The Most Dangerous Dame

“Yeah, maybe.” Flask shrugged. “Or maybe they shoot blanks. We’re still no closer than we were this morning other than nearly getting Angela killed. Next time we won’t be so lucky. Your girl Natalie still has us by the balls, Mick.”

“Not for long. I need you to check something out for me.”

“Case related?”

“Might be the most important piece.”

Flask brightened at the thought. “Hit me.”

“There’s a body at an address I’m giving to you. You’ll know him right away ‘cause someone wired cameras to his eyeballs.” I shook my head at his expression. “Long story. Bottom line is I need you to ID it. Get forensics on it if you need to. Then I’ll need the full report: known associates, family, etc.”

He glanced at his holoband as the info synched. “Got it. I’ll get back with you soon as something comes up.”

“All right. Get outta here, Flask. Do some cop stuff. I’ll be in touch.”

“You going to tell me what your plan is?”

“Can’t. Not until I figure out how Natalie is tied into surveillance. She could be listening to us right now.”

He nodded. “All right then. Make sure to get back with me.”

“Whatever you say, Chief.”

He stood. “By the way, I received a rather angry call from Bugsy’s. Casino manager wanted to know why the hell one of my detectives was roughing up his patrons.”

I gave him my most roughish grin. “Cost of doing business. You know how it is.”

“Yeah, well give me a warning next time. And after this is over you’re turning in that badge. I knew giving you one was going to bite me in the ass.”

“Whatever you say, Chief. You sure Angel is safe?”

His face sobered. “As safe as I can get her. Stay frosty, Mick. See you soon.”

Benny worked his way over, beefy face scrunched as he stared suspiciously at the departing detective. “What’d the gumshoe want?”

“Same thing we all want, Benny. For us to bring this to end.”

“Yeah, well that puts us on the same page for once. The question is: how?”

I picked my Bogart off the table and placed it on my head, tilting it just the way I liked it. Then I paid the bill via a swipe of the receipt across my holoband, including a tip for the scrawny blonde. “By getting some dirt on our hands. Let’s breeze, Ace.”

“I saw Natasha take off. You putting her somewhere for safekeeping?”

“Nope. She’s on her own now, Benny.”

“You letting her go off on her own? Maybe it’s none of my business, but I don’t think that’s a good idea, Mick.”

“I didn’t let her go, Benny. She let go of me. And that might’ve been the best thing she could have done. For her, and for me.”

“Yeah? I thought you two had a thing.”

“We have a thing. Something fragile and precious enough to know you gotta set it down before you break it. That’s why she had to leave, Benny. And that leaves me free to do what I gotta do.”

“And what’s that?”

My jaw clenched. “End this.”

Chapter 16: The Screws Tighten

“Maxine, dial up Ms. Sinn.”

Dialing.

Sinn’s almond-shaded features appeared on the heads-up display. “Hello, Mick. You must need me to find Natalie for you.”

“You made the offer, Ms. Sinn. I thought I’d take you up on it.”

“I took the liberty of starting the preliminaries. It turned out a bit more difficult than I expected.”

“Waitaminute — you already started the search?”

Her smile was coy as she gazed from the display with beckoning eyes. “I calculated a 92.37 percent chance of you making this call. When you did, I wanted to have the ball rolling.”

“But you ran into a problem?”

“Yes. It appears one of Natalie’s crew is a bioroid, as you like to call us.”

“Like you, with all the cybernetics in your head?”

“There’s no one like me, Mick. But in answer to your question — he has similar abilities. He appears to be sporting Gen 6 tech. Very impressive. Seems as though the Service is pulling out all the stops for you.”

“Yeah, lucky me. What does it all mean, Sinn?”

“It means he has instant access to the entire network of surveillance in New Haven. Every orbot, every camera installed on the streets, buildings, and even unprotected holobands. Your movements would be effortlessly tracked were it not for the cloning signal I synched to you earlier. Our friend is working hard at overriding that even as we speak.”

“Fantastic. You’re able to do something about this, right?”

“If you acknowledge that we have a working relationship, then yes. It’s entirely up to you.” Her gaze was almost sensual as she waited for my response.

I hesitated. Sinn might have been great on the eyes, but I knew she was up to something. There was some angle she was trying to get at, or she never would have bothered to offer her services. She wanted something in return, something I couldn’t figure out at the moment. But that made her no different than anyone else in New Haven.

“All right, say we’re in the back scratching business. What can you do to even out the odds?”

Her eyes became unfocused. Though she still looked at me through the video display, I knew she saw something else. Endless streams of data and coding only her enhanced mind could decipher.