Free Dark Angel: Skin Game by Max Allan Collins

shoulders.
    That night, she, Logan, and Joshua led Original Cindy and Sketchy to the Medtronics building, down the stairs and into the tunnel. They spoke as they walked, voices echoing a little.
    "How we gonna stay hooked up, girl?" Original Cindy asked Max. "You got your cell?"
    Max shook her head. "Cell phones are no good. The police will be monitoring all signals coming in or going out of Terminal City."
    "For some messages," Logan said, "we can use Eyes Only bulletins."
    "Busting in on TV transmissions," Sketchy said. "Sweet— but you think he'll help?"
    Logan nodded. "I know Eyes Only, and he's always been on the transgenics' side."
    "Cool dude," Sketchy said.
    "Yeah, I'd say Eyes Only is a pretty cool dude," Max said, glancing at Logan and giving him a secret smile.
    "So what else we going to do to stay connected?" Original Cindy asked.
    Logan asked Max, "You think Cindy and Sketch'll be watched by the police or White's people?"
    Max shook her head. "I don't think either White or the cops know that these guys helped us—" She turned toward Cindy and Sketchy. "—so there's no reason for them to sur-veil you. But watch your backs."
    "Always," Original Cindy said.
    "Then," Logan went on, "how about using Joshua's house as a drop site?"

    The house was a condemned, abandoned one, where the mysterious Sandeman—a key figure at Manticore, and by some accounts the "father" of all the transgenics—had once lived. Joshua had squatted there, and then Logan, and its appearance as a rundown derelict structure kept it useful.
    "I like that," Max said with a short nod.
    Not missing a beat, Logan kept going. "If the blinds are up, there will be a message inside; if the blinds are down, nothing."
    "Rad," Original Cindy said.
    Sketchy said, "Not rad—what are you talking about? Joshua's house ... ?"
    "Original Cindy will show you where it is," Max said.
    "Where exactly will the message be?" Sketch asked.
    Logan and Max traded looks.
    Then Max said, "There's a desk in the living room. We'll put any messages in the top center drawer."
    Sketchy looked perplexed. "Life and death riding on this, and the secret hiding place is a desk drawer?"
    Max explained: "There's no reason to hide anything any more than that. The house looks abandoned, and anyone who's coming poking around has run into Joshua ... and those people usually don't come back."
    "So," Sketch said, nodding, concentrating, "best not to overthink it."
    "Truer words," Max said.
    Original Cindy said, "Yeah, Sketch—don't pop a vein over it, 'kay?"
    "As Max would put it," Logan said, "we better jet—it's dark, but those cops are going to start getting restless ... and we don't want to get caught on the street."
    Max and Logan had worked out the escape plan during the day. Logan had sent an e-mail message to Bling, his physical therapist and occasional Eyes Only associate, to bring Logan's car to the end of the second tunnel at precisely nine o'clock. By then Logan would be there with Sketchy and Original Cindy and the three of them would pile into the car and disappear into the night.
    Just in case, Max would pick that moment to call the cops and suggest the beginning of negotiations. They figured the police would get so wrapped up in that, they wouldn't give a civilian car driving out of the neighborhood beyond Terminal City a second glance.
    Sketchy gave Max a quick hug. "I'm sorry for all the times I let you down ... I didn't mean to—"
    "Forget it," Max interrupted. "When it mattered, you came through."
    Nodding feebly, Sketchy said, "Thanks. I'll make it up to you—I'll do the best I can to help."
    She grinned. "Always knew you would. You may be a lard-ass bike messenger, but you got a good heart, Sketch. You should remember that more often."
    The goofus was starting to tear up.
    "Don't even," she said, raising a single digit. "Get the hell out of here and get back to work. You'll be lucky if Normal doesn't fire your lazy ass."
    Grinning again, Sketchy slipped through