by M. D. Cooper
“Nothing. Seems like he knew he wouldn’t be back. Which is something, I guess, but not exactly surprising. Did you find anything in the kitchen?”
“Some instant cereal, some bread, and three bottles of apple juice. Think there’s anything wrong with me drinking the juice? It’s hot as hell on this planet. Every time I go outside, I feel like I’m being baked in an oven.”
“Drink it. No one will care.” She went into the bathroom, but Fitzmiller had emptied it of any belongings except for partial bottles of soap and shampoo.
On the way back out, she nudged the small, rectangular waste bin that sat under the sink. It toppled, filling the room with a hollow sound.
A card was stuck to the bottom. Reece knelt and grabbed it.
“What is it?” Trey edged into the bathroom.
“Back up and we can both look at it.” She didn’t fancy being crammed into the small space with him.
Out in the bedroom, she held it up so they could both read it.
Fulton Farm, it read. A connection number was printed neatly beneath the words. A green wheelbarrow had been embossed on the top left corner.
“What is it?” Trey asked.
“A privately-owned farm, I’m guessing.” She turned the card over, but it was blank on the other side. She tucked it into an inside pocket of her jacket.
“Are there are lot of those?” Trey followed her out of the bedroom, but she paused.
“Yes. Niche items, things that don’t mass produce well. I didn’t check under the bed yet. Would you mind?”
He squinted at her, then shrugged. Getting on his knees, he bent down to peer underneath.
She bolted for the door, leaving his ass pointing ceiling-ward behind her.
She flung the door open, but a hand abruptly grabbed her own, effectively freezing it in place.
“I don’t fall for the same thing twice.” Trey looked smug,
“I’m glad. Looks like maybe you can learn. Let’s go check out this Fulton Farms place.”
“Good. We’re stuck working together, so we might as well start figuring out how to make that actually happen.”
She shrugged, activating her overlays to summon a taxi.
“How did you know about the trash can?” he asked when they were sitting in the back of the vehicle together, leaving the corporate district behind.
“I’d like to say I was doing something awesome based on clever intuition, but it was just a lucky find. Those cans get damp on the bottom due to humidity, and if something gets dropped, it can stick. I might not have even thought to look if the place hadn’t been so barren.”
He gave her a long look. “That’s very honest of you.”
“You thought I’d be a liar?”
“Well, you called me an offensive name the first time I met you, then you ran away. So far, I’ve not been impressed with your ability to play well with others.”
In spite of herself, she laughed. “Yeah, I guess that’s a fair point. How did you track me down to the Ringtoad, anyway?”
Trey shifted. “As much as I’d like to say it was due to my keen intelligence, Schramm gave me a few suggestions on where you might be.”
So, Marky hadn’t sold her out after all. At least that was something.
“I guess neither of us is giving as impressive a showing as we’d like.” She didn’t know what to make of that. She had no intentions of being friends with the guy, but she did have to figure out how to work with him.
“I guess not.” He reached into his pocket. “Apple juice?”
He held a bottle of it out to her.
“It is awfully hot,” she admitted. Reluctantly, she took the juice. “Thanks.”
“Just don’t forget I shared.” He tilted his head back to pour his own juice down his throat.
“What?”
“At some point,” he explained, “you’re going to come across something. You’ll have to decide whether to share it with me or not. Don’t be a stingy jerk in the future, is all I’m saying.”
She stared at him. “You’re a strange guy, aren’t you?”
“Stranger than some. Far less strange than others. It’s a big galaxy.” He crushed the bottle in his hand and dropped it at his feet.
She sipped her juice as an excuse not to reply. Normally, she excelled at judging a person’s character. Trey kept surprising her, and she couldn’t pin down his personality or motivation. He wasn’t the ignoramus she’d first taken him for. He’d shown affability, earnestness, and even a little wisdom.
His unexpected complexity annoyed her. She liked transparent people who were easy to predict.
