Code of Vengeance: The Complete Collection, page 13
The home she was looking for was as nondescript as they came. It was a two-story house with white siding, the lawn long enough that it needed mowing. Some plants in the yard were doing well, but it looked like the ones that really succeeded were the weeds.
Nat didn’t judge any of that. She never understood the concept of ownership, especially of property. She loved being able to go wherever she wanted, whenever. Her van was self-sufficient, and she was beholden to no taxes or laws.
But different people had different preferences, she supposed.
Nat didn’t go to the front door, instead going around the side of the house to a narrow concrete stairwell that led down into the basement.
She stepped down slowly, knowing from experience that the built-in security systems would monitor and scan her more thoroughly than if she was trying to get on an airplane. Maxx was security conscious, to say the least, and for good reason.
Thanks to the security, there was no need for her to knock. The door opened for her, and as Nat stepped through, she looked across at the thick iron security door running along the wall. Maxx had shut it for her once, and she was impressed by how quickly such a heavy door could move.
The door was almost five inches thick, and it was designed with one purpose in mind: give Maxx enough time to do whatever he needed to in order to prepare for a home invasion.
Maxx was plugged into his VR setup when she entered, which wasn’t any surprise to her. She could hardly remember a time when he wasn’t plugged in. She still preferred the feel of keyboard and monitors, but she understood she was a dinosaur in this age. Someday, she’d take the time to learn the VR interfaces properly.
She looked around the room as she waited for him to finish. He wasn’t being rude. He just had a tendency to work on one thing at a time. She respected that, and she respected Maxx.
He was running an impressive setup. The room was warm, even though an A/C unit was working feverishly to keep the basement room cool. It was no surprise. The towers Maxx ran rivaled those of many large corporations.
Everything else was neatly organized. Maxx was detail-oriented by nature, and that applied to his home base as well. Everything was cataloged and put away in clear plastic bins and drawers.
The only exception was a large bowl of mac and cheese sitting next to the VR rig. From the smell of the room, that bowl had probably been sitting untouched for hours, if not more than a day.
She didn’t know that much about Maxx. He was a supplier, able to get her whatever she asked for, whether it be fake IDs, wiretapping technology, or even her current laptop setup. Beyond that, she didn’t do much investigation, mostly out of professional courtesy, but also out of self-interest.
She was a good hacker, but Maxx was better. If she tried to find out anything about him, she suspected he would know about it. Then she wouldn’t have anyone she could go to. Maxx could blacklist her from anyone trustworthy.
She didn’t know if he lived in his mom’s basement, if he owned the house and rented the upstairs, or why he lived here. She didn’t know how old he was, although she suspected he was in his late twenties.
She didn’t ask, and he never volunteered.
Maxx was the one who not only helped her hack the national identity database, but had actually taken the time to show her how to do it. The additional service had been free, and she had always been grateful. She switched her biometric info fairly frequently for security’s sake, and without his instruction, doing so would have meant another trip to Maxx every time, an expensive visit.
Now she could easily hack the system on her own. He had lost her money in that regard, but he earned a lifelong customer. Even if she wasn’t in the city, she would travel back to get equipment and services from him.
Nat didn’t trust him, not exactly. But he was about as close to trust as she ever came. In Nat’s ledger, trust was the hardest currency to earn and the easiest to lose. Maxx’s balance was higher than almost anyone else’s.
He flipped his visor up, revealing sharp blue eyes underneath an unkempt mop of blond hair. If their relationship wasn’t so strictly business, she might have even found him attractive.
“Hey, Nat.”
“Hey.”
“That’s a pretty serious request you put in there.”
The question was unspoken. He would never ask her about her activities, but he needed to protect himself as well. If any of his clients got caught by law enforcement, he was at risk too.
Nat had let him know what she needed earlier in the day. He replied almost immediately, letting her know he had what she was looking for. She was surprised, having expected to wait a few days at least.
“I know. Things have gotten serious. Thanks for the hand.”
“Always. You know PD has biometrics out on your profile?”
“Yeah.” She had considered changing her profile again, but she had to assume Lewis would be tracking her. The risk was too high, and they still hadn’t linked her biometrics with her yet, so she was still safe.
Maxx looked like he wanted to ask her more, but his rules for living were hard and fast. He saw the bowl of mac and cheese on the table and dug into it without hesitation. She imagined him as a squirrel, distracted by whatever was nearest.
Nat grimaced. Maxx wanted to ask her what was going on, and she wanted to tell him. The words were tumbling about on her tongue, longing to escape. Sad as it was to admit, he was the closest she had to a friend, and she wanted desperately to confide in someone. But she kept her lips sealed.
They were professionals here, after all.
After a few bites, Maxx stood up and walked to the false wall where he kept his highly illegal goods. A brief look at all his equipment was enough to prove that Maxx saw plenty of shades of gray where others saw black and white. He had a number of data drives Nat was sure held software that could be used for illegal purposes, but they had tight security installed. He didn’t have any problem leaving those out.
