He was stalling. “I’ll check.”
As the tea was carefully poured, he called Helen. The old-fashioned buzz as it rang made him suppress a jump each time. A part of him wanted it to go to voicemail. That would mean it might not be true.
She picked up.
“Hello?”
Thank God she sounded as nervous as he felt. “I hope you don’t mind; we brought some friends.” He sent her the address.
Her holo manifested in the empty chair. She was dressed casually this time, in a loose tunic and slacks, hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was trying harder with her appearance; it was much more natural looking now. It was still just a little too symmetrical, a little too smooth.
“Tonya, Spencer, this is Helen Zhang. My sister.”
The chaos of tea house conversation overwhelmed the silence around the table.
“I…” Tonya stuttered as she lifted her cup, “I don’t know where to start.”
“I do,” Spencer said. “How the hell can you be his sister?”
She changed from nervous to commanding in an instant. Maybe he should’ve mentioned she was a cop during the introduction.
“Hello, Spencer. Do you really want proof of how much we’re alike? Would you like me to explain to Mike all the charges on his credit card? The magazines? The constructs? An entire realm full of—”
“Okay, okay! I get it! Jesus.”
Spencer had been nailed to the wall that fast exactly once, when Mike had found his vintage Star Wars action figure collection and threatened to tell his mom about it. Mike locked eyes with Helen’s holo, and their connection grew stronger. He wasn’t afraid of her anymore.
“Anyway,” Spencer said. “Can we get the rest of the story?”
Helen occasionally fidgeted under the attention. Mike got to the part where he recognized her because of her face, then Tonya broke in.
“That’s funny. She doesn’t look very different to me.”
Helen held out her arms. “Most of what you see now I did this morning. I didn’t realize I was that distinctive.”
Kim said, “I’m not sure I would’ve made any connection if Mike hadn’t. It’s not a big change, although the new touches are nice.”
“But that’s not the only news,” Mike said. “Helen, tell them about Ozzie.”
“It was the way Mike acted around Kim, and the way she acted around everyone else, that made me think of it. Kim’s not the only person I’ve seen with what best translates into English as Touching Disease.”
“Touching Disease?” Tonya asked. “The Chinese have a word for it? It’s that common over here?”
“No. In fact I only know of one other person who has it. Ozzie.”
Tonya leaned back in her chair. “He didn’t have trouble touching anybody when we were out to dinner with him.”
“Yes,” Helen replied, “and when Kim showed me your group picture, I understood. You went out with Ozzie’s cousin Robert. When it became clear to senior party members how disabled Ozzie was, Robert was employed as his,” she paused and said a few words of Chinese to Kim.
“I think the closest we’d get would be outside surrogate,” Kim said. “Tonya and I tried that when I was in hiding. They’ve taken it a lot further than we ever did.”
Helen nodded. “Keeping the secret is part of the job. It would represent a loss of face if it was revealed that the public Ozzie was not the real one.”
“Well,” Spencer said, “why’d you tell us?”
Helen shrugged. “A few reasons. If there are more like Ozzie, we have a better chance to find a cure for the condition, or at least a treatment. Chinese medicine is the best in the world; we could help.”
Tonya stiffened a bit. She was a nurse who helped regrow limbs; medicine didn’t get any better than that. But she stayed silent.
Helen continued, “Most of all, I trust Mike, and if he trusts the rest of you, then I do too.”
Tonya leaned in, very serious. “When’s the last time the real Ozzie’s been seen in public?”
“I’m not sure he ever has. His condition is much more severe than Kim’s.”
“How do you know?”
Helen considered the question. “They told me he couldn’t stand to be within a few feet of a normal person. Kim is nothing like that.”
Tonya asked, “How did you find out about the arrangement?”
“I work security for high-level government events. When the real Ozzie’s biometrics didn’t match those of the person who showed up at an event the premier attended, I demanded an explanation. I wouldn’t let him in otherwise.”
“Do you know where he lives?”
“I’ve never had a reason to. I could probably find out, though.”
“So,” Tonya said, counting off on her fingers. “Ozzie has been a realm super-athlete for…how long has it been, Kim?”
“Probably seven years at least. I’ve been in games with him at least that long, anyway.”
And he’d been a complete jerk the whole time. Mike had seen the same interviews Spencer had. He’d watched Kim’s old contests trying to figure her out, but it also gave a lot of insight into Ozzie. The split between who they’d met and who Mike had studied made a lot more sense now.
Tonya didn’t stop. “Nobody’s ever seen Ozzie.” She turned to him. “Just how much are you and Helen alike?”
They looked at each other briefly, and then Helen shrugged.
He’d only met her last night and didn’t want to over promise. “I’m not completely sure yet, but everything she’s described so far matches me perfectly.”
“That means Helen can go anywhere, but she doesn’t know where Ozzie lives in realspace. He’s very valuable, a high-prestige celebrity who wins awards and medals for China, yet he’s kept hidden away.
“That’s not a recluse. That’s a prisoner.”
Helen scoffed. “Ozzie’s no prisoner.”
Kim didn’t need much to stoke her paranoia, and this was a great big poke at it. “How do you know?”
