by Sean Platt
“Let’s go back to the time you broke into her apartment then stood over her while she was immersed. Having virtual sex with some guy, if I remember correctly.”
“I told you, that’s different.” She put her hands on her hips. “I’m like two people, Nicolai. It was business Kai who did that. Do you see this?” She gestured at her own lithe, well-dressed body. “This is social Kai.”
“So this is a social event for you, then. Aren’t you here to — ”
“We’ll see. Introduce me.”
“That’s not a good idea. I just quit working with Isaac, remember? Both of them are probably feeling a bit — ”
Kai hit Nicolai’s arm with the back of her hand. “Stop it. You introduce me to Natasha right now, or I won’t kill any old women for you tonight.”
“It’s not for me. Interestingly, that killing is for her.”
“You can’t do shit with your parasite until everyone’s here anyway. Micah told me he and Isaac are putting on a little show later. That’s when it becomes business, when everyone’s distracted. Until then, we’ve gotta do something.”
“Kai, about me and Natasha: she’s…”
Kai grabbed Nicolai’s arm and began to drag him.
Nicolai shrugged off her grip and reluctantly followed.
Chapter Fifteen
“Is that her?” Dominic’s voice said through Kate’s cochlear implant.
She looked around, trying to figure out which monitor Dominic was watching from…well, from wherever he was monitoring things. “Where?” she whispered.
“Dragging that man toward…” Dominic’s audio glitched out then returned,. Kate heard him finish, “…Isaac Ryan.”
“How the shit am I supposed to know where Isaac Ryan is hiding?” Kate said, annoyed.
“Right there, Kate.” He huffed, possibly realizing Kate couldn’t see where he was pointing. “You know Natasha Ryan, right?”
Kate scanned the room. Finally, she spotted the tall redhead — who, it turned out, dwarfed her little mousy husband. She didn’t look for Kai right away. Instead, Kate found herself comparing Natasha’s figure to her own. She wondered what it meant that she was pleased to see that her own girls were perkier and more natural than the famous singer’s.
“Okay. I see her.”
“Kai Dreyfus or Natasha Ryan?”
“What the hell does it matter? Both!”
“All right, all right,” Dominic said. “Calm down.”
“Easy for you to say. You ain’t here in the thick of things with a second person in your head.”
Kate was in the corner, keeping her voice low, holding a drink in front of her curiously moving lips. There wasn’t anything precisely wrong with her speaking to the temporary commissioner from inside the party (she’d already manufactured a cover story in which she was an undercover cop), but the undone deed before them made her prickly. She might also be getting her period. When she’d had her refurb, she’d requested that system be short-circuited, but Kai’s assertion was that the more natural Kate was, the better. Doc’s arguments that many women didn’t have periods in the age of nanobot medicine had fallen on deaf ears. Since then, Kate had become increasingly certain that Kai had been fucking with Doc one final time.
“We all have our parts to play.”
Kate rolled her eyes, raising her head and hoping Dominic could see.
“Where’s Omar?” Dominic asked.
“I saw him a little bit ago. Not sure now.”
Dominic tapped something on his end. “Okay. I see him. He’s in the far bedroom with a big crowd. You’re safe to talk to Kai.”
“Not now, asshole. They’re talking to the Ryans.”
“Then when she’s done.”
Kate considered telling Dominic to stop calling the shots. It had been her idea to mention Kai to the captain, and she was having a hard time separating truth from lies. Between the three of them, officially, Omar was in charge and had given marching orders to them both. Unofficially, between Dominic and Kate, Omar was a double-crossing shit bag with plans of his own. But even beyond that, Kate had a few secrets herself. First, she wanted to make contact with Nicolai, not Kai. Second, she needed to make sure Dominic didn’t figure that Omar’s Doc-related secrets were, in a rather intimate way, actually Kate’s secrets.
“Look. I know Kai better than you do,” Kate said, trying to remember the specifics of that lie. She’d told Dominic that Kai was a sort of industrial spy, and that the two of them had met when working as hookers together. That one had raised Dominic’s eyebrows…and, probably, a tent in his pants. “Let me talk to her I judge it’s safe to do so.”
