by C. A. Wilke
“Yes.”
“You’re nuts. I only know you from that night... the night I died. I don’t know anything about you, and you want to offer me a job?”
“That is correct.”
She struggled against swirling images in her head. Derrick and Neil became interchangeable, both in the bedroom and on the training mat. She focused on the gun in her hand and regained control over her thoughts.
“Okay, but the last time we met, I was only a research assistant. You don’t even know me.”
Mister Collier laughed. The arena crackled with the hoarse sound. “My dear, if what I just witnessed is any indication, and with what Mr. Smithson has told me...” He pointed to Neil. “I know everything I need to know about you.”
Scarlett lowered the muzzle of her weapon a little. “You want me to kill someone.”
“Not precisely. How much do you remember from before the accident?”
“Not much.”
The older man stood and arched his back. “So you have no recollection of what the project you were working on was?” He started down the bleachers.
“No. Why?” The tip of Scarlett’s weapon dipped.
“Code named Centarus. Ring any bells?”
“No.”
“Universal Dynamics was contracted by the Earthspace Command to develop an interstellar engine, one capable of interstellar flight. We’re talking about weeks and months instead of decades and centuries.”
“Okay... The theories are well known and sound, so it’s really only a matter of time. So I worked on it, what’s the big deal?”
Mister Collier reached the floor and started around the cage. “The project manager at the time, a Mr. Derrick Martins, changed some of the calibrations on the engine at the last minute before the engine test. As a result, the equipment went critical and killed twenty-two people. Do you know why he did this?”
Scarlett only shook her head.
“A related side project using similar technology was being developed in parallel with Centarus. That one was called Hermes.”
“The messenger?”
“Yes. We think Hermes was seeing much more success than Centarus.”
“If Centarus was the engine for a ship, what was Hermes’s goal?”
“Near-instantaneous interstellar communication. Hermes was based on the need to communicate with a Centarus-based vessel in near real time. It works by creating vibrations in the fabric of space itself.”
She stopped and looked at the ground. The wheels turned in her mind and the pieces came together. “He sabotaged Centarus because of something from Hermes.”
He turned around and took a puff. “We think so. In the five years since the explosion, Universal Dynamic has canceled all related programs. They’ve mothballed it all.”
“So what is it you want from me?”
“That technology, or at least to know why it was shut down.”
“You want me to steal the Hermes data.”
“Yes.”
Scarlett shoved the weapon into her waistband. “Why me? Why not Neil or someone else?”
“To be honest, Mr. Smithson was our first pick, but he recommended you. He said you knew inside and intimate details about Mr. Martins and the company. Even if only some of your memories regarding the explosion and your romantic relationships have returned.”
The older man turned to face her and placed a hand on the cage. “We are counting on there being some key piece of information inside that thick and naive skull of yours that will give you an edge.”
“That’s a bit of a longshot. I mean, it’s been five years and I barely remember anything”
“It’s still a bet we’re willing to make. Besides, if Neil trusts you, then so do I.”
Scarlett turned back to Neil. He just gave a single nod.
“Alright, but... Why now? Why not before or even later?”
Mister Collier turned to Neil and laughed. “You did say she would be full of questions.” He took a deep puff from his dwindling cigar and continued.
“My company has been secretly developing the very same technology. But we have hit a roadblock. Where we expect quiet, there is static and overwhelming background noise. We cannot get our equipment to work properly. We have simply run out of options.”
“You think Derrick discovered something to make it work that you haven’t found yet.”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“What’s in it for me?”
Neil smiled
Mister Collier chuckled and pulled an eCash card from his breast pocket. “I have ten thousand credits on this card. Plus four million more to be deposited into an account. Half to start, half when complete.”
She stopped. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Four million was more credits than she thought she would see in her lifetime. Still, a voice in her head urged her to push for more.
“Seven.”
“Five.”
Scarlett leaned against the cage and crossed her arms. “Six.”
The older man put the cigar to his lips. The tip of the dark brown stub of tobacco flared bright orange. He exhaled, letting the grey plume spew forth into the air. “I’ll meet you at five-five.”
She eyed him for a moment. Not bad for my first negotiation. “Done.”
Chapter 20
Outside
For someone who has lived in a box with no windows, even the grey sky and air, thick with pollution, smells sweeter than the mind can imagine.
* * *
She saw the young man’s face over and over in her mind. The sores on his arms and face only reinforced his tired eyes and sickly pallor. He wavered back and forth, wasted on some chemical. Probably flash. That would explain it.
Scarlett had never actually known anyone who’d done the mind-bending stimulant. Everything she knew about it she’d learned from either news reports or rumor. She knew it was the trendy drug of choice in the supercities like LA and New York. She also knew that it had extended its tendrils of addiction even into the remote backwaters of places like Freedom, Oklahoma and Burhamton, Iowa.
