Free Binary: An Encrypted to Cipher Bridge Short Story by Carolyn McCray Page B

long did it take to put on make-up, anyway? They really needed to allow, in the future, if there were any future meetings, for an hour and a half to get her dressed.
    At least she wasn’t in a hoochie dress and high heels this time. Nope. She was in her ninja gear. Black leggings. Black tight turtleneck. Black boots. Quirk had been scandalized, of course, but Ronnie had put her foot down. Zach was just going to have to get used to the real Ronnie.
    If he missed his couture-wearing model girlfriend, then so be it.
    Nearly winded, Ronnie made it to the top of the stairs. She put her hand on the doorknob. Was she ready for this? The servers were through the next room. But there was someone there to stop her.
    Zach.
    Turning the knob, Ronnie opened the door. There he was, across the room in his usual black suit, white shirt, and skinny tie. His blue eyes stood out against his dark hair. His lips parted in a grin.
    That was about the time he pulled a gun on her.
    Date night had officially begun.
    * * *
    Zach hated drawing down on Ronnie, but he had to for the benefit of Warp and half of the agency, who were watching with thermal imaging. They needed to see his arm out and ready to shoot—even though the only thing he wanted to do was rush over and hug his little hacker.
    Ronnie wasn’t idle, though. Ronnie threw a metal disc down onto the floor, then flipped a switch. The metal rings began rotating, and soon Zach had to clutch onto his gun as it was pulled toward the hyper-magnets. He had to trust her one hundred percent as he pulled the trigger. The bullet flew about halfway across the room, then fell to the floor.
    Finally, the gun flew from his hands as well, slamming into the disc, clanging loudly as metal hit metal.
    Then Ronnie raised her arm. It looked like she was holding a gun, but he knew that not to be true. However, she did pull the trigger, and two prongs shot out of the weapon, connected by long wires. The metal prongs sunk into his chest. At first it felt like a pinch, then the voltage caught up.
    Zach’s muscles spasmed, clenching under the Taser’s shock. A loud pop sounded in his ear as his hearing and microphone piece went on the fritz. Even though the Taser wasn’t at full capacity, it still hurt like hell. Zach grabbed the wires, yanking the prongs from his chest.
    Ronnie ran over, throwing a right hook. Zach blocked it and straight-armed her limb down, pulling her close.
    “Did it work?”
    “They can’t hear,” Zach croaked out. “Although we’ve got to figure out a way to meet without me getting zapped.”
    Ronnie leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. The effect was nearly as jolting as that of the Taser. His body felt electrified. Then she pulled away.
    “Hopefully that made up for it,” Ronnie commented.
    Yes, it kind of did.
    “Um, I can still hear you two slurping,” Quirk said. “I think I deserve hazard pay or something. And, oh my God, your hypothalamus is lit up like a Christmas tree.”
    Ronnie rolled her eyes. “Better get back to convincing them we’re enemies.”
    With that she put a knee in his groin. For a woman who hoped to be using that equipment soon, you’d think she’d be a little kinder.
    But they did have to make this look real. To that end, he backhanded her, snapping her head to the side. A bit of blood sprayed out. He hated to hit the woman he loved, but he also didn’t want either of them to hang for treason.
    She recovered quickly with a back roundhouse kick. He caught her foot midair and spun her around. Ronnie landed hard on the floor. Face down. He reached to help her up, but her foot caught his chin and reeled him backward.
    The hacker came at him with a combination of punches and kicks. Zach used his forearms to shield himself from most of them. Sad that the most physical contact they’d had was in the form of combat.
    His therapist was going to have a field day with this one.
    “Quirk, are they down yet?”
    “Working on it. I mean, I’m