Free Third Transmission by Jack Heath Page B

rode up his forearms Six could see a garden of tattoos along his wrists. There was a tinted glass barrier separating him from the passengers.
    â€˜Sorry to slow you down, sir,’ Six drawled. ‘I’m doing perimeter security for tonight’s event, and I’m going to need to verify the authenticity of your invitation.’
    â€˜Don’t they check that at the door?’
    Six casually put his hand in his coat, not like he was drawing a gun, but like he was preparing to draw it. ‘This is a dangerous part of town, sir. Several high-profile guests will be in attendance. Event protocol has been established to minimise the risk of a car-bomb incident. I’m going to have to ask you again for your invitation.’
    The driver bought it. He hit a key on the dashboard, and the barrier rolled down. ‘Excuse me, Mr Yu –’
    Six put his palm across the back of the driver’s head and dragged it forwards. The driver’s cheek slammed against the wheel, and the horn blasted for a second. Six whipped out the can of sevofluorane and sprayed it through into the passenger compartment. There was a screech of alarm from the back seat.
    Six jumped back from the car, sneezing wildly. The spray was designed for quick blasts to the face, not fumigating whole vehicles. He could hear someone fumbling with the doorhandle from the inside. Then the noise stopped.
    Six drew his Parrot and crouched low. He had to confirm that the passengers were unconscious. Holding his white handkerchief over his mouth and nose with his other hand, he slowly approached the passenger door.
    No sound from inside. No visible movement behind the tinted windows.
    Six pulled the door open as suddenly as he could and clamped the handkerchief back over his mouth. It took him a split second to see a woman unconscious on the floor of the car, and Ciull Yu sitting in the rear corner, an oxygen mask over his mouth and a Raven X59 pistol in his hand. It was pointed at Six’s head.
    Blam! Blam!
Yu didn’t get a chance to pull the trigger. Two rubber bullets hit him in the face, one slamming into his forehead, the other cracking his mask. Six was already retreating away from the leaking anaesthetic gas as Yu slumped to the floor, his pistol tumbling from limp fingers.
    Okay, he thought. Phase one complete. He beckoned towards the Peak in the alley, and Ace stepped out immediately. Six leaned through the driver’s window of the limo as she walked over, pushing a key to roll down all the other windows. The car was no good to them if they couldn’t breathe the air inside without passing out.
    â€˜So far so good?’ Ace asked.
    â€˜So far,’ Six grunted. He opened the passenger door and dragged the unconscious woman out. Patted down her dress. No ID. He glanced back into the limo, but there was no sign of a purse.
    â€˜Okay,’ Six said. ‘Deck intel says Yu is not married. He made the RSVP for himself plus one, no name for the guest. We have no idea who this woman is.’ He hefted her over his shoulder. ‘So when we get to the party, use any name you like. Except your own, of course.’
    Ace nodded. She watched him carry the woman to the dumpster in the alley.
    â€˜Is that really necessary?’ he heard her ask. ‘She’s probably already having the worst date of her life.’
    Six shrugged, and put the woman down behind the dumpster rather than in it. He looked back at Ace.
    â€˜Good enough,’ she said. She reached into the car, grabbed Yu’s shoulders, and dragged him out onto the road.
    Six searched Yu’s clothes. He found the invitation, and pocketed it. He also found a phone, which he threw as far as he could. It vanished into the night sky, and landed too far away to hear the impact.
    By the time they’d hidden Yu and the driver behind the dumpster, the breeze had flushed the sevofluorane out of the car. Six and Ace returned to the limousine, climbed into the