“You’re too serious for someone so young.” Lexi sat upright, leaving her leisurely position by the window. “I don’t really understand why you’re here. What’s in this for you?”
“The freedom to have my own views, even if I must always keep them hidden. And my own existence. Yes, they can Reintegrate me and take my doubts away. But then I won’t be me.” Mineko spoke the words with cold conviction. She had thought too many times about what it would mean to lie on that table, her head squeezed by clamps and her hands secured to her sides.
“Reintegration. That’s where they wipe your memories, right?”
“Yes. And I’m sure there are others who secretly reject the Code. With my family connections, I may be the only one who can protect them.”
Lexi nodded. If nothing else, Mineko had wiped the smirk from her face, leaving her handsome features solemn. “What do you need me to do?”
“They’ll hunt down everyone involved in your implantation. Those people, you included, need to go into hiding.”
“The guy who installed the aug.” Lexi lowered her voice. “I guess they’ll be looking for him too?”
“If they learn his identity, they’ll be as eager to capture him as they are to capture you. We should warn him.”
Silence. Mineko waited, her tension rising, while Lexi fixed the street outside with a brooding look. Finally, she exhaled a long sigh.
“Okay. His name’s Zeke, and he’s an interesting guy. You’ll like him.” She tilted the edamame bowl forward. “One for the road?”
CHAPTER 3
Lexi hadn’t planned on seeing Zeke any time soon, not after his last stunt, but the kid was probably right. And cute, too. She stared like a bewildered tourist at the most mundane things: a dog chasing a boy on a bicycle, a woman asleep on the road, a store with a lurid window display of sex toys, two men loitering in an alley with switchblades in their hands…
“Careful.” Lexi nudged her. “Not everyone likes being gawked at as much as I do.”
Mineko bent her head and dropped her gaze, a chastened little pup. “Sorry. I just want see as much as I can before I go back.”
“When we get to Zeke’s, stare all you like. That’s what they live for.”
After twenty minutes of trudging through streets, fielding Mineko’s countless questions—did Lexi know how to ride a bicycle? When did she learn? Were there many homeless people in the district? What was a Hot Massage? Did prostitutes object to being prostitutes? Why was that man vomiting?—Lexi stopped them outside an alleyway between a bar and a strip club. “Down there.”
“I see.” Mineko stared in the direction of Lexi’s finger. “Do you know if he’ll be there today?”
“He’s always there. Come on.”
The graffitied alley was just wide enough to allow Lexi and Mineko to walk it side-by-side. At its end, a neon-lit stairwell descended beneath a sign reading Zeke’s Lounge.
“What sort of place is this?” said Mineko.
“You’re just about to find out. Do you ever run out of questions?”
“Sorry. You must think I’m childish.”
Lexi ruffled Mineko’s hair. The kid didn’t squirm away, but a hint of irritation broke through her grave expression. “Nah. You’re fun.”
“In truth, I do feel something of a child. I’ve been sheltered my entire life.”
Lexi peeked into Mineko’s eyes. Impenetrable. “You’re handling this pretty well, then.”
“Because of my parentage. I’ve been exposed to things other Codists aren’t even aware of. I’ve seen forbidden material and I’ve heard restricted information. But there’s still so much I don’t know.”
That was worth a grin. This sheltered kid was in for a shock and then some. “I can promise you’ve never seen anything like Zeke’s crowd. But don’t be intimidated. They’re all show, and besides, I’m with you. Nobody messes with my girl.”
“I’m not your girl.”
Laughing, Lexi ruffled the kid’s hair again and descended the stairs. Two parallel strips of electric red light guided them to the bottom, where a steel door was recessed into a cement wall.
Lexi pushed the buzzer, and a panel in the door shot open.
“Yeah?” said a voice like somebody gargling through a throat infection.
Lexi situated her face before the open panel. “It’s me.”
After a series of rattles, the door was pulled open by a hairy hand. One of Zeke’s bouncers, an enormous mass of hair and muscle with teeth sharpened into needles, emerged and flashed a terrifying grin.
“Lexi. Haven’t seen you for a long while.” He peered at Mineko, who had taken a step back. “And you’ve brought me a snack.”
