Inquisitor by Mitchell Hogan Page A

next time he can afford to, he buys another, then another. Then, when he has some spare time, he begins building. One piece of wood after another, until many years later he finishes his ship and sails away.”
    Angel shifted her weight. “I don’t do parables.”
    The girl gave her an irritated look. “I am the ship, but I am also the builder. It took me years to put this program together, in small packets of code, through the limited access I have to the outside world.”
    “I’ll bite. So, you’re imprisoned somewhere?” This was far too much of a coincidence not to be related to the murders of Harry, Jessica, and Viktor.
    “Yes, I am. And they are hunting me. My program, I mean. They know I am out here. By appearing for this long, I am taking a risk. But according to my calculations, you are the only person who can help me.”
    “Who has imprisoned you?”
    “I… I can’t say.”
    “Can’t or won’t?”
    “I can’t tell you until I know you’ll believe me. Until I know you won’t betray me.”
    Angel looked away and closed her eyes for a long moment. Her sister Naya had said something similar to her, all those years ago. Angel had insisted she confide in one of the housekeepers; then a few days later Naya was abducted and murdered.
    Angel squeezed the bridge of her nose, walling away her past. “You’re a program made by yourself, hunted by someone you can’t identify, asking for my help to free you from someone you also don’t know.”
    “Exactly.”
    “If you don’t trust me, why should I trust you?”
    “Because they have traced me here. They killed your partner, Viktor, and are now coming for you. In thirty seconds, a man will come through your door and try to kill you.”
    “You’re shitting me.”
    “Please don’t swear; it’s not nice. Twenty-seven seconds.”
    Angel brought her hand-cannon up and aimed at the door. “You’ve deliberately put me in danger to prove your point? Wait. Do you know who’s behind the murders? Are the same people holding you?”
    The girl nodded. “They traced this communication. I’m sorry. Though, it was inevitable if I contacted you. We’re out of time. My name is Charlotte-Rose, and here is my question: will you help me, Angel Xia?”
    Growling in irritation, Angel flicked the ammunition selector on her weapon twice and fired four shots. Recoil barely moving her hand, the four rounds came out with a soft “plop” and stuck where they landed, two on either side of the entry. She flicked the selector back to normal and centered her aim on the door.
    The security lock clicked open, which shouldn’t have been possible without her authority. She flicked a glance at the girl, who watched her, unmoving, then returned her attention to the door, which was now swinging silently open. The girl waved farewell, and the display wall faded to black.
    Xavier, vice president in charge of security of Mercurial Logic Incorporated, took a step into the apartment. Seeing Angel with her gun pointed at him, he stopped and raised his hands.
    “Easy there, Inquisitor Xia.”
    “Don’t take one step closer.”
    “I wasn’t planning to.” Xavier smiled reassuringly. “I heard about your partner. Terrible business. I came to check up on you; see if you needed anything. Is anyone with you?” He took his eyes off her to scan the apartment.
    Angel remembered the results of the scan Viktor had run on Xavier. Modified body armor suit, two miniaturized missile guns. She breathed deeply, hand-cannon unwavering. She said nothing.
    “Ah, well, I can see you’re a little on edge. Understandable, really.”
    With an exaggerated sigh, Angel dropped her gun to her side and gave Xavier a sheepish grin. “Sorry. I’m nervous.” She laughed, as nervously as she could.
    Xavier drew both his missile guns and pointed them at her. The state-of-the-art grips recognized contact with their authorized user, and the weapons went live—which triggered Angel’s four