Free The Golden Circuit (The Smith Chronicles) by John K. Irvine Page A

granite-like visage, but Jameson was already beginning to reappreciate why he normally did things ‘by-the-book’.

Chapter 8
    20:52 - Saturday, July 28, 2187 (Weah Mansions, Muhaze, Tapi-36)
     
     
    Mikita felt her body crashing heavily to the ground. She’d fallen over 20ft and, miraculously, she was still alive.
    Then she noticed she was lying on top of something.
    No… Wait… she thought. I’m on top of some one !
    “Good evening, Mikita Smith,” said a familiar, though slightly winded voice.
    She looked over her shoulder at the body beneath her. Drain me, it’s Gompi. I’ve landed on Gompi!
    “Sorry, Mikita Smith. I try catch you. You too heavy for me,” apologised the mutant.
    “No, no, it’s OK, Gompi,” she said. “Thank you. You’ve saved my life.” Mikita rolled off him and stood up. She felt around herself for any damage.
    She was sore, but no bones were broken. Howe ver, her arm was very painful - it looked like a serious flesh wound.
    “Are you OK, Gompi?” asked Mikita, looking up towards Hanoi’s flat for signs of the TAPCON agents.
    “Yes, I fine,” he replied. “You not worry, Mikita Smith.”
    As luck would have it, Mikita found that her view was completely obscured by the fire escape. She was directly underneath it. They wouldn’t be able to fire on her from that vantage point. Now she had to get out of there, without any more delay.
    “You have blood on hands, Mikita Smith,” pointed out Gompi, getting to his feet.
    She looked down at her palms, they were red with Hanoi’s blood.
    “And arm. You are hurt, Mikita Smith? Gompi help?”
    “Yes… um, no, it’s not what you think, I… Oh, I’m sorry Gompi. Look, I have to go. But thank you for saving me.”
    She made to leave, but Gompi had already taken off his cravat and was tying it around the top of Mikita’s arm. She winced as he tied a knot in the bandage. “Thank you, Gompi. Now really, I must go… I must.”
    “It is good. I can finish with garbage. Good-bye, Mikita Smith.” Gompi had been putting out the rubbish. The bins were located under the fire escape.
    Mikita smiled , weakly. “Bye, Gompi, and thank you again,” she said, and started to run down the backstreet and off into the night.
     
    Upstairs, in Hanoi’s flat, the agents were arguing.
    “Shizz and fire! How many times did you draining well miss, Zeus? Was it four, or was it five?” teased one of them.
    “I definitely got her with that last shot, Fitz, definitely,” replied Zeus, the sniper, but his partner wasn’t convinced. “It was dark, Fitz! I couldn’t get a good look!”
    “Oh, that’s great! Sempre will be delighted with that, won’t he? He’ll take that as a perfectly acceptable excuse!”
    “Right men, cut it out,” interrupted Wenceslaus, their moustachioed senior. “We need to get onto her trail, pronto. Fitz, contact surveillance. Let’s find out where she’s going.”
                  “Yes, sir. Right away.”
    “Sir? I’ve found her Serene,” said Ryptal, a keen junior agent on his first mission.
    “Good, take it down to control, Ryptal. There’ll be something on it we can use. Green? Timmons? Get this mess sorted out here. No evidence is to be left. Nothing. The rest of you men, get yourselves down to the vehicles and start searching the streets. We can’t afford to lose the suspect. Mikita Smith is one dangerous young woman.”
     

Chapter 9
    20:57 - Saturday, July 28, 2187 (Aarmaten District, Baal-500)
     
     
    “ It looks like some sort of neurological invasion technology, sir. ‘NITs’ they’re usually called. Oh, man, this is one impressive piece of kit,” effused Corporal Gadget. “You’ll note that its appearance is exactly like that of the Earth-based culicidae family; midges, mosquitoes etc. You couldn’t tell them apart if you tried; except for the body armour. Truly amazing. It has all the right bits in all the right places: wings, legs, antennae and a proboscis, right here -