“And Nova?” Reese asked. “Who is she to you?”
He sighed. “She’s my niece.”
“Her father was the one who died after going into the desolation zones?”
“Yes.” Brogan’s face didn’t show any emotion, except a tick in his right cheek and the slight clenching of his jaw. “And I do not want that to go beyond this room. Or anything else we’ve discussed or will discuss. The people here know she’s El Cerebro’s ward. That’s all.” He gestured to Hammer, who drew out his iTeev and swiped across the surface.
The feeds on the wall changed from the beach to a recording of the room and each of them as they agreed to join El Cerebro, head of the Amarillo City Underground, in a quest to free the colonies, an effort that would change the very fabric of the CORE. Treason.
“This recording would be enough to send all of us for enhancement,” Brogan said into the deafening silence. “Even you, Garrett.” His eyes pinned each one of them in turn. “Until we can trust each other, this will be our trust.”
Lyssa’s surprise at El Cerebro’s identity had already melted into relief, while Jaxon’s had hardened to anger. “A boy died today for your secrets, Captain.” Between the lines, Reese read what he didn’t say—that his trust in the captain had been shattered by this ruse.
Brogan nodded. “Unfortunately, he won’t be the last. We beat Summers this time, but he’ll be back.”
BROGAN’S DIRE PREDICTION punched through the anger Jaxon wanted to keep burning in his soul. He’d failed to kill Summers, but he wouldn’t fail the next time their paths crossed. Brogan held a lot of authority in Amarillo City, and so did his alter ego El Cerebro, but that didn’t mean Summers wouldn’t come after them again in secret or find the pull to have them transferred out. Bringing them all under his wing at Amarillo Division might be one of Brogan’s best ideas, but Summers was a CORE Elite, and to be involved with Special Forces and the extermination of the former residents of Colony 6, he had a lot of pull, even if he was no longer officially in office.
Summers had slept with his mother on a visit to the Coop. Maybe more than once. For all Jaxon knew, he’d been a regular visitor. Anger burned in him. Was Summers responsible for the additional food supplies they’d enjoyed, Jaxon’s winter jacket, or his mother’s last pair of new shoes?
Then Summers had her killed. And all because of Reese’s drawing and her dad’s greediness.
Jaxon felt eyes on him and lifted them to meet Reese’s. She didn’t smile, but her eyes . . . she knew and understood. She’d keep her distance.
All he wanted at that moment was to hold her.
Reese turned back to Brogan. “What are we going to do first?”
Brogan smiled at her, as if glad to have something to focus on. Almost, it felt like they were in the conference room back at division. “We’re going to find out who is taking the scientists and programmers. We need to protect the people—that is always our first goal. I’m not sure how the victims are connected to each other, but this isn’t a serial killer we’re looking at. It’s something bigger. We need to find how it connects into the whole, and if it’s related to what Summers is doing to people from Colony 6.”
“I think I can have the mirroring software finished by Monday night,” Hammer said. “I’ve been working on it since Friday when I learned the details from my contact. My code’s rough, but it should do the work. If Eagle can design the hardware to block incoming transmissions, then we’ll see what the blind spot is hiding.”
“Assuming we find another blind spot to mirror.” Brogan’s eyes fell on Jaxon. “Hammer told me your idea about one of our scientists using another Teev. We need to pursue that option. I’d rather not wait for another person to go missing.”
“I know where to look,” Jaxon said. “Or at least what to look for when I see it.”
“And that would be?” Brogan’s question appeared simple, but it was an invitation.
Jaxon knew this was the moment he was really agreeing to be a part of this operation. “An old Teev in a closet next to a painting of a bullfighter. That’s all I know. But it should be enough to narrow it down.”
