HAWK

CHAPTER SEVEN: DRIFTERS (2/5)

Dante's den was a brain.

Thousands of nanosheet computers lined the walls from floor to ceiling, set up like playing cards on palm-wide shelving. Tiny white lights winked softly from their ports and surrounded the room like a galaxy. Combined with the blue mist which filled every corner of the room, the place felt like a disco - and Dante, in her sparkly leotard, was apparently the mirrorball.

The strange woman was standing in front of Hik in the centre of the room. She lifted herself onto her tiptoes, trying desperately to see inside his black dome computer. Kas had no idea why she was wearing that leotard or what was on her face, but she shrugged it off as classic Dante and cleared her throat.

'Having fun?'

'Sure, so long as it doesn't kill me.'

'Relax, he's disarmed.'

Dante turned to Kas, her expression hard to read under all that cream. 'So it's a he is it? And does he have a name?'

'Hik.'

'Hello, Hik.'

The digits on Hik's dome fluttered as his artificial voice came online. 'Hello, Dante.'

'Ah!' Dante staggered backwards as if she'd been shot. She turned to Kas with a dramatic sweep of the arm. 'He knows my name!'

'Best friends already,' Kas smiled. 'How 'bout that.'

A lump of cream formed under Dante's chin and fell loose, landing on her bare toe. She didn't even notice. She looked back at Hik and regarded him as she would a god. 'So the software I wrote for you worked, I take it?'

'Like a dream.'

'How long did it take to hack him?'

'Hard to say, I was unconscious for a while. No more than ten or fifteen minutes.'

'The record's twelve minutes and fifty-eight seconds. I wonder if I beat it. Oh well.' Dante reached out and traced one bony finger over Hik's round face. 'The dome's made of BN resin. You could take a plasma welder to it until the power ran out and there still wouldn't be a scratch on it. So why the hell have you brought it here?'

'It's a long story. I need your help.'

'Help with what?'