DeathWeb (Fox Meridian Book 3) (39 page)

He looked at her for a second. ‘You jumped a hydrojet sled onto the back of a moving yacht in a tropical storm?’

Fox adopted the best innocent expression she could manage under the circumstances. ‘It wasn’t moving very fast…’

New York Metro, 31
^st
July.

‘Marie’s looking… enthusiastic,’ Fox commented. The household had settled into something like a normal existence. Fox was still not quite sure how she felt about Marie’s and Sam’s indiscretion, but she had Jason,
had
had Jason several times, and felt that she should be magnanimous, even if it killed her.

‘She got a part,’ Sam replied, ‘so she’s celebrating.’

‘By dusting things which don’t need dusting, on a Saturday, in an outfit out of a bad porn flick?’

Marie had dragged her fantasy maid’s outfit from wherever it had been hidden. The skirt was a belt and she was making sure she kept her legs straight when she bent over, which she did a lot. She had already had to rearrange her top more than once. Fox might have considered it rather cruel teasing, but the patent absurdity of the outfit was amusing, and Jason had said he would stop by in the evening.

‘We all celebrate in our own ways. I’d imagine she expects me to bend her over some furniture at some point.’

‘Personally,’ Fox said, raising her voice a little, ‘I think she needs spanking.’

Marie spun about, raising her hands and forming a perfect O of mock surprise with her painted lips. ‘Mon Dieu, Mademoiselle. Non! I am zee good girl.’

Fox stared at her. ‘
Never
do that in front of Jason.’ Marie giggled and went back to her dusting. ‘What’s the part?’ Fox asked Sam.

‘I’m not
entirely
sure. It’s an IB vid, I understand. Something involving murder and sex.’

‘Hopefully
not
involving a French maid.’

‘Hopefully not. It’s only on IB, not her beloved stage, but it’s a start and she’s quite hyped about it.’

‘Well, she deserves it and hopefully the experience won’t put her off the entire process.’

‘Look at her. One bad experience is not going to dent that enthusiasm.’

‘True. Sex and murder, huh? Sounds like my life.’

‘Well, hopefully you’ll have more of the former and less of the latter for a while.’

4
^th
August.

Harper August did not look any younger; if anything, he looked a little older as though the relief which showed on his face had come at the price of the anger which had kept him going. He had… faded a little since the last time Fox had seen him.

She had delayed going to see him to ensure she knew the legal situation, and that was sewn up as well as it was going to get before the trial, which would not happen until Grant was released from medical care. But she could report to the man who had set her on the path of hunting him down and he had requested that she come to his home at her earliest opportunity. He sat behind his desk and listened in silence as she recounted what had happened.

‘So, he’s recovering. They’ve set a provisional trial date for the ninth and, with additional input from Germany and South Africa, the prosecutor is pressing for life, in Cold Harbour, without possibility of parole.’

‘The charges?’ Harper asked.

‘Thirteen counts of kidnapping and assault, twelve of murder, and one of negligent homicide because Penny Dandridge died of heart failure brought on by shock, not direct action. A further two counts of kidnapping and assault for Chantal and Leonard Dandridge. They could only definitely confirm rape in two cases, the Dandridges, but he’s down for both of those and they’re going for aggravated rape. Chantal Dandridge is going to go through Hell testifying against the bastard, but she’s
determined
to do it.’

‘And will he be found guilty on all of that?’

Fox gave a slight shrug. ‘We still have a jury system, but we’ve got DNA and fingerprint evidence for Lauren Coolidge and Penny Dandridge. He’s linked to that torture room of his, and there were no unknowns. He had to be the one working on them down there. We have him as the person who rigged the LifeWeb software, and we have the evidence that it was employed in all the kidnappings. Captain Deveraux got his sealed records opened, and we got a list of juvenile assaults and an attempted rape which speaks to his mental state. I believe there’s enough to get him on everything.’

Harper nodded and leaned back in his chair with a sigh. ‘You have done me, and my granddaughter, a considerable service, Miss Meridian. One I feel that my acquiescence in the prosecution of my own crimes is hardly compensation for.’

