by Chris Lofts
‘No.’ SJ said, sitting forward, her hand on Gabrielle’s knee. ‘You only just got here. What about the school, the surgery? We need you. I need you.’
Gabrielle dropped to her knees next to SJ. ‘I know, and believe me, the last place I want to go is back to bloody London.’ She held SJ’s hand. ‘But Ethan’s in trouble. You heard what Helix said.’
All eyes turned to Helix. All of his training and experience told him that a half-baked plan was worse than no plan at all. But it was all he had at the moment. ‘Wheeler knows something that could help us.’
‘Justin?’ SJ scoffed. ‘We all know that the only person Justin is interested in helping is Justin.’
‘The last time I spoke to Ormandy, she was convinced that Ethan and I had something to do with Yawlander and Blackburn’s deaths.’ He turned to Gabrielle. ‘You saw that broadcast. There’s something Wheeler knows. It’s significant enough to trade halo-confinement for banishment. It could give us an edge.’ He sipped the tea, gave a half-nod of approval and took another. Taking his jacket from the back of his chair, he pulled the cover away from the graphene panel in his jacket sleeve. ‘You there, Sofi?’
‘Yep,’ came the reply from the jacket.
‘Have you found anything coming out of Bristol that Wheeler could be tapping into?’
‘Nothing. All data links hit a brick wall at the perimeter. Unless he’s got a couple of baked bean tins and a very long piece of string.’
‘Satellite?’
‘Possibly but—’
‘But have you checked?’
‘It’s complicated. And I would need to be looking at the exact moment he was using any kind of satellite comms. Given the number of satellites orbiting the planet it changes constantly. I can establish sniffers but it’s going to take time and—’
‘Time’s the one thing we don’t have. OK stand by.’ He ran his hand over his hair. ‘At least we know he’s not going to be talking to anyone from that pit. The other two aren’t going anywhere at the moment either. For now, we don’t have any leaks and we need to keep it that way.’
Bo cleared his throat. ‘Err, how are we going to be able to help with all this? He polished his palms on the legs of his trousers again. ‘We can’t fight these sort of people, I mean look at you.’ He held his hand up to Helix. ‘No offence intended, but…’
‘None taken.’ Helix finished his tea. ‘We’ve got just over 26 hours. We need to head back to London. If I can convince Ormandy that we’re coming in, it might mean she keeps the dogs on their leads while we negotiate.’
‘And what about Ulyana Lytkin?’ Gabrielle said. ‘What about Ethan?’
‘That’s the crux of it. Neither option is ideal. But if we have to give up to one or the other it has to be Lytkin.’
‘Whoa. Hold on,’ SJ said, pushing herself up from her chair. ‘No way. You can’t just hand Gabrielle over to that lunatic. You know what her dipshit brother was going to do. Sounds like she’s no different.’
Helix pulled the door open and beckoned Sofi inside. With her hood pulled up and a snood masking her face, the AI stomped the snow from her feet and lowered her bergen to the floor. Helix glanced outside and pushed the door closed. Taking Sofi by the arm, he ushered her to the middle of the room. ‘Gabrielle is the key to this whole thing. Without her Ethan dies. It’s as simple as that.’ He stepped behind Sofi and pulled the hood from her head. Sofi lowered the snood covering her face.
21
26 Hours
The patient creaking of the log burner’s chimney filled the gaping void in the conversation. The sisters stared at each other, then at Sofi and back at each other. Bo staggered up from his chair his mouth agape, pointing at Sofi in case nobody else in the room had noticed the apparent addition to the Stepper sisters – twins had become triplets.
Gabrielle was the first to approach. She snatched her fingers away from Sofi’s chin. ‘She’s freezing,’ she said, looking at Helix for an explanation. Taking the AI’s chin in her hand again, she turned her head to the right and then the left. ‘How…’
Helix wasn’t sure he could explain. He’d just accepted what Sofi had told him as he lay in the dark next to Gabrielle while she’d slept. ‘The tissue is designed to heal following battlefield injuries. Ethan being Ethan, tweaked things so he could create whatever appearance he wanted. By feeding Sofi sufficient images of the girl of his dreams she was able to recreate the features and appearance to match.’
