Ghost Black

by Matthew S. Cox

  Raziel’s eyes glowed.

  He’s actually doing it. Literal fuck. “The MLF isn’t even what we thought it was. It’s C-Branch.”

  “I am aware. Still, they are useful.”

  She buried her face in her hands. I don’t believe this. “Look. The only reason I’m not going off on you is because you saved my eyes. As much of my humanity as you stole, you gave me back a little bit of it.”

  His eyes, glowing amethyst gems, dimmed. “I can give you back the years you lost. It is a simple matter to create a record of a paid reservation at Reinventions. If you are willing to accept an eighteen percent risk of death having your body reverted to how it was when you were eight years old… A telepath can solve the rest. It can be as if nothing happened.”

  “You’re missing the point!” She leaned at him, hands balled to fists. “That won’t change anything. I’m lucky enough to have made it to being an adult. I don’t want to roll those dice again… especially as an orphan.” My luck I’d never wake up from the tank. Eighteen percent might as well be a hundred.

  “And that girl you’ve grown fond of.”

  “Leave her out of this.” Risa narrowed her eyes.

  Raziel smiled. “I understand why you cannot return to your past, but the citizens of Mars deserve a future free from tyranny as well.”

  Risa pointed at him. “Think about it. There aren’t enough people on Mars to survive all-out war. Both sides are controlled by dishonest, greedy, deceitful prongs so far removed from the lives of real people they might as well be aliens. The only chance of anyone being left after the shitstorm subsides is to work with one of them and help it win. The UCF isn’t that bad. They don’t have pockets of armed resistance trying to overthrow it from within. You should ally yourself with them. If the day ever comes when the Corporates no longer infest Mars, then work to change the stuff you don’t like about the UCF.”

  He glided off to the left, pacing.

  “A few adjustments to an existing regime is a lot easier to pull off, especially for someone with your power than it is to start over from scratch. What guarantee do you have that the ‘people of Mars’ won’t come up with a government worse than either side is now? Did you even consider that without a central government, they might devolve into sovereign cities at war with each other?”

  Raziel made the sound of a deep breath. “Your argument is not without merit.”

  “The Pueri Verum Martis is committed to change from within once the ACC is out of the way. Talk to General Everett. He’d probably welcome your help. I’m done.” She waited ten seconds, gazing at the blue sky, clouds, and distant snow-capped mountains. “Okay, let me out.”

  “I would still like you to be my hands out there. I’ve arranged to send some equipment for you to Pavo’s residence. I can ensure you live comfortably without the need to waste your life at some rote office cubicle.”

  She examined her toes for a moment. “I don’t think I’d really mind that… after everything. A boring job sounds nice. I don’t want to take chances with my life anymore.”

  “You’ll need to support that child of yours. I give you my word I will not ask you to do anything too risky.”

  The world faded to white. Seconds later, the perfect silence gave way to the distant sound of a shouting woman. A sense of falling over backwards came over her, and the voice increased in volume. Her body shook and bounced, and the warm stickiness of sweat swam over her. Heaviness pressed down on her gut and shoulders. A fluffy-haired silhouette appeared in the blank everything. Within seconds, detail filled in to Tamashī, straddling her with a hand on each shoulder. The faux teen shouted a mixture of Japanese and English, neither one decipherable.

  Risa moaned, and wiped her forehead. “Ugh. What happened?”

  Tamashī blinked, looking stunned. She sniffled; her lip quivered, and she burst into tears for another minute before regaining composure. “I thought you got coreburn or something. The deck showed you as logged out, but you wouldn’t wake up. I tried to pull the cord, but it shocked the piss out of me.”

  Risa gazed up at the beige ceiling. Her back ached where the guard construct stabbed her with the stunrod, even though it hadn’t happened for real. The tiny woman climbed off her and sat nearby, crossing her legs in a yoga pose, ankles on opposing knees. Risa sat up and tried to rub the spot on her back.

  “What did you see?” asked Tamashī. Though her cheeks streamed with tears, she grinned.

  “Raziel wanted a word with me.”

