Jagged Edge

by Dennis Young

  “No one on Crius has the medical knowledge or ability of Babs,” added Mac. “She’s probably up to her eyeballs in patients. And Nemesis is making a fortune off her.”

  Fawkes nodded, listening. “Understandable. And if Jance is telling the truth, maybe we have a bit more time than we thought. What else? Did Talice tell you this is a battalion operation? Command wants to put an end to this.”

  Mac traded looks with Talice. “It will certainly make our job easier if more of Nemesis is occupied with the Marines.”

  Fawkes asked, “Did Jance have anything to do with Babs being kidnapped?”

  “I… she said no, but honestly, I don’t believe her. At the same time, why would she be interested in getting all the others away, including Babs, if she’s in that deep.” Talice shook her head, thinking. “We know Jance was Mikal’s bodyguard when he was underground, but things went to hell according to Gorg Evans’s report. Somewhere along the line, Jance went rogue from Nemesis, and now wants to hurt them. But she doesn’t have the manpower. So she’s trying to get us to do the dirty work for her.”

  “Does she have any idea we’re planning a major operation against Nemesis?” Fawkes drank again, watching Talice and Mac ponder.

  “Unknown, Colonel, but likely not,” said Mac. “Unless she’s deep into the Base comm, there’s no way she could know… is there?”

  Fawkes shook his head. “By the way, our wristcoms are secure again. Base IT found the leak and plugged it. They’re also monitoring and scrambling everything that goes between those commsets with rotating encryption. They’re as secure as we can make them.”

  Talice looked away in thought as Mac watched her. “Something?”

  “Somewhere Jance got her info on Babs. I need to talk to our old friend downtown and see what he can dig up.”

  “Scarbach?” Fawkes shrugged and nodded. “Good idea. Keep me in the loop, please.”

  “Always.” Talice caught a twinkle in his eye and smiled.

  “What else, ladies?” He picked up the comm crystal. “I’ll review this and get back to you later today. Are you headed to the training facility soon?”

  “Tomorrow,” said Talice, before Mac could answer. “I have a few things to take care of in town, in addition to our visit with Scarbach.”

  He nodded. “Let me know what develops from that.”

  Talice and Mac rose. “I have a couple more things to go over with the colonel, Mac. Can you wait for me in the orderly office?”

  Mac gave her a tight grin and nodded, then scooted out of the office quietly. Talice closed the door.

  “That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” Fawkes smiled as he came around the desk.

  She leaned into him as he lightly put his arms around her. “Fucking terrified. I almost died last night.”

  He held her tighter. “Jance?”

  Talice shook her head against his shoulder. “The bugs. I forgot my patch yesterday, for about the millionth time. Caught a break after meeting with her. Mac and a good-guy taxi driver.”

  “So after all our fun yesterday, you ended the day with your arch-enemy? You have an interesting life, don’t you?” His arms tightened around her.

  Talice ran her hand across his shoulder. “Babs has kept me alive for more than five years. Stayed one jump ahead of the bugs with her medtech. But they’re… gaining. I can feel it. Every time I forget my patch, or it wears out, or the medicines stop working… they get a new foothold.”

  She drew away a bit and looked him in the eye. “That’s why I can’t have kids. I’d pass along whatever it is the bugs left in my system. It’s part of me now. Regardless how good the medicines are, I’ll never be rid of them. And I won’t doom my kids to the same thing.”

  He held her even closer and she relaxed into his arms. “I had to tell you. I know you want a family some day, but damn, I’m… I’m sorry.”

  “Do you love me?”

  Talice sighed and held him tighter. “I don’t know if I love you, or if I just want to be with you so bad, it feels like love. It’s been so long, I don’t even know what love is supposed to feel like anymore. All my energy goes into the job and staying alive. I’m fucking married to the bugs and my job.”

  “Talice, I could fall in love with you this very minute.”

  Her hand clenched around his arm. “Then hold on to me and help keep me sane. I’ve got to focus on this operation. I’ve got to save Babs and bring Jance down.”

  “One thing at a time. Babs first, then Jance. Babs is more important than a hundred Jances.”

