Red Racer

by Marie Brown

  "Because that's where you went," Kief replied, conquering the lump. Ry's smile widened and he moved from the singleseat to the multi.

  "Remember when I asked you if you believed in love?" Ry reached out, laid a tentative hand on Kief's, where it rested on his knee.

  "And I said I probably wouldn't know it if it bit me." He couldn't tear his eyes away from Ry's, so clear and shining with emotion.

  "Well, I think you'd better learn to recognize it, because I love you."

  Ry's hand slipped around to the back of Kief's head, pulling him in for a tender kiss. Kief reached for him hungrily. "I think I love you too," he whispered, feeling a thrill of combined terror and excitement at actually saying the words.

  "Kief," his lover breathed, making the name into a caress. "Say you'll be mine, and let me be yours, always."

  "Yes," Kief mumbled, kissing along Ry's neck. "Oh, yes. I'm yours. As long as you want me. I love you."

  There, that time it hadn't been so hard to say. Ry kissed him deeply, then licked a wet trail down to his collarbone. Kief shivered with pleasure, then yipped in complete surprise when Ry bit him lightly. "Do you recognize it yet?"

  "Okay! Okay! I believe in love!" Kief laughed, pretending to cringe away from Ry's teeth. Then he saw the last of the sadness leave Ry's eyes, replaced by the strong emotion that had to be love. "Ry. . ."

  "Come in the bedroom," he invited. "It's more comfortable in there."

  "Okay."

  Kief followed his lover into the bedroom, undoing the fasteners on his coverall as he went. Inside, Ry turned on a dim light and finished undressing Kief, then peeled out of his own clothing and they sank to the bed together.

  Something changed, that night. Afterwards, while Kief was dozing with Ry asleep in his arms, he tried to figure out what it was. He'd never felt anything like this before. Was this truly what it felt like to be in love, this shivery almost pain? He felt like he was going to burst. It was truly an unfamiliar sensation, to care so deeply about another human being in this overly-repressed world where sexual contact was illegal except under rigidly controlled circumstances. And worse yet, to feel this way over another man, rather than just taking a night of illicit pleasure and moving on. . . it was terrifying. It was exhilirating. It could get him years of rehab. But he didn't care, because nothing would make him give up this. . . love.

  Ry shifted slightly with a sigh. Kief smoothed his hair back from his face, with a tender smile. This must be love. What else could possibly make him feel this way?

  "Ry," he whispered. "Wake up a bit."

  "Hmmmmm?"

  "Do I have to leave here now? Will you get in trouble?"

  "Don't go," Ry replied, clutching at him. "Stay. 'sokay."

  Kief sighed happily. "I love you."

  ". . . love you. . ."

  Kief's last thought before sleep finally caught up to him was to wish he could spend every night like this.

  Chapter 8

  "You really think this is going to work?"

  The Enforcer straightened from the comp, shooting the Eye a disdainful look. "Just do your job, okay? Let me do mine. All you have to do is watch that tracer signal. I want to know the instant it changes."

  "And what's the change signify?" The Eye frowned at the screen. True, it was his duty to watch the people, but this wasn't "the people" he was watching. The Director's son. . . he could be in trouble if word of this got out, and he wasn't entirely sure that the supercilious Special Ops man would back up his story if he wound up in front of the questioners.

  "The signal will remain the same as long as the brat's in the cityplex. It'll change when he leaves the walls, and change again if he crosses the perimeter. Make sure you're on it at all times."

  "Huh. Right."

  The Enforcer left. The Eye fiddled with his monitor for a moment, splitting the windows so it wasn't immediately obvious that one window showed the movements of a single red dot. Then he settled in to watch.

  * * * *

  "Are you sure about this?" Ry eyed the slow-moving train dubiously.

  "Positive." Kief waited tensely, tucked in his usual hiding spot and waiting for the exact right moment. The streamlined white engine hummed past, crossing the border between cityplex and outside world, still keeping to the slow pace demanded within the cityplex. "Do exactly as I do and you'll be fine."

  "If you say so."

