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stranger quickened his pace to a jog. Joe had learned to communicate physically in way he could not with words. "Quick! What where you thinking?" Lucy asked. "You could have gotten us killed." Lucy was clearly shook up, she rarely called him by his nickname. Joe had earned the nickname "Quick" in high school. He had the best reflexes and was the fastest runner. He had to be, in order to keep his secret. "There are two guys behind the shrubs over there," Joe pointed. "And the look on the guy's face wasn't right. It was an ambush." Lucy looked at him wide eyed, but said nothing. "I had to trust my gut. If I was right..." he paused. "Okay," she said, "I'm glad you were here." Lucy pulled away from the intersection. "Lotsa desperate people lately." Joe interrupted her while she merged onto the parkway. "Lucy?" "Yes." "Why did you form the team?" Joe was thinking aloud. "I guess it was my gut," Lucy smiled. "You seemed focused on the mechanical aspects of robotics." "You mentioned something about men, ambition, competition," his voice sounded weak and unsure. "How do you see me? As a friend?" "Sure, Joe," Lucy said sheepishly. "No, really." "Really. If you want to quit the team, I understand. This is risky business for you." Lucy looked sincere. He paused. He hadn't even considered quitting the "A" Team. Not only did he need the creative output for his mechanical abilities, but it was less dangerous than his day job. "That's not what I meant. I need the money, and it's easier than Sun Auto." Joe paused, I have to trust her. What choice do I have, he thought. "Would you drop the team for me?" he asked. "Why?" "No, it's not like that," Joe paused. "I did something crazy." "Yeah you flipped you car, blew it up and almost died twice." "No.... Yeah... That last thing. Don't you wonder about that?" "What?" "That I almost died twice," Joe said. "Your aunt said there were was complications." "The complication was they shut the nanites off."
    Lucy's eyes widened. "They put nanites in you? They have medical nanites? I thought they could only be built for a vacuum?" "So did I. This guy told my aunt to shut them off. But before they did, I stole some by draining my blood into my cell phone." Lucy paused. Wide eyed she asked, "Where's the phone?" "Mark has it." "Holy crap." "Yeah." They both sat and soaked in the implications. "Mark's gonna flip." Lucy started. "We have to be careful," Joe paused, "Amman is crashing with him. I don't trust him not to actually start some Jihad with them." "No, me either. He needs too much acceptance. He isn't sure of himself. Like he might say too much if he opens up." Lucy paused again, "Quick, you rock!"
Chapter 6
    Mark opened his apartment door. He was grinning. "Holy shit, Joe you are the coolest guy on the whole planet!" Mark exclaimed. "Cool, right?" Joe said. Joe was amazed that Mark already knew. "What are you guys talking about?" Lucy asked hesitantly. "The nanites!" Mark exclaimed smiling. "Uh how did you know?" Lucy asked pointedly. "I never told him." Joe said. "I've seen them," said Mark. "What? How?" Lucy asked. "A microscope, duh." "How big are they?" Joe asked. "About a tenth the size of a red blood cell in a ball shape. They look really far out." "Wow, cool. Do they do anything? I'm not even sure why they were in me," Joe said. "Why don't we go inside instead of broadcasting this to your neighbors?" Lucy half whispered. "Oh right, yeah," Mark said sheepishly. Joe and Lucy followed Mark inside. The living room was bathed in earth tones. There were many red rugs with tan and brown patterns. All the furniture was covered with intricate carvings. A gray stone Buddha watched them from the far wall. After Mark closed the door, Lucy turned to him, "Mark, where is Amman?" "He is over at the shop..."
    "Thank God," Joe exclaimed. Lucy sighed, "Good than we can talk about this now." "He knows." Mark said. "He is at the shop trying to bring them to life." Joe and Lucy looked at one another. He reached up