Read Online Pirates of the Outrigger Rift by Gary Jonas, Bill D. Allen - Free Book Online

“Ground floor,” she said. The doors closed, and she felt the lift
descend.

    Brock stared at the path of destruction and shook his head. What
a bunch of bumbling idiots! They were here to stop one girl and what happens? They
burn half a city block, killing dozens of innocent people, but not the girl
they were looking for. Worse yet, the damned explosion took out his nanites so
he had lost track of the girl, too.
    Larson listened to a report on his comlink, then turned to the
other security men. “Green Team has her cornered in a building three blocks
away. Let’s get over there and end this thing,” Larson said. “We can’t let this
woman get away. It’s personal now.”
    Brock wondered if they were going to blow up that other
building, too.
    The haggard remains of Blue Team hesitated.
    “What’s the problem?” Larson asked.
    One of the men gestured at the sea of people between them
and their car. “Are you kidding? We can’t get through that crowd.”
    Larson sighed. “Why do I always get the incompetents?” He
moved to the edge of the crowd. “Security! Make way, people! Coming through!”
    Nobody moved.
    He yelled again, but still no one moved.
    “I don’t believe this.” He pressed a button on his comlink. “Green
Leader, this is Red Leader. We’re having trouble reaching you. It’s going to
take some time for us to get there. Do you have the situation handled yet?”
    “Hell no, it isn’t handled. I lost three men when a roof
collapsed, and the target got away. We’ve lost her.”
    Brock couldn’t keep the grin off his face. Professionals—what
a joke. This assignment was over. They had promised him that if he showed
aptitude on this task, he would be moved up the ladder. Brock suspected that the
fact that he was the only one who wasn’t an idiot on this backwater planet
would be enough. He needed to get closer to determine the true power structure
of Thorne’s organization. So far he had been shuffled through a series of
flunkies and middlemen. He’d been given Grid contact addresses and drop boxes. But
nothing had given him much insight.
    He was due to report to his Confed handler soon. Obviously
this event on Raken was more than a simple act of corporate theft. Thorne was either
controlling or actively cooperating with Nebulaco Security. That connection was
deep and obviously hadn’t died with Director Casey. What was the courier
carrying? What was the connection with Thorne? When he returned to his vehicle
he’d prepare a coded transmission. Maybe Confed Secret Service could sort it
all out.

CHAPTER SIX
    N ebulaco Security Director Maxwell sat at the head of a
conference table surrounded by the holographic forms of Nebulaco’s Council of
Lords. Their ghostly images interacted with each other in the shared virtual
environment of the cathedral-like room and were now engaged in heated debate.
    The council consisted of Lord Oke, a young man with a weak
chin who seemed more interested in how his hair looked than the problem at
hand; Lady Hemming, a big-boned middle-aged woman with steel-blue eyes and a
stern countenance—as always, she was in outrageous costume, today appearing in
a pith helmet and bush jacket, but because she was a corporate lord, Maxwell
knew better than to tell her how foolish she looked—and finally, there was Lord
Randol, who seemed the most focused and reasonable of the group.
    Maxwell smiled calmly.
    Randol looked at him. “What exactly have you been doing,
Maxwell? Sitting in your new office all day counting your new salary? Why hasn’t
progress been made in the hunt for this missing data that you insist proves
Casey’s guilt?”
    “Milord, I have confirmed that former Director Casey had an
elaborate intelligence network within the corporation that was assisting him in
his clandestine pursuits. I’ve just begun interrogations on one of his agents,
who has already admitted that he stole the data per Casey’s standing order. I
have every confidence that we