Within Each Other's Shadow

by Jan Turk Petrie

  This man’s name badge declares he’s a doctor called Kyle Anderson – spelt with only one “s”. ‘I guess I can take away all those pesky tubes now,’ Kyle says. He perches on the edge of the bed, snaps on nitrile gloves and sets to work.

  There’s a sharp sting when the needle is withdrawn and then the relief of having his arm back under his own control. When Nero flexes his elbow, the pain in his shoulder kicks in with a vengeance.

  Kyle must have noticed him grimace. ‘Take it easy,’ he says. ‘Now you’re awake, I’ll up those painkillers.’

  ‘No thanks,’ Nero tells him. ‘Really. I’ve had enough of painkillers for one lifetime.’

  ‘Well, aside from the wound on your shoulder, those ribs will need rest if you want them to heal. Remember Rome wasn’t built in a day.’

  ‘I see what you did there,’ Nero says. ‘Appropriate culture reference and all that.’

  ‘I do my best.’ His smile reveals a fine set of teeth

  ‘So how long before I can get out of here?’ Nero asks.

  ‘Raring to go, eh?’ Kass is standing in the doorway holding two drinks. This time she’s dressed in regular clothes. ‘They call this coffee,’ she says. ‘You want some?’

  She looks at the doctor. ‘If that’s okay?’

  ‘Sure is.’ Dr Anderson piles all the done-with tubes and needles into a dish. ‘I’ll go see if they can rustle you up something to eat.’ He stands up but his gloved hand lingers on Nero’s forearm. ‘I hear you on those painkillers but, like I said, don’t try doing too much too soon.’

  Kass says nothing until he’s well out of earshot. ‘You okay?’ she asks.

  ‘When did doctors get so young? He’s only a few years older than Bruno. Oh shit – Bruno!’

  ‘Don’t go panicking – the boy’s absolutely fine.’ Kass sets the coffees down. ‘In fact, I’d say he’s more than fine.’

  She pulls a chair closer. ‘They arrested him at the Avraham mansion but that was before they learned how he singlehandedly saved the commander’s wife and daughter.’ She snaps her fingers. ‘Like that, the boy went from zero to hero – horseshit to worship. The commander has nominated him for some civic medal I’ve never even heard of. Elspeth Avraham is singing his praises all over social media.’

  She holds out the coffee. ‘Black, of course.’ It’s a small triumph when his hand grips the cup.

  ‘I’d be lying if I told you it hasn’t gone to Bruno’s head,’ she says. ‘I may not have your gifts but I confidently predict that boy is going to be fokking insufferable for the next few months.’

  She sits down and they both sip at the coffee. It tastes as atrocious as it looks but Nero gulps it down anyway.

  ‘So who’s minding the shop?’ he asks.

  ‘Laskaris is thoroughly enjoying himself. Taking the credit and any spare praise not being heaped onto Bruno. Do you remember I was there on the island? Everyone left alive surrendered; it was a bit of an anti-climax. I suppose with their leaders dead – although we didn’t know that at the time – they put up no resistance. More’s the pity.’

  ‘Look,’ he says, ‘I don’t think I’ve got the energy to explain everything. I’ll just tell you Quentin was there.’

  ‘Yes, I know,’ she tells him. ‘We figured he must have shot both the Pearsons, you being still tied up and everything.’

  Nero nods. ‘Gunned them down in cold blood. I got injured when the goon army burst in firing.’

  ‘Someone had stuffed a rag into your wound to help stop the blood. As there was no one left standing, I figured it must have been Quentin.’

  ‘I suppose I should be grateful to the man.’ It hurts when he smiles.

  She takes his empty cup from him. ‘He’s still out there somewhere,’ she says, ‘and he still has that damned suit.’

  Kass breaks the silence, ‘Did you know Dr Arthur’s dead?’

  ‘I didn’t.’

  ‘He was one of the bodies in the castle, though it took some time for Jue Hai’s team to establish his identity. He’s having to write “By an invisible hand” on most of the official reports.’

  For a while Kass peers into her cup. ‘You’ve missed the worst of the media feeding frenzy – all the revelations coming out about the Pearsons and how the money from their illegal activities funded Viktor’s supposedly legitimate enterprises. Money laundering at its finest.’