  “And?” Tamashī leaned forward and unplugged the wire from Risa’s head.

  “He doesn’t want to let me go.” Risa shivered from a twinge of fear, and drew her knees to her chin, heels hooked on the edge of the Comforgel pad. Damp fabric stretched tight on her back. He could do so much damage if he wanted to. “I’m almost afraid to say no.”

  19

  Logistics

  Risa knelt on the floor behind Kree, washing her hair in the stream from an old-fashioned showerhead dangling from a pipe on the wall of the locker room. The primitive arrangement, lacking even a plastic curtain, offered zero chance of cleaning the child without getting soaked herself, so Risa had decided to share the shower. She focused on scrubbing Kree clean first, then Risa washed herself while the girl played in the water, running in circles and jumping in puddles. While autoshowers often terrified small children, they at least kept the flood contained.

  After toweling off, she handed Kree a packet of new underwear she’d picked up on her way out of Elysium, as well as a new outfit: a plain black T-shirt and baggy grey pants. She remembered the fit the child threw at being given such ‘girly’ clothes upon first arriving. Kree had demanded pants back then, but didn’t react to them with the adoration Risa expected, rather a smile of gratitude, sans cheering or squealing.

  Part of Risa envied the girl and wanted the comfort of normal clothes, but fear made her reach for the ballistic suit.

  Kree tilted her head. “Why aren’t you wearing underpants?”

  Because I’m screwed up and wear this stuff all day long. Risa fidgeted at the MolWeave fastener on the armor. “Uhh. This armor doesn’t breathe.”

  “Breathe?” Kree furrowed her eyebrows. “That’s silly. It’s not alive.”

  “I mean, air doesn’t pass through it. I sweat, and anything I wear under it sops it up. It feels squishy and nasty.”

  “Oh.” Kree stepped into her moon boots, tapping the toes on the floor one after the next to get them all the way on. “Javier said it’s ’cause you only get ten minutes to be with Pavo.”

  “Javier is going to get a fist in the nose the next time I see him.”

  Kree looked up with a confused expression.

  Risa took the girl by the hand and walked her to the common area. She dialed up pancakes for both of them and flopped into a seat at the round table. Nine others, mostly new people she didn’t recognize, smiled or waved at her, though none attempted to strike up a conversation. Guess I’m still the scary, crazy bitch.

  Kree made silly faces at her while letting half-chewed pancake fall out of her mouth.

  Risa laughed, but wrestled with fear and sadness inside. Okay. Enough. I’m getting her out of here now. She head-dialed Garrison. When his virtual image appeared hovering over the table, she whined at him.

  「Something wrong, Bit?」

  「Dad… wow, it feels so weird to call you that.」 She smiled at a warm rush racing up inside her chest. 「I don’t know what to do with Kree. I want to get her out of the safehouse before something happens… this is no place for a kid.」

  He looked down. 「Sorry.」

  「I didn’t mean me. I’m talking about Kree. I want to bring her to Pavo’s, but every time I try to bring up the idea of taking her out of here, she freaks out and I can’t handle it. I cave in.」

  「You’ve been asking her if she wants to leave, right?」

  「Yeah.」

  Kree made explosive noises while stabbing her pancakes with her fo
rk.

  “Eat them before they melt, hon. It’s OmniSoy.”

  「Well. If you want me to say it. You’ll need to do what I wasn’t brave enough to do.」 Garrison scratched his six-day old beard. 「Put your foot down. Tell her you are leaving, and she’s coming with you. Don’t leave it up to her.」

  Risa stared at the happy little face across the table from her, dreading the idea of it warping with terror and tantrum. 「I’m not sure if I can.」

  「You took her outside yesterday. How did that go?」

  「Fine. Better than I thought. She seemed to like the sky. I don’t know that she’d ever seen it before.」

  「I have an apartment in Arcadia. It’s on the thirty-first floor of a residential tower in the Tegea district. It’s nice, not extravagant. I haven’t set foot in the place. I rented it soon after we set up shop here, and never got around to visiting it.」 He exhaled. The finger tapping on his desk remained out of the image, but the sound she knew well. 「Look, it might be best if you moved in there. There’s no way to know what’s going to happen with the Front.」

