Page 98 of Throwing Fire

“Convenient.”

In that it takes me and Kez out of the Clouds. “You got any doubts, come with me. You’re head of SoBo security. Strictly speakin’, this is your problem.”

Acker scowls at me. I scowl back.

“Very well.” Acker flexes his shoulders. I bet they’re stiff. He looks a lot calmer than when we walked into this little room, though. Not getting defensive was the right play.

“Sure you don’t want to take a shot at me?” I offer. “Last chance.”

Acker half-heartedly punches my shoulder.

“Pathetic,” I say.

Acker grabs the shoulder he punched. Puts his other arm out.

“You ever tell anyone I let you hug me, I’ll rip out your spine,” I tell him.

Acker chuckles as he hugs me hard.

CHAPTER 35

Before I wake Kez, I make a call.

Pieces are beginning to fall into place, now that I know where the Ojos’s credits are coming from. I’ve got a theory about how they found the entrance Payton used. A theory that Payton can verify.

Gig patches me into Payton after another sniff at me. When Payton appears on the vid pane, she’s surrounded by familiar white and gold décor.

“Decided on the Cloud Palace, huh?”

Payton smiles. Her smile’s no longer a knife-wound. She’s wearing soft purple on her mouth and a pale pink jacket. Her braids are caught up in a holosilk headscarf. A thousand times more relaxed than when we first met. “Thank you for the tab.”

“You’re welcome. We had some problems in the Deeps today. After you left.”

Payton’s brow furrows. She didn’t know. “Do you need my assistance?”

“Maybe. Right now, I just need to know if you logged your visit to the Deeps into the T-net.”

“Of course, standard protocol.”

Which she followed, being a good corporate cit. By doing so, she gave every Tyng employee with security access a roadmap into the Deeps.

“You know B, in Jielt?” I ask.

“He’s head of logistics for the DeSal plant. I’ve met him several times.”

“He work closely with your Father?”

“Yes. Jielt became the main supplier of desalinated water for the Clouds after we closed the Blue Water plant. Father met with B frequently, sometimes weekly.”

Giving B and Kimpler plenty of opportunities to discuss their anti-Mod tendencies.

“Okay,” I say.

“Mister Snow.” Payton clears her throat. Good woman, she’s as careful as my kitten. “I’m ready for another assignment. I’ve provided you the information about the crash you requested and met with Acker. Nothing else is time sensitive. I’m at your disposal.”

Finally, someone who jumps when I tell them to jump and doesn’t argue with me about the direction.

“Okay, two things. One, Acker’s got an Ojos in his basement. He’s a Tyng employee, Kein Aterra. You work with Acker to figure out what to do with him. First thing he needs is a flash can. Next thing he needs is a good LegAm. He’s got a shitload to answer for. If he ends up the in the cubes, fair enough, but I want him deprogrammed and taken care of, both before and after the freezer.” Payton nods without any visible reaction to the Tyng-Ojos connection. “Second, I want a security detail to get me, Kez and Acker out of the Deeps and over to Jielt. Nothin’ commercial. Hire somethin’ private and fast.”

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