‘And who fed her the images of me or us?’ Gabrielle said, turning to Helix.
‘There’s plenty of images and footage of you on record. It was relatively easy for Sofi to gather enough to replicate your appearance.’
SJ heaved herself out of the fireside chair. ‘So, can she change her appearance at will, you know, could she make herself look like Bo, for example?’
‘Oh Jesus,’ Bo protested. ‘This is freaking me out, man. I hate those bloody things. I’ve heard stories, they say—’
‘Calm down, lover,’ SJ said. ‘It’s just a question.’
Helix laughed. ‘It’s not quite that simple. Given enough time studying him, it probably could, but he’s taller and bigger. Skin and underlying muscle is one thing. Changes to the endoskeleton take longer. With you, Gabrielle and Sofi being similar in height and build it was faster to process.’
SJ circled Sofi. ‘What I wouldn’t give for my boobs and bum to be that size again,’ she sighed, patting her baby-bump.
‘So, she takes my place,’ Gabrielle murmured.
Helix nodded. ‘Yep.’ He turned to SJ and Bo. ‘Nobody else in the village can know about this. Later on, if anyone asks where Sofi is, we say she’s gone on ahead.’
‘It’s going to be pretty obvious when they see a third sister wandering around the place,’ SJ said, slumping back into a chair.
‘Nobody is going to see her,’ Helix explained. ‘Gabrielle, we’re going to need to get her into some of your clothes when the time comes.’
Gabrielle nodded. ‘Appearance and clothing are one thing. What happens when it comes face to face with Lytkin? How well does it know my research?’
‘We just need to get alongside Lytkin, find out where Ethan is and get creative.’
‘And what about when Lytkin discovers that there is no blood flowing through the veins of this abomination?’ Gabrielle said. ‘The game will be up, and you’ll all be dead. Brilliant plan, Helix.’
Sofi took off her jacket, pulled up the sleeves of her thermal top and pointed to the inside of her elbow. ‘I have blood,’ she said. ‘Not actual blood, in the normal places or in the same quantities, but I have a workaround.’ She turned to Gabrielle. ‘What’s wrong?’
Gabrielle’s eyes darted at Helix, her fingers to her mouth. ‘Your voice. My voice. It’s…’
Sofi shrugged. ‘Good looks aren’t everything. It won’t work if I don’t sound like you.’
‘Jesus, Mary and Joseph,’ SJ said, shaking her head. ‘So, back to the blood. How’s that going to work?’
Sofi turned to Bo. ‘Can you bring us two rabbits?’
It was Helix’s turned to look puzzled. He didn’t want to own up to not thinking about the blood. Lytkin needed Gabrielle’s DNA. It was the key that would unlock the pathogen. When Gabrielle had made the discovery, that was how she’d protected it. It was the sort of detail Ethan would have thought of. ‘Rabbits?’ he said.
‘Tongue of lizard, scrotum of bat,’ SJ blurted. ‘While you’re at it, Bo, bring back your book of satanic rituals too. It might come in handy.’
Sofi looked back at Bo. ‘The rabbits should be dead but not eviscerated.’
‘Evicer-what?’ Bo said.
‘Gutted, Bo,’ SJ laughed.
‘Oh right.’ Bo nodded. ‘Dead but not gutted. Right you are.’
‘And, Bo,’ Helix said, catching his arm. ‘Not a word to anyone.’
Sofi crossed the room to where Gabrielle stood. ‘I’ll need your help, Gabrielle.’
‘And
my blood, I assume.’
Ten minutes later, Bo returned with two large rabbits. ‘I skinned them. Thought it might make things a bit easier,’ he said. He stomped the snow from his boots and handed them to Gabrielle.
‘That’s perfect, Bo,’ she said, laying them out on the clean cloth she’d laid on the table. Taking a scalpel from her medical bag she made the first incision.
