by Ric Beard
“We searched the logs sent to the GridLock server. Though it detected the intrusion, the logs didn’t write anything.”
“How is that possible?” Blake asked. “If it detected the intrusion, it had to write some kind of code, didn’t it?”
“Look at you, pretending to be all tech savvy.”
“Bite me.”
She leaned over and pressed her lips against his cheek, and as she felt his cheek pulling back into a smile, Lexi lowered her head and bit him on the neck.
“Nice.” He waved her off.
“It created a timestamp but no code.” Lexi straightened her baggy brown shorts and crossed her legs. Blake gazed at her calves and worked his way up, but she ignored him. “I was wondering if it might have been someone from The Underground.”
“Yeah. Why not hack the security chief of JenCorp? You have the access.”
“It makes sense. But don’t worry, I’ll be diligent.”
“What were they looking at?”
Lexi considered the question, remembering tears streaming down her face. She looked up and pointed at the monitor.
“Hey, it’s on.”
Blake gave a voice command and the smart system raised the volume.
They watched the first five minutes of Mikael’s speech in the silent warmth of the apartment accessed via the area behind the shelving in Blake’s office. It had been built by Mikael thirty years earlier as a sort of safe room and had expanded from there. When Mikael retired from the business to which he’d dedicated the second half of his life and handed Blake the reins, it only made sense that he’d also handed him the keys to the apartment.
“I think you’re right.” Lexi was sitting with her back shoved into the corner of the plush sofa, and her long, bare feet rested on a pillow atop the glass table. “He’s a natural.”
“Public speaking has always been his forte. He can put on a real show.”
“It’s funny.” She slid her feet off the table, sending the pillow flopping onto the floor, and turned toward him. “You’re his kid, you see him as a father, from the inside. But have you ever imagined how other people see him? From the outside?”
“You’re hardly on the outside. Like you said, you worked for him for years. You came up through the ranks because he saw something in you. I’ve never seen him take to anyone like that.” Lexi wondered if the expression that washed across Blake’s face might be jealousy. “But it turns out his instincts were right. You’re pretty spectacular, especially for a twenty-six-year-old.”
“You’re only twenty-seven!” Lexi slapped his shoulder. “Don’t try that mature guy act with me.”
“What do you think of him now that you’re kind of dating his son?”
She blinked.
“That’s what we’re doing? Kind of?” She leaned in and ran a hand up his arm. “Are we dating, Mister Blake Jensen? Will I be going around town on your right arm? Are you going to take me to your next event and parade me in my best red dress?”
“You do look great in red. And the leggier, the better.” He grabbed her and pulled her on top of him.
Blake looked up into her eyes, and she had to make a conscious effort not to let her wave of discomfort be seen. Lexi was playing him, but the last three days, since they’d screwed in the combat practice room, she had developed a real affection for him and didn’t like how vulnerable it made her feel. She masked the expression with a smirk. He raised his chin, puckering his lips to meet hers. She grazed his lips with her own and pulled back slightly, then grazed again.
“Tease.”
“Tease, huh? Do you prefer your gifts without the wrapping paper, too?”
“That reminds, me,” Blake said. “I have something for you.”
“For me? Wha—?”
“Shh!” Blake pushed her off and went to a hutch in the corner of the room. He reached in and pulled out a cube wrapped in purple glossy wrapping paper with a yellow bow and handed it to her.
“What in the world?” She pushed a red curl behind her ear and looked down at the box.
“I couldn’t resist. Open it.”
Lexi gently unwrapped the gift and pulled the lid off the box. Inside, was the glass RTP GeneWorks ashtray with the embossed leaf. Her eyes shot up.
“You have no idea how sore you are going to be when I’m finished with you.” She leaned forward, grabbed his head and pulled it toward her, opening her lips, letting the tip of her tongue slip out—
They both jolted as a shot rang out on the monitor.
Chapter Forty-Two
A Real Handful
Lexi wiggled around the tripod supporting the pulse weapon and looked through the open window, out onto the street. Down five stories and a hundred or so yards to the east, motion-detecting lasers cordoned off the scene where the now-splintered podium lay atop the courthouse steps on the concrete landing. Three Security Services officers in their light blue uniforms stood inside the perimeter of the laser.
Doesn’t that render it redundant?
The apartment was abandoned, but there was no dust on the floor, no loose trash, no proof of previous occupancy other than a few black scuffs on the kitchen floor. It was a small dwelling, usually the kind of place to which single laborers like those in the wood shops would be assigned. The last tenant had passed away of old age three weeks earlier, and the apartment hadn’t been leased as of yet, according to the yellow-toothed, frail property manager, who was standing in the corner watching her with more than just standard interest. She wished he’d go away so she could just stand in the corner and tap her feet for a few minutes before going back downstairs. This whole show of an investigation was for Mikael’s benefit, so Lexi could say she checked it out.
The property manager also said that the cameras in the stairwell hadn’t been functional in years. Lexi doubted that he knew he was confessing to a crime that she was obligated to report, especially in the wake of an assassination attempt against a mayoral candidate. But if she were really investigating, the cameras managed by the government on the street outside would have data she needed if she was given access. Of course, she didn’t need the data to know who did this.
