by Kai O'Connal
Keandra wanted to call him on his lies. Even if that was a company policy, it was something he could easily overrule, and besides, she had no doubt that like Lance, the Johnson’s bodyguard would be equally capable unarmed. But there would be no point in mentioning any of that.
She put her glass down without taking a sip. “If you don’t mind my being so bold, why did you request this unconventional meeting? I do not want to take up more of your time than is necessary to conduct our business.”
He nodded minutely. “I appreciate your candor, so I’ll be equally frank in return. As I mentioned during our initial negotiation, this objective is of critical importance. Those whom I work for want to make sure everything is going according to plan. You’ve had some time now, so I wanted to check on the status of your efforts.”
“Everything is going according to plan.”
“I’m pleased to hear that. I’ve heard troubling reports, but it is comforting to know you have it all under control.”
Keandra debated how much to share. It was a given that he knew about the break-in. Anyone as connected as he was would have to know about it by now, even if it wasn’t public knowledge. Would he have known they farmed out the job, or about the incident at Syberspace? Those were less likely. In her experience, most Johnsons kept their hands scrupulously clean of the incident once the contract had been agreed to. The less connecting them to the actual incidents, the better.
“There was an incident, but nothing my team couldn’t handle. We will deliver your package by the original timeline.”
Silence once again reigned supreme as Mr. Johnson stared at her, eyes slightly narrowed as he took in every detail. The scrutiny made sweat appear at the base of Keandra’s neck, but she ignored it as best she could, meeting his stare.
It only lasted a few seconds, but it felt as if much more time passed before he put his hands on the edge of the table and stood. He buttoned his suit jacket and turned to look out the window. The bodyguard continued to watch her, probably armed despite Mr. Johnson’s claims.
“See that you do, Miss Tiernay. It would be most unpleasant if I had to inform my employers about your failure to perform. I’m sure you would understand that people would need to be held accountable for such a transgression. In the meantime, I suggest you ensure that you keep up your end of the bargain and perhaps spend less time at clubs. After all, such locations can be very destructive. That is all.”
Keandra took the dismissal in stride and kept her composure as she nodded, stood, and walked out of the room. It felt as if every muscle in her body were tensed to the snapping point, even when she heard the door close behind her and was halfway down the stairs. Seeing Lance perk up at the bottom when he caught sight of her brought some relief. The stairwell guard dropped the velvet rope for her again, hooking it back into place after she passed.
Lance glided into position at her side, rather than behind her, but she didn’t speak to him. Not yet. Not until they were outside and away from easily prying eyes and ears. Mr. Johnson made it clear that he knew more than she realized, but she wasn’t about to give him any more information if she could help it. There was nothing veiled in his threat. With luck, by the time they got back to the safehouse, E-jekt will have solved this problem for them.
When they reached the front of the restaurant, Keandra noticed that a crowd had formed, and the maître d’ was nowhere to be found. The crowd appeared just as confused as she was. Just as they left, she spotted the elf running up, pushing through the crowd without any sense of decorum or poise.
Keandra grabbed Lance and pulled him to the side, ducking behind a small group of elderly diners wearing more jewelry than her net worth. Lance didn’t ask questions, but fell in line next to her, presenting his back to the maître d’. They waited until he’d headed off, escorting a couple there for a romantic dinner. Only then did Keandra leave the restaurant.
Lance pulled out a scanner and held it in the palm of his hand while he opened the door for Keandra. He casually draped his arm over the roof and walked around the car, appearing casual as he swept the scanner over the entire vehicle. Before climbing in, he took a knee and retied a shoe as he passed the scanner underneath the vehicle. He got in, sliding his device back into his pocket so deftly that Keandra couldn’t say for sure when he’d tucked it away, even though she knew what to look for.
“That meeting didn’t take as long as I anticipated. Since we have some time, let’s get the car cleaned. We keep putting it off. We have a few minutes before we’re needed back, so let’s take advantage of it.”
At least that would give them a justifiable reason for the bugs being removed or destroyed. It was a thin excuse, but it would have to do. In the meantime, she needed to figure out what they were going to do about the missing data. Mr. Johnson was invested in this, more than she realized at first, and the hiccups in the operation had forced him to take action. If he decided to bring the might of his corporation to bear against them, they’d need to run. And to do that, they’d need nuyen, something they were dangerously low on right now.
Hopefully, E-jekt had what they needed and this would all be behind them soon enough. But Keandra hadn’t survived this long without having multiple backup plans in place.
At least now she knew why Mr. Johnson had gone to such great lengths for this meeting. He was scared—and that frightened her.
10
“Gone? What do you mean, gone?”
Keandra’s hands clenched so tight at her sides that her nails dug into her palms and threatened to draw blood. Paz sat in the corner, chewing her bottom lip as she watched Keandra react to E-jekt’s less-than-pleasant news.
