Cog by K. Ceres Wright Read Free Book Online Page A

bored expression that quickly changed to shock once he took in the scene.
    “The hell happened to you?” he said.
    Seething fury boiled up. “Your bodyguard tried to kill me! He killed Tyla and Keala. What the fuck, Chris!”
    Bewildered look this time. “What are you talking about? Are you okay?”
    “I can’t believe you’re asking me if I’m okay when you just tried to have me killed!”
    “I didn’t try to kill you. The bodyguard was Perim’s choice. I told him I was getting you one, and he said he’d handle it. What happened?”
    “What happened?” she repeated, with a helping of sarcasm. But it was as if her mind refused to relive recent events. Perhaps she was in shock and couldn’t remember if she wanted. She closed her eyes. “I got off the phone with Henroi to answer the door. The bodyguard came in, introduced himself, and we sat down in the living room. I asked him about his duties, then I got up to go to the kitchen to get him something to drink. And that’s when…”
    Tears streamed again.
    “Stay there. Don’t cog anyone. I’ll be right there.”
    b
    She sat on her bed, wishing she had a pakz when the bell rang. Nicholle ran to the door, checking authorization on the way. Opened the magfield, pulled Chris inside, and opaqued it.
    “Oh, my god,” he said. He surveyed the scene, holding a hand to his mouth. The odor of burnt flesh had dissipated somewhat, but still pervaded the room. Nicholle had never shot anyone before; bad odors were the last thing she had expected.
    “The hell do we do? Call the cops?” she said. The idea of calling the police on oneself railed against her sensibilities as an ex-drug dealer. But she would do it to keep from being charged with murder.
    Chris still stood, running his hand over chin stubble.
    “Chris!”
    He jerked. “I don’t know, Nicholle,” he said, irritably. “I’ve never had to handle burnt bodies before.”
    “You’re acting like this is my fault.”
    “Don’t be—Hold on. Cog from Jamie,” Chris said. He tapped open the line. “Yes?…What? Wait, you can’t be serious. Hold on.” He turned to Nicholle. “Turn on the HV.”
    “What? You want to watch holovision, now? ”
    “Jamie said Perim just announced that we stole twenty billion from the company,” he said, motioning for the HV. It clicked on. Hovering before them was a company photo of Chris in a navy suit next to one of Nicholle in an orange gown attending the Fire and Ice Ball.
    “In other news,” the newscaster’s voice droned, “American Hologram, known as AmHo, has announced that its Vice President, Chris Kappert, and company heiress, Nicholle Ryder, allegedly embezzled twenty billion dollars from the corporation. Arlington County police are investigating…”
    Nicholle’s body slacked and she collapsed on the couch. A lightheaded consciousness encroached, leaving her disoriented and speechless. Her mind reeled and surreality stole over the scene.
    “I don’t believe this,” she whispered. “It can’t be happening.”
    “Damnit,” Chris said. “First your father collapses, then your brother skips town with company cash, Perim’s bodyguard kills your friends, and now this. What the hell, Nicholle? We’ve got to go back to AmHo and clear our names.”
    When she didn’t respond, Chris stalked over, snatched her up by the shoulders, and shook her.
    “Nicholle! We have to call Perim and clear this up.”
    When she regained some semblance of coherency , something tightened in the back of her mind—instincts honed from years past. From years of covering my ass.
    “Are you insane?” she said. “This Perim wants us out of the way. If we return, he’ll just have us arrested. We need to go some place where we can find out more about this guy. Who is he? Where’d he come from? What are his weaknesses? In other words, we need to get the hell out of here.”

Chapter 4
    Wills twisted on the satin sheets, inhaling the salt air that wafted in with the morning