Accelerated by Vaughn Heppner Read Free Book Online Page B

didn’t like the sound of it.
    I studied the box for a full thirty seconds. Finally, I began cutting strands again. Knowing I was a fool but unable to help myself, I opened a cardboard lid to see more fully what I had.
    It was silvery, cube-shaped and was completely metallic and reflected a distorted image of me. I didn’t like it at all. I chewed my lower lip and finally dared touch the surface. It was cool and smooth. Part of me suggested I tap it. I vigorously shook my head. There wasn’t a chance I was going to do that.
    It was a prototype, whatever it was. It was supposedly fashioned at Polarity Magnetics and Kay would never have helped develop it if she’d known what they were building. What was it then? What would a silvery cube this size do?
    I couldn’t help but think it was some high-tech bomb.
    Polarity Magnetics: the name gave me an idea. I went up to the lounge and rummaged in my desk until I found a small magnet. I squeezed the magnet in my hand and weighed it thoughtfully.
    “Don’t be reckless,” I whispered.
    I returned to my cabin and debated with myself. Finally, I pressed the magnet against the silvery cube. It didn’t stick. This was metal, but it was nonferrous.
    I don’t know why, but that frightened me. I pocketed the magnet. Then I decided on one more test. I retrieved my bug-finding locator, wanting to know if this cube sent out radio signals. Switching it on, I pointed the locator at the cube.
    Nothing happened.
    “Good,” I muttered. Then I noticed that the locator’s red light wasn’t on, nor did it beep as it was supposed to. I flicked the switch several times. I opened the lid and took out the dead batteries. Going to my small freezer, I ripped new batteries from a package and slotted them into the bug-finder.
    I switched it on. The red light shone and it beeped as it was supposed to. Walking down the stairs, I entered the bedroom. I approached the box, listening to the beep-beep-beep . At approximately sixteen inches away, it shorted. No. At sixteen inches, the beeps stopped and the red light quit shining. If I were to guess what had just happened, the thing on the carpet had drained the batteries.
    I felt like someone strong had punched me in the chest. For a moment, I didn’t breathe. I had no idea what the cube was, but I was certain now that it was a high-tech thing with killing power. I wanted nothing to do with it.
    “Get rid of it,” I whispered.
    Suiting thought to action, I nerved myself to handle the box one last time. Gingerly, I lifted it and carried it topside. As the waves rolled under my boat, I went to the railing and heaved the box with the silvery cube into the ocean. It plopped nicely, sending up a spray of water, and it sank out of sight. I hoped its journey to the bottom, the building pressure, wouldn’t set it off. I hoped hitting its resting place wouldn’t jar anything bad. Just in case, it was time to leave.
    I brushed the palms of my hands against my pants and ran to the control room. There was a GPS display. I turned it on and noted the exact coordinates. I memorized the numbers. Then I shut off the device and started up the diesels. With a roar of power, I sped away from the descending cube.
    I’d hidden Kay’s insurance and I hoped I’d sufficiently covered myself. I should have known better.

-5-

    Saturday night found me in the heart of San Francisco, in the Tenderloin District, a rough part of the city.
    I needed money again for operating costs. Originally buying my motorboat, and now keeping it fueled, took money, and plenty of it. Buying the kind of clothes I needed and paying for extended excursions cost a lot. To make some, I did freelance work for Lamplight Investigations. They were a large detective agency and mainly used ex-military and ex-intelligence officers. The cases were usually for technologically sensitive firms. I concentrated on those who practiced high-tech theft. It meant I went up against a lot of Taiwanese, Chinese and