“Oh, by golly! But of course I’ve heard about it! It’s not like we’re all that parochial; we watch the TV too, you know. You play one role, and he plays another. But it used to be about nurse and secretary outfits. I’ve never heard anything about helmets, I must say...”
“That really takes the bloody biscuit,” I said to myself, shutting the door behind me softly and slumping down onto my bed without any strength left in my body. All I’d managed to do before zonking out was set the alarm clock.
* * *
The ear-splitting trill of the antediluvian alarm clock, which hadn’t ever been remotely musical, woke me up at once. I got up in a single movement, instantly putting my feet on the floor; no “snooze” option for me (and I used to be so fond of it while I still had a job). However, upon examining the way I’d been feeling, I was amazed to realize I no longer wished to shut myself out.
“Are you ever going to turn the damned thing off?” I heard a very irritated voice coming from the direction of my cocoon, thinking that it must have come alive for a split second.
In the next instant, I recognized the voice and winced in discontent. Kyre was still here. However, I did turn off the alarm clock, noting that my bed had no longer been equipped with a pillow as I was doing so. As I rose and got to the cocoon, I sighed dejectedly. The girl had done just about everything to get comfortable in there, and she was looking upward at me with a grimace of resentment on her face. The purloined pillow was under her head, and she was using my coat for a blanket.
“Kyre,” I said, lost in thought, still rubbing my sleepy face.
“Ros...”
“As a matter of fact, why are you still here?” I inquired directly before turning around and heading for my kitchen, giving the girl all the time she’d need to pull herself together. I wasn’t normally fond of driving people to their limit, but it was time to set things straight. I was tired of relying on guesswork.
I’d managed to light the stove, put the kettle on, and start washing up, when Kyre finally made it to the kitchen, slumped down on one of the stools, and sighed,
“Actually, there’s a pastry left for you. Just one, though, I’m afraid.”
“Don’t underappreciate my gratitude,” I said gruffly. “Still, I’d prefer you stayed on topic. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not trying to make you go away. But what I don’t get is why you’re still here and not trying to make your omnipotent daddy punish all the baddies, or why you’re so calm about what had happened last night, and why your family wouldn’t be bothered about it at all.”
Having heard me out, Kyre inquired,
“So, are you going to eat your pastry or aren’t you!”
“Kyre! Pastries are the last thing on my mind right now!”
“All right,” Kyre smiled happily, and the lonely pastry disappeared from the dish at once. “Now let me give you a blow-by-blow account. First, thank you for your help. Second, yesterday’s problem is already being taken care of by professionals. Gosha called a few times while you were in the cocoon. As you’ve said yourself, the goodies are out there catching the baddies. My parents have been informed that I am at a friend’s place easing off stress, and that I have disconnected my phone so that nothing gets in the way of my therapy, involving shopping for expensive stuff at a choice boutique. My brother could have gotten interested — he’s a royal pain in the ass — but right now he’s too busy studying the top level of Algora’s sewers and has no time to meddle in my business.”
“So,” I drawled the word, making a short pause in the washing-up. “Why are you still here?”
“Because no one knows anything about this whole thing,” the girl shrugged. “Gosha and Claw are on it. Gosha coordinates everything from the hospital, and Vlas and his boys are doing the footwork. It appears that they have caught someone and are now making their inquiries. So, things will be back to normal soon enough.”
“None of that answers the question of why you’re still here,” I was adamant.
“There are several reasons. Those who’d kidnapped me knew my address, and things are still far from over. Gosha instructed me to wait and refrain from moving until they’re quite done. Also, our own private cop is there. Auntie Lena,” Kyre sighed. “She’s the family Cerberus.”
“Who?!”
“Well, she takes care of the things around the house, but she’s more like a second mother. And once she gets her teeth into you, she doesn’t let go.”
“But what has she got to do with anything?”
“This,” Kyre said gruffly, pulling her hair aside to show her neck. “See this?”
One would have to be blind not to see the huge purple bruise.
“And there are a few more all across my body,” the dark-haired nuisance I’d suddenly been landed with added. “My cheek is a bit puffy, that’s from when they’d slapped me so that I would sit still. There are a few scratches on my forehead, too. And, well, the main thing is this,” she showed me an enormous bruise in the crook of her arm. I gave a whistle involuntarily. The bruise was enormous and almost black. I got closer to the girl, grabbed her forearm unceremoniously, and studied the injury in detail. It was a shapeless stain of dark purple, with five track marks visible right at the center.
“Damn!” I winced, letting go of her arm.
“You could say that again. Can you even imagine what would happen if any of my relatives sees this horror? They’ll declare me an addict at once. And even if I could hide the arm, there’s this stuff on the face... Auntie Lena notices everything. If she sees so much as a scratch or a bruise, she’ll make me strip at once, and if I refuse, she’ll raise hell for everyone to hear. So, if they see the track marks and my father finds out... I’m in for an Armageddon, pretty much.”
