Read Online Thicker Than Blood by Matthew Newhall - Free Book Online Page A

right, Mark thought. What hell keeps a man focused for three days straight? Mark glanced over at Amman's now scraggy beard. He was hunched over his borrowed computer terminal and several pads of paper. Mark wanted to contribute more to the process, but every time he tried to cooperate with Amman he grew impatient. I need to get another one of those microscopes, Mark thought. He wished his cousin would rest and give him a shot at cracking the nanites. With his brain sufficiently relaxed from his mental break, Mark walked to the cyborg's naked base. The base consisted of two tank style treads and a mess of wires, batteries, and motors. He flipped a switch in the mess of wires and the base sprung to life. It wiggled left, right and left again to indicate that all is well. Mark walked behind his bench and typed a command at a strange blinking prompt on his screen. The base began traveling around a blocked off area in a seemingly random fashion. A pair of numbers smaller than one printed on the screen with each turn. As the routine drew to an end, Mark felt his spirit lift. He had done it. Two gyroscopes down, one hydraulic to go. Mark couldn't hold back the grin. Joe and a strange skinny man burst in the door. Mark felt the cold draft as the wind swung the door shut. So this must be the chip guy, Mark thought. "Joe, I see you have brought the man with the power," Mark said in a silly voice. Mark shu?ed to the door, hoping distance would hide his excitement from Amman. "Mark, meet Kento." "Nice to meet you." Kento spoke as if on a job interview. He reached out to shake Mark's hand. Mark shook his hand. He seems well adjusted, Mark thought. He seems confident. If there were such as thing a chi, he'd be brewing with it. "Joe, I've got the gyroscopes programmed." Mark felt the grin returning to his face. "You have to see this." Joe ignored Mark's invitation. He started walking toward his work bench. The smile fell off Mark's face. Would Joe obsess over the nanites as well? Would Kento? Mark didn't think he could cope with any more competitive people. My feelings are distracting me. My emotional damage control is already at full throttle, Mark thought. Joe stopped and looked Mark in the eye. "We were attacked," Joe said. "Holy crap!" Mark exclaimed. "Again? It's getting crazy out there. People are so desperate. What the hell do they do with all that money they steal from us?" What was I thinking, Mark asked himself. Joe doesn't want to beat me. I must be losing perspective. Mark heard a clang as Amman got up, staring at them. He walked toward the group. Mark felt embarrassed. He had let his own emotional peril derail his concern for Joe. "Are you okay?" Amman sounded concerned. "Yeah," Joe mumbled. Kento shook his head, "I called the police, but they never came."
    "They may come now," Amman stated. He was almost unintelligible between his thick accent and his scratchy voice. "I doubt it." Kento looked somber as he spoke, "One of my students is jailed for murder in a fight the police never responded to. His only crime was effectively defending himself. The prosecutor insisted his fleeing the scene proved intent. None of us make the mistake of subscribing to a cell service anymore. I use disposables and pay with cash." He pulled his cell phone and a separated fuel cell from his pocket. He tossed them in a nearby garbage can. "You are smarter than these two," Amman said. It sounds like Kento and Amman might get along, Mark thought. Joe stopped typing into the keyboard on his desktop computer. He stared Amman in the eye, "What'd you say?" Oh shit, Mark thought, here it comes. Mark went to say something, but Kento jumped in first. "He's right Joe," Kento said coolly, "You act with too much haste. You should control your temper and divert your anger into improving your restraint. Victory is in the mind." He's pretty cool, Mark thought. I think I like this guy. Joe looked surprised and defeated, his shoulders slumped. He turned and typed a