Hacker For Hire (Ted Higuera Series Book 2) by Pendelton Wallace Read Free Book Online

forty-foot yacht spun on her keel. It flew
through the water at seventy-five knots. The turn was so sharp that the lee
rail dipped under water.
    “The bogies are
changing course to intercept.”
    “We can’t out
run them and we can’t out maneuver them.” A menacing grin spread over Yves face.
“It is a pity we are going to have to destroy them. Jean-Paul.”
    “I have
ignition. The lead jet just fired two missiles.”
    “Kindly return
the favor.”
    Jean-Paul
pushed a red button. The fiberglass cover blew off the afterdeck and two SAM
missile launchers popped into position.
    “Fire.”
    A burst of
white smoke blasted from each launcher and the missiles took off like homesick
angels.
    “Now, fire the
chaff.”
    With the SAMS
launched, Jean-Paul fired two canisters into the air. They exploded at two
thousand feet, raining down aluminum chaff to distract the incoming missiles.
    Evans didn’t
need to be told to alter course. The Pegasus again leaned into a sharp turn and
made as much distance between herself and the chaff as possible.
    The incoming
missiles flew through the chaff and struck the water harmlessly.
    A fire ball
exploded in the sky above them. Pieces of the fighter jet rained down.
    “Splash one jet
jock.” Evans smirked.
    Too soon.
    The other F-16
roared out of the fireball and climbed vertically. Yves could see the red Maple
Leaf on its side as it passed. The jet wheeled over into a dive. Two missiles
launched.
    “Fire chaff,”
Yves screamed.
    It was too
late. The jet was too close. The missiles streaked through the chaff and right
at the mega-yacht.
    The Pegasus was
engulfed in a ball of flames. A dark mushroom cloud erupted from the ship.
    The jet resumed
its course, by itself.
    ****
    After several
weeks of rain, Ted was grateful to see the late afternoon sun. Seattle was enjoying an Indian summer. He pulled on his light jacket and slipped out the
office door. The baby blue sky was dotted with puffy white clouds. He had to
grab all the vitamin D he could, it was only late September and already the sun
was setting earlier. In a couple of months, he’d be going to work and coming
home in darkness.
    YTS’ offices,
located in a refurbished brick building on Yesler Way, were only a couple of
blocks off of Pioneer Square.
    Ted loved Pioneer Square. This was the heart of Old Seattle, built after the Great Fire back in the 1800’s
sometime. The place was now a tourist attraction alive with restaurants, night
spots, comedy clubs and tourist traps. This was where the twenty-something
yuppies hung out.
    Tonight was not a
hangout night for Ted though, tomorrow was a work day. He walked two blocks to
First and Yesler and waited for his bus. In a few minutes the MT66 pulled up to
the stop.
    “Hey, Hero.” The bearded
bus driver wouldn’t let Ted forget.
    “Hey, right back
atcha, Garry. How’s the wife?”
    “Doin’ better,
thanks.”
    Ted made his way
to the back of the bus and pulled the sports page out of the Seattle Times .
His Huskies had lost their second straight game to open the season.
    He let his mind
wander. This was the first fall since he was nine years old that he hadn’t
donned his pads and helmet. Football was his game. A football scholarship at
the University of Washington had been his ticket out of the barrio.
    Ted finished the
sports page, neatly folded it and put it back in the paper. He hadn’t played a
starter’s role, but at least he’d graduated. His BS in computer science had
been his entré to the job at YTS.
    Traffic was heavy.
The bus stopped and started. People got on and off. A large black woman took
the seat next to Ted. He felt like he was being crushed by an avalanche of
flesh.
    He opened the
front page and scanned down the international stories. Then it caught his eye.
    “French Yacht
Disappears at Sea” the headline shouted. He read the article. The Pegasus had disappeared off the coast of the Philippines. There was no trace of
survivors. The owner of the