  「I can’t ask you to pay for an apartment for me.」

  「I’m not; the government is.」 He winked. 「And if you feel that bad about it, I can kick you out if I ever need to move in.」

  She laughed, startling a few people. Kree gave her a quizzical look. 「Come with us. Get out of here too.」

  A fond smile tugged one corner of his mouth. 「It’s not that simple. I’m part of the command structure, Bit. Captain goes down with the ship and all that shit. Too many things are relying on me. Too many people counting on me.」

  「Dad…」

  Her NetMini chirped and beeped.

  「I’ll be fine. I registered your PID to the apartment’s security system so you can get in. Go make yourself at home and…」 He sighed. 「And live like a normal damn person. You deserve it.」

  「Dad, don’t talk like that. You make it sound like I’m moving out and I’m never going to see you again.」

  He offered a wan smile. 「Don’t read too much into an old man’s regret. I should’ve left years ago, when I had the chance. It’s my fault you’re in this position.」

  「You tried to keep me away from it more than I ever realized. I’m sorry I didn’t listen.」

  「Don’t repeat history.」 He winked. 「Get her out of here.」

  「Okay. Thanks, Dad.」

  Garrison’s image vanished. Kree picked up her plate. Risa leaned back, watching the girl seek out every trace of syrup with her tongue. She looks so happy. I don’t want to ruin it. Her jaw tightened. I’d rather have her alive and mad at me than happy and…

  “What’s wrong?” Kree froze, staring over the top of the plate at her.

  Risa stood and offered a hand. “I need to talk to you.”

  Kree’s eyes widened. “I didn’t do it. Kyle’s lying.”

  “Didn’t do what?”

  “A tool cart got knocked over.” Kree swished her boots back and forth. After a few seconds of Risa’s stare, she gazed into her lap. “I kinda sorta bumped into it, an’ it went rolling.”

  “Thank you for being honest. I’m sure it’s not a big deal. C’mon.” She took Kree’s hand and walked her out of the dining area.

  Minutes later, she turned left into Death Row, and returned to the now-empty room she’d been using.

  “I thought we got kicked out?” Kree looked up at her.

  Risa smiled. “We did. But no one else wants to live in here. It’s quiet, so we can talk.”

  “Why?”

  In the room, she sat on the edge of the Comforgel pad and pulled Kree to stand in front of her. “Do you know why they call this hallway Death Row?”

  Kree shrugged.

  “There’s a lot of people living in the safehouse. No one gets a private room but the people who work with bombs.”

  “I don’t like bombs.” Kree bit her lip and looked down.

  “I know. I don’t either.” Risa hesitated until the emotion wouldn’t affect her voice. “You know what bombs do.”

  Kree nodded.

  “Sometimes they don’t work right and they hurt the person trying to use them.”

  “Bombs don’t hurt people. They kill.” Kree trembled.

  “Every time we go out there, there’s a chance we won’t come back. That’s why they call this Death Row. Because everyone on it is waiting for the day they die.”

  Kree sniveled.

  Risa brushed the girl’s tears off her cheeks. “I’m not going to use bombs any more. That’s why they kicked us out. I don’t want to die.”

  Kree looked up, almost smiling.

  “This is no place for a child to grow up. I’ve been asking if you want to go outside with me, and you always say no.”

  “I’m scared.” Kree shivered.

  “I understand. What happened to your mother is horrible. You should never have had to watch that. I don’t want the same thing to happen to you. It’s not safe here.”

  Kree’s chaotic emotions leveled off in a perplexed stare. “Why do they call it a safehouse if it’s not safe?”

  Risa hugged her, taken by a sudden laugh. “It’s, well… it’s safe for grownups with guns. Not safe for little girls. Do you trust me?”

  Kree nodded without hesitation.

  “I’ll do everything I can to keep that trust. Today, I’m going to do something you might not like, but I am doing it because I want to protect you.”

