3rd World Products, Book 16 (8 page)

Shouldering my backpack, I bee-lined for the mailbox until the camera could only see me from the waist up. Through the probe, I heard Tanya mutter, “
Oh, my God, he has to know it’s there! Oh, hell!
” Bending and giving the camera a little wave, I reached under the mailbox and wrenched the camera away from the double-sided tape that held it.
 

The tiny white camera was slimmer than an inch in thickness, about three inches wide, and about four inches long. It had no apparent audio capability. My probe said the camera was using the
neighbor’s WiFi to send its signal. No problem; my laptop detected his system inside my house.
 

I didn’t hold it in front of me and grin, though that occurred to me. Instead, I let it dangle from my fingers and swing back and forth as I walked back to my driveway, then I put it in a shirt pocket and called Galatea.
 

Her two-seat emerald version appeared. I stepped aboard and headed for Ocala. A few minutes later I stepped off the flitter a few paces behind Tanya’s car. The probe showed her sipping from a name-brand foam coffee cup. I canceled the probe and walked toward her car.
 

Tanya’s eyes suddenly locked on her rearview mirror, then her head snapped around. I waved and smiled as I walked to the passenger side door.
 

Tanya sat staring at me. I fished the camera out of my pocket and said, “Trade you for a ride, lady.”
 

Her eyes locked on the camera for a moment, then she fumbled at the armrest controls on her door and all the door locks popped. I tried the door handle and it worked, so I got in and handed her the camera.
 

She blurted, “How the hell did you get here so fast?”
 

“I flew. Didn’t you see my wings? You might want to turn that thing off and save the batteries.”
 

Glancing at the camera, she opened the case and took out the batteries. Popping the case back together, she dropped it and the batteries into her purse. Her stare returned to me.
 

“What?” I asked, “I said I’d be here, didn’t I? Let’s park this car at your place…”
 

She interrupted, “How did you find me?”
 

As if she hadn’t interrupted, I continued, “…and we can talk about the best way to proceed.”
 

“What? Proceed with what?”
 

“The matter of getting around certain laws, remember? Do you have a backpack or a small case?”
 

“Uh, I have a backpack, yes.”
 

“Put enough stuff for a couple of days in it on general principles. We might have to do some traveling.”
 

“Traveling? Where?”
 

“Nowhere until you get this car moving.”
 

“I want to know where you’re talking about going.”
 

“We can ride and talk at the same time, so let’s go.”
 

Her gaze narrowed, but she set her coffee in the cup holder and turned off her laptop. Without shutting the lid, she started the car and backed us out of the space, then headed for the highway. I closed the laptop and put it in its case.
 

Tanya glanced at me and asked, “How did you get here so fast? And how did you know where to find me? And how did you know about the camera?”
 

“I got here by flitter. The rest is my business. Do you know about Robodoc clinics?”
 

She glanced at me again and nodded. “Yes. They’re illegal or we’d have them here.”
 

“Yup. It’s also illegal for a US citizen to use one overseas except in an emergency where there’s no other medical facility within reach.”
 

Taking us north on I-75, she asked, “Why?”
 

With a dismissive gesture, I said, “Later for all that. Our immediate mission is to get Marie fixed here or to get her to a Robodoc clinic. If you show up with me, someone’ll probably catch on. I’m deciding whether that matters.”
 

“Will you get in trouble?”
 

“Oh, without a doubt, ma’am, but that’s not the problem. Certain people know I helped arrange to get three lawyers fixed so they’d join a law firm that exists specifically to fight the anti-med-field laws. They also know I took an astronomer named Joyce out of the country to get her legs fixed.”
 

In a flat tone, Tanya stated, “You think they’d try to stop us, then.”
 

“They’d have to if they knew. Any docs or nurses who helped us or didn’t report us could lose
their licenses. So could a nursing home.”
 

Glaring at the world beyond her front bumper, Tanya hissed, “That’s absolutely
rancid
, Ed!”
 

“Lots of people agree with that, but rancidity is irrelevant at the moment. We need a way to get Marie out of there or to make treating her here unavoidable and legal. There are a few tiny loopholes in the laws. I figure the ‘crats left them in so they could use them.”
 

“Crats?”
 

“Bureaucrats. Politicians in particular.”
 

“Loopholes? They can use Robodocs?”
 

“Under the right circumstances, which could be arranged. But although there’s a Robodoc in the Capitol Building clinic, it hasn’t been turned on and they can’t turn it on. It won’t become active until everyone can use it. Same with the other Robodocs in the US.”
 

Glancing at me, Tanya asked, “Then why have them at all? Couldn’t they use them in another country?”
 

“I’d call them ‘bait’. Someday one of those high-rank scammers will have a medical emergency within spitting distance of a Robodoc. Without it, he or she will have to hope plain ol’ Earth medicine can save the day. Maybe fear of dying will outweigh lobby pressures. All it takes is a precedent.”
 

With a shrug, I added, “But all that’s irrelevant, too, right now. Let’s concentrate on how to get Marie treatment. Does she ever go anywhere?”
 

Shaking her head, Tanya said, “No. Never.”
 

“Well, then, can that place handle a coronary or would they have to ship her to a hospital?”
 

Tanya yelped, “A coronary?!”
 

“Just an example. Anything really serious would do. Could they handle it, or would she have to go to a hospital?”
 

Taking an exit for County 326, Tanya said, “A woman was sent to an emergency room a couple of months ago.” She turned east on 326 and added, “But I don’t know why they sent her.”
 

A couple of quiet miles later, Tanya turned north for a few blocks, then pointed ahead at what looked like a mid-range apartment complex and said, “That’s where we’re going.”
 

