Core Punch by Pauline Baird Jones Read Free Book Online Page B

act, an attempt to force my exposure, it might frustrate that. Perhaps tip the status quo our direction?
    It might even require it to expect the unexpected. Lurch felt amused.
    â€œCan you follow them from memory?”
    Joe smiled. “No, but your raised city is very like the city that was, is it not?”
    She brightened. “We use our map of the raised city as a guide down here. I like how you think, Dzh—Joe.”
    Joe concealed a smile at yet another failure to say his name.
    She turned from him and stared outside. “We can’t fly blind at low altitude.”
    â€œIt will be difficult,” Joe acknowledged, wishing—but if he told her the truth, even if she believed him, it would put her at greater risk. “I can, perhaps, see further than you. Alien eyes.” He half grinned at her. “If you transfer drive control to my station—you can navigate, since you are more familiar with the city than I am.”
    The strain in her face eased with a task to perform.
    Lurch could have transferred control for him, and it could have done much to repair their failed systems, but care must be taken not to expose its existence if this were the trap they’d been expecting. If the skimmer had been tampered with, then triggers would be in place to expose the nanite if it attempted to assist with the tech. The best Lurch could do for them right now was enhance Joe’s vision and reflexes.
    â€œIf it will transfer,” she said, applying more of her “love” to the controls.
    That depends on the game it wishes to play.
    For a few seconds, Joe wondered if it had also disabled their engines. When they activated, he did not know whether to be relieved or worried.
    It seems we play the slow game. For now.
    For now, Joe agreed. Between the lash of the rain and the force of the wind, even the boost from Lurch only gave him a few meters of forward vision. The landscape was wild, the trees bending almost to the ground, then whipping around violently. It would be challenging to discern shadows from obstacles until they were upon them, and controlling the skimmer in the high wind created additional difficulty, even with automatic stabilization thrusters. The water had risen enough to begin splashing over the front of the skimmer and he felt it shift. Remaining there was filled with risk as well. It was now or never.
    â€œIt’ll be slow going,” Vi said, both looking and sounding frustrated.
    â€œYes. But better than not going.” He hoped he was correct in this, as he eased up and began their initial lift.
    Vi gripped his arm, causing a disturbance to his thought process. The bright look in her narrowed gaze did not help the problem.
    â€œI have an idea.”

3
    â€œ T here’s a sort of hack ,” Vi said, her body bent double as she struggled to get the panel off the underside of console. “One of my cousins showed me how to do it. We had this April Fools’ thing going and we needed to track, well, someone.” She reached up for a tool, caught his eye, and grinned. “First advice, first day, learn how your crapeau works so you can mess with it and not get caught.”
    Admirable.
    Lurch was inordinately fond of rule breakers. The speed at which she was able to access the internals of the console indicated a familiarity with the technology that would not be pleasing to those tasked with keeping the equipment operating at “optimal.”
    â€œIt’s all spin,” Vi had told him early on when he had pointed out the difference between assertion and reality. He’d arched his brows and she’d added, “Don’t believe half of what you’re told and that half, well, lower your expectations by another seventy-five percent. Why do you think I call this place the Big Uneasy?”
    â€œThis might not work, but if it does…” She applied pressure to the tool, before concluding, “…we might have a fighting