  Kree pulled back, but Risa held on.

  “We are going to a real home. I’m asking you to trust me to protect you. Nothing will happen to us.” I hope. “Look at me.”

  Kree stopped squirming, locking eyes with her.

  “It doesn’t matter how much you scream or carry on. I know you’re frightened and worried about the bad men. I am taking you out of here before you get hurt.”

  Tears flowed in silence down the child’s face.

  “Hey. Do the bad men have speeware?” Risa winked.

  A snot bubble formed at Kree’s nose when she giggled. “No.”

  Risa wiped it with her fingers. “You know what I will do to the bad men if they try to hurt you, don’t you? That’s what you were drawing the other day.”

  Kree nodded.

  “We’re leaving.”

  The child looked down, tapping her boot on the floor. “’Kay.”

  Risa picked her up as she stood, cradling her tight while walking without ceremony or farewell to the main door. The closer she got to the exit, the deeper tiny fingers dug into her back. Kali and Lancaster stood on either side of the front gate, armed with full-size assault rifles and night-vision headgear. One look at Risa’s grim expression, and they got the hint.

  Kali shook her hand while Lancaster patted her on the child-free shoulder.

  “Take care of yourself,” said Kali.

  “It’s not me I’m worrying about these days.” Risa smiled. “Keep your eyes open. A giant ball of crap is rolling down Primus Mons.”

  “I hear that.” Lancaster waved at Kree, who didn’t react.

  Risa walked across the large tunnel, boots skiffing in the dirt. She’d come back for her box of clothes… or hell with it, order new stuff. More important to get out of here while she could. Another moment of conviction strong enough to overpower Kree’s fear might not happen. The girl clung, occasionally trembling as they navigated a series of old driller tunnels at the bottom of Primus. After ascending three ladders and two stairways―the vents offered a more direct route up, but she wasn’t about to risk some of those climbs with Kree―she forced open a plastisteel double door and stepped out onto Tier 8, where the air stank of fetid organic rot and metallic dirt.

  Graffiti-covered metal walls lined a larger finished passageway full of tiny unused residences. As with most cities on Mars, the deeper one went in Primus, the greater the danger. Most people preferred to be homeless on Tier 5 than pay rent on Tier 8. At the sight of metal-covered walls, Kree’s body shivered out of c
ontrol. Risa cradled the back of her head in one hand and made soothing noises.

  For once, she missed her metal eyes. The purple glow advertised her being a tí-zhèn, a badge that kept miscreants away.

  “Let me know if anyone tries to come up behind me, okay?” Risa squeezed her. “I’ll watch forward.”

  Kree buried her face in the side of Risa’s neck, trying to sob while making as little noise as possible. Risa’s heart felt as though a cyborg crushed it between mechanical fingers, but she clung to knowing she had to do this. Dammit. I ran off too fast. I forgot the damn headset.

  Focused on the shadows, she marched forward, refusing to surrender to doubt. Food cartons crunched under her boots, the plastic crinkle echoed for what sounded like miles. Shadows emerged from side passages, tailing them before they’d walked fifty meters. Risa stared down one man after another, unsure if they were curious vagrants or ill-intentioned thugs.

  Whether they had a spot of pity for a sniveling child or were taken aback by a slender woman giving them a ‘go ahead and try it’ glare, no one did more than look at her as she walked. Ten nervous minutes later, she reached the stairway up to Tier 7. Kree squirmed and tried to break loose when a handful of dosers on the steps sat up to check out who walked by.

  Risa clamped her arms tight and hurried up the stairs. She’d never thought twice about walking through these areas before. Not even the denizens of Deep Primus were dumb enough to tangle with a tí-zhèn. Now, she looked normal. Normal, and terrified―a victim on the hoof. Risa slowed as she neared the exit to the seventh tier. Fear attracted trouble. She adopted her old facial expression, daring the world to mess with her. Whoever designed this place and put the stairways at staggered sides needs to be shot. The fastest way to the next stairwell would be to head down a merchant concourse three lanes wide that bisected the middle of Tier 7.