“Everything you could have learned from her if she’d never met us,” Noah said. “And you being you, you don’t want a flat fee. You want in. That’s what turns you on.”
Asa’s white teeth flashed. “You got my number.” He began to type.
I have contacts/network to maximize value. 50% of what’s in the safe
Mark did not reply for several tense moments. Slowly, letter by letter, his response appeared on the screen.
U don’t know what the product is so how can u talk value or buyers?
Asa flexed his hands, wiggled his fingers, and banged out a response.
U want it bad. Lydia Bachmann died for it. That’s enough 4 me. I want in.
Mark responded.
There is no place 4 u. Sell her 2 me.
Aw where’s the fun in that? Besides I want 2 keep her. She can open the safe 4 u, but I want my new favorite toy back in 1 piece
There was a long pause from Mark’s end, and then the response:
that won’t work.
Asa typed again:
u bring the safe. i bring the girl. she opens the safe. we split the contents. she gets back down onto her knees. the end.
Caro’s mouth was flattened and colorless. Noah could almost feel Mark’s rage, pulsing through the computer screen and into their faces, like a hot wind.
Sisko shot a glance at Asa. “Pushing it a little?”
“Fuck, no,” Asa said. “This is me holding back.”
Noah’s jaw ached. “Stop sliming my girlfriend. Or say goodbye to your teeth.”
Asa laughed under his breath. “Don’t cramp my style. I’m doing this for you, OK? And her, incidentally. Trust my instincts. Leave me the fuck alone and let me do my thing.”
Sisko grunted. “We have to kill Mark now, or you’re a dead man,” he told Asa.
talk terms not bullshit
Mark, waiting.
Asa typed:
i told u. bring the safe. i keep the girl. i keep half.
There was another tense pause, and then:
5 million for the girl
Asa grinned.
Lmfao
Fast reply.
6.5 million last offer
Asa’s response:
dont waste my time
Asa logged off. “Let him stew for a while,” he said. “When we get back to him, he’ll be frothing with rage and getting nervous.”
“He’s going to try to kill you and take Caro,” Noah said.
“Of course he will,” Asa said. “The only unknown is the size of his team.”
“Mark by himself equals ten topnotch professionals,” Noah said. “If not more.”
“But I’m not supposed to know about his mods,” Asa said. “So I can’t prepare for the encounter as if I knew. My team has to be as small as possible. And concealed, along with you guys.”
“It’ll be hard to hide from him,” Noah said. “He sees thermal heat signatures and energy sigs, right through most walls. He senses electrical activity too, and his hearing is acute. Also his sense of smell.”
“Great,” Asa said lightly. “Bring him on. I need a challenge. What can block all that? Maybe we can throw something together. Thermal cloaks. Made of dental aprons and black garbage bags.”
Noah shrugged. “I have some stuff.”
Asa waited for him to say more.
“OK, by stuff I mean rough draft concepts for thermal cloaks. We made a few. Not super hero level. Sisko and Zade and I started developing them a few years ago. I designed them to be invisible even to me. No thermal signature, and almost no energy sig. Not a hundred percent effective, but they’re a hell of a lot better than nothing. And they don’t restrict movement or the wearer’s visibility. Not much, anyway.”
Asa’s eyes gleamed. “And I thought you were all about save-the-world medical biotech. You do secret gear and weaponry, too? Hidden depths, man. Hidden depths.”
Asa’s knowing smile irritated the shit out of him. “If Obsidian comes after us, I need to be ready.”
“Sure. You ever want to leverage your defense tech, just let me know.”
“I’m not an arms dealer,” Noah snapped.
“You’re missing out on big money,” Asa said absently. “Everybody needs to survive. Don’t forget that us mere mortals have to hustle.”
“Noah,” Caro broke in. “There’s a vehicle at the gate.”
Noah quickly turned to scan the security screens that monitored every approach to the property. “What? Who?”
“That’s Zade’s van,” Sisko said. “On it. Buzzing him in.”
“What the hell he doing here?” Noah leaped to his feet, dismayed.
“Hannah’s with him,” Sisko informed him.
Noah happened to be facing Asa, or he wouldn’t have caught the instant his brother’s sig shield wavered. A pulse of intense colors flashed, and quickly subsided.
His AVP kicked up in furious battle readiness. Fighting the kill plans that were loading made his muscles contract. He rounded on Sisko. “You told them, didn’t you?”
Coolly unrepentant, Sisko stared him down. “They deserved to know.”