And hopefully without you listening in, she added in her head. But that would be hard to pull off as well. The Beam permissions that would let Kate hide her upcoming conversation with Kai from Dominic were currently trapped in Nicolai’s head. There were lies on top of lies on top of lies. It was getting hard to keep track.
At that moment, Nicolai looked over. He watched Kate for too long, but then Kai dragged him back into the circle with Natasha and Isaac.
“My canvas says that’s Nicolai Costa with your girl,” Dominic said. “The guy Omar and the Doc Stahl guy in your head have in common.”
“I figured that out.”
“But…his ID is reading funny to me,” Dominic’s voice added. “So…so maybe it’s not Costa?”
“It’s Costa.”
“How do you know?
Shit. Damned lies were so hard to keep straight. “I looked him up.”
“This is really strange,” Dominic said. There was a pause. “Hey, do you know how Omar got those last-minute invites? They certainly look official. And Costa’s…” His sentence ended in the middle, trailed off rather than glitched this time.
Kate hadn’t liked where that sentence was going, but she liked even less how Dominic had stopped speaking.
“What?” she said, afraid of the answer.
“It’s Braemon. He’s headed your way, with Omar behind him.”
Chapter Sixteen
“SerenityBlue?”
“I know,” Serenity answered.
“The knot. The map. It’s changing.”
“I know, Wax. Thank you.”
Serenity looked up at the boy as she knelt on her cushion. Her smile felt like a lie. She’d been trying to feel The Beam since Wax had come in last night. Sleep had been impossible. She’d felt herself wanting to fragment, to reach out to those who believed in and sought her. She’d found herself wanting to tip away from the physical world and become virtual, but the way had suddenly felt like a decimated landscape fraught with pitfalls. She’d gone out anyway and come back empty. But Wax wanting to show her changes to his map was ridiculous. It was like being struck by a train then enduring a doctor trying to prove you’d been hit rather than fixing the damage.
“That dark cloud you noticed on the map earlier…”
“I know.”
“Serenity,” he said, desperate to get in a few words. “Some of the others? They say people are talking about Violet James.”
“I see that now. It’s fine, Wax.”
“It’s not fine!” the boy blurted.
SerenityBlue watched him at the doorway, allowing his outburst to pass. The students were usually serene, but at root they were still children. There were things they wouldn’t understand — that they couldn’t understand. Serenity didn’t like what the ripples seemed to be saying. Or the realization that there were two shells out there, and that something malicious seemed to be following one of them. She didn’t like the black cloud, but at least now she might know what it meant.
What Wax and the others didn’t understand was that at this point, little could be done. It was like watching an explosion in slow motion. The explosion couldn’t be stopped because in the ways that counted, it had already happened. They could only watch it unfold then count the bodies later.
Finally, the boy’s face returned to mostly normal, and he turned, surely knowing tha
t Serenity couldn’t say anything to make it better but perhaps understanding that in its way, that was okay too.
“Will that be all?” she asked.
Wax’s face changed. Perhaps it was the truth dawning on him. “Is there anything you’d like? Anything at all?” he asked.
This time, despite what Serenity knew, her smile came more easily.
“No,” she said. “It was always inevitable.”
“Then…” He tried again. “You’re leaving?”
Serenity stood, crossed to the door, and put her hands on the boy’s shoulders.
“I think I must.”
“When?”
“Soon,” Serenity said.
“What should we do in the meantime?” Wax asked.
Her answer was as pointed as it was obvious.
“Prepare,” she said.
Chapter Seventeen
Natasha had her hand on Nicolai’s wrist, noting the flash in Isaac’s eyes when she spotted Shelly from across the room.
“I’m sorry,” she said, interrupting her own words to Nicolai about how nice it was to see him, “there’s someone over there I need to catch before she gets away.”