“Keep your fangs to yourself, wolf-boy. I need to see your boss.”
“Zeke’s at work, but you can sit your butch ass in the waiting room.” The bouncer withdrew, and Lexi and Mineko followed him into the lounge.
Illuminated by purple light, their modified bodies draped over couches and reclined against gritty cement walls, the modders were a showcase of human transformation: muscle freaks with spikes jutting from their bodies, naked tattoo addicts decorated from head to toe, and cyborgs with visible augs—steel scalps, metal hands, glowing eyes—sizing each other up. There was even a man with four eyes, all of them blinking out of time.
A scale-covered woman shot out a forked tongue as Lexi sauntered by, and she made a mental note to come back later and secure what could only be the world’s freakiest oral sex. “How’s Zeke anyway?” she said to the bouncer waddling ahead of them. “Still an asshole?”
“Oh, yeah.” The bouncer gave a shark-like grin, and Mineko sidled closer to Lexi. “And he’s missing you real bad. Always saying, ‘Where’s Lex? Why don’t she do errands for me no more?’ And I say to him, ‘Zeke, honey, you’re a fucking asshole. That’s why.’”
Zeke’s waiting room was small, sterile, and furnished by a single couch upholstered in decayed synthetic leather. In concession to human boredom, a television had been mounted on one of the walls. It played an old horror movie featuring lizard people chasing unwitting victims through caves. The lounge had been scarier.
Mineko perched on the couch while Lexi sprawled across what space was left. Even the way Mineko sat was suggestive of her personality—back rigid, knees together, hands folded. Taking up as little room as possible.
“I’m guessing you shut-ins don’t do much body modding,” said Lexi.
“Not like that.” Mineko watched the scaled monsters flitting through the underground half-light. “‘Individuation leads to social fragmentation.’”
“Catchy. But what about your haircut? Looks pretty individual to me.”
Mineko brushed her bangs away from her face. “We’re allowed a limited degree of self-expression. Codism admits that total visual conformity is a purely superficial form of collectivism. The stress of having no identity, none whatsoever, ultimately breaks people.” She frowned as the lizardmen descended upon another helpless victim. “This is very gruesome.”
“I think it’s appropriate.”
“I suppose the monsters are computer-generated. Do people still make movies out here?”
“Sure they do.” Lexi winked. “I even acted in one once.”
“Really?” Every time Mineko became intrigued by something, she perked up like a pet promised a treat. “What was the movie?”
“Queer Girls Pool Party. I played Girl Performing Cunnilingus. I’d hoped for a speaking part, but hey, at least I still got to use my mouth.”
Mineko blushed and returned to staring at the lizard monsters. “Oh. Um. I see. You meant pornographic movies.”
“I needed the money. They wanted me back for the sequel, but they refused to guarantee I wouldn’t have to take it in the ass.”
“What does that mean?”
Lexi laughed until her stomach hurt. “You are so cute.”
“I’m not sure what was so funny about—”
The surgery do
or opened, and a man emerged with his upper arm wrapped in bandages. “You keep those on for a week or so,” said a rapid voice behind him. “And drink plenty of water just in case. Like, ten liters a day. If you aren’t pissing every five minutes, you aren’t drinking enough.”
The patient stumbled out into the lounge. A second later, Zeke walked into the waiting room, stopped short, and threw up his arms. “Holy shit, look who it is!”
Lexi slithered to her feet and stood with a hand on her hip, giving Zeke the scornful look he deserved. He didn’t have an imposing build, a little shorter than Lexi and wiry rather than muscular, but the stubby, half-inch spikes embedded on his brow and over his bald head added a misleading touch of menace. He wore a surgical gown, and his arms were bared to reveal red, skull-headed dragons tattooed on both biceps.
“Haven’t rusted yet?” said Lexi.
Zeke tapped one of the spikes over his left eye. “It’s titanium, baby. You’ll never guess what I just did to that guy.”
“Won’t I?” Lexi looked into Zeke’s cool blue eyes. Pushing aside the emotions on the surface—confusion, genuine pleasure, a touch of apprehension—she reached the freshest memories, the ones still quivering from their recent imprint. Fiddling with surgical tools, making an incision here, rearranging tissue there…a row of slashes along a muscle, their edges moving like they were alive.
