by RS McCoy
“Good morning, gentlemen,” Filmore said as he sat, Abigail in the chair beside him. In her lap, she answered a few ecomms, accomplishing more in a few seconds than he had all morning. “What’s the current situation?”
Dr. Sal Perkins began. “At approximately 2100, an unknown individual was observed on the exterior of the Ares Colony. The adult male made the first observation and notified the female. She used the emergency airlock to grant him access into the colony.” The holograph changed to a pair of ID photos, one of a large, blond man and the other a pretty brunette woman.
“Why didn’t the male grant him access?” Michael listened as Abigail took her notes.
“The male never received the emergency access training. He was the third male, and the training was deemed unnecessary. She was the only one on board who knew how to access the panel.”
“You trained her to bring in outsiders?”
“No, Director. We trained the female on access of the doors so that at such a time as the expansion is approved, she can instruct him on how to access the exterior portion of the colony. Now that seems unnecessary, of course.” Dr. Ramos sounded more than a little offended.
“What did you train her to do for an outsider?” If the female had broken protocol, that could be an easy fix. She and the stranger could be removed, and another female could be selected to take her place.
“We gave her no instruction. It was considered too unlikely to warrant training,” Dr. Perkins answered, cutting off Ramos.
“All right, so you don’t give her any training. She lets in a stranger, a miner, correct?” Michael rubbed his chin with his hand, trying to recall the simple details Abigail had conveyed to him only minutes ago.
“Yes, this behavior falls within her character profile. We selected her because she was exceptionally caring, a trait that has been shown to improve long-term success in colonies with juveniles,” Dr. Earhorn announced.
“I mean, the man is a miner, from one of the Martian mining corporations?”
“Oh, yes. Based on his apparel and our facial recognition software, the man is Siya Walana,” Dr. Perkins answered.
“What do we know about him?”
“He is a twenty-six-year-old miner for the Martian Mining Corporation, specifically their South African arm. He was born in Lesotho to two Craftsmen parents, but he never selected. He has four counts of aggravated assault and an unconfirmed rape charge. A connection in the mining corporation got him off-world before the charges could be investigated.”
Michael sighed. “What are the potential complications?”
“Aside from the obvious propensity for violence, we know almost nothing about him. He’s been on Mars, or an interplanetary vessel, for the last nine years. His psychological health is questionable at best. He may react poorly to the presence of a woman and children after years on a male-only crew, especially given his background. We’ve reached out to his superior to get more information about his condition.”
Michael hated talking about people this way, like they were pieces on a chess board. These colonists were nothing more than mice in a lab to them. Their apathetic analysis disgusted him.
“Any attempts at communication?”
“They’ve commed us about a dozen times, but we have selected not to answer until we have a course of action.”
“What is your recommended course of action?”
“Well, we have two choices. We can terminate the colony, though it represents a considerable financial investment. Or, we can remain neutral and collect whatever small level of data we can.”
“You don’t want to remove the miner?” Michael couldn’t believe it.
Dr. Perkins shook his head. “There is nothing to be gained from it. If the colonists die, the colony parameters will show a failure in the data. It would be an empirical nightmare. Despite the current success of the colony, the data would restrict a second attempt. The Scholar Committee would never approve it after the first showed such a failure.”
“The data would show a failure? You can’t indicate the interference? You can’t just pull him out and let them continue on?”
“The colony is intended to be studied in isolation. The miner violated that isolation, but further involvement with the colony will only increase the contamination. The colonists were selected for permanent relocation. They cannot return to Earth. That leaves us with termination or neutrality. And we need your permission for termination.”
“You won’t get it. Remain neutral if you must, but under no circumstances are you to terminate the colony without further incentive.” Michael stood to signal the end of the meeting. He didn’t need to come down here just to learn they planned to do nothing.
He could have done that from his office.
Abigail stood in a single elegant motion and followed him out, offering her farewells to the doctors. She caught up to him several steps later, when he was already in the large main corridor on his way back to his apartment.
“Don’t waste my time with that. I have enough to consider without being notified every time PC plays god with another colony.”
Abigail answered quietly, her low voice only for him. “I know you do. I didn’t realize they’d already made a decision. They requested a meeting and said it was urgent. They said nothing about termination.”
He knew it was likely true. Michael knew better than to shoot the messenger, but she was the only available target. “They wanted permission to kill fifteen people. For no reason. You need to be better informed. I can’t walk into these meetings blind like that.”
Abigail’s professional tone was cool as ice as she answered. “I’ll be sure to keep you better informed in the future, Director.”
MABLE
CHICAGO REGIONAL HOSPITAL, CHICAGO, NORTH AMERICA
SEPTEMBER 3, 2232
The doctor came in sometime in the afternoon and announced Hadley was free to go home. Mable glared at Arrenstein until the doctor left and proceeded to collect Hadley’s clothes from the belongings bag.
She rubbed Hadley’s back until she woke. “Hey angel,” she said with a smile. “They said you can go. Ready?”
Hadley held her head with her unbroken arm as she sat up and swung her feet over the side. Her face was considerably less swollen but still bright purple and even black below her eye. Mable pretended not to notice.
