Chapter 668 - Defensive Ring (1/2)
”Just make yourselves at home.” Dex frowned at the two women sitting in his kitchen. Darsi must have forgotten to lock the door when she left, something that hackers viewed as a clear invitation to enter.
Stiletto smiled sweetly while helping herself to one of the cookies Nova made for him. ”Thanks, Dex.”
Thumper also grinned, her dark eyes flashing in amusement. ”That was sarcasm, Stiletto. He's not happy to see us.”
Dex nodded and touched the side of his nose. ”Spot on.”
”Oh... sorry, Dex.” Stiletto bit into the cookie, trying her best to look like she didn't enjoy it. ”Damn, that girl can really bake.”
”She can,” Thumper agreed. ”I'm sorry too, Dex. We'd never intrude into your v-Hive room.”
Dex confiscated the plate of cookies sitting between the two women. ”Normal people would find that backward. But, I've got something for you anyways.”
Thumper shared a glance with Stiletto before speaking. ”A present?”
Dex nodded while removing a small box from the pocket of his jumpsuit. Then, fishing out two items, he handed one to each of them. ”Nothing too impressive, thumb rings.”
”Hmm?” Thumper accepted the black ring; it wasn't metallic like she expected, some sort of flexible polymer. Hers had the name 'Thumper' engraved in gold lettering. She slipped it onto her thumb, smiling widely at the young hacker. ”Pretty cool, Dex.”
Stiletto nodded in agreement. ”I love it!”
Dex nodded innocently. ”Swipe your index finger over your name.”
”OW!!” Stiletto shook her hand like she'd been stung by a bee.
”Shit!” Thumper cursed the ring before looking up at its creator. ”You gave us 'shock' rings?”
”Yep.” Dex grinned at the frowning women. ”It will load in as part of your wardrobe whenever you jump. Swipe your ring while virtual, and it won't do anything.”
Stiletto studied the ring for a moment. ”I still love it.”
Thumper glanced at the small box in his hand; there were a couple more rings inside. ”You wouldn't do this as a prank. What gives?”
”Swiping in virtual won't shock you, but it will activate Groundhog's exit software.” Dex filled in the blanks since they weren't following. ”It's a defense against Groundhog or something similar. Swipe it when you log out; no shock means you haven't exited.”
A knock on his front door followed by the sound of it opening announced the arrival of another guest.
”Coming in, Dex.” Quicksilver's voice called out from the entryway. ”Upstairs or down?”
”Kitchen,” Dex replied before peeking around the divider at the new arrival.
”Hey, Partner.” Darsi smiled at him, kissing his cheek before breezing past him. She paused when she saw the other two Bottom Feeders. ”Don't you two have somewhere else to go?”
Thumper shook her head while holding up her hand. ”Dex gave me a ring.”
”Me too,” Stiletto added.
Darsi held up her hand to match theirs. ”Did he mention that you can turn down the ring indicator so that it only vibrates when you swipe it?”
”.....” Thumper.
”Right...” Dex shrugged innocently. ”I was getting to that. You'll have to take it off to change the settings.”
”What time are you meeting, Nova?” Darsi didn't bother to hide the distaste she felt for the Infiltrator.
Dex did a quick time check before answering. ”About an hour, was hoping to grab lunch first.”
Darsi nodded before pointing a finger at Thumper and Stiletto. ”You two have to go. I'm going to make a special lunch for my partner.”
*******
Dex took the lift to the 9th level, stepping around a large, wheeled crate that contained dozens of smaller items. ”Anything in there for me?”
Gunner looked up; the permanent scowl his face usually exhibited slipped off. He had met the hive's 'Fucking Da Vinci' on a few occasions. But, unlike some of the other Bottom Feeders, Dex was fun to be around. ”Those old memory chips are in; I'll drop them off in your room later.”
”Cool...” Dex noticed the Hive quartermaster seemed curious. ”They have some unique qualities that I need for a new project. Ride the Wave, Gunner.”
Gunner fist-bumped the youngest Bottom Feeder. ”Ride the Wave Dextron.”
Less than a minute later, Dex knocked on the round red door that marked Nova's room. He waited several seconds without an answer before repeating the process. Finally, after another handful of seconds, the door opened to reveal the dark-haired Infiltrator.