“I mean the data has disappeared. I tracked the sprite to CalFree, where it hopped around a couple of labs and corporate offices. Had to hack their security, but I followed the trail from there to a couple other megacorps across UCAS and even a couple overseas. I was in the middle of trying to break through a firewall when the sprite spotted me and ejected me from the system. When I went back, it changed its signature. There’s no way I can find it now. It’s gone.”
“How the hell can a sprite boot you from the system? Couldn’t you stop it?”
“Maybe, if I wasn’t dealing with ice and trying to breach a corporate firewall at the time.” He shrugged. “It caught me off guard, and I couldn’t split myself well enough to handle it. But once it changed signatures, it’s pointless.”
Keandra closed her eyes and forced herself to take deep breaths. Everyone else in the room was quiet, waiting for her to speak. She was always the one with the plan and she could feel their stares, heavy with expectation. They were counting on her to know how to get out of this.
When she opened her eyes, she knew what to do. “All right, so we’ve lost the data file. That means we can’t finish the job, and after my meeting with Mr. Johnson today, he’s not going to accept us returning the initial deposit and just calling this off.”
“The suit was that pissed?”
“He bugged us. Actually had someone go out and bug the car. Not only that, but he made a definite show of power. He knew about our meeting at the club, though I don’t think he knew any specifics other than that we were there. Whatever this data is, he’s going to be very unhappy when we tell him it’s gone. He specifically said someone would need to be held accountable for our failure. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t planning on taking the blame himself.”
Paz grinned the feral smile she got whenever she was ready for a fight, even one that was probably hopeless and had no way for her to win. To her, the idea of risk assessment started and stopped with making sure her gun didn’t overheat and explode in her hands. On the other side of the fence, E-jekt and Lance wore expressions that matched her own concern.
She waited for the news to sink in. While the others were digesting what she’d laid out, Keandra moved to the couch and perched on its arm, her hands on her knees.
Lance pressed his lips together and nodded, whereas Paz looked disappointed. E-jekt ran his fingers through his hair several times, but remained silent.
“You don’t mean this place, or even just Seattle, do you?” Paz asked.
“I was thinking out of the UCAS entirely. Mr. Johnson might have global contacts, but anywhere overseas would require a lot more paperwork before he could get his hands on us. I also think we should refund his deposit. If he hasn’t lost any nuyen, it will be a little bit harder for him to convince the rest of his corp to hold us liable.”
“If we do that, there’s no way we can jump ship. Getting new SINs, traveling under the radar, crossing international borders…” E-jekt waved his hand in small circles. After a heavy sigh, he continued. “All these things cost money. And if we want to get out before our deadline, we don’t really have time to sell property. Refunding him will drain almost all our reserves and whatever we can scrounge up on short notice.”
“I’ve thought of that. There’s only one solution I can think of. We take another job.”
She paused again, after delivering the second silence-inducing shock in such a short time.
“I went through our potential bids, and there’s a structure hit this evening we could run. Not our specialty, but one of the few types of missions I’d be comfortable running on that short a timeline without all of our necessary preparation. We don’t even need to be quiet, just successful.”
Paz perked up at that, her feral grin a break from the heavy expressions around the room. “Even if we don’t decide to cut and run, I’m in. Been far too long since I’ve had the chance to blow something up.”
Lance began pacing, his gaze focused on the floor in front of him as he walked from one end of the room to the other. The entire time, his expression never changed.
After a few laps, he glanced at Keandra. “You’ve thought this through, like always, haven’t you?”
Keandra nodded. “I don’t see any other options. If we can’t get that data, we need to jet, and then figure out what we’re going to do from somewhere safe.”
“I trust your judgment. I’m in.”
As usual, E-jekt was the last to speak. He always took the most time to come to a conclusion, but Keandra appreciated his tendency to analyze all the information thoroughly before committing to a course of action. It served as a nice sounding board, and reaffirmed her own considerations. She watched as he deliberated; his brow furrowed. He would sit still for a few seconds and then shake his head, all the while muttering under his breath. It was barely a whisper, sounding more like wind through the trees than actual words.
With a long exhalation, he collapsed onto the couch, shoulders slumped. He looked up at everyone else, then held up both hands, shrugged wearily, then let his hands drop to his sides.
“There’s really not another option, is there?”
“I’m afraid not. If any of you has an idea, I’d love to hear it.”
E-Jekt looked around again, finding only head shakes. “I don’t either. I just feel like we’ve painted ourselves into a corner, and are scrambling to find a way out before it’s too late. And part of me wonders if it already is.”
Keandra made sure her voice was firm when she replied. “Nonsense. We have a plan and we can make it work. We’ve gotten through tough jams before, ones we probably shouldn’t have survived. This is no different. We’ll do this quick run, and in a couple days we’ll be sitting somewhere new planning our next venture. It’s what we do—we survive.” Keandra wasn’t sure she believed her own words, but just the act of saying them made her feel better.
She nodded at Paz and Lance. “Go get equipped, get some rest, and meet back here by three. I’m going to handle the job negotiations remotely. It should be pretty effortless, since it’s a straightforward task. It should give us enough to get set up with new identities and prepped for international travel. I’ll also put out word to our fixer to get the balls rolling there. It’ll all come together.”