  ‘What’s the media got to say about all that invisible hand stuff?’

  ‘Nothing. The governor’s invoked an emergency gagging order; anyone breaching the injunction will face a definite prison sentence and possible deportation. He issued a press statement attributing both attacks to unidentified assailants and suggesting the perpetrators all died at the scene.’

  ‘And he seriously believes that will keep a lid on it?’

  ‘As we both know, Hagalín is not a visionary.’

  ‘You know I like that word – visionary. I’m thinking of calling myself that instead of telepatico.’

  ‘Don’t get cocky,’ Kass says. ‘We’re not out of the woods yet.’

  Nero’s sitting more upright when Bruno comes in the next afternoon. The boy is having a hard job balancing fruit along with a fancy looking package with the name of Gianni’s café along the side.

  ‘We’ll have to stop meeting like this,’ he says as he looks for somewhere to put his gifts. ‘I was torn between virtuous and naughty. In the end I went for both.’

  ‘Story of my life.’ Laughing hurts Nero a little less than it did.

  Unable to hug, they settle on a handshake. ‘So how’s the shoulder?’ Bruno asks – as if it’s necessary.

  ‘Hurts like hell but I’m told it’s healing remarkably well.’ As always, a lot more goes unspoken.

  ‘Before I forget, Gianni and Lucia send their love, and I’ve brought you– ’

  ‘Half a dozen abbracci and four pumpkin baci di dama.’

  ‘Spot on. He must know you well.’

  ‘No, I got that from you.’ Nero taps his head. ‘I may be rusty but it’s still working.’

  ‘Glad to hear it – I hope we’re only talking about your head.’ The boy chuckles. ‘Anyway, I’m sorry but the pod was crowded so the cakes might be a bit squashed.’ When he rakes his hair back from his face, Nero notices the faded bruising around his left cheekbone. ‘And I’ve brought you proper coffee – Gianni insisted.’

  ‘I hear you’re quite the hero. Kass told me you’re being awarded some civic medal for bravery.’

  Bruno’s face falls. ‘I keep seeing her.’

  He touches the boy’s shoulder. ‘You went over there to protect the innocent – there was no other way. You took a terrible risk but it paid off. I’m so very proud of you.’ They both know he almost added the word son.

  Bruno gives him the saddest of smiles.

  ‘Come on,’ Nero says, ‘let’s break out the cookies, while you tell me about this girl of yours.’

  ‘She’s pretty special. Her name’s Krista – but I guess you know that too.’

  ‘I’d really like to meet her.’

  ‘You’d love her – she’s great. Everything’s great; except it’s not and I have to keep pretending because I don’t want to spoil things. At first I was just happy I’d survived, but now …’

  ‘Please don’t dismiss the benefits of counselling. I’m no doctor but it’s obvious you’re suffering. There are people who can help you get through this. It may take some time, but you’ll get there in the end.’

  ‘But I’ve killed two people and I can’t talk about that – not in any detail.’

  ‘You can talk to me.’

  ‘It wasn’t so bad after Kleiner – the guy was an animal. Freyja – she was different. Everything might have worked out if she hadn’t watched that commander give the order to incinerate her friend Harris. No wonder she wanted vengeance.’

  ‘She’d lost her judgment. She was hell-bent on revenge and you alone stepped in to stop her from slaying little Silla along wi
th her mother.’

  The boy rolls his head. ‘Seeing the way she was with those vixens – the bond between them. They were family.’

  Bruno’s unspoken thoughts lead him on. ‘You suspect Freyja had been genetically altered too. And now you long to be punished for putting an end to it all. Instead they’re praising you to the skies.’

  The boy simply nods.

  ‘Listen, I won’t tell you to cheer up – I know it’s not as simple as that. But honestly things will improve. Trust me. You’re not the only one able to look into the future.’

  ‘But you won’t be here to see it, will you?’

  ‘I won’t lie. You know I’ve been thinking about leaving this city. There’s a cargo ship that regularly takes refined rare earths via Rotterdam through the straits of Gibraltar and on to Genoa. I’m told the captain can be obliging at the right price. But, listen to me, I promise I won’t leave you behind. Believe me, I’d never do that to you.’

  Bruno wipes his face with his sleeve. ‘Okay.’ He picks up the box of cakes. ‘We should start with the wicked stuff. Let’s see how squashed these baci di dama really are.’

