The Dark Edge Chronicles - Hardwire

Chapter 19: Crash and Burn

"Excellent idea!" Alex chimed in. "If we step up our efforts, the gun and generator should be complete within 24 hours. The Brotherhood should still be assessing their damages at that point. We can contact the lone gunmen, coordinate our activities and strike before the Brotherhood has recovered, catching them relatively unawares."

"I concur," Melanie agreed with a nod before turning to Mordecai, a slight smile dancing on her lips, as if to silently say: you shouldn't have dismissed us so lightly! "And where does our tactical consultant stand on this matter? Are you willing to assist us in implementing this secondary plan?"

Mordecai smiled thinly. The subtle message that he was unwise to not include the Avalonians in his plan wasn't lost on the big man.

"Of course. I stand ready to assist at all levels of this project and wherever I can be of help," he replied smoothly.

"Excellent," Beki said with a smile, closing the folder and handing it to him. "You can start by looking over these blueprints and working out the bugs we've had cropping up in our development models."

As Mordecai took the folder, his smile broadening slightly, he found Beki holding onto it. Looking up into her emerald green eyes, he found her dead serious.

"I didn't want to say this for fear of making us look weak," she began softly, her eyes studying the big man's face. "But you must know of your importance to Avalon, consultant or not!"

"We can't afford to lose you," Alex added, her face also abruptly serious. "You're too vital to Avalon to risk on such foolish ventures as an all out attack on the ESETs, successful or not." And with that, Beki let the folder go.

Sitting back with a frown, the folder in hand, Mordecai looked at each woman thoughtfully. They, of course, had a very valid point. He was the force behind Avalon, whether he wanted to admit it or not. To get himself burned out or worse, killed, would not only be incredibly selfish, but ultimately show a lack of responsibility for the entity he helped create and nurture. And for the people that were involved with it.

"Don't worry," he said tightly, standing. "I won't leave Avalon unprotected. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a hot meal and a equally hot shower waiting for me." And with that, he winked out of sight.

"Damn!" Melanie hissed as she too stood, shaking her head in puzzlement. "I swear, that man is as prickly as a hedgehog!"

"Or so careful not to emotionally involve himself in anything that it makes him cold and stiff," Beki mused out loud before sighing softly. "I wonder who's going to break through that barrier and melt that block of ice he has for a heart? If anybody can!"

As she and Melanie continued to talk about their emotionally distant ally, Alex fell silent, her mind working hard. Who, indeed? Abruptly she stood, catching the other two by surprise.

"I must attend to something," she husked, a plan spiraling through her mind, its possibilities making her heart pound almost painfully in her chest. "I'll see you later!"

It was later that evening that found Mordecai slowly getting undressed in his spartan quarters below ground. It was a simple room: square, with a single fluorescent light in the ceiling for lighting, a small dresser and a double sized bed in the corner. Not even as nice as the hotel rooms he was used to staying in, but at least this one wasn't in immediate danger of annihilation as his hotel rooms seemed to be.

Connected to the room was a small bathroom, complete with a shower cubicle, toilet and sink. As Mordecai dropped his shirt onto a small chair that sat at the foot of the bed, a soft chime sounded inside his mind, the prearranged signal for somebody wanting to link to him. Continuing to undress, he opened a com channel.