After reviewing notes to finalize the details of the job and what gear would be required, Lance and Paz left to get prepared.
Once they were gone, Keandra got up from the couch and sat down on the floor in front of E-jekt so she could look at him without twisting her body. She took one of his hands and clasped it on both of hers.
“What’s going on? I know you’re worried about how things are going, but there’s something more than that. Is it because we’re going to need you in the field? I know it’ll be your first time out there in a while, but we’ll keep you safe. Plus, we got you that new armor. With how much you wear it, it has to be broken in by now.”
“Nah, it’s not that. It’s just…” He trailed off, so Keandra sat and waited, never letting go of his hand. He would share when he was ready, and she wasn’t about to push him into it. After a while, he rewarded her patience.
“It’s all my fault.”
That response surprised her and she cocked her head as she looked at him.
“What’s your fault?”
“This. Everything. Having to leave the country. It’s all because I lost the data. First the sprite blasts through my defenses and scrambles my brain. Then while I was trying to track it down, I get ambushed, losing the trail for good. If I hadn’t screwed that up, we wouldn’t be in this position and need to flee the country.”
Keandra rose from the floor and moved to sit next to the ork. She rested her arm on top of his and patted it. “It’s as much my fault as yours. More so, even. I’m the one who came up with this idea in the first place. I’m the one who insisted we try something different and put us in Mr. Johnson’s crosshairs for taking on something too big. I’m the one who had you check the data file, rather than just passing it off as we should have done. If there’s any blame going around, I think I deserve far more than you, my friend.”
He chuckled. “I guess we’re just getting sloppy in our old age. You’d think we’d know better by now.”
“I just look at it as a way to keep young. If we never made mistakes, we wouldn’t be pushing ourselves enough, and we’d stagnate. No one wants that.”
“We keep pushing too hard, we’re going to wind up dead.”
Keandra pushed herself up from the couch. She needed to get moving, and he needed to recharge. “We’re both too stubborn to die. Come on, get some sleep while you can. I need to work out the contract details and then crash, or I’ll be useless that early.”
11
At half past three in the morning, the runners were in Paz’s van, parked on a street near the Federated Boeing shipyards. All four were crammed into the back, watching the AR display of a warehouse E-jekt had constructed from a combination of building plans and surveillance feeds in the area. There were a few dark spots on the display, but overall it was highly detailed and even showed two guards as they patrolled the building’s perimeter.
The security around that particular building was minor: only a few cameras supplemented the two guards. However, the entire facility had a veritable army on staff that could be mobilized if they were alerted to trouble. It was clear that stealth was the only course of action open to the team. At least a little bit of luck had finally come their way: the building they needed to break into was near the perimeter of the shipyards, well away from the heavy security.
“Lance, you go in first and take out both guards while the rest of us get in position for E-jekt to take out the surveillance system. The entryway on the southeast corner seems like our best bet.”
&
nbsp; As plans went, it was pretty simple and straightforward, and often those kind were the best. No need to add extra complexity where it wasn’t warranted. With any luck, by this time tomorrow, they would all be on a plane out of the country.
The group exited the van and walked casually across the street to a poorly-lit area along the perimeter. The shipyards were surrounded by a fence topped with barbed wire. The fence itself wasn’t electrified or alarmed, and the barrier posed little real threat to anyone determined to gain access. While Paz began cutting a hole through the wire mesh, Lance jumped over the top, landing in a crouch on the other side. Keandra watched him dash off toward the warehouse, moving to the side to stuck to the shadows. She knew if she looked away, she’d lose him.
He stopped at the edge of a shipping container only a few meters from the warehouse. Dropping to a knee, he waited, staring straight ahead as the two guards on patrol passed by in front of him. When they were several steps past him, Lance slipped out and toward them, hunched over to keep his profile low. He was a few feet away from the two guards when the one on the left stopped and turned to look over his shoulder.
The man tried to whirl around and bring his gun to bear, but Lance was too quick. The elf drew his blade and brought it down in a sweeping cut that sliced through half of the gun before getting stuck. Lance released his weapon and lunged forward, driving his elbow into the guard’s throat hard enough to knock him off his feet and collapse him to the dirt. Even from this distance, Keandra heard the gasping and gurgling as the guard struggled to breathe. She hoped no one else onsite heard it as well.
The other guard opened her mouth to speak, but Lance was supernaturally quick. He grabbed the barrel of her gun and shoved it back into her face, stunning her. Sweeping her feet, he knocked her to the ground and dropped on top of her, one hand covering her mouth and the other arm pinned against her throat. She kicked a few times, trying to buck him off, but with no success. Once she blacked out, he moved back to the first guard, lifting his head and wrapping an arm around his throat from behind. In just a few seconds, both guards were unconscious. Keandra held her breath, but no alarm went off. It looked like their entrance had gone unnoticed, at least so far.