Danger’s Vice

by Amanda Carlson

  “Ew, that would be a terrible way to go.” I chuckled. Behind us, Case exited the waste room. In a hurried tone, I whispered, “Okay, I believe you. But you can’t come with because it’s too dangerous.” I didn’t want to tell him that Tandor’s men could still be out there. It was too soon to freak him out. “And kid, we’re keeping this to ourselves for now. Catch my drift?” I angled my head toward the footsteps heading toward us, giving Daze a pointed look.

  His face changed to something that resembled cunning in the space of a single second. “I understand.” Daze snatched the bag of food off the tech table and darted off the couch, running up to Case, shaking it. “Look what I found! It was hidden real good. I found a bunch of them, all different flavors.” He bounced up and down. “This one says it’s chicken-soup flavored, whatever that is. Can we try it?”

  Oh, that kid was more than a talented actor. He was smooth.

  It was almost astounding how well he played the game. I’d have to remember going forward that it could be a big mistake not to take him seriously.

  Case led him over to the cooling unit and withdrew a jug of water. Then he reached into a drawer for an ultrasonic whisk. Once inserted into the cup, it would heat the molecules instantly. Daze gleefully tore off the top of the package, chatting nonstop about some nonsense.

  As they worked, I made my way back to the waste room. It was my turn to shower. When I was finished, I emerged to find Daze waiting with a bowl full of something brown and murky. As I moved closer, he held it out to me. “The other one was gross, but this one is okay. It’s mushy, but good.” I took the proffered food and ate, thankful for something that had a different flavor and texture than what I was used to. My taste buds were surprised by the new taste and let my brain know, but I didn’t have any labels for the specific food it was supposed to mimic, because I hadn’t ever sampled it before. “It’s…interesting, I’ll give it that,” I said between bites. When I was done, I walked it over to the trash bin.

  Back in the day, a good garbage compactor would break down the waste for compost and recycling, separating it by atomic weight and sending the pieces down separate chutes. The best we could hope for now was an even grind.

  I turned back to find Case staring at me.

  He’d showered. His hair was damp, sticking up where he’d haphazardly run his fingers through it. His stubble was gone, which meant he’d used a blade or had access to a micro-follicle laser. Either way, his jaw was clean and looked a little more prominent without its usual coating. “When are we leaving to get your craft?” he asked.

  “Not sure,” I said. “Definitely after blackout, but I’m thinking we should wait until the early hours. Less guards on duty.”

  He nodded. “I agree. But I think we should pay the guy on the roof a visit before we head to Port Station. We need information while the trail is still warm, and they won’t be expecting us to come back so soon.”

  I leaned my hips back against the edge of the counter next to the bin and crossed my arms. “And what makes you think the old guy’s still there? If I were him, I wouldn’t stick around.”

  Case shrugged. “He lives there. Where else would he go?”

  That was a valid point.

  It was likely better to try to track him down now rather than later. “Okay, fine, we’ll head there first, but we go after midnight.” I pushed off from the counter and walked toward the couches. “I still can’t believe they blew my place up. All of it is gone. Just gone.” I shook my head as I sat, but refrained from settling my head in my hands. In the scope of things, losing this residence was hard, but not impossible to recover from. I had supplies littered all over the city. It would just take time to round it all up. And I was alive. There was always that.

  “Who blew up your place?” Daze asked, his expression confused as he came to sit next to me. I hadn’t mentioned anything, but it would be hard to keep this kind of information from the kid in the long run, so just telling him was the best choice.

  “It seems the bad guys are still in town,” I said. “But before you get too excited, they can’t get us here. We’re super protected.”

  “Tandor’s guys.” Daze’s voice was glum. His head pitched downward as he swung his feet back and forth. “They had a bunch of Plush, and they were always trying to get more. I knew they’d survive. They didn’t like Tandor.”

  I squinted at the kid. He was full of surprises. “What do you know about it?”

