Universal Chemistry

by Li Hill

  Bio Weapons Project. Corrosive blood. Missing I'na. Tom recalled Caleb saying big pharmaceutical companies didn't like BrightStart because of their weapons development division. That had to be why I'na were going missing and why there were blood tests. They were developing bioweaponry with I'na blood as the source.

  Outside, Caleb was quiet. He sipped on his own beer, staring up at the moonlit sky. "You weren't supposed to know." His voice was soft, resigned.

  "I don't know what you're talking about." But Tom knew when he was busted.

  "You left my e-mails up on my phone, Tom. I'm not stupid."

  "No. I guess you're not." Tom kept his back to the glass door. If Caleb attacked him, he could try to run for the front door and then to his car. "How long did you think you could keep it up?"

  "Until testing was over, actually. I'm not the monster you think I am."

  "Bullshit. You're killing Iilo's people."

  "I'm not killing anyone. I get sent to collect samples and I don't ask questions."

  "And you think that absolves you?" Tom barked out a laugh. "Caleb, look at human history for just a fucking second. Following orders doesn't absolve anyone."

  "Don't make me kill you, Tom." Caleb's voice was surprisingly calm for such a brash statement.

  Tom almost protested but then he saw the gun pointed at Tom's belly. He tried to pull open the glass door, but it'd been locked. He tried again, turning to see what kept him from bolting out of here.

  "I locked it with my phone, Tom. What century do you think we live in?"

  Trapped. All he had were words to stall with while he figured out how to get rid of that gun. "You're making weapons out of them for what? To get back at Iilo?"

  "Jesus, Tom, I'm not that petty. It's a sacrifice. You know what their blood can do. One bomb of that in the air and you can take out an entire nation without the radioactive waste of a nuke. The shit dissipates, Tom and we can counteract it and control it. It's better for the Earth—for other people, even. Hiroshima and Nagasaki? People can't go back. Chernobyl? Nuclear power is destroying the Earth, Tom. With this, we can ensure America's safety. The world's safety."

  "At the expense of the I'na. Haven't they suffered enough?" Tom grit his teeth. He looked down at the gun in Caleb's hand. Too close. Tom couldn't budge without Caleb pulling the trigger. Point-blank shot. Tom would bleed out in minutes. "BrightStart's supposed to be helping them!"

  "We're changing the fucking world, Tom. It gets more dangerous every day. The I'na? Since they landed, things went to shit! Countries are scared, and while you keep your head ducked, we're in a damn Cold War. We're just waiting for a pin to drop."

  "So what, you're just gonna let this be the pin? The I'na have done everything they can to ensure our safety. The settlements? Giving up their weapons? They've done more to show peace than we've done in the entirety of human history."

  "If I stop, someone's just going to replace me. There is no stopping. This is bigger than you or me. That agent guy can't save them. The FBI's a bidder, Tom. I'll give you one chance to just walk away. I won't hurt Iilo, and you two will be fine to do whatever the fuck you want. Just stay out of this."

  "What's the catch?" Tom asked. He kept his hand on the door in case it finally decided to open.

  "You were my friend." The finality of Caleb's sentence hit Tom upside the face, a sting lingering. Their friendship had already been over. It felt like a book closing. Tom hadn't prepared himself for how he'd react.

  "You were my friend too, Caleb. I can't let you kill them for this."

  Caleb cocked the gun, sighing. "My dad built this porch. I'd hate to stain it with your blood."

  Tom didn't want to fight Caleb. It was like being forced to fight a brother. He'd bled with this man, but the man Caleb was now was not the man Tom remembered. He moved. A shot rang out. He was too scared to look down and see if he'd been hit. He'd never been hit by a bullet before. They said the body would go into shock to protect it from the pain. He wouldn't know until he looked down, so he wouldn't look until he was finished. He grabbed the gun, and they wrestled each other, both clawing at faces and necks.

  Tom shoved Caleb against the railing, and he heard it creak and moan. If they fell, they wouldn't die, but Tom didn't want to break a leg with the tumble. He didn't care if Caleb did though. He pried the gun out of Caleb's hand and shoved it aside until it slid off the patio. Close quarters. Tom had trained for this. He'd done this before under the moonlight in a heated swamp with skittering feet. Caleb was not I'na. The I'na were not monsters. Caleb was the monster.

