Rising Tomorrow (Roc de Chere Book 1) by Mariana Morgan (essential reading txt) 📕

‘I need to take the VRP home. All of it. I need my lab’s facilities,’ she blurted out.

Preoccupied with her own discovery and the desperate need to get home, she didn’t see the outrage on Wagner’s face as she broke into his office unannounced. She also didn’t see how he forced that outrage under control when he recognised her, his facial muscles relaxing along with his fists.

She also didn’t notice the other two people in the room.

Gonzalez watched Eloise carefully out of the corner of his eye, standing awkwardly to one side of the desk. He would kill, if that would have made any damn difference, to have been in front of his own computer monitoring Ms Moretti’s activity over the last few minutes. Part of him wanted to perform some dumb old-fashioned stunt, grab the woman and make a run for it. The psycho behind what used to be his desk was actually worse than his reputation, and the thought of his continued existence in control of the investigation and Ms Moretti’s fate sickened Gonzalez. He had only got a brief glance of Megan that day, but it was enough to shore up his resolve that when all of this was over Wagner was a dead man.

The other person in the room, Norah Bellefeuille, appeared in equal measures dumb, oblivious and eager to please. Automatically, she had moved towards the door to stop the intruder, but then froze when she realised who the woman was. She was now confused, half risen from her chair, awaiting Wagner’s instructions.

‘Does this mean, Ms Moretti, you have already found something of interest? How remarkable,’ Wagner marvelled, sounding like a shark.

‘I… I wouldn’t say I’ve found anything.’ Eloise paused to catch her breath. ‘The code is more abundant than the level of damage indicated. I require the resources of my VR lab for accurate analysis.’

I need to go home, but dammit, you won’t just let me go, will you? Her lack of experience with actual human beings was greatly compensated for by her VR experience when it came to reading non-verbal language.

‘Hmm…’ Wagner appeared lost in thought, but there was no doubt the decision had been made long ago and he was just playing for the show. ‘How about linking with your facility remotely?’ he suggested.

Eloise’s brow furrowed. Technically she would have no problem doing so. In practice…

‘The security features firewalling my system would be a great hindrance. If analysis of that VRP is as urgent as you suggest, direct analysis, using my own facilities, will yield much faster results,’ she lied. ‘The processing power my system has is the best available and it is configured exclusively for VR programming and analysis.’ At least that was the truthiest truth, even if she sounded like a show-off.

‘Ms Moretti, I’m afraid I cannot release a vital piece of evidence to be taken outside this building.’

Dammit, I don’t care about the useless VRP junk code! Just let me go home!

‘I understand.’ In a desperate attempt she quickly changed tactics. ‘I could start the analysis on your system. Someone could perhaps take me home in the meantime? I expect it may be over twenty-four hours before it’s done.’

Or, at least, I will bloody make sure it takes that long.

‘That long?’ Wagner unknowingly repeated her own thoughts.

‘Mr Wagner, extracting and comparing every line of the code and cross-referencing it against the known VRP database requires time. Given the damage and available permutations the damage may have introduced, the time required grows exponentially by—’

‘Ms Moretti, please! I’m no scientist. I will take your word for it. I guess I don’t have any choice.’

Gonzalez blinked. The man was insane. Was he seriously going to let her take the only physical evidence they had out of his sight and away from the protection a police station offered?

‘Inspector Bellefeuille, please instruct Sergeant Ingram to take Ms Moretti home.’

‘Yes, sir. Should I accompany them?’ Bellefeuille was fully up on her feet, ready to run errands and please.

‘No, I had a pleasant… chat with our designated pilot, and I am confident we can trust her to make a simple run without upsetting the traffic rules this time. I have a different assignment for you.’

Gonzalez blinked again. How interesting.

CHAPTER 7

Airspace

Lyon

Afro-European Alliance

Tuesday 21 April 2725

DAY 2

‘Never enough bloody time,’ Ingram muttered under her breath.

She was back in the cockpit of the XST-12b, starting up the pre-flight sequence without giving it any conscious attention. Her hands flew, hitting the right switches and pulling the right levers as if she herself were on autopilot.

Eloise Moretti had found something. She must have. There was no other explanation for trying to bolt out of the 4th so fast. And Megan must have known what it was. The idea of losing the evidence, again, infuriated Ingram. She wished Gonzalez had ordered her to fly the Elite woman straight to MIS HQ, to end the pointless charade and focus on pressing forward.

The one thing she knew about Wagner, which even Gonzalez didn’t know, gave her an even more compelling reason to hate the sonofabitch. All she wanted was ten minutes alone with him. Imagining his face when he discovered who Sergeant Carlotta Ingram really was. Seeing his eyes widen in response, shortly before she ripped him apart. She didn’t want him begging or terrified. She wanted him dead, and she wanted to use up all the fury she felt to achieve it.

Instead, she had had to walk into his office, after she returned from the first run to Ms Moretti’s residence, and pretend to be cowed and scared by his tongue-lashing. Reports of her shaky piloting and the noise levels had reached him with astounding speed before she even touched down on the rooftop landing pad. His threats promising he wasn’t done with her had been rather on the creative side, and his hands on her body hurt, but it had only made her want to laugh in his face. She was no longer the young