“We’ll wait in the hall,” Theo offered as she dug out the clothes from the bag.
Theo and Arrenstein filed out the door before Mable called out, “Can you guys find me a shirt for her?” She didn’t want to tell them that Hadley’s was shredded and covered in blood. She recognized it as one of the shirts she’d brought to the Root only days earlier. It was little more than a rag now, but clearly the doctors thought so little of her, they thought she might need it.
What swine.
Mable couldn’t see straight she was so mad. “Here, will this work?” Theo tugged his t-shirt over his head and handed it to her. A second, thinner shirt hugged the curves of his musculature. Mable realized it was one of the shirts Jane picked for him. She hadn’t noticed when he’d started wearing another shirt over it.
“Did he just take off his shirt?” Hadley said with imitated swoon.
Mable smiled, nodded her thanks to Theo, and waited for him to leave. The hospital gown fell away, and Mable worked Theo’s shirt over her head, covering the twelve-inch bruise on her side. Hadley swam in the extra material, but at least she was covered. It would be enough to get her back to the Root.
Getting Hadley dressed was an arduous process given her drug-induced lethargy, but Mable was happy to do it. Hadley deserved at least that much after what she’d been through.
Mable got Hadley to her feet and helped her out the door. Her feet moved slowly, cautiously, as if she wasn’t sure of her balance. But as Mable well knew, she was strong. She could do it.
Arrenstein and Theo waited in the hall.
Mable helped Hadley walk right past them.
&n
bsp; “Just hold on a second.” Arrenstein trotted to catch up to them.
“Are you going to take her to CPI?” Mable asked, staring him down.
Silas lowered his head and shook it. “No, I can’t do that.”
They kept walking. “Maggie, just stop. Hear me out.”
Her pulse raced in her ears, but she couldn’t make Hadley stand there while Arrenstein said his piece.
“Let me help you,” Theo offered with a smile, making a solid attempt to disarm the situation.
“Yum, hot guy assistance? Yes please.” Even weak and off-kilter, Hadley made them all laugh. Theo helped her down the hall to give her some space with Arrenstein.
Mable sobered when she was alone with him. “So what do you want?”
“I want you back at CPI.”
“That’s not going to happen.” They’d already been through this. She was taking Hadley home.
“I can find a place for her. Get her set up with a job and reinstated in class with a new alias, but it can’t be at CPI. Nick can’t know about it.”
“Why should I believe that? You’ll dump her on the curb as soon as we’re out of sight.” Mable didn’t want to take his deal, not because she didn’t believe he’d do it, but because she couldn’t risk Hadley again. If Rowen wasn’t enough to protect her, then Mable would have to do it herself.
“I won’t. That’s not how things work around here.” He curled his lip in offense at her comment.
“It’s not good enough. I need to know she’s safe.” Mable turned to go. There was nothing else to say.
But Arrenstein caught her by the arm. “Dammit, Maggie. Don’t you trust me? What else do I have to do to prove to you that I’m not going to screw you over?”
He released her, but she refused to rub at the ache in her arm. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
Arrenstein stared at his hands, though she could see his eyes were angry. “If I take her to CPI, Nick calls Masry, and more than likely, they’ll remove me from my position. I can’t keep you safe if I’m not there. I need you to trust me. This is the only way.”
Mable turned and watched Theo and Hadley down the hall, chatting quietly, even laughing. Hadley was seriously injured and in considerable pain, but she was too bright to be dimmed.
“Will I ever see her again?” The words tasted like vinegar.
Silas shook his head and whispered, “No.”
Mable believed him then. Maybe it was his anger or frustration, but somehow, she knew Arrenstein had put all his cards on the table. If he was going to lie to her, that would have been his chance.
Mable didn’t know what to do. She and Hadley could survive in the underground, they’d done it before. But this was a chance for both of them to rise up, to have a real chance at security. Was she willing to pass on that?
In the end, the answer was no. Mable knew she couldn’t keep Hadley safe. She would not succeed where Rowen had failed. There was only one thing she could do. “At least take her to cleaning. Get her healthy again.”
“Of course.” She didn’t miss Arrenstein’s slow exhale of relief.
“And don’t tell her. She doesn’t find out until the end. Understood?” Mable recognized she was in no position to make demands, but she would do what she could for Hadley.
Theo smiled wide when Arrenstein told them they were headed back to CPI. Hadley would have jumped up and down had she been able. Mable forced a smile and walked them to the pod.
Hadley slept for most of the shuttle ride, the soft whir of the engines lulling her to sleep. The sleeping girl between them, Theo mouthed, “You okay?” to which Mable only shook her head. She couldn’t think about it. It would be too much.
Mable shook Hadley awake when the shuttle landed, and Theo helped her to the pod that would take them to CPI. Hadley touched his shirt and complimented his eyes, a young pretty girl in heaven with a young handsome boy at her side.
The four walked from the pod garage to the doors to the cleaning station, passing no one in the corridor. Arrenstein hurried them in and instructed Theo to help Hadley onto the table in the first room.
