Jordan Summers - [Dead World 01] by Red (html) Read Free Book Online Page A

objects on her feet.
She'd have the boots incinerated immediately. Red didn't want to consider what
number this pair would make. Pretty soon the commander, grandfather or not,
would dock her pay.
    A hatch to her right opened. Red removed her boots and dropped them inside the container. The
unit closed with a slight hiss. A pair of sterile blue booties sprung
out of a tube next to the incinerator. She slipped
them on and continued inside, heading toward her desk, trying hard to
ignore the snickers coming from her fellow
team members who'd caught sight of her feet.
    "Gina, your feet are not properly
protected," Rita chastised.
    "I know, Mom."
    "I am not your mother. It is biologically impossible
for me to have created you."
    Red rolled her eyes. "I'm aware of that,"
she said, shaking her head and crumpling the readout in her fist. She dropped
the document in a recycle bin.
    The console to her compunit sat
atop the flat three- by-five metal table
that served as her desk and work space. A cursor blinked, reminding her that
the UID report waited for her to fill it out. Red sat down and tapped a finger on the keys as she considered what to write. Maybe some synth-chocolate would help her
think.
    She opened the drawer, pushing aside her personal
items to see if she'd buried any chocolate near the bottom.
    "Your body is giving off a cravings signal,"
Rita said.
    "It's not a crime to need something sweet."
    "If you’re searching for the chocolate, you've already eaten
it. .. along with thirty-five other bars in the past two weeks."
    "Terrific." Nothing like a diet reminder to
kill a craving, Red thought, taking one last look under her throwing
knives just to be sure.
    Pushing the blades back into place, she spied her
comlink, which allowed anyone in the building to contact her directly
without having to route the call through the old phone systems. Red considered
ignoring t he device, but thought better of it. It was mandatory after all, and
she did follow some orders. She slipped the oval plug into her ear, then
removed the navcom from her wrist.
    "Rita, you need to wait here," she said,
placing it in the drawer.
    "I cannot assist you if you are not wearing
me."   
    Without her, Red felt naked. "You can't assist me
period when you're broken," she said, rubbing her empty wrist.
    "That is a valid point, but—"
    "I'll put in a call for repairs. Be
back in a few." Red slammed her chocolate-free drawer shut, cutting off Rita's rebuttal, and began to type in a repair order.
She didn't need to put in any details, just her name. The tech team would know what it was about the sec ond they
received the request.
    The comlink earpiece clicked on. She heard a deep
intake of breath and knew who it was before her grandfather spoke. "I want
you to come to my office immediately. We
have to talk." His clipped voice left no room for argument.
    Red weighed her options. She could sneak out and I claim
exhaustion. She was truly beat, so it wouldn't be a total lie. She stood,
eyeing the distance to the nearest exit. Maybe if she moved fast enough she'd
make it.
    "Don't bother trying to slip away, Gina. I know
you're at your desk and I know you can hear me." Humor softened his tone.
    The man must be psychic.
    Red rested her hands on the keyboard and closed her
eyes. She wasn't prepared to discuss the case with her grandfather. He would
only agree with Ban-non. And she wasn't ready to hear that right now. She
opened her mouth to respond, but he cut her off.
    "That's an order, young lady."
    She groaned and blew out an exaggerated breath. The officers around her looked up and then
quickly away as Red made eye contact. What did they think? That if they stared at her too long she would turn
them to stone like a raven-haired
Medusa'.' If she had that kind of
power, Bannon would already be the new cen terpiece for the lobby, peeing out recycled water.
    "Right this minute!" the voice in her
earpiece barked.
    She jumped. So much for putting off the