  Daze’s eyebrows furled in concentration. He was quiet for a few seconds. “They didn’t think I was listening, but I always was. Sometimes, I pretended to be asleep. Other times, I hid under a desk. They’re going to use Plush on everyone,” he blurted, his voice quavering. “They said it would control the resisters better, so they could take over with less people getting in their way. They called everyone ‘sheep’ and ‘stupid,’ then they’d laugh. They were evil.”

  My gaze met Case’s, and we shared a look. “If they’re going to infect everyone with Plush, how will they control all the new seekers?” I asked Daze. “You saw how they acted when they attacked us after we crossed that beam. They’re mindless. You’d think it would be a big headache to have a bunch more seekers getting in the way of their plans.” It didn’t make much sense to me, anyway.

  “They have this ancidote,” Daze whispered, like it was a secret. “It calms them down. Tandor said he wanted to use some of them as slaves.”

  “I think you mean antidote,” I corrected. I addressed Case. “I saw Dill shove a dart in the seeker’s forehead, then she collapsed in his arms. I didn’t stick around to see what happened next, but what the kid’s saying sounds right. They definitely have something.”

  Case stood in front of Daze. “Who do you think is running things now? Did you know Tandor’s men very well? Would you recognize them if you saw them again?”

  Daze’s head bobbed up and down. “The really bad guy was Hutch. If he’s still alive, he would be in charge.” The kid’s tone couldn’t get much drearier. Guessing he was not a fan of this Hutch guy. “He’s really ugly, and he has a scar on his face.” Daze slashed his index finger down the side of his right cheek. “I heard him talking about killing Tandor one time. He said he was ‘a useless piece of shit.’ Hutch always had one guy with him. His name was Slim, but we called him Slime. He was always sneaking around doing things behind Tandor’s back.”

  It seemed I’d been right in my original assumption that Tandor had run a sloppy organization. This Hutch guy must’ve known that we’d defeat Tandor in the end. My guess was he hadn’t been at the gorge for the showdown on purpose. I would’ve remembered someone with a scar. “What does Slim look like?” I asked.

  “He looks regular,” Daze said, shrugging, his feet beginning to scuff along the floor again. We’d have to work on his attention spanning more than five minutes at a time.

  “And what does regular mean, exactly?”

  Daze popped off the seat. “He looks like everybody else.” Reaching his quota of talk, he took off toward the back of the room, likely in search of more hidden food stashes.

  Case cleared his throat after the kid bounded away. “He thinks all adults look the same.”

  “I’m going to have to teach him how to remember even the most mundane details, but it’s going to take time. I guess we’re just going to stick with regular for now.”

  Case took a jug of water out and set it on the counter. Then he got out a cup and poured himself a glass. “The kid was likely in panic mode most of the time. I’m not surprised he can’t tell any of them apart.”

  “You know their names,” I said as I stood. “How come you don’t know what they look like?”

  Case downed a cup of water. “Because I never bothered to ask my informant.”

  “That’s convenient.”

  “Why would I need to know what Tandor’s henchmen looked like?”

  “When I heard your sister talking by the gorge, it seemed like you knew a few of them personally. One guy sa
id that after she killed her kid, they couldn’t trust you anymore, but why would they have trusted you in the first place? Lots of things don’t add up, Case. But you know that already.”

  “I did know a few people.” He braced his back against the cooling unit, his expression bland, no telltale tic by his eye. “That’s how I met my informant. But they were only people who hung around with my sister, the ones recruited from my tribe. She wasn’t well-liked. Tandor kept his inner circle close, and it seemed he had good reason if he was dealing in Plush.”

  I grunted as I walked toward the sleeping pods. Case had answered without answering—his typical runaround. “I’m going to get an hour or two of shut-eye before we go. I want to be rested for this.” What I didn’t say was that I was antsy as hell and was going to use the time to plot by myself. I didn’t want Case’s input or interference. Not knowing his angle bugged me.

