Read Online The Nexus by J. Kraft Mitchell - Free Book Online Page A

I’ll need a new ID card.  You know the guy you recommended for my last ID?”
    “Oh, yeah.  Joey.  Joey’s good.”
    “Joey sucks.  It took forever.  Give me someone else.  I know you know someone better.”
    “Well, sure, I know plenty of guys.  But I don’t want to give away all my connections, you know?”
    She aimed at the Ferrari again.
    “Fine, fine!  Look up Matt at the Northshore Garage.  He’s the best I know.  Don’t tell him I told you about him, okay?  He’s used to dealing with high-rollers—no offense meant to you, obviously.”
    “Obviously.  And another thing.”
    “What?”
    “My skybike.”
    “What about it?”
    “I need a new one.”
    “So?”
    “So you’re buying me a new one.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “I wrecked mine running from some people—the people you helped find me to throw me in jail, remember them?  So you can replace my skybike.”
    “Look, it’s not my fault you—”
    She aimed at another car—a burgundy model, one of the original skycars.
    Fat Frank growled.  “Okay.  New skybike.  What’s one of those cost these days?  Like ten thousand credits?”
    “Fifteen.”
    “I’ll see if I can dig it up.”
    “Start by digging in your wallet.”
    “What, you think I carry around that kind of cash?”
    “I know you carry around that kind of cash.  Hand it over.”
    Fat Frank’s lips quivered.  A minute later Jill had fifteen one-thousand-credit bills in her hand.
    “And one more favor,” she said, backing into the shadows again.
    He rolled his eyes.  “What now?”
    “I’m not sure yet.  I’ll let you know when I think of one.”
    “Gee, just how many favors do you think I owe you?”
    “Oh, I don’t know, Frank.  If you don’t want to do them for me I can always come back here and take a few more potshots at your cars.”
    “Great.  So I’m like your little assistant now.”
    “You seemed happy to be a little assistant for the people who caught me.”
    “All right, whatever.  Listen, as long as I’m doing all these favors, couldn’t you answer just one more question?”
    “Depends on what it is.”
    “How did you get in here?”
    “I told you, I’m good at that kind of thing.”
    “Come on, tell me!”  Fat Frank managed a wry smile.  “Impress me!”
    “I’ll give you a hint:  I got in the same way I’m about to leave.”
    “Which is...?”
    “You’ll have to find out for yourself.”
    “So my security cameras caught you in the act?”
    “Why don’t you check after I’m gone?”
    “When will that be?”
    She didn’t answer.
    “Hey, Jill?”  But he couldn’t make out her shape in the shadows any more.

8
     
    NOT surprisingly the Northshore Garage was on the north shore of Lake Anterra.  It was a little cement-walled afterthought wedged among the industrial buildings.
    The midmorning sun was hovering above the Home Planet to the east when Jill pulled up to the place.  She was riding her new skybike and wearing new black riding garb.  A pair of bay doors revealed cars in various states of disrepair being looked at and tinkered with.  In front was a wide lot strewn with car parts that may or may not come in handy at some point.  The smell of the lake mingled with the smell of motor oil and tire rubber.
    A guy in a denim jumpsuit and cap approached Jill.  He was chewing a wad of gum that was just a little too big.  “Nice bike,” he said.  His accent made it sound like “Nass back,” like he’d just shown up in Anterra from the southeastern United States.
    “Thanks.”
    “Looks new.  Trouble with it already, huh?”
    “No.  That’s not why I’m here.”
    “New paint job, then?  Maybe give your engine a little more get-up?  I can get this baby going three hundred kilometers per hour, no problem.”
    “Maybe another time.  It’s not about the bike.”
    “No?  Looking for a little date tonight, sweetness?”  He smiled lewdly amidst his gum-chewing.
    “I’m not looking for a date of