by M. H. Bonham
Was everyone in this fucking town lycanthrope?
Her stomach growled and Kira realized she hadn’t eaten anything. She wasn’t far from Market Street where she could pick up the shuttle to the 16th Street Mall. She could grab something on 16th Street and get to Intermountain Telecom and pick up her stuff from Bob Marks.
The air was starting to warm up as she boarded the nearly empty shuttle at one end of the mall. She road the bus up to Welton and got off, not paying much attention to the people around her. Once on the 16th Street Mall, she looked around. Business people were scurrying here and there, most with cell phones attached to their ears. A couple of teenagers sat against the wall of the CD store with pink and green dyed hair, reminding her of Trevor. The girl wore a miniskirt and a leather dog collar; the boy wore an expensive leather jacket. They were huddled over something Kira guessed was a stolen PDA and were downloading porn. Or running up somebody’s credit card bill. Hell, there were enough hot spots in this town where they might have piggybacked onto someone’s transmission or pulled the credit card numbers off an unsecured feed. They could even have been using Intermountain’s wireless. That jacket looked mighty expensive.
Kira sighed and headed toward Axioms, a small cybercafé on the corner. They were probably tapping into the cybercafé’s wireless, for all she knew. But she wasn’t an Internet cop, damn it, and it wasn’t her place.
“Heya—Kira, is that you?”
Kira turned around. A brown-skinned man with oriental eyes grinned at her. He wore horn-rimmed glasses (complete with cellophane tape at the nose bridge), a plaid shirt which hung loose over a slash-dot shirt and faded khaki dockers. He carried a PDA in one hand and a latte in the other.
“Will?” she said incredulously. She blinked at the programmer. “I haven’t seen you since MIT!”
“Spaz,” he corrected her. “That’s my nick, you know. I go by Spaz now.”
“Spaz?” She found herself grinning, in spite of herself. “Spaz? Isn’t that a little cyberpunk?”
“Well, yeah,” Spaz said. He stared at her. “What’s with your eyes?”
“Medical condition. Doc says it’s nothing,” she lied.
“Bullshit,” he said. “I’ve never heard of any medical condition that does that. I read WebMD, you know.”
“Fuck off,” Kira said laughing. “So, what brings you to this hellhole?”
He pushed a thumb toward Axioms. “They want a secure wireless, so they contacted a network hacker. Seems some leeches have been piggybacking on their domain.” He glanced at the kids with the PDA. One looked up and stared at him defiantly before looking down at the PDA. “Makes me want to beat the snot out of those motherfuckers. They’re giving us spiders a bad name.”
“I’m going that way to get some breakfast,” Kira said. “Join me?”
“Sure, why not? My tab,” Spaz said, walking beside her. He glanced sideways. “Besides they don’t charge me since I patched their main security leak.”
“Cool beans,” Kira remarked as they walked into Axioms. “When did you get here?”
“A couple of weeks ago—heard you were working for the Evil Empire.”
“Intermountain? Yeah. But were is operative here.”
“Oh shit. Cancelled your contract?”
“Let’s talk about something else,” Kira said, gazing at the menu above the barista. “I can order anything?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Order what you like.”
Kira ordered another scone and a latte. They sat down together and Spaz considered her thoughtfully. “You know, you might get something here—they could use an admin.”
“What—Windows?”
“Yeah.”
Kira shook her head. “Nah, I do UNIX, you know that.” She started nibbling on the scone. Blueberry, and very tasty.
“What about Susie? She get knocked off or is she still with the Evil Empire?”
A lump filled Kira’s throat and she nearly choked on the piece of scone in her mouth. She forced it down and looked away, blinking back the hot tears. “I should go now.” Kira stood up.
“No, wait.” Spaz sucked in a bit of air and laid his hand on hers. “What happened?” When she didn’t answer, he continued. “Christ, Kira—we’ve known each other since MIT.”
“Yeah, I know,” Kira said. She sat back down and looked him in the eyes. “Susan’s dead.”
