The Dark Edge Chronicles - Hardwire

Chapter 37: Checkmate

Dee grimaced as she and Duffy eased Mordecai down onto one of the double beds their hotel room had before straightening with a sigh.

"This is so not good, Duffy!" she exclaimed tightly, folding her arms beneath her breasts as she stared down at the writhing man in black. "He was the brains behind this operation!"

"While I'll admit that he's played a vital part in our plans, I wouldn't say he was the brains." Duffy frowned as he turned to the bags they had managed to snag from the luggage carousel before the airport was shut down by the screams of sirens and local law enforcement began to swarm all over the terminal. It hadn't taken long for Lash and his vampires to make that mess he had promised.

The old Brit wondered for a brief moment if the Qos Viran had the skills to extricate themselves from the situation they had pushed into for the sake of getting the three of them free. Then he was jerking the nearest one open with a good grip on the zipper.

"I believe we've played roles just as vital to this operation. And we're still in this thing, regardless of what's happened to our big friend." He drew out a number of small cylinders, no bigger than his hand. "We must continue as if Mordecai was still active, or our schedule is going to get blown to hell!"

Dee glanced over at the ex-patriot Brit as he went on to pull several more of Mordecai's toys from the heavy duffel bag that the man in black had carefully packed before the trip. Of course Duffy made a good point and was completely right. It was just that this situation, this plot to attack the Brotherhood in one of their most-well defended strongholds was so ... so crazy that it had her on a major edge.

Abruptly she sighed, letting the tension drain out of her, leaving only grim professionalism behind. While in CSIS they had done things that, in retrospect, were pretty damn crazy too. Why should this be any different? Just because they were going into an unknown situation, facing unknown and probably lethal defensive power, with as yet unidentified numbers, why worry?

Dee almost laughed at that thought. Yeah, why worry? It was a freaking suicide mission to begin with. What was the worst that could happen? They could all get freaking slaughtered!

Oddly enough, that thought in itself was enough to ease the tension that had been building in her neck and shoulders. They were here to do a job and they might as well get it over with. It was time to get this three-ring circus on the road!

"Right," she said briskly as she quickly stepped away from the bed to where Duffy was offloading the equipment from Mordecai's duffel bag. "You getting the probes ready for launch?" At his confirming nod, she scooped up the holographic projector and stepped back to set it onto the floor.

"Alright, I'll get our mapping gear put together, then!"

It took nearly an hour to set up the equipment that Mordecai had made especially for the two law enforcement officers, to utilize outside his own intelligent information systems powered by the pocket A.I. Paladin. Dee found herself thinking that it was a good thing that the man in black had spent long hours hammering into them how to set the equipment up properly and get it functional. Or they would've spent a lot longer than just an hour!

Sitting back from the assembled projector and A.I. unit that comprised the combined data analysis and mapping functions, Dee made sure the power source was hooked up before gently depressing the recessed stud that activated the device. There was a wash of lights across the unit as power swept through it, powering up its various components. Then, with a soft, almost asexual voice, the unit's A.I. spoke.

"Power up complete, Detective McMaster," the tiny voice from a hidden speaker indicated. "And Daedalus is now online! Do you have a task for me, Detective?"