Page 50 of The Devil's Ransom

“A bunch of brochures for skin clubs here in Zagreb. Nothing yet. This looks like a penthouse for parties, not a headquarters for an elite hacking cell.”

We kept working the problem, me wondering about Jennifer’s call while the clone device spun along, and then the situation split open like a waterfall.

Veep came on the net saying, “Following Red Head. He’s been shot and he’s coming to you. You have about a minute and a half.”

I said, “What? What did you just say?”

“We had a gunfight here. Red Head’s about to penetrate your building. Get out.”

Knuckles looked at me with the same expression I knew I held. I said, “Pack it up. Let’s go.”

I ripped out the clone device before it was finished, getting an angry alert from the computer I was stealing it from. I clicked on the “okay” button, letting the computer know I’d made a mistake, then watched it return to the home screen.

I said, “You haven’t fucked anything up, have you?”

Knuckles laughed and said, “No more than you.”

“Let’s get out.”

We left the door and went to the stairs, meeting the redhead target running up with a limp, a glaring bit of blood on his leg. We ignored him and kept moving down, me wondering what the hell was going on. I suppose, as the team leader, I could have cut on the net demanding an answer to the debacle, but I knew with my team that I’d get the answer when it was available to give.

Nothing was worse than hearing from some asshole not in the fight demanding to know the situation. But man, I really wanted to.

We reached the entrance to the building, running into Veep. I said, “What the hell is going on?”

He had wild eyes and looked like he thought he’d screwed up. He said, “I have no idea. There were two guys, then a gunshot, then it just went to shit. Jennifer ordered me on Red Head, and I left her. I don’t know what’s going on with her.”

He shook his head and said, “Maybe I should have stayed with her.”

I chuckled and said, “If you had, we’d have been compromised. Red Head would have come in with us still there. Jennifer can take care of herself.”

We walked out into the street, me starting to worry despite what I’d told Veep, and then my little protégé finally came on, and I could tell she was running.

“There’s been a gunfight, our target dropped off the balcony, the two unsubs followed, and I’m behind them. Entering the stairwell.”

She was panting in between the transmissions, telling me without telling me that there was a footrace going on.

I said, “We’ve just left the target building. Are you saying he’s coming here? He’s on the stairwell in between the buildings?”

I heard panting, then, “Yes. Two men want to kill him.”

Shit.

Now I had a decision. I had the information from the apartment, and Lord knows that computer drain would probably break it all open, but this guy was going to get killed in the meantime.

Did I care?

Maybe we should just go up and jack the guy that we’d passed. The Red Head target. He probably knew as much as the one running. But I didn’t have authority for that. We weren’t at Omega. We were at Alpha, and I’d accomplished that mission. As far as the guy on the run, I didn’t have any authority to interdict him, either. According to my orders, he was on his own.

Those thoughts were running through my head in an analytical sphere, but truthfully, I hated bullies. And the men chasing that guy were bullies. I knew it wasn’t the right decision. In fact knew it was the absolutewrongdecision. He’d clearly done something against some other element and was now going to pay the price, but it just wasn’t in me.

I looked at Knuckles. He saw my face and said, “So it’s time for the stupid shit?”

I laughed and said, “Leaning that way.”

I started walking toward the exit of the stairwell and saw our target come bolting out, running like he was being chased by a pack of wolves. Which he was. He disappeared in the distance, moving at a pace we couldn’t match unless we were willing to invite compromise for following him.

I said, “We keep on him. Low and slow.”

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