Scarlet Angel (20 page)

She let out a deep breath and set the pizza down.
Jules had been the only person who knew any of her past since Neil
disappeared. Even she didn’t know the whole truth, though.

“
You mentioned that you heard I
died.”

Dax nodded.

“
Well, I did. Technically a couple
of times. My heart stopped while I was in a coma, twice. Somewhere
in there, I lost my memory. I lost everything... who I was,
everyone I ever knew, what my job was... even my own name. The
short end of it is that I started a new life as
Scarlett.”

Dax’s eyes were wide. “Now you’re some kind of black
belt or some shit?”

The corner of Scarlett’s mouth twitched up in the
start of a smile but she forced it away. “Something like that. It’s
only been recently that I’ve begun getting my memories back. You’re
actually one of the first from my past I’ve talked to.”

“
Am I supposed to feel special,
then?”

“
Not because of that. Look, Dax,
you’re the best hacker I’ve ever known. What I’ve seen you do in
twenty lines of code, most can’t do in five hundred.”

Janson smirked. “Keep strokin’ his ego and his
head’s gonna es’plode.”

She smiled. “It’s true. And I need your help.”

Scarlett looked around then turned to Janson and
Mickey. “Guys, I hate to ask, but can I get a second with Dax?
Alone?”

The shop owner nodded. He turned to head to the
front of the shop but stopped. Mickey sat with his mouth agape.
Janson reached back, grabbed the other man’s shirt and pulled him
away.

“
Hey! Easy, Jan!”

Janson shoved Mickey forward. “Shut it. Give them a
sec t’ talk business.”

Scarlett grimaced as another deep breath sent a jab
of pain through her. She waited until the two men were out of
earshot. “Your friends are... interesting.”

Dax watched her through narrowed eyes. “What
happened to you?”

“
I was gonna do this tomorrow,
but... Everything I said is true. But to protect the people I care
about, I’ve gone underground, you might say. What I told Zinchenko
about the man named Neil Smithson is also true.”

“
Who’s he?”

Scarlett conjured up a few memories of Neil. She
remembered his touch and his voice. She also remembered how cruel
he could be. “Neil is a very dangerous man. He trained me
personally to help get rid of the people who are after me... the
people after Jillian.”

“
Why would someone want to kill
you, I mean Jillian?”

Scarlett lied. “I don’t know. And it’s irrelevant at
the moment. Right now, I’m under contract for a job and I need a
good code monkey.”

“
Well, I guess I do kinda owe you
one.”

Scarlett arched one eyebrow. “Kinda?” She chuckled,
sending waves of pain through her sides. She gingerly touched her
side and forced herself to stop laughing.

“
So... who’s the target and what
are we looking for?”

“
Universal Dynamic and its
proprietary research data.”

Dax pulled his computer over and started typing.
“What kind of research?”

“
Communications.”

He paused. Dax turned to Scarlett with a scrunched
face. “All this for some cell tech?”

“
It’s a little more complicated
than cellular or wireless data technology. I really just want you
to find the data. Once I know where it is, I can go get
it.”

Dax laughed. “You think it’s that simple? You do
understand that the kind of data you’re talking about is probably
on a remote server somewhere with layers upon layers of firewalls,
proxies and a whole slew of defense code that even I’ve never seen
before, right?”

“
Let’s just say that I’ll get to
it from inside.”

“
You’re not hearing me. Every
access point will have this security, internal or
external.”

Scarlett leaned back and rubbed her lower lip.
“Fine, but let’s focus on finding the data first.”

“
Alright. But you still haven’t
told me what I’m looking for.”

“
Project Hermes.”

“
As in the Greek god?”

“
Yep.” Scarlett picked up the card
she’d placed on the table before and scribbled down a number.
“Message me if and when you find something.”

Dax nodded. “Got it.”

“
What’s your number if I need
something else?”

He tapped at his keyboard for a moment. Scarlett’s
own commpad vibrated with the message notification. She pulled up
the message and memorized the number. “K, good.”

