Scarlet Angel (16 page)

“
Okay, Jules. This code.” She
pointed to a sectioned off area of the board in front of her. “It
doesn’t look like digital programming. It almost looks, I dunno...
biological.”

Jules spun around in her chair. “That’s because it
is. Or, at least I hope it will be some day. It’s a pet project of
mine.”

Scarlett whistled. “You know, this is really
impressive.”

“
Thanks!”

The conversation faded into silence as Scarlett
walked around the room. She tried to decipher what she could of the
coding, but most of it was complete gibberish. Eventually, she sat
back down and just waited.

“
Almost done.”

Scarlett’s eyes flashed open at the sound of Jules’s
voice. She hadn’t even realized she dozed off. “Huh?”

“
Oh, uh... one sec... and, done.
Your commpad is ready now. I just need you to set the print and
retinal scan.

Scarlett climbed to her feet and pressed her finger
against the commpad’s screen. She stared at the small camera and
heard a click from the speakers. Red letters blinked on the screen,
“Registered.”

Jules tapped a few buttons, rebooted the device and
handed it over. “You’ll just need to touch the screen with that
finger and stare at the camera any time you turn it on or wake it
up.”

The commpad turned back on and Scarlett tested the
security. The device gave her instant access. “Not that I doubt
you, but how do I know if it works?”

Jules held her hand out and took the device back.
She locked the screen and tried to unlock it. Instead of accessing
the desktop, a small circle flashed around where Jules’ thumb
pressed on the screen. ‘Denied’ flashed in white letters next to
the circle. She tilted the screen for Scarlett to see.

Scarlett took the commpad back. “This is fantastic.
Would you mind me calling on you for future work?”

“
Sure!”

“
Great.” She held her hand out for
Jules’ eCash card. The younger woman handed it over. She pressed
the two cards together, tapped on the tiny pad and transferred the
funds. She struggled not to smile.

“
There you go. Three
thousand.”

Jules squinted and wrinkled her brow. “Wait. You
said two.”

She couldn’t hold it anymore. The corner of
Scarlett’s mouth cracked in a smile. “Did I? Oh well. It’s already
there, and you were so quick and helpful.”

Color rose in the other woman’s cheeks. She wiped
away a stray tear and punched in her acceptance code. “Thank you.
Listen, you need anything else, you call me. I’ll do whatever I can
for you.”

“
You got it.”

The two said their goodbyes. Scarlett left the
apartment, already thinking of other ways she might use Jules’
talents.

Chapter 24
Carl

Oh, how quickly we can forget a lover’s
transgressions.

* * *

The ride back to the warehouse district was shorter
than Scarlett expected. She got off the autobus at a stop just a
few blocks from the apartment.

From the moment the folding doors opened and the
faint acrid smell wafted to her, she knew something was wrong. Her
feet set down on the concrete sidewalk and she froze.
Neil!

Scarlett burst into a run. She sprinted down the
street and around the corner. Still more than a block away, she
glanced up and saw the black plumes. Red and blue pulsing lights
highlighted the smoke.

She rounded the final corner and skidded to a halt.
Where Neil’s warehouse once stood, now there was only a tower of
flame and smoke. Fire crews struggled against the blaze. She
watched as one crew aimed several water hoses at the inferno.
Another crew ripped at the buildings surrounding the fire to keep
it from spreading.

A helicopter drifted overhead. Doors on the
underside of the hovering aircraft opened and a cloud of white
powder tumbled into the flames.

What confused Scarlett the most was that there was a
fire at all. When she left, the warehouse was empty. The small
offices inside could not possibly be feeding a fire this size. Even
Neil’s apartment, separated from the ground level by three feet of
concrete, could not do this.

Scarlett also noticed the sour odor that came with
the smoke. It was not the smell of anything in the building
burning.
No, this fire is specifically designed to wipe
everything away. But, who started it?

Two hours later, the flames were gone and little
more than smoldering chunks of red-glowing concrete remained. The
last of the fire crews shot water onto the embers. She heard the
sizzle and the groan of the metal as it cooled almost instantly. A
cement boulder exploded from the conflicting temperatures.