  "Now!" Kief sprang forward, with a perfectly timed leap that brought him to the inspection platform. Ry followed on his heels, nearly crowding him off the tiny platform. The train began to pick up speed as its cars cleared the city walls. "Come on, no time to waste."

  Kief climbed the maintenance ladder to the top of the car, fighting the sway of the train with the ease of long practice. He reached the curved top of the car and flattened himself out, using the rain grooves as handholds. He reached the safety of his usual perch and turned to offer Ry a hand, which he took willingly.

  "You do this often?" Ry panted, wide-eyed, huddling up against Kief in the scant shelter of the retractable air deflector, where it covered the hatch made for loading liquids.

  "Every week," Kief grinned at him. "Hang on tight, now, the train's about to get faster."

  "As if I'd let go. You sure this is safe?"

  "Of course it isn't safe. That's what makes it so fun."

  "You have a twisted idea of fun," Ry shouted, through the increasing roar of the wind. Kief only grinned back and tightened his grip on the sealwheel. He loved riding the trains.

  Of course, the first time he'd rode the train, he'd been terrified. But his mother had been there, showing him the tricks and where to get on and off, before she'd been erased. Kief closed his eyes for a moment, renewing his determination to never forget that Kel had once existed.

  She'd been beautiful, his mother had, full of life and energy. She hadn't given in to the Order's demands for proper behavior. She'd defied them in every way that she could, even to forging approval for a child. Kief wondered again if they'd discovered that, if that was why his mother had disappeared from their home in the night and vanished utterly from all cityplex records. Or had it been something more? He hoped so. Even though he knew his mother had known the risks of what she did, he didn't like thinking she could have been erased because of him.

  Up front, the hum of the turbine changed pitch. The train slowed gradually, coming up on the perimeter. Kief flexed his muscles, making sure he'd be ready to move once they cleared the fence.

  "All the way under," he yelled, tucking himself as far as possible under the sheltering deflector. "They scan trains."

  He could see Ry's lips move, a single word: shit. He pressed closer, trying to make himself as small as possible. Then the train slowed dramatically.

  "Not much longer," Kief said, finding Ry's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "After the scan, we get off the same way we got on, and then we're home free."

  "Is it worth all this?"

  "Come on, now, surely you're having fun?" Kief grinned. Then he saw the perimeter come into view. "Quiet now."

  A red beam moved over the smooth white car, scanning for anomalies. It couldn't spot them, however, tucked as they were under the air deflector. The beam moved on to the next car and the train rolled slowly beyond the thick perimeter wall.

  "Let's go," Kief said. He scrambled along the top of the car, then reached the ladder and dropped to the platform again, Ry following nearly on his heels. Kief hesitated a moment at the edge, checking to see that his lover was watching, then jumped. He hit the ground, rolled twice, then stopped himself in time to see Ry take the plunge.

  "You," Ry panted, when he'd stopped rolling, "are insane. Absolutely insane."

  "Of course I am," Kief agreed cheerfully, offering Ry a hand up. "If I wasn't insane, then how could I dare to love an Enforcer?"

  "Huh." Ry stood up and brushed himself off. Brittle and dead, the grass clung stubbornly to both of them. But the
sun shone overhead, in a deep blue autumn sky, and not even the perimeter looming over them could ruin the exhiliration of being free and outside on such a fine day. "I keep telling you, that's not my fault."

  "What, that I love you?" Kief grinned wickedly and took a swipe at Ry's grassy hair.

  "Nah, that I'm stuck being an Enforcer. I didn't have much choice in the matter. My father made me do it."

  "Yeah, yeah, so you always say. But come on, now, we need to get out of here." Kief glanced at the train, still creeping past under the scanner. The end car came into view. "Here, watch this."

  The final car cleared the scanner and emerged from the perimeter wall. The scream of the turbines became abruptly audible. The whole train quivered, then shot off, picking up speed until it was a mere blur streaking across the countryside.

  Ry's jaw fell. "We were on that?"

  Kief chuckled. "It doesn't even go half that fast inside the wall. I've always wondered if I could stick to it all the way to Cityplex 2, but never quite dared to find out."

  "Good choice," Ry said. He followed Kief across the track and down into a gully, where a small brook chattered. "You know, I've always wondered what it's like outside."