Scarlett headed for the door. “Oh, and Dax? I don’t
need to tell you that this is just between you and me. I would hate
for anyone else to get involved and get hurt.”

After a moment, she realized that Dax might think
she meant that as a threat. Then she realized it actually might be.
She reached the front of the shop to find Janson and Mickey talking
across the counter. Scarlett walked up to Janson and put her hand
out. “It was a pleasure to meet you guys. I hope you don’t mind if
I come back, Janson. Your shop is a... unique location. I have some
ideas I’d like to work on.”

“
Jes’ so long as you don’ break
nut’n else, yer always welcome.”

She smiled and winced at another wave of pain. “I’ll
do my best.”

Scarlett turned and strolled through the door. The
bell dinged behind her.

Chapter 31
A Decent Time

Whether through war or personal terror, our greatest
leaps forward often happen when the darkest nightmares come
calling.

* * *

Scarlett hung, pinned to the wall by a powerful hand
around her neck. The air reeked of alcohol sweat and cheap, stale
whiskey. Only a tiny trickle of air made it into her aching
lungs.

She watched everything as if it wasn’t happening to
her, as if it wasn’t real. She felt no fear or trepidation at the
lack of air in her chest. The hand gripping her throat was not
really a threat.

She stared at the calloused fingers holding her in
place. Her gaze followed up the hair and tattoo-covered arm until
she reached the faded crow at the shoulder. The inky bird flapped
its wings in slow motion.

Raspy laughter echoed all around her. She looked up
to see the unshaven face of her attacker. His bloodshot, brown eyes
leered at her with rage and lust.

Then there was another voice, more laughter. This
voice she knew intimately. From the corner of her eye, she saw past
her attacker. In the doorway stood Derrick, silhouetted by the
light from the hallway beyond. The man she’d willingly shared her
bed and her life with was a black void, only his face was
visible.

Her once-lover’s eyes blazed with hate and cruel
amusement. “I love you, Jillian.” Derrick’s words repeated, growing
louder each time.

A third voice joined in, this one terrified. “Mr.
Crow... It’s not real. She’s not real. You’re not real.” Scarlett
recognized the strange, mad voice from her old apartment building.
She felt the fear in the man’s voice and understood the constant
state of dread he must be living in.

She struggled to breathe. Her lungs ached as she
tried to pull the air in. The laughter grew louder. Stars danced
across her vision and everything started to go dark. Her arms would
not move. Her legs would not move.

Her limbs hung limp as darkness swallowed the
room.

*****

Scarlett bolted upright in bed with the echoes of
laughter still in her head. She looked around and saw her current
bedroom, not the place from her nightmares. The space was dark
except for the glowing red numbers on her alarm clock and the
sliver of moonlight from the small window.

She reached up and wiped the sweat from her brow.
At least I only soaked the pillow this time.

Scarlett flipped her pillow over and laid her head
back down. She stared at the glowing numbers for several minutes
before her eyes closed again. The remainder of her sleep was fitful
and plagued by more images of Derrick.

When the sun’s rays peeked in through the window,
Scarlett’s eyes opened again. Her poor night’s sleep left her in a
foul mood.

After a quick shower, she grabbed a cup of coffee
and sat down with her commpad. Her fingers typed furiously as a
plan began to form in her head. Several minutes later, she pulled
up her list of contacts and made a call. The device rang several
times.
Dammit Dax.

On the seventh ring, he picked up. His voice cracked
as he spoke. “What the hell are you doing calling me at five-thirty
in the fucking morning?”

“
I need a favor.”

“
And it couldn’t wait until a
decent time in the day?”

“
Five-thirty is a decent
time.”

“
I think you need to look up the
definition of decent.”

Scarlett sighed. “Fine, call me when it’s a decent
time for you.”

He groaned. “Well, shit. I’m up now anyway. Whaddya
want?”

“
I need to make someone
disappear.”

