Binary: An Encrypted to Cipher Bridge Short Story Read Online Free Page A

clear a room,” Zach commented as he rose.
    “Yeah, guys, they’ve got guards to burn, pun intended. And those reinforcements are hauling their ass your way.”
    Ronnie packed the device back up. “Come on.”
    They took off, following Quirk’s relayed instructions. He only had to correct Ronnie twice. A record.
    Zach pushed through the rooftop door. They rushed onto the flat-topped building’s roof. But there was no helicopter.
    “Quirk,” Ronnie snapped. “Where are you?”
    “Yeah, we were taking some heavy fire. They’ve got AK-47s.”
    “No kidding,” Zach said. His ears still rang from the firefight back in the office.
    “Pilot can’t risk getting too close. He wants you to head south. Get at least a block and a half away.”
    “What exactly is the point in having a getaway vehicle if it doesn’t help you get away?” Ronnie asked, but then a spat of gunfire shot up at the circling chopper, convinced both of them that they needed to get on the move.
    Zach looked out over the retaining wall. “That next building isn’t far.” Luckily, the streets of the island were narrow and curving. They could do this.
    Ronnie sighed. “I really do need to do more squats.”
    He took her hand and they ran full out, then launched off the retaining wall. They soared through the air, then crashed down on the neighboring building’s roof. This one was more sloped. He had to lash out and grab a pipe to keep from slipping off.
    Ronnie was already up, scrambling up the tile roof to the peak. She then ran along the narrow board. From there, she launched to the next building. Zach hurried to catch up.
    “Agent Hunt!” a voice called out in his ear. Warp.
    “Yes, I’m in pursuit.”
    “Interpol is losing its mind right now. You disrupted a major meeting between the Triad and Yakusa.”
    “Tell me about it,” Zach grunted as he shoved off the roof to the next building.
    “They had planned a raid,” Warp informed him.
    “Well, then how about they get their asses in here, then?”
    Another spat of gunfire came from down the street. This time, though, they must have hit a rotor on the chopper, as the vehicle careened sideways, wobbling on its axis. The chopper disappeared behind two buildings. So much for their getaway vehicle.
    Still, they headed south. The pilot would find a way to get back to them.
    Hopefully .
    They kept heading south until they ran out of buildings. They were at the ocean’s edge.
    “Interpol staged their attack from a French frigate just across the twelve-mile international waters line. If you can get to that ship, you’ll be safe.”
    Looking down at the dingy docks, there were plenty of small boats down there. Good to have a backup plan to the helicopter.
    “Can you hotwire a boat?” he asked the hacker.
    “Please,” Ronnie said, rolling her eyes.
    She pointed to a large yacht. “I think we should nab the Zeus. It’s got some serious power under the hood.”
    Zach raised an eyebrow. Where did Ronnie get this extensive knowledge of yachts?
    Ronnie shrugged. “The Zeus was built with pirates in mind. Even the uber-rich have to be worried about being boarded. It was built for luxury, but also speed, so they could outrun their attackers.”
    “But how do we get down to it?” Zach asked.
    After pointing to an electrical wire that ran from the corner of the building down to the dock, Ronnie knelt down and cut the ends off the straps of her pack. She handed him one of the short woven bands, then put the pack on her back.
    She placed the strap over the wire. “See you at the bottom.”
    For such a high tech gal, she certainly could go low tech when needed.
    * * *
    The warm Pacific air blew through Ronnie’s hair, her braids long since unwoven. Her fingers cramped as she held onto the strap and streaked down the power cord, which turned out to be slightly harder than it looked. For one thing, the insulation on the cord was uneven, at times bunching, creating humps which threatened her hold