  She nodded, then drew back, kissed him lightly, and smiled. “Thank you. You’re right. Babs is the one who matters.”

  He held her again, brushed the tear on her cheek away gently. “I think you surprised Mac when you said you’re staying in town another day. On my account?”

  She chuckled against his chest. “No, I’m meeting my other boyfriends tonight. I’ve got three lined up.”

  “Plural? You’re a busy woman.”

  They grinned at each other.

  “I’ll call you later. Now go console Mac and tell her the colonel is happy with your report.”

  “And you’ll give me a reward tonight, right?” Talice held him tighter.

  “Your wish is my command. But be gentle on these old bones. I have to work tomorrow, you know.”

  She kissed him again, gave a wink across her shoulder at the door, and closed it quietly behind her.

  Mac was waiting by the bulletin board as Talice emerged from the corridor doorway. She glanced at her shirt. “I don’t see any tracks.”

  “Fuck you,” Talice muttered. “I’m neater than that.”

  The young orderly at the desk looked up, chortled, then went back to her work.

  They were both laughing as they exited, headed for the metrolink station.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Trouble in my Blood (Part Three)

  A Useless Precaution

  “He who only sees the obvious, wins battles with difficulty;

  he who looks below the surface of things, wins with ease.”

  Sun Tzu, “The Art of War”

  Anchor Prime, Downtown…

  They entered Scarbach’s office after a stop for lunch. Sheila nodded toward the inner door and buzzed them through. Scarbach was there, phone in hand as always, and they waited as he completed his call.

  He set down the phone and smiled. That slimy, plastic smile Talice had seen through the very first day they’d met.

  “Talice! Mac!”

  “Hello, Mr. Scarbach.” Talice motioned to the corner chair, as she always did. Scarbach knew the drill. Mac drifted her hoverchair to one side, Talice on the other. Scarbach sat.

  Talice looked at him squarely. “You know I’m not joking when I ask you questions, right?”

  Scarbach nodded.

  “And to date, you’ve been square with us, and we’ve been square with you. It’s been a beautiful relationship. We’ve gotten shot at, you’ve stayed cozy with Sheila, and we’ve all made a little money.”

  Scarbach nodded again, swallowed, and gave a nervous smile.

  “I’m going to give you a name. I want you to tell me when and where you’ve heard it.”

  Scarbach shrugged, then nodded a third time.

  “Jance Sukano.”

  He thought about it, shook his head slowly, looked away, then motioned to his desk. “Hand me my phone. Please.”

  Talice retrieved the device and laid it in his hand. He scrolled through the messages for several minutes. Talice waited, exchanged glances with Mac twice, then waited some more.

  At last, he showed the screen to her. “Here. A year ago, almost. That’s the only contact I’ve had with her.”

  Talice read the heading, then tilted the screen to Mac, who nodded.

  “Tell us. All of it,” said Mac, quietly.

  Scarbach shrugged. “She called, said she was a former Marine teammate of Talice’s and another person. Another woman.”

 
; Talice clenched her jaw. “Name?”

  “Boobs? No… Babs, I think.”

  “What else?” Talice leaned forward, elbows on her knees. Scarbach drew further into the heavy chair.

  “I… let me think for a minute. It’s been a year. What’s this about, anyway?”

  “Just tell us!”

  Mac’s hand went to Talice’s arm and squeezed.

  Scarbach mouthed words, then waved his hands. “Talice, I didn’t know who she was, but she knew your name and this other woman. She said she was a Marine teammate. She said this other woman was a… she said she was a doctor. Yes, a doctor.”

  Fuck! Jance knew all along! She lied. She fucking lied! Again! Talice counted to ten silently, then sat back. Mac’s hand didn’t leave her arm.

  “Can I know—”

  Mac cut him off with a look. “You don’t want to.”

  Talice drew her arm away. “No… he’s right. Okay, Mr. Scarbach, we’re on a need-to-know basis only. So here’s what you need to know. If Jance suspects you’ve told us this, she’ll kill you. And Sheila. And probably everyone else in the office. And likely your family.”