  Caleb groaned out, kicking up at Tom's jaw.

  Tom spun to the floor. He felt Caleb grab the back of his neck, nails digging in. His vision blurred as Caleb lifted him up by skin only. Tom had remembered this from basic. If you pulled the skin then you'd momentiarly blind the target. He would not be blinded. It was instinct to try to move forward, but the army said that would make it worse.

  "You had one chance. Now you're both gonna get it." Caleb's voice was malice and gravel.

  Tom pushed himself back, his eyes regaining focus. He shoved off the floor and pushed them both back into the railing. It gave way, and they both tumbled down into the darkness.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Tom was on the ground. Tears clumped his lashes together. He sucked in air but couldn't breathe without gasping like a fish out of water. He rolled over, looking for Caleb. His head throbbed, vision spotted. He checked himself for gunshot wounds and found none. His phone, when he found it nearby, was cracked and inoperable.

  "Fuck." Cautiously, he used a tree to help himself stand. He swiped his tongue over his lips and tasted salt and copper. The scent of blood had always made him sick, the taste of it much the same. He wandered through the trees toward the glowing house. It was still night, and the moon hung high in the sky. Caleb couldn't have gotten far.

  Tom tried to jog, but his body seared hot, muscles protesting. He stumbled into a tree and choked on air. Nothing was broken, sprained, if anything. But the fall had left his bones rattled and his muscles tense. He grabbed a branch to help himself climb the steep hill back up to Caleb's house. He needed to find a phone to call Parker again.

  "Stop there, Raddoc," Agent Parker said. He wore his fancy sunglasses. The night's sky reflected in them. "Got some questions for ya."

  "Is he gone? He attacked me!" Tom pointed to his lip. "He's going to kill the I'na. We have to find him."

  "Do you want to do this at the station or here?"

  "What?" Tom stumbled back. "I gave you my intel already. What's going on?"

  The wind whispered through the spruce trees, a quiet warning. It tickled up Tom's spine. He saw the reflection of blue and red lights from above. Parker wasn't alone.

  "He attacked me," Tom said again.

  Parker stood two yards away. His hands were shoved into his pockets, his face unreadable in the darkness and with those stupid sunglasses. He stood like stone. "Iilo's wanted on suspicion of terrorism. Know anything about that?"

  "No, stop. My head's still swimming." He looked up at the moon. It'd moved, but not enough for too much time to have passed. "Iilo's not a terrorist."

  "You don't think he harbors extreme hatred for humans because of the murder of his mother? That there's no reason for him to hold a grudge or use you to gain insight into the military?"

  This was nonsense. Iilo had never been anything but kind. He carried a burden in his heart about his mother, but that had nothing to do with humans. Tom looked up into the sky, the moon had moved but Tom could've sworn it was the same night. How long had he been passed out?

  "Where's Caleb?"

  "At the hospital. You broke his ribs when you attacked him."

  "I didn't attack him! I was defending myself! He had a gun!" Tom knew there were only two options here. Resist arrest and be taken in. Go quietly and be taken in. He stood there, mind struggling to put the pieces together. He looked up again at the moon. "I don't understand. He was just
here."

  "Why don't you just come with me, Tom? I just need to ask you some questions."

  "Did you get a search warrant? Look through his damn house!" He gestured wildly to the humble cabin. It smiled back at him, its yellow warmth spilling from windows, the little chimney that climbed up into the air. It was a mask, just like the many Caleb wore.

  "You entered Caleb's house, you're dating his ex boyfriend. You broke his ribs. The gun we found is registered in your name. You really think we're here for him, Tom? You're under arrest."

  "That's not what happened. Look at his damn phone. It's all there, I saw it." Tom didn't struggle when Parker came behind him and cuffed him. He felt a rough hand grab between his shoulders.

  Parker helped Tom up the hill and into a squad car. The angry red and blue lights mocked Tom. They lit up the cabin, masking all its lies. Three police vehicles and one FBI. Was he really worth that trouble? Caleb had survived the fall better than Tom. He'd gone and poisoned Parker's mind, and Tom didn't know what to do to combat it. There'd be no evidence against Tom or Iilo, but that wasn't the point. It was time. All Caleb needed was time and Tom knew his, and the I'na's, was running out.

