Phoenix Phire

"Been simmering long enough?" Darsi peeked over his shoulder at the sauce he was cooking, a feat that required her to stand on her tiptoes since he was quite a bit taller than her.

"Is this conversation about the sauce? Or what we saw while using the T-6?" Dex attempted to put on a sour expression but was easily defeated when she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him close.

"Feeling a bit salty?' Darsi's blue eyes showed humor, despite the serious tone.

"Is this about the sauce? Or my mood?"

"Both? Why are you comparing everything to spaghetti sauce?" Darsi released her grip and slid around him to access the cupboard.

It had been forty-eight hours since the report from the Anodyne Cybernetic job returned; the Bottom Feeders decided to take a few days to study the results while letting the Kenji situation sit.

Dex shrugged slightly; Darsi had spent the last two days in his room. The partners spent most of that chatting about off-topic things like childhood stories and motorcycles.

Darsi removed two plates, her pretty face unreadable. "Perhaps you are missing Nova?"

Dex let his serious expression slip in favor of a grin; Quicksilver loved to take little jabs at his infiltrator friend. "What's the deal with the two of you? Oil and water?"

Darsi fixed him with a deadpan stare. "You can be so dense..."

Dex laughed but silently agreed as he tasted a bit of the sauce that he was preparing. "Somethings missing..."

The blonde pursed her lips slightly. "Let me see." Darsi leaned closer, placing a hand under his to support the spoon. Unexpectedly she slid to one side and moved closer, lightly brushing her lips against his before stepping away. "Nothing is missing; it's fucking perfect."

Dex felt his face warm considerably, thankful that Darsi had turned around to rummage through the silverware drawer. "Is that a legitimate way of testing sauce?" He muttered a curse at the awkwardness of his words; some people say cool things under pressure while he tended to wallow in quicksand.

Darsi found the utensils she was looking for, freezing for a moment when she noticed his expression. "It's not? I'm going to fucking kill Gadget."

Dex stared blankly for a moment before breaking out in laughter. Just like that, the awkwardness he felt disappeared. "Damn... You had me for a second."

"More like a couple of seconds," Darsi countered with a wink.

The two shared a quiet dinner, occasionally talking about minor things, but neither was bothered by the silent moments when they lengthened. Finally, they arrived at the designated meeting time for the Bottom Feeders.

Darsi and Dex were the last to arrive. Thumper, Gadget, Mongoose, and Stiletto were already perusing data files on their HUDs. As if perfectly synched, all four HUDs shut down when they arrived.

"Why staring so hard? We aren't late!" Darsi used her HUD to bring up the report, noticing that Dex did the same.

The group shared a look before Gadget cleared his throat. "There was an attachment for this report, Darsi. Sending it now."

"What are we looking at." Darsi could see that it was a list of names; automatically, her eyes stopped when she spotted a familiar name. "Kenji is on this list?"

Gadget nodded, his expression giving nothing away. "This is a list of candidates."

"Hmm... Why so glum?" Darsi glanced around the table, immediately feeling like she was being treated delicately. She had already studied the report on the Anodyne job. It gave a list of ideal qualities for what was only referred to as 'the procedure." "Makes sense, I guess. They all fit the profile."

According to the report, those deemed suitable have the following characteristics.

1) Male: Although there was no difference neurologically between the genders, clinical data indicated that men had a notably higher survival rate when undergoing procedures involving the brain.

2) Virtual Presence: Those who spent years in virtual settings enjoyed neural pathways that were more extensive and more complex; hackers or virtual gamers preferred.

3) High Intelligence: Although the procedure destroys the frontal lobe, many critical brain components remain functional. Those with higher intelligence process and store data faster than their counterparts.

Darsi shrugged slightly; Kenji was nothing to her. Just some idiot who worked for law enforcement. She scanned further down the list before stopping suddenly, her warm blue eyes instantly growing cold. "Oh... Fuck no! No fucking way that's happening!"

The rest of the Bottom Feeders all looked at Dextron for support. The list had been made in reverse, with the best candidates being at the bottom. The last name on the list was familiar to everyone, Dexter Wallace.

