3rd World Products, Book 16 (37 page)

I chuckled, “Woo. Gotta remember this spot.”
 

Tanya rested her chin on my shoulder as she laughed, “Yeah, do that. It feels different, but
good
different.”
 

Her alarm sounded again in the bedroom.
 

She said, “I hit the snooze button. We have to hurry.”
 

Okay. I pumped a bit faster and her legs worked with me. Tanya arched her back and bounced for a while, but I couldn’t tell how she was doing until her hands flailed briefly, then she embraced my head to pull me to her breasts as she came. From the abruptness of it, I’d say it surprised her, too.
 

She rode the waves to a breathless end, then groaned, “I don’t
wanna
go in today. I wanna stay
here
.”
 

After a moment, she sighed, “But I have to.”
 

I started to pull out, but she hugged me close with her legs and said, “But not yet. Why isn’t it going down?”
 

“You came. I didn’t.”
 

Pulling back a bit, she looked in my eyes and said, “I thought you did. It felt… well, it kind of felt like you did.”
 

With a shrug, I said, “Maybe it’s the position.”
 

Resuming our hug, she wiggled her hips slightly, kissed my neck, and said, “That’s okay. I’ll get you next time.”
 

I chuckled, “I’m sure you will, ma’am.”
 

At some point, the alarm in the bedroom had stopped. Now it started again and Tanya sighingly swore. Her legs unwrapped from around me and she kissed me before she sat up straight. I backed out of her and helped her down, though she’d seemed prepared to hop down on her own. With another kiss, she took her coffee to the bathroom.
 

Using paper towels, I cleaned myself and the counter, drank some coffee, and went to get dressed. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I sent probes to check the parking lot, more as something to do than of necessity. Two cars now. Four people. One was Elgin. Poor them. I’d always hated stakeouts.
 

Tanya came out of the bathroom and smiled at me as she headed for the closet with some hangers I’d last seen on the back of the bathroom door. I moved to the other side of the bed and ran my hands over her body as she chose bits of clothing to wear under her real estate blazer.
 

She stopped moving for a time as if to revel in the attention, then turned around. I leaned forward, kissed her belly, and then knelt to give her bush a few licks. Tanya’s legs shook and she groaned softly, but just as I got her juices flowing, she pushed me away.
 

With one hand on her hip and with an index finger up as if admonishing a child, she said, “No! I’ll get into it and I’ll end up being late. I really have to get ready for work now.”
 

With a disappointed sigh, I sneaked a darting last lick and found her slick and ready. Damn!
 

Getting up enough to heave myself onto the bed, I said, “Now you know why I retired. Work kept getting in the way. Wish I could hire you, ma’am. Letting me have a big ol’ lick whenever I wanted would be in your job description.”
 

Pulling up her skirt and fastening it, she laughed, “Then I wish you could hire me, too.” Something seemed to occur to her and she asked, “Wait. Why not? We could set up our own business. What would it be?”
 

“Damned if I know. Give it some thought.”
 

“Well, I’m already in real estate. How about that?”
 

“That would be
your
business, ma’am. No interest here. If I ever sell my house, I’m probably going to move aboard a flitter. Screw utilities, taxes, repairs, and all the rest of it.”
 

She looked thoughtful for a moment, resumed dressing, and confidently said, “We’ll think of something.”
 

Hm. ‘We’ would, huh? Well, wait just a… No. I’m the one who should wait. I hadn’t said no. I’d said, ‘
give it some thought
‘, and that’s exactly what she was doing. Hell, maybe she’d even come up with something. Would having something specific to do every day be that bad?
 

Sigh. Maybe not unendurable, but if I really wanted a daily job, I’d have probably had one by now.
 

Apparently finished, Tanya turned left and right in front of her door mirror and asked, “What do you think?”
 

I spun a finger in the air and she turned. I said, “
You’re
perfect, but that company jacket would make a good highway sign.”
 

She rolled her eyes and said, “Come on,” leading the way to the kitchen. I grabbed my pack, coffee, and hat and followed her. From a drawer near the sink she produced a ring of several keys and pried one through the split ring, then handed it to me.
 

“The front door,” she said, “Do you think you’ll be here when I get home?”
 

“Depends on what Linda and Angie and I turn up about Brian White. Got a passport?”
 

“No. Do you think you’ll have to go over there?”
 

I shrugged. “Depends on what we turn up.”
 

She met my gaze, then said, “Well, call me if you can’t be here, okay?”
 

“Will do. If I’m in Florida, how about lunch?”
 

“Where else would you be?”
 

“Depends on…”
 

Raising a hand to stop me, she finished, “…what we turn up. Yeah, yeah. Okay. Look, I have to go.”
 

She hugged and kissed me firmly, then started out the door. Stopping, she spun around, dashed to her computer desk, and grabbed her briefcase. Kissing me again in passing, she headed outside, pulled her board down, stepped onto it, and took off. I noted she did it in three-inch heels.
 

I drank some coffee, thought a bit, made another coffee, and stepped out the door about half an hour later. Shouldering my pack, I locked Tanya’s door, then called up my board and flitted over to Elgin’s car at a trotting pace.
 

She got out as I approached and stood by the driver’s door. I sent a field to mute all the bugs on her and in her car.
 

“Hi, there,” I said, “We may be in and out today. Try not to let your people get caught inside, okay?”
 

Elgin gave me a chilly gaze and said, “We’ll make an effort. Why did you come over here?”
 

“To let you know I think I’ve found a
legal
way to help Marie.”
 

Canting her head, Elgin said, “Why’d you feel it necessary to tell me that?”
 

