Operation nomad operator.., p.7
Operation Nomad (Operator Chronicles Book 3), page 7
"You may be right, but there's only one way to find out," Ghost said, before flagging down a nearby waitress.
She wore a compliance collar, and Ghost quickly scanned her, but came up empty.
"Yes, sir?" the waitress asked politely.
"Would you send a few beers to those two gentlemen that just walked in? I'll happily start a tab." Ghost pulled a wad of cash from his pocket.
"Right away, sir." Moments later, Top, Raptor and Mama came over to the table. Top slid a tray of beer glasses onto the table, and a small stack of cigars with a pack of matches came into view.
"I deployed a nano cloud," Ghost said straight away, as the operators took their seats. "Our friends that just walked in will have a hard time hearing us."
"Well, did you offer them a drink yet?" Top asked.
"Order is already placed."
"Both of you are morons," Ramus growled. "In my day, I would have just started a bar fight and slipped away in the confusion, leaving them to fend for themselves."
"In your day, you kidnapped people and sold them into slavery. I'm not sure you're the arbiter of good ideas, Dumpy," Mama chimed in.
"Dumpy?" Ramus asked, his face filled with confusion.
"Isn't it true that slaves here are given nicknames? Yours is Dumpy. Because you like to take a dump on all our fun."
"Oh, look," Ghost cut in. "Our friends are getting their drinks. Smile and wave, everybody!"
Ghost kept his eyes glued to the bewildered operatives as the waitress placed a pair of beers in front of them. They both glanced over toward the team with furrowed brows
"Enjoy, dickheads!" Ghost said, as he waved at the two men.
"Evidently, they thought they were being incognito," Mama said as she waved, a smile stretching across her face.
9
"How was it?" Boomer asked, with a shit-eating grin.
Jimmy pulled the chair out and sat down, a look of horror on his face.
"I don't want to talk about it," Jimmy replied, a torrent of emotions flooding through him. He didn't know whether he felt dirty or terrified.
Boomer chuckled. "Well, you'd best wipe the lipstick off your neck, buddy. It's unbecoming of a professional soldier."
Jimmy panicked, grabbed a napkin from underneath his beer, and wiped his neck vigorously. "Shit, man! Did I get it?"
Wraith laughed heartily before catching her breath. "Oh, you poor thing. Let me get that for you."
She took the napkin from Jimmy's hand and dipped it in her glass of water before gently wiping his neck.
"Dude, the look on your face is priceless!" Yeti said, his face flushed from laughing.
Jimmy's head was tilted back while Wraith cleansed him of his sins. "Seriously, I should have gone to the slave market."
"All finished." Wraith leaned back to admire her handiwork. "And now it's my turn to see what this place has to offer."
"Wait, does that mean you're getting a private dance? Can I watch?" Boomer asked.
Wraith rolled her eyes. "I'm going to the ladies’ room, genius. It just so happens to be right next to the dressing room for the dancers."
Wraith walked casually through the maze of tables and chairs until she reached the women's restroom. She reached for the handle and froze as a thought hit her. Glancing at the dressing room door, she initiated a scan.
[IDENT: PRIVATE FIRST CLASS McMILLEN, SAMANTHA
SNA ARMY
IDENT: SPACER THIRD CLASS COVENTRY, JANINE
SNA COAST GUARD
IDENT: 2ND LIEUTENANT BERGEN, SABINE
SNA ARMY]
"Jackpot," she muttered, her mind already strategizing. She transmitted the IDENT codes to Milton, her actions a testament to her quick thinking and resourcefulness.
When an acknowledgment ping from the AI chimed, she stowed her device away.
Moments later, with an empty bladder, she emerged from the stall before washing her hands. Looking in both directions, she didn't see anyone paying attention to her, so she slipped inside the dressing room.
Her eyes were met by curious glances from half a dozen dancers. Wraith took the time to match the IDENTs with the faces of the girls, taking snapshots with her HUD.
"I'm sorry, girls," she said, feigning embarrassment. "Wrong door."
Each of the girls was engrossed in her own reflection, perfecting her appearance. Wraith's eyes darted to the bouncer entering from the back, her heart racing.
"Hey! This place is off-limits to customers." the bouncer growled.
"I apologize, sir," Wraith said as she reached for the door handle. "I'm leaving."
The bouncer stomped over to her, grabbed the edge of the door, and yanked it open, knocking Wraith back.