  As I climbed into the sleeping pod I’d used last night, Daze came charging at me. “Look what I found!” It appeared to be the same exact bag as before. “There was another stash.” His voice was brimming with excitement. “This place is crawling with hidey-holes!”

  I nodded as I lay back. “This can only mean one thing.”

  “That I’m good at finding things?”

  “Yep, which means you’re going to make an excellent salvager.” His chest puffed. “Listen,” I said in a conspiratorial tone, “while Case and I are gone, I’m going to need you to search every millimeter of this space and see what you can find.” I lodged my arm behind my head as a pillow. “Since they blew my house up, I’m going on a full recon mission to recoup what I’ve lost. I bet you can find a bunch of supplies here. After you’re done, get some sleep. We’ll most likely be back by daybreak. If for some reason we don’t come back right away, I don’t want you to panic. You have more than enough stuff here”—I nodded toward the bag in his hand—“to keep you alive for a long time. If we’re not back in a week, you pack a big bag of supplies and head northwest.” I pulled a tech phone out of my vest pocket. “I want you to have this.” I set it in his hand. His eyes widened. “It won’t work in here because the walls are too thick, but as you get closer to the city, reach out to Bender and Lockland. Do you remember your handle and the channels we use?”

  He nodded solemnly, stuffing the tech phone deep in his front pants pocket. “But…but you’re coming back, right? I won’t need to do all that.” I could hear the fear just under the surface.

  “That’s the plan, kid. But we know life doesn’t always work the way we want it to. I’m going to have Case show you how to get out of this place if you need to. You’re going to have to use tools to get the main door open, but as I said, it’s only precautionary. If we don’t plan for the worst, we get caught with our pants down, and we don’t want that. Life without pants would be difficult. Are we clear?”

  “Clear.”

  “Cheer up,” I said, observing his drawn face. I playfully bumped a fist against his shoulder. “We’re still alive. That’s a win right there. We’ll take care of Hutch and Slim, just like we did Tandor. Have no fear. Nobody messes with my city and gets away with it.”

  “Holly?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Can I sleep next to you? Just for a little bit?” His voice cracked. “I mean, I don’t have to…I can go look for stuff—”

  Careful to conceal my surprise, I kept a straight face as I answered, “Sure. Come on in.” I slid over to make room, patting the area next to me. “You’ve had a rough few days. It looks like you could use a little rest. I didn’t want to say anything before, but sleep is a smart option.”

  His face was filled with relief as he climbed in. “Thanks. I promise once I get up, I’ll search real careful for everything.”

  “I know you will.” I didn’t have to look at Case to know he’d heard it all. “After some sleep, you’ll be ready for anything.” He curled up next to me, his back tucking into my side. I tentatively laid an arm over him and heard him sigh. His breathing evened out in less than two minutes. The kid must’ve been stressed out waiting for us to come back. Footsteps neared. I glanced up at the outskirt. “Give us three hours.”

  He nodded once and lowered the lid.

  It took me a lot longer than the kid to fall asleep.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “Are you sure you can find the location without your running lights on?” I asked Case, who was piloting Seven. I was skeptical. Operating a dronecraft with no lights during blackout was tricky at best, but in a city you were unfamiliar with, even more so. But he’d insisted on flying, and since I would have had to pull my Gem to argue with him, I let it go. We were on our way to question the old man on the roof.

  “Yes.”

  “Completely sure?” Operating dronecraft after blackout wasn’t common. We would be noticed, because drones weren’t exactly quiet. We had to achieve our mission quickly, and to do so, the pilot needed to know their way around. “All the buildings look similar in the dark.”

  “I got it.” Case was intently focused, his eyes locked on the view in front of us through the windshield.

  “You know, if I was the questioning kind, which I am, I’d think you were more familiar with this city than you let on.” Case grunted, dropping altitude suddenly, causing me to reach for the dash. I’d smartly strapped myself in upon entry. “That’s not an efficient way to shut me up. You’ll have to do more—”

  The craft lurched, spinning quickly at a ninety-degree angle. My arms shot out to brace myself, one of which landed on Case’s shoulder. He chuckled as he evened out. “Sorry about that. Hard to see in between these buildings. It’s dark out.”