“
You want to make someone
else
disappear?”

“
Yep.”

Scarlett heard rustling from Dax’s side of the call
then a crash of glass. “Shit...Dammit. Oh, well, that’s a new
one.”

“
You, ah... alright?”

“
Yeah, just need to remember to
turn the light on before I get out of bed.”

“
Ah.”

Grunts and more rustling punctuated Dax’s words. “So
who’s it gonna be?”

“
I’m not exactly sure. Never knew
his name.”

“
Then how am I suppos—”

Scarlett set a phone on the table next to her
commpad. “I have his cell phone.”

“
You mean, an actual cell phone?
Didn’t know anyone used those anymore.”

She spun the black device in a circle and let her
eyes go out of focus for a moment. “Yeah, well, he did. Look, I’ll
just bring you the phone.”

“
But, you don’t even know where I
live.”

“
That’s why you’re going to text
me the address. You better get dressed, I’m on my way.” Scarlett
hung up before Dax could say anything more than “But.”

The ride across town was quick, as most of the city
was still asleep. She got off the autobus just as the sun finished
coming over the horizon. With a few blocks left to go, she decided
to enjoy the morning air as she walked the rest of the way.

Wrought-iron half-fencing lined one side of the
sidewalk while trees sprung up from the other. The buildings were a
smattering of red, grey, and brown brick in a typical brownstone
style. The part of town Dax called home wasn’t luxury living, but
it was far from the slums she’d expected.

As she turned the last corner, a car on her side of
the street stood out. This car was different from the few service
trucks or soccer-mom vans on the mostly clear road. The black sedan
sat parked facing Dax’s apartment. A small Net antenna poked up
from just behind the rear window.

Scarlett stopped. She had a perfect view through the
back window of two heads poking over the seat backs. Across the
street, the building with Dax’s address number sat squeezed between
two more just like it.

An image of MakerMasters and her warning to
Zinchenko flashed through her mind. She darted back behind the
corner.
Shit.
Her hand instinctively reached for her gun but
she didn’t draw it.
Shit!

She took her hand off her weapon and peeked around
the edge of the building. The men were talking. She watched their
movements for a few seconds and noticed something was off. These
were not Zinchenko’s thugs.

Scarlett smoothed out her shirt and pulled her hair
back behind her ears. She took a deep breath and let it escape
through pursed lips. “Ok… you can do this.”

She turned back around the corner, heading straight
for the car. Her knuckle tapped lightly on the driver’s window.
Both men jumped, the driver nearly dumping his coffee.
Wow.
Scarlett leaned down and rested her arms on the door, making sure
they had a good view of her cleavage. The glass retracted down into
the door.

An odor of old coffee slammed into her. The men wore
casual but nice clothes. She noticed the tell-tale bump of a gun
under the left side of the driver’s coat.
Cops. Probably
Feds.

Scarlett smiled, speaking in the sweetest tone she
could muster. “Hello boys. So... are you, like, cops or
something?”

Chapter 32
Men

Author Dave Barry once said, “Scientists now believe
that the primary biological function of breasts is to make males
stupid.”

* * *

Scarlett ran her finger along the edge of the car
door. Using her brightest smile, she put on her best mask of
innocence. The two well-dressed men in the car just stared at her
with open mouths.

She hadn’t expected to find police or Feds watching
Dax’s place, though she realized she probably should have. To the
cops, he would appear as a weak spot in Zinchenko’s armor. Maybe
Dax made a deal with them. She knew she’d have to find out
later.

She batted her eyelashes. “Ya don’t look like yer
with the family or nothin’. Is someone in trouble or are ya
protecting a witness? I mean, ‘cuz—”

“
Ah... No Ma’am. We’re just...”
The man’s eyes shifted from her face to her cleavage then back up.
“We’re just waiting for someone.” The man in the passenger seat
shifted.

She put on her best pout. “Aw. That’s too bad. I
mean... I’ve always had the
deepest
respect for what you
do.”