  Sweat formed on Scarbach’s forehead and his eyes flashed. “Then why the hell —”

  “Just listen.” Mac motioned Talice to continue.

  “Jance is in deep with our old friends at Nemesis. Kidnapping again, this time for slaves and sex-trade. But she’s gone rogue. She’s desperate. So we… I cut a deal with her to get Babs and some others out. The more I think about it, the more I’m beginning to understand she wants out, too.”

  “Talice, I had no idea…”

  She shook her head. “No fault of yours. You’re clean. No problem.”

  Scarbach let go a breath and wiped his forehead with a sleeve.

  “Anything else?”

  “She said… she was planning a surprise party, or something like that. Maybe just a surprise.”

  Talice exchanged a grim glance with Mac. “Alright… no one knows of this conversation but the three of us. You tell no one, we tell no one. If you hear from her again, you send me a commtext saying… hell, I don’t know… let’s have lunch, or something personal like that.”

  “What, you want me to be your… informant on this Jance? When she’ll kill me if she finds out?”

  “You’re in now. No turning back,” said Mac.

  Talice continued. “Just a quick call or commtext. Short and innocent.”

  “You mean like a code?”

  “Yeah, a code.” Mac gave him a sarcastic look. “Now you’re a spy.”

  “No, I mean… remember my nephew Tooley?”

  Talice showed a small smile. “Good kid. How’s he doing?”

  “How about if I have him send the message. Jance probably doesn’t know who he is. Safer for everyone.”

  Talice looked to Mac. Mac looked to Scarbach. Scarbach looked at both of them.

  The women nodded. “Good idea,” said Talice.

  They rose, and Talice handed the phone to him. “Secrets, Mr. Scarbach. And this one could get a lot of people killed if it goes beyond this office.”

  He nodded, solemn, then looked at her again. “I really am sorry. We’ve had our differences, but nothing like this.”

  “We’re good. Still in business together.” Mac gave him a nod.

  Talice turned at the door. “We’ll be in touch. Need some supplies for Bird One.”

  “You sure do like to spend my money, don’t you?”

  “Our money,” corrected Mac.

  They left, nodded to Sheila as they passed, and headed out the main door to the lift. Talice pressed the button hard enough to crack it.

  She looked Mac in the eye. “She fucking lied. She knew all along. I’ve got her by the ass now, and I swear, Mac, I’m going to kill her. But the job first.” The lift door opened. “Then I’m gonna kill her good.”

  * * *

  They marched through the lobby and headed for a sheltered taxi stand. Talice sat close to Mac as they waited. “Let’s get everyone together tonight at The Bloody Tavern for a general briefing. See if Gorg is available and tell him to bring Aya if he wants.”

  “Is that a good idea? We don’t even know her.”

  Talice shrugged. “Hell, I don’t know. But we’re going to need every bit of help we can get on this mission. We’ve got Nemesis and Jance to deal with, and no telling what else.”

  “What about Fawkes?” Mac gave her a look.

  “I’ll touch base with him afterwards. I’m sure if I head out, you can keep that crew in line.”

  “Talice… be careful. You may think you’re in love…”

  “I had that discussion with him. Give me a break.”

  Mac nodded after a pause. “I’ll get the team together about 2000 Hours.” She glanced at her chrono. “Not much time. What about you?”

  “I’ve got some thinking to do. And I want to talk to Dad.”

  “Not about Fawkes, I hope.”

  “Come on, Mac, get off it.” Talice sat and sighed. “I just need… I’ve got to get my mind back on the job.” She looked up at Mac. “Gonna need my DI more than ever.”

  Mac laid a hand on her shoulder. “You know I’ll be there for you. Okay, 2000 Hours, and we’ll talk then. Anything else?”

  Talice took Mac’s hand. “Thanks again. You’re my angel.”

  Mac smiled, scooted her hoverchair out of the taxi stand, and headed down the walkway. Talice watched until she disappeared into the crowd.

  * * *

  For a workday evening, The Bloody Tavern was busy. Talice had not expected such a crowd, but it didn’t interfere with the team’s activities, whether darts or drinks or simply sitting in each other’s company. Or a general briefing called by the fireplace.