"Hey, asshole! I was leaving. You just hit me with the door."
"You're lucky I didn't throw you out of it, lady!"
The bouncer grabbed her arm, but her instinct kicked in, and she grabbed his wrist. She wrenched his arm behind his back before shifting to a lower stance to shift the momentum before smashing his face into the wall.
"Let me go, you bitch!" the man growled.
"From the looks of it, you're the bitch, bitch!"
Just then, the door swung open, and another bouncer, one of the big ones, entered the room. Knowing she was defenseless in her current position, she let the bouncer go and stepped back, her hands at the ready.
"Look, I'm not here for trouble. I made a mistake, and this asshat got handsy with me. Just let me go, and I'll leave peacefully," she pleaded. It wasn't a question of whether she could handle the men or not; it was the mission's integrity that was in doubt. Causing a ruckus would surely complicate things.
"I'm going to count to ten, and your ass had better be on the street or I’ll drag you out there by your scalp!" the big bouncer growled.
"Hold on a damned second!" the first bouncer growled, holding his arm in pain. "I'm dragging her ass out of here myself!"
Wraith's mind raced as the smaller bouncer advanced. She swiftly dropped an enemy icon in her HUD, alerting her team to the danger.
Wraith reached up to grab the man's throat, but something hard blocked her grip. Instead of a fist full of throat, she grasped the compliance collar, yanking it downward. The other bouncer was on her in an instant, grabbing her arms with his massive hands. Despite her skills, she couldn't overcome physics and was hefted over the man's shoulder.
She tried wrapping her legs around the man's neck, but his grip was too tight. Instead, she relaxed her body, turning herself into a dead weight. It wasn't enough to shake loose, but it caused the man to stop walking toward the door since he had to readjust his balance.
It bought just enough time for Boomer to bust through the door and deliver a throat chop to the other bouncer, dropping him to the floor as he made a choking sound.
"Release the lady, big guy," Boomer commanded, his voice firm. Wraith felt her body plummet as the bouncer dropped her to the floor, her head hitting the ground. Dazed and disoriented, she barely registered Yeti's entrance.
At a full two meters tall, the massive operator locked arms with the bouncer, pushing him back to the wall before kneeing him in the gut.
"It's time to go," Nomad declared, his voice a reassuring anchor in the chaos. Boomer and Nomad swiftly came to Wraith's aid, their unity a testament to their unwavering camaraderie.
Meanwhile, the dancers were huddled in the back of the room. All but three of them looked scared. All but the SNA captives.
"Ladies," Wraith said, locking eyes with each of the captives. "The SNA hasn't forgotten about you. Just hold on a little longer, and we'll be back for you."
"Wraith," Nomad said. "We have to go."
But her eyes were transfixed on the women before her. At that moment, a tear trickled down one of their faces, and a smile cracked on another's.
"Now!" Nomad insisted, holding the door open.
Wraith finally obliged. She turned about and rushed out of the room to find her teammates bowling over the bouncer at the front entrance. Amid the chaos of the moment, she had the clarity of mind to release a swarm of hacker bots, depleting the remainder of her module's raw materials in the process. With any luck, she hoped, the bots would target the club's camera array, corrupting any footage collected on the team in the process.
Jimmy watched Wraith go by before slamming the dressing room door shut and turning to follow. His nerves were piqued, and the adrenaline flowed as he ran to the front exit. Yeti towered over the fallen bouncer, pointing at the man's terrified face.
"Stay down, jackass!" the big operator warned.
Jimmy came up behind Yeti, tapped him on the shoulder, and beckoned for him to move.
"It's time to go, Daryl," Jimmy said, using a name he made up on the spot. In the chaos, he'd forgotten the big man's cover name, so he picked one out of the ether.
"It's Michael, actually," Yeti corrected him before turning to follow the others out into the street.
Jimmy knew the AI was right. Fleeing into the bustling midday crowd was chief among his priorities. He slowed his pace once he inserted himself into the crowd, matching the speed of the foot traffic around him. Scanning the area, he detected the IDENTs of his teammates and locked them into his HUD for easier tracking.
Yeti was easy to spot, as he was taller than most, but Wraith and Boomer blended into the crowd more completely.
Seconds later, Milton dropped a waypoint up ahead. Jimmy's view was obscured by the backs of people's heads, and he could only see the waypoint and an estimated distance in meters as it was overlaid onto his natural vision. Wherever the waypoint was, it was seventy meters up ahead.