“So, we’re just showing up at this farm unannounced?” he asked.
“Yes. If we ask to talk to someone, we’ll likely be told there’s no time today. That’s a lot harder to say to our faces.”
“Makes sense. What are you looking for?”
She gave his question some consideration. Unaccustomed to having to explain her strategy and tactics to someone, she had to boil it down to the most relevant points. “A link to Fitzmiller, of course, but I don’t want to drop his name right away. Since I don’t know the nature of the relationship—if there’s one at all. I don’t want to risk them clamming up. Instead, I’ll present myself as a Rexcare fixer, looking into a billing error.”
He looked dubious. “A billing error?”
“You’d be surprised how much in-depth info you can get when a person is worried that Rexcare is going to stick them with a bill, or litigation for a bill. Suddenly, ledgers get opened wide, and people get very talkative.”
“Hm. Interesting.”
“Is it different where you’re from?” She could only imagine how different things might be in his home system.
“Yeah. A lot. It’s more science-driven. More…sort of egalitarian, you might say.”
“For those who can get genmods, anyway,” she pointed out.
“Are we getting into that again?” He looked quite intimidating when he was displeased.
Not that she was easily intimidated. “No. Just pointing it out, since you made it sound like you think your government works better.”
“I didn’t say that. But do you think this having businesses essentially running the planet is perfect?”
“I haven’t seen anything in this life that’s perfect, other than a good lemonade with a whiskey back,” she retorted. “I grew up drinking from the wrong end of the pond, so I know perfectly well all the things that corporate government does wrong. I haven’t forgotten all that, just because I have access to the good water now.”
He looked down and was silent for a long moment. “So, when you talk about ponds and water…that’s metaphorical, right?”
She squinted at him. Was he serious? She thought he’d proven himself not to be a meathead, but she might have to reevaluate.
But a teasing glint in his eye proved otherwise. She frowned at him, though, for good measure.
Fortunately, he seemed content to watch the landscape change as they got further out into farmland. Roads, sidewalks, and high rises gave way to a sprawl of rural land that provided Akon’s agriculture.
She enjoyed the farmlands. She liked the feeling of freedom and nature they imparted. The buzz of commerce felt much further behind than it truly was. Life felt more honest and straightforward out here.
She probably would have made a good farmer if she’d been the child of one and had grown up that way.
A long dirt lane led up to Fulton Farms. As she got out, Reece instructed the driver to wait for them. She didn’t want to get stuck sitting in the dirt, waiting for a taxi.
She pushed the doorbell, then stood on the lovely wraparound porch, pretending not to be uncomfortable with Trey standing behind her shoulder.
Having someone behind her like that made her twitchy. Slowly, she shifted to her left, turning her body a few degrees into a spot she felt more comfortable with.
Trey—staring out at the farmhouse’s front lawn and the fields beyond—didn�
��t seem to notice.
A gentle but fragrant breeze drifted over Reece, bringing with it the wonderful scent of fresh herbs. The door opened, and a study-looking woman in her thirties looked at them curiously.
“Can I help you?”
Reece reached into her jacket pocket and brandished her Rexcare credential. “Hello, ma’am. I’m Reece. Are you Lois?”
She’d managed to grab some details about the farm while in the taxi and already knew that this was, in fact, Lois, the owner and operator of the farm.
“Yes. Why?”
Reece made a wry face. “An accountant found an anomalous payment, but no corresponding invoice, to Fulton Farms. They asked me to come talk to you so we can explain the entry.”
Lois blinked. “I’m a cottage industry. I cross-breed fresh herbs for home cooking. I don’t sell to any one of the big corporations, only local bodegas and supermarkets.”
“I’m sure there’s a simple explanation.” Reece smiled sympathetically. “These things show up from time to time. Often, it’s an employee mistake, like they’ve accidentally turned in a personal receipt as a business expense. It’s usually pretty easy to clear up. Can we come in?”