  "But they let you out!" Kief's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I know they do. How else could you have caught me?"

  "That's different." Ry stumbled on a rock. "Ouch! Damn things move!"

  Kief chuckled. "Sorry, I shouldn't laugh. But yeah, they move, so be careful."

  "Huh." Ry was quiet for a moment, concentrating on the rocks underfoot. "When I go outside, it's in an aircar. I've never really been out of one, free to trip on rocks or get grass stuck in my hair."

  "Huh." Kief thought about that for a moment. He'd been coming outside for nearly fifteen years now, ever since his mother had shown him how to get out. Sometimes he forgot about the rest of the people, who had never been anywhere outside the cityplex walls, let alone out in the wild country beyond the perimeter.

  "How far is this place, anyway?"

  "Not very. It takes less than an hour to get there."

  "You mean walking? Or including the train ride?"

  Kief tried not to laugh at Ry's expression of dismay. "Total," he said, smiling. "Including the train."

  "Good. Wonder how I'm going to explain it tomorrow when I'm stiff and sore from all this exercise shit?"

  Kief did laugh at that. "You can always tell them I gave you a real workout. . . in the weight room, you perv!"

  Ry smiled wickedly. The sun woke green lights in his eyes and sparkled in his hair, turning it nearly red. "But you know they already assume the worst of you."

  "What, that I'm jumping in your bed to improve my situation?" Kief swatted at his lover, who caught his hand and brought it to his lips to nibble on the fingers. Kief shivered. "Stop that!"

  "Why? There's no one to see." Ry's smile widened, and he squeezed Kief's hand. "No one!" he shouted unexpectedly, throwing out his arms and laughing. "There's no one to see! No one at all!"

  "In that case," and Kief caught up Ry in his arms, kissing him enthusiastically.

  "I love you," Ry said, when he could breathe again.

  "I know." Kief smiled. "But we can't take too long getting there, or my uncle will worry."

  "Does he know I'm coming?"

  "Not that you'll be here today in particular, but he said it was okay for me to bring you, as long as you could be trusted."

  "You know I can."

  "If I didn't trust you, you wouldn't be here, believe me."

  "Oh, I do. I do."

  They followed the stream in silence for a while, working their way through a densely wooded area. Ry looked around constantly, full of wonder at seeing things he'd always dreamed of: trees, bushes, birds, flowers, even water flowing free on the surface of the planet.

  "Up there," Kief said eventually, breaking the long silence.

  "Huh?"

  "Where the trees end. That's the edge of my uncle's place. He says it used to be a farm, before the motor law."

  "Will there be animals?"

  "Some. Not many. It's hard to get breeding stock these days."

  "Isn't he alone out here?"

  Kief hesitated, a lifetime of caution urging him not to say anything. But he trusted Ry with his life. Hopefully he could be trusted with the lives of others, as well. "No. There's others. Not many, but they're here. I've considered joining them before, but never had the guts."

  "Oh. Maybe you'd better not tell me any more, then." Ry sighed. "I hate my job."

  The trees gave way to the open land that used to be a grain field. Wheat still grew there wild, standing tall and yellowed in the autumn sun. The wind rippled it, sending shimmering waves through the stalks like a golden ocean. In the distance, a small house was visible, with a curl of smoke rising from the chimney.

  "Looks just like a picture," Ry said, admiring the view.

  "Huh. Guess it does, at that. Just remember now, my uncle's old, at least ninety, and he's used to being alone. He can be a bit cranky sometimes."

  "I'll remember. Is that him there?"

  Kief shaded his eyes. He could see someone moving around on the porch. "Must be. Can't think who else would be out here."

  They set off through the fields and reached the house before too much longer. Kief saw his uncle get up from his rocker and felt a sharp stab of apprehension.

  "'bout time you got here, boy," his uncle greeted him. "Been wondering where you was at."

  "Sorry, Uncle Robert." Kief reached back and tugged Ry forward to stand by his side. "This is the friend I told you about. His name's Ry. And Ry, this is my Uncle Robert."

  "Hello," Ry said, extending a hand. Robert ignored it.

  "So you're one of Them, huh, boy?"