“Dead?”
“Yeah, you hear about the wolf attacks?”
“Yeah, I heard that some girls got...shit.” Spaz looked down. “Christ, I didn’t know it was you.”
“You probably wouldn’t have, since you’ve been here only two weeks. We got attacked a month ago.”
“Shit.” An uneasy silence fell between them. “And they canned you?”
“Yeah.”
“Assholes.”
“I want to go back to So-Cal,” Kira said. “Know anyone?”
“Could ask in the IRC, but not off-hand.” He ran his hand across his face and pushed the glasses back on the bridge of his nose. Another silence ensued.
“When are you getting Lasix?” Kira asked with a wry grin.
“Had it done two years ago. Glasses complete the image,” he replied. “Look, I could get you something here. Maybe a webadmin.”
“It wouldn’t pay enough.”
“Better than unemployment.”
Kira shrugged. “Got to go get my stuff. See you around. Got a card?”
“Yeah,” Spaz said. He fished out a crumpled card from his pocket. “Got a pen?”
Kira held up both hands in a gesture to show she didn’t.
Spaz smirked. He got up, went to the counter and came back brandishing a pen. He scribbled an email address on the back of the card. “Okay, I’ve moved to Axioms address, but you can still try gmail or yahoo, or any of the others. Look for Spaz.”
Kira glanced at the email addresses. There were five other addresses including addresses from throwaway accounts. “But the Axioms address is the one you’re using now for the moment.”
“Yeah, but I check the others occasionally.”
“Why don’t you just forward them to one POP3 server?”
“Kira, Kira, you’re so unimaginative—they’re my spam collectors.”
“You really should put your real name on the cards.”
“Why? Everyone knows me as Spaz.”
“Yeah, right.” Kira pocketed the card. “I’ll see you around.”
“Meet me on the IRC,” Spaz said. “What’s your nick?”
“Don’t have one,” Kira said. “But I’ll think of something. Got to run. Thanks for the breakfast.”
Spaz grinned. “Anytime.”
Kira walked out of Axioms and stared up at the looming Intermountain Telecom building. She dreaded what she had to do next.
CHAPTER 14
The Evil Empire. Kira smirked as she walked toward the Intermountain office. It loomed over the Qwest building like a black nemesis beside the silver skyscraper. It was just a few years back when Intermountain had risen in the telecom world, driving several telecom companies into bankruptcy with their predatory practices. Her hacker friends, like Spaz, were horrified to learn that Susan and she had gone to work for “the enemy.” Kira fully expected that the IRC would be abuzz over the news that she got canned.
Served her right, she supposed. She walked up to the black-tinted glass and walked through the turnstile. Kira halted and took a breath. The black marble walls and floors were set off by chrome trim. The security guards were sitting at the desk behind black marble station, not even paying attention to her as she walked up to them. Kira knew she’d be able to get past them, but beyond that, everything was card-keyed and she knew they weren’t so inept that they wouldn’t have cancelled her by now.
Instead, she walked up to the desk.
The security guard didn’t bother looking up from his terminal. Kira guessed he was playing solitaire. He pushed the clipboard toward her. “Sign in. Who are you seeing?” h
e asked in a bored tone.
Kira eyed him. Typical rent-a-cop. He was no more than twenty, by the looks of him. This was his first real job outside of fast food joints, no doubt. His hair was slicked back and he was already developing a paunch from doughnuts. His badge said Joseph Smith. “I’m here to see Bob Marks. I’m Kira Walker.” She signed in and pushed the board toward him.
The security guard picked up the handset and dialed. After a few words, he looked up. “He’ll be down in a bit.” He gestured to the black leather chairs. “Have a seat.”
Kira sat in a chair and stared at the ceiling. Funny, she never noticed the hanging art above her. She wondered how many thousands of dollars Intermountain had paid for it, when they could’ve paid her for a few more months instead. She had heard that the boardroom, where contractors weren’t allowed, was made of rosewood and had million-dollar paintings. What little she knew of the company told her they couldn’t afford it.
