everything from dumpling soup to shoe repairs. Street hawkers shouted at him as he passed, but he ignored them. He was preoccupied. Pip had pinged him early to tell him he’d found out the identity of the girl who’d found the box. Rosie Black, a Banker. Riley was hoping he’d find her and see if this box was the one he’d been looking for. He’d sent Pip out to Central East though, just in case, to check on the other girl.
He skirted a tiny park. There were a few people sitting on the square of dirt, drinking out of a communal squeezer. He was sliding past them in the shadows of a nearby building, when the com alarm in his pocket started vibrating. He cast his gaze about, then ran across the park and down an alleyway between some empty shops. Rubbish and dirt littered the ground, and a sickly sweet stench pervaded the air but he barely noticed. He pulled the com from his pocket then went completely still as the automated message blinked at him.
Code key activated.
A rush of disbelief and fear spread through him.
He dropped his bag to the ground and pulled out a slim computer, powering it up. It was risky doing it here, but he couldn’t wait. How could the code key have been activated? He booted the remote antenna, his fingers racing over the keyboard, typing in codes, pinging the signal through as many exchange points as he could until he saw what he had hoped he wouldn’t. There was the order.
Shore beacon activated. Retrieval team to recon status.
Helios had got the alert as well – and acted on it. It couldn’t be coincidence. That box the girls had found must be the one he was looking for. But why, why would they have used the key? They couldn’t possibly have known what it was. His fingers flew over the keyboard as he searched for where the beacon signal had come from. Seconds ticked by. Then he found it. The Shen house, Central East. Rosie Black must have taken the box to her friend’s house. With shaking hands, he disconnected the antenna and powered down. Time was short. Helios couldn’t know about Rosie Black – yet – he had that advantage, but they would find out where the beacon signal had come from. They weren’t as good as him; they didn’t know its signal as well as he did, but they were far from stupid. He just hoped she still had everything.
He connected his com to Pip’s number.
“Boss.” Pip’s face appeared on the small screen a second later.
Riley didn’t bother with a greeting. “Where are you?”
“Central East. Like you wanted.” There was lazy annoyance in his tone.
“Do you know where Rosie Black is now?”
“She’s still in her friend’s estate. I can’t get in there – in case you’re going to ask – security is tighter than a fish’s butt.”
Riley swore. Of course it was. But if he could get the box in time …
“Listen,” he said, “as soon as she comes out, you bring that girl and the box to me, and I mean right away.”
“Sure, boss.” He smirked. “You sound stressed – everything okay?”
“This is important, Pip. If she gives you trouble, you tell her that turning the beacon on has started some things in motion. You tell her there might be people after her.”
“Beacon, boss?” Pip frowned. “What’s–”
“It doesn’t matter what. Just get it done,” Riley said then cut the connection.
CHAPTER 6
Rosie trudged down the road back to the station. It was close to four in the afternoon and the sun was as hot as ever. There’d been no hoverbus available to take her back to the station so Juli had given her a bottle of water and a disposable UV filter for her hat. The filter emitted an invisible barrier that screened out the UV but it did nothing to stop the heat.
She grimaced as a long drip of sweat slid down the side of her face, and took a sip from the water bottle. There were no birds singing and no breeze; the leaves were drooping on the trees and the smell of dry dust and baking road invaded her nostrils. She tried to
He skirted a tiny park. There were a few people sitting on the square of dirt, drinking out of a communal squeezer. He was sliding past them in the shadows of a nearby building, when the com alarm in his pocket started vibrating. He cast his gaze about, then ran across the park and down an alleyway between some empty shops. Rubbish and dirt littered the ground, and a sickly sweet stench pervaded the air but he barely noticed. He pulled the com from his pocket then went completely still as the automated message blinked at him.
Code key activated.
A rush of disbelief and fear spread through him.
He dropped his bag to the ground and pulled out a slim computer, powering it up. It was risky doing it here, but he couldn’t wait. How could the code key have been activated? He booted the remote antenna, his fingers racing over the keyboard, typing in codes, pinging the signal through as many exchange points as he could until he saw what he had hoped he wouldn’t. There was the order.
Shore beacon activated. Retrieval team to recon status.
Helios had got the alert as well – and acted on it. It couldn’t be coincidence. That box the girls had found must be the one he was looking for. But why, why would they have used the key? They couldn’t possibly have known what it was. His fingers flew over the keyboard as he searched for where the beacon signal had come from. Seconds ticked by. Then he found it. The Shen house, Central East. Rosie Black must have taken the box to her friend’s house. With shaking hands, he disconnected the antenna and powered down. Time was short. Helios couldn’t know about Rosie Black – yet – he had that advantage, but they would find out where the beacon signal had come from. They weren’t as good as him; they didn’t know its signal as well as he did, but they were far from stupid. He just hoped she still had everything.
He connected his com to Pip’s number.
“Boss.” Pip’s face appeared on the small screen a second later.
Riley didn’t bother with a greeting. “Where are you?”
“Central East. Like you wanted.” There was lazy annoyance in his tone.
“Do you know where Rosie Black is now?”
“She’s still in her friend’s estate. I can’t get in there – in case you’re going to ask – security is tighter than a fish’s butt.”
Riley swore. Of course it was. But if he could get the box in time …
“Listen,” he said, “as soon as she comes out, you bring that girl and the box to me, and I mean right away.”
“Sure, boss.” He smirked. “You sound stressed – everything okay?”
“This is important, Pip. If she gives you trouble, you tell her that turning the beacon on has started some things in motion. You tell her there might be people after her.”
“Beacon, boss?” Pip frowned. “What’s–”
“It doesn’t matter what. Just get it done,” Riley said then cut the connection.
CHAPTER 6
Rosie trudged down the road back to the station. It was close to four in the afternoon and the sun was as hot as ever. There’d been no hoverbus available to take her back to the station so Juli had given her a bottle of water and a disposable UV filter for her hat. The filter emitted an invisible barrier that screened out the UV but it did nothing to stop the heat.
She grimaced as a long drip of sweat slid down the side of her face, and took a sip from the water bottle. There were no birds singing and no breeze; the leaves were drooping on the trees and the smell of dry dust and baking road invaded her nostrils. She tried to
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