“How many times did they inject you? Why are there so many marks?”
“Just once. It’s just that I kept resisting and they couldn’t hit the vein,” Kyre said gruffly. “But they did manage eventually...”
“I see. Although, hell, I see that I see nothing,” I concluded. “You could have spent the time at your friend’s place. Although...”
“Exactly,” Kyre nodded. “Friends are even worse. Imagine me staying with them and never taking off my turtleneck sweater, not to mention the bruises all over my body.”
“All right, I get you,” I made a dismissive gesture. “How about a cup of coffee before we run off to take care of our stuff? I need to go to Waldyra...”
“Ros! You’ve promised you would let me stay!”
“Stop shouting, silly!” I barked. “Let me finish first!”
“You’re the silly one! And a liar, too!”
“Hush! Now listen. You’re supposed to be a clever girl, given that your dad’s a deputy mayor. I’ve got things to do in Waldyra, but before I dive in, I’ll send you to a hospital with a few reliable folks. A full checkup with every test taken. Today.”
“Ros, I’m all right, I’m telling you. It’s just a few bruises. I’ll be fine in a couple of days.”
“You are silly indeed, and I’m a slowpoke myself, since I’ve only thought of it now. As for Gosha, he most likely thinks with his muscles,” I exhaled wearily, leaning over to Kyre to ask her gently, “But what about the syringe?”
“What about the syringe? What syringe, anyway?”
“The one they used on you! Get your logic on and start asking the right kind of questions! It wasn’t one you’d bought at a drugstore yourself, was it? So how can you be sure it was sterile? Imagine every drug addict in town had used it before? AIDS, syphilis, the works. You don’t know what you’ve been injected with or what could have been in the needle. What if your liver or your kidneys are melting down into a puddle of jelly right now. Some total stranger had stuck a syringe of unknown provenance containing an unknown substance into your arm, and you’re just sitting there like nothing of importance had happened, munching on pastries?”
“Oh dear...” It only took a second. There was panic in her eyes, and she snuffl
ed, “Ros...”
“That’s me all right,” I grumbled, getting the kettle off the stove in a single movement. “Don’t get panicked just yet. But you need to get tested right away. Got it?”
“Y... Yeah.”
“Don’t turn on the waterworks just yet. This is no time to cry. But when the test results come in and you find out you have hepatitis and syphilis combined with AIDS...”
“Ros!!!”
“How many lumps of sugar in your coffee?”
“I don’t want any coffee... I wanna get to a hospital.”
“That’s just what I’ve been telling you,” I grunted, satisfied. Seeing as how we’ve mentioned someone by the name of Vlad the Claw — would he happen to be almost seven foot tall, a former swimmer, a bit on the tough guy side, driving a black Mercedes, with a fang-like mark on his left cheek?”
“Y-yeah...” Kyre said in a puzzled drawl.
“Do you know him personally?”
“I do. Do you know him, too?”
“A little,” I replied, already back in the room.
I rummaged in the bedside chest for a moment. When I found the notebook I’d been looking for and opened the page I needed, I stood still for a while, thinking. The last thing I’d wanted was a blast from the past. But I made my decision and dialed the number.
It only took one beep for Vlas to answer.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Vlas. It’s Ros.”
“Which Ros?”
I turned my head to see Kyre standing in the doorway, obviously interested in the conversation, before I cringed and grunted,
“Katana.”
“Katana?! You? Is it really you? Waddup, homie!” I nearly went deaf as Vlas roared in delight. “It’s been ages! Where you at now? I can’t believe you’re back in the town!”
“Doing fine, in fact. Everything's OK. Look, Vlas, you’re taking care of Kyre’s affairs now, am I right?”
“Hey... Hold on... How did you get involved in this?”
“Well, I appear to have gotten involved myself. She’s at my apartment now.”
“Apartment?! Whose apartment?!”
“My apartment,” I repeated in a falling voice.
“What do you mean, yours? In our city?”
“Yes.”
“So, how long have you been renting it? How long have you been here? When did you arrive?” A hail of questions was blasting from the receiver, each of them as good as a nail in my coffin.
“It’s been a few years, in fact...” I said in a small voice. The response was a deafening silence.
I shook the receiver, blew into it, and asked,
“Vlas? Are you there?”
“I sure am. So what were you saying about Kyre?” Vlas had compassion and attention oozing from his voice.
“Someone should take her to a private clinic, fast,” I said, relieved. “They’ve shot her up full of dope. Her arm’s got a bunch of needle marks, and she doesn’t know what syringe they may have used. You never know where it may have been. So she really needs an urgent checkup. Tests, everything; then see what the doctor says. This is serious stuff. It would also be prudent to get the assholes who’d done it to her and ask them a few questions. Copy?”