“You three,” Brogan pointed at Reese, Garrett, and Jaxon, “if you haven’t already, start making lists of people to visit. Don’t limit yourself to the immediate suspects. Check everyone.” He turned to Lyssa. “As soon as your sister gets here, we’ll talk about things you can look for in dispatch, things you should always assign to this team before any of the others. I’d also like both of you to take enforcer training. I think you may need it.”
Chapter 26
BY THE FOLLOWING Wednesday afternoon, Reese had visited and thoroughly searched twenty-five different locations. In the interest of time, she and her partners had decided to separate so they could cover more locations, and for the most part it had been mind-numbingly boring. She had access to an enforcer shuttle, but she’d been letting it drive her to several central locations and walking to the nearby addresses. Strange how the missing people had each lived their lives mostly on the same few blocks, going to their places of work, frequenting certain stores, eating at the same restaurants, and visiting a limited number of friends.
She had the feeling time was running out, and being on the streets alone in her enforcer blues had her always looking around, waiting for Summers or his henchmen to appear. More than once, she’d caught sight of a man or woman following her, but each had been wearing a black headband that signaled their connection with the Underground. Obviously, Brogan either didn’t trust her, or he was keeping her safe. Maybe both.
Invariably, the people she talked to had memories of the missing scientists come to their minds, and her sketchbook held dozens of new faces. She hoped Jaxon and Garrett were covering ground faster than she was. At least she was becoming more familiar with the victims. Five of the missing six had left behind spouses, two of them had two grown children each, one had a five-year-old son. One was a woman who had submitted a birth application six times and had been denied. One missing man’s wife was expecting after ten years of waiting for a birth order. Without exception, the missing scientists were well-liked and respected. Missed. Their families mourned them and waited with hope for them to return home. All but Philo Henderson, the seventh victim, whose wife and two grown children had no hope at all.
She was ready for a break and it was time for lunch, so she headed for a café near the Fountain. Alex Andres stood up from the cast iron table as she approached. “Thanks for meeting me,” he said, leaning over to kiss her cheek.
She tried to ignore the tingle his touch gave her. “Look, I know you were acting under orders, but if you ever inject me with anything again, I’ll shoot you.” There, she’d said the words she’d been meaning to say since the moment she’d learned he was responsible for the tracker.
He waited until she was settled before reseating himself. “Shoot me? Really? I told you—I knew you were heading into danger and were smart enough to turn off your iTeev. Brogan wanted to track you, and I wanted you safe.”
Her anger must have died since Saturday because he actually seemed reasonable. He pushed a drink across the table. “Chotks, just like I promised.”
She pushed it back. “I’m on duty.”
“I won’t tell.”
Technically one glass wouldn’t be against regulations. She took a sip, and he smiled. “You haven’t won,” she said.
“I know, but it’s a start.” His crooked smile was engaging. “What would you like to eat?”
“At this point, I’d eat the carton from a readymeal. But since you’re paying, I’ll take the most expensive thing on the menu as long as it isn’t related to a slug or any insect.”
He jumped up. “I’ll go find the waiter and order you a surprise.”
Fifteen minutes later, she was halfway through a tasty dish she didn’t recognize when her iTeev buzzed. She swiped the display without unsnapping it from her sleeve, reading the message from Jaxon.
“Oh, I’ve
got to go. He found it!” She forked up a couple more mouthfuls, knowing she probably looked ridiculous. “Thanks, Alex.”
“We’ll do this again?” He placed his hand over hers, and a pleasant shudder echoed up her arm.
He was asking for a second chance, and maybe she could give him that much. “Okay, but what I said still stands.”
“What if you’re dying and need a blood transfusion? You still don’t want an injection?”
“No way, no how. You are not my doctor.” She didn’t really mean she wouldn’t want him to save her life, but she needed clear ground rules if they were to try dating.
“Fine. I’ll let you bleed out.”
“Good.” She took another bite and arose. “Thank you for lunch, doctor.”
“Thank you for coming, enforcer.” He winked and gave her another smile that made heat spread through her stomach. At least they had attraction going for them. With Alex it was relatively simple, and maybe that’s what she needed in her life.