“We’re not barbarians. He’s done nothing wrong.”
Tonya pressed the issue. “But do you know?”
“Yeah,” Spencer said. “This place has a reputation for dis-appearing people. I read about it in school.”
Helen stood up so fast her holo flickered. “I will not have you say such things about my country. China is good and prosperous. If it weren’t for your Western spiritual pollution—”
Well that escalated quickly. “Wait,” Mike said. “Let’s step back for a second. Helen, please, sit.”
After a moment she sat back down.
Tonya was nothing but business, and everyone paid attention. It must have been the nurse in her. “I think this will be an easy one to solve. Helen, you said you didn’t know where he lived, but you could find out?”
“Yes, I believe so.”
“Could we call him? Kim certainly would want to speak to someone who has the same syndrome.”
Helen shook her head. “That would be very irregular. I’d certainly have to ask permission from my superiors.”
“Helen,” Kim said, “if we’re right, just asking about Ozzie may get you both into trouble.”
She flared up again. “It won’t. There’s nothing going on here. Ozzie can’t be a prisoner. He hasn’t broken any laws.”
“I know,” Kim said, “and if that’s true, then someone reaching out to him can’t cause a problem. I don’t need to admit I know about his cousin. Surely other people know of the syndrome. I could’ve heard rumors. I’ve just come here to find out more information about someone who has my condition. It’s a phone call. If you’d found out about Mike the way I found out about Ozzie, wouldn’t you at least want to speak with him?”
Helen chewed on the idea for a moment. “All right. I’ll do it. But once you’re assured he isn’t a prisoner, I would like to find out who his doctors are and tell them about you. I really do think they might be able to help.”
Kim kept her own
secrets and Mike understood why. But she was also braver than anyone he’d ever met.
“If what you say is true, I have nothing to fear from any of this. Okay, Helen, you have a deal.”
Chapter 19: Kim
In spite of everything that happened last night, Samuel still wanted to license Warhawk. The Seal—Kim thought of it as some kind of royalty now—was the most important part, and it had moved to a nearby bank branch. They had to do a complete rewind of the previous day’s events. It took hours, but eventually the last stamp was thumped onto the last paper, and they were done.
Which still left Ozzie. At least the handsome charmer they’d had dinner with at the restaurant wasn’t the obnoxious hyper-competitive twerp she’d grown to know and hate. At least she understood that part of him now. Kim couldn’t begin to imagine growing up with her disability in a Chinese school. She had to nurture that little ember of sympathy for him, otherwise she’d twist his head off when they met. It was a common urge with anyone who spent time around him.
Tonya and Spencer called it an early night, and if Mike looked over her shoulder the whole time it would drive her nuts, so she sent him packing, too. Kim walked to nearby Tianfu Square, which was mostly empty now that the water show was over.
The complex was home to two giant jade-and-gold fountains. She couldn’t decide if they were overgrown spinning tops or UFOs caught unwinding out of the floor. Probably a little bit of both. It was just dark enough for the light shows wired into the nearby office towers to be visible. The dying rays of the sun made the natural colors of the park almost balance with the banks of LED lights on the buildings. Kim found a low stone bench under trees that dripped with gold-and-red light, and then called Helen.
When she answered, Kim asked, “Did you find him?”
Helen’s hologram manifested next to her on the bench in Kim’s enhanced vision. She was very unhappy.
“He doesn’t want to give me his number. Or his address.”
“I thought you said you could find it on your own?”
“That’s what I thought too, but the records aren’t anywhere I can reach.”
That could only mean they were kept in a separate network, not connected to the rest of Chinese realmspace. It wasn’t unheard of, but it wasn’t a good sign either.
Helen continued, “I only reached him at all because I know where he trains. Kim, I don’t like this.”
“But you’ve spoken to him?”
“After a fashion.” Her frown deepened. “He’s not a very polite person.”
That was the Ozzie she knew. “No, he’s not.”
“He threw me out of the realm when I mentioned your name. I never got the chance to explain anything.”
“When was this?”
“Not long, a few minutes. I have the address. It’s a kind of gym. He was quite nasty.”
“How bad was he?”
The cop in Helen came out, serious and offended that someone hadn’t done as they were told. “Any other time I would’ve arrested him on the spot and figured out what to charge him with later. I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you. He’ll only talk to someone who’ll spar with him. Obviously that’s not something I can do. Would you mind if I tagged along?”
Kim always worked better with a partner. “Sure, why not?” She closed her eyes and transitioned to the address Helen provided.
Like most good training realms, this one started out as a hallway full of doors. Each led to hyper-specialized versions of the most popular combat realms. The maps they used inside were smaller, designed to train specific techniques or skills. They were also free to use, which meant heavy traffic and lots of participants. Kim assumed he would be watched; making contact wasn’t going to be easy.
Ozzie trained in a large dojo realm, complete with red wooden walls and a polished floor. It was big enough to allow maybe thirty other people to train alongside him, practicing punches, kicks, forms, and sparring. He was with a coach working on a standing heavy bag, practicing Běi pài forms. Kim dropped her construct gym duffle and sat back on the bleachers, waiting for a bag near him to open up.
