The Law and the Codas

Chapter Six

Sam jumps to his feet. Sin moves away from the wall. In seconds, the other Codas have their weapons trained on them. no one dares to breathe. No one moves

Della leans in close. I can smell her menthol-scented breath on my face. "Now, why I shouldn't kill you."

"Because it's not a part of the pact," David says.

He steps toward us but Keran blocks his way. Her gun in her hand and aimed at David's gut.

"I'm not really good at upholding my end of the pact. Snitch, there, can attest to that."

"Who's to say I won't just force you to uphold your side of the pact?" David frowns."You're gonna have to try harder than that, Chemist."

Della moved herself to get a better view of David and when she does, the barrel slides off my temple. I don't lose any time and connect my fist into Della's gut. My knuckles crack, bones splintering on impact. I never thought for a moment I'd be able to hurt her through her Kevlar, but I didn't want to hurt her, I wanted her off-balance.

Della slips backward, her gun aimed at the ceiling. The whole room tenses and while she's trying to regain her footing, I shove my hand into my pocket, whip out the DEC chip, and slip it over Della's neck. As I go for the activation key, Della takes these few seconds to stabilize herself.

She pulls me by the collar, throws me back against a table. Silverware and plastic plates clatter to the ground. Mugs of coffee, spray my legs in lukewarm water. Della shoves the gun in my nose. With a whisper, she growls, "You've done it now."

I nod to her left. She looks in the mirror at the bright ring of blue now encircling her neck. I hold the activation key tight in my pocket. It was my only leverage.

Delta rams my head off the table. Stars flash before my eyes. "What the hell's this?"

Blood rushes to my ears. A loud buzzing sound blankets everything. "It's a DEC," I think I say. "Contained electrical current. There's enough juice in there to cook a Giraffe from the inside out." Through the pain, I manage a smile. The smooth feel of the activation key between my fingers aids to steady me. "Just thinking about the things it could do to you makes me dizzy. Maybe I'll evolve a case of trigger happiness, too."

She mumbles a curse before lessening her grip on my collar. I fell back onto the table, gulping for air as my heart tries to wrench free of my chest.

"And let me guess," Della says. "You've got the key?"

Coughing, I manage to my feet. The room flickers to red before returning in soft focus. "Perhaps," I say, trying to bring detail back into the world. "Or perhaps a DEC can be remotely accessed and I don't need anyone else."

Her eyes go wide. She hadn't thought of that possibility. Good thing I had. "Maybe this one's been hacked and all I have to say is one word and that shield comes down and you get the full blast of over 20,000 volts sent through your body." I wrinkle my nose. "Ever smell burnt flesh? I haven't, but I can't imagine it's pleasant."

Della nods, hatred igniting her brown eyes from coals to full-blown infernos. Still, she keeps herself composed.

Keran wears her anger like a shield she violently wants to smash into my face.

Della clamps a hand on Keran's shoulder to get her to relax. Della's Keran's Jonathan, there to reign in the leash when the beast's smelled blood.

When I amble forward, Jonathan and Sam waste no time offering their arms to steady me. I take them both and grin. "Thanks." My voice is ragged like I've smoked a thousand cigarettes in one sitting.