Kira sighed. How in the hell was she going to get back to So-Cal? Her mind wandered back to Alaric and his lycanthropes. And his nut cases, she corrected herself. What was she thinking? That there really were werewolves? That was one for the shrink—once she could afford a shrink. This was some elaborate hoax and these sick people must have been taking advantage of her vulnerable state. After all, she had been attacked by a wolf—most likely someone’s illegal pet—and had her best friend die. She had been under stress lately—no work and lack of money would make anyone edgy and cause them to sleepwalk.
“Kira?”
Bob’s hateful voice jolted her out of her thoughts. Kira stood up to see Bob Marks approaching, carrying a box. He moved with the confidence of a man who had gotten his way once too often, Kira noted with disgust. It was a swagger, she decided. Even carrying the box which contained her few possessions, he managed to swagger. Not that he wasn’t unattractive—tall, dark brown hair, wide brown eyes, chiseled features—he looked like he worked out daily at the athletic club across the street. She caught a whiff of something familiar—a musky type of cologne.
No, he was downright handsome, Kira decided. Only his attitude made him ugly. Bob knew he had won and he was enjoying every moment.
He flashed a perfect smile, showing straight rows of white teeth. “Hi Kira! How’s it going?” He set the box on the other chair.
Kira forced a smile and suspected it looked more like a wolf’s snarl than an actual grin. “Fine, Bob. Glad you could take the time to bring my stuff down yourself.” Her words sounded syrupy-sweet to her ears and she almost flinched as she heard them.
He took a moment to appraise how she looked, raking his eyes down her muscular build and back up to her face. “Wow, I didn’t expect you to be looking so good after...”
Kira blanched and then caught herself. “After the attack?” she finished coldly. “Yeah, well, I’ve had time in physical therapy and I’ve been working out.”
“Well, the time off has done good,” Bob said with a slow smile. “Guess you’ll be getting more of it, huh? Any job prospects?”
“Lots,” Kira lied. “I’ve got a friend at Qwest who told me to put in a resume.”
Bob straightened up. “Really, who with?”
Shit. Kira realized she made a mistake. Bob probably knew the managers at Qwest. “You wouldn’t know them. They’re in Dublin, Ohio.”
“I might,” Bob said. “I know the folks in Omaha.”
A lump stuck in Kira’s throat. “That’s nice,” she said brusquely. “Anyway, they may be looking to fill an internal position. They haven’t been advertising.”
“Hmm,” Bob said with a half smile and Kira felt her face turn red.
She turned to the box. “Is this my stuff?”
“Yeah—and I put Susan’s stuff in there too. I figured you’d know where it goes,” Bob said.
Bastard, she thought. Didn’t bother to contact the contract house for phone numbers or addresses. “Thanks, I’ll see to it her parents get it.”
Kira bent over and scooped up the box when she felt a soft tap at her elbow. She turned to see Bob right beside her, so close that his musky cologne was almost overpowering. She almost dropped the box, but he caught it. “Let me help you with that,” he said as he looked into her eyes.
Kira felt wobbly and unsure. She hated him and yet so close, she could feel her body react to him. “I’m fine,” she said in a voice that was stronger than she felt.
“No, you’re not,” he said, his voice almost a husky whisper. “You’re alone now, and frightened. I know. A lot has been going on and you need someone to depend on now.”
Kira stared into his dark brown eyes and felt herself melt, as though she could fall endlessly into them. With a force of will, she blinked and forced herself to take a breath. “You have rocks in your head,” she snapped and avoided his gaze.
“Do I?” he said softly. “I don’t think so.” He straightened up slightly and let Kira pull the box from his hands. “Go out with me?”
Kira nearly dropped the box. “What?”
“Will you go out with me?”
Kira stared at him speechlessly. She tried to shake her head. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No, I’m not,” Bob said. “I’m dead serious. Let’s do lunch tomorrow. Maybe noon?”