“What is this thing?” Hadley asked of the large machine that hung over her head.
“We call it cleaning, but really it repairs cells,” Arrenstein offered with his plastic smile. Mable was glad Hadley couldn’t tell when he was false. His smile was warm and reassuring, and served its purpose with her, but if Hadley knew the truth of it, she would hate him. She’d probably hate Mable, too.
Mable walked to her side and kissed her cheek. “Love you, angel.” Then she darted from the room before she cried in front of Hadley.
“We’ll be right out here waiting,” she heard Theo offer before his footsteps followed her down the hall.
“What’s going on?” he asked when he’d caught up.
Mable only shook her head, her vision blurring more and more each second. She didn’t have the words.
Anyway, it didn’t matter. Theo figured it out. “She’s not staying here, is she?”
Mable shook her head again.
That was it. Hadley was gone.
Love was always so damn crooked.
SILAS
CPI-CLEANING-02, NEW YORK
SEPTEMBER 4, 2232
“How do you feel?” Silas held out his hand to help Hadley off the table. After almost three hours of repairs—bone mending, wounds sealing, and blood replacement—she was finally finished.
“Really great, actually.” Hadley wasn’t the first to be surprised after such a cleaning. She smiled up at him, lighting up the clinic.
“So what happens now? I get a room?” She ran her hands together in excitement.
“No, not exactly. There are a few things to go over, then Knox will help you get settled in.”
“Oh, okay.” She was visibly disappointed, but she smiled nonetheless.
He led her across the hall to the galley, thankful only Knox was present. It would be so much easier without witnesses.
“Eggs don’t rise in the dark,” Knox said as he worked at some dish on the stove. Realizing Hadley was there, he looked her up and down and added, “Nuts like the rain.”
“Hadley, this is Knox. Knox, this is Hadley. She’ll be our new Alex.”
Knox’s features became tense. He turned off the stove, wiped his hands on a towel, and walked to the galley doors, locking them.
It was then Hadley figured it out. “What’s going on?” She took three large steps back.
“Have a seat.” Silas motioned to the large table.
“I’d rather stand.” She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. In Kaufman’s oversized shirt, she looked pretty ridiculous, attempting to intimidate more than she could.
“Please, if you would—” Silas stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder to steer her to the table.
Hadley’s left fist launched in a flash, punching him square in the jaw.
For Silas, the room spun. When it righted again, Hadley stood in fighter’s stance, eyes set and focused.
“Let me guess, Mable taught you that move?” He stroked his jaw and slumped into the chair.
“She taught me a lot of moves,” Her voice threatened in a way he wouldn’t have imagined a moment before. This time, though, he was more inclined to believe her.
“I should have expected no less. My apologies. Feel free to stand if you like, but we’ll be here a little while. There’s a lot to discuss.”
“Like how I’m suddenly your prisoner?”
Silas had to smile at that. She was like Mable, maybe a little too much. “You’re not a prisoner, here or anywhere. You are free to leave any time you wish. You’ll be taken back to Chicago or anywhere else you want. You only need to tell me where.”
It was his trump card, and they both knew it.
She maintained her stance, her feet spread wide and her fists raised. “Then why is the door locked?”
“For your protection. I’m breaking just about every rule, and there are
those that won’t agree with that.” Those named Nick, in particular.
Hadley finally relaxed, though she kept her position several feet away. “Then why are you doing it?”
Silas sighed and shook his head. God, why couldn’t one of them be easy? Just one. Was that too much to ask?
“Because she asked me to.”
Hadley nodded her head ever so slightly before joining him at the table. “All right. What do you want to discuss?”
Silas pulled his tablet to the table and opened up the necessary file. “If you could be any class, which would it be? Kaufman mentioned Artisan. Is that accurate?”
“He talked about me?” she asked with a half-smile. Then, with eyes lowered in consideration, she said, “I don’t know. I guess I thought I wasn’t going to have to choose anymore.”
Silas expected as much. “Another option is Youth. You’re fifteen, so we can work that way. But eventually, you’ll have to choose.”
“That’s fine. I guess I can’t really be picky.”
Silas entered her preferences and continued, trying to hide the shaking in his hands. “We have a few openings. Boston, Singapore, and one more in Madrid. Any dreams of living abroad?”
Hadley shook her head.
“Boston it is. We’ll get you set up with an alias, an apartment in a facility for sponsored Youths, and you’ll have classes at Southside Hall. You’ll have regular status updates and occasional assignments, but otherwise, you’ll do your best to operate as any other Youth. Is that something you think you can handle?”
She squinted at him in disbelief. “What’s the catch?”
“You can never tell anyone that you were here. As far as you’re concerned, this place doesn’t exist.”
Hadley rolled her fingers in her hands, all the shine gone from her features. “What did Mable say?”
“You know what she said.”
“She made you promise you wouldn’t tell me. She thinks it’s good for me.” Tears filled her eyes where she stared at the empty tabletop, but only for a few seconds. She soon blinked them away.
“It is. You’ll be safe. You’ll have every resource you can imagine, and if there’s something you need, you only need to let me know.” His pulse raced, hoping she’d say yes.