The news reports had said that it was so addictive, that users were hooked after the first use one hundred percent of the time. Scarlett didn’t care about those numbers or even the drug itself. It only made the man she killed more pathetic and helpless. She knew she should have done something else…could have done something else. Anything other than ending his life.
Every night for the past week, she had awoken to a sweat-soaked pillow. Her dreams had been filled with Neil’s booming voice ordering her to kill the boy. Even as she screamed defiantly back at him, Neil’s gentle whispers told her it needed to be done.
She realized she was just beginning to know what kind of man Neil really was. If she didn’t need him for this job, she would be gone already. That’s what she told herself to stop the tears.
Scarlett spent the next few days in her room, only coming out in the middle of the night to eat. During her self-isolation, the only time she saw Neil was when he helped her set up her off-shore account. The first half of her payment, two and three quarters million credits, appeared only minutes after Neil sent the account number to Mr. Collier.
On the seventh day after her killing Chaz, she came out of her room to find Neil’s brown-haired head bent over a bowl at the table. His spoon clanked against the almost-empty cereal bowl and he straightened up.
“Good morning.” His voice was comfortable, friendly and human, as if nothing had happened.
How can he act like nothing has happened? Like nothing has changed? “Morning.” She kept her voice flat and emotionless.
A long, quiet moment followed. She grabbed breakfast and sat down at the opposite end of the table.
“Look, I know you are upset with me, but you have to understand... Life is life and the job is the job. You are part of a world that does not allow for misgivings or second thoughts. Never let your emotions get in the way.”
Scarlett stared into her bowl.
She could not let Neil know what she really was thinking. He’d already shown her a side of himself that was devoid of emotion and pity. Now she just needed to know whether he was ambivalent or evil.
“Oh, no. It’s good. I get it. Really. I just... I wasn’t feeling good.” That last part was true. She had felt sick to her stomach, but the reason was not physical.
“Okay, as long as we are good, and you understand.”
“We’re good.”
She glanced up to see him watching her. Bite after bite, she grew more and more conscious of his eyes on her.
When she was done eating, she disappeared back into her room only to emerge a few minutes later. Wearing a fitted black button-up shirt and slacks, she headed for the elevator.
“Hey, where are you going?”
She forced her feet to keep moving. “Other than our playtime at the arena, it’s been months since I’ve been outside. I’m going for a walk.”
“Oh really? I think I might have something to say about that.”
Scarlett reached the elevator. She spun around and stared at him through the metal safety gate, a forced but playful smile on her lips. “Oh really? I think I might have something to say about that.”
“Wait.” Neil’s chair grated against the floor as he stood. He walked over to the weapons cabinet and opened the double doors. From inside, he pulled out a pistol. He checked the magazine and held it out to her.
“Take this.”
She opened the gate and took the weapon. It was bulkier than most pistols she’d seen, even more than a plasma weapon.
“It’s dual shot. This switch here makes sure it fires standard bullets. Flip it like this... and now it will shoot plasma slugs.”
“But... how?”
“I had it made for you. This way, you can still use it if you need and not be completely out of place. But if you need more stopping power, or whatever, you can switch to plasma. It’s bulkier than I wanted, but I think the next version will be slimmer.”
A lump formed in Scarlett’s throat. “Neil, I...”
“Just stay safe and try not to use it.” Neil closed the elevator door.
She nodded and flipped the lightswitch. Okay, I thought I was starting to figure him out.
Her breath came in labored gasps as she forced her feet to keep moving forward. She walked out of the small office building into the warehouse expecting Neil to come after her. He didn’t.
She strolled the streets in the cold morning air for a while. It’s just nice to be outside. Eventually, the chill crept through her thick coat. She looked at the cloud of her own hot breath disappear. Oh god… coffee. A real, honest to God coffee.
It only took a quick glance around to realize she would not find a coffee shop in this part of town. She headed for the nearest transit station and made a quick stop off at the market where she had purchased her hair color.
The tiny bell rang as she pushed the door open.
“Oh. See?” The Asian woman’s thick accent was somehow easier to understand than before. “I say dat color good f’you. You listen to Ling. I know what I say.”
Scarlett turned and smiled at the old woman behind the counter. “You were right. It works.”
She strolled down one of the aisles, aimlessly browsing. After a long pause the woman spoke.
“Why you change color? You hiding from someone?”
Scarlett stopped dead at the woman’s sudden and blunt question. “What?”
“Cannot hide f’ever. He find you, eventually.”
Her mind raced. How the hell does this old lady know? Her hand crept toward the weapon in her waistband. “Who will find me?”
“Whoever you run’n from.”
“And who is that?” Scarlett’s voice took on an edge. Her muscles tensed and her senses became hyperaware of her surroundings.
