Pop Travel (36 page)

“I see. Well, we will need an authority to come here and discuss what needs to be done. He also had two friends with him.”

Ray cut him off and pointed.

“Oh, arrest them! They are the ones who convinced him to do it! I will send a government official to your station, ASAP!”

“Right. Will do. Thanks for your help.”

When Ray disconnected, he tossed back some Aceta 3 for the pounding in his head.
It never ends.
Taking a deep breath, he called Vivienne.

Police Station, Canberra, Australia
6:15 p.m., Saturday, July 27 (4:15 a.m., Atlanta, GA)

“Can I get you anything to drink, Mr. Creator?”

Cooper scowled at the star-struck junior officer behind his metal CC desk. While Cooper and Geri sat cuffed on a hard wooden bench against the wall, Hasan paced the small receiving room of the captain’s office. While they waited for the captain to fetch the U.S. government official from the travelport, Cooper struggled to come up with an escape plan. Their journey might be over.
That would suck.

Hasan stopped pacing when the offer sank in.

“How ‘bout an espresso?”

The officer squinted.

Hasan shook his head and went back to his pacing.

“Oh, uh. I guess I can have Hughes here go fetch you one.”

Standing guard at the door, Hughes the android swiveled his head and focused on the officer. Before he could send Hughes on the errand, the officer’s vidcom buzzed. He touched the desktop and a female head popped up over it.

“Captain Brown is on his way up,” she said.

“Good. Thank you, Rachel.” When the officer disconnected, he spoke to Hasan. “Sorry, Mr. Creator. The espresso will have to wait.”

Cooper turned to Geri, who smirked at him. He sniffed agreement.
Why do people act so stupid around celebrities?

“What? Oh, no problem.” Hasan had stopped pacing and stood in the middle of the room with his hand at his mouth, staring at the floor, lost in thought.

A few minutes later, Captain Brown held the door open and Vivienne Jones, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce, breezed in.

So this is the connection.

Smiling at Hasan like he was a sumptuous appetizer, Vivienne slinked over to him and grasped his chin, purring at him.

“Hasan, my pet. What happened?”

He opened his mouth, but she put a finger to his lips.

“No, you don’t have to explain. Ray filled me in on all the terrible details. We will have you home in no time and you’ll never see these horrid troublemakers again. Don’t worry about a thing.” After another smile for Hasan, she turned and sneered at Cooper and Geri.

“Right this way, Mrs. Jones. I just need your thumbprint on a few forms,” the captain said, holding his inner office door open for her.

“Of course, Captain.” She gave him a seductive glance and went in.

Dangerous woman.

Cooper decided the best time to make their move would be when the police tried to relocate them. He just needed to figure a way to tell Geri. He looked at her and pursed his lips in frustration.

“Well, looks like you won’t be needing that espresso. You probably have your own personal gourmet coffee maker, don’t you? What’s that called?” He snapped his fingers. “A barista!”

With his back to the officer, Hasan winked at Cooper, then spun around and started to mumble between gasping breaths. He stumbled around and looked like he might keel over and faint any second.

“What’s with him? Did he forget his meds?” the officer asked with a chuckle.

His jab sparked an idea.

“As a matter of fact, he did,” Cooper said.

“He’s supposed to take them three times a day,” Geri added, eyeing Cooper and taking his lead.

“With all the popping, we forgot. The bottle is in the right front pocket of my jeans.”

The guard cocked an eyebrow.

Hasan really poured it on, arguing with himself, shaking all over, and rubbing his head. He was a good actor.
Is that drool?

“Hughes, get the medicine bottle from Mr. Cooper’s pocket, there.” The officer pointed at Cooper and stood up.

As the droid approached, Cooper rose with a smile.

The officer drew his electrogun and stepped out from behind the desk.

Geri tapped her head on the wall and whipped her hair around. Her comb flew out and stabbed the officer in the leg.

He let out a yelp and as he reached for the comb, Geri stood up and head-butted him.

In the split-second the droid got distracted by the fallen officer, Cooper kicked its feet out from under it and jumped on it.

Hasan grabbed a stylus pen from the desk and jammed it into the back of the droid’s neck, short-circuiting it.

The commotion brought the captain and Mrs. Jones bounding out of the office.

Geri snatched the remote fob for the cuffs from the officer’s belt and the three were out the door before the captain could aim and fire off a jolt.

Mrs. Jones screeched and swore as the door latched behind them.

Geri buzzed her cuffs loose, then used her higher tech QV to fry the electronic door lock, sealing the Captain and Mrs. Jones inside. Then she released Cooper.

Acting like an officer, Cooper led the three of them past the sparsely occupied desks, calmly, but quickly, toward the exit.

The Captain sounded an alarm, and the few cops in the office swarmed after them.

As the trio ran down the stairs, Cooper shouted instructions.

“If we get separated, follow the plan.”

“Right!” Geri agreed.

“This is so great!” Hasan said.

Such a kid.

When they burst through the garage door, they barely heard the droid at the office window ask them for identification over the echoing alarms. It appeared to be bolted to the desk.

Geri dashed over to some motorcycles. Pointing her QV at one of them, it started up. Cooper needed some of those apps. She started another for him.

As the sirens of approaching cars got closer, Cooper hoped he remembered how to ride.

“Get on, Hasan! You ride with me,” she said.

Glad she’s on our side!

