek. Ruby slammed her knee into Logan’s groin eliciting a moan of pain. She followed this with a shove and an elbow against his shoulder, driving him away.
Logan didn’t back off. He lunged at her. Ruby slipped on loose gravel and he grabbed and spun her against an air conditioning unit. Her head knocked the metal casing and her vision clouded. His hands grappled with hers until he could force her arm up behind her back.
Slam. This time her front smashed into the unit. Ruby raised an arm to lessen the impact but her cheek still stung. An object was suddenly jammed into her back.
“I don’t want to kill you.”
“You might have to.”
A gasp of exasperation. He was new at this. First rule was never to engage with the enemy. She had a chance.
“You don’t understand what he’s doing,” he said.
“Tell me.”
Glynn would be here soon. A minute more was surely all she needed.
Logan’s voice was young and full of anguish. A man at the end of his tether. “They threatened my family.”
“Who did?”
“They threatened to lock them up if I didn’t turn myself in.”
“Then turn yourself in,” Ruby replied.
He laughed, a gutless sound like a dog yakking on a bone. “They’ll diminish me.”
“Are you prepared to run?” Ruby knew he wasn’t. “Whatever the ATL have promised you, they’re lying. There’s no way this can end with you walking away and heading back to a lifestyle of your choice. If you want your freedom, sign the register. If you don’t want to do that, you better start moving because my team aren’t going to let up.”
Thirty seconds. Keep him talking. Whilst he’s talking he’s not shooting.
“That’s not a choice,” he replied.
“Go to OsMiTech. Change happens within the system. You can’t fight it from the outside.”
“On the inside telepaths don’t always find their way back outside.”
A sound from behind, feet running up the stairs. The pressure on her back eased. It was all she needed.
She swept her leg behind her, simultaneously twisting her arm around and pulling down hard on his gun arm. Logan fell hard to the floor, the gun dropping. He yelled in pain.
Five seconds. She had no time to think before Glynn would be by her side. Her brain loved to work at this speed.
Logan was an unregistered telepath.
The event employed snoops.
He was supplied by the Anti-telepath League.
Ruby punched his windpipe and Logan’s fight was over. With light fingers, she patted down his trouser pockets and a second later pulled out a silver ampule. The blocking stim he’d used to get past security wore off quickly, and he’d have been sure to keep it on his person to top up every few minutes. It was the only way he would have got past the snoop.
The fire escape door opened and Glynn came running out onto the roof, fear melted into relief as he saw it was Ruby kneeling over the body of the waiter.
She smiled at her boss, palming the ampule in her hand. He didn’t need to know.
“You took your time,” she called. “I think that means I’ve beaten Nikoli now. You can buy me a drink to celebrate later.”
9:20 PM
The drizzle had stopped but Ruby pulled her jacket up around her shoulders anyway. Glynn had opened the side of the DRT van and they were sat beside each other on the floor of the van, legs hanging out. Cars rushed by on the main road and drones buzzed around the arts centre, excited by the activity. Her mind was racing with the aftermath of the chase, and her stomach was rolling but she knew that she’d done well. The thrill of the capture and the knowledge she’d saved society from yet another rogue telepath was enough to keep her going. Just about.
She could have done without the grazes up her arms and bruises on her knees, though. Next time, she’d wear whatever the hell she liked on a job, posh drinks reception or not.
It might have helped if Glynn wasn’t being such a dick about her following procedure. But the man was all about procedure; it oozed through his veins.
Across the street from them, Scott Logan sat in the back of a police car, staring into the distance, head resting on the glass.
“I don’t suppose I’ll get a commendation this time,” Ruby said. She pulled a bottle of water from her bag and glugged. Glynn was already tapping away at his access point, drafting reports. He was a tall man, broad across the chest and shoulders with a tussle of short blond hair above a craggy face and eyes that burned.
“Don’t try me.”
“Excuse me?” she replied, frowning.
“I told you to stay put.”
“My HALO was playing up. I couldn’t hear you properly.”
“Bullshit, Ruby. Don’t give me that rubbish. You went after an armed man in the middle of a reception full of members of the public. It’s sheer luck that he didn’t get the upper hand.”
“Oh, nothing to do with my skill then? Jesus, Glynn. Don’t be such an arse. I got the job done.”
Glynn turned to look at her. Those burning eyes again. “I’ve enough to deal with. I need you to be on the team.”
“Like Nikoli?” And she regretted saying her friend’s name as soon as it passed her lips. Whatever had happened to Nikoli in there had jeopardised the operation. It hadn’t gone unnoticed by Glynn, but her drawing more attention to it had taken the shine off the team’s victory—no, goddamn it—her victory.