Across the street and slightly north from the entrance was a gas station and convenience store. I pointed across her pointing arm and said, “Let’s go there first. Park away from the front doors.”
 

Tanya gave me an odd look, but steered into the station lot and followed my pointing finger to park us in front of the building in the last slot on the left.
 

Turning off the engine, she looked at me and asked, “Any more instructions?”
 

I watched the road behind us and said, “Yeah. Sit there and continue to look gorgeous for a minute. I want to check something before we go any farther.”
 

“Check what?”
 

“If they’d send the FBI when you asked a few questions about ancient history, they might also have thought you’d be worth watching. If they’re watching you, they’d want to know every move you make. That would include your visit to Spring Hill and meeting me in Inverness.”
 

Turning around with a sigh, I said, “All of which means it was too late to be careful before we met. Just a minute.”
 

I had probes check her car and found a tracker tucked inside her front bumper.
 

“Come on,” I said, and got out of the car. I waited until she was also out before walking to the front of the car and pointing. “It’s right there, inside the bumper.”
 

Tanya gave me one of those ‘
you must be crazy
‘ looks and asked, “What’s right there?”
 

“A tracker. Hang on a minute.”
 

Grinning, I showed her my hands as if in a magic act and said, “See? Nothing up my sleeves.”
 

Keeping my hands on the car as I let myself down and turned to take a peek under the bumper, I saw Tanya hunker beside me, obviously taking pains to avoid having me look up her skirt as she braced herself on the car.
 

Leaning to look under the bumper, she asked, “What the hell are you doing?”
 

Feeling around until I found the tracker, I flicked open my belt knife and pried until the little
black gadget fell past my face. Handing it to Tanya, I said, “A souvenir, ma’am.”
 

As I sat up, she asked, “What the hell is it?”
 

“A tracker. We can smash it, trash it, or have some fun with it.”
 

Looking up at me, she asked, “Fun?”
 

Grinning and getting to my feet, I said, “Good choice, ma’am,” and offered her a hand.
 

She took it and stood up. “I was asking what you meant.”
 

Noddingly indicating an electrical contractor truck near the front doors, I said, “Then I’ll tell you, milady. See that truck from Gainesville? Let’s go shopping and see if there’s anything we need today.”
 

The pickup truck had big metal cabinet sides and racks with spools of cable in the back. I flipped the tracker into the back of the truck as we passed it.
 

Tanya asked, “Won’t that piss someone off?”
 

Getting the door for her, I replied, “Yeah, but it’ll be somebody who doesn’t care that tracking you might piss
you
off, so fuck ‘em.”
 

I bought a Dr. Pepper and Tanya bought a pack of gum, then we went back to her car. The truck had departed while we were in line. As I gallantly opened her driver’s door and she sat down, Tanya seemed rather disturbed. She sat with both hands on the lowest part of the steering wheel and just stared at the center of the wheel.
 

Going around the car and getting in, I fastened my seat belt and asked, “Something on your mind, ma’am?”
 

After a moment, she looked up and asked, “Why
track
me? All I did was ask about something that happened before I was born. What the
hell
have I gotten into?”
 

I shrugged. “You could have asked about any number of things from way back then that would have rated a visit from the FBI. Since Connie and Will showed up so quickly, they’re probably in some reserve program. Maybe on retainer as instructors, just to keep contacts active and extra money coming in. But I doubt they’d have done any more than file a report to justify time and expenses.”
 

Sipping my drink, I said, “Somebody read their report, though. Somebody who thoroughly examined every name mentioned for links to any current political footballs. They’d have turned up Linda and me. Linda’s retired. Completely retired, I think. I’m also officially retired, but I’m unofficially on tap for a couple of people at 3rd World. If they tried to sniff that trail, they got a noseful of pepper.”
 

Tanya gave me a little grin. “Pepper?”
 

“Yup. Misdirection, fluff, bother, and generous dollops of tail-chasing bullshit. But there’s too much on record outside 3rd World’s control about certain events, and one of them would be Joyce’s new legs.” Leaning slightly toward her, I added in a confidential tone, “They’re very noticeable, you know. Certain people in the government were annoyed with me, ma’am. They prob’ly still don’t like me much.”
 

Tanya ventured, “So you think your name in a report is what made them put a tracker on my car?”
 

“Well, I hate to make this all about me, but can you think of any other reason? A better one?”
 

“No, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one.”
 

I chuckled, “Of course, milady. As you say, milady. Now I’m wondering what else
you’ve
been up to.”
 

Rolling her eyes, Tanya replied, “Yeah, right. How long are we going to stay here?”
 

Grinning, I said, “We can leave any time you want, ma’am. They already knew I’m involved. Now they know I know they’re involved.”
 

With noticeable irritation, she snapped, “Exactly
how
is that a good thing?”
 

“Stage magic needs an audience’s rapt attention to achieve the desired effect.”
 

Chapter Six
 

Tanya just looked at me for a moment, then shook her head, sighed, and started the car. A few minutes later she parked it again, this time near a block of apartments. She reached for the ignition key, but didn’t turn off the engine as she turned to me and asked, “Why did we come here?”
 

“As opposed to going where else?”
 

“The nursing home. Don’t you need to see the place? Don’t you want to see my Mom?”
 

Trying to look moderately enlightened, I replied, “Ah. No, not yet. First we need to set the stage.”
 

“Do what?”
 

“You’ll see.” I opened my door and said, “Come on.”
 

We got out and she led the way to her apartment. I used a field to sweep the area ahead and found two sound-activated bugs within a yard of the door. Pausing her key-holding hand, I put a finger to my lips, then reached for the nearest bug and dropped it on the concrete.