Geri took a right and another right. Horns blared and swerved as she drove between oncoming cars on the wrong side of the road.

Cooper took the lead and slipped over to the center lane, cutting off more cars as he turned down another street. He winced at the sound of screeching tires and fender benders behind him. As he rode the median, he glanced in his mirror, relieved to see Geri right behind him. But so was another bike. It had to be the guy from Dhruba’s house, dressed all in black.
That guy is everywhere!

Cooper ducked as the guy shot electric jolts at him.

Ahead at the light, cops squealed around the corner toward them.

Taking a quick left, Cooper dodged pedestrians on the sidewalk in a maze between the buildings. A static shot just missed his bike.

The time had come to split up. As they came to the cross street, Cooper pointed right and turned left.

Geri and Hasan headed for the transport station, according to their plan.

Dark dude followed Cooper.

Cooper sped onto the sidewalk and slalomed between trees and people. Seeing a covered opening in the middle of a building, he hit his brakes and slid to make the ninety-degree turn. The dude stayed right with him. Just as the dude caught up, Cooper took a left and they were back in traffic.

Cooper crossed another street at full speed, narrowly missing a cab, and flew down a service road between a hotel and a construction site.

The dark dude had to swerve, and Cooper lost sight of him.

Speeding up, Cooper busted through the construction site’s partially open gate, breaking the weak chains holding it together, and almost fell off his bike. A quick scan showed him a pile of gravel to hide behind. No good. And too late.

Dudeman darted in and zeroed in on him.

They skidded and spun through the debris and the diehard Dude started firing again. The police bike should be shockproof, but Cooper didn’t want to find out. A police bike should have guns, too, but the controls weren’t marked. Forget that. With his luck, he’d stall it.

A high pile of dirt by the wall taunted Cooper to jump.
Done!
He hit the accelerator, and drove straight toward the dude. Just before crashing into him, Cooper spun around, skidding up dirt and gravel at the guy and sped up the dirt pile. He flew over the wall and landed on the hood of a car. No stopping now.

Spying a truck unloading at the hotel, he drove inside the open service elevator door.
Trapped.
Cooper killed the engine and ducked

Dude sped past the truck, searching. He caught a glimpse of Cooper and spun the bike around.

Cooper willed the doors to shut.
Close! Hurry up! Close!

Slowest doors in creation, but they finally came together. Poor Dude would have to go around.

Cooper left the bike in the elevator and rushed into the lobby. More like a posh mini-mall with several shops and a spa.

Spotting Dude rushing in the front doors, Cooper held a brisk walking pace and ducked into the salon. When he saw Dude run his way, Cooper knocked over a cart of supplies and a couple of shelves of styling products, slowing down his pursuer. With the powerful scent of the permanents and hairspray fumes threatening to knock him out, he crashed into a large lady with a foil-covered head. Dancing around with her, he grabbed her arms and traded places with her, catching a glimpse of Dude over her shoulder.

Cooper ran for the closest opening, a supply room. Swiping some hair dye and towels from a shelf, he kept moving out the back door, triggering an alarm.

He sprinted for the street, turned the corner, and flagged down a cab.

In the rear window, he waved at Dude and threw his QV out the window.

FBI – Atlanta Division
6:15 a.m., Saturday, July 27

“Sir,” Nate whispered.

Asleep on a cot in the back room of his office, Ed felt Nate lightly tap his shoulder.

“
Sir!
”

“Huh?” Ed squinted. “Time for my meeting already?”

Once Geri, Hasan, and Cooper had been secured at the police station in Australia, Ed tried to get some rest. He needed all his strength to deal with Vivienne the Witch and her daily brew session at 0800. He dreaded listening to her gloat and scold him about having to go get Hasan herself. To soothe himself to sleep, he thought of his favorite dream where he enters her office and presents her with an arrest warrant and a police escort. It always made him smile.

“No. They popped, sir.”

Ed looked at his watch.
Not even two hours? Ugh
. He sat up and scratched his head, howling a yawn.

“Where are they now?”

“After Mrs. Jones showed up, they escaped from the police and had a little chase. Now Geri is at the Southwest Georgia Regional Transport Center in Albany. She has Hasan and called in to report to you.”
At least Vivienne let Hasan slip through her fingers, too. Ha!

“Well, don’t just stand there. Get me some coffee!” He barked the command like an angry dog woken up too soon.

“Yes, sir.” Nate jumped into action.

Collecting himself, Ed went into the bathroom and splashed water on his face, frowning in the mirror at his mussed hair and the five o’clock shadow muddying his cheeks.

When he got to Nate’s station, his coffee sweetly called.
How does this kid look so fresh and awake?
Ed nodded at Nate to open the feed. The address under the frame showed Geri’s location, a public CC imager at the terminal.

“Good to see you, Geri. Nice outfit, though I preferred the purple gown.” Ed smirked.

Geri looked down at her clothes.

“Oh, thanks. You look sharp, too, Ed. Get any sleep last night?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

He rubbed his stubbly chin.

“Mmm. Well, what do you have for me?”

“I have your package, the prize, and the target has been nullified,” Geri announced and stood at attention.

Something didn’t seem right, from her overly focused eyes and extra smooth, business tone. Normally, she would be complaining about a lack of sleep and wanting a shower or something. Ed also noticed her light grip on Hasan, who stood next to her looking dramatically downcast, as if he wasn’t a flight risk.