“Don’t concern yourself with Nikoli. He’s next on my list. You just worry about how you’ll word your report on tonight’s event. I want it filing in your datastack by eleven o’clock tomorrow morning.”
“OK. No problem.” She rolled her eyes. There didn’t seem any point in shooting the breeze with the boss anymore. “You going back inside?”
“No. I’m waiting for Nikoli, then heading over to the office. Got to help process Scott Logan.” The police had got inside their vehicle and seemed ready to leave. Ruby knew the teep would go to Southport police station for interviewing, and a representative from t
he DRT team would be called upon to assist. They would need a blocker to make sure Scott Logan didn’t scan his interviewers. Ruby wondered who they might persuade to get out of bed so late, and then she saw him again—the snoop that had been scanning attendees at the main entrance. He was facing her, e-cig in hand. It looked like he’d formed from the shadows, his dark tuxedo blending with the low light. Why’s he staring like that? The police car pulled away and in the time it took Ruby to look after the departing vehicle and back again to the doorway, the snoop had vanished. She remained unsettled and felt like now would be a good time to head home, but another figure appeared in the doorway to take the snoop’s place.
“Nikoli,” she said to Glynn and nudged his arm.
Nikoli stumbled against a security guard on his exit and stopped at the steps leading down to the pavement. He pressed his hands against his cheeks, slapping them gently before drawing his hands forward and exhaling deeply.
Ruby raised a hand in greeting but either he didn’t notice, or he chose to ignore her.
Glynn made a move towards their colleague, but Ruby grabbed her boss’s sleeve and pulled him back to the van. “Don’t. Let me talk to him.” She didn’t feel the need to tell Glynn about the woman she’d seen Nikoli with. Ever since she’d joined the department, Nikoli had looked out for her and it felt right she should do her best to protect him now. “Go back and write your report. I’ll see what’s up. You can talk to him in the morning when you’ve calmed down.” Ruby slipped out of the van and slid the door shut.
Glynn stiffened, and for a moment she thought he might confront Nikoli regardless. However, his shoulders slumped, and he nodded. “Message me later.” And with that, he got in the support van and drove off, leaving Ruby alone on the pavement watching her friend.
Nikoli struck his arm out, and it looked like he might be about to make a call on his HALO. Instead, he rubbed his forehead and crossed the road. Ruby hurried up to him.
“Hey, what happened in there?”
He spun around—a flash of annoyance on his face. His hazel eyes sparkled. Had he been crying? No, she decided, that was fear she was witnessing. What the hell had Devan said to him?
“I’m going home. I’m already late. Lavinia will kill me.”
“I’ll kill you if you don’t tell me what happened in there with Devan Oster.”
“It’s nothing.”
“It entertained a room full of the country’s most prestigious snobs and journalists. So, have some decency, and tell me what the hell you were playing at.”
He shook his head. “I can’t.”
“You’ll have to. I could have got killed tonight. You should have been beside me.”
“You can take care of yourself.”
“And fuck you too. I’ve got my report to write. What am I meant to say about you?”
Nikoli shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Say what you like.”
Ruby felt her anger curling up in the centre of her chest. She punched his shoulder with the flat of her hand. “Don’t do this. What have you got going on with Devan? Something important enough that you risked our operation?”
“Don’t just go making stuff up. You don’t mess around with Devan, or OsMiTech. Keep your ideas to yourself.”
She wanted to laugh at the seriousness of his expression but her anger at him was too raw to break even a smile. “Nikoli, I’m your friend. Talk to me.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Glynn’s pissed.”
His eyes had a haunted look. “What did you tell him?”
“About what? The way you disabled communications or the way you were messing around with that woman?” As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew she’d made a mistake. He dropped his arm and gripped the sides of her shoulders, a little too tightly.
“Watch what you’re about to say. Think very carefully about it. There’s nothing going on. I know her at OsMiTech that’s all. She’s one of Devan’s PAs.”
“You’re hurting me,” she said. The grip dropped and she pinned him with her eyes. “What are the tombs?”
His expression changed again. He pressed his lips together. “What?”
“The tombs—you told the entire room about it.”
He bit his lip. Then lifted his arm to get the attention of a taxi driving by.
Ruby continued. “You said something about the tombs being dangerous and then Devan dragged you off into a room. What were you talking about?”
“It’s private.”
“Was it about work? Something Glynn needs to know about?”
“You can’t tell Glynn.”
