Read Online Black and White by Jackie Kessler - Free Book Online Page A

And in the process, you let a rabid escape. A rabid who’s won over the minds of the police and Wreck City.”
    “New Chicago,” Jet said with a sniff. “Grid Sixteen.”
    Meteorite waved a hand dismissively. “You and I both know the truth, babe, no matter how politically correct you try to be. It’s Wreck City, and it belongs to Iridium.”
    “You’re overreacting. She pulls small-time crimes, corporate jobs. Nothing belongs to her, not unless she steals it.”
    “You don’t listen to the street, do you?” Meteorite’s ice-gray eyes regarded her, scanned her face to see her reaction. “Maybe she pulls small-time heists directly, but she’s got her fingers in all the action. The gangbangers all answerto her. The cops look the other way. She runs New Chicago, Grid Sixteen, in everything but name.”
    “Iri isn’t into power games. She wouldn’t do that.”
    “You have no idea what
Iri
would or would not do.” Meteorite glared at her, and Jet thought she saw storms swirling in the former hero’s eyes. “Don’t tell me you still think you can turn her?”
    “It’s never too late. With rehabilitation and constant support, Iri would be fine.”
    “Therapy?” Meteorite said, arching an eyebrow.
    “No!” Jet took a deep breath and shoved aside her anger from the suggestion. “Standard rehab, with a counselor. She could be a hero again. I know her. She’s a good person.”
    “Tell that to Paul Collins.” Meteorite snorted. “Iridium is rabid.”
    “Even rabids can be turned. Look at Doctor Fantasy, at Thunderstruck. Textbook cases of how the system works.”
    “Iridium would never submit to incarceration, let alone rehab.”
    “Her father did. She would.”
    A very, very long pause, filled with unspoken accusation. Finally, Meteorite said, “It’s all moot until you bring her in, babe. And Jehovah knows when we’ll get another fix on her. Don’t suppose you managed to pop a trace on her when she wasn’t looking?”
    Jet felt her cheeks heat. “No.”
    “Freaking terrific. Get out of here, Jet. Fast, before I decide to keep you here to file your report directly to the EC.” Meteorite turned away, adding, “And you smell like a garbage heap. Grab a shower before you go on Goldwater’s show.”
    Jet replied through clenched teeth: “Already on my to-do list, remember? Along with light makeup and no perfume.”
    Blinking, Jet realized that as she’d lost herself to the memory of Ops tearing her a new one, she’d flown onautopilot to the Squadron Complex.
Terrific
, she thought angrily.
Get your mind out of the past.
    But a rebellious part of her mind whispered:
What about the good part? Meeting the new Runner was worth all the angst from Ops and the fight with the Grendels.
    But it hadn’t been worth losing Iridium. Again.
    Hands balled into fists, Jet landed in front of the Complex’s security gate. She walked up to the guard book, passing her own image on the way: a holo of New Chicago’s own Lady of Shadows, standing proudly, with the words DUTY FIRST above her and PROTECTED BY THE SQUADRON below, complete with the Squadron starburst. Not many people bothered to read the small note at the bottom: THE SQUADRON IS THE EXTRAHUMAN DIVISION OF CORP-CO .
    The guard tapped something on a keyboard. “Go ahead, ma’am.”
    Jet’s lips quirked into a brief smile.
Ma’am
never ceased to make her feel like she should have gray hair. Then again, she was feeling so beat-up and exhausted that a little old lady could probably have knocked her flat. “Thank you, Ryan.”
    She stepped up to the register and opened her eyes wide. She barely felt the beam bisecting her gaze; after all this time, the retinal scan was as much a part of her daily routine as brushing her teeth or her thousand morning sit-ups.
    “All set, ma’am.” Ryan smiled, perfectly perfunctory, and waved her through. “Have a nice afternoon.”
    “You, too, Ryan.”
    She headed toward the elevator bank. The lobby was empty,