Helix made himself useful brewing more nettle tea as they all watched Gabrielle and Sofi working together. Gabrielle relaxed, as soon as Sofi explained why she needed the rabbit bladders. It helped that Sofi could regulate her body temperature to a level that would prevent Gabrielle’s blood haemolysing once it was filling the bladders. Sofi drew the required amount of blood from Gabrielle’s arm by adapting the intravenous infusion kit carried in the battlefield first aid pack she’d procured from Mace. With the bladders filled they needed to work quickly. Sofi swapped seats with Gabrielle. SJ looked away as Gabrielle made an incision in the crook of each of Sofi’s arms big enough to insert the flaccid sacks of blood below the skin. ‘How long will it take for the wounds to heal?’ Gabrielle asked.
‘If we use the butterfly sutures the scars will be invisible after approximately four hours.’
‘And what temperature are you keeping it at?’
‘Between two and six degrees Celsius.’
Gabrielle got up from her seat. ‘OK good,’ she said, putting the used equipment into a small metal dish. ‘You’re all set.’
‘Will it work?’ Helix asked. ‘Lytkin will be able to extract the DNA, yes?’
‘That’s the part that bothers me,’ she said, closing up her medical bag.
‘I understand, but we can’t risk it not being your blood.’
‘No. I get that.’ She slipped her arm around his back. ‘What do we do now?’
‘We’ll leave in a while.’
Gabrielle clung a little tighter. Sharing her anguish, he pulled her in. ‘Travelling at night would be better, but we can’t afford the time. The sooner we’re back in London the better. It’ll give me time to work out the end game.’
‘What about the bean counter?’ Bo asked. ‘If he sees Gabrielle after you’ve gone, he’ll know what’s going on, won’t he?’
‘You’re right. That’s why he’s coming with us.’
‘Hold on, Helix. What about those things in his neck?’ Gabrielle said. ‘You can’t take him to Bristol or London, you’ll kill him.’
‘I can take care of that,’ Sofi replied.
Gabrielle slipped away from Helix, her hands clamped to her head. ‘Bloody hell. Can you revert to your Spanish—’
‘Mexican,’ Sofi corrected.
‘I don’t care.’ Gabrielle yelled. ‘Just anything except me. And stop bloody staring.’
Helix placed his hand on her back. ‘I know it’s freaky, but it’s not for long. Things will get back to normal.’
‘I don’t want normal,’ she said, her eyes moist. ‘Well, I do but not without…’
He understood. He didn’t want to leave either. ‘We’ve got a solution for Wheeler’s problem,’ he said. ‘Sofi, playing you, can examine him on the pretence that you’re considering whether or not you can remove the devices. Getting close will enable her to capture the device IDs. She can hack the Justice database and reset the boundaries, so he doesn’t get his head blown off when we cross the perimeters into Bristol or London.’
‘Why do you need him?’ SJ said.
‘He could be useful. Plus, if he’s close, I can see what he’s up to.’ He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. ‘OK. This is how it’s going to work.’
22
25 Hours
Helix watched through one of the small windows as SJ and Bo picked their way over the mud and slush to the cookhouse. They were going to announce to the village that Gabrielle’s mysterious friends were on their way back to London and that the bean counter was going with them. The news of the bodies in the pit wouldn’t go down quite so well, but he wouldn’t be there to hear the complaints. Apart from a patchy, poorly organised and demotivated militia, there wasn’t anyone to maintain law and order outside of the cities. Survivors had learned to fight their own battles. If that meant a body buried in the woods, then so be it. It wasn’t arbitrary, it was a last resort and it was now rare.
Helix held the door open for Gabrielle as she led the way into the school room. They left Sofi to change into the clothes Gabrielle had given her. He ran his fingers over the edge of the handmade table surrounded by six low chairs. Small chairs for small people. Some people spent hours staring at art. Handcrafted objects held the same allure for Helix. Each item bore its maker’s signature, not in words, but by marks from the tools and the finish. Some were finer than others, a master guiding an apprentice perhaps. Farther back, the tables increased in size, surrounded by an assortment of salvaged chairs. Each row represented a step on the stairway to adulthood. A worm-eaten casement clock on the wall chimed ten. ‘What time does school start?’ he asked.
‘I ring the bell at 10:30. We start late so they can finish their jobs before school. They come in through here,’ she said, pushing open a door onto a wide veranda. ‘If you follow the path up to that ridge and turn right, you can avoid the middle of the village. It’ll take you up to the fork in the path, the one that leads back to the pit.’