JAXON WAITED IMPATIENTLY for the others to arrive at the art gallery, managed by the cousin of missing victim number four’s expectant wife. Reese was the first to show up, jumping eagerly out of the enforcer shuttle before sending it off to park itself.
“Where’s Garret?” she asked Jaxon.
“On his way. But he’s across town, so as soon as Eagle and Hammer arrive, we’ll get started. Oh, there they are now.”
They waited until the two reached them at the entrance. Jaxon pointed at Eagle’s glasses. “Look, this might be overkill, but I think we should make sure you aren’t connected with the feed—that none of us are.”
“Don’t worry. I already turned off my feed,” Eagle assured him.
“Good.”
Jaxon led them to a back office, which he’d already cleared of personnel. He watched as Reese pushed past him, reaching into the closet for the Teev next to the picture of the deranged bull and a bullfighter who looked ready to face death. She set it on the desk, taking Eagle’s device and plugging it in.
Just like in his premonition, the old Teev sputtered to life, projecting its holo over her face. She stepped back as Hammer moved forward, swiping and tapping on menus in the air, bringing up his mirroring program that he’d copied to Eagle’s device. “Yes, there it is,” he said. “The blind spot used by Bart Richey, otherwise known as victim number four. Give me a moment to mirror it.”
A full minute ticked by and then Hammer said, “There. This is the site our victim number four was hiding.”
Reese gave Jaxon a triumphant smile. “We got it.”
“But what is it exactly?” Jaxon peered at the screen. Blue bordered the edges except for the middle white section that contained an article about some kind of hovercraft. Which was ridiculous since the tech behind those was nothing more than a pre-Breakdown dream.
Eagle tapped a menu and read down the choices: “Removing Your CivID Implant, Securing Your Teev, Helping the Colonies, Removing a Birth Control Implant, Obtaining a New CivID, Joining our Scientific Community.”
This main menu was followed by a list of articles: Sixty Die in Colony 4 Mine Collapse, Robotics that Would Make Mining Deaths Obsolete, Why You Shouldn’t Take Your Aging Loved One to a CORE Hospital, Colony 1 Uprising Results in 203 Deaths, 300 in Colony 6 Reconditioned for Refusing to Work Overtime.
That was only the beginning.
“This is what Richey was looking at?” Reese asked. “But articles like this pop up all the time, and they’re always taken down.”
“I think this is different.” Hammer brought up a black menu filled with Teev language. “Yep, just what I thought. It’s not a part of the regular feed. It looks like someone’s hacking in from the outside, allowing us to see into another network.”
“You mean, not our Teev feed but another one?” Jaxon had never heard of such a thing. “Who would be running it? We’re the only ones on this continent besides the crazy fringers.” Or maybe the not-so-crazy fringers. The men with Dani hadn’t seemed affected by radiation.
“Well, pre-Breakdown, the whole world was linked, at least that’s the rumor. But all on the same feeds. Nevertheless, a separate feed is exactly what I mean,” Hammer said. “And it can’t be removed because it isn’t technically within our system. You can only connect to it if you have the code, which we have because of the mirror. And that leads you through a maze of relays to get to it. That’s why Richey used the blind spot—to prevent anyone from seeing where he ended up.”
“Maybe this is why the scientists were taken,” Jaxon said. “The fact that they came to this obviously treasonous site.”
Hammer shook his head. “I mean, it could be a commonality, but unless whoever took them is searching out all their Teevs, finding the blind spots, and mirroring them to see where they go, it can’t be the only reason for the kidnappings.”
Jaxon thought of the TAD-Alert System in dispatch. “Maybe it could be done remotely. By a program like the TAD-Alert.”
“Even then, it would take time to pinpoint with all the Teevs and the thousands of programs and accounts. And it would only be able to trace them if they were currently on the feed.” But Hammer had a green tint to his face, as if he’d eaten something that disagreed with him.