  Parker got into the car. He adjusted the mirror so he was looking straight at Tom.

  "What charges am I under arrest for?" Tom asked. How much time did Caleb get to concoct his perfect little escape. Parker didn't even realize just how badly he'd been manipulated.

  "Colluding with a terrorist, conspiracy to commit treason, assault and battery, attempted murder, burglary. Do you want me to keep going?"

  Burglry, breaking and entering a dwelling to commit a felony therein. Most people thought it meant stealing, but it was so much more than that. Even now, Tom was calculating up all the charges. There'd be no way he could be arraigned. His own phone was broken. Caleb had all his evidence probably tucked with him or wiped clean from his computers. The police and FBI would waste their time with Tom, and Caleb would slaughter countless innocent people all in the name of military progression. A fancy bomb. Iilo's life was worth so much more.

  *~*~*

  At the station, Tom sat in a gray room on a gray chair looking at a gray mirror. He stared at it, completely unfazed about the amount of people he knew were probably on the other side. Questions plagued his brain, clogging his focus. How much time had he lost? Where were the I'na? Iilo?

  Parker came in, still wearing those stupid sunglasses. He had a file in his hand and two bottles of water tucked in the crook of his arm. He set one down for Tom and then cracked open the other for himself.

  "I can't open that," Tom said. He showed off his handcuffs for emphasis.

  Parker opened the bottle and pushed it toward Tom. He sat back, head canted to the side. He had to be scrutinizing Tom, sizing him up to all the evidence he'd gathered. Except the evidence was astray. Tom could get out of the kidnappings with alibis. The gun was evidence of a forgery, most likely committed by Caleb. It'd take time, and that was the nail banging into Tom's coffin. They didn't have time.

  "Caleb's setting me up. I hope you know that."

  "Is that so?"

  "BrightStart's using I'na blood to make weapons. I saw his damn e-mails and he told he. That's why he attacked me. An I'na at the Lincoln Outreach Center identified him as the guy who was taking samples in Atlanta. Have you talked to Inaraa yet?"

  "Been a little busy receiving orders from the top to haul you and Iilo in." He crossed his arms. He still looked at Tom like a scientist looked at a germ under a microscope. "You don't think it's possible Iilo used you?"

  "That's impossible. And if I was the kidnapper—which I'm not—Iilo wouldn't tolerate being around me. Why haven't you spoken to Inaraa? What about Nenen?"

  "We're working on locting her" Parker said, his voice steel. "She's not at the Center anymore."

  "What?" It felt like Tom's stomach dropped out of his body.

  Parker shrugged. "Pretty suspicious, huh? The one person who you claim could identify Polanski in this instead of you."

  "It was Polanski. Not me." Tom would become a broken record if he had to. He wouldn't quietly go down for this. But he had to tread carefully. He was heated and impatient. FBI were known for interrogation tactics. Confessions from innocent men weren't unheard of.

  Parker hummed nonchalantly. He moved in a way that kept egging Tom on, an invite to supply more, to fumble around in the dark until something stuck. Except Tom didn't have more. He only had what he'd told Parker before.

  "Where's your evidence? Do you think I'm the kidnapper? BrightStart is taking the I'na for bioweapon development. I'm a single attorney with a measely income——you honestly think I can do this shit?"

  "That's one hell of a story." Parker looked over his shoulder at the mirror and then back to Tom. He scribbled something down on a notepad and stared at Tom. The notepad was angled just enough for Tom to see.

  It took Tom a few beats before he fully understood what was happening.

  They're listening.

  Tom's body grew cold. He looked over at the two-way mirror and then at his handcuffs. He couldn't write back, so he had to venture out into the waters alone with the only promise that Parker would lead him back to shore.

  "What about Sau?" Tom asked.

  "She identified you."

  "I'm not a murderer."

  "So it's murder now? And here I thought we were discussing kidnapping?" Parker looked over at the mirror.

