Tattoo

Chapter Four

The next day Ned and I were sniping at each other with increasing frequency. We were frustrated; we needed to get rid of the Rapid Cover Unit without looking like we’d done anything. The last thing we wanted was more people involved. 

It was Pitch who came up with the solution, and a good thing, too. 

"Don't do anything; get them to do the work for you." She was using her “stating the obvious" voice as a change from her “fuck off, I’m sick” voice.

“And how do you propose we do that, delirious one?” I asked.

Pitch giggled; she really was delirious. "Be at one with your enemy, silly. You're the one who’s always going on about that eastern philosophy and shit."

And it twigged in my moderately thick brain. 

Ned whacked himself on the forehead. "I'll get working on the sound files.”

Pitch nodded sagely and then threw up into the bucket beside the foldaway bed. Secondary infections are a bitch.

Two hours later I was sniffing ozone once again as Joey added another board. He’d made the run from his shop to Alistair’s RV after Alistair had dropped by. Joey was trying to act cool, but I knew he was getting a kick out of the scene. Luckily for us, he’d also had a few run-ins with the police, so he did understand about keeping his mouth shut. The new board ran from the back of my wrist down to my thumb, and it hurt like hell. Even Joey knew that this one stung, and it was a tough one, so he was concentrating. Alistair was busy implementing the other half of my latest design, a hand-held card. Once Joey was done I headed outside the RV for a drink and a cigarette. I could hear Ned inside, cursing. This was only the second board he’d had implanted and he was definitely not enjoying the process. I didn’t blame him.

Eventually, Ned emerged from the van, flexing his hand under the polyacryl bandage. I was just finishing my beer.

“This thing better work,” said Ned.

“It’ll be anything you want it to be,” I said.

“It’ll look like anything, it won’t be anything.”

“Whatever. I’m not trying to give you a gun, I’m trying to make you magic. Houdini, not Robocop.”

We started working with the cards right away. I felt the burn under my skin as we initiated the uncured circuits. We had a little fun with it, imaging business cards and stuffed animals. When I tossed Joey a light saber I knew we were ready to start digging after our Agent Howard.  

***

Ned and I were camouflaged as a couple of burnouts looking to fail their driver’s tests at one of the Ministry offices downtown. CSIS occupied two floors of the same building. 

We clutched our numbers – along with the rest of the hapless applicants – and kept our eyes on the elevators. The chime rang and the elevator doors opened to reveal today’s winner. She was big; a good match for my size. She had her security badge awkwardly clutched in one hand, along with her cigarettes, and she was holding coffee in the other.

We followed her through the revolving doors and as she fumbled to find her lighter I bumped into her from behind, jostling the arm with the card. It fell, along with her smokes. I scooped up the card and then just stood there, fingers twitching, staring blankly, as I processed the information on it.

Ned stepped in quickly and turned on the charm. “Sorry ma’am,” he said, bending down to pick up her cigarettes and offer them back to her. “My brother’s having trouble with his medication and is a little out of things these days. Can I give you a light?”