Crack in the Kill Code (AmpCore #2)

50 - Acceptable Risk Factor

At the back of the group, Kirk limped along as fast as his shattered ankle would let him.

Holly had stitched together a quick fix to get him moving, the equivalent of an AmpCore splint to stop the joint from simply coming apart under his weight, but that was all she could manage right now. She looked haggard, the after effects of the strange pulse grenade still lingering. Every now and then he saw her twitch, an arm or leg spasming without her consent.

So he gritted his teeth for now. Hopefully once she'd had a chance to rest, she could reconstruct everything properly.

Nevay led the way, her normally volcanic demeanour subdued, which set him more on edge than ever. Her screaming, cursing and swearing he was used to, but she'd gone beyond that now. All that rage had tipped her over into a blacker pit of pure loathing. She clung to Doser's bulky police revolver, her hands white knuckled around the grip as she twisted back and forth, hunting for threats.

Despite their constant sparring, he could tell that Nevay had come to have a measure of affection for the detective. He could almost see his death weighing her shoulders down.

"You okay?" Treysi asked softly, dropping back alongside him.

Kirk winced as he tried to smile. "I'll live."

"C'mon, gimme your arm."

"I'm okay."

"What, don't want help from a girl?" She gave him a scathing look.

"It's not that," he hissed, and couldn't keep his eyes from flickering down towards her arm, the metal arms till caked with blood that was reaching out to steady him.

Treysi looked confused for a moment as she followed his gaze down. When she realised what he was looking at, she jerked back sharply, her eyes dropped to the floor as she turned away.

"Sorry. Wouldn't want to get any blood on your hands, eh?" she muttered bitterly.

"Treysi, no-,"

"I just did what I had to do."

"I know that!"

"And now you're fucking scared of me?"

With an effort, he hobbled to catch up with her, forcing a smile onto his face as he looked at her. "Treysi, I just watched you smoke a corporate kill-team single-handedly. Yeah, I'm scared of you, because I'm not a complete idiot. But I'm also happy you're on our side."

Her sour expression didn't loosen, but she slowed a little, matching his pace. Kirk reached out and clamped a hand onto her shoulder, feeling the solid metal of the joint moving beneath his hand has he leaned on her. Gradually he leaned a little more to keep the weight off his leg.

"Thanks," he murmured.

Treysi nodded, and he saw the glimmer of a smile flash on her face as they trudged on into the hazy early-morning light.

The corporate dawn raid had been well-timed to avoid attention, but it worked both ways. Out here the city was still waking up, making it easier for Nevay to find them concealed paths through the tight-packed streets of the AllChem district. He had no real idea where they were going, but he trusted that Nevay probably had a host of hidden boltholes in the city that would serve as a safehouse in a pinch.

They stuck to the shadows, ducking the occasional corporate drone that hummed stealthily overhead and dodging the corporate enforcement patrols that were beginning their rounds. With everything happening, Kirk had almost forgotten about the regular cordon around a whole swathe of Hadrian's dockside districts. He wondered how many of the local police and corporate troopers had any idea what was really happening out here.