Read Lana's Comet (Outer Settlement Agency) for Free Online Page B

dodgy part of the Quadrant, one known for undocumented shuttles in and off the planet. The hell? He fingered the weapon at his side and jogged through the ‘oomphing’ and grumbling half-drunk crowd. The screen only followed two biopoints – those injected in each recruit at the start of the training program. That didn’t mean there wasn’t a third person out there with them.
    Or a fourth.
    Their pace went from brisk walk to lightning speed. They must have gotten into a rover. He hailed a hire and followed their signal until it dropped again to pedestrian levels. With a wave of his omnitablet against the sensor, Cyprus paid the fare and jumped out the hovering vehicle before it touched the road below.
    Not many walked the dodgy streets down here and the ones he did pass made him glad to have his laser. Three blocks later, two slim figures cast shadows under lamppost lights. It could be them, but he didn’t dare call out. Instead, he ramped up to a full out, lung working run before slowing to creep from one building corner to another. The closer he got, the more certain he was that the women were alone and indeed his prey. He didn’t reveal himself until he got close enough to lay hands on them. And damn it took a lot not to choke them both. “What the hell are you trainees doing out here?”
    Lana screeched.
    Her roommate jumped.
    Correction. Her roommate jumped, then took off in the unlit distance. He and Lana shared a look before scrambling after her, but the kid didn’t slow, going deeper and deeper into dangerous territory. Michi moved faster than any run he’d seen out of her in training. Catching her might not be a problem, but it would mean leaving a fast, but not as fast, Lana behind. No way in this part of town. He stopped in his tracks and backed up to the still running Lana. “Talk.”
    “She’s gone.”
    “I was here for that part.”
    Lana stood with her hands on her hips, taking large, if controlled, breaths. “No, gone, gone.”
    “Start from the beginning. Why are you here?”
    “I need a non-bio locked omnitablet.”
    “You do realize that OSA works against crime syndicates?”
    “How else was I supposed to...?” She downgraded from screeching to whispering. “How else was I supposed to use the datacell?”
    “I told you, it’s safe.”
    “Forgive me for wanting a little extra security.”
    “By coming here? All of that and you still don’t trust me?”
    “I do, I just—”
    “Explain the Yoshisumi girl.”
    “And there’s that. She’s going AWOL. Although, I’m not sure you can call it that since she hasn’t finished training. If we’re being technical.”
    “Let’s.” He dragged his hands down his face then pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’ll play. Why is she un-AWOL? Why not just leave?”
    “You know who her folks are. That was her uncle’s retirement party we met at.”
    “Figured.”
    “Then you know that if you don’t get an OSA badge in the Yoshisumi clan, you don’t count.”
    “She’s a solid recruit. There’s no chance of her not getting a badge.” Hell, the kid had set herself up for a full chevron.
    Lana huffed, shrugged and propped herself against the cracked door of a busted, rundown rover repair shop. “She doesn’t want it. Kid’s gone rogue.”
    “And how long have you known this?”
    “Fifteen minutes.”
    “It’s fifteen minutes from the base to here.”
    She threw up her hands and sucked her teeth. “Yep. She left with a bag on her back and...wait for it...a non-bio’ed omnitablet. Michi’s rules. She brings me here and I give her a night’s head start. I tried everything I could to buy the omnitablet from her, but she wouldn’t take anything. She insisted I get one of my own.”
    His head ached, but whether from the general stupidity of the evening or his lack of medication, he didn’t know. “No. Just wait. This makes no sense. We’d know she was gone by the...” He held up his omnitablet, but instead of two blinking