Dex noticed his name right away but didn't feel the emotional impact that either the Bottom Feeders or Darsi felt; instead, he was surprisingly unconcerned. In truth, when he read the candidate characteristics, his first thought was that he would be an ideal candidate. "Are we going to help, Kenji? What about the four casualties already suffered?"

"I already researched them." Stiletto brought up the table hud and viewed four separate profiles. Three of them were male, while the fourth was female. "The men all died during the procedure. Their data has been scrubbed clean. No DNA, fingerprints, or records of any sort."

Darsi closed three of the files, viewing the lone female. "What's the deal with the female?"

Stiletto brought up everything she was able to dig up on the only female candidate. "She died while being kidnapped late at night while walking home. Defensive wounds indicate that the girl had some fight in her."

Thumper frowned at the picture of the pretty Asian girl; she was too young to die so horribly. "Initially, it says she was listed as a Jane Doe?"

Stiletto nodded. "This sticks out a bit because recently, she was identified by an anonymous source."

Dex moved a copy of the report to his personal HUD while looking at the details. "This was more than seven years ago."

Darsi cursed; the anger on her face hadn't faded at all. "Perhaps she was one of the first candidates. There could have been others that we never heard about."

"Should we go after the anonymous source?" Dex smiled at his partner. "Perhaps it was someone involved who felt guilty."

Darsi considered it for a moment before nodding. "Since you already have your fingers in this, try and find the source of this leak."

Stiletto nodded before turning her multi-colored gaze onto Dex. "Want to help me with..?"

Darsi interrupted before she could finish. "He's going to be busy with the H & F job; the two of us will be heading to Geneva."

"I can give you a hand," Thumper volunteered, well aware that the Tesla could do the work by herself.

"Great, thanks Thumper," Stiletto replied with her best fake smile.

"Armageddon is ready to go?" Gadget was able to glimpse the security software while Dextron was tweaking it. If Dex had used that for his entry test, none of the levels on the tower would have lit up.

"Yes," Dex nodded confidently. He developed most of the software before he was placed under house arrest. Since his return to the wave, Armageddon had been completely reworked and was ready to go to rumble.

"I'll book our tickets to Geneva." Darsi relaxed with a long exhale. "Find our anonymous source while Dex and I put the pieces in place for the H & F job."

Gadget raised a hand to get everyone's attention before they left. "What about Kenji? Are we going after him?"

Darsi shared a glance with Dex before answering. "Let's vote! I say no, bastard went after Dex!"

Mongoose shook his head. "I say no. Too much risk for us! That guy isn't a friend of ours."

"No," Thumper stated quickly.

"Too risky," Stiletto agreed. "We have more important fish to fry."

"It's a no from me," Gadget replied.

Dex felt the group staring at him. "Fuck that guy. If Syntax hadn't warned me, I might be the one in that hospital."

Darsi sat up from her seat, waiting for Dex while he closed up the windows he had open. "It's an eight-hour flight to Geneva. Use the time to wrap up our loose ends."

Gadget gestured toward himself and Mongoose. "We'll use the Tandem jumper to back you up during the meeting with H & F."

*******Author's Note******

Don't confuse the Tandem jumper with the T-6. Although similar, the Tandem is a two-seater that can only utilize a handful of satellites for real-time feedback. The T-6 can use more resources and is capable of producing v-Earth

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"That should work," Darsi agreed. Syntax could use a dozen satellites and give them real-time feedback in their mission area.

All five of the Bottom Feeders were dispersing when the lights flickered slightly. Of the five of them, Dex was the only one who didn't show a reaction.

"Set security to active!" Darsi broke into a run, heading for Dex's room. "You're with me in the Tandem!"

Dex followed without comment, noting that Gadget and the others had already disappeared. "What's going on?"

Darsi went through his front door and was up the loft stairs before answering. "Our lights don't flicker; that means someone is peeking at our shit."

Dex slowed to a walk, watching as she opened the Tandem and climbed in. "I plugged Armageddon into the Hive security. So no one is breaking in."

"Doesn't Armageddon have a glaring issue?"

Dex answered with a grin before climbing into the pod beside her. "Only the version I'm selling H & F; the one I installed here is tight!"

Darsi waited until he was ready before pulling the hatch down. "Ride the wave, Dextron."

Dex fist-bumped her. "Ride the wave, Quicksilver."