Inner Workings

Inner Workings - Part 2

Hunched over his lunch of a roast-beef sandwich, Reese winced, rubbing at his ear. "That was not right in so many ways."

"Still funny though," said Benita Chang with a grin as she set down a plate of stir fry. The two of them were taking lunch in the cafeteria after retreating from the storage closet. They had both agreed to keep some distance between themselves and Cetz. But the harsh lesson was still ringing in Reese's ear.

"Funny for you." Reese ripped into his sandwich, a strip of meat dangling from his lips. "I was the one with the stethoscope on the pole!"

"Kind of like whizzing on an electric fence," said Beni with a wistful smile.

"When have you ever peed on an electric fence? And for that matter, is it even possible for you to pee on an electric fence?"

Will set his tray beside Reese's. "Bet she could do it with a long enough catheter."

"Ouch," said Beni.

"That's not quite the image you want in your mind during lunch," said Reese with a wince.

"And yet you were talking about it," said Will, digging into his meal.

"She brought it up first," Reese grumbled. "And not that we don't bask in your presence, but I thought you always had lunch with Massaru?"

"He was in a checkup with Rachel earlier so we had to skip today. I'd eat with Louis but he wasn't at his desk."

"So you're slumming with us?" asked Beni.

"Hardly slumming," said Will, his mind occupied. "I just don't feel like eating alone."

Beni quirked an eyebrow, but shrugged and move the conversation to something else. "What have you heard about the shrinks Cetz is interviewing?"

"Nothing," said Will. "Not even Louis knows anything. If it were my guess then I'd say they were putting newbies through their paces with Watch Two, testing them out before sending them to other bases."

"I hate being a guinea pig," said Beni.

***

Louis sipped his coffee, letting the caffeine soak in as he listened to Massaru ramble. The blond wasn't much of a talker during his coffee breaks, but he listened well. "When did Rachel say you'd be leaving?" he interrupted.

"As soon as Cetz gets Watch One to sign off and we get everything arranged," said Massaru with a grin. The older Indian man paced back and forth from the nightstand in the Med room to the closet, bouncing with energy. Ever since the cast had come off his arm he had been restless.

Was I ever as eager as him to get home? thought Louis. Didn't have much to look forward to, except my own bed.

Then again, he didn't have a wife or kid waiting for him. At the rate he was going with life he probably never would. And that suited him just fine.

He hoped.

Louis cleared his throat. "When you are going to call Paro?"

"As soon as I get conformation. Finally!" Massaru punched the air, crowing with glee, and then he stilled, smiling sheepishly.

"Don't worry. I know the stress of finally getting back to regular life. And I'll bet the nurses will be relieved to see you home too."

"They are all that eager to be rid of me?"

Louis shook his head, almost smiling. "I don't think they share your enthusiasm for Spanish soap operas. And neither do I."

***

Before the end of her shift, Rachel laid the files for five possible psychologists on her desk. Each was a little less straight laced than the ones previously interviewed, and one in particular almost looked like a head case himself. Rachel tapped the end of her pencil off her coffee mug before she nodded and closed the files. She shuffled them around, going backwards and forwards with her eyes closed, and then laid them out again. Each tap of her pencil on a file spelled out a letter in a sing-song tone.

"A... B... R... A... C... A... D... A... B... R... A... You." She opened the last folder and shrugged in resignation. "Looks like we'll be entertaining the head case."

Milton Balcuwitz. Worth a try.

***

In a cheap hotel that had cleaner sheets and dirtier walls than originally thought, Sandra Pearl reopened her laptop and plugged it into the router scrambler. Her whole body felt sticky with humidity and sweat, and she slathered another dollop of hand sanitizer on her hands, wishing there was an aerosol version that could make her whole body feel clean. After driving all day she was desperate for a shower, her hair windblown into black tendrils that snaked around her face. But she was impatient.

She had ten minutes at the most before she had to log out, just to be on the safe side. Despite Martin's fuck-up with Retten and his former employers, she still retained her loyalties. As well as her passcode into the Watch computer network. Once she got word that Martin Zachs had been found out as a traitor she had gone to ground, liquidating hidden assets from the construction company she worked for and waiting it out until she could contact Retten. She had a list of contacts that managed to stay anonymous during the Freewill raid, but she didn't want to use it yet. Meanwhile, she had her own ideas for the bastards that fired her.

Sandra's computer logged into the network. Classified data feeds were stuttering, pixelated through the dense firewall that her clearance couldn't get through. She didn't need them. All she needed was access to the financial records. When you knew where money was being spent you knew a company's movements. A few well remembered keystrokes and she had a dated spreadsheet of expenses on the screen. Electrical payments, and utilities went on for pages. And then she got to Personnel and Travel finances. That would be a start.

Her ten minutes were almost up. She left a thread code to get back to the financial records quicker next time and then logged out, unplugging her computer and taking out the battery for good measure to keep from being tracked. When she found something of value, she would act. And then the Watch would be sorry.