Read Online The Wake-Up by Robert Ferrigno - Free Book Online Page B

I
can’t
get any distance from it. None at all.” He slowly released him.
    Billy adjusted his shirt, smoothed out the wrinkles where Thorpe had grabbed him. A tiny vein throbbed on the side of his skull. “If you think this foolishness with the art dealer is going to help you get back into shape for some
real
work, you have my blessing.”
    “I don’t think it’s foolish,” said Warren.
    They both turned and stared at him. Warren hadn’t said a word since Thorpe had started talking about the wake-up.
    Warren looked up from his GameBoy, surprised. “What? The guy hit a
kid.
”
    Thorpe nodded. “That’s right.”
    Warren pushed his light blue curls away from his face. “My mother’s boyfriend was a hitter. That shit would come out of nowhere, too. One minute, I’d be watching
Power Rangers;
the next, I’d be slammed up against the wall. Never did figure out what I had done wrong.” The barbell stud gleamed in his left eyebrow; it looked like a tear falling upward, freed of gravity. “I say
do
it, Frank. Fuck him up good.”
    “Well . . . that was interesting,” said Billy, lips pursed. “Warren has given you his seal of approval, so I guess there’s nothing more to be said. How do you intend to use Ellsworth? You plan on selling one of his bogus masterpieces to the art dealer?”
    “Something like that.”
    Billy waited, then gave up. “There’s no need to involve Ellsworth. I can simply have Warren crash the dealer’s credit history. We could even get him audited, if you like. Take Ware five minutes—”
    “Two minutes,” said Warren, tapping away at his GameBoy.
    Thorpe smiled, enjoying seeing Billy try to find out what his plan was. Billy
hated
not knowing things. It wasn’t a matter of personal safety, or gaining financial advantage, or even power. Billy just liked being at the absolute apex of the information pyramid. The “Prime Mover,” he called it.
    “Why not just tell the art dealer’s wife that he’s cheating?” said Billy. “Or just make the threat. That should do the job.” He rested his chin on his cupped hands, his expression serene, and Thorpe was reminded of the Mayan lord in Meachum’s gallery, distant and alien and implacable. “No? All right . . . well, considering your style, I imagine you’re planning something simple, something with the personal touch.”
    “ ‘Something borrowed, something blue,’ ” said Thorpe.
    Billy slowly brightened. “The art dealer’s wife . . . is she lovely, Frank?”
    “I only met her once.”
    “Sometimes once is all it takes,” said Billy. “Love at first sight, that’s the only kind that counts.” He cocked his head at Thorpe. “Just one look . . . wasn’t that the way it was with you and Kimberly?”
    Thorpe raised a forefinger to his lips. “Shhh.”
    Billy forced a smile.
    “I’m just going to give Meachum a wake-up,” Thorpe said quietly. “I’m not saving the world or buying my way into heaven. I just want something to keep me busy while I wait for the Engineer to surface. Are you going to help me or not?”
    “Of
course
I’ll help you,” Billy said, preening, and Thorpe remembered all the reasons he had for not liking him. “What kind of a friend would I be if I didn’t? I’ll have Ellsworth contact you immediately.”
    Thorpe stood up.
    “You should stay off the Net for a while,” said Warren.
    Thorpe looked at him.
    Warren’s fingers danced over the GameBoy. “Me jumping around after the Engineer . . . if he’s good enough, and I’m not saying he is, but
if
he is, he may be able to backtrack on me. He may be able to smoke out my connections. Billy uses my system when he contacts you, so that’s a vulnerability.” His fingers stabbed at the keys now. “I’ve got enough black ice in my program that he’s never going to home in on my location, but you, Frank, you got that off-the-rack security. I’d be careful if I were you.” He peeked at Thorpe. “If you have to hit the Net, don’t hang