“They wouldn’t have to monitor everyone if they had suspicions about certain people—or maybe professions,” Jaxon said. “And I’ve seen the TAD-Alert turn on a Teev remotely.”
“Okay, yes, in an emergency, but people smart enough to set up these blind spots should also be smart enough to prevent that.”
“You don’t sound too sure,” Reese said.
“I’m not.” Hammer heaved a sigh. “But even visiting a site like this is grounds for enhancement.”
“We need to find out what happened to those scientists,” Jaxon said. “And that starts with discovering who runs this site.”
Reese countered. “Maybe the CORE runs it. Could be a trap.”
A chill curdled through Jaxon’s veins. “Possibly.”
Everyone was silent a moment, and Jaxon felt pressure building. Was someone even now using a mirroring program to detect their actions? If so, who would be sent to respond to the threat? It’d have to be Special Forces, because he was certain his division hadn’t taken the scientists.
Jaxon pressed on the Contact Us link, and it opened to a page with a form. At the top was a link to a message board that read: If you need immediate help, this board is monitored continuously.
“Wait,” Reese said before he could touch anything on the holo display. “If the scientists got to this point, it could be that they were interested in the articles. But it could also be that they were directed here or searched for it in response to something going on in their lives. They might have been in trouble.”
“We should try the message board and ask for help,” Eagle said.
No one else had a better suggestion, so Jaxon punched at the message board link. Then he pulled up the holo keyboard and began typing. Was attacked by two men who tried to kidnap me. Please help.
A working icon appeared, showing that someone was typing. Then: You need extraction?
“Extraction?” Reese mumbled. “To where?”
“It’s a trap,” Eagle said. “This is probably how the scientists disappeared.”
“It’s the best lead we’ve got.” Jaxon quickly tapped a response. Yes.
How many?
“We need to be reasonable,” Reese said. “No way are they going to believe all of us are defectors.”
“Right.” So what would be reasonable? Most of the missing men and women either had grown children or no children, so two would likely be the most believable. But none of the missing had taken a spouse with them. Two of the missing had disappeared within a day or two of each other though. Maybe they had gone together.
Two of us, he typed.
Before he could submit the response, the scene before him vanished. He stands with the others under the hot sun, his arm brushing Reese’s as th
ey wait for the strange-looking shuttle to approach. Next to them, Lyssa—or was it Lyra?—gave a gasp.
Suddenly a shift and everything changed. He stands in the same spot, this time next to Garrett. The sun burns from the same position in the sky. They wait for the same odd shuttle . . . Fast forward . . . he sees the others—Brogan, Reese, Eagle—lying still on the ground. Blood everywhere. Too much blood.
In the next instant, it was gone. Reese and Hammer were holding him up. He shook them off. Trying to focus, he typed out more words before sending: And my sister. It came out, An my sistr, but that would probably be understood.
“What was that?” Hammer asked.
“Later.” Jaxon was still trying to figure that out for himself. He’d seen what he could only assume were alternate premonitions. The first one had no ending, so it could mean anything, but the second had obviously been a disaster. Or were they just parts of the same vision and he only wanted to believe there was a choice? That was more likely, but it couldn’t be—he wouldn’t let it be.
For a long minute, there was no answer on the screen. Had they broken some kind of protocol? Or had the question been a test? Maybe now they’d be asked for a reference number or told that was too many people.
Finally, a response came: Twenty-four hours.
Coordinates materialized on the holo screen. With a blinking countdown. Apparently, they had five—now four—seconds to memorize the numbers. Not easy when their iTeevs were off. Fortunately, Reese was already writing them down in her sketchbook.
The information vanished, along with the entire conversation. In its place were the words, Careful, they will be watching. The words flashed twice before disappearing into darkness.
“Okay, then,” Jaxon said. “That was weird.”
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