Her mouth tightened. "Kill squads? That's all you think we did?"
"HSSC it is, then." He grinned. "Not too hard to figure out."
"Not too hard to figure out you're an ex-cop."
He swerved, narrowly missing a large rock formation. "That's just a lucky guess."
"Call it what you want. You don't need to have a badge to still be a cop. You never quit being one. It stays with you. How you stand, the stress across the shoulders. The way you look at people. Weighing, profiling. I had you pegged the moment I saw you."
"Is that right? You mean when you murdered my bounty head?"
"No. When you came chasing after me like a cop. Couldn't help yourself, could you?"
He chewed the end of his cigarillo. "Guess not. Old habits die hard."
"Then you're in the wrong line of work, partner."
"I'm not your partner. And what about you? Are you in the right line of work? What — you get a thrill out of killing people?"
A tiny smile tugged at the corner of her scarred mouth. "A little. You have to like your job if you're going to be any good at it. But mostly it's business. Supply and demand. Nothing personal."
He snorted a laugh. "Nothing personal, huh? Not like this guy in New Haven, right? That one sure sounds personal to me."
"That one is. Near the top of my hit list."
"Yeah? What's his name?"
She gave him a suspicious glance. "He's ex-HSSC. You never heard of him."
"I've been all around, partner. You never know. Go ahead. Shoot. Might get lucky."
She stayed silent for a moment, watching the dusty terrain blur by. Finally, she sighed.
"Mike. His name is Mike Trudo."
Cash shook his head. "Nope, never heard of him. So, is he the one?"
"The one who?"
He gestured at her scarred face. "The one who gave you those."
Her eyes narrowed. "That's none of your business."
"Yeah, you're right. None of my business. Just trying for some casual conversation with the assassin that forced her way on my rig and put a bomb on it. You ever think about the morality of your occupation?"
"Morality? You mean good and evil?"
"I mean right and wrong."
"Morality is a coin toss. Or worse, a coin trick. You believe what you're led to believe, but in the end it's just a cheap con."
"Wow. So, all the people you killed just had it coming, is that it?"
Her face hardened. "Everyone has it coming."
He slowed the Blunderbore to a stop as they arrived at the entranceway to the walled-off town. A laser barricade barred the way, designed to short out the engine of any unauthorized vehicle. An overweight man stuck his head out the window of the rickety guardhouse. His face was smothered by a shaggy beard, his eyes covered by dark oversized goggles. Long matted hair stuck out from a worn leather cap. His smile was an unpleasant display of gums and a few lonely yellowed teeth.
"Howdy-do, friends. My name's Tucker. You lookin' to get in, ain'tcha?"
"Yeah. What's the name of this rust hole, anyway?"
"Ain't got no name."
"No name?"
"Nope."
"Why not?"
Tucker chuckled. "Let's just say the legislative body changes a lot 'round here. Ain't nobody in office long enough to do things like give the town a name. Now, what's yer bizness today?"
"Need to buy some parts."
"What kind of parts?"
Cash gritted his teeth. "The kind you buy. You letting us in or what?"
Tucker leaned forward, dripping sweat onto the sill of the window. The reek of alcohol and body odor wafted from the confines of the cramped guardhouse. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. My job is to ask questions. That your skimmer out there a few miles off?"
"Yeah. Got some men guarding it, too."
Tucker giggled and tapped his goggles. "Got a boy guarding it. Seen him. He don’t look like no killer to me."
"You'd be surprised. Got a few more waiting in the rig. Might wanna pass the word to any of your curious friends."
"Friends? Whaddya think — I tip off ravagers or something? I'm just a man doing his job."
"Then do your damn job. Open up the gate, will you?"
Tucker paused, squinting suspiciously. "Wait a sec. You're a law dog, ain'tcha?"
Cash frowned, ignoring Happy's amused snickers. "What?"
Tucker nodded, face twisting up. "Yeah. You got that cop look about you. You think I'm gonna let a law dog up through these here gates? Ain't no law up in this town other than the Judge, mister. Better believe it."
"I'm not a cop. Better believe that."
"Well, you sure got that cop mustache." Tucker sucked his teeth in disgusting fashion. "Got guns on you?"
"What do you think?"
"Gotta leave 'em here. The Judge is right strict 'bout that."
"The Judge, eh? Well, get him out here, and I'll run it past him."
"He's a busy man. You wanna get in; you gotta leave your firearms here. I'll tag 'em and lock 'em up for the duration of your stay. You can pick 'em up on the way out."
Happy leaned over so Tucker could see her. "I have a better idea. How about I shoot you in your face, drag your fat ass out of that outhouse, and open the gate myself?"
He paused, looking her up and down. "Well, ain't no need to be rude. Just doing my job. Can't fault a man for doing his job."
He leaned back in the gatehouse. A second later, the laser bars disappeared.
Cash glanced at Happy as they rolled through the gate. "You sure got a way with people, don’t you?"
She leaned back in her seat. "Yeah. It's called cut-the-crap mentality. You should try it sometime."
They continued down the dusty avenue into the town with no name.
It took less than thirty seconds for Jinx to break out of her cell.
A simple electronic bolt lock. Not even a challenge. She inserted the tech comb back into her hair and strode to her Cayenne. Guess I should count myself lucky that Cash didn't take my wheels into town with him. She was sure he'd be back for it if the town turned out to have a pretty decent barter shop.
Deejay's disapproving face flickered onto the wall monitor. "I figured you were taking this too easy. Cash didn't do a thorough search, did he?"
"Nope. He's not all that great of a Nimrod if you ask me."
"You noticed."
"Sí." Jinx retrieved her cy-gear, sliding it over her hand like a clunky glove. "Too bad for him."
Deejay tilted her head. "What are you planning to do?"
"Oh, just crash your systems to make sure you can't tail me. Don't worry; I won't make it permanent. Got no beef with you. Just your boss."
"My partner."
"You're an AI. A highly advanced, intuitive program. You can’t be a partner. Only a tool."
"I'm a bit more unique than that."
"Fantástico! It's been a while since I had a challenge." Jinx slid her custom-built shades over her eyes. "Time to check out what's under the hood."
Deejay shrugged. "I can stop you. But I don't want to make the damage permanent either."
"C'mon. Your defense systems are garbage. You'd have a hard time getting rid of a mouse, much less a sexy, sassy lil' hacker extraordinaire like yours truly."
"Don't say I didn't warn you."
"I hear you." She used the cy-gear to remotely lock into the ship's computer system. "Bingo. See you on the other side."
She jacked in, looking to gain root. The goggles winked on, immersing her into the digital circuitry of the Battle-Cats system. Looking around, she gasped. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before. Impossibly intricate. Uncomprehendingly complex.
This is impossible. What is happening?
Everything flashed brilliant blue; an electric storm blinded her, sizzling across her mind.