She’d helped plan it.
Lexi squeezed away from the window and walked 270 degrees around the tripod. Reaching into a pocket in her protective suit, she pulled out a blacklight, feeling the eyes of the property manager rolling over her. She passed the light over the weapon mounted on the tripod.
“That suit really serves you.” The property manager was referencing the form fitting, single piece combat outfit Lexi designed and was all the rage for security teams. But even with its wide distribution by JenCorp, it wasn’t nearly one of her greatest accomplishments. The commission might prove useful one day.
The tone of the manager’s voice made Lexi queasy. Though she was usually immune, she never got used to being objectified. She didn’t bother looking up at him.
Cretin.
She passed the light along every surface of the weapon. It was wiped clean, which was to be expected.
“Is it bullet proof?” the cretin asked.
“No one in the city uses bullets anymore. It resists pulse weapons and is nearly blade impervious.”
So, don’t get any rapist ideas, scumbag.
“Pretty high tech stuff.”
“Just like this weapon that somehow walked into an empty apartment in your building.” Lexi still wasn’t looking up, but the manager’s lack of a response told her the message had been delivered. She didn’t want to talk to him. But she could almost feel him shooting laser eyes at her.
The rifle was a JenCorp 8020 model and was a serious bound forward from the 6200 series the Expeditionary Forces preferred for so long. Mikael and Blake made so many credits for JenCorp from the governmental contracts that the research and development costs didn’t even graze the company’s budget. Of course, with the mayor’s recall of the road crews and the reduction of expeditionary missions, less would be poured into research. It was simple supply an
d demand. That would ultimately hurt JenCorp, which would, in turn, hurt weapons development, which in turn hurt the people who protected the city and made them less able to do so. Lexi’s mandate was to ensure shit like that didn’t happen and that meant contesting Vaughn at every turn.
The loss of Vaughn's daughter seemed to have stripped the man of any pretense. For the last two years, he’d cracked down on anything in the city that he perceived as a threat. He’d try to outlaw Diamond Sky; he’d excommunicated his enemies, using his thugs to frame them for crimes. He’d used executive orders to push the Expeditionary Forces south on a mission no one understood, leaving the city’s ass exposed to The Chain. If those freak shows decided it was time for another attack, Triangle City could be in for a real handful. Sooner or later they’d know the forces were removed, and they’d plan another attack. They wanted TC’s walls.
But that was what confused Lexi. Vaughn was an enigma. While some of his policies were idiotic and glass-transparent, he always had an angle. Pulling the forces out of the mountains was baffling and such unpredictability was dangerous in politics. It often made her wonder, what did Vaughn know about The Chain that no one else knew?
It didn’t matter. The answer to her predicament came when Mikael told her of his plans to run for office. The seeds she’d planted for three years were finally sprouting. The complaints she’d lodged repeatedly within his earshot. The humorous suggestions that he should run and show the man how it’s done when Mikael complained about the complacency of the citizens.
Mikael needed Lexi, whether he realized it or not. Vaughn's unpredictability mandated it. He had a way of getting away with murder, and she wasn’t going to let the next murder be Mikael Jensen’s.
This little episode, the supposed attempt on his life, had a purpose. That Mikael called her in to investigate was a push in the right direction. Now she just needed to seal the deal. But she also had to keep an eye on Blake until the mayor was out of office. Something was going on with Morgan, though she was sure he hadn’t returned or spoken to Blake since the initial meeting a few nights ago in Blake’s office.
It didn’t make a lick of sense that Blake would do anything to conspire against his father. But he might meet with Morgan if it somehow undermined Vaughn. Were they working on the same side, without knowing it? She hoped so. In either event, she needed to be close to Mikael. She needed to keep him safe.
Chapter Forty-Three
Pull the Trigger Already
Mikael was sitting on his bed when Lexi arrived at his lavish penthouse apartment in the business district. A tall, wiry woman was nursing him. Entry was controlled via retina scan and palm print, as well as scent signature. Lexi thought it was strange having a piece of technology that actually smelled someone for security clearance.
She had been led to his room by two hulking men who waited just outside the door. The nurse held a round, flat piece of metal against Mikael’s bicep and watched the screen of the monitor next to her while Kara sat in the corner, staring down at her Tab. A small bandage covered her left shoulder.
“I guess the estate was too far away?” Lexi asked.
“Blood pressure is 130 over 90,” the nurse said, ignoring her. “You’ll live.”
Kara looked up and saw Lexi. She smiled and threw her arms out. Lexi stepped into the hug and Kara squeezed good and hard in spite of the shoulder injury. Lexi admired the yellow dress at length. Kara would appreciate that, though Lexi could give a shit about fashion.
Mikael looked up.
“Hello, Alexia!” He was the only person who used the long form of the name and the rare slip of his Russian accent lent an air of elegance to it, though she’d always found the language to be otherwise abrasive. “It’s late! Couldn’t you have come tomorrow?” he asked as if she were conducting research on the best way to brush one’s teeth instead of poking holes in his security. “It’s almost midnight.” Mikael was a cool customer. Every person she’d known who so practiced their expressions hid secrets, had dark sides. Mikael Jensen showed her his best self, the kind, gentle side who’d mentored her for years.