The good stuff was behind the false wall, equipment no lawyer could find a solid defense for. Nat’s heart beat with anticipation just thinking of all the goodies behind the paneling.
Maxx pressed his palm against a plain section of wall and glanced at Nat. She grinned and turned around as he entered a passcode.
The wooden paneling slid away to reveal all sorts of goodness, from computer parts to data keys to a small selection of weapons.
Maxx approached the weapons.
He first pulled out a small pistol-looking weapon. He handed it to her carefully.
“I call this the BFG-9000.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. A classic game reference to Doom, but she wasn’t sure how it applied.
“Trust me, it looks small, but it packs a hell of a punch. The default setting is its maximum, which will send enough electricity through a victim to fry any circuit, no questions asked. You can dial it down for less permanent effects. It was originally designed to incapacitate even military robots.”
Max pulled out five extra cartridges and handed them to her, showing her how to load and reload the weapon.
“This even works through their armor?”
He nodded. “Without a problem.”
The weapon looked so small, but she accepted his word. It had always been good before, so she assumed it would be here, too. She didn’t think she would have time to test it anyhow. If she had to use it, it would already be too late.
Next, he handed her a small black box. “Standard stun gun. Works either on contact or can fire its prongs.”
He showed her the controls, which were as self-explanatory as they came. He handed her a few cartridges for that as well.
She pulled out her phone and swiped a few times.
A notification popped up on Maxx’s screen. The Zcash transaction had gone through, untraceable.
“A pleasure doing business with you, as always, Nat.”
“You too.”
As Nat went to leave, he stopped her. “Nat, I don’t know what you’re into, and frankly, it’s probably better that I don’t know. But you’ve always been a good client. I’d hate to lose you.”
Nat was touched. It was the closest she had ever come to hearing anything resembling concern from Maxx. “I’ll be careful.”
She figured that if Maxx could see what she had planned, he’d immediately regret helping her.
After visiting him, she returned downtown to her van, dropping off the BFG, as Maxx had lovingly referred to it. It was a weapon that would get picked up by any standard weapons scanner.
The stun gun, on the other hand, was a modified version of a legal product. She could carry it around without anyone being the wiser. Even if she got stopped by a police bot, it would pass a cursory inspection. She needed it for tonight.
Nat locked her van again and returned to the light rail for her second trip of the day. She was really becoming a woman about town, she thought.
This trip took her to a quiet, newer apartment complex, not all that far from Maxx’s place. A brief scan told her that her target wasn’t home yet, but that wasn’t surprising. He seemed like a man who worked late. He didn’t have anything else. No family, no hobbies. Only the job.
It was a simple matter for her to bypass security, both at the bottom entrance of the apartment complex and at the door itself. He had installed an extra layer of security, but it was a commercial piece of crap that opened to the software on her phone after only a few seconds.
She set an alarm on her phone to let her know when his key card was used downstairs. That would give her a few minutes of warning to get ready for him.
Until then, she explored.
The apartment was barren. Given the man’s age, she assumed he would have more knick-knacks and mementos lying around. But his apartment was devoid of almost all personality. In the bedroom, there were two small pictures of him and his late wife. Nat already knew she had passed away from cancer several decades ago. They looked happy, though. She couldn’t remember ever smiling like that for a picture.
Other than that, there was a small sitting area with a pillow she recognized as a meditation cushion. That was information that didn’t show up in his file. There was always more to people than one expected, more than one saw at first glance. There was always more than could be found online, too. Perhaps his meditation practice was the source of his tranquility.
The second bedroom had been converted to an office, and it looked like this was the room that saw the most use. A handful of medallions and commendations sat in the corner, unhung. This wasn’t the sort of man who sought glory. He didn’t care about recognition or awards. It reinforced her ideas about him. Part of her regretted that they were on opposite sides of the battle.
She considered trying to hack his computer, but didn’t see the need. She’d already accessed all his files on their case through the police database, and she was certain she already knew everything that he knew.
Although it was unlike her, she also felt a small bit of desire to let the man have his personal privacy.
Her phone buzzed to let her know his keycard had been used downstairs.
She got into position behind the door, hoping he wouldn’t react too strongly. She didn’t want to hurt him if she could avoid it.
The next couple of minutes were unbearable. She was ready, and all she wanted was for him to walk through the door and get it over with.
How long did it take to get from the bottom door to the apartment? It couldn’t be more than a minute or two, but she felt like she’d been waiting forever. Sweat dripped down her arm to her hand, making her grip slick on the stun weapon.
The door clicked open, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Finally.
He opened the door and stepped through, surprising Nat by how tall he was. As he closed the door, she stepped forward.
His awareness was excellent, and he reacted far faster than she expected an old man to. His hand was already reaching for his weapon when she jabbed him in the back with her own.
