Page 77 of Neon Flux

“Cheapskates. You have it taken care of?”

“Cameras are already down, and your fingerprint has been installed on all locks.”

If I’d had worse intentions, I could’ve robbed everyone in this building blind. The fact they hadn’t had a major breach already was ridiculous.

We reached the thirty-seventh floor, and the elevator doors slid open. I walked down the hall to apartment 3789. I pressed my thumb to the lock, and it happily clicked open.

“DITA, motion detection.”

“One occupant detected, near the rear of the apartment—likely the bedroom.”

Good. Maybe I could get the jump on him.

The inside of his apartment was…sparse. A couch faced a wall of high-end screens, currently displaying horrible stock AI art he had probably never even looked at. The kitchen was barren, except for an assault rifle laid out on the kitchen counter next to what I assumed was his go-bag. I heard the sound of a shower running.

I walked to the back of the apartment, suddenly rethinking my whole plan. I’d wanted to be the one to surprise him—to show him he didn’t hold all the power in this situation, that I was dangerous and knew more about him than was wise. But the thought of entering his bedroom, on his home turf, suddenly seemed very misguided.

I glanced back at the gun on the counter, then shook my head. I had a shield, and he needed me for this job. That much was obvious. The shower turned off. My time was up.

I walked into his bedroom and propped myself against the wall.

A moment later, he walked out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, water still glistening on his chest and arms.

“You should ask for a refund on your security fee,” I said.

The next instant, I was on the floor with cold metal pressed under my chin.

“Oh, it’s you.” He didn’t move off me, and I could feel the moisture from his body soaking though my clothes.

“Get off of me!”

“Good to see you too, doll. Now what the hell are you doing in my apartment?”

“You said this job was urgent. Tight timeline. Came here to talk.”

“There are only two reasons people end up in my bedroom, and neither of them involves talking.” He shifted his legs between mine, and I had a feeling that threadbare towel was no longer between us. “So what did you really come for?”

“I said get off.” I shoved him, and he leaned back onto his knees. I tried not to look anywhere but his eyes, but I couldn’t help glancing down at the gun in his hand.

“Where were you even keeping that?”

He grinned. “Occupational secret.” He twisted his wrist, admiring the stupid thing before flipping it onto his bed. “We were scheduled to meet tomorrow.”

“You really think I was going to show up at POM Headquarters of my own free will? There’s no reason you can’t give me the data here and now.”

The grin fell off his face, and he stood. My gaze snagged on the hard line of muscle over his hip before I managed to look away.

“Don’t act coy. All things you’ve seen before.” He didn’t pick up the towel as he walked over to the terminal in the corner of his room. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

I glared at him.

“What, you don’t trust me?” He turned back, his smile all teeth.

“Not even a nanopulse.”

“Probably smart.” He ran his fingers over the virtual keyboard, and I saw the POM network pop up on the screen behind him. He stepped to the side, offering the terminal to me while putting himself on full display.

It was an almost irresistible temptation.