‘Nice collection,’ he said, halting in front of the bookcase. He recognised some of the legal texts that had belonged to Gabrielle’s father amongst the biology and botany. They looked impressive, not that there was much use for lawyers out in the sticks. ‘What subjects do you cover?’
‘Sorry?’ Gabrielle said, shaking chalk dust from scraps of paper on her desk in front of the blackboard. ‘What did you say?’
Helix weaved between the tables and chairs. ‘Are you OK?’
‘What do you think?’ She sighed.
The small talk wasn’t working. ‘It’ll be OK.’ He wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince, her or himself. ‘As long as we stick to the plan.’
‘When will you be back?’
He didn’t have an answer but had to give her something. ‘A few days, five at the most. I hope.’ He pulled her into his arms. ‘You can’t hold me to that, but I will come back.’
‘And stay?’
He rested his chin on top of her head, glancing around the school room. Compared to the sterile city it had a warmth about it, in spite of the temperature outside. ‘I’ll be happy all the time I’m with you.’
She tugged at a desk drawer. It stuck. The more she pulled the more it refused to budge.
Helix rested his hand on hers. ‘Let me,’ he said. It yielded with a pained squeak, the contents spilling into a pile at the front. ‘I think your drawers need lubricating.’ The joke fell flat.
‘Thank you,’ she said, reaching inside. A pink and yellow plastic toy swung on an old shoe lace as she lifted it out. ‘I want you to borrow this,’ she said, nodding to him to lower his head.
‘What is it?’
‘Evie made it for me when she—’
‘No, Gabrielle, I couldn’t.’
‘Please. I’m lending it to you. She used to call it her lucky charm.’
He smiled. ‘It’s a unicorn.’ He ran his fingertip over the spiralled horn protruding from its forehead and a mane of multi-coloured hair. ‘OK. It’s a deal.’
She kissed it and dropped it over his head. He kissed it back and tucked it inside his shirt.
They turned together as Sofi pushed through the door from the living area. She dragged his bergen in. It was heavier, given that he would be carrying her kit and his own. Nobody would expect to see Gabrielle struggling underneath a pack the size of a small person. He adjusted the leg holster containing Sofi’s weapon having exchanged it for the Glock that she now had concealed under her village garb.
‘Head up the path and wait for me on the ridge,’ he said.
With his jacket zipped over his shoulder holsters, he heaved the pack up
onto one shoulder. Slipping his arm through the second strap, he turned to Gabrielle. ‘All set.’ He held his hand out.
She took his hand and tried her best to cuddle into him amidst the webbing straps securing the pack. ‘Be careful.’
He leaned down and kissed her. ‘I’ll do my best.’ He winked. ‘See you on the other side.’
Pausing at the top of the path, he turned and waved. Gabrielle propped herself against the door frame, fingers working over her cheeks. She waved back, turned and stumbled through the door. Helix’s heart wrenched in his chest. Temptation and gravity pulled at him. He swallowed the urge to go back, turned and fell in alongside Sofi as she trudged through the snow towards the fork in the path.
A few minutes further on, Helix stumbled to a halt at the fork. ‘Someone’s come up from the village since the snow stopped,’ he said, pointing to the tracks in the snow. ‘What have you got on the nano-cams?’
‘Nothing,’ Sofi said. ‘I pulled the cameras ready for the off as soon as we’d neutralised the threat.’
‘You did what?’ He ran his hand over his head. ‘You’re not fucking human. You’re meant to be infallible.’
‘Nothing is infallible. There were four horsemen plus Walt. We accounted for all five.’
The footprints were obvious, some simple imprints, others where whoever it was had slipped back as they scrambled up the slope. The brown staining either side of the tracks drew Helix’s attention. ‘How the hell?’ He moved off down the slope, parallel to the tracks, treading in the virgin snow.
Sofi stepped alongside him as he stared into the empty pit. Empty apart from the corpses and turds bobbing on the surface. ‘Look,’ she said. ‘A tree root. He must have pulled it out and used it to climb up.’
‘Bollocks,’ he muttered, unconvinced. Something about the snow didn’t look right. The way it had been disturbed. They were wasting time. ‘Come on. At least we’ve got tracks to follow. How long since you pulled the cams?’