  Fifty-Six

  Kass comes to pick him up in a departmental vehicle – quite an honour. It’s a fine sensation being chauffeured around the city. ‘I could get used to this,’ Nero says. When he looks over, he can tell she’s distracted. ‘So what’s troubling you?’ he asks. ‘Go on – spit it out.’

  They stop at an intersection and a patrol vehicle passes in front of them. Its blackout windows give no human shape to the officers inside. Kass clears her throat. ‘You’re the visionary – you tell me.’

  ‘You know I don’t do that – not with my friends.’

  ‘Okay,’ she says, ‘It’s about Dr Magnúsdóttir. You may not know this but she died five days ago. Official cause of death is suicide.’

  ‘I’m still a bit fuzzy on timelines but wasn’t that the day before Dr Arthur died?’

  ‘Exactly. You could say it’s just a bizarre coincidence. Magnúsdóttir died from a massive overdose of opiates.’ She shakes her head. ‘It’s just the timing that gets me – I don’t like coincidences.’

  ‘Any theory about why she might have killed herself? Was she ill? In debt maybe? Did she have a history of mental illness?’

  ‘Jue Hai couldn’t find anything physically wrong with her. No history of depression or anything similar. She was what you’d call very comfortably off. Lived alone but then she had done for many years and seemed happy with the arrangements. She might have had a lover – no one seems to know about her sexual orientation. The speculation is she was distraught at the demise of the decoy programme – all her work at IBR gone to waste.’

  ‘But there’s something else – something that keeps nagging at you.’

  ‘You know, I used to think you were just perceptive – until I learnt your secret.’ She finally smiles.

  ‘You’re stalling,’ he says. ‘You imagine what you’re going to say next will upset me. Come on Kass – out with it.’

  ‘We have streetcam footage showing Chan calling at Magnúsdóttir’s flat just hours before she killed herself. They didn’t pick her up again on the way out, so we don’t know exactly when she left. This morning, I finally had a chance to ask Chan about it and she was pretty vague, to say the least. She said she’d gone over there on impulse. That she didn’t stay long. She was on her way home and decided to follow a line of enquiry.’

  Though they’re travelling through some high-end real estate, the gloss has gone off the city. ‘What line of enquiry are we talking about?’

  Her mouth forms that pained expression she does so well. ‘She said she was following up on Jóra’s theory about the woman in the factory having wolf genes. She’s convinced IBR seized her body to cover it up. You and I know she’s right about that. The thing I don’t understand is why Chan would take it upon herself to confront the woman. Why would Magnúsdóttir even let her in?

  ‘You’ve gone quiet.’ She touches his hand. ‘I’m really sorry; I shouldn’t have mentioned it and now I can see I’ve worried you when you should be concentrating on getting better.’

  ‘I told her Ása was her identical twin – she must have put two and two together.’

  ‘I feared as much.’

  He hits his head with his hand. ‘She’d remembered seeing a dead woman with her face – I had to tell her something. You know I’ve never gone along with Bruno’s theory that Jie Ning is exactly the same as her sister. I’m convinced they were always fundamentally different.’

  There’s a squeal from the tyres as Kass pulls into the side. A pedestrian begins to object to the sudden manoeuvre but she pays him no heed. ‘So, did Magnúsdóttir have a sudden attack of conscience after speaking to Chan, and then decide to end it all? Or did Chan kill her and make it look like suicide?’

  He shakes his head. ‘How would you or I feel if you learnt someone had fooled around with your genes before you were even born; that you might not be fully human?’

  Fifty-Seven

  He’d promised to take it easy but the pain in his shoulder is making it hard to lie down, never mind sleep. It seems like he’s been out of things for weeks instead of days. Reports are piled up on his stud – so many he shakes his head and takes the thing off. The news media is no distraction. It’s full of speculation about the upcoming election. Hagalín’s association with the now disgraced figure of Viktor Persson is doing him plenty of harm. The knives would appear to be out. By contrast Liljan Ólafsdóttir, Leifsson’s widow, is way ahead of anyone else in the polls and would appear to be on course for a landslide victory. Pundits are suggesting her governorship could usher in the end of the old guard and herald the beginning of a new, more meritocratic governance of the city. The word freedom is being bandied about rather too freely.