“He’s our boss. If this will cause him embarrassment, or the department, he needs to be prepared.”
“It doesn’t. Listen, Ruby, you’re a nice girl but you’re not prepared for this. It’s not something you want to get involved with.”
“Don’t do that. Don’t patronise me like I’m a nobody. I’ve been in the department for two years. I know what I’m doing. I can handle myself.”
“You don’t know how to handle people like Devan. He has people that would give you nightmares.” The colour drained from his face. “Listen, I’m sorry. You’d better go back in. Enjoy the rest of the event. See what Devan has got planned for us all.”
Ruby looked at his face briefly, for a brief look was about all she could bear right now. Hostility and resentment and fear all emanated from the face that she’d thought belonged to a friend no less than an hour ago. What a way to finish the evening.
As he came in close, Ruby thought he was about to say something, only he changed his mind and embraced her in a tight hug. “Look after yourself,” he whispered in her ear. And then he pulled away and hurried down the street.
Taken aback, Ruby only wanted to go home and forget about this evening, maybe call Fin. She gave a half-shrug. “Take care of yourself, Nikoli.”
And she turned to re-enter the reception, sick of the sight of her friend.
9:51 PM
Trying to put the argument with Nikoli from her mind, Ruby made her way back indoors and was at once hit by the warmth of the reception. The clusters of guests had rearranged themselves to direct their attention to the stage, their eyes so focused on what was happening up there that no one paid her entrance any notice.
They were looking at Devan Oster, on stage and in full flow of his presentation. Devan was the reason most of the audience had turned up and the atmosphere had changed accordingly. Everyone was listening intently to what he had to say. He bobbed his head as he spoke, spreading his hands wide whenever he had a point to make. Ruby sloped in and stood by a pillar towards the back of the hall.
“—numbers have been on the increase for the first quarter of this month. We’re excited to see that user engagement with news feeds has seen almost a two-fold increase on the same time last year.
“But, it’s important that we never stand still. We’re always looking to the future at OsMiTech. Always anticipating what the country most needs, what you most need. Since we launched the OsMiTech Network we’ve seen competition come and attempt to steal our crown—and fail. It’s not that they didn’t have good products, it’s that they failed to appreciate the nuances of the user. They couldn’t get their heads around what a loyal set of users the OsMiTech Network is founded on. And I mean that most sincerely—without our customers, we would have nothing. A communications network with nobody using it is no good to anyone. Our competition have failed to learn this.
“Opponents have suggested that we open our network to third parties. Let them access our infrastructure. And I say, ‘to hell with that’. I mean seriously? If you want to contribute, you can join our partner programme and let the public decide your worth. If you think I’m going to just let you make use of the network I’ve fought hard to establish, then you’d be wrong.
“I don’t want to dwell on that. My legal team is working their magic to make the problems disappear. The reason I’ve invited you all here today, la
dies and gentlemen, is to show you a piece of the future.”
The lights dimmed. A screen behind Devan burned white as a presentation began. He stepped to the side as a flurry of graphics and statistics hurtled across the screen. Ruby found it hard to take it all in, but then she guessed that was the point. What else needed to be said about the country’s key communications network? Everyone had access to it. Well, everyone who actually wanted to keep in touch with anyone else. Even government departments had integrated it into their daily process and routines. Only last week, Peak Life Network, the last serious contender to OsMiTech’s crown, announced hundreds of job cuts. The old networks were being disposed of quietly, without fuss. Some days it seemed that it was just Ruby who saw the problem with that.
A spinning logo blazed on the screen.
InfiniteYou
The lights rose and Devan returned to the stage to be met with a round of applause. So, the speculation was true. This reception was all about the launch of a new version of the network. OsMiTech had been dropping hints about it for some time and the press had been filling in the rest of the holes. Ruby absent-mindedly rubbed her DRT issued HALO, the devices were most people’s way into the existing network.
“You might have noticed that you’ve all been given a new HALO tonight. My small thank you for attending. And yes, as many of you have already speculated, a new network warrants a new device to access it. But, what you’ve got in your hands right now, isn’t going to be a barrier to entry. For the network to continue to grow, it needs to have customers and there’s more to it than even that.
“I believe we have an opportunity to do something truly different. We’ve already shown what the existing network can do. How it can change society. Bring people together, make connections. I want us to take that one step further. With InfiniteYou, we can change the world.”
Applause. The enthusiasm displayed by the crowd was incredible. Cries of support could be heard above the clapping and it took time for the noise to abate. Devan gestured for calm.
The Infinity Mainframe (Tombs Rising Book 3) Page 2