“Sure do,” Vlas agreed. “Nice one, Ros. The old noggin’s still working. We should have thought of that. Where is she now? Can you give me the address?”
“Will you send your guys!”
“Sure, at once! Consider it done. The best ones I got! So... What’s the address?”
I gave him the address, as well as the most noticeable visual orientation marks for our uptown block, and Vlas rung off immediately. I put the receiver back, looked at Kyre, and said,
“That’s taken care of, then. They’ll pick you up shortly and take you to the hospital, so no worries there. Why don’t we grab a cup of coffee in the meantime?”
“Sure,” Kyre nodded, looking at me ponderously. “Let’s go have a cuppa.”
When I got back to the kitchen, I opened the drawer I’d been using for important things and gave her an extra set of bills and two greenback notes.
“These are for you. I’ll most likely be in the cocoon when you get back, and you won’t be able to get in touch.”
“OK. But what would I need the money for?”
“Have you got any on you?”
“A little. The rest are in my purse with the cellphone.”
“Take it, then. Buy yourself something... I dunno, woman stuff? I have no idea about any of it. And something to eat. The fridge is empty, there’s nothing to feed you with.
Kyre nodded silently, pocketed the dough, grabbed the coffee cup, and asked,
“So how do you know Vlas? And you have his number, too.”
“He’s an old acquaintance,” I said dismissively. “And it doesn’t matter, anyway. Are you hungry? As for me, I’m positively ravenous.”
“I am,” Kyre replied, her eyes still on me. “Get cooking.”
I managed to fry the eggs, put them on our plate, and land my backside on the stool when the doorbell started ringing hysterically again, without stopping, as if it had been pressed continuously by someone particularly persistent.
“Open up, Ros! Homies are coming!” A very familiar voice roared as something heavy knocked on my door a few times.
I crossed the hallway, unlocked the door, opened in, and took a step back involuntarily, seeing Vlad towering over me.
“Hey, Ros, whatcha! Here goes!” Vlas greeted me joyously, swinging his fist. The very next moment my back crashed into the wall. My ears were ringing, and I felt a distinct taste of blood in my mouth.
“Gah... Why didn’t momma strangle me as a baby?” I said hoarsely, on my arms and elbows, shaking my ringing head.
“There’s more where it came from,” Claw promised, taking a step forward. “This is just the advance payment!”
“Vlas, what the hell are you doing?” Kyre popped up in the hallway like a jack-in-the-box.
“You keep quiet when old friends are talking, right, Ros? Hey, here comes another one...”
I managed to grab his foot as he tried to kick me in the ribs, pulling his leg up. Vlas flapped his hands, cursed, and then his enormous bulk landed on the pile of clothes and the remains of the clothes-stand.
“Hey, guys... Enough already!” Kyre got between the two of us, her arms spread wide. “I’ll... I’ll complain to Ms. Bobrikov!”
“Kyre... I exhaled, getting to my feet.
“What is it, Ros? Tell me. Does it hurt?”
“Every hour I feel more and more like strangling you.”
“What’s it got to do with me?”
“Well done there, Ros!” Vlas laughed as he rose, tossing the bundle of clothes aside without a care. “I can see that you know her all too well already. You asshole! Why the hell have you been hiding from me? I’d been thinking you were pursuing a career in the Navy under your dad’s guidance, like, tracking enemy submarines with a vigilant eye, or some such shit, and this is how I find out you’re in town and have been keeping mum all the while? Killing you would be too kind!” That was what Claw told me before giving me a bone breaking bear hug and shouting, “So you’re alive, you bastard!”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” I squeaked. “And would you keep it down? All the neighbors can hear you.”
“So you’re afraid of your neighbors now?” Vlas asked, surprised, finally letting my much-abused body slip his vise grip. “My... My guess is that they’ve replaced you with a lookalike. I remember how...”
“Look, Vlas, we should get down to business,” I had to stop his trip down the memory lane at all cost. “Can you take Kyre to a hospital? Some place where the doctors are competent enough and don’t ask any unwarranted questions. Can you do that?”
“Sure. Right away. All right, adventurer. Are you ready to find out you’ve been infected by a deadly bug capable of wiping out all of humankind?”
“Vlas! This ain’t funny! Like, not one bit!�
�
“Damn!” I said, faking terror. “She’s been touching my stuff... I’ll have to burn everything now, and I’ll really miss that cocoon...”
“Ros! You bastard!”
“This is interesting,” I said gruffly. “When you talk to him, you say it’s not funny. When you talk to me, you instantly call me a bastard.”
“Because you are one,” a happy Vlas enlightened me, instantly switching to a serious tone. “But none of it is really funny, that much is true. Kyre, get ready, and let’s get going. We gotta check you for bugs. Well done, Ros. Me and Gosha have let it slip somehow. Oh, and get ready.”
Clan Dominance - the Sleepless Ones 2 Page 14