Ling laughed. “Well, how I know dat? I just a old lady. You da one on da run.”
“What makes you think I’m running?”
“You come in here, covered, only can see your eyes. Now, you change hair and you no hiding. Is it bad husband, like Sleeping with the Enemy? My mama show me dat. I love Julia Roberts. She was so good.”
Scarlett couldn’t help but laugh. She smiled and forced herself to calm down. “No, it’s nothing like that. I just wanted a change and I was having a really bad hair day.”
Ling’s brow wrinkled. “Aw... dat boring. Oh well, good for you, no have husband who try to kill you. But dat’s Hollywood.”
The two women continued to make idle chit-chat while Scarlett finished her shopping. She ended up buying a prepaid commpad and a pack of gum.
“Thank you so much, Ling.”
The old woman smiled. “Oh, it my pleasure. You come back and we talk more.”
“I’d love to.”
Ling put Scarlett’s purchases into a paper bag and handed them over the counter. Scarlett picked up the bag and shoved her eCash card into her pocket.
A ring from the door caught her attention.
Through the doorway strolled three young men, barely more than boys by Scarlett’s guess. The front one wore torn jeans and an oversized puffy coat. Two gold rings glittered on his left hand. A small tattoo of a Chinese dragon on his right cheek accentuated his Asian heritage.
The other two young men wore similar clothes, though they had no jewelry. One wore a Celtic cross tattoo on the pale skin of his right cheek while the other had a scorpion drawn on his light brown complexion.
Ling’s eyes went wide. She looked up to Scarlett and whispered. “You go now. Leave.”
But instead of leaving, she just watched the boys wander the store. Finally, they came up to the counter, their hands still empty.
The lead boy looked up at Scarlett with a sneer. “What are you looking at, bitch?”
Chapter 21
An Angel
Ahh... Children.
* * *
“Nothing.” Scarlett stepped aside. She turned from the young man to the old woman behind the counter. “Actually, if you don’t mind, I’m gonna warm up a bit more before I head back outside.”
Ling ignored her. The woman’s wide eyes stayed locked on the lead thug.
Scarlett turned back to the newcomers. “So, what’s your name?”
The young man with the dragon tattoo turned and glared at her. “Huh? You gots a nose problem? ‘Cause you stickin’ it where it ain’t belongin’. Shut yer skanky mouth.”
Scarlett shrugged. “No problem. Just making conversation.”
The boy with the cross tattoo spoke up and poked his finger over the other’s shoulder at her. “Hey! Bobby said tuh shut up!”
She raised her arms in surrender and took another half-step back.
“Shane, why don’t you shut yer face and let me handle the bitch.”
Shane took a step back. “Okay, okay... You got dis.”
Bobby turned back to Ling and slapped the counter.
The old woman jumped.
The thug moved his hand, revealing a battered eCash card. “You know why we’s here. It’s time for your monthly fee. Now pay up.”
Ling reached out with a shaky hand and picked up the eCash card. She reached over and tapped on her register’s screen a few times and swiped the card.
Bobby took the card back and keyed in his approval code to accept the transaction. The tiny display showed the amount transferred. “Old lady, what the hell is this? You know the fee is a hundred-fifty. You only gave me a hundred. That’s just not gonna cut it.”
“That’s all there is. Business is slow. I don’t have any more.” Ling’s head shook back and forth. Her voice cracked and she was near shrieking.
The young man reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a rusty flip-out knife. Ling stepped back.
“Well maybe I jes’ need to cut ’chu up a bit, huh? Give you a lesson in sellin’ shit.”
“Do you really think that will help?” Scarlett’s voice caught everyone off guard.
Bobby turned
to her, knife pointed at her nose. “I thought I told you to shut up.”
“I’m just saying. If you injure her, she’ll have to pay medical bills and take time off. That’ll probably mean closing the store for a while. And that means no income for her or for you.”
The third young man with the scorpion tattoo leaned over Bobby’s shoulder. “Hey, man. She makes a good point. Let’s just take what we got. We can collect extra next time.”
Bobby spun around and grabbed the other boy’s coat. “You becomin’ a little Chihuahua on me? A little bitch dog, Mondo?”
“N’... No, man. I ain’t wussin’ out.”
Bobby turned and glared at Scarlett, then Ling. “Maybe. Maybe I give you a break. But you pay extra next month, like Mondo said. You got that?”
Ling nodded.
“Good. Let’s go boys.”
The three thugs headed for the door. Bobby pulled on the handle and the bell chimed.
Dammit. Scarlett closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. “Hey, Bobby.”
The boys stopped in the doorway.
Ling shushed Scarlett.
She continued, ignoring the older woman. “So, I’m curious... What kind of services do you provide?