Reborn by Lance Erlick

Author:Lance Erlick
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2018-01-24T20:34:09+00:00

Chapter 17

Satisfied that Machten was okay, Synthia had to deal with her own problems. The man from the bar gave up the chase and ran back toward the two remaining women standing outside the bar. A car drove up and both women climbed inside. That was no life, but if Synthia didn’t discover a better survival strategy, she faced Machten shutting her down or worse. Something tugged at her to return to him and help with whatever Zephirelli wanted. He wouldn’t want her caught, though, since that would create another dilemma.

Synthia picked up her pace to reach the shadows of an alley up ahead. Through the camera in her neck, she spotted another car pull up beside the bar. A man leaned out the window, his face in shadows.

* * * *

In the facility garage, the female police officer asked Machten rapid-fire questions about the three men, about his activities of the evening, and what he was doing in the garage.

“I’ve never met these men before,” Machten said. He looked terrified and angry. He went on to describe going out for coffee, leaving out any mention of Synthia. “I was on my way home.”

“Here?” Zephirelli asked, taking over the questioning. She looked around the garage and frowned.

“I can’t afford much since I got booted out of my own company.”

“That must have made you angry. Would you say you have enemies?”

“No!” Machten said. “I mean, yeah, I was furious. Hank Goradine made it so no one would give me a job or work for me. He ruined me. So I retired to this dump.”

“Have you done anything to make someone so angry they’d come after you?”

Machten hesitated a moment longer than he should have. “I can’t imagine. I live by myself. I don’t get out much.”

“We’ve noticed. Would you mind showing us around inside?” Zephirelli asked.

“Actually, I was going out.”

“You said you were coming home.”

“To get my vehicle.” Machten looked at the burning wreck as firemen attempted to put out the fire. “Any idea who these guys are?”

Zephirelli looked at the female police officer, who shook her head.

* * * *

Synthia felt distracted, her directives tugging at her to help her Creator. He was floundering, making things worse. If she had a car, she could have reestablished communication and picked him up. It would have been a perfect getaway. She spotted a car on the street up ahead and considered how to hack into its electronic system. Without the code, it would take time to hack it.

Synthia ran, weighing the alley escape vs. the car. A vehicle headed her way.

Wondering what Maria and possibly other interns could have done in order to survive the past year off the grid, Synthia returned one network channel to researching them. She focused on the months and years before the disappearances in an attempt to learn more about these women and why they so interested Synthia, particularly Fran.

On the surface, she was an adulteress, breaking up Machten’s marriage. If she’d left him after his divorce because he was no longer an important executive, then Fran was also a gold digger.

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