The Iron Admiral: Deception Read Free

appeared to be a normal pen out of his pocket, then pressed the end. It lit up, pulsing at Pyndrees. He brought the device closer, homing in on the signal coming from the man’s left breast.
    Grinning, Pyndrees handed his ID card over, then watched as Sean located the micro-dot, removed it and slipped it onto the skimmer beside them. That had been a bit obvious. Sean flicked the pen again.
    This time the micro-dot was on Pyndrees’s sleeve. He eased the tracker off, holding it on the end of the pen.
    Pyndrees raised a hand and mouthed ‘wait’. He fetched a probe from his gear, telescoped it under the vehicle beside them with the micro-dot attached and stuck the device under the chassis.
     
    That would keep them guessing for a while. ‘Let’s go’, Sean mouthed.
    Pyndrees raised his eyebrows and pointed a finger at Sean’s head. ‘Your chip.’
    Sean shook his head, jerked a thumb at the exit and pointed at another skimmer parked in a bay nearby.
    Stealing the machine was child’s play to a man like Pyndrees. He disarmed the activators, took them out, replaced them with a set of his own and started the engine. He took a moment to retrieve the recordings taken of the latest journey from his own skimmer before sliding into the driver’s seat of the stolen machine. Sean jumped in beside him.
    “Are you sure they can’t track you via the chip? How does that work?” Pyndrees asked as they drove up the ramp.
    You think I’d tell you?“Just a little something that disrupts the signal. It only works for me.”
    The man shot him an admiring glance. “Nice. I like that sensor you used to find the trackers, too.
    Where’d you get them?”
    Allysha had designed them both, of course. He had asked her for the sensor that found trackers, just as he had asked her for a personal shield. She built the locator years ago, to help a ptorix family find a missing relative. Sean saw the value of the device immediately and built one of his own in secret. It had proved useful more than once and now the tracker was set to react to Allysha’s chip. The disrupter was his own design, built to prevent anybody from tracking him via a satellite. He might not be as good as Allysha, but he was still pretty damned good.
    Pyndrees sent the skimmer into the joining lane for the expressway back to the city.
    “What are you doing?” Sean said. “You can pick up the Lysanda they’re in from the satellite, can’t you?”
    “Yes, but I don’t like the risk. As soon as we get anywhere near that Lysanda they’ll recognize us. Better think again.”
    ****
The market proved to be a vast building on the edge of the manufacturing district. Saahren and Allysha left the skimmer at the automatic parking station and joined the bustle in a hall crowded with shoppers, some carrying bags, some using personal trolleys to carve a path for themselves through busy aisles that receded into the distance.
     
    Allysha stared around like a child in a sweet shop taking in the noise and color. Stall-holders spruiked their wares, shouting above the drone of voices. She heard snippets of conversation. ‘No, Con. You’ve just had breakfast.’ ‘… can’t believe how expensive beets are.’ ‘… cheap shoes…’ She caught the fragrance of flowers here, perfume there, the unmistakable smell of leather goods. People jostled as they pushed past her.
     
    “This is amazing. There’s stuff here from everywhere.”
    “That’s right. But don’t get too involved. I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry.”
    Saahren guided her through the throng out toward a food court. She extricated herself from his grip to find an unoccupied table while he bought the food. He came back with a loaded tray of steaming kaff and
    cylindrical rolls. They certainly smelled nice. Her mouth watered.
    Saahren picked up a roll and crunched, hand cupped under his mouth to catch crumbs. Allysha bit into a delicious, creamy, spicy mixture of meat and vegetables in a crisp coating. She