She gave the fan, Kai, a smile. She gave Nicolai a larger smile, being sure to turn in time to see Isaac’s reaction. Their recent banter had been so much more pleasant than normal. Natasha used to taunt Isaac by flirting with other men, but now the same actions were almost foreplay. In the past, she’d have honestly tried to get Nicolai to sneak into a back room with her, but right now she was enjoying Isaac’s hungry, possessive eyes, hoping to capitalize on that lust a bit later.
When Natasha moved to push out of their little circle (the first time in West knew how long that she’d left Nicolai without yearning for him), Isaac put a hand on her wrist.
“Don’t go, darling,” he said, his voice a tad false. “I know how much you love your fans.”
Natasha turned her smile on Isaac, but she saw nerves in him rather than sex. He’d been jacked up the whole ride over. But it had been a long time since she’d played cat and mouse with her husband, and maybe this was what his bedroom gaze looked like now.
“I don’t know how long Shelly will be here. If I don’t catch her now, I might miss my chance.” She turned to Kai. “I’m sorry to seem rude. It was so nice to meet you.”
“Oh, it’s no problem at all,” Kai gushed.
Natasha moved again, but this time Isaac slipped an arm around her waist. The embrace was sweet but incredibly awkward given the distance already between them.
“We haven’t talked to Nicolai,” Isaac said.
“We’ve talked enough to this deserter,” she said, now smiling broadly and touching Nicolai to show she was kidding.
“And Kai hasn’t even told you her favorite song,” Isaac added.
“We should actually go anyway,” Nicolai said, taking Kai by the arm.
Natasha was preparing to humor Isaac and ask the woman for her favorite song when Isaac’s head swiveled the other way. Natasha turned to see what had grabbed his attention and found herself facing her brother-in-law.
“Isaac,” Micah said. “I just found out Carter Vale is going to be here. Did you know?”
“They changed the whole traffic pattern because he…” Isaac began. Then, lying as far as Natasha could tell, he changed tacks and continued: “Oh. No. I didn’t realize.”
“Is there a problem, Micah?” Natasha asked.
“I don’t think so. I just need to borrow my brother for a minute.” His eyes flicked toward Isaac’s. “To discuss President Vale.”
“I don’t really have anything to say about him. I barely know him,” Isaac said, turning back into the original group.
“Mother wants to meet him,” Micah said.
Kai’s and Nicolai’s heads turned toward Micah. Natasha felt her brow wrinkle. What was happening here? Looks weren’t just passing between Isaac and Micah; they were passing between Micah and Nicolai, too. And, strangest of all, between Micah and Kai, whom nobody supposedly knew from Adam.
“Mother,” Micah repeated, giving Isaac a nod.
Isaac sighed. He fixed his eyes on Natasha, looking deep, as if he were trying to hypnotize her.
“I’ll just be a few minutes,” he said then firmly added, “stay here with Nicolai and Kai.” Then, because that didn’t seem to be enough, Isaac flicked his gaze to Kai and back to Natasha. “Remember, fans pay your bills. Nice celebrities don’t go running off while fans are talking to them.” He gave an insulting little chuckle as if he was joking, which for some reason Natasha felt sure he wasn’t.
Isaac stepped reluctantly away, following his brother. Natasha watched after him then turned back to find Nicolai distracted. He was standing almost on his tiptoes, ogling a tall blonde in the corner. The woman wasn’t as attractive as Natasha and had obvious, predictable breasts. Too obvious and predictable for a man like Nicolai…and yet he was practically drooling. Strangely, Kai, beside him, didn’t seem offended as she watched him watch the blonde.
“Isaac is right,” Natasha said, finding herself ruffled. “We really don’t get a chance to talk anymore. What is your favorite song, Kay?”
“It’s Kai,” Nicolai corrected.
She giggled. “Oh. Of course.”
“I’m sorry, Natasha,” Nicolai said, already backing up, edging toward the woman in the corner. “There’s someone we need to talk to. Come on, Kai.” He nodded. “It’s been nice catching up with you.”
