Scarlet Prison

Chapter 19

"Can you at least not put your dirty boots on my desk?" Ekai pleaded. "You're going to ruin my expensive equipment."

I peered past my combat boots, toward the fancy gadgets and computer stuff scattered on his desk. I had no idea what most of it was for, but I trusted that Ekai had a very specific purpose behind his chaos. "You mean the equipment that you stole?" I asked. I didn't actually know where he had gotten it, but he couldn't have bought it unless he stole the money first. And I highly doubted he had pretended to be a vampire to buy the stuff. He tolerated my lifestyle, understanding the necessity of it, but he had an attitude toward "stooping to the level of the vampire". You can't be afraid of getting dirty, as I had explained to him, but he had always viewed himself as being above messes.

Ekai looked up from his computer screen to wince at my unmoving boots. "I made a lot of it," he explained, probably realizing that getting me to move my boots was a lost cause.

Many of the electronics did have that Frankenstein look that could not have come out of a factory. "Okay, but you had to steal the parts for your masterpiece, didn't you?"

Ekai gave me a sidelong glance with his bright blue eyes. "That doesn't mean they weren't expensive," he muttered.

I lounged further into my chair, enjoying the peace that came from human companionship. Dana was working this Saturday by herself again, a fact that I had neglected to tell any of my vampire companions, leaving me an entire night to do what I wanted without them seeking me out. I had come to Ekai to deliver food and ask for his help in finding Novashi. Earlier in the week, I had paid him a brief visit to tell him to send the dragonfly to keep an eye on Laser. I had also etched a small dragonfly symbol onto the closet door in the mall, in order to signify the entrance of the human hideout. I wasn't much of an artist, but Mera had assured me that the figure was identifiable. Ekai apparently could tap into the mall's security system so the cameras wouldn't catch people emerging from a closet after suspiciously long periods of time. He had used the same technique to keep my strange act of vandalism off the radar. This errand had been just after sunrise, so I didn't stay long because I wanted sleep.

That visit had inspired my new tactic in finding Novashi: hacking the computer system of the Vein auction house. I didn't have a clue on how to do such a thing. Ekai said he didn't know their security system, but he thought he'd be able to get past it, given enough time. The problem was that sneaking Ekai into the auction house was too risky. If he got caught, he'd be made a Vein. If I got caught, I would be charged with breaking and entering. Ekai said that we could get the information off the computer if I infected their computer system with a virus. This virus would allow us to remotely access information on the computer. If they kept records on the Veins they sold, which I was sure they did, then we would be able to determine who had bought Novashi.

"Almost done?" I asked as my relaxation turned to boredom.

"Zermia, programing viruses is difficult and time consuming. Especially with one like this."

Recognizing his response as a display of his awesomeness, I felt the need to defend my own capabilities. "Hey, you get the easy job. I'm the one that has to do the fieldwork. It's no easy thing sneaking past the security of such an upscale place." As if I actually knew from experience. Oh, sure, I did this sort of thing all the time!

Ekai assumed a worried look on his face. "You're in the business of Vein trading, aren't you? Can't you just ask to see their records?"I had informed Ekai about my line of work, and he had accepted the idea with poise, though I got the feeling that he was more bothered by it than he let on.  

"The only records that anybody is willing to show me are the lists of Veins currently on sale. Previous transactions are confidential information."