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Authors: Kerry Carmichael
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himself wondering about them. Why they
were active, but not working with Chrysalis. Again, he found himself drawing
the same conclusion. It didn’t matter.
As he was about to try Alex
again, a plaintive beep came from the control console, and the autonav flashed
a message in red.
Destination
unavailable. Rerouting to nearest available alternate.
“What the hell? No!” Jason
pounded the dash, regretting it immediately as he felt a bruise on his hand
from doing the same to his desk earlier.
When Trans Control took a
location offline, it was usually to deal with some type of emergency service
response. A fire, or an ambulance call in the vicinity. Jason checked the nav
map on the HUD to see where the reroute would take him, and how much later he’d
be. It could have been worse. The autonav locked in on an adjacent shopping
center, half a block away from Java 101. He’d be able to cover the rest on foot
in a couple of minutes.
He couldn’t see the shop yet, but
as he got closer, he scanned the area for signs of anything unusual. Nothing.
The car turned into the shopping center, and he left it in the back of a
megastore parking lot. As he half walked, half jogged over curbs and around
parked cars, a few chilly droplets of rain left tiny beads on the lenses of his
smartglasses.
His approach brought him up
behind the row of shops that housed Java 101. He made his way around to the front
side, checking the time. Damned autonav! He was twenty minutes late. Rounding
the corner at a jog, his anger left him in a rush as he saw why the autonav had
cut off traffic to this address.
Oh, God. He stopped like he’d
hit a brick wall.
Several police cars sat parked in
front of Java 101, arranged to prevent entry or exit. A pair of officers stood
at the front door, standing guard. One wore a street uniform in dark blues,
watching the parking lot in the direction opposite Jason. The other was dressed
in a dark suit, speaking into the air on a voice call. Whereas Jason’s Ray Bans
were slim, this man’s smartglasses looked more rugged, with thick angular
frames packed with photonics and sensors. DIA.
Jason’s sudden appearance caught
the man’s attention, and his gaze locked on while he continued speaking on the
call. Jason fought the impulse to dodge back around the corner and run. But that
would only guarantee the worst possible outcome. Instead, heart pounding, he
forced himself to walk along the storefronts the way he’d been going. Toward
the spider.
I’m just a
gawker. Some yokel kid staring at the scene. After a couple of steps, Jason could
make out what the man was saying. His voice sounded like he’d been chewing gravel.
“…still securing the area. No.
Only one of them. The other one must have…”
Jason took the first door he came
to, finding himself inside the Thai bistro next to the coffee shop. The place
was small, and only a couple of dimly lit tables sat occupied. The smell of
unfamiliar food drifted from the kitchen in the back. Jason took one of the
stools along a bar-style seating area that lined the front window. From this
vantage point, he could make out what was going on next door, could see the spider
still talking on the phone.
A server appeared beside Jason, a
short man with black hair. “Ready to order?”
Jason hadn’t bothered to look at
the menu, had no idea what a Thai place would serve for breakfast.
“Uh, do you have a special?” he
asked without taking his eyes from the window.
“Rice congee and youtiao.”
“Sounds delicious.”
He watched while the spider
continued to talk and the other cop stood guard. The few sprinkled rain drops
turned into a light drizzle, coating the front window with gray mist. Jason heard
a tap on the counter beside him and turned to see the server set what looked
like thin bread sticks next a bowl of white, lumpy porridge.
The spider finished his call. He
turned to the uniformed officer and said something, sweeping a pointed
were active, but not working with Chrysalis. Again, he found himself drawing
the same conclusion. It didn’t matter.
As he was about to try Alex
again, a plaintive beep came from the control console, and the autonav flashed
a message in red.
Destination
unavailable. Rerouting to nearest available alternate.
“What the hell? No!” Jason
pounded the dash, regretting it immediately as he felt a bruise on his hand
from doing the same to his desk earlier.
When Trans Control took a
location offline, it was usually to deal with some type of emergency service
response. A fire, or an ambulance call in the vicinity. Jason checked the nav
map on the HUD to see where the reroute would take him, and how much later he’d
be. It could have been worse. The autonav locked in on an adjacent shopping
center, half a block away from Java 101. He’d be able to cover the rest on foot
in a couple of minutes.
He couldn’t see the shop yet, but
as he got closer, he scanned the area for signs of anything unusual. Nothing.
The car turned into the shopping center, and he left it in the back of a
megastore parking lot. As he half walked, half jogged over curbs and around
parked cars, a few chilly droplets of rain left tiny beads on the lenses of his
smartglasses.
His approach brought him up
behind the row of shops that housed Java 101. He made his way around to the front
side, checking the time. Damned autonav! He was twenty minutes late. Rounding
the corner at a jog, his anger left him in a rush as he saw why the autonav had
cut off traffic to this address.
Oh, God. He stopped like he’d
hit a brick wall.
Several police cars sat parked in
front of Java 101, arranged to prevent entry or exit. A pair of officers stood
at the front door, standing guard. One wore a street uniform in dark blues,
watching the parking lot in the direction opposite Jason. The other was dressed
in a dark suit, speaking into the air on a voice call. Whereas Jason’s Ray Bans
were slim, this man’s smartglasses looked more rugged, with thick angular
frames packed with photonics and sensors. DIA.
Jason’s sudden appearance caught
the man’s attention, and his gaze locked on while he continued speaking on the
call. Jason fought the impulse to dodge back around the corner and run. But that
would only guarantee the worst possible outcome. Instead, heart pounding, he
forced himself to walk along the storefronts the way he’d been going. Toward
the spider.
I’m just a
gawker. Some yokel kid staring at the scene. After a couple of steps, Jason could
make out what the man was saying. His voice sounded like he’d been chewing gravel.
“…still securing the area. No.
Only one of them. The other one must have…”
Jason took the first door he came
to, finding himself inside the Thai bistro next to the coffee shop. The place
was small, and only a couple of dimly lit tables sat occupied. The smell of
unfamiliar food drifted from the kitchen in the back. Jason took one of the
stools along a bar-style seating area that lined the front window. From this
vantage point, he could make out what was going on next door, could see the spider
still talking on the phone.
A server appeared beside Jason, a
short man with black hair. “Ready to order?”
Jason hadn’t bothered to look at
the menu, had no idea what a Thai place would serve for breakfast.
“Uh, do you have a special?” he
asked without taking his eyes from the window.
“Rice congee and youtiao.”
“Sounds delicious.”
He watched while the spider
continued to talk and the other cop stood guard. The few sprinkled rain drops
turned into a light drizzle, coating the front window with gray mist. Jason heard
a tap on the counter beside him and turned to see the server set what looked
like thin bread sticks next a bowl of white, lumpy porridge.
The spider finished his call. He
turned to the uniformed officer and said something, sweeping a pointed
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