Ecko Rising Read Online Free

and a thing for practical jokes – in the three months he’d been with Lugan, he’d grown on the cell team like a particularly virulent form of mould.
    Shit!
    He wasn’t going to let her do this.
    Aloud, Lugan said, “Without Ecko, we’d have fuck all. No info, no lead on Grey, a boot up our collective arse-crack.”
    The Boss’s flawless face gave the faintest hint of a smile.
    “Without Collator’s clean-up,” she said, “your collective arse-crack would be sitting on a cold metal bench. And that would be the fun just beginning. Ecko has a peculiar charisma, certainly, and I know you’re fond of him –”
    “’E did the job. ” Lugan gripped the dog-end between yellow-stained thumb and forefinger and blew a long, dirty plume of smoke. “You know I need ’im – ’e’s deniable, ’e can do the shit I can’t. My ’ands stay clean.”
    “Unless they’re covered in bits of medic. ” The lights on her flawless face changed, shadows flickered and cycled.
    Her skin was shifting with mottle like Ecko’s. With a grin like a rusty knife, Lugan flicked the lighter’s wheel with a tiny, metallic chink . Nothin’ like takin’ a trip down Irony Lane...
    “I need ’im.” Lugan blew the flame out and dropped the lighter back in the pocket of his old denim cut-down. “I want ’im on my team.”
    “Do your team want him?”
    “’E needs family,” Lugan said. “We –”
    “He has family.” The Boss cut him short. “His mother still lives in London. The charity she founded isn’t large, but it operates. His siblings have lives and families that are easily traceable. He had a solid and loving –”
    “ Four bleedin’ half-sisters, an’ a storybook wicked stepdad. It’s enough to make anyone retreat into a world of comic-book ’eroics.”
    “Yes, but I question his ability to come out .” Her voice hinted at a steel edge. “He’s critically damaged, socially certifiable and an unnecessary risk to my security and yours. You’re a radical.”
    “I’m a businessman –”
    “But Ecko’s insane. ”
    “Yeah.” Lugan leaned forward, he wasn’t backing down from this. “’E’s also a fuckin’ gem. ” He coughed smoke, inhaled harder. “’E got a lead on Doc Grey – got a location! We can get that bastard, kick Pilgrim where it ’urts. ” In an “up yours” gesture, he tapped his ash into the glass carafe on the table.
    There was a tiny, defiant hiss.
    “Lugan.” Almost regretfully, the Boss said, “I know why you’ve taken to Ecko so strongly. He’s the part of you that you miss, the part that Pilgrim’s new society has taken from you. You’ve learned to conform – at least as far as you have to. Ecko...” She trailed off into a pale, perfect shrug. “...Hasn’t.”
    Conform, my arse. Goaded now, Lugan marshalled his assault.
    “Yeah, maybe I was like that once – no fuckin’ brakes.” His tone revved like a gunned engine. “It’s why I understand ’im – I get it. But think – just think what ’e could bring down!”
    “Us?” Her tinkling laugh was ice-cold; she almost turned to face them. Lugan held himself still, lungs full of oily smoke. Her chin was lifted, the lights tinged with colours, tantalising hints of shapes that teased her perfect, ageless skin.
    She said, “Your faith in him is touching.” Light and laughter pulsed again. “But I think his presence affects your decisions. If he won’t follow orders, then I can’t use him. And neither can you.”
    Lugan glowered. “We got the location of Grey’s lair. You know Ecko’s gotta do this...”
    The Boss inhaled, mustering patience. “Don’t be ridiculous. If the data you’ve given me clears, then this may be one of the single most important penetrations we’ve ever attempted. Ecko’s Tech was one of the doctors that went renegade when Pilgrim took over. What she did to him has damaged his mental stability beyond repair. We can’t let him handle something like this – we send in a