Chapter 9

Simon rubbed his tired eyes as he typed in the message on his portable cortex unit. Visual communication wasn’t possible at this time, and he wasn’t surprised. These people didn’t know him, and he didn’t know them. He knew he needed to be careful. Up until now, he had been covering his tracks well. But now that all the groundwork had been laid, he needed to do something. He needed to make a difference.

Almost instantly, he received another message, coded to a non-existent ID, and he quickly read it before it was scrambled beyond deciphering. It was cryptic, and gave no time and place for a meeting. Only a simple sentence: will send someone to you.

He didn’t want to wait; he wanted to do something now. The message destroyed itself and Simon rubbed his tired eyes. It took a moment before he remembered there was something else he needed to do.

He quickly keyed in another account and tapped a few commands. He had other things that needed his attention and they were just as important as making contact with an Independent representative already placed within the government. With a sigh, he finished his transaction and cut the connection.

He had just slipped the unit into his lab pocket when someone walked into the lounge behind him.

“Lose your patient?”

Simon’s head swiveled toward the doorway where Mai Cheung stood, but he didn’t answer her right away.

“Yes.”

“It doesn’t get easier.” Mai stepped forward and joined him at the table in the corner of the staff lounge, and he briefly wondered if she remembered their past conversation on the subject.

“She looked like Kaylee,” he said softly, sadness evident in his tone. “If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought –“ He couldn’t finish. He didn’t want to discuss details of his life with Kaylee with his ex. He simply shook his head. “It will never get easier.”

“It’s never easy to see –“

“And what’s worse is that she was a bystander in some fight that had nothing to do with her.” The words just burst out before