Free The Ghost in the Doll (Fox Meridian Book 6) by Niall Teasdale

a military inventory code. They were only used by the army, and they were superseded by the twenty-three three years after I joined up. They don’t make the LWE twenty-two bioframework any more. So how, exactly, did Celia Partridge get fitted with a pair?’
    ~~~
    Fox walked into Sandy and Drew’s shop at a fast walk. Her urgency drew attention immediately and both proprietors met her in the middle of the shop.
    ‘You look… determined about something,’ Drew said.
    ‘Can you get a message to Cable?’ Fox asked.
    ‘Uh, yeah, sure. I mean, I can call him on teleconference. They have internet access down there.’
    ‘Yes, I know. Tell him I’m coming down there. I’m going to look into those missing persons.’
    ‘You are? I thought–’
    ‘Things change. I think someone’s killing people to harvest cybernetics and biomods.’
    ‘Harvest…’ Sandy trailed off. ‘That’s crazy.’
    ‘Maybe, but I found evidence of an old military biomod being implanted into someone recently. They don’t make them any more and they were never supplied to the civilian market. The only way they could get put into someone now is–’
    ‘If they were taken out of an old soldier,’ Drew said.
    ‘Right. Look… I’m sorry I didn’t go down there earlier. I was… Never mind, but at least I have more information to work with now. I know what I’m looking for. Tell Cable I’ll be arriving tomorrow evening. I have a couple of things to take care of before I can leave.’
    ‘Okay. I’ll call him tonight.’
    ‘Great. And while I’m here, I’m going to need a few things…’
    ~~~
    ‘What do you think?’ Fox asked, her grin hidden behind a black scarf with a red skull printed on it which covered the lower part of her face.
    ‘I… think…’ Andrea began.
    ‘That it looks oddly practical?’ Jonathan said, frowning. ‘I mean, it’s entirely im practical, but it’s weirdly… not.’
    He had a point. The bodice Fox had bought was a sort of halter top held across her chest by a pair of buckled straps, not much there, but it was in quite supple leather, comfortable to wear. The back, however, had a broad panel of leather tethered to the bra and belted around Fox’s waist; it had the advantage of stopping spray from the Q-bug’s wheels hitting too much skin. Hand-sewn leather shorts, fingerless gloves, a wide belt with chain detailing, and some quite sturdy boots completed the outfit.
    Still grinning, Fox pulled down her scarf-mask and did a slow turn.
    ‘I think I’ll have to pay more attention to the clothes in that shop,’ Andrea decided. ‘I’ve never tried the dustbowler look. Might be fun and I love that belt. You’re absolutely sure you need to go down there?’
    ‘I’m sure that, if I’m going to accuse a respected local surgeon of malpractice, I need some solid evidence. I think that I can get it down Tulsa way.’
    ‘It’s dangerous– I’m being silly. You’re probably more capable of handling things down there than you were, and you did just fine when you were looking for Sandy Bateson.’
    Fox nodded. ‘Yes, but you have a point. I’m not doing this lightly and I’m taking precautions. The environment down there is no problem. Hell, I don’t need any water now. But I do need power and that could be a problem. I’m pretty sure Cable can hook me up, no pun intended, and there’s a small MarTech site in Tulsa, so I should be fine. And I have a few toys coming in tomorrow to make sure I can handle any local threats.’
    ‘Toys?’ Jonathan asked.
    ‘Guns. I promise I’ll bring them home to show you.’
    ‘There is one threat to be considered which you cannot handle,’ Kit said, appearing beside them. ‘Local weather radar is detecting potential tornado conditions south-west of the city.’
    ‘Ah,’ Jonathan said. ‘Fox, would you mind going over to Bart’s place and checking that he’s heard? Then we’ll close down the shutters and retreat to the cellar. It’ll probably stay