“Because the welfare and futures of two women are at stake and I won’t tolerate any attempts to interrupt my efforts. And if Marie or Tanya catch any flak later, I’ll make the kind of trouble that destroys careers all the way to the top. There’s no such thing as a ‘clean’ politician. Never has been.”
 

Giving me an ‘oh, is that so?’ expression, Elgin said, “Half a dozen people just heard you make that threat.”
 

I shook my head. “Nope. Check your bugs. It’s just you and me out here. If you’re
really
one of the good guys, you won’t try to stop me. If you aren’t, you’ll bleed with the others.”
 

Putting a hand to her breast pocket and glancing into her car, Elgin turned back to me with a flat expression and said, “I have to ask again; why’d you feel it necessary to tell me that?”
 

“Because — unless I’m seriously mistaken — you’re not just a good-looking woman climbing a power ladder in a federal agency. You signed up to carry a badge for all the right reasons, but some of the things you’ve had to do weren’t at all what you expected. Like this, for instance; having to try to keep an injured woman from getting the best possible medical help.”
 

Her face turned sour and she said flatly, “The law is what it is until it can be changed. Maybe
you and your ladyfriends should make a stand in court.”
 

“Enough others would enjoy that experience. It doesn’t have to be us. Why not look for willing volunteers? It shouldn’t be too hard to tell which ones would put up a fight. Look into the law protest groups. Pick some noisy standouts.”
 

With a sigh, she parked a hip on her car and said, “I was assigned to this investigation, Ed. We don’t get to pick and choose assignments.”
 

“Okay, but someone’s behind this particular assignment. There’s a reason Marie’s case was chosen. There’s a reason Tanya was surreptitiously led to involve me, which means someone wants me targeted. It would probably be better if you found the sneaky rat first.”
 

She arched an eyebrow. “Another threat?”
 

“A statement of cause and effect
fact
, ma’am. I wasn’t asked to participate. Someone thinks he can simply use people as he sees fit. I don’t like that kind of arrogant shit and I don’t care which side he’s on. If you find him first, he can resign. If I have to root him out, he’ll be tarred, feathered, and fired.”
 

Giving her a little two-finger salute, I launched toward Ocala to find some breakfast. My blueberry muffin I’d bought was gone before Linda pinged me.
 

I answered with a video screen and she said, “Hi, Ed. Brian White got out on bond this morning.”
 

“As expected. Hi, yourself, ma’am. Has he tried to find out who’s looking for him? Maybe he even got a copy of the accident report to refresh his memory?”
 

She chuckled, “Almost immediately upon release and while still in the cop shop, in fact. He told them he’s writing a biography and needs it for reference.”
 

“Linda, can you see us cornering him legally?”
 

Looking pensive, she shook her head. “I really doubt it. We can raise suspicions with questions, but that’s all. Your probe video wouldn’t be acceptable as evidence.”
 

“That wasn’t for a court. That was for anyone who wants to see it. You, Marie, Will and Connie… hell, crop it down, send it to a scandal sheet, and post it on the web.”
 

She nodded. “May I ask what you intend to do?”
 

“Sure.” I called up my replica probes and formed the young me sim on my left. He sat on thin air and waved to Linda, who sat a little straighter and studied him intently.
 

“Looks good,” she said, “What’s he going to do?”
 

“Try to spook White into shooting at him.”
 

“He definitely has another gun?”
 

“Yup.”
 

Switching her gaze to me, she said, “Then good hunting.”
 

“I might need someone to call him. Will would be best for that. He signed for stuff, so the name he used would be on record.”
 

Linda smiled. “I could arrange that. Would you like to coordinate with him first?”
 

I shrugged. “Nah. Just tell him to act like he’s on his way to Germany with a grudge. I’ll holler if I need a call.”
 

With a short laugh, Linda replied, “No problem. He might even do that if your plan doesn’t work. Are you sure you don’t want a word with him first?”
 

“Linda, none of us kept in contact. Even with Marie as a viable excuse for being in my area, neither of them contacted me.”
 

“They were working, Ed. You know you were set up.”
 

“Yup, but let’s say they’d contacted me about Marie and said, ‘Let’s look into it.’ I could have seen Marie’s situation and met Tanya. Mission accomplished. By the way, Tanya’s met Stephanie. I expect they’ll team up in the near future.”
 

She grinned. “Well, there must be a reason, but I think I don’t want to know it until things hit the papers.”
 

“You’re a wise woman, Fearless Leader.”
 

Her phone rang and she told someone where to deliver some plants, then said to me, “Gotta
go. We’re still setting up the greenhouse. Anything else?”
 

“Nope. That’s it so far.”
 

Nodding, she said, “Later, then. And thanks for including me in this, Ed.”
 

I chuckled, “Hey, you were part of the team, too, even though you were technically one of the brass hats. Later.”
 

Dropping the link, I sent a probe to Germany and found Brian White in his room. He had a glass in one hand, a gun in the other, and a copy of the police report lay on his desk. The clock on the desk read almost four. I set the probe in the north corner of the ceiling to watch him.
 

Through my core, I tracked down and destroyed as many copies of the ‘Tanya-Ed’ flitter video as I could find, and there were hundreds. I’d expected thousands.
 

Once there were only half a dozen or so left, I pulled one up and had the core change hair colors, chair styles, and backgrounds in all of them. Searching for well known porn stars, I substituted their faces for ours, then copied the adjusted videos to every site and phone where they’d been found.
 

Feeling I’d done what I could about the video, I pinged Angie. She sent back two slashes. Busy or not in the mood to answer. Oh, well. Try again later.
 

My probe signaled that White had received a phone call. I found him speaking German with someone. He agreed to meet in a park, then hung up. The police report went into an envelope that went into a coat pocket. After putting on a pair of overshoes, his gun went into a paddle holster inside the front of his pants on his right side.