“Gills. You put gills in his arm.” Lexi raised an eyebrow. “That’s weird.”
“Fuck!” Zeke covered his eyes with his hands. His long, jet-black nails seemed inappropriate for a surgeon, but then again, everything down here was a little inappropriate. “Don’t pull that shit on me.”
Did she laugh at Zeke’s chagrin or keep being pissed off at him? Easy question. “I should have pulled that shit much earlier, you lying son of a bitch.”
“It wasn’t a lie. Just an omission.” Zeke took off his gown. Underneath was a studded leather vest, which exposed the upper section of his chest and the complex tattoo adorning it. “They were painkillers, like I said.”
She’d forgotten what it was like trying to squeeze honesty out of this little bullshit man. “Which you sold to street addicts. I don’t deal hard drugs. You know that.”
“Alcohol is a hard drug, and you deal that shit. Besides, everyone involved in that deal, from junkie to flunky, was happy. Except you.” Zeke nodded at Mineko. “Who’s the shut-in? University uniform, am I right?”
“I’m Mineko.” Mineko’s tranquil voice was a welcome change from Zeke’s high-speed chatter. “You’re correct, I’m a student. I’ve come to warn you that you’re in danger. Are you aware of Project Sky?”
Zeke’s expression remained blank.
“It’s the aug,” said Lexi. “My aug.”
“Oh, the suicide chip.” Zeke shrugged. “Okay, so?”
“It was a Codist invention,” said Mineko. “But they never achieved a successful implant. Now they know about Lexi, they’ll be determined to find out how you did it.”
“This is a joke, right?” Zeke gave an uncertain chuckle. “Lex getting revenge for the painkillers?”
Lexi offered him her sweetest smile. “No joke. Time to kiss your brain goodbye, assuming you can find it.”
“Huh. Excuse me while I go shit myself.” Zeke sank into the couch and pressed his palm to his forehead. He hissed as he drew his hand away. “Ah! Fucking spikes!”
“I’m sorry,” said Mineko, staring at her feet. “I know it’s distressing.”
“It ain’t your fault, kid. But I wish I’d known earlier. I’d be hiding in a sewer pipe somewhere, drinking my own piss until this all blew over.” Zeke sighed. “Stupid thing is, I don’t even know how I did it. It just worked. I expected to have to wheel out a good-looking corpse. Instead, Lex opened her eyes, looked me in the face and said, ‘You dirty motherfucker.’”
Despite herself, Lexi laughed, and even Mineko smiled. “We need to get off the street,” Lexi said. “Just for a little. Is there anyone you trust?”
“Shit, I don’t know. Anyone’d sell me out. My own mother would sell me out. I don’t have friends. I have people who are just biding their time for a chance to kick me in the balls.”
“Sure. I feel like I’m going to get my opportunity real soon.”
“Yeah, well, maybe you’ll forgive me now we’re floating down a river of shit together. I did feel bad about the deal later. Missed seeing you around, too. You gave this place some class.” Zeke glanced at the rampaging lizard people, and his frown returned. “What is this crap?”
“I think it’s interesting,” said Mineko. “We’re forbidden to watch this kind of movie.”
“No horror movies, no drugs, no sex. What do you all do for fun, sniff each other’s assholes?” Zeke made a plaintive gesture. “Lex, you’re the one with all the big friends. Pull some strings. Somebody you know must have a safe house.”
“Maybe,” said Lexi. “But it’s hard to know who to trust. The Menagerie sold me out, and I thought we were close.”
“Yeah, I heard the gossip. Bunch of try-hards anyway, all them animal names. Trying to be cool, picking all the toughest ones. The Jackal. The Tarantula.” Zeke scrunched up his face in theatrical contempt. “Me, if I had to choose, I’d be the Alpaca. I saw a picture of one once. Woolly as all fuck.”
“Zeke.” Lexi raised her hand, and Zeke subsided. “Focus.”
“Sure, sure.” Zeke tapped along the spikes fixed to his brows, his usual thinking habit. “Hey, did you warn Callie?”
Shit. She’d forgotten about Callie. “Not yet.”
“Who’s Callie?” said Mineko, turning away from the movie.