“Uh, I suppose so.” Lois looked uncertain. “I guess it’s better to get it figured out sooner than later.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Reece nodded agreeably. “Sometimes I’d like to slap the people who make these mistakes, forcing people like you and me to sort things out.”
Lois led them to a kitchen table. “I was just about to have some tea. Would you like some?”
If there was anything Reece absolutely did not want on a hot season perihelion day, it was steaming tea. But Lois turned away and returned with a pitcher that rattled with ice.
Iced tea. Now that Reece could appreciate. “That would be lovely, thanks.”
Trey nodded his thanks, and Reece noted that he’d yet to say anything. Was he actually following her lead? She hadn’t expected that.
She found her continued misunderstanding of him troubling.
“You don’t happen to have any regular customers you know to be Rexcare employees, do you?” Reece asked. “A mix-up like that isn’t common, but it happens.”
Seated across from her, Lois cupped her glass between her hands. “I don’t usually ask questions about my customers. Sometimes we start talking about cooking, and they might mention a few incidental personal details, but employer names don’t really come up.”
Reece nodded and took a sip of the tea. “Sure.”
The tea was nice. Floral and fruity and…something else. “What’s in this tea?”
Lois brightened. “Do you like it? I added a little of my sorvender to it.”
“Sorvender? It’s like a lemon taste to me, with something kind of floral.” Reece sipped again, rolling the beverage over her tongue to try to place the flavor.
“Lavender,” Trey said.
Lois smiled. “You got it. Sorvender is a hybrid of sorrel and lavender. It’s really nice in tea, both hot and iced.”
Trey spoke up again. “You must have a knack for genetic splicing.”
Lois laughed. “You make it sound so scientific, like I work in a lab! In reality, I usually have my hands covered in dirt and fertilizer. Nature does all the work. I just point it in the right direction.”
The farmer had gone from reserved to practically glowing, as she talked about her work. Clearly, she had great passion for it.
“What else have you spliced?” Reece asked, wanting to keep her talking.
“Oh, I’ve tried cross-breeds of just about any herb and spice you can think of. Some take off and some just die, but most take a good bit of tinkering to figure out. They’re an all-new subspecies, you know, with unique growing habits and requirements.”
“It must be nice to get so much fresh air,” Trey said. “I’m usually inside buildings or ships, and recirculated air isn’t the same.
“Well, usually, but during the hot season I’m inside a lot. The varieties that grow during perihelion make it worth it, though. Those are some of my biggest cash crops.”
“I’m not from around here…obviously.” Trey laughed at himself. “So I’m just getting used to this heat. I imagine the landscape looks a lot different during the other phases, with different plants growing.”
“Oh, yes. You get much brighter color when we’re not in perihelion. But even a star night versus a star day will cause a big shift in what plants flourish and which ones go dormant. Akon is too hot to get an actual ‘winter’ during a star night, but it’s like a long fall and slow spring—or so I’m told.”
Lois and Trey continued talking, but Reece paid them little mind. A thought had occurred to her, about the timing of Fitzmiller’s disappearance.
He’d disappeared during the perihelion.
“Do your plants have medicinal purposes?” she asked.
“Yes, most of them do. Very, very mild effect, nothing like actual medication, but herbs can help anything from stomach upset to bad breath.”
“Has anyone ever bought your herbs for the purpose of medical research?” Reece asked.
“Not that I know of,” Lois answered, dashing Reece’s hopes.
She’d thought she was onto something.
“I did have a doctor who came by regularly, though. Said making tea with my roseroot and elderberry hybrid cured him of his fatigue. I think it was a purely placebo effect, though.” Lois sipped her tea.
“You don’t think it actually helped him?”
“I’m doubtful that my elderroot leaf is effective at treating fatigue,” she said carefully. “But if he drank it and he believed it helped, then it did help. It must have tasted terribly bitter, though.” She chuckled.