Jimmy's paranoia set in. He felt as if his eyes were burning in the back of his head, but he dared not turn around. Instead, he stuck his hand in his pocket, thumbed his mini-module, and deployed surveillance bots into the air.
Billions of eyes filled the space around him, collecting thermal and infrared data and feeding it directly to his HUD. Two individuals stood out behind him. Amidst the heat plume of the crowd behind him, two heat signatures were pushing their way through the crowd behind him.
It was sage advice, Jimmy reckoned, and was grateful for the AI's insight. Side-stepping while ducking his head below the crowd, Jimmy kneeled down and pretended to tie his shoelaces. The ploy worked, and the two heat signatures passed him by.
But they weren't bouncers.
Each individual wore a black suit, and he caught a glimpse of a comms device in one of their ears. Jimmy stood once more and followed them closely, keeping pace with them as best he could. The crowd was thick like mud, and Jimmy did all he could to weave his way through the ocean of bodies before him, keeping a keen eye on the two men.
< You're an operator. Do operator stuff.>
It wasn't the answer he was hoping for, but it was enough to get him thinking. With that, he hatched a plan in his mind. He decided using the crowd to his advantage would be ideal and pushed his way behind one of the men.
Jimmy was close enough to the black-suited man that he could smell the cheap cologne wafting off his body. Then, without hesitation, Jimmy proceeded to kick the back of the man’s leg, causing it to buckle, before slipping away.
The man called out in pain as he fell. A woman ran into him from behind, and they fell to the ground in a heap. Jimmy watched as the other pursuer turned about to try and help, but was caught up in the momentum of the crowd and was swept away into the mass of bodies.
Milton said.
Jimmy kept pace with the crowd, leaving the tails behind to fend for themselves. Eventually, Jimmy reached an intersection where a horde of pedestrians were waiting to cross the busy street.
Scanning once more, Jimmy found the team had made it to the waypoint just ahead. He checked his HUD, but the short-lived nano cloud had dissipated. Unlike the full-sized module, the compact nano module could not recall the nanobots for recycling, so he was left without surveillance tools to keep an eye on his surroundings.
His pulse raced as he anxiously waited for the crossing sign to flash green. Glancing behind him, Jimmy saw nothing but impatient faces waiting to cross the street. He tucked his chin to his chest and flexed his knees to appear a few inches shorter than his full height, in the hopes it would confuse anyone looking for him.
The crossing light flashed green, and the herd of bodies surged forward. Jimmy went along with the crowd, crossing the street with a brisk stride. Jimmy checked the waypoint on his HUD. He was within ten meters of the waypoint Milton had selected, and the tension built. He stretched out his stride as he approached the others.
Then he saw Yeti's head jutting up above the crowd. A sense of relief washed over him as he got a visual image of the waypoint.
A lingerie shop.
Jimmy didn't like the idea for reasons he couldn't quantify. His gut told him it was a stupid idea, but Milton's logic seemed sound enough.
"There you are," Boomer said, as Jimmy approached the others.
"Did you guys know we were being followed?" Jimmy asked.
"Milton pinged us," Wraith answered.
"Hey, if you wanna get on Raptor's good side, this lingerie shop is having a going out of business sale," Yeti said, with a sly smirk on his face.
Wraith rolled her eyes. "You obviously don't understand what women want, big guy."
"Well, either way, we need to get off the street. I slowed them down, but they'll reacquire us any second," Jimmy said.
"Are you serious about going inside a lingerie store?" Wraith asked accusingly. "I'm not in the market for racy undergarments at the moment."
"Milton says it has a connection to the club, and we're out of time to argue," Jimmy insisted.
Boomer smirked as he reached for the door handle. He opened the door and locked eyes with Wraith. "Ladies first."
"You're such a gentleman," Wraith said sarcastically, as she entered the store. The rest of them filed in behind her.
10
"Mrs. Dimitry, can I trouble you for an injection of your cocktail?" Ghost asked Raptor, using her cover name. He felt the beer buzz hit him hard, and despite enjoying himself, he knew he needed to sharpen his compromised mind.
"Hold still," Raptor said, as she pulled her medical-grade nano module from her purse. "Give me your arm."