But beneath his easy-going demeanor is a snake ready to strike.
“I didn’t want to wait.”
“Typical.” He smiled. “Tell me what you found.”
“The weapon was new and it was one of ours. It sat on an automated tripod mount.”
Mikael hummed a single, low note.
“Didn’t I read in The Herald that our Underground truck bomber used a similar rig?”
You know damn well he did, old man. You don’t forget anything.
“Yes.”
“So, he could have been miles away when he fired the shot.”
“I don’t think so,” Lexi said. “I would guess it was triggered via line-of-site. A Tab, maybe. It seems like a message to me.”
“How is that?” Mikael asked.
As long as she’d known him, he’d asked her question to which he knew the answer. Playing the mentoring game would always be part of their relationship. It was easy, falling into old habits.
“Don’t play coy with me, old man. A JenCorp rifle? Good odds of a handheld device that JenCorp develops used to trigger it?”
“Is that any way to talk to your next mayor, young lady?” Kara asked.
Lexi’s eyes ticked to the bandage on her shoulder. “Is it bad?”
Kara chuckled. “Just a scratch.”
Mikael shook his head. “My tough girl has seven silicone stitches.”
Lexi squeezed Kara’s uninjured arm. “Tough girl, indeed.”
“So, is it too early for conjecture as to who wants me dead?”
“I think they missed on purpose. The podium was essentially disintegrated. The 8000 Series’ pulse impact radius is so tight it could rip a coin in half. It practically fires a bolt of lightening. Seeing that the scope was a 36x model, the shooter could’ve zoomed in on your iris and pushed a neat little plug out the back of your—”
“Lexi Shaw!” Kara slapped her shoulder.
Lexi cringed. No human being could help but adore Kara, but damn the woman could be theatrical.
Her short apology lacked sincerity.
“I’m not buying assassination. Someone is trying to send you a message.”
“Of course they are. Security assessment?”
“Oh, right. Well, umm…” Her eyes flickered toward the nurse for a moment.
“Speak freely, Alexia.” The nurse finished packing a bag and walked away from her patient, patting him on the shoulder as she went. Her eyes jerked along Lexi’s frame from high to low and she smirked as the doors opened.
“I think you scared her away,” Kara said.
“I doubt it. She doesn’t look like she’s scared of much.”
Mikael gave a short chuckle. “I don’t think so, either. That’s how I like them.”
Lexi looked over her shoulder as the nurse left and saw the two men standing outside. The door eased closed before she continued.
“Your security sucks, Mikael.”
“Please, speak freely.” He repeated with a smile.
“Sorry.”
He waved it off.
“Your team shouldn’t have missed that open window in the rain. It’s sloppy.”
“Maybe they wanted to let people watch from their apartments instead of getting soaked. Besides, we do live in a relatively safe city.”
“Tell that to the podium.”
Mikael shot a glance at Kara and raised an eyebrow before answering. “Point taken.”
“I reviewed the closed-circuit recording. Your men were positioned like shit. There were civilians obstructing their path to you as you stood at the podium. Secondly, Security Services personnel were allowed inside your perimeter. When the shot was fired, they obstructed the two men you had on either side of the podium at the top of the stairs as they tried to take position on either side of you and your meat shield.”
“Meat shield,” Mikael said. “Nice.”
> “One of your private security guys ran over a TSS officer en route to you. That, I enjoyed. That guy, I would keep.”
“Let me guess, you trained him.”
“Yes, coincidentally.”
Mikael laughed. Lexi thought he was in a grand mood for someone who had a bunch of heavy particle board shatter in front of him. If it hadn’t been for the SmartGlasses, he might have been blinded. But of course she’d accounted for that contingency by having Kade use a tight impact radius.
“You should have a Counter Sniper Team. Cameras or no cameras, it only takes one crazy bastard.”
“I’ve always admired your bluntness, Alexia.”
“And I appreciate that you trust me, Mikael. That’s why I’m here.”
That and I need you to pull the trigger already.
“Anything else?”
She looked around and pursed her lips to one side.
“There is something else, but you hesitate to mention it.”
Lexi shrugged.
“The mayor is a twisted mother fucker, if you’ll excuse my language.”
“Have I ever told you how much I like her?” Kara plopped down on the bed next to Mikael and wrapped an arm over his shoulders.
“Thank you,” Lexi said. “Now listen carefully. The mayor has transitioned from running uncontested to facing a serious challenger while mired in political turmoil. You timed your announcement perfectly. It was smart to wait because it might be to late for him to turn the political climate back to his favor. The Underground is knocking down buildings, blowing up trucks, and encouraging people to screw in the streets as if they’re on your team.”
“I’m sure some think they are.”
“But if the underground was on your side, why shoot at you? The attack at your announcement ceremony is fodder for conspiracy theorists, but not in favor of the mayor. People will start thinking Vaughn did that, too.”
“Vaughn’s not that stupid.”
Lexi cast her line.
“No. I think this was The Underground’s work. They’re trying to get you elected.”