‘I didn’t do it for compensation, Mister August. If I’d known about Patricia and had some way of uncovering her killer, I’d have done so even without our deal.’

‘And that, I believe, places me even more in your debt. I understand that MarTech is in negotiations to buy out LifeWeb.’

The apparent change of subject was a little jarring. Fox raised an eyebrow. ‘That’s not been announced yet, but yes. I don’t believe it’s a secret. LifeWeb’s stock tanked when news of the charges against Grant broke. MarTech Group owns sixty-eight per cent of LifeWeb’s stock and are negotiating for the rest. Leonard Dandridge isn’t fighting it. His company’s rep is in the toilet. LifeWeb issued a patch to close the backdoor, but someone leaked that it was MarTech who created it for them.’

‘Indeed. There are rumours of the buyout floating around various circles. Those are the only thing holding LifeWeb away from total collapse. I admit to being partially responsible for LifeWeb’s predicament, Miss Meridian.’ He did not sound especially unhappy about that, but also not really happy. Fox thought ‘resigned’ might be the best description. ‘I leveraged my entire fortune when you told me of the possibility of a hack in the LifeWeb software and short sold their stock to the tune of some three hundred million dollars. I bet on your success, if you will.’

Fox blinked. ‘Uh…’

‘The proceeds come to around two hundred and ninety-four million. I’m directing the funds and a substantial amount of my own into a fund in Patricia’s name. I’ll be starting a foundation with the object of supporting the prevention, detection, and investigation of serious personal crime, and the support of victims of those crimes.’

‘That sounds… worthy.’

‘I’m glad you think so. I’d like you to consider a position as an advisor to the board.’

‘I have a job, Mister August.’

He held up a hand. ‘It would be part-time and you need not give me an answer now. Wait until everything is set up and then consider. I will have absolutely no hand in the foundation once it is initiated, so you need not worry about that. And there is one other thing.’

‘And that is?’

‘Your consultancy fee in the matter of my successful financial transaction allowing me to set the foundation up.’

‘I don’t–’

‘A sum of five point nine million dollars will be deposited into your account this afternoon. Two per cent is a fairly standard fee. My broker is getting the same. There will be an amount of tax to be paid, but what you do with the money is up to you, Miss Meridian. Invest it, give it to charity, convert it into gold and roll around on it in your bedroom, whatever you wish and none of my concern.’ An image floated through Fox’s mind of rolling around naked on a huge pile of gold coins, which would likely be uncomfortable, and she cursed the old man for giving it to her. ‘I would urge you to consider that financial independence, even when you love the work you do, can be a very useful thing. Consider that before you give it away in disgust at the source.’

‘I… don’t know what to say. Thank you?’

A weak but genuine smile broke out on Harper August’s face. ‘I accept your thanks, but they are entirely unnecessary, Miss Meridian. You provided me with closure and Patricia with the one thing I could never get her, justice.’

Alexandria, Niflhel.

Kit’s back arched in a posture Fox was sure would have snapped a real woman’s spine. The kitsune shook, her legs twitching on Fox’s shoulders. Kit’s shoulders were on the bed while Fox held her hips up, Fox’s face buried in her friend’s sweet, wet sex. Kit’s hands clenched convulsively in the sheets of the little bed in Fox’s room, and there was the tail, flicking wildly, dashing across Fox’s belly in a manner that was more of a turn-on than Fox would have expected. Kit’s body stiffened and she let out a long squeal of delight, and then she went limp.

Fox lowered Kit to the bed, careful of her tail, and then crawled up to lie beside her. Because she felt like it, Fox reached up and began to gently caress one of Kit’s breasts. Kit squirmed at the touch, but she was slowly coming down.

‘Was that my reward for finding Mister Dandridge?’ Kit asked after a few seconds.

‘That, and I’ve got a virtual training program you can use to learn to drive the Q-bug. No driving the real thing until you pass the test at the end.’

Kit giggled. ‘You are
very
good to me. Many AIs would count themselves lucky to have such a caring owner. What is worrying you?’

