Siren Song (Hypernaturals 2)

Testing the Tracker

Mom and Dad did not want to leave. They chattered on and on about canceling with their friends on the river, and the blues would still be there, and saying things about Liz understanding if they did not come through. They are trying to talk each other out of doing what they know they are going to do. Mom and Dad keep commitments. We made clear that Jessica is not going anywhere, and they could come back any time. Their RV docking bay is still going to be there, and in theory so are we, Sirens notwithstanding.

There is a not insignificant chance of being dead and gone for reasons far beyond the normal human type ones. Taken out by Sirens, or in my case, by a Vampire council that thinks I am more trouble than I am worth. I realized I am not more guilty about Helen is that my life is on this tenuous thread of parole. If they decided to take me out after my two years are up, at least my last two years would have been good ones, filled with love and lechery.

My parents know about none of this. As they pulled away, waving out the open windows, they most likely think they are leaving behind the happy newlyweds and their best friend. And they are. That is not all we are.

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I sat in front of the computer screen and showed Helen and Jessica the tracking map we generated by carrying around the tracking device in the wheel well of Jessica's Honda Pilot. "This is going to the store for more milk here." I traced my finger along the multi-colored lines, being careful not to touch the screen. I hate leaving fingerprints on the computer screen. "This is the trip to the boat. Here is when we went and looked at the holiday lights over in town. The application is set up to record at a high rate of resolution only when the phone is moving, and to report infrequently when it isn't, to save battery. I can also turn it on and off from here." I indicated a button on the app screen.

"It looks like this is doing exactly what we need it to do." Helen said, bent over on one side to study the screen very closely. Her scent all business. "It appears modern technology has made some classes of specialized equipment unnecessary."

Jessica, on my other side, looked at the screen, her arms crossed. "I find that Adrian can make such a thing in an evening both interesting and unsettling."

"If I can do it, anyone with a mind to could get access to something like this. It's a bad time to be a cheating spouse, for sure. I'm glad my wife is in on my philandering. Of course, she is fooling around with the same young lady on the side too, so there is that."

"Are you ever going to not feel guilty about Helen?" Jessica asked, then flatly stated "Get over it." sounding annoyed with both the question and the statement. 

Guilt is not cute today, apparently.

I shooed with my hands to move the subject along. "Do either of you think we need to test this longer? We bounded up and down rough roads... Here." I pointed on the map. "Drove at highway speeds. Here and here." More pointing. "Slammed on the brakes. Splashed through puddles. Took curves at speed. The magnets are working fine. The box has not budged an inch. The only question is the battery life, and I have to open up the box and measure the external batteries to see that. The internal battery will stay full until those are exhausted." I rubbed my chin. "I should have put test points on the case.... Made it easy to test from the outside"

"Next model." Jessica assured me. "I would like to get this going. Track Arnold. Helen?"

Helen asked a very good question. "Depends: Will three days use tell us anything about battery life?"

"Maybe. If it is draining quickly it will. If it isn't then I might not be able to measure the difference. These kinds of batteries tend to run along at one voltage for a while before dropping."