Ghost rolled up his sleeve and laid his arm across the table as Raptor planted the hilt of the device on his shoulder. There was a tiny pinch that barely registered in his inebriated brain. But within seconds, his mind began to clear. Astonishingly, his beer buzz lingered, but his mind sharpened, and he felt a sudden boost to his equilibrium.
"Wow, what kind of cocktail did you give me? I feel all the fun parts of being drunk without the drawbacks."
Raptor grinned at him as she injected herself for good measure. "It's my secret, proprietary blend of meds. Ideal for boosting brain function while a trickle of nanobots helps increase oxygen absorption in your lungs to offset the mind-dulling effects of the alcohol."
"Well, shit. Stick me too," Top said, rolling up his sleeve. "Will it prevent a hangover?"
"It will. At least, mostly. You'll still feel dehydrated, but an old-school IV will fix you right up," she replied as she injected the senior NCO.
"Well, while you've got that thing out, you might as well stick me too. If I get any drunker, I'm liable to start enjoying myself," Ramus grumbled.
"Says the man making love to his cigar," Raptor said with a smile. She walked around the table to reach the former commando.
Ghost diverted his attention toward the front of the tavern, where their tails were seated. Each operator had taken turns sending beer over to them, and over time, the tails loosened up. At one point, their tails sent a round of whiskey shots back over to them for good measure. The men sat there talking between themselves. It was a good sign the booze was dulling their senses, just as intended.
"Well, folks. It looks like the auction will start its viewing any minute now. We'd best get moving," Top said.
"And what about our two companions over there?" Ghost asked intently.
"Oh, that's where I come in," Raptor said, with a sly wink.
"We've got your back, Raptor. Call the ball," Mama added.
Raptor stood, running her hands down her skin-tight black dress as if it had enough slack for wrinkles before walking toward the two men. Ghost averted his eyes out of respect as the operator walked with a sultry gait, her hips swinging with each deliberate stride.
Ghost watched from afar, unable to make out the words being exchanged. The tipsy men seemed more than pleased to have a fit young lady in a tight dress at their table, and their glazed eyes scanned her up and down as if she were a piece of meat. Raptor tucked her short hair behind her ear with one hand and pulled her nano module from her purse with the other.
The men had no time to react. Raptor stuck each one with the module, and in seconds, they were passed out with their heads resting on the table.
She wore a compliance collar, and Ghost quickly scanned her, but came up empty.
"Yes, sir?" the waitress asked politely.
"Would you send a few beers to those two gentlemen that just walked in? I'll happily start a tab." Ghost pulled a wad of cash from his pocket.
"Right away, sir." Moments later, Top, Raptor and Mama came over to the table. Top slid a tray of beer glasses onto the table, and a small stack of cigars with a pack of matches came into view.
"I deployed a nano cloud," Ghost said straight away, as the operators took their seats. "Our friends that just walked in will have a hard time hearing us."
"Well, did you offer them a drink yet?" Top asked.
"Order is already placed."
"Both of you are morons," Ramus growled. "In my day, I would have just started a bar fight and slipped away in the confusion, leaving them to fend for themselves."
"In your day, you kidnapped people and sold them into slavery. I'm not sure you're the arbiter of good ideas, Dumpy," Mama chimed in.
"Dumpy?" Ramus asked, his face filled with confusion.
"Isn't it true that slaves here are given nicknames? Yours is Dumpy. Because you like to take a dump on all our fun."
"Oh, look," Ghost cut in. "Our friends are getting their drinks. Smile and wave, everybody!"
Ghost kept his eyes glued to the bewildered operatives as the waitress placed a pair of beers in front of them. They both glanced over toward the team with furrowed brows
"Enjoy, dickheads!" Ghost said, as he waved at the two men.
"Evidently, they thought they were being incognito," Mama said as she waved, a smile stretching across her face.
9
"How was it?" Boomer asked, with a shit-eating grin.
Jimmy pulled the chair out and sat down, a look of horror on his face.
"I don't want to talk about it," Jimmy replied, a torrent of emotions flooding through him. He didn't know whether he felt dirty or terrified.
Boomer chuckled. "Well, you'd best wipe the lipstick off your neck, buddy. It's unbecoming of a professional soldier."
Jimmy panicked, grabbed a napkin from underneath his beer, and wiped his neck vigorously. "Shit, man! Did I get it?"
Wraith laughed heartily before catching her breath. "Oh, you poor thing. Let me get that for you."
