Free The Austin Job by David Mark Brown Page B

daughter, keeping her away from the camera. Bending at the waist, the neckline of her blouse hung open, revealing a delightful amount of her porcelain cleavage. Bronze tendrils of hair unfurled from the bun on the back of her head, partially blocking the view.
    Tantalizingly, her nipples clung to the stubborn collar as it refused to give its ground and liberate the entirety of her glorious breasts—not overly done or excessive, yet not lacking. They listed slightly, each to its own side, and came to subtle points. Perfectly her. Perfectly unique. He contemplated snapping the still straight away, but why preserve for wandering eyes what he longed to keep to himself?
    “These gadgets will buy us a nice place some day, some land next to my parents.” He soothed her as she straightened, having gathered little Tatiana into her arms. “I promise. We’ll leave the city soon.”
    “I know we will.” Tousling their daughter’s hair, mother and child laughed roisterously. It was perfect. Oleg snapped the still.
    Now the single image tenuously preserved the final window connecting him to his family. With it, the last threads of his humanity. He yanked the picture away from his head, placing it face down on the table. Soon he would no longer need it.
    Glowering, he turned to address his cluttered lab, “Which gadget shall I employ next? But of course, there can be only one choice for night like this.” Again moving with angry confidence, Oleg stopped in front of dual canisters connected to shoulder straps and a long, two-handled nozzle. “Rasputin.”
    ~~~
    Lickter stood in the corner, stewing over the evening’s events and waiting for the doctor to finish stitching up the young woman he’d shot—some drone with a cold, distant father, or perhaps an overbearing one like himself. He shuddered.
    Daisy sat perched on the edge of the couch where he and Starr had drank coffee several hours earlier. She held her ridiculous shoes in one hand while dipping the other in a bucket of ice. Her red gown, only slightly worse for wear, revealed grass stains from where she’d tackled the good doctor’s patient. He chuckled and took a deep breath. No need to worry about his daughter signing on with some kook. He’d been far from a perfect father, but his girl had made up for it on her own.
    As for the mystery girl, he’d recognized her under the bright lights of the Grandview lobby. She had the same bobbed hairdo as the foot soldier his mole had tried to befriend. This meant she knew Oleg well, but it also meant she’d be hard to crack. He didn’t look forward to leaning on a girl barely older than his daughter. While he certainly could gather better results than an aspiring actor hungry for espionage, he doubted he could undo months of Oleg’s manipulation.
    Then there was Oleg. The crazy bastard had left two dozen charred corpses on the capitol lawn, and Gwendolyn didn’t seem to understand that this changed everything. Sure you could use a cook fire to roast your enemies, but this was a forest fire. How the hell was he supposed to control this while working freelance security as a sheriff without jurisdiction?
    “Sheriff.” Starr gestured him over. With a huff he joined them on the couches. “Daisy and I were wondering. Why do you think I didn’t burn up?”
    “And neither one of us felt sick at first?” Daisy chimed in.
    The thought had occurred to him amidst the rest of the night’s worries. “We didn’t find any sort of weapon on the girl, but Oleg clearly fired something into your ass, boy.
    “Something that we can’t find now.” Daisy stood as Starr shifted on his good cheek.
    “Yep.” Lickter agreed.
    “So we’re looking for an invisible weapon that fires invisible bullets, and only affects certain people?” She rolled her eyes.
    Starr added, “I think the key is the heatstroke. You and Ms. Lloyd both started suffering signs before the attack while Daisy and I were fine.
    Lickter nodded his head and thought