Until It's You by C.B. Salem Read Free Book Online

figured it out, it wouldn't matter.
    None of it mattered. He was fucked unless he brought Andersen in for the boss to question and he had no idea where to find him. By this time, the boss might have hired someone to kill his ass. If it hadn't happened yet, it would eventually. He had ditched his comm in a recycler already, so the next thing to do was disappear into the city. Picked up a new one, just for practicality. Never knew when he might need it.
    The biggest crocodile—had to be fifteen feet long at least—splashed into the pond and submerged itself after laying on a sunny rock for a long time. Roy smiled. He couldn't read a crocodile's facial expressions, but just from watching he could feel the relief.
    The zoo was his favorite place to come and calm down when he was on edge because they modulated the aero-pharms in the air so wildly he felt like he didn’t even have to take responsibility for his own emotions. Feeling upbeat? Maybe it was the pharms. Feeling too calm? Maybe it was the pharms. The mystery of it lent him some comfort. More responsible than the bar if it was daytime and he still had shit to do. Which he did, if he could figure out what that was.
    Where to now? He had over a hundred grand in cash. Not enough to be out of work for too long, but he could get out of the city and figure out life somewhere else. Maybe head south to a smaller city where the boss was unlikely to have contacts. That was the first option. Hope the boss didn’t hold a grudge for too long. It would be a life on the run but that wasn’t so different really.
    He could try and kill the boss. Not likely, but it solved the problem of someone wanting to kill him pretty quick. Still have to lay low in case of retribution, but after that he should be clear. Sounded like a good way to get burned alive in a warehouse if he got caught, though. Big risk. Had to either kill or be killed. Really rather not get tortured to death.
    The third option was to complete the job. The trail had gone cold, but it wouldn’t necessarily stay that way. The boss had gotten pretty desperate, so any good news might get him back in good graces. More business than ego, in a situation like this.
    He just needed to think about where the hell that geeky bastard would have run to. Probably the same place his sister had run. Off the grid, outside the net society used to keep track of most people. But unless they got out of the city both of them would surface eventually. No way they had cash reserves to last too long. If nothing else, the feds would get to them. Maybe the boss could see to that.
    But he couldn’t exactly follow the feds around until they led him to the Andersens. He could try to find the other brother—Kevin—but his research said that guy was a bad motherfucker. Even if he thought he could tail a special forces guy like that, there was no way he could do it while that special forces guy was meeting up in person with his siblings. No way in hell. Too careful. A man had to know his limits.
    That left the workplace. He’d already called earlier about Tom, and he hadn’t shown up to work. He wouldn't be in the rest of the day. Maybe tomorrow? He could check, just in case. Drop a line in.
    And the investigator? After that chase, no way she was walking back into work anytime soon unless he was dead or in prison along with the boss and plenty of other people.
    He took a deep breath and looked out at the crocodiles lazing around the murky pond. A new, slightly smaller croc had taken up the sunny spot on the rock. It opened its huge jaws wide, the way they did when they were waiting for something to crawl in. Seconds passed.
    Then it closed its mouth lazily, as if it just couldn’t be bothered. Its eyes closed.
    Roy looked around for the aero dispenser, found it atop a pole at the water's edge. He laughed to himself and looked back at the croc. Maybe the pharms had changed. You never could know . . .
    A car. He needed a car to operate either way