She took the napkin from Jimmy's hand and dipped it in her glass of water before gently wiping his neck.
"Dude, the look on your face is priceless!" Yeti said, his face flushed from laughing.
Jimmy's head was tilted back while Wraith cleansed him of his sins. "Seriously, I should have gone to the slave market."
"All finished." Wraith leaned back to admire her handiwork. "And now it's my turn to see what this place has to offer."
"Wait, does that mean you're getting a private dance? Can I watch?" Boomer asked.
Wraith rolled her eyes. "I'm going to the ladies’ room, genius. It just so happens to be right next to the dressing room for the dancers."
Wraith walked casually through the maze of tables and chairs until she reached the women's restroom. She reached for the handle and froze as a thought hit her. Glancing at the dressing room door, she initiated a scan.
[IDENT: PRIVATE FIRST CLASS McMILLEN, SAMANTHA
SNA ARMY
IDENT: SPACER THIRD CLASS COVENTRY, JANINE
SNA COAST GUARD
IDENT: 2ND LIEUTENANT BERGEN, SABINE
SNA ARMY]
"Jackpot," she muttered, her mind already strategizing. She transmitted the IDENT codes to Milton, her actions a testament to her quick thinking and resourcefulness.
When an acknowledgment ping from the AI chimed, she stowed her device away.
Moments later, with an empty bladder, she emerged from the stall before washing her hands. Looking in both directions, she didn't see anyone paying attention to her, so she slipped inside the dressing room.
Her eyes were met by curious glances from half a dozen dancers. Wraith took the time to match the IDENTs with the faces of the girls, taking snapshots with her HUD.
"I'm sorry, girls," she said, feigning embarrassment. "Wrong door."
Each of the girls was engrossed in her own reflection, perfecting her appearance. Wraith's eyes darted to the bouncer entering from the back, her heart racing.
"Hey! This place is off-limits to customers." the bouncer growled.
"I apologize, sir," Wraith said as she reached for the door handle. "I'm leaving."
The bouncer stomped over to her, grabbed the edge of the door, and yanked it open, knocking Wraith back.
"Hey, asshole! I was leaving. You just hit me with the door."
"You're lucky I didn't throw you out of it, lady!"
The bouncer grabbed her arm, but her instinct kicked in, and she grabbed his wrist. She wrenched his arm behind his back before shifting to a lower stance to shift the momentum before smashing his face into the wall.
"Let me go, you bitch!" the man growled.
"From the looks of it, you're the bitch, bitch!"
Just then, the door swung open, and another bouncer, one of the big ones, entered the room. Knowing she was defenseless in her current position, she let the bouncer go and stepped back, her hands at the ready.
"Look, I'm not here for trouble. I made a mistake, and this asshat got handsy with me. Just let me go, and I'll leave peacefully," she pleaded. It wasn't a question of whether she could handle the men or not; it was the mission's integrity that was in doubt. Causing a ruckus would surely complicate things.
"I'm going to count to ten, and your ass had better be on the street or I’ll drag you out there by your scalp!" the big bouncer growled.
"Hold on a damned second!" the first bouncer growled, holding his arm in pain. "I'm dragging her ass out of here myself!"
Wraith's mind raced as the smaller bouncer advanced. She swiftly dropped an enemy icon in her HUD, alerting her team to the danger.
Wraith reached up to grab the man's throat, but something hard blocked her grip. Instead of a fist full of throat, she grasped the compliance collar, yanking it downward. The other bouncer was on her in an instant, grabbing her arms with his massive hands. Despite her skills, she couldn't overcome physics and was hefted over the man's shoulder.
She tried wrapping her legs around the man's neck, but his grip was too tight. Instead, she relaxed her body, turning herself into a dead weight. It wasn't enough to shake loose, but it caused the man to stop walking toward the door since he had to readjust his balance.
It bought just enough time for Boomer to bust through the door and deliver a throat chop to the other bouncer, dropping him to the floor as he made a choking sound.
"Release the lady, big guy," Boomer commanded, his voice firm. Wraith felt her body plummet as the bouncer dropped her to the floor, her head hitting the ground. Dazed and disoriented, she barely registered Yeti's entrance.
At a full two meters tall, the massive operator locked arms with the bouncer, pushing him back to the wall before kneeing him in the gut.