“She’s the one who sold me the thing,” said Zeke. “Clever kid. Smuggler, mechanic, driver, a real all-rounder.”
“How did she get hold of Project Sky?”
“She don’t talk specifics. But over the years, she’s supplied me with some serious black market shit. I didn’t even ask for this, uh, Project Sky thing. She just rocks up with it in her hand, says ‘Zeke, how rich are you today?’ Turned out I was rich enough. And stupid enough.”
“What did you do with my money, anyway?” said Lexi.
“Your cash picked up your bad habits. I blew it myself a few months later.” Zeke took an electronic cigarette from his vest and touched it to his lips. The end of the cylinder glowed a pale blue. “Fucking shut-ins. I might as well douse my cock with kerosene and light a fucking match.”
“You do that, and we’ll go warn Callie. She still out west?”
“Oh, yeah. Same shitty little place. She’s still pissed off at you, by the way.” Zeke grinned at Mineko. “If you’re gonna hang around Lex, you need to know she’s like a roller coaster.” With one hand, he mimed a roller coaster motion. “There’s ups, there’s downs, there’s loop-the-loops. A real thrill ride. Some walk away grinning. Some walk away ready to puke.”
“I don’t know what a roller coaster is.” Mineko didn’t look at him as she spoke, captivated as she was by the movie. A lizardman pounced out of the shadows, fangs dripping, and she started. “Oh!”
“Quit watching that.” Lexi prodded Mineko’s shoulder. “It’s bad for you.”
“You guys go tell Callie the bad news, and I’ll wait here,” said Zeke. “In this nice safe bunker of freaks. Don’t forget about me, okay?”
“We’ll see.” Lexi prodded Mineko a second time, and she finally followed, still casting backward looks at the television as they made their way into the lounge.
During their absence, the light had shifted to a vivid green. A few curious eyes turned Lexi’s way, but most of the inhabitants ignored the arrivals in favor of admiring their own reflections in the lounge’s many full-length mirrors. Lexi could relate.
Halfway across the room, Lexi paused. “Just a sec.”
Ignoring Mineko’s sound of alarm, she walked to where the scaled woman was reclining against a cement support. The woman looked up, and her lizard-like eyes narrowed.
“Hey, s
nake-girl,” said Lexi.
“Hi, normal.” The snake woman wore a white blouse and slacks, not exactly serpent attire, and it was hard to know how much of her body those scales really covered. Lexi hated to be left wondering. “You like my look?”
“Oh, I do.” Lexi produced her seductive smile, the one that never failed, and the snake woman’s expression became coy. “You know, I could heat that cold blood of yours.”
The woman gave a nervous laugh, reddening beneath her scales. “I wouldn’t think a vanilla like you would be into someone like me.”
“I like my girls dangerous. Hiss your number for me, beautiful.”
After a nervous glance left and right, the woman recited her number. Lexi took out her phone and added the digits to her enormous contact list of willing women. Snake Girl, she typed before saving the number. Hard to forget that.
“I have to slither along now,” said Lexi. “But I’ll be handling you soon enough. I’m impatient to feel those fangs.”
She turned before the flustered woman could reply and rejoined the unhappy Mineko. “All done.”
“What did you need from her?”
Lexi smirked. “I’ll tell you when you’re older.”
* * *
Callie lived on the industrial fringe, far west of the University, and that meant a trip on the subway. The nearest station was only two streets away, and Mineko spent the short walk asking enthusiastic questions about body modding.
“Are tattoos permanent?”
“Yep. I have one myself.”
Ahead, a ramp led into the underground station. The signpost above it read METR, the O long having parted ways.
“Really?” Mineko said. “Where is it?”
“That’s a secret. If you want to see it, you’ll have to get me naked first.”
“Or find a copy of Queer Girls Pool Party.”
It was a deadpan worthy of Lexi herself, and she laughed. “You’re okay.”
They descended into a fluorescent-lit, garbage-filled tunnel. Every surface had been tagged by gangs or decorated by graffiti artists, and as Mineko trudged along, she admired a vivid artwork on the ceiling. If she weren’t more careful, the kid was bound to face-plant in something nasty.
Reintegration Page 4