Reece laughed lightly. “Do you have a list of all the items you sell? My aunt loves to cook and would enjoy trying out some new ingredients.”
“Yes. I keep my company channel updated with what’s in stock, whether dried or fresh, and when I expect new crops of the rest.”
“Great. I’ll check it out. About this doctor, though,” Reece said. “Is there any chance he was a Rexcare employee?”
“I suppose he could have been. A lot of people are.” Lois shrugged. “He never mentioned it.”
“One moment.” Reece activated her overlays, pulled up Fitzmiller’s picture, along with two other HR photos of men around his age. “I just sent some pictures to you. Would you mind looking at them to see if you recognize the man?”
“I guess not.” The farmer’s eyes went unfocused for a moment. “The third one. That’s him.”
Yes!
Reece held herself in check, even though she wanted to cheer. “Mystery solved, then! I see that on the date of the unaccounted-for payment, that employee didn’t log a lunch receipt. He must have accidentally turned in his personal purchase with you instead.”
The woman’s spine relaxed. “Oh, that’s a relief. But what a pain for you to have to come all the way out here for something so small.”
Reece smiled wryly. “It’s what they pay me for. But thanks so much for helping us figure it out. And for sharing your tea with us. I’m sure my aunt will be ordering some of your herbs very soon.”
She stood, and after draining his glass, Trey did as well.
“I’ll look forward to seeing you again soon, then.” Lois shook each of their hands and cheerfully saw them off at the door.
No doubt Lois felt like she’d dodged a huge bullet. No tiny company wanted to tangle with a corporation. There was no way to win.
Reece hurried through the heat to the waiting car and relaxed into the back seat.
“That was nicely done,” Trey said as they drove away. “And a nice lady, too.”
“Standard good manners. Are people rude where you come from?”
“No,” Trey answered. “But people in the Expansion Districts sometimes take one look at me and decide I’m a monster, or at least someone not to trust. When I meet someone new, I never know how they
’ll react.”
“Oh.” He’d seemed entirely self-confident. She hadn’t realized he might have to brace himself every time he met someone.
“What, no snotty comeback?” he taunted.
“Not this time,” she answered. “Maybe next.”
She felt uncomfortable. Caught between feeling sorry for him and acknowledging her own reaction to meeting him.
He probably knew it, too. He’d proven he wasn’t dumb. Instead of rubbing it in, though, or pressing the matter, he let her have her silence.
His tact was a stronger rebuke than anything he could have said would have been.
She checked out the Fulton Farms channel and copied the list of products into her case file.
As far as work to do on Akon went, she was done. She’d turned up no evidence that Fitzmiller remained on the planet past the date of his failure to arrive at work, meaning that he probably had gone to Iagentci, as Schramm had surmised.
That left her with no option but to depart Akon in the morning as planned. It also left her with no other business to follow up on. She could do her digging into Fitzmiller’s research once she and Trey boarded their ship.
Reece decided to pay for her bigoted behavior toward Trey by taking him for some fun at Marky’s, and then Kippy’s.
After all, he’d suggested they get to know each other. As far as she was concerned, there was no better way to do that.
NIGHT ON THE TOWN
DATE: 03.19.8948 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Ohiyo, Akonwara
REGION: Machete System, PED 4B, Orion Freedom Alliance
“I didn’t expect to see you two here tonight.” Marky greeted Reece and Trey, looking intrigued.
“The last couple days have been full of surprises.” Reece surveyed the betting lounge. “It’s busy tonight.”
People stood shoulder to shoulder in some places, jostling for space.
“Don’t let that bother you. Follow me.” Marky gestured and sashayed through the throng, which parted as she approached, as if by magic.
Trey wore a mystified expression.
Reece leaned toward him and said in a hushed voice, “Marky’s a very popular betting queen. She’s like royalty here, with the power to banish whomever she chooses. It gets fun sometimes.”