"It's time to go," Nomad declared, his voice a reassuring anchor in the chaos. Boomer and Nomad swiftly came to Wraith's aid, their unity a testament to their unwavering camaraderie.
Meanwhile, the dancers were huddled in the back of the room. All but three of them looked scared. All but the SNA captives.
"Ladies," Wraith said, locking eyes with each of the captives. "The SNA hasn't forgotten about you. Just hold on a little longer, and we'll be back for you."
"Wraith," Nomad said. "We have to go."
But her eyes were transfixed on the women before her. At that moment, a tear trickled down one of their faces, and a smile cracked on another's.
"Now!" Nomad insisted, holding the door open.
Wraith finally obliged. She turned about and rushed out of the room to find her teammates bowling over the bouncer at the front entrance. Amid the chaos of the moment, she had the clarity of mind to release a swarm of hacker bots, depleting the remainder of her module's raw materials in the process. With any luck, she hoped, the bots would target the club's camera array, corrupting any footage collected on the team in the process.
Jimmy watched Wraith go by before slamming the dressing room door shut and turning to follow. His nerves were piqued, and the adrenaline flowed as he ran to the front exit. Yeti towered over the fallen bouncer, pointing at the man's terrified face.
"Stay down, jackass!" the big operator warned.
Jimmy came up behind Yeti, tapped him on the shoulder, and beckoned for him to move.
"It's time to go, Daryl," Jimmy said, using a name he made up on the spot. In the chaos, he'd forgotten the big man's cover name, so he picked one out of the ether.
"It's Michael, actually," Yeti corrected him before turning to follow the others out into the street.
Jimmy knew the AI was right. Fleeing into the bustling midday crowd was chief among his priorities. He slowed his pace once he inserted himself into the crowd, matching the speed of the foot traffic around him. Scanning the area, he detected the IDENTs of his teammates and locked them into his HUD for easier tracking.
Yeti was easy to spot, as he was taller than most, but Wraith and Boomer blended into the crowd more completely.
Seconds later, Milton dropped a waypoint up ahead. Jimmy's view was obscured by the backs of people's heads, and he could only see the waypoint and an estimated distance in meters as it was overlaid onto his natural vision. Wherever the waypoint was, it was seventy meters up ahead.
Jimmy's paranoia set in. He felt as if his eyes were burning in the back of his head, but he dared not turn around. Instead, he stuck his hand in his pocket, thumbed his mini-module, and deployed surveillance bots into the air.
Billions of eyes filled the space around him, collecting thermal and infrared data and feeding it directly to his HUD. Two individuals stood out behind him. Amidst the heat plume of the crowd behind him, two heat signatures were pushing their way through the crowd behind him.
It was sage advice, Jimmy reckoned, and was grateful for the AI's insight. Side-stepping while ducking his head below the crowd, Jimmy kneeled down and pretended to tie his shoelaces. The ploy worked, and the two heat signatures passed him by.
But they weren't bouncers.
Each individual wore a black suit, and he caught a glimpse of a comms device in one of their ears. Jimmy stood once more and followed them closely, keeping pace with them as best he could. The crowd was thick like mud, and Jimmy did all he could to weave his way through the ocean of bodies before him, keeping a keen eye on the two men.
< You're an operator. Do operator stuff.>
It wasn't the answer he was hoping for, but it was enough to get him thinking. With that, he hatched a plan in his mind. He decided using the crowd to his advantage would be ideal and pushed his way behind one of the men.
Jimmy was close enough to the black-suited man that he could smell the cheap cologne wafting off his body. Then, without hesitation, Jimmy proceeded to kick the back of the man’s leg, causing it to buckle, before slipping away.
The man called out in pain as he fell. A woman ran into him from behind, and they fell to the ground in a heap. Jimmy watched as the other pursuer turned about to try and help, but was caught up in the momentum of the crowd and was swept away into the mass of bodies.
Milton said.
Jimmy kept pace with the crowd, leaving the tails behind to fend for themselves. Eventually, Jimmy reached an intersection where a horde of pedestrians were waiting to cross the busy street.
Scanning once more, Jimmy found the team had made it to the waypoint just ahead. He checked his HUD, but the short-lived nano cloud had dissipated. Unlike the full-sized module, the compact nano module could not recall the nanobots for recycling, so he was left without surveillance tools to keep an eye on his surroundings.