“He is quite good,” Helen said in her ear.
“He’s not as angry as he used to be. He’s learned a lot of control.”
“He was angrier before?”
“Helen, you have no idea what living with the touching disease is like.”
“I’ve never been able to touch anything, either.”
She’d had this argument with Mike before. “You didn’t evolve the way we did. Humans need touch; it goes back to when we were trying not to get eaten. Touch was a way to reassure, to build trust, strengthen the tribe. We go crazy without it.”
“You don’t seem crazy to me.”
“You haven’t known me long. Growing up with it was miserable. I’d either scare the hell out of an innocent kid, or I’d be running from gangs trying send me to the ER. I couldn’t speak until I was ten. The only time I’ve ever been touched...”
She could never talk about the next part with Mike. He’d had to watch. But it felt safe with Helen.
Kim swallowed. “The only time I’ve ever been touched was when I was raped.” Connecting the word to the deed was what had started her healing process, but it was the first time she’d said it out loud to someone who wasn’t a therapist. “It wasn’t sex, but it didn’t have to be. That’s what touch is to people like me, like Ozzie. It was violent, and it hurt so much.”
“Kim, I had no idea. I’m so sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m supposed to talk about it now.” She unclenched hands that’d grown into numb fists. “The more I talk about it, the less power it has over me.”
A bag just to Ozzie’s right came open. One personal revelation per night was well past her quota. “Anyway, I’m up.”
She claimed the bag, tightened the belt on her gi, and practiced her Mok Gar forms.
Helen’s first mistake was approaching him directly. Kim had been around Ozzie for years. Ozzie rule one: if someone wanted a productive conversation with him, they waited until he noticed them. Until now, Kim thought it was just the first in a long line of obnoxious habits, but that might not actually be the case.
She’d gotten about halfway through her first set when he called out in Mandarin, “What wind blew you in here?”
“See?” Helen said indignantly in her ear. “So rude!”
“It’s fine, Helen.” She simply tipped her chin in brief acknowledgment and kept going with the workout.
Ozzie rule two: he joins you, not visa-versa. Only after finishing the third set did she try glancing around. There he was, looking just like his cousin in realspace. Except the charming smile was replaced with an arrogant smirk.
“What brings you to China?”
Helen said, “How can this person represent my country?”
The naïve indignation was so much like Mike. If it wasn’t for the Mandarin and the different voice, Kim might not be able to tell them apart.
“Everyone needs a vacation, Ozzie.” She switched to Hung Ga and practiced those forms, making herself look a little cruder than she really was. Ozzie rule three: if he can’t show you up, he won’t play.
“You’re rusty,” he called out. “When’s the last time you practiced any of this?”
Ozzie rule four: speak only after being given permission. Nice to know the protocol hadn’t changed since she’d last seen him outside an arena. Kim blew a strand of hair out of her face. “It’s been a few months.” She set back to work. One more rule, and the hook would be set.
She hid her smile when he walked into her line of vision.
Ozzie rule five: he starts it.
“You won’t learn anything new with a bag. Come on,” he beckoned with an it’ll be hard not to laugh in your face, but I’ll try arrogance that set her teeth on edge. “Let’s do some real work.”
Procedure complete.
She punched the Player 2 button that swirled to life in front of her and was trans
ported to a sparring ring. Without warning, he kicked her into the corner, bouncing her out of bounds. The damage contracts inside the rings were set to about one third normal, so no cuts or bruises. That didn’t make it any less annoying.
“Nice to see some things haven’t changed, Ozzie.”
“He cheated!” Helen said.
“It’s Ozzie. That’s what he does. Now,” Kim said on their private channel, “have a seat in the bleachers. I need to concentrate.”
Her presence vanished with an indignant huff.
All it took to set Helen off was one wrong word. Definitely Mike’s sister.
Kim walked across the ring’s boundary. Now that she could keep an eye on him, he came at her very formally. She blocked his attacks precisely. Kim then went on offense, allowing him to practice counter moves. It was the one thing that made him tolerable: outside the ring, Ozzie was an annoying juvenile, but inside he was all business. The opening kick was just to establish his superiority.
They cycled through various forms and styles. The tension that had built up for weeks inside her unwound through the work. Kim was still human; she still needed a release of some sort. In a previous life, she’d also used sex to unwind—porn realms were some of the earliest ever built—but years ago Tonya talked her out of those kinds of tournaments and made her delete the avatars she’d used. It was the right choice. That crowd wasn’t the healthiest, and their decision-making skills left a lot to be desired. Now that Mike was around, the last thing Kim needed was for him to see her in—
Ozzie landed a brutal kick to her jaw. She saw stars even through the reduced damage field.
“Something troubling you? Should I call you Ivy or Kim?”
“Kim is fine,” she said, working her jaw with her fingers. “Nice move, by the way.”
He bowed slightly. “Enough of the warm-up.” A scoreboard and AI referee solidified from sparkling dust on the edge of the arena. “Care for a match?”
The bleachers had filled up a bit. It was probably too much to expect a sparring match between gold and silver medalists to go unnoticed for too long. Helen had manifested her holo at the edge of the bleachers, a bundle of indignant outrage.
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