The Source

Chapter X. A long-awaited find.

There was a small coffee house on the street near the hotel where in the early morning the both friends were sitting at to have something for breakfast after a short sleep and then to go further to comb the town in searching. A little tablet that was laying on the table had a built-in scanner-search engine, an essential tool of the operation “Vestiga”.

- If we find the Source, we will get a pile of rating. What would you use it for? – Dayron asked.

- For my child. – Riod replied with a smile.

- This is boring. What if for yourself?

- But this is exactly for myself. – answered Riod. – And you? Would drop everything on women? – he asked his friend with a smirk.

- Not on women but on a wonderful time making. – Dayron clarified with a satisfied smile.

- All right, wonderful time maker. Let’s go to get our rating. – Riod said getting up from the table and they moved toward their car.

Dayron was sitting in a front seat holding the tablet in his hand and was looking around. They drove by a park with a playground where children were gamboling and a little dog was running nearby and barking loudly. Their parents were sitting on the benches and passionately talking about something. Not far from the park, across the road, there settled two-story store with large windows and a protruding wide foundation. Trimmed rectangular bushes in the form of a fence grew near the store and further behind this building appeared another two-story gray construction with a big sing “Vehicle Service Center”. Tires were lying about the surrounding area and mostly beaten cars parked nearby. The guys were just driving by this building when they suddenly heard a long-expected signal in the tablet.

- Stop! – Dayron shouted sharply.

Riod slammed the brakes on and a whistle of tires was heard in the air. A crushing blow from behind made the friends look back. A car that had followed them bumped into the back, bulging their trunk and an angry driver was already getting out of his wrecked car shouting something loudly.

- Deal with him. – Dayron said getting out of the car and stepped quickly toward the signal that was coming from the “Vehicle Service Center”.

- Who taught you to drive? Why did you stop like an asshole? You have ruined my car. Who is to pay for it now? – the driver was nervously shouting at Riod.

- Calm down. We will pay for it. – Riod said coldly. – There seems to be a vehicle service over there. We will fix your car at our expense. – he pointed at the Service Center where Dayron was already standing nearby and was checking the signal direction in the tablet.

The driver calmed down a little and together they went toward the Service Center, leaving their damaged cars on the roadway. Meanwhile an employee of that very Center in soiled work overalls was already running toward them as he had noticed the car accident on the road.

- The Source is detected. Sending you the exact location. Going to search two-story “Vehicle Service Center” building. – Dayron connected with the base standing in front of the building.

- Great! Don’t miss it. Get all of us home already. – came a cheerful voice of a technician.

- I won’t miss. Pack your bags. – Dayron replied with a smile.

The worker who closed with Riod a deal to fix the two cars as soon as possible entered the working area of the auto service.

- Did you see the accident at the intersection? – he asked.

- No. We just heard a tire whistle and a crash. – answered one of the service workers.

- They ordered us repair works. Saying this is very urgent and they are ready to pay twice price for this.

- As for the urgency, go and ask Max. And about the cars, I’ll take a look. – the mechanic said and went to inspect the autos that had been already parked near the Service Center.

Riod, Dayron and the driver of the car that bumped in settled themselves on the second floor of the Center. The driver went to the waiting room to drink coffee and watch TV while his car was being repaired, and Riod with Dayron at that time were standing on an iron staircase that leaded downstairs to the first floor of the Center. They leaned on the handrail and were standing next to the entrance door to the room were the driver had rested. Dayron was inspecting the working aria of the Center and from time to time got back to his tablet.

- The signal is coming from that car. – he said to Riod standing nearby and pointed at a yellow car on the lift where someone was repairing it.

- We need to find out who is the owner and to follow the car. – Riod said.

- Exactly. – Dayron agreed.

The mechanic who inspected their wracked cars came into the working area.

- Lial, need your help. The car’s back is damaged, need to change the trunk and the rear fenders. Max said urgently. Will you take a look? – he said loudly.

- In a minute. Get it here. – a woman voice came from under that yellow car on the lift and the mechanic went back.

Soon a girl wearing work overalls with “Vehicle Service Center” lettering on it went from under the car. She had a white skin and long snow-white hair combed in a thin braid and had wonderful bright blue eyes. She looked at the two guys who were staring at her standing on the stairs at the second floor and then she directed to the driving into the area car with a smashed back.

- The signal is coming from her. – Dayron said pointing at the girl. – The Source is not in the car, she has it. We must follow her.

- But where is she hiding it? And why does she carry it around? Possible to hide it better. – Riod said inspecting her overalls and its pockets.

- Maybe she is afraid someone will find it. – suggested the friend.

- From what hell does she know what it is and why is she afraid to lose it?

- Have no clue about. Our mission is to get the Source. The rest doesn’t matter. – replied Dayron continuing to inspect Lial’s overalls meanwhile she was inspecting their car.

He was looking at her searchingly through the tablet monitor keeping the camera at her direction. Riod was standing nearby and also buried himself into his tablet looking at the girl in its camera and trying to detect something similar to the Source capsule that wasn’t so small to be hidden under the clothes without being noticed. Riod pulled away from the screen and looked at his friend who grooved into his tablet screen. He took a glance at his friend’s monitor screen. Dayron aimed his camera at girl’s breasts that were pushing up from the T-shirt neckline and was esteeming them at full zoom mode.