Natasha watched them go, biting her tongue to hold in a not entirely lighthearted joke about it being rude to embark on a threesome without inviting everyone. Then she found herself alone, all attention withdrawn, trying to be a big girl and not feel jilted.
But nobody — despite her being Natasha Ryan — turned to join her.
Natasha looked to the knot of people near the door into the dining room, toward where her old friend Shelly seemed to have vanished, and crossed the party to find her.
Chapter Eighteen
“What’s the matter with you, Isaac?” Micah demanded.
Isaac was still looking across the room, hoping against hope that the group containing Natasha, Nicolai, and Kai would hold tight until he returned. Things didn’t look good. Nicolai’s eyes had strayed to some woman with big boobs, and he was pulling his date away while Natasha glanced around after them, seemingly prepping to leave. Natasha never listened. It was almost a thing with her.
“I asked you a question.”
Isaac turned to face his brother.
“You don’t answer when someone asks you a question?”
“I figured it was rhetorical.”
Micah sighed. “It used to be. But now I’d honestly like to know.”
“What did you need to tell me about Vale? Or Rachel?”
“Did you know Vale was coming?”
“No, of course not. I…” But Micah raised his eyebrow, missing nothing.
“What, Isaac?” he prompted.
“Nothing.”
“Did someone talk to you? About Vale?”
“No! Why?”
Micah’s eyebrow was still up. Isaac could practically feel himself sweating despite his rapid-cool nanobots.
“Mother. Mother talked to you about Vale. She did, didn’t she? What’s she up to?”
“Nothing!”
Micah chewed his lip, steely eyes on Isaac. “You need to stay away from Kai Dreyfus.”
“You know her?”
“Of course I know her. She’s here with Nicolai.”
Isaac didn’t understand the connection. “I’ve worked with Nicolai for six decades, and I don’t know her.” Isaac could feel his own eyebrow rising. If anyone looked over at the two brothers now, it’d probably look like they were in a duel of devious expressions. As usual, there was more here than Micah was saying. He hadn’t said to stay away from Nicolai’s date. He’d said to stay away from Kai. She was the subject, not Nicolai. “How do you know her?”
“Profe
ssional relationship.”
“She strikes me as an escort. Are you into pimping now?” Isaac wished there were someone around to high-five. It was so rare to get a dig in on his brother. But of course, Micah wasn’t paying attention. His eyes were scanning the crowd.
“Looking for someone?”
Micah pursed his lips. “I don’t like this. Rachel is up to something. Did she really not talk to you about Vale? Because it doesn’t make a goddamned bit of sense that he’s here, and it stinks of her wrinkly conniving. She’s going to ruin everything.”
“What’s she going to ruin?” Something to do with Kai Dreyfus, Isaac figured. But what? And with all the assassinations and marital bombs in Isaac’s mind, did he really have the headspace to care? He couldn’t see Natasha anymore. Where had she run off to?
“Have you seen Braemon?”
“No. I don’t even know him.”
“What about Jameson Gray?”
“Jameson Gray is here?”
Micah’s eyes became insulting slits before Isaac could catch his mistake. It wasn’t Isaac’s fault. He’d been looking at the buffet table — which didn’t seem to include a cake knife but did have a serrated carving knife sticking out of one of those enormous bioengineered hams. Could you kill someone with a ham knife? Sure you could. They’d just need to hold still long enough for some sawing.
“Oh, right,” Isaac said, recovering. “For the magic trick.”
“Yes, Isaac. For the trick. You’ve been practicing, right? I know it’s stupid, but it’s also going to be on that little stage over there, with every one of these powerful people watching. And it’ll be streamed. Half the NAU will watch live, and the other half will see it tomorrow.”
Isaac laughed. “Practicing. Yes. I’ve been doing all sorts of practicing.”
“Seriously, Isaac…”
“He hasn’t even told me anything!” Isaac blurted. “It’s like he doesn’t trust me!” The moment of released pressure felt good. Maybe he should tell Micah about the murder afoot. Maybe Micah could get Isaac arrested because it wasn’t as easy as the criminals made it look.