  “Very funny.” My pulse had sped up more than I would’ve liked, and my breathing hitched. “Okay, so you’ve found a way to shut me up for a total of one minute. Happy? But that doesn’t mean you win. The only victory you get will be when you land us on the roof in one piece.”

  “I’m not landing on the roof.”

  “What? How else are we going to get there?” A roof landing would be the fastest way to achieve our goals. We wanted to question this guy and get the hell out. I still had to get Luce and retrieve the pico before daybreak. Port Station was a twenty-minute flight from here.

  “Because I want to take him by surprise, if we can. He could have a tech phone or a locator. We don’t want to give him a chance to use them.”

  “That’s true, he could, especially if he’s being paid by Tandor’s men,” I retorted. “But even if he had time to use it before we got to him, they’d have to get to us before we take off. I’m planning on this requiring no more than three minutes of our time, five, tops.”

  Case directed the craft up, gaining altitude. “Do you really think you can get him to talk that fast?”

  “Yes indeed.”

  “He has more to lose by talking to you. Once they find out he’s a rat, they’ll kill him.”

  “My methods are tried and true. I can get a confession out of someone quicker than a dose of Babble. Have no fear.” Case didn’t shrug, but he might as well have. “You don’t believe me?”

  “No, I do.”

  “Yeah, right. I can tell by the tone of your voice you think I’m lying. But watch and learn. I’ll have a confession out of him in less than three minutes, and we’ll be out in five. Land on the roof. No one can get to him that quickly, even if he signals for help.”

  “We won’t get a second chance,” he warned.

  “I’m not looking for one,” I said, irritation leaking through. What else did this guy need? A signed document? “Trust me. Land on the roof.” The passenger window wasn’t positioned to give me the view I needed, so I had to trust he was going in the right direction. Case headed left, and gradually, I began to pick out familiar surroundings. “There it is.” I pointed. “Up ahead three buildings on the right.” Case ignored my helpful directions and instead veered left.

  I waited to see what he was up to, managing to keep my mouth shut.

  A
fter a few more turns, he dropped to roofline level, inching closer to our destination. At an intersection, he zoomed straight up, gaining altitude with the aid of a hydro-booster, the telltale whooshing noise of the spent canisters giving it away.

  Once we were high in the air, he centered us over the building, then killed the motors, stopping the props.

  Then he did something I’d never seen before.

  He engaged another hydro-boost, but this one aimed downward, cushioning us in a rush of air as we dropped.

  “Case, how are you going to land like this—”

  A moment before impact, he hit the props and the landing gear at the same time. We bounced up a few meters before making a graceful, quiet landing on the roof.

  I didn’t have time to compliment his excellent piloting skills, because I was out of the craft, using time to our advantage just as I’d promised. Tugging my Gem and taser out, I raced for the cobbled-together shack in the corner where the old man had scurried the last time we’d seen him. There was a piece of sheet metal covering the opening. I kicked it in without hesitation. It flew inward, landing with a clatter on the ground. I raced over it, pulling up short, momentarily confused by the scene in front of me.

  Case was behind me half a beat later, stopping to assess the situation over my shoulder. “I think it’s safe to say he won’t be sharing anything with us, no matter how stellar your interrogation skills are.”

  “You’re right about that.” I holstered my guns and moved cautiously to the old man’s side. His neck had been slashed—and not all that long ago, judging by the consistency of the blood. Small trickles of red still dribbled out of the wound, but most of it had congealed, covering his front like a sticky, wet blanket. I nudged his shoulder. His head flopped forward, landing at an awkward angle. “Shit. What are we going to do now?” I glanced around the small space, searching for clues. I picked up and examined a few of his meager possessions, setting them back down when they didn’t reveal any pertinent information. Too bad miscellaneous junk couldn’t talk.