The Chimera Vector - Fifth Column 01 by Nathan M. Farrugia

Author:Nathan M. Farrugia [Farrugia, Nathan M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Action & Adventure, Science Fiction, General, Hard Science Fiction, Fiction
ISBN: 9781743340394
Google: 5XhjngEACAAJ
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia Pty, Limited
Published: 2012-05-15T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Damien knocked on Jay’s door. Jay opened it, toothbrush shoved in his mouth and toothpaste oozing down his chin.

‘Hey,’ he said, inadvertently spitting toothpaste onto Damien’s T-shirt.

He turned away, leaving Damien to invite himself in. Which he did, six-pack of Coronas in one hand, limes in the other. Toothpaste was running down Jay’s neck; he disappeared into his en suite, spat a little too dramatically, washed his mouth.

When he returned, he said, ‘And to what do I owe this honor?’

As Damien ripped two bottles from the six-pack, he noticed a scrap of paper on Jay’s desk. There was an email address scribbled on it.

‘We’ve been put on standby tonight,’ Damien said. ‘You got the call, right?’

Jay went hunting for his bottle opener. ‘You think Denton knows she’s coming?’

Damien frowned. ‘What else could it be? Last time we were on standby was a year ago.’

Jay opened his beer for him. ‘And nothing happened.’

‘But this time—’

‘It’s different. I know.’ Jay opened his own beer, then snatched a lime from Damien’s other hand.

Damien snuck a quick look around the place. Clothes were strewn over the carpet and bed, but it wasn’t as messy as he’d expected. There was a television positioned ridiculously close to the bed. Everything else looked pretty much the same as his own place, just arranged in a different way. A less efficient way.

He picked up the scrap of paper; it was only half an email address. ‘What’s this?’

‘Oh, right,’ Jay said, cutting the lime with his tactical knife. ‘The PT instructor gave me her Twitter.’

‘Twitter?’ Damien said.

‘Yeah, I think it’s a porn site.’ Jay shoved a wedge of lime into Damien’s bottle. ‘Thejayunit.’

‘The what?’

‘It’s my Twitter.’ Jay grinned. ‘Good, huh?’

Damien blinked. ‘That was . . . the best you could come up with?’

Jay slipped some lime into his own bottle and licked his lips. ‘Yeah, jaymachine was taken years ago by some dude in Korea.’ He dropped himself onto the floor at the end of his bed. ‘Besides, it’s not like I can say anything cool. Operating procedures and all that.’

Damien sat beside him. He couldn’t think of anything to say. Jay was silent too. That was unusual in itself. He must be as on edge as Damien felt.

‘Have you ever killed anyone?’ Damien said. ‘I mean, before all this.’

‘I have.’ Jay drank his beer, faster than usual.

Since he was letting it lie, Damien moved on. ‘Are we doing the right thing?’

Jay laughed, then fell silent again. ‘It’s all relative, isn’t it?’

‘I don’t think so.’

Jay shouldered him lightly. ‘You having second thoughts?’

‘No.’ The beer was making his fingers cold. He put it down. ‘I just don’t know how this is going to end.’

‘Yeah, me either,’ Jay said. ‘As long as we look out for each other. That’s what brothers do. And if we make it out alive—’

Damien raised his eyebrows at Jay’s dramatic pause.

‘I make pretty good nachos,’ Jay said. ‘Just saying.’

Damien smiled, but it faded quickly. They sat in silence for a moment longer. All the possibilities ran through his head, and most of them weren’t good.

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