Cipher (6 page)

Fucking scary
, she mouthed to me. Great. I was trying to be friendly and smile, and she told me I was doing it wrong. Girl was asking for a butt kicking.

“Cipher doesn’t get out much,” Mona said to Oliver.

“Cipher. That’s an unusual name.”

“It’s her hacker handle.”

“Mona!” The name was common enough that it was safe to use—a lot of people used some variation of it because of me—but I didn’t go around telling people what I did.

“Really?” he said. He crossed his thick arms, making the muscles bulge out. “That’s interesting.”

He had the whole intimidation thing down well. “Not really.” That was too high pitched. The light above me flickered. This wasn’t good. I needed to chill out fast. “Hey, I’m going to get another drink. You want?”

“I’m good,” Mona said.

“All right. I’m going to hit the games, but I’m ready whenever you are.”

“Cool.”

“Nice meeting you, Oliver.”

He stuck out his hand, and I saw the glowing bird tattoo.

You gotta be fucking kidding me.

The lights flickered again as I stared.

I stepped back, shoving my hand in my back pocket. “Spilled my last drink. Sticky. See ya’ round.” I focused on taking evenly paced steps as I went back to the bar and ordered another French Seventy-Five. The alcohol would hopefully help soothe my nerves and avoid any blowouts.

I couldn’t leave without Mona. Not until I knew she was with someone safe.

There were way too many bird tattoos going around tonight. Was it all a coincidence? Or was it a sign that I should’ve left like I’d planned?

Mona laughed, and I heard it even over all the noise.

I sighed. It’d be a damned miracle if I got out of this place without drawing attention to myself.

Chapter Four

KNIGHT

The ride to Arizona from Colorado wasn’t bad. I made good time, but checking in took longer than I’d hoped. For a second, I thought Lady Eva hadn’t put in the forged paperwork, but everything worked out fine. I got my orders to report at twelve hundred to the arena. Oliver and I had pulled demonstration duties.

I accepted the assignment with a nod, and logged everything into my calendar. I could’ve ended up with a worse assignment. Talking little kids into trying out and lying about how fantastic our way of life was would be too hard to fake. But beating the shit out of Oliver? That I could do.

The temporary barracks for Black Helixes was set up next to the Trials site. Thirty rows of bunks filled the utilitarian space. It wouldn’t give me a lot of privacy, but I wasn’t planning on staying here at all—except to sleep. Lady Eva had sent me the info on a safe house that I could use for whatever I needed. First I needed to figure out where Dex and Oliver were, and then I’d head to check out the space. I always preferred to know the hiding spot
before
I needed it. I put in a text to the guys, telling them to get their asses back here, and went about finding a bunk.

Most of the beds were already claimed by the other Black Helixes working the Trials, but I found one with the mattress still rolled up at the bottom of the bed frame. The locker beside it was empty except for the standard white sheets and towels. Making the bed took little time, and I was unpacking my little bit of stuff when Dex and Oliver came in.

“What is up, douchebag?” Dex said. His blond hair fell to his shoulders and he was definitely going to get reamed for it.

“What’s up, girlyman?” I loved making fun of Dex’s non-regulation hair.

“Don’t dis on the locks.” He flicked his hair back with a flourish. “You only wish you were man enough to pull off my hair.”

“Right.” He pulled me in for a quick hug. I hit him on the back before shoving him away with a laugh.

Oliver towered over the both of us. He was a beast, and looked it—at seven feet and change, thick with muscle, and bald—he’d scare even me if I didn’t know him. Truth was, he was the biggest softie I’d ever met. The dude cried during sappy movies. “What’s up, Ollie?”

“Not much.” We did the hug, back hit routine. He tapped a finger to his ear, telling me to engage my blocking tech.

I reached in my pocket and activated it, nodding to him when it was done.

“You found your girl?” he asked.

My
girl. The responsibility of the mission weighed on me. I hoped I’d found her. “Maybe.”

“Oh, man. That means you’re going to settle down. That blows,” Dex said as he sat on the closest bunk.

The guy had lost his mind. “No way. I don’t have any romantic interest in the girl. Hell, she was just a kid last time I saw her. You know me. I don’t date. I do one-nighters. Emma included.”

Dex and Oliver shared a look.