His pulse raced as he anxiously waited for the crossing sign to flash green. Glancing behind him, Jimmy saw nothing but impatient faces waiting to cross the street. He tucked his chin to his chest and flexed his knees to appear a few inches shorter than his full height, in the hopes it would confuse anyone looking for him.
The crossing light flashed green, and the herd of bodies surged forward. Jimmy went along with the crowd, crossing the street with a brisk stride. Jimmy checked the waypoint on his HUD. He was within ten meters of the waypoint Milton had selected, and the tension built. He stretched out his stride as he approached the others.
Then he saw Yeti's head jutting up above the crowd. A sense of relief washed over him as he got a visual image of the waypoint.
A lingerie shop.
Jimmy didn't like the idea for reasons he couldn't quantify. His gut told him it was a stupid idea, but Milton's logic seemed sound enough.
"There you are," Boomer said, as Jimmy approached the others.
"Did you guys know we were being followed?" Jimmy asked.
"Milton pinged us," Wraith answered.
"Hey, if you wanna get on Raptor's good side, this lingerie shop is having a going out of business sale," Yeti said, with a sly smirk on his face.
Wraith rolled her eyes. "You obviously don't understand what women want, big guy."
"Well, either way, we need to get off the street. I slowed them down, but they'll reacquire us any second," Jimmy said.
"Are you serious about going inside a lingerie store?" Wraith asked accusingly. "I'm not in the market for racy undergarments at the moment."
"Milton says it has a connection to the club, and we're out of time to argue," Jimmy insisted.
Boomer smirked as he reached for the door handle. He opened the door and locked eyes with Wraith. "Ladies first."
"You're such a gentleman," Wraith said sarcastically, as she entered the store. The rest of them filed in behind her.
10
"Mrs. Dimitry, can I trouble you for an injection of your cocktail?" Ghost asked Raptor, using her cover name. He felt the beer buzz hit him hard, and despite enjoying himself, he knew he needed to sharpen his compromised mind.
"Hold still," Raptor said, as she pulled her medical-grade nano module from her purse. "Give me your arm."
Ghost rolled up his sleeve and laid his arm across the table as Raptor planted the hilt of the device on his shoulder. There was a tiny pinch that barely registered in his inebriated brain. But within seconds, his mind began to clear. Astonishingly, his beer buzz lingered, but his mind sharpened, and he felt a sudden boost to his equilibrium.
"Wow, what kind of cocktail did you give me? I feel all the fun parts of being drunk without the drawbacks."
Raptor grinned at him as she injected herself for good measure. "It's my secret, proprietary blend of meds. Ideal for boosting brain function while a trickle of nanobots helps increase oxygen absorption in your lungs to offset the mind-dulling effects of the alcohol."
"Well, shit. Stick me too," Top said, rolling up his sleeve. "Will it prevent a hangover?"
"It will. At least, mostly. You'll still feel dehydrated, but an old-school IV will fix you right up," she replied as she injected the senior NCO.
"Well, while you've got that thing out, you might as well stick me too. If I get any drunker, I'm liable to start enjoying myself," Ramus grumbled.
"Says the man making love to his cigar," Raptor said with a smile. She walked around the table to reach the former commando.
Ghost diverted his attention toward the front of the tavern, where their tails were seated. Each operator had taken turns sending beer over to them, and over time, the tails loosened up. At one point, their tails sent a round of whiskey shots back over to them for good measure. The men sat there talking between themselves. It was a good sign the booze was dulling their senses, just as intended.
"Well, folks. It looks like the auction will start its viewing any minute now. We'd best get moving," Top said.
"And what about our two companions over there?" Ghost asked intently.
"Oh, that's where I come in," Raptor said, with a sly wink.
"We've got your back, Raptor. Call the ball," Mama added.
Raptor stood, running her hands down her skin-tight black dress as if it had enough slack for wrinkles before walking toward the two men. Ghost averted his eyes out of respect as the operator walked with a sultry gait, her hips swinging with each deliberate stride.
Ghost watched from afar, unable to make out the words being exchanged. The tipsy men seemed more than pleased to have a fit young lady in a tight dress at their table, and their glazed eyes scanned her up and down as if she were a piece of meat. Raptor tucked her short hair behind her ear with one hand and pulled her nano module from her purse with the other.
The men had no time to react. Raptor stuck each one with the module, and in seconds, they were passed out with their heads resting on the table.