  "I'm not saying anything else until I have a lawyer present." Tom knew that'd buy them some time. They'd have to get a public defender here on short notice, but if Tom already had a lawyer—which he of course did. Her name was Shawn and he'd worked at Legal Aid with her until she went to a private criminal defense firm in Lincoln. "You better grab some coffee or put me in a cell, because it'll be a while before she gets here."

  Parker smirked. "Sure thing."

  They were both playing the game now. Someone on the other side of that mirror wanted Tom to go down for the kidnappings. Someone with money or power, maybe both. Parker walked a fine line between doing his job and going along with it. From what Tom could tell, he wasn't bought, just cornered.

  "I want my lawyer, so someone should call her."

  Parker scooted his chair back. "Fine. Let's go." He went behind Tom and hauled him up from the chair. In silence, the pair went out into the hall and then down into a holding cell. There were a few people already in it, but that wasn't where Parker stopped. He kept going until they were further away from everyone else in one of the last cells.

  "What even happened with Iilo?" Tom asked when Parker took off the handcuffs and helped Tom into the cell. "What are they saying he did?"

  "Three I'na from Seward show up at a school with military-grade explosives and all claim Iilo was their ringleader."

  Tom snorted. "And no bomb went off? Were those I'na maybe on a specific missing person's list that a specific I'na told you about?" He'd been heated, caught off-guard at first. But Parker was listening, and they didn't have a fancy two-way mirror with suspicous persons on the other side.

  "I only have a few minutes to explain this. Play along with me. We'll get your lawyer, but play the fuck along. I don't know what's happening, but I'm on orders to do anything I can to get you for this charge. I'm working on it from my end to make sure that doesn't happen. I don't believe Iilo's a terrorist. All three of the I'na never deviated from a script and they had lacerations on their ankles and wrists."

  "Do you believe me, then?"

  "I think someone very important wants you to go down for something you very much didn't do. You stuck you nose where it didn't belong and now this is the shit we're in. Both in, mind you. I didn't exactly have authorization to look into this either."

  "You're fucking kidding."

  Parker only glared.

  "What do we do?"

  "There's very few people I can trust right now. I've got a small team and a few of the I'na police with me. Just follow my lead when we go b
ack in there and don't make your attorney be a dick. We don't have that much time. What's your lawyer's name?"

  "Shawn Roque. Where's Iilo?" Tom asked as Parker started moving away.

  Parker grimaced. "He's gettin' interviewed by some people who are not on my team. He'll be okay though."

  "He damn well better be, Parker."

  "Just follow my fucking lead, Raddoc. We'll bring you up to speed after the bullshit."

  *~*~*

  Tom had answered every question Shawn would let him. He was innocent, and he continued to proclaim innocence, if nothing but for show. He knew the people behind the mirror wanted him to go down for this and he knew they expected Parker to do just that. Once the interrogation was over, he was led back to the holding cell from before. He'd thanked Shawn for her help. They spoke for a few additional minutes about a possible arraignment if it came to that, and then she left.

  An I'na in a police uniform came in with a thick file. He sat down across from Tom's cell, splaying out pictures of I'na, the Seward compound, and a BrightStart Logo. His bangs fell into his eyes and be brushesd them away with a purple hand. Brightstart owned the settlement's land. It had made it easier for Caleb to slip in and out, to gain trust.

  "We've got a private file I keep with me. Alex doesn't trust it in anyone else's hands," he said.

  "Alex? Oh, right. Parker has a first name." Tom read the I'na's name on his uniform. Yzee.

  Shoes echoed off the cold cement walls. Parker stood by Yzee, looking over his shoulder at the file. "Tom, this is my minion for the case, Yzee. Yzee, this is the thorn in my side."

  "Nice to meet you, minion," Tom said.

  "Nice to meet you, thorn in his side."

  "Thanks for what you did in that room," Parker said. "I'm sorry it's had to be like this."

  "What happened to justice and upholding the law?" Tom felt like there was a flame behind his sternum. "Why aren't you stopping any of this?"

  Yzee and Parker shared a look. It was the kind that had years of practice and multiple layers of trust. Parker ran his fingers through his hair, his tongue resting at the corner of his mouth. Tom could never tell if he was about to say something smart or nothing at all.