all.
“I started putting together the rough plan for programming
the Trojan,” Marq said. “Shouldn’t be too hard to create. Skyped with
Cyber!Stalk and DemonDark about the possible—”
“Thought this was a two-man deal,” Jude interrupted.
“It is, it is. I just gotta do a little footwork, to make
sure it gets done, and done right. These guys who hired me,” His smile wavered.
“They um, they don’t do screw ups, Jude.”
“It’ll be fine,” Jude said, tucking the money into his
pocket. “Give you n’ me a couple days and we’ll have it working.”
“That’d be good,” Marq said, “’cause if we can get the
Trojan done fast, Luca says he’s got another job. Payout’s twice as big… could
lead to other stuff too.”
“You serious?” Jude gasped. With that kind of cash he
could quit this place. Start up his own company. Make his own way. “A Trojan’s
nothing, Marq!” he said excitedly. “We could have it done by Friday if we both
called in sick.”
“Yeah, and Lissa would never suspect,” Marq coughed.
Jude shrugged.
“I’ll use a vacation day then. I’ve got a bunch.”
Marq watched him, eyes narrowed, as if measuring against
some scale Jude hadn’t considered.
“If you’re serious about this… If you want to do the other
job, I can give ‘em a call today.” He shrugged. “I didn’t know if you’d want
to, man. Thought maybe this’d be it for you.”
“Screw you!” Jude laughed, punching Marq in the arm. “You knew I’d want in! Just wanted to keep it to yourself.”
Marq gave a weak smile. “I’ll tell Luca you want in. If we
take off Thursday and get the Trojan done, we can start a new project this
weekend. Someone will give you a call about it. Not sure when.”
“Call me?” Jude repeated.
“Yeah, you know, to get you in the loop.”
“Why not just talk about it at the tech office, like we do
now?”
“With the bigger stuff, they’ll want to meet you face to
face,” Marq replied. He was no longer holding Jude’s eyes.
“But why?”
“Luca’s boss just likes to talk to people in person,” he
said carefully. “It’s how he does things.”
Marq was suddenly engrossed in everything else around him,
pushing the memos around the desk, brushing off the keys of his laptop,
flicking lint off his pants. Jude opened his mouth to ask him what was wrong,
but then closed it again. A job like this would change things for him. And he
was smart. He’d been burned once already.
Marq turned, as if hearing his thoughts.
“Seriously, man, are you good with this? ‘Cause you don’t
have to get involved. I never even told ‘em who helped me.”
“Yeah, I want in,” Jude said with a grin. “It’s a great
deal. Besides, we’re a good team, right?”
Marq nodded.
“Yeah, we are.”
: : :
: : : : : : :
Jude sat across from Indigo, staring at her mouth as she
sipped her wine. When he’d made the reservations here, he’d been hoping to
impress her, but he’d been completely unprepared for the woman he’d picked up
at her apartment today. She fit this place. Compared to her, Jude, in
his khakis, white shirt and sloppy tie, was the one who seemed out of place.
He’d never seen or imagined her looking like this. Indigo
was transformed into some night-time creature, unreal and unattainable. Her
eyelids were sooty black shadows, lips lacquered like a china doll. She wore a
narrow black sheath that sparkled in the light, her purse a tiny clutch that
matched blood-red fingernails. Even her hair had taken on an otherworldly
beauty. Always straight, it was now smoothed to a sheen, candlelight dancing
along the strands like glass.
She looked, he decided, like someone out of a movie.
Dinner had been filled with small talk, as Jude tried to get
used to this new facet of Indigo Sykes. She was quieter here, more aloof as she
spoke to the waiter, leaving Jude feeling like he was playing a part and she
was the real thing. When she ordered, she chatted
“I started putting together the rough plan for programming
the Trojan,” Marq said. “Shouldn’t be too hard to create. Skyped with
Cyber!Stalk and DemonDark about the possible—”
“Thought this was a two-man deal,” Jude interrupted.
“It is, it is. I just gotta do a little footwork, to make
sure it gets done, and done right. These guys who hired me,” His smile wavered.
“They um, they don’t do screw ups, Jude.”
“It’ll be fine,” Jude said, tucking the money into his
pocket. “Give you n’ me a couple days and we’ll have it working.”
“That’d be good,” Marq said, “’cause if we can get the
Trojan done fast, Luca says he’s got another job. Payout’s twice as big… could
lead to other stuff too.”
“You serious?” Jude gasped. With that kind of cash he
could quit this place. Start up his own company. Make his own way. “A Trojan’s
nothing, Marq!” he said excitedly. “We could have it done by Friday if we both
called in sick.”
“Yeah, and Lissa would never suspect,” Marq coughed.
Jude shrugged.
“I’ll use a vacation day then. I’ve got a bunch.”
Marq watched him, eyes narrowed, as if measuring against
some scale Jude hadn’t considered.
“If you’re serious about this… If you want to do the other
job, I can give ‘em a call today.” He shrugged. “I didn’t know if you’d want
to, man. Thought maybe this’d be it for you.”
“Screw you!” Jude laughed, punching Marq in the arm. “You knew I’d want in! Just wanted to keep it to yourself.”
Marq gave a weak smile. “I’ll tell Luca you want in. If we
take off Thursday and get the Trojan done, we can start a new project this
weekend. Someone will give you a call about it. Not sure when.”
“Call me?” Jude repeated.
“Yeah, you know, to get you in the loop.”
“Why not just talk about it at the tech office, like we do
now?”
“With the bigger stuff, they’ll want to meet you face to
face,” Marq replied. He was no longer holding Jude’s eyes.
“But why?”
“Luca’s boss just likes to talk to people in person,” he
said carefully. “It’s how he does things.”
Marq was suddenly engrossed in everything else around him,
pushing the memos around the desk, brushing off the keys of his laptop,
flicking lint off his pants. Jude opened his mouth to ask him what was wrong,
but then closed it again. A job like this would change things for him. And he
was smart. He’d been burned once already.
Marq turned, as if hearing his thoughts.
“Seriously, man, are you good with this? ‘Cause you don’t
have to get involved. I never even told ‘em who helped me.”
“Yeah, I want in,” Jude said with a grin. “It’s a great
deal. Besides, we’re a good team, right?”
Marq nodded.
“Yeah, we are.”
: : :
: : : : : : :
Jude sat across from Indigo, staring at her mouth as she
sipped her wine. When he’d made the reservations here, he’d been hoping to
impress her, but he’d been completely unprepared for the woman he’d picked up
at her apartment today. She fit this place. Compared to her, Jude, in
his khakis, white shirt and sloppy tie, was the one who seemed out of place.
He’d never seen or imagined her looking like this. Indigo
was transformed into some night-time creature, unreal and unattainable. Her
eyelids were sooty black shadows, lips lacquered like a china doll. She wore a
narrow black sheath that sparkled in the light, her purse a tiny clutch that
matched blood-red fingernails. Even her hair had taken on an otherworldly
beauty. Always straight, it was now smoothed to a sheen, candlelight dancing
along the strands like glass.
She looked, he decided, like someone out of a movie.
Dinner had been filled with small talk, as Jude tried to get
used to this new facet of Indigo Sykes. She was quieter here, more aloof as she
spoke to the waiter, leaving Jude feeling like he was playing a part and she
was the real thing. When she ordered, she chatted
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