The firefighters waited a few more hours until they
were sure every bit of the building was out and cool. By the time
they started packing up, the sun was gone and the moon was high in
the sky. They had cut the power to the nearby buildings and
streetlights, plunging the surrounding area into complete
darkness.

Scarlett crept across the street and made her way to
the rubble. From the safety of a nearby rooftop, she watched the
crew make their final sweep. Earlier that morning, she had left a
warehouse with a hidden underground apartment. Now, there was only
a pit filled with blackened lumps of concrete and twisted metal
slag.

Massive work lights illuminated the scene below. As
the last of the fire crews drove off, a few men and women continued
to roam the site.

Scarlett turned around and sank down. She leaned
back against the short wall at the roof’s edge and stared into the
night.
What happened, Neil? Was someone looking for me and found
you? Gods, what now?

A tear ran down her cheek. She wiped away the
droplet and remembered how much of a bastard he’d been. At times,
Neil was colder than ice, leaving her feeling all alone when he was
right next to her. She sniffled and realized that his faults did
not change her feelings for him. More tears trickled down her face,
and she let them. The idea of her enemies reaching Neil had never
occurred to her; he was the one person she had not been worried
about. Lost in her own thoughts and despair, her eyes grew heavy.
She drifted off to the sounds of the generators below.

* * *

Something slammed into Scarlett’s foot, jarring her
awake.

“
Eh... Wake up. What’re ya doin’
up here?”

Scarlett rubbed her eyes and blinked to adjust to
the morning sunlight. “Huh?”

“
I said, what’re ya doin’ up
here?”

She looked up to see a burly man in a tan work shirt
and denim pants. He had stringy shoulder-length hair and his
nametag read “Carl.”

“
Oh. I’m sorry. I was watching the
fire crews last night. A friend of mine I’ve not heard from in a
long time used to work there. I came by to see him and saw the
fire.”

The man grunted. He turned around and headed for the
large air conditioning unit at the center of the roof. “Honey, I
don’t know who you’s friend is, but dat place’s been empty f’
more’n fifteen years.”

“
Really?”

“
Yep.” Carl picked up a bucket and
a large sponge. He shoved the yellow scrubber into the bucket and
soapy water sloshed out.

“
Oh. Well, I’m sorry. I’ll get out
of here.” Scarlett climbed to her feet. Muscles in her back seized,
making her groan. She closed her eyes and arched her back to
stretch the tender sinews. When she opened her eyes again she saw
Carl setting to work.

The man cursed as he scrubbed at one of the sheet
metal panels of the air conditioning unit. Beneath the dripping
suds was a hastily painted bit of graffiti in red paint. She
grimaced inwardly at the Carl’s misfortune.

Scarlett started toward the ladder. She glanced back
over at Carl. “Sorry again.”

He waved her off with a large, soapy hand.

She reached the top bars of the ladder and stopped.
“WAIT! Carl, stop.” Scarlett ran over to the man.

“
Huh? What now?”

Carl continued to scrub until Scarlett snatched the
sponge from his hand. “Hey, now. Quit horsin’ around. I got’s work
t’ git to.” He stomped after her with a furrowed brow.

Scarlett stepped over to where she’d been sleeping.
She turned around to face the air conditioner.

The big man stopped in front of her and held his
hand out. “Now, gimme my sponge, lil’ girl.”

She looked up at him and placed the soapy wad in his
hand. “Sorry Carl, but I had to see before you got rid of it.”

“
See what?”

She stepped around his big frame and pointed at the
graffiti. “That.”

Carl turned around and looked. “Look, lady. All’s I
see is sum scribble a few punks lef’ fo’ me.”

Scarlett smiled. Even though the letters were in
street graffiti style, she recognized them. “Sorry to break it to
ya, Carl. But that’s not from a few kids. It’s a message.”

“
What’re ya talkin’ about. I see
this crap all d’ time. I gotta climb up here at least ev’ry
month.”

She walked up to the scrawled message and ran her
finger over the paint. It was still tacky. “It’s my name. And it’s
fresh.”

“
Huh?”

