“I’m not a heavy sleeper but I did drive for thirty hours on the road one day. So at the motel, I caught a burglar in one.” He winced. “Worked just like I thought. He probably won’t be fathering any babies though.”
As they talked they both strolled out the door.
Henry and I trailed them out.
After he shut the door, Henry looked startled as he asked me, “What the blimey are they talking about?”
At the surprised look on his face, I laughed. Then as we walked down the stairs, I explained it. The locks and the tripwire along with the well placed barbed wire.
Henry seemed to not really be listening to me now as he looked distracted. He may have even heard me but he didn’t respond.
Then I figured out that he was doing his job.
Hand in his jacket, most likely on his gun grip with eyes moving over the parking lot below us.
I did the same as I checked the area. Yes, I had the gun Selena gave me. It was tucked into my back waist band. I hated carrying it after swearing off cartel life but I wasn't stupid. We had enemies and you could never be safe enough in our business.
The area seemed clear.
Rain motioned us over to a black SUV. “Meet Spartacus. I have safety enhancements on it. So we will be using it today.” He pressed his thumb just below the door handle. It hummed then beeped. The doors all opened.
“Wow a thumbprint scanner?” Selena asked.
We all got in. There was plenty of room inside.
Once the doors shut, Henry asked him, “What other enhancements?”
He got behind the wheel and replied, “Mostly tech.” He motioned to the onboard screen. “It has surround camera views. Also perimeter alarms. The exterior and window are bullet proof. You cannot see into the vehicle at all, yet the widows do not appear to be tinted. Tint is illegal in most states now. My onboard PC has scans as in facial scans, and license scans.”
“Hell, and here I thought, I was paranoid. When Rainmaker here thinks he’s Double O-Seven.”
Rain chuckled dryly and said, “So says Sir Superspy. Just admit it, you are jealous.”
“Me? Jealous over a vehicle?” Then Henry seemed to realize what Rain had just said. “What do you mean by superspy?”
Rain changed lanes and tapped his console to say, “Spartacus…Drive to the Oceanside mall.”
“No way!” Henry looked startled. “It has self-driving capabilities, just like a Tesl—”
“No, not like that. Spartacus is much more than that brand of car. I will oversee it but you will note how smooth this goes.”
Initiating the blinkers, the SUV made turns as prompted by the GPS. Stopped at three stoplights and then it finally pulled into the very large parking lot of the mall.
“Color me impressed,” I said.
Selena agreed, “Just amazing!”
Rain smirked and tapped the console again. Then he spoke to the vehicle, “Spartacus, drive us to the front for the drop off then find a parking spot.”
Henry looked back and forth at the outside then he looked up at Rain. “No fucking way!”
Rain nodded as the SUV pulled up to the entrance and stopped. “Yes, fucking way. Ok, wait a minute or two as it scans the area for dangers.”
“Scans the area?” I felt surprised too. Capabilities like this were only futuristic or so I had believed.
We sat for a couple of minutes as the car hummed. Leaning forward, Selena and I looked at the waterfall at the front of the mall with its dolphin metal statues. There were several very cool sights outside
“Did it go to sleep?” Henry snarked.
