Page 4 of Red Zone Awakened

CHAPTER2

There wasa stirring at the front of the crowd, and the hushed chatter quieted to murmurs, then silence.As one, the reporters surged toward the platform, where a wooden podium with the CommTECH logo dancing across the front of it in 3-D animation stood.Holographic projections appeared around the platform, shimmering figures telling their stories of how CommTECH’s implants had changed their lives for the better.

Mace wasn’t interested in the presentations—all he cared about was the part when Keiko stepped onto the stage—but the next hologram did manage to snag his attention.Mainly because it was a live feed of CommTECH’s CEO, Miriam Shepherd.As CEO of the most powerful company in the former United States, now known as the Northern Territory, she was essentially their president.Theirundemocraticallyappointed president.

Her white-blond hair was fashioned into a sleek bob that stopped at her jaw, and she wore a white pantsuit, but not the boxy kind that used to be Hillary Clinton’s trademark.This one fit like a glove, with the jacket wrapping around her body to fasten at the shoulder, and despite seeing her as a holographic projection, it was still easy to tell the material was silk—a sign of status, power, and wealth.She was larger than life, a beacon of glowing white light in the middle of the stage.She was their leader.Their messiah.Their hope.

Mace suddenly felt nauseous.

“Welcome to the product launch of our most advanced lens ever.”Miriam Shepherd’s holograph raised her hands, and the applause grew louder.The roar only subsided once she lowered her arms again.

“Well-trained dogs,” Mace muttered.

“Thank you for coming.”Miriam’s voice surrounded them, resonating from well-hidden speakers positioned throughout the terrace.“I apologize for being unable to attend this launch in person, but when you run the most successful company in the world, there are many demands on your time.”

“Her humility’s making me tear up,” Mace muttered into his throat mic.“Am I the only one getting cult-leader vibes from this performance?”

“Nope,” Striker said in his ear.“Any minute now, she’s gonna ask you to bow before her.”

“Yeah, good luck with that.”Mace had his share of bowing down to people when he was a kid.Now if someone wanted his respect, they had to earn it.

“Today’s launch is the first of several this season,” Miriam continued.“Over the next few weeks, we’ll be rolling out a series of new products that will set market standards for years to come.One of which is the new neural data chip being designed in this very facility under the guidance of our head of research, Rueben Granger.Our team of scientists, the best in the world, has pushed the boundaries on every aspect of integrated living that the modern person needs.We’re talking faster processing, smoother connectivity, enhanced neural integration, and longer product life—across the board.”

“Notice she said longer product life, not longer customer life,” Striker said.

There was more applause, although this time, she hadn’t signaled for it.The sheep were eager to eat the feed she shoveled them.

“Here to explain everything to you,” Miriam said, “is CommTECH’s press secretary, Keiko Sato.Accompanying her is the research team behind the world’s most advanced lens, the product we’re celebrating today.Please give them a warm welcome.”It was an order, and her audience jumped to comply.

As Miriam’s holograph disappeared in a shower of virtual-reality pyrotechnics, the doors behind the stage opened.A cheer went up, but Mace didn’t need the noise of the crowd to tell him that Keiko had arrived.He felt it in every cell of his body.

The diminutive woman, with curves aplenty and long black silken hair streaming down her back, strode out onto the stage, and Mace felt the same gut punch he’d experienced when he first set eyes on her.There was no denying that Keiko Sato was beautiful, but she also had something else, something undefinable that made Mace want to investigate—intimately, for a very long time.

She wore a form-fitting dress made of shimmering silver material, and her feet were clad in matching shoes with heels at least four inches tall.Keiko had a thing for sexy shoes, something he’d noticed when he picked her up at a local nightclub—before ruining her life.

Her presence filled the stage, her smile friendly and welcoming, and there was a mischievous glint in her eye that made people think they were in on some joke with her.Little wonder she’d risen through CommTECH’s ranks so quickly—her charisma would have been invaluable to them.As she beamed at the crowd, she made a point of staring straight through Mace, and although he deserved it, it still grated.

“That is one pissed-off woman,” Hunter said.

“I wonder why?”Mace was pretty pissed off himself.

He scanned the team of scientists before tapping on his datapad to check the people in front of him against the details of his target.A photo of Rueben Granger appeared.Mace glanced back at the lineup.His target, second on the left, had a look on his face that told the audience he was far too important for this event.According to the dossier his team had put together, Rueben was born to wealth, was ambitious, and was the youngest person ever to hold the position of lead scientist at a CommTECH research facility.He was also the man behind the new and very faulty data chip design.And he resembled an oily, hairless rat.Mace added that last part himself.

When he looked back to the stage, he found Keiko smiling at the first scientist in line—a friend she’d been partying with when Mace met her.Abigail Dawson was socially awkward but wasn’t shy about catching Mace’s eye, and when she did, she gave him a death glare.

“Uh, Hunter, did Keiko talk to Abigail about me while they were backstage?”Mace asked quietly.

“Did she ever,” Hunter replied with a laugh.“Dude, you are totally up shit creek.”

“Don’t you think you should have shut that crap down?”Mace held Abigail’s glare, but the timid scientist didn’t back off.It was impressive.

“Why?”Hunter asked, and Mace could almost hear him shrug.“It wasn’t a security issue.She was ranting about how much of a lowlife you are and how she regretted sleeping with you.Hate to tell you, but she wasn’t too impressed by your performance either.She said you have a hair trigger and finished before she even started, if you know what I mean.”

From the sniggering over the comms, every member of his team knew what Hunter meant.

“I don’t have a hair trigger,” Mace ground out.

“Hey, no judgment, dude.We all have our issues.”