  Talice sat in the center of a circle of couches on a footstool. Mac was on her left, Junior on her right, and everyone else arranged around her. The man-mountains, of course, occupied a single couch themselves. Talice often wondered if they were subconsciously trying to intimidate everyone in the place, or they did this to keep from crushing smaller people next to them. One thing she knew for certain: the team was lucky to have such warriors on their side.

  She raised a hand for quiet, and they all leaned forward slightly. “Okay, we’ve had our fun, gotten a bit of rest, and spent all our creditmarks. Now it’s time to go back to work.”

  A bogus groan made its way around the circle.

  “Travel day tomorrow, 0600 the day after for mess and initial briefing. We’re headed out of town again within thirty days.” She passed a knowing look around to everyone. “Our last mission was just a tuneup. This is the big one. Abie and her crew are making some special modifications to Bird One, and we’ll discuss those at the briefing.”

  She paused. “Training will be ramped up as we get back into it. Mac’s in charge of that, so we’ll all be a little more sore than usual the first few days. Be careful. No injuries, no wounds, no nothing. We’ve got to be at our peak for this mission. That’s about it for now. Details back at the ranch.”

  Looks passed between everyone around, but there were no questions. Slowly, the group dispersed.

  Evans and Aya sat slightly back from everyone else, watching. Talice had kept an eye on them during the evening, mentally preparing a list of questions for Evans regarding the mission.

  She rose and headed for the ladies’ room. Mac followed, catching up quickly. “Evans wants to talk before you leave for your folks’.”

  “I thought he might.” Talice glanced at her chrono. “How about breakfast at Ginny Sue’s, you, me, and them, 0800 in the morning? That way we can take our time.”

  “Got a hot date?” Mac grinned.

  “Last chance to see him for a while. And besides, I really need to get a bit more intel about what we’re doing. I’m expecting a courier package tonight to take back with me.”

  Mac considered. “Alright, I’ll pass it along. See you then. And don’t forget your patch, Princess.”

>   “Yeah, yeah… geez, you’re a nag.” She gave Mac a quick hug and continued to the toilet.

  Talice entered a stall and closed the door. A holo was there, taped to the side. What the hell? Babs???

  She tore the picture from the wall and stared at it. Yes, it was Babs, alright. Looking haggard in a stained and dirty lab coat, but apparently alive. Talice turned the picture over. Taken five days ago. Dammit, how did Jance know we were here? She considered. Yeah, before we knew our old wristcoms were compromised. She knew we hung out here. But was she here, too? Tonight?

  She checked the other stalls; the same holo was in all of them, and she took them all. Clever. Damn, she’s pretty good. And all she had to do was check each night after we got back in town. She knew we’d get together at some point. We’ve become far too predictable. Hell, she could have put a bomb in the place. No more worries. No more Talice. We’ve really gotten sloppy…

  She bolted back into the room, looked around, studying everyone still in the place. Mac was gone, half the team as well, but Evans and Aya were lingering at the fireplace. Briggs, Rory, and Dosu occupied a table in a corner. Talice saw no one suspicious, no one watching her or lurking in the shadows. You’re paranoid, Wyloh. But are you paranoid enough?

  She took a breath. Then another. Okay, but she doesn’t know I’m seeing the colonel tonight. Does she? Geez, this is getting fucking weird.

  Finally, she headed out the door, bound for home. I’ve got to get a grip. And I’ve got to tell Fawkes… Hal. Everything. We’ve got to put together a strategy. Jance is getting far too close…

  * * *

  She changed her mind halfway home and commtexted Fawkes, hoping their wristcoms were secured again. Remember that little tea place on the corner where we stuffed ourselves silly the other morning? Meet me there in an hour. Trouble in Paradise. Talice.

  I hope he remembers our secret code. She chuckled to herself. Her cheeks flushed. Her breath quickened a bit with the thought of his touch, his kiss. And other things.

  She thought about a taxi, then decided to walk. She drew her jacket tighter against the crisp night air. There was little foot traffic, and not much more on the autoways.