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The motorbike sped down the open city road. It was fairly quiet, not much traffic around. That made it easier to keep an eye on her surroundings, to see if she was being tailed, but it also made it harder for her to blend in if things got difficult and she had to make a run for it.
"And the rain makes it no easier," Kathryn spoke aloud to herself. Earlier that day it had started the downpour, as if the sky was a bowl of water that had cracked above the city, releasing its contents.
"There's no time for complaints, Agent Phoenix." The voice of Rockington coming from her direct internal link back to the Institute was clear. "Our contact said the meeting could only be arranged tonight; you have to be there on time."
Another voice cut in on the link, an older, wiser voice. "How is the new model doing, Agent?"
Kathryn grinned, patting the handlebar of the motorbike. "Like a dream, Professor. You've got this thing purring." She loved this part of the job. Sure, being inserted by the hoverskimmer was fair enough, but nothing really compared with the thrill of roaring down the empty streets.
"She should be, Agent Phoenix," the voice cut into her wandering thought, "we've been working on her for the best part of a month. It took two weeks just to rebuild most of the electronics after your incident with Transcend Corpor-"
"That's enough reminiscing for now," Rockington interrupted. "You're nearing the location, Agent Phoenix. Keep your eyes open. As far as we can tell, Dalyn-Steward wants this man, and we have no idea if they know his location. The situation could be hostile."
"Understood. Phoenix out." Kathryn cut the link back to the Institute and brought her bike to a stop outside a 24-hour store. She set the electronic security on the bike and headed inside. Normally, leaving a vehicle alone in this area of town would be a mistake, but if anyone tried to get the better of that security, well, they'd be in for a shock.
Kathryn headed straight to the magazines section of the store and started to browse. It amused her to think that being an agent for the Babylon Institute could entail this kind of work. She flicked through to the corporate pages of the local newspaper. There was nothing in there about Dalyn-Steward, but another headline caught her attention.
'Transcend Corporation continues restructuring after Cairo research institute destroyed by terrorists!' So that's how they were explaining it. A wry smile slipped across Kathryn's face. Transcend had been fairly small-fry, at least compared to the corporation that she was currently involved with, but that had not stopped them employing some nasty defences. Too bad that you could fool a micro-IR targeting scanner with a Thermyl-lined suit. It was Babylon's contacts that had alerted them to that defence flaw before the mission, same as it was them who had managed to set up this meeting now. Maybe one day she'd meet some of these people face to face, because she would have really liked to thank them for the number of times they'd saved her a lot of trouble.
"So, that's three Prepaks, one pack of Mialim, and a copy of Corps Monthly. That'll be twenty-three seventy."
Kathryn's attention was roused by the voice. Not by the person it belonged to, but more by the message itself. Twenty-three seventy, that was the signal.
The customer at the till was fairly lean and not particularly well built. She watched as he packed his things into a bag, his face showing a thin cover of calm that completely failed to hide the nervous tension he was feeling. His eyes darted around the store one final time, then he took his bag and left the store. Kathryn watched him cross the street and enter an alleyway, not too far from her motorbike, which was still in one piece, Kathryn noted with a smile.
Slowly, Kathryn put her magazine down and headed for the door, smiling at the attendant on the way out. She crossed the road and headed for the entrance to the alleyway. One quick look behind her and she slipped inside, drawing her Multipoint from its hiding place inside her leather jacket.
The alleyway was pretty much how she expected it to be - cold, dirty, dank and very wet. Garbage disposal units were fixed to the wall at regular intervals, outside each of the individual buildings that were unfortunate enough to open out onto the alley. Most of them were either out of order or well on their way.
There was also a large number of cardboard boxes lining the passage. It was between two of these that Kathryn noticed a flash of movement. Slowly, her senses searching for any sign of danger, she approached the boxes from which the shadow had moved.
She stopped next to the offending figure, who was crouched back in the darkness. Without even looking at him, Kathryn checked up and down the alleyway, in case anyone was watching.
Satisfied that, for the time being at least, there was no danger, Kathryn let her Multipoint drop to her side. "You can come out now, Butterstone."
The figure shifted uneasily, refusing to move from its shadow. "Who - who are you?"
Kathryn looked down. "Agent Phoenix, Babylon Institute."
Butterstone relaxed slightly and moved forward from his hiding place. "Thank goodness!" He was a small man, as Kathryn had noticed in the store. He wore fairly unassuming clothes, sturdy trousers, now water soaked and a little dirty, old leather boots and what looked like a synthetic fibre sweater that looked completely out of place on him. This was a man who was very obviously trying to hide from someone. Kathryn was impressed that he had managed to get this far.
"Prepak?" Butterstone offered her one of the items he had purchased in the store, grinning. "Can't stand the things myself. Promised I'd never buy one of the blasted things. Kind of ironic really, I suppose."
Kathryn smiled back. "Maybe later." She looked around, a look of caution flitting across her features. "This area isn't secured. We should leave."
"Of course, my dear. After you."
Kathryn nodded and began to lead the way out of the alley, her Multipoint again raised into the night, watching for any sign of hostility. Before she could make it to the end of the alley, there was an electric blue flash from just around the corner, followed by an ear-piercing scream that was cut short. Butterstone froze.
"What was that?" He whispered.
"Don't panic, just a motorbike thief who won't be troubling anyone for a while. Probably have a headache for a while as well." Kathryn peered around the corner. Sure enough, by her motorbike was a slumped body, unconscious but breathing steadily. From the clothes and colours he was wearing, he probably belonged to some local gang.
"Come on," Kathryn pulled at Butterstone's arm, but he refused to move. He pressed a notepad into her hand.
"Take this," he said, a look of urgency on his face.
"But you've got to come back to the Institute," Kathryn protested.
"Not this time, my dear." Butterstone smiled. "All I know about Dalyn-Steward is in there. Some stuff I'm not supposed to know, but everyone needs a plan B, right?"
Kathryn opened her mouth to protest, but Butterstone raised his hand and stopped her. "I can keep out of trouble for a while longer; Dalyn-Steward aren't as omnipotent as they like to think. Remember that. Don't worry, I'll let you know when I'm ready to be escorted in."
Without another word, Butterstone turned and left, leaving Kathryn alone by her motorbike, holding the notebook in the pouring rain. With a resigned shrug, she got on her motorbike, revved the engine and opened her connection to the Babylon Institute.
"This is Agent Phoenix, reporting in. Butterstone has supplied us with the information but has refused to accept protection from the Institute."
"Agent Phoenix, this is Babylon. Return to base."
"Confirmed." Kathryn moved to start riding back to the Institute Headquarters, but as she did, she saw a flash of colour disappear around the corner that Butterstone had taken. A single, sharp gunshot pierced the engine noise of the motorbike.
"Babylon, Butterstone is under attack from assailants unknown. Permission to pursue?" Kathryn's voice was rapid, she didn't enjoy the thought of the man being mown down by Dalyn-Steward operatives.
"Negative, Agent. If the area has become hostile, we need to get you out now. Rendezvous in area seven in twelve minutes for extraction to HQ."
"But -!"
"I said no, Kathryn." Rockington's voice calmly interrupted her interruption. "We can't risk that information, and Butterstone can look after himself. If he needs protection, I'm sure we'll hear from him."
"Roger that," Kathryn replied quietly. She cut the connection and started the motorbike rolling. She deliberately took a route that took her around the corner she had seen Butterstone take. There was nothing there and Kathryn felt something inside her tighten. She revved the engine once more and disappeared into the night.
Chris Smith, 25/01/01
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