‘Why should something be worrying me?’

‘That is what I wish to know. I catch you looking distracted. I believe it is since we visited Mister August. However, there is also the passage of the private policing resolution.’

‘Yeah, there’s that, but that just means hard work and more politics. No, it’s the money. I’m going to be stupid rich if I keep it.’

‘I am unsure of the definition of “stupid rich.” However, after taxes, you will net some four point nine five million. Invested conservatively, this would result in around an extra forty-one thousand dollars per month. While substantial, this does not place you into the ranks of the mega-rich: you simply have a large available cash supply, should you need it. You could, as Mister August implied, be financially independent, if that were something you wanted.’

‘Oh… You did some research while I was worried about being a millionaire.’

‘I thought it might be prudent.’

Fox grinned, leaned forward, and kissed Kit’s cheek. ‘What would I do without you?’ She kissed again, at the joint of neck and jaw. Her hand began to slide over skin once more.

‘I am… sure you would… Fox, I’ve had my… my reward.’

‘Yeah,’ Fox said, ‘so this is just because you’re my gorgeous assistant.’

Kit let out a whimper. ‘I don’t think I can object to that.’ So she did not.

###

About the Author

I was born in the vicinity of Hadrian's Wall so perhaps a bit of history rubbed off. Ancient history obviously, and border history, right on the edge of the Empire. I always preferred the Dark Ages anyway; there’s so much more room for imagination when people aren’t writing down every last detail. So my idea of a good fantasy novel involved dirt and leather, not shining plate armour and Hollywood-medieval manners. The same applies to my sci-fi, really; I prefer gritty over shiny.

Oddly, then, one of the first fantasy novels I remember reading was The Dark Is Rising, by Susan Cooper (later made into a terrible juvenile movie). These days we would call Cooper’s series Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy and looking back on it, it influenced me a lot. It has that mix of modern day life, hidden history, and magic which failed to hit popular culture until the early days of Buffy and Anne Rice. Of course, Cooper’s characters spend their time around places I could actually visit in Cornwall, and South East England, and mid-Wales. In fact, when I went to university in Aberystwyth, it was partially because some of Cooper’s books were set a few miles to the north around Tywyn.

I got into writing through roleplaying, however, so my early work was related to the kind of roleplaying game I was interested in. I wrote science fiction when I was playing
Traveller.
I wrote “high fantasy” when I was playing
Dungeons & Dragons
. I wrote a lot of superhero fiction when I was playing
City of Heroes
. I still love the idea of a modern world with magic in it and I’ve been trying to write a novel based on this for a long time. As with any form of expression, practice is the key and I can look back on all the aborted attempts at books, and the more successful short stories, as steps along the path to the Thaumatology Series.

Recently I took the big step of quitting my day job and taking up full-time writing. My favourite authors are Terry Pratchett, Susan Cooper, J.D. Robb, and Kim Harrison. Kim’s Hollows books were what finally spurred me to publish something, even if the trail to here came by way of Susan, back in school, several decades ago.

For More Information

Take a look at the Witches and Ray-guns blog:
http://witchesandrayguns.wordpress.com

Other Books by this Author

Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B006J6II9O

Amazon.co.uk:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B006J6II9O

The
Thaumatology
Series

Thaumatology 101

Demon’s Moon

Legacy

Dragon’s Blood

Disturbia

Hammer of Witches

Eagle’s Shadow

Ancient

Dragonfall

The Other Side of Hell

For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll

Vengeance

Anthologies in the
Thaumatology
Universe

Tales from High Towers’ Study

Tales from the Dubh Linn

The
Aneka Jansen
Books

Steel Beneath The Skin

The Cold Steel Mind

Steel Heart

The Winter War

The Greatest Heights of Honour

The Lowest Depths of Shame

Hope

The
Ultrahuman
Books

Ugly

Shadows

The
Unobtainium
Books

Kate on a Hot Tin Roof

The
Reality Hack
Books

Reality Hack

The
Fox Meridian
Books

Fox Hunt

Inescapable

DeathWeb