“
The paint, it’s fresh, done just
a few hours ago. While I was asleep right there.” She felt around
the edges of the panel.

“
Hey, now. What’cha doin’? Don’t
go touchin’ stuffs.”

A small panel under the ‘S’ shifted a little. She
reached under to push the piece up but it wouldn’t move. Scarlett
crouched down on a knee and slammed the bottom of the panel with
the heel of her hand.

“
Hey. Cut it out. That piece don’t
move.”

She slammed the edge again and it popped open.

“
Aw, look. Ya’ gone and broke it,”
Carl grumbled then pointed into the open panel. “Wait, wha’s that?
Dat’s not s’posed to be d’ere.”

Scarlett pulled the brown-paper wrapped bundle from
inside. “It’s a package.” She stood and turned around. Tears
streamed down her face again. “It’s a message for me.”

Carl wrinkled his brow. “Huh? Well, wha’s it
mean?”

She ran for the ladder. As she climbed onto the top
rung, Carl called out again. “Hey, wait! Wha’s it mean?”

Scarlett paused. A smile split her face. “It means
he’s not dead.”

Chapter 25
What Now?

Shakespeare once wrote, “A rose by any other name
would smell as sweet.” Not sure that counts for me. A new name for
me, means a new me.

* * *

Scarlett boarded the autobus headed for the
commercial district. She sat in the green vinyl seat, watching the
buildings and people pass by. Loss, fear and joy washed over her,
leaving her feeling raw.

She wasn’t sure where she was going, but the
warehouse district held nothing for her anymore.

At first, Scarlett considered going back to Jules’s
place. A voice in the back of her mind refreshed her memory of the
danger she posed to others. Her change in appearance worked for the
casual observer, but a security cam linked to a facial recognition
bot program stood a better chance of seeing right through her
disguise.

All of her thoughts led to one conclusion: the
mission. The only way to keep her friends and family safe was to
end things with Derrick and Universal Dynamics.

She shifted her position in the seat and pulled up
her commpad’s display.
First thing I need is an ID.
A few
taps on the device and the local classifieds came up. She skimmed
the first few posts for the right words and phrases. Neil’s
non-combat training was already proving useful.

A short while later she stepped off the bus in front
of a row of aging townhouses on the outskirts of town. Two old men
sat at a small table on the sidewalk playing dominoes. Scarlett
checked her commpad again and confirmed she had the right
location.

The coded messages told her she was looking for
Miles Jameson at 809 West Cardinal. She stood in front of the
walkway to the narrow building labeled 809. Two houses over, one of
the men grumbled about the other man cheating.

A short, scalloped brick wall bordered the sidewalk.
She started up the stone path across the neatly trimmed lawn. She
stopped at the faded brown door and knocked. After a few seconds
without an answer, she knocked again.

There was another long pause. Scarlett raised her
hand to knock again when the shaky voice of an old woman came from
the other side of the door.

“
Whaddoyou want?”

This can’t be the right place.
”Um, I’m
looking for Miles.”

“
Ain’t noone here with that name.
Go away.”

Scarlett looked down at her commpad. “I’m, uh... I’m
an old friend. We went to, uh... Baskerville High together.”

“
Hang on a sec.”

There was another long pause. Finally, the lock
handle clicked. The thick door opened with a creak to reveal the
muzzle of a forty-five caliber revolver aimed at her forehead. A
very large man with deeply tanned skin held the weapon.

She looked up without moving her head. “Uh,
Miles?”

The man’s head slowly turned from one side then the
other. He took a step back and another equally large man with dark
skin stepped forward. Powerful hands seized her shoulders and
hauled her inside.

After the bright sunlight outside, the darkened
interior left her seeing only shadows and outlines of shapes. The
massive hands propelled her through the house. Scarlett’s first
instinct was to fight back, but she knew if she did, she would
never get what she came for.

Green blobs still clouded her vision when the brute
yanked her to a stop in the kitchen and spun her around. Facing the
large man, his sausage fingers held her firmly while another pair
of hands frisked under her coat. The weight of her pistol
disappeared from her back. Scarlett let out a deep sigh.
Dammit.
Should have thought of that.