“Fuck off,” I said. “Just because we’re paired doesn’t mean we’re going to end up together. Working together, sure. But that’s it.”

“Yeah. You say that now, but we’ll see when the two of you are together.” Dex crossed his arms as he stared me down. “You’re paired because you’re compatible in every way.
Every
way.”

“Michelle’s a Red and she’s not romantic with her paired partner.”

“Dude. Her partner is her sister. You’re not at all related to Emma.”

“Whatever.” I wasn’t sure how I felt about getting involved with Emma romantically. Even if I did the whole girlfriend thing—which I didn’t—Emma was still an eight-year-old kid in my head. Anything beyond brotherly platonic care was out of my realm of perception. I placed my five black T-shirts, neatly folded, into the locker. “Where were you guys?”

“Went to a gaming club called Marx’s. Totally up your alley. We should check it out tomorrow night.”

I lined my toiletries along the edge of my top shelf, labels facing out so that I could see everything, and then rolled up my bags and placed them on the bottom shelf of my locker. Everything was precisely stored. Not that any of this mattered. Five black shirts. Five black pants. Five black socks. Five black boxer-briefs. Plus two civilian outfits—jeans, a gray T-shirt and a white button-down. All generic brands. That’s all I brought with me. Easy enough to replace. None of it said dick-all about myself should I need to run. Nothing they could use against me.

I sat in the bunk across from Dex as I weighed the reasons for hanging out in the club. And yeah, the guy was thinking with his dick. “We’re not going to be doing much of anything but the mission. No messing around with the local ladies, Romeo.”

“I always have time for local fare.” Dex shrugged. “And there’s a chance she could be at the club.”

“Not likely. Emma keeps to herself. Plus, I don’t see her as the gaming type.” That little girl who wasn’t even allowed a gaming console in public? No way.

But Dex’s comment about settling down with Emma made me twitch. A little trip over there wouldn’t hurt. “Any decent ladies there?”

Oliver whistled. “I met a couple. One was a little thing with blue hair. Cute as a button, but tough. She didn’t even crack a smile at me. Her friend was this hot blonde—
real
friendly. They were still there when I left. We could go back.”

I wasn’t in the mood to hit a club. Even a gaming one. “I don’t know…”

“You don’t want to stick around base too much. Didn’t you have a run in with Parson a while back? We’ve already seen him and we weren’t exactly hanging around.”

I grunted. “It was a long time ago. I don’t know if he’d remember me. Any word on why he’s taken over the Trials?”

“He’s looking for someone. No one but the top of the chain knows who, though. Wilton’s been keeping tabs on this area for a while now. I’ve reached out. It’s why we went to Marx’s. The chicks Ollie was hitting up were a total side benny. Wilton was busy doing his thing, so we didn’t get to talk to him, but he’s gonna let us know—” Dex’s com beeped. He pulled it from his pocket. “That’s him. Says we should head back to Marx’s. He’s got info.”

“Guess I’m overruled then.” I stood up. “Parson and I are most likely after the same girl. The quicker we can get this done, the better.”

“You sure?” Oliver asked.

“Maybe I’m being paranoid, but it’s the only thing that makes sense.” I made sure my locker was secure and followed the guys out the door.

***

Marx’s was fully packed when we walked in. It was like any other gaming club I’d been to. The music was too loud and the drinks were flowing a little freely. I didn’t mind coming to places like this every once in a while, but tonight it put me on edge.

I spotted Wilton across the room. He was doing his usual cover routine. The guy had built it up for years, playing off his scrawny build and acting like a tweaker. Make someone laugh at you and they didn’t think you were dangerous. He was the best at entertaining, so people told him all kinds of stuff. It helped that he kept his Blue Helix well covered. Only the raven on his hand alerted other Shadow Ravens that he was legit.

“Look at you, douche. Haven’t seen you in forever,” Wilton said in his fake-ass whiny voice. The glasses he didn’t actually need made his eyes look too large for his face.

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing when I looked at him. “What’s up, Wilton?”

“I got a booth over here, gentlemen. Let’s do some business.”

He motioned us to seats in the corner that were completely covered in shadow. The backlights that ran along the edges of the ceiling were burnt out above only this booth.

I pulled my com out of my pocket and tapped the screen twice, turning on the anti-bug software. “What have you got? Any info on why exactly Parson is here?”

