The Operator
Page 86

Good mood broken, he sat down on the ironworks bench, his knees spread wide as he waited. He didn’t need Harmony; he wanted her was all. The woman was a source of information, a buffer for when he found Peri, and cannon fodder in case there was trouble. This doubt that gnawed at him was becoming tiresome.
He hadn’t lied when he told Bill he thought he could flip her back to Opti, but now he wasn’t so sure. The lure of remembering wasn’t as strong as Bill thought it would be. She didn’t need them. Didn’t need him. And that was more than dangerous, it was potentially deadly.
He was nothing without Peri, an easily replaced cog. Only with her could everything return to as it had been. He might have romanced an understanding between them by promising to go ghost with her, but neither one of them would be able to stand such a mundane life. He just needed to get her away from Denier long enough for her to remember how good they had been. If that failed, he’d scrub her. She’d thank him in the end. And if she wanted Bill dead, he would keep that option open, too. Maybe then she’d believe him.
Finally Harmony came out of the dojo, hesitating with her friends before the door. Jack’s eyes narrowed in concern, watching from under the drape of his bangs, but the thin woman in her colorful leggings said good-bye and went the other direction, a heavy tote bag over her shoulder and a sassy sway to her hips as she wove through the shoppers.
Sucking his teeth, Jack rose and fell into step behind her, careful to keep her red cap just in sight. He was glad to have had the chance to see Harmony in action. Peri had taught him a healthy respect for what a woman could do, and he was used to maintaining a delicate balance of restraint without injury when dealing with them. He had Harmony on weight if nothing else.
He almost lost her as he fended off two saleswomen trying to lure him into sampling a fragrance. The slight pause in motion triggered a trio of holographic mannequins from the upscale clothier, and they shifted to match his day-old stubble and tailored suit, trying to lure him in. It jerked the passing bevy of ogling girls to a stop, slowing him even more.
Peeved, he pushed past them, leaving giggles and requests for his number in his wake.
His breath quickened as he hustled to catch up. Adrenaline trickled through him, and he sent his eyes to the droneway high at the ceiling, the stream of low-Q drones and their payloads looking like Hogwarts owls. Just below them, the fixed cameras recorded a four-hour loop of happy shoppers before they began to rewrite over themselves. As long as he was quiet, all evidence of his presence would be erased by midnight.
Still, his pulse was faster than the small task warranted, as if failure here would translate into failure everywhere. His anger slowly grew as justifications began flitting through him. He didn’t need Harmony’s help, but he wasn’t used to working alone, either. A second pair of eyes, the comfort found from two predators as opposed to the solitary hunter—both would be helpful. She’d be the easily sacrificed tail of the team so he might survive.
He almost missed it when the woman strode confidently into a narrow hallway, a highly monitored, underground shortcut to one of the other buildings and the elevated rail. It might be empty, the break in the weather drawing most people into the skyway and the view of Detroit.
His pace quickened, his head down to avoid being lured into looking at the main camera when the TV under it blared an attention-getting cartoon.
Who doesn’t like Tom and Jerry? he thought wryly, taking a tiny EMP button from his pocket and readying it. Peri hadn’t noticed him lifting it, whereas she would have missed the Glock he would have rather taken. The tactical blast would short out anything transmitting within a thirty-foot radius, cameras included, and he checked to make sure his phone was off.
Her heels clicked smartly, her voice pleasant as she said hi to the woman with two kids in a stroller passing her. Jack slid to the side and nodded, waiting until the kids’ voices vanished before looking up again. There was no guilt in him for using Harmony. If she was after Michael, she was dead anyway, and where Michael and Bill were, Peri was sure to follow.
Motion confident, Harmony reached for one of the double glass doors that led to the stairway. Jack’s hair shifted in the equalizing pressure, and he jogged to catch up as it swung closed. Her feet were vanishing up the curve of the stairway. Eager, he hit the EMP button and raced up the stairs.
Instinct screamed, and he ducked as he spun onto the next landing, turning it into a controlled fall as he hit the cement. A stick of wood rapped smartly on the worn iron railing above him.
“You picked the wrong woman to jump, candy ass,” Harmony said, and he scuttled backward to the cement block wall as she made ready to swing at him again.
“Wait—” he managed, and then her eyes widened in surprise.
“You,” she whispered, stepping forward, the whoosh of air from her martial arts baton making him slip down a few stairs. It was padded, but it would still hurt.
“I’m looking for Peri,” he said, then used his arm to block a kick, retreating a few steps more.
“Aren’t we all.” Harmony pulled back, her frown deepening when she noticed the little red light was out on the camera in the corner. Lips pressed together, she slipped her bag from her shoulder and gracefully iced down two steps, body balanced and ready to smack his head as if it were a softball on a tee. “Funny us running into each other. Steiner will never believe it. I sure as hell don’t.”
Jack put his hands up in placation. “She didn’t betray you. She was running. I was running. We didn’t plan it.”
“I don’t care. You’re coming with me.” With a howl, she lashed out with a front kick.
Jack lurched back, narrowly avoiding it. “God, woman. Will you just listen?” he complained, all the way down to the first landing. “I need your help, not WEFT’s. Peri wants to kill Bill. Michael will be with him.” Harmony’s anger shifted, tainted with the bitterness of betrayal. “You want Michael?” he said, forcing his shoulders to relax. “I sure as hell don’t.”
Harmony’s baton drooped. “Steiner didn’t like you escaping,” she said, gaze flicking to the dead camera. “Killing his men. He wants you bad. Maybe enough to put me back on active duty if I bring you in.”
The hard part was over, and a flash of tension zinged to his groin. He always did like manipulation. “Steiner doesn’t want me.” He risked looking down and away as if unhappy. “I’m just a link to Michael and Bill.” Tossing the hair from his eyes, he glanced up. He couldn’t have planned this better, with her standing over him, justified in her confident strength. “Peri needs my help to finish Bill. She doesn’t want to admit it, but it’s true.”