Read Thicker Than Blood for Free Online Page A

window. "He should be able to keep up with Amman." Joe stared out of a clean spot in the corner of the filthy pane of glass. "We should ask Mark first," Lucy said. Joe nodded and looked at Lucy, "My clarks were destroyed in the crash. Can I use the house glasses?" "You don't have to ask permission every time you want to use something that doesn't look like scrap. I wouldn't have funded the team if it had to be like that."
    "Don't worry, you guys are gonna make us rich." Lucy smiled a crooked smile. "How are you feeling?" Joe was feeling a little weak, but he didn't want to admit it. "I'm fine now that I have clarks again." He smiled. "I was going through withdrawal." Joe looked over at Mark. "We need him alone." "I'll get him." Lucy volunteered. Joe paused. "Wait, I'll get the clarks and show him the latest Kamikaze plans." "Won't Amman want to see them too?" Lucy wondered. Joe looked over at Amman and Mark. Amman was squinting and furiously typing. Mark was sitting on the bench next to him dissecting the ultrasound wand. "Nah." Joe smiled widely. He poured coffee into a green mug with the faded name of a long forgotten dot-com. He wanted to talk to Lucy about the man with the gun, but he decided it would be better to save it until Mark was there too. He walked over to the bench next to an open space set aside for testing robots. He donned the clarks and connected their thin wire to the computer in his jacket pocket. He pulled the small computer out and strapped it to his arm. He touched the small computer's screen, and it's backlight lit. Words flashed across the display as it restored the program he was using during his accident. He pulled a case out of his pocket and removed a pencil-like wand. He ran a cord hanging from the wand through the wristband of his watch and plugged the end into his arm PC. He twisted the wand in the air. Tiny air flow sensors and mercury switches in the wand sent signals to his arm PC. The wand's sensors combined with input from the cameras in Joe's clarks, indicating movement to the computer. He much preferred the wand when his hands were free. It was far more accurate than just the mounted camera's estimations of his commands. The dual screens in his clarks lit up and displayed a classic two-dimensional web browser on four sides of a three-dimensional cube. He flicked the wand, spun the cube, and chose a side. He locked it in place with another movement. He dropped the wand, and began to type in the air directly in front of him. Not nearly as many letters and numbers appeared as his finger movements might indicate. Joe had forgotten he had to set up the new pair of clarks. He would have to spend some time running the tedious typing calibration program later. Frustrated, Joe picked the wand back up. He pressed a small button on the wand to select each of a series of links. Satisfied with the web page, Joe let the wand dangle from his watch band. He picked up a small box from the top of a nearby computer monitor. It had an image of red lips printed on one side. He touched the lips to the LCD screen on his arm PC, and the lips box beeped. He touched the lips to a desktop monitor, and it lit up with the latest revised plans of the Kamikaze rocket. "Cool!" Joe deliberately spoke loud enough for Mark to hear. He gazed over at Mark, who was looking in Joe's direction. Amman was not. "Mark, check this fuel pump design on the Kamikaze." Mark walked over and looked at the schematic on the monitor for a minute. Finally he said, "Joe, you hadn't seen this? It's three weeks old." Mark paused. "Oh wait, I guess you wouldn't have." "I must have missed it before I had the wreck." Joe lied. "I don't think it's any better and it uses point three amps more juice," Mark said. "It saves two pounds in heat shield weight," Joe offered. He looked over at Amman as Mark stared into the monitor. Lucy strolled over to them, her coffee mug in hand. "Hi guys. Kamikaze again?" Lucy asked. "Yeah, catching up." Joe lied. Mark