“Nah. No word on that yet, but I’m meeting up with a guy tomorrow who has a big mouth. I’ll get what I can from him. But that’s not why I called you back here.”

I leaned forward. “What’ve you got?”

“Tweedle Dumbs one and two here didn’t pick up on the little Raven. They bailed out before I could tell them. The girl has been here for weeks. Her gaming skills are top of the line. Best I’ve ever seen. Never had the chance to meet her—she’s not the friendly type and I’ve never seen her leave with a guy—but she came up to me asking for a Knight processor.”

I raised a brow. Those were mine, handmade from circuits to soldering. And they were expensive. Not too many people in the Voids could afford the price, and I knew just about everyone who could. “What’s her handle?”

“Cipher.”

That one word took me a second to process. I never thought I’d ever even get close to meeting her. “Cipher is here? And a Raven?”

“Yeah. You know her?”

“She’s a legend. So yes, I know her. We talk online sometimes. Are you sure this girl is the real Cipher? A lot of wannabes out there use the name these days.”

Wilton shrugged. “That’s the name everyone calls her. Showed up in town out of nowhere. Came in one night with her girl, Mona. Been coming in few nights a week since. Sometimes with the friend. Sometimes alone. Kills it on the games. Only total morons bet against her when she’s playing. Doesn’t drink. Doesn’t flirt with the guys. Or with the girls. Just comes to game. Never seen anyone beat her either.”

“Fuck. Might be the real Cipher.” I shook my head. I’d been talking to her for years now. Sending her gear when she needed it, although she was shifty about where to send stuff. “I thought she was a dude.” And I had no idea she was a Raven. How could I not know her if she was a Raven? Was she in deep cover?

“Well, this little one is definitely a girl. You met her, Oliver. What’d you think?”

“Tiny thing? Blue hair? Piercings? Tattoos?”

Wilton nodded. “That’s the one.”

“Hot.” He paused for a second. “Didn’t see that she was a Raven though.”

“I think she hides her tattoo,” Wilton said. “I hadn’t seen it before, and you better believe I check everyone who comes in here. Plus the girl broke her usual M.O. She got a drink instead of heading straight to the tables, and then came over to me. Didn’t think much of it until she spilled her drink and wiped it on her pants. When I shook her hand, I saw the ink. Still had some makeup on it, but the color was there.”

I shook my head. That didn’t make sense. “Could be the Red we’re looking for or a different one. Could also be some other agent under cover.”

Wilton tapped a finger on the table. “It doesn’t add up. Why would one of us ever cover our tattoo?”

“We wouldn’t,” Dex said. “Only another Raven could ever see it. So why hide it?”

“Yeah. But she did. Did you see it, Oliver?”

“No. She wouldn’t shake my hand. Stuck hers in her pocket and even took a step back.”

Wilton pointed at me. “You see. That’s not fucking normal behavior. We check for the Raven on everyone. We make sure to show it. Something’s up with this girl.” Despite his lack of precise terms, Wilton was an expert in psychology and human behavior. The guy had a photographic memory, too. If he said she was acting shifty, then she was shifty.

“So, she here still?” I asked, glancing around the room for anyone with blue hair.

“Nah. Left just before you got here. Oliver told me the two of you would be battling in the Black arena tomorrow, so I sent her to you. Tiny pixie with miles of wavy, long blue hair. Can’t miss her. I’ll leave it up to you how you earn her trust.”

I leaned back in the booth. “I don’t have time for Cipher anyway. I’m looking for a Red Helix. Strawberry-blonde hair. Hazel-green eyes. Small nose, slightly pointed up. Freckles. Roughly five feet eight inches. You seen anyone like that around here?” I showed him my com, displaying the image of Emma captured from my memory scan.

He took the device and studied the image for a second. “You’re looking for a little girl?”

“Nah man. That picture is twelve years old. She’s twenty.”

Wilton studied the picture. “Looks kind of familiar.”

I flipped to the age-projection photo, but it didn’t look quite human. The eyes had a glassy look from the software generation.

Wilton twisted his head to the side. “I’ve seen her, but I’m not sure where. How tall is she again?”

“According to her DNA projections, she should’ve hit five eight with maybe a quarter inch wiggle room.”

Wilton rolled his eyes. “With all this precision intel you’ve given me, it’s a wonder I can’t think up more possibilities.”