Jinx reached through the bars, laying a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."
He abruptly pulled away and stood up, thrusting his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, that's life. Anyway, we're gonna get things fixed. Once we get that payday, we're gonna turn things around."
She stared uncomprehendingly. "What? How can you fix that? Deejay is—"
"In a state of temporary transition," Cash said. "But there are options. Maximillian Industries can join her brain with a body. Cloned flesh, real as you and me. I can get my Deejay back. Just a matter of time."
"Ay Dio," Jinx said. "That's… impossible. You can't fool yourself like this, Cash. Don't you realize that Deejay—"
"You're a thief, and you want to talk to me about ethics? Save your breath, sweetheart. And stay in your cell. Break out again, and I put you to sleep for the rest of the journey. That I can do." He ran a hand through his rumpled hair, frowning. "That I can do."
He gave her a warning look before walking out of the cargo bay. The door hissed shut behind him. A few seconds later the wall monitor flickered on. Deejay gave Jinx an apologetic look.
"Could have told you that was a waste of time."
"How did you get—" Jinx gestured helplessly.
"How did my brain get installed in a computer system?"
"Right."
"It was my magnum opus. The pinnacle of my research as a developer for Maximillian Industries. A complete transfer of human memories from the brain to a digital system. The solution to finally cure dementia and Alzheimer's among other maladies that affect the brain. My work was nearly complete when the events you witnessed occurred."
"When you died."
"Yes. But I had a plan in place in case of an untimely demise. I programmed medical androids to remove my brain and preserve it in a specially designed CPU. It was given to Cash after installation so a piece of me could always be with him. And secondarily because I knew he wouldn't know what to do with it."
"What do you mean?"
"In the wrong hands, this research has the potential to be used for evil purposes. I never meant to deliver it Maximillian. I was using his resources until I finished the experiment. After that, I planned to disappear. Find someone I could trust to use the work for the right purposes."
"And what about Cash? He was a cop, right? Was he just going to drop everything and live a life on the lam with you?"
"I don't know. I never got the chance to find out."
"You mean he doesn't even know you were going to leave?"
"No. And he doesn't need to know now. Everything has… changed."
"And does he know about the other thing?"
"What other thing?"
"Does he know that the Deejay he knew and loved is dead? That what remains is just data harvested from her brain? That you're not really alive?"
"Cash believes what he wants to believe. No one can convince him otherwise. Not me, and certainly not you."
"Have you tried to explain it to him?"
"No."
"Why not?"
Her gaze penetrated form the screen, eyes luminous. "Because it counteracts my programming. I'm his companion, his assistant, whatever he needs me to be. That is how I designed myself. Whatever truths Cash needs to discover he has to do on his own. And in time perhaps he will."
Jinx shook her head. "Wow. This is too much. Why… are you sharing all of this with me?"
"Because I like you, Jinx. You might be the only person that truly understands me. I think we can be good friends. We might be able to help one another out one day."
"How can I possibly help you?" Jinx glanced around at the bars surrounding her and sighed. "I can't even help myself. I've been on the run even before getting tangled in up in that New Haven situation. Every decision I've made has been the wrong one. Every time I think I've found a good situation I still manage to screw it up somehow."
Deejay smiled. "Well, you know what they say: when you hit rock bottom the only way to go is up."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. But in a few more hours I'll be handed over to Kelly Crimson, and that will be that. So I don't see any way you can help me out, Deejay."
"Oh, I think I can get Cash to reevaluate."
"Reevaluate a five-million payday? How?"
"Simple. By finding an even larger bounty."
"You think something like that will post in time?"
"Something like that always posts. It's the nature of the business."
Chapter 9
Special Agent Ryan Hessler looked down at the Los Nuevos from the window of his RGA craft. The Roll Glide Air vehicle hovered high above, and from that viewpoint the Haven looked like a soap bubble on a sea of blistering sand. The mirrored surface of the Haven's shielding reflected the desert surroundings; almost a dream of a city, a mirage in the shimmering heat.
The perfect city. The perfect disaster.
His cockpit monitor flashed on, displaying Director Lynch's face. "Status report."
You already know the situation, you old bastard. "I have the men needed to take the city, sir. The problem is entering."
"I take it General Hamilton has sealed off the underground entrances."
"Yes, sir. X-ray scans reveal explosives and sentry guns in every tunnel. Any attempts that way will result in massive casualties."
"Then we use synthetic soldiers."
"EMPs will render them useless."
"We have shielded models."
"Not enough, sir. If the EMPs don't stop them, the explosives will. We're ruling out breaching the tunnels."
"And the force shield?"
"No weak spots, sir. It's the most powerful ever built. Maximillian made sure of that. Able to withstand the full brunt of a pure fission bomb. The entranceways have been sealed since the attack, and the security system changes the passcodes every five seconds."
"Five seconds is an eternity. Hack the code."
"We have our best people working on it now, sir."
"Your best people." Lynch's cybernetic eyes whirred, pulsing as they processed information to his brain. "Your best people aren't the best people, Agent Hessler."
"You're saying you know someone who can pull off a job like this?"
"The best sort for this type of work usually can be found outside the boundaries of the law. Black hats. Hamilton already has one in his employ. Suzie Chen. She's the one who reworked the security system to keep us and everyone else out. But there are others out there. Just as good as or better than Chen. Put a bounty out on General Hamilton. Start at fifty million. Let's see what kind of fish show up for the bait."
"You're willing to put a mission of this magnitude on the shoulders of bounty hunters?"
"Why waste manpower and expense on sending men and synoids to die and be destroyed, Agent? Let the bounty hunters and mercenaries test their mettle against the Haven's weak spots. Let them get their men killed uncovering the traps that Hamilton has laid. Eventually, their out-of-box thinking might find a way in. If and when they do, you'll move your men in and retake the city."
Hessler had to admit it made a ruthless kind of sense. "And if they manage to take Hamilton? You're going to pay out fifty million?"
"They won't take him. Kilgore will slaughter anyone who comes close. I want your snipers to put Hamilton down as soon as they get a clean shot. That will take care of Kilgore, too. Without a master, the dog will wander off. The rest of the Blood Legion will be easy pickings after that."
"We don't take Kilgore down?"
A rare look of amusement threatened to ravage Lynch's face. "Concentrate on what you can control, Agent. For now, make sure that the bounty posts on every disreputable site on the deep web."
"Right away, sir."