“Pull out your gun, slowly.”
He hesitated, and she could imagine him running through scenarios in his mind. She couldn’t let him think, not until she was fully in control of the situation.
“Now!”
It worked. He responded instantly. “It won’t fire for you.”
She knew that. All police weapons were biometrically locked. Only the registered user could fire. That measure had passed Congress with bipartisan support even before she was born.
“I know. I’m not going to use it, I just don’t want you to.”
The answer seemed to satisfy him. He pulled his weapon slowly out of his holster by his thumb and forefinger. She grabbed it from his hand as soon as it was clear and then tossed it away. She took a few paces back so she wasn’t in his reach, either.
“You’re her, aren’t you?”
Nat wasn’t surprised he had put it together. Detective Lewis was every bit the investigator she thought he was.
“Yes. You can turn around now. You already know what I look like.”
He did, keeping his hands to his side.
She couldn’t help but think he had a grandfatherly air about him. If she had been a younger child, she could imagine running up to him and jumping onto his lap as he offered to read her a story. He just had that sort of attitude. Calm and relaxed. There was even a slight smile on his face.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said.
“Really?” Her voice dripped with disbelief.
“Yes. This case has been driving me mad, and maybe you can help me answer some questions.”
“That’s not why I’m here.”
“I know. But since you are, maybe you can help.”
That smile was still there. On another man, Nat would have found it infuriating. Somehow, with Detective Lewis, she didn’t. He was just being friendly.
She couldn’t help herself. She laughed. “You’ve got some balls, old man, I’ll give you that.”
“Bryce is fine, thanks,” he replied.
“Fair enough, Bryce. Care to have a seat?” She gestured towards his couch.
“I would, thanks. You don’t mind if I pour myself a drink, do you?”
“Not at all.”
The detective walked to his liquor cabinet, an antique furnishing Nat couldn’t help but laugh at. He proceeded to pour himself a dram of scotch, as though having someone break into his house at night was the most natural thing in the world.
“Want one?”
“No. Not while I’m working.”
“I can respect that.” He resealed the bottle and walked over to his couch, crashing onto it with a heavy sigh. “You know, as a house guest, it’s only appropriate to introduce yourself.”
She smiled. “I’m not quite a house guest.”
“No, I suppose you’re not.”
They sat there in silence for a few moments. Nat realized that she had inadvertently lost control of the situation. She was waiting for him to start.
Damn, this guy was a good detective.
“I want you to stay away from this case,” she demanded as convincingly as she could.
He gave her an appraising eye. “You know I’ve got a job to do.”
“I’m serious. You don’t know what you’re stepping into. You seem like a good man, and I don’t want to see you hurt because of your dedication to your job.”
His eyes narrowed. “You’re right about one thing. I don’t know what’s going on. Perhaps you’d like to enlighten me?”
She debated what to say. She had prepared for this moment, but now that she was here in front of him, she was undecided.
Reason reasserted itself. The less this detective knew, the better.
“No, just take my word for it. You need to stay out of this fight. I don’t trust the robot, and I trust Clive Proskey even less. You’re swimming with sharks, Detective Lewis.”
“Bryce.” He held up his hand. “Look, it seems like you’ve done your homework on me. You know I’m not going to stop. Until truth is served, I keep going.”
She knew he was trying to force her hand. She knew it and followed his lead anyway.
“Did you or your robot kill Kleon James?”
His language was the first thing she noticed. “He’s not my robot.”
Shit. That was more information than she’d planned on revealing.
Nat saw his eyes flicker. He was cataloging the information.
She should leave. But she couldn’t. Not until she persuaded him to stay out of the way.
“No. We did not kill Kleon. As you know, we were there, but when we left he was alive and well.”
He nodded. “The robot said the same thing, but I can’t tell if a robot’s lying.”
“Am I?”
He shook his head as he took a sip.
“Will you leave this case be, at least for a few days?”
“You’ll need to give me more than that.”
She sighed, glancing at the door again. Fine.
“Detective Lewis, do you believe that robots are here only to help us?”
“Bryce,” he reminded her absentmindedly as he focused on her question. “I don’t know. I assume so, but everything has moved very fast. Our ethics and understanding hasn’t kept pace with our technology. That much I’ll grant you.”
She wrestled with telling him more. It was a risk, of course, but she couldn’t think of any other way to get him out and safe. She needed time. Perhaps his life was worth the cost, but she didn’t want his blood on her hands.
“I don’t believe robots are here for our good. I’m not a member of Sapiens First. I’m not that ass-backward. But we’ve let AI get too far without really knowing what we’re getting ourselves into. The robot that I’m with, I believe he has the capability to harm humans. When he does, I want the evidence to go public so the world will sit up and take notice.”
Bryce studied her carefully. “You’re following the robot, hoping he’ll harm a human? If what I’ve seen is correct, he already has. I saw him try to break out of Proskey Enterprises.”