  Before Nero answers the door, he knows who his visitor is. She comes in with the freezing wind and drifts past him without enquiring after his health. Jasmine wafts through the apartment’s air and is gone again. She takes off her coat and scarf and hangs them up – not a fleeting visit then.

  ‘I thought we should celebrate,’ Chan says breaking the silence.

  ‘If you like.’ With some effort, he walks into the kitchen area. ‘I can offer you a glass of vino or a beer – that’s it.’

  Jie Ning gives him one of those smiles. ‘Sure, wine not? Oh wait – didn’t I crack that joke once before?’

  He fumbles with the glasses and she almost nudges him aside as she takes over. Nero studies every move as she pours them both a glass of his finest faux Chianti. He thinks over how she’d slipped something into his wine that time. If she could do it to someone she supposedly cared about, how much easier to add a little something to Magnúsdóttir’s drink. In a way such an act would be matricide though, statistically speaking, sons not daughters most often killed their mothers. Statistics couldn’t supply the likelihood of someone murdering the woman who’d cloned them.

  ‘Let’s raise a glass to your friend, shall we,’ Chan says, ‘this so-called invisible hand I’ve been hearing all about. Interesting that of all the people in that room, he picked you out for survival.’

  She holds up her glass and he clinks his own against it then waits for her to take the first sip. She doesn’t.

  ‘It seems your sins were weighed in the balance,’ she says, ‘and they concluded you didn’t deserve to die. Must be nice to have such tangible affirmation that you’re one of the good guys.’

  ‘I wouldn’t go that far.’ He puts down his glass. ‘I could easily have bled out.’

  ‘But then, wouldn’t you know it, your beloved Kass bursts in and saves the day. You know, I’ve often thought it’s such a shame she doesn’t like men in that way or you two might sail off into the sunset together.’

  He wonders if she’s high on something.

  ‘I see you’re not going to dignify that with an answer?’ She slumps down on the couch and some of her wine spills over. ‘Oo
ps!’ She stares down at the stain but clearly doesn’t intend to mop it up.

  ‘It’s seen worse.’ He lowers himself down in the chair opposite.

  Jie Ning tilts her head to one side. She looks so beautiful he finds himself overcome by too many emotions. Looking at the empty space beside her she says, ‘Aren’t you going to sit next to me – in the wet patch?’

  ‘This seat’s a bit easier right now,’ he says.

  ‘In the past, I’ve been able to help you forget your injuries.’ Her face clouds over. ‘I notice you still haven’t touched your wine.’

  ‘Tell me about Magnúsdóttir. What exactly happened when you went to see her?’

  ‘What would you like to know – exactly?’

  ‘Kass tells me you accused her of meddling with Ása’s genes and then destroying the evidence.’

  ‘I did exactly that.’ She waves the glass under her chin then puts it down untouched. ‘You of all people know why; let’s not play games, Nero. If you must know, I told her I was going to get a DNA test. Is it my fault the idea freaked her out so much?’

  ‘For what it’s worth I don’t believe it,’ he says. ‘About your DNA, that is. Despite what you might imagine, I know you’re not the same as your sister; you could never be like her.’

  She raises one eyebrow. ‘And yet you haven’t taken a single sip of that wine.’

  ‘It’s the meds – I’m not supposed to drink with them.’ He shrugs. ‘I didn’t want to kill the mood.’

  He doesn’t like the way that makes her smile. ‘So,’ he says, ‘what’s your excuse?’

  ‘Oh, I have a good one – you see, I’m pregnant,’ she says. ‘That’s right – it seems that, despite our best efforts, you and I are going to have a baby together.’

  Nero’s glad he’s sitting down; can’t stop himself gripping the arms of the chair.

  ‘Bit of a shocker, I know.’ She won’t look at him. ‘In any case, doesn’t nurture usually triumph over nature – or no, wait – have I got that the wrong way? Is it nature trumps nurture?

  ‘What – has that pesky feline got hold of your tongue again, Inspector?’ Her laugh is not the sharing kind. ‘I’ve considered an abortion, of course I have. But then I thought – why not try to look on the bright side; put a positive spin on the situation; after all, between the two of us, this baby could turn out to be pretty damned special.’