When Justice Calls by Jamie McFarlane

Author:Jamie McFarlane [McFarlane, Jamie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fickle Dragon Publishing LLC
Published: 2018-09-12T22:00:00+00:00

14 Peace and Quiet

"What did she want?" Snert asked, once Chessen had left.

"Questions about that SIMM card from Lambert's security system," I said. "Somehow it disappeared in the explosion."

I was having trouble getting the picture of Amalia’s sister out of my head. From the timeline, I knew she was already dead by the time we'd gotten the video, but she had to have been abducted right after I caught her stealing my tires.

"I brought you a get-well gift," he said, reaching into a desert-sand-colored backpack.

"I think you saved my life with that armored t-shirt, buddy. You don't owe me. I owe you," I said. Something important pushed at my subconscious, but I couldn't work through it as we talked.

Snert beamed at the praise. "The shirt manufacturer says they're effective against shrapnel. I guess you proved that."

"Sure enough," I said, leaning back and folding my arms behind me. Telling him about the gunshots would only upset him, so I decided not to mention it. Whatever had been nipping at my subconscious slipped away.

From the pack, he pulled out an electronic tablet and handed it to me. The entire thing was about an inch thick and looked to have an eight-inch screen. The hard case around the outside had an Army camo pattern on it.

"The screen is kind of a pain. It's covered by a tungsten-alloy plate. You have to flip it around," he said.

I rolled my eyes. "I think I can figure it out," I said dryly, flipping the device open. "I got blown up. No brains actually leaked out."

Snert ignored me and continued. "USB ports and cellular service. I hooked it up to my business account for now. I figure you're sort of part of the company, so it's a reasonable expense."

I touched the internet browser and was surprised at how quickly the app fired up. "It's fast," I said, admiringly. "Must have been expensive."

"Speed is all about battery consumption. Since the housing is a little bigger, we could get more battery – so it's fast," he said.

"That's a pretty big get-well gift," I said.

"Well," he said, digging in the backpack to retrieve the mangled remains of the camera and tablet I'd bought only a couple days before. "Apparently, you need a bit more than ruggedized." Snert made air-quotes as he said it.

"I also threw in one of my cameras," he said. "You can borrow it for as long as you need. You know, if you have a receipt from Bucky's, your insurance should cover your tablet and the camera."

"Receipt was in the truck. Besides, I paid cash," I said.

"Yeah. You're screwed. How much was the truck insured for?"

"Not sure," I said. "It was on Pappi's insurance. Mostly, it was his truck. He paid for most of the parts."

"Who was on the title?"

"I was. But that's because he wanted me to feel a sense of ownership. All part of getting me to take charge of my life," I said. I dropped my eyes. "Which I'm doing a bang-up job of."

"I doubt he sees it that way," Snert said.

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