“Bob, I can’t,” Kira said. “I have things to do then.”
“Like what?” Bob asked. “More important than getting your old job back?”
Kira stared. “That’s blackmail.”
“It’s just lunch,” Bob said. “I’ll buy. Maggianos. You like Italian, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do. But Bob, I don’t...”
“Noon,” he said with a half smile. He turned and walked past the guard station toward the elevators. “I’ll meet you right here at noon.”
He left Kira staring after him as the doors to the elevators closed.
“Asshole,” Kira said.
CHAPTER 15
Kira trudged out of Intermountain Telecom with the box cradled in her arms. Once or twice, she nearly threw the box, contents and all, against the walls of a building as she walked back to the 16th Street Mall. The nerve of Bob asking her out and then suggesting it was a way to get her job back!
Bob was handsome, yes. Even attractive. But she hated what was beyond the good looks. Deep down, Bob was about as misogynist as a man could get without showing outright hatred. He thought that women were best in the kitchen and not at a computer terminal. And he had been so certain that she would show up tomorrow at noon.
If she wanted her job back.
Kira clenched her teeth as a strangled groan escaped from her lips. She stopped walking and was about to hurl the box with its contents against the wall of the athletic club when two women walked out, chatting merrily. They halted as Kira glared at them.
“What are you looking at?” Kira snarled. She was almost pleased with their shocked expressions as they scuttled away. Kira looked down at the box in her arms—she was practically squeezing the box apart. Instead, she turned and walked to the bus stop along the Mall and waited.
The bus ride did nothing to cool her temper. As she sat, she found herself thinking about Alaric Kerr. Now, he was handsome, if a little crazy. And he wasn’t an asshole like Bob Marks. She had told him that she wanted out, and he had simply escorted her out. No threats. Nothing. She could almost fall in love with a guy like that.
Kira snorted. Where in the hell had that thought come from? She had known a long time ago that being in computers meant dating geeks and social rejects and had pretty much avoided any kind of relationship after college. The job came first and had a tendency of ending any real relationships. After all, when you were a white-collar migrant worker like she was, you went where the job was. Her last relationship had been five years before with a guy named Darrell. A nice enough guy, even if he was an NT admin, but when their contracts were up, he went to Phoenix and she went to Santa Cruz. She had purposely lost his email address.
Maybe she still had
his card.
“Next stop, Market Street Station,” the voice on the loudspeaker intoned. Kira picked up her box from the seat beside her and jostled her way to the front. It was going to be a long, annoying walk back.
Kira stepped off the bus. On the way toward her apartment she saw an elderly woman standing at the curb. The old woman was obviously homeless, with a tattered old coat that was some color between brown and gray. She wore a faded flower bandana over her head, covering her unruly wisps of gray hair. As she leaned heavily on a cane, she held a coffee can in her right hand with coins in it.
Kira set down the box and fumbled in her pockets for money. She found only a couple of quarters. “Sorry, ma’am, I don’t have more than this.” She put the quarters in the can with an anemic clink.
The old woman looked into Kira’s eyes and Kira was surprised at how blue they were. She smiled at Kira. “Don’t deny what you have come to be,” the old woman said.
Kira stared at the woman. “What do you mean?”
The old woman smiled wanly. “You know, Light Walker. You deny what you are, but in that which you have become, you will find strength.”
“How do you know my name?” Kira asked sharply.
The roar of the next bus announced its approach, and Kira turned to see it coming a little too close to the sidewalk. She skittered out of the way as the bus passed dangerously close to the curb. When Kira turned back, the old woman was gone.
Kira looked down at her bedraggled box. Between the jostling and walking with it, it was looking as though it might not hold up long. She picked it up carefully. Just to the apartment, she told it silently.
As she walked, she felt very odd. The woman knew who she was. Maybe she had seen Kira’s photo in the paper as the victim of the wolf attack, but Kira doubted it. Still, she knew Kira’s last name. And that “Kira” meant light.
