Chapter 639: Quicksilver (1/2)

Dex glanced up as the lights from another car turned down his driveway, effectively stopping any further discussion. Gene led him around to the front of the house, where they stopped and waited for the vehicle to come to a stop.

”Kendal?” Gene recognized the junky car that his co-worker owned. When the younger man approached, he welcomed him with a smile. ”Took you long enough.”

Kendal raised his hands in mock surrender. ”Ten minutes isn't bad, considering I was at the waterfront with some friends.”

Dex waited while Gene briefed Kendal. Perhaps his P.O. hadn't noticed, but Dex caught the lie immediately. Kenji had taken a right when he turned into the driveway. If he were coming from the waterfront, it would have been the other direction. Black shoes and pants with a white t-shirt... Red mud caked the side of one shoe, the same mud that could be found on the backside of his property. 'You're involved with this, you self-righteous prick.'

It was more than an hour later before the squad cars left. They gathered all the evidence they could find and took Dex's statement. Dex blatantly lied when asked whether he'd seen the intruder. Purposefully, he gave a description of a figure dressed in black, one that matched the size and built of Kendal.

”You okay, Kendal?” Gene noticed that his co-work was sweating a bit.

Kendal waved it off. ”It's hot in here.” He threw a fake smile at Dex. ”Bro... Turn on the AC.”

”I like it hot.” Dex returned the smile; he'd turned off the AC during his deep dive. ”Wasn't expecting guests.”

Dex walked the two men out to their cars, listening to them make small talk like they were at the beach. ”Any follow-up I need to do?”

Kendal glanced at Gene for confirmation before shaking his head. ”I've reset your ankle tracker, which will silence the alarm at the station.”

Gene opened his car door, pausing to look back at Dex. ”Good thing you hadn't started your deep dive yet. That house alarm of yours wouldn't have brought you out of stasis.”

Dex didn't have to pretend to be scared shitless. In reality, wiring stasis pods to security and fire alarms were a great idea. However, since Dex's electronic use was limited, he didn't have access to that kind of gear. ”I think I'll stick with shorter dives of one or two hours.”

Gene nodded in agreement. ”Preferably in daylight hours. Next time use the house alarm to summon law enforcement.”

Dex's expression told Gene that was never going to happen. ”Know the difference in response time between my ankle bracelet and the door alarm?”

Gene laughed and nodded. ”I'm guessing it's a lot.”

Kendal fist-bumped Dex and opened his car door. ”Ride the wave, bro.”

Dex faked a smile. ”Ride the wave, man.” He closed the car door, noting that a black pullover had been tossed onto the floor of the backseat.

”Yep… I'm fucked at 30 percent.” Dex waved at the cars as they turned onto the main road. Then, cursing under his breath, he reentered his house and turned on the alarm. ”How the fuck was I warned to log off? Did someone hack my pod?”

Shaking his head in confusion, he made his way up the stairs toward the kitchen. Despite his thin appearance, Dex was a self-confessed nervous eater. He made his way toward the kitchen, intent on making something to eat.

”Don't turn on the lights.”

Dex felt his heart thud inside of his chest at the brief sentence. In most cases, he would have jumped at being startled suddenly. In this case, his blood ran cold as his face broke out in a cold sweat. I'm dead, he thought to himself.

”Don't just stand there; close those blackout curtains.” The voice spoke again; it was soft and calm but distinctly electronic. The intruder was using a voice synthesizer.

Dex nodded and walked toward the window. The figure stood motionlessly in the corner, waiting for him to comply with the demands. Then, unexpectedly, the young hacker took two long strides toward the window and, with a loud bang, sent glass flying outward as he leaped through it.

Dex covered his face with both arms before the impact, overbalanced he landed awkwardly on his driveway four meters below. Although he landed feet first, his body impacted the gravel immediately after, knocking the wind out of him.

”The hell are you doing?” The black-dressed figure moved to the broken window as Dex staggered to his feet. ”I'm not the bad guy here, Dextron!”

Dex gained his feet, noticing that the figure didn't appear to have a gun. Instead of running, he retreated several steps while trying to regain his breath. ”The cops just left! My alarm going off will bring them straight back.”