- Do you reckon she is hiding it there? – Riod asked laughing.

- Natch, I’m going to howl here soon without sex. – Dayron said and switched off his camera. – We need another car to follow her. She can recognize this one at once. Find the nearest point of this trash rent and take for us another can. Meanwhile I’ll be watching on the female. – Dayron said and Riod went online.

- Here it is. There is a rent office not far from here. – Riod said looking at the monitor. – Will be back soon. – he said and went downstairs.

Riod rented a plain auto and parked it a little bit further from the Service Center, near the store with the living fence, and came back to Dayron.

- The car is ready. It is near the store with the bushes. What are we to do with this cart? – Riod interested.

We’ll park it somewhere around and we’ll send the location to the base, let them pick it up. We don’t have time to deal with this stuff. – Dayron replied.

A signal from the base came to Dayron’s bracelet.

- How is the mission going on? – asked the technician.

- A female is detected as a signal emanate. Going to wait till the shift ends and then follow her and conduct a search at first convenience. – Dayron said.

- Awesome. Urkhiah wished you good luck. – said the technician with a joy.

- Thanks. – Dayron said and closed the connection.

- Urkhiah himself wished us good luck. – Dayron said to Riod with a wide smile.

- He has been here for almost a year in this hole. Can you imagine how he is eager to come back home? – Riod said.

- Yeah, he is a tough man. – Dayron agreed.

When both wracked cars had been repaired, the friends paid the bills with the card issued before at the base, wished luck to the car driver who thanked them so much and then drove their car from the Service Center to the next narrow street and parked it there. They returned to the new auto that Riod had rented and sat inside waiting for the blonde girl occasionally taking a glance at the tablets and watching on the Service Center exit. The sun already went to set below the horizon, and the labours began to go outside the building and saying bye to each other they sat into their cars and drove away. There was no sign of the girl. According to the scanner signal, she was inside the building. And only one car was left outside near the Center.

- It must be her car. If I shoot a bug? – Riod asked Dayron who was sitting by at the driving wheel.

- Do it. Quickly and sneak. – the friend replied looking around.

Riod pulled his gun and loaded it with a spy bug. Then he set the operation mode, stuck the gun out the side window and quickly shoot, accurately locating the bug under the bumper. The guys were sitting and waiting for about fifteen minutes and then they saw a black motorcycle driving out of the Center gates and that very blonde girl was riding it. She parked the motorcycle next to the gates and went to lock them.

- What the hell! She is on a motorcycle. – Dayron said keeping watching her.

The girl locked the gates and came up to a man who had already left the door and was standing nearby. She kissed him, said something and got on the motorcycle putting on her helmet. Dayron started the engine and waited for her to ride. The girl carefully rode out the Center area and reaching the road turned right. Dayron followed her at once.

- Don’t miss her. – Riod worried.

Lial was riding home and soon she noticed that an unfamiliar black car was pursuing her. She stopped at a traffic light and looked in the driving mirror. The car stopped right behind her.

- Nice ass. – Dayron gave an appraising look as he stopped behind the motorcycle.

- Drive on. Watch out for this ass. – Riod laughed at his friend.

Lial decided to accelerate and break away from the suspicious car. She speeded up her motorcycle as far as possible considering the town traffic and began to dodge on her way trying to throw them off. The car was chasing her trying not to lose the target. Lial saw the red light ahead and so she slowing down a little swung to the left and rode across the sidewalk onto the stone stairs that were going down to the park fountain. She rode downstairs where stopped her iron horse facing it toward the stairs and scaring away few people who were walking nearby in the park. Lial looked up and saw the black BMW that was chasing her stopped short at the upstairs. Two guys ran out of the car. The very same husky guys she had seen at work in the Service Center. Lial played with the gas twisting the grip throttle, sharply turned her horse around and rode away through the park disappearing between the narrow street buildings.

- Damn! We have missed her. – nervously shouted Riod standing upstairs and looking into the tablet monitor. – The signal has gone.

They sat back into the car and Dayron connected with the base.

- Base, we missed her. – Dayron said irritatedly to the technician.

After a short silence, there came the voice.

- I will connect you with Urkhiah. – he said.

- Get it.

- How have you missed her? Why did it happen? – Urkhiah was in indignation.

- She rode her motorcycle downstairs and our car is not able to drive on stairs. And there were humans around so we couldn’t do something to catch her. The signal is lost. However, for now we know her job location.

- Do you have her vehicle ID?

- Yes. Sending you the shots. – Dayron forwarded them to Urkhiah.

- Our technicians will search for her in the local systems. – And for you.. – Urkhiah thought for a while – I think you both should have a rest and sleep well so as tomorrow you are to get back to her job location. If tomorrow there is no the Source signal you are to go and search her house. I think we’ll have her address by then. And you must rent motorcycles, leave the car and send us its location.

- Got it. – Dayron said and disconnected. – Now, there is no any way for her to hide of us. – he said to Riod and the friends took drive in search of a good meal to buy and of a room to rent for this night.