  Ry's eyebrows went up at the fierce glare the old man gave him. "Yes, sir. But only by necessity."

  "Necessity, my ass. You should break free of Them. Bunch of murdering cowards."

  "Uncle," Kief said sharply.

  "Quiet, boy! It's true. Where's your mother? Where's my brothers and sisters and all their children? Where's your freedom?"

  "Sir," Ry said, "it's true that the Order destroyed an entire way of life. But I am not personally responsible for what happened, and I fight against it in every way I can. Otherwise I wouldn't be here."

  Robert glared at him for a long moment. Ry returned his gaze calmly, not backing down. Suddenly the old man smiled and laughed, a small wheezing chuckle. "You'll do, that you will," Robert said. "You picked a good one, Kief."

  "I know I did, Uncle." Kief smiled, relieved.

  "You two. . . together?" Robert raised a bushy eyebrow.

  "Yeah." Kief nodded warily.

  "Thought so. Runs in the family, you know. Back before the wars, my older brother was that way."

  "Huh." Kief wasn't sure what to say.

  "Grab what happiness you can, kids, before the Order kills it all." Robert nodded emphatically. "Now, you don't want to hang about on such a fine day talking to an old man like me. Why don't you boys take the car out for a spin?"

  "Really?" Ry all but danced with eagerness. "You'll let me in it?"

  "'course. You're family now. Come see it."

  Kief hung back, watching his uncle and his lover. Ry was full of questions, which Robert was more than willing to answer. He showed off the cleverly concealed garage and peeled back the cover on the car, revealing the gleaming red body.

  "Ohhhhh," Ry sighed, touching the hood almost reverently. "What do you call it?"

  "Back when such things mattered, she was a Chevy Camaro," Robert said proudly. "'course, I peeled the insignia off long ago, when that damned law passed."

  "How is it that you made the car invisible to most of our sensors, anyway?" Ry asked eagerly. "I've always admired that trick, whatever it was. The only way we know that the Racer's out is if one of the outer-ring electronic Eyes happens to catch it. Nothing else will pick
it up."

  Robert glanced at Kief, who shrugged. He'd proven trustworthy so far, after all.

  "It's her paint," the old man said, with a confidential air. "There used to be someone did special paint jobs, not entirely legal but highly effective. Would mix aluminum flecks in with the last two coats, which scrambles the hell out of cop radar. And there's a coating on her glass, too—polarized to allow in only certain of the sun's rays, and rippled just enough to scramble video cameras. Even back before the Eyes the authorities was getting way too nosy."

  "Huh."

  "That's nothing," Robert grinned. "You should see what I did to her fuel system. Thing gets purt near hundred miles to the gallon now."

  "How did you manage that, anyway, Uncle? I've been taking her out for months now, and never needed to put gas in her."

  Robert laughed again. "No need for all the emissions regulating bullshit anymore. No inspections to pass, no nosy mechanics saying I can't do that, no nothing. So I tweaked shit all around in there and increased the efficiency to where it always should have been, if not for all the damn controls. Now, you going to go, or not?"

  Chapter 9

  The signal startled the Eye when it started beeping, after nearly three days of constant surveillance. He'd even linked the thing into his wristcomp, in case it changed while he was sleeping. At first, he was confused, but then he remembered and hit the link. "Signal's changed, sir," he reported.

  "Good. Keep monitoring. I'll be right there."

  No more than five minutes later, the Special Ops man was there. "Report, Eye."

  "Subject has left the cityplex, traveling northwest along the freight line. Speed seems to indicate he's on the train itself."

  "So that's how the little bastard's been doing it all these years," a new voice spoke up. Startled, the Eye turned and saw the Director. His heart nearly stopped. "Oh, relax, man. I know you've been monitoring my son. He's taken his antisocial tendencies too far now, and must be stopped."

  "Yes, sir." The beep increased in pace as the train drew farther away from the cityplex.

  "We'll have him today, sir," the Enforcer said confidently. "How do you want us to proceed?"

  "Ready a team. This time, I want a darter and a heavy, you hear me? And I'm going on the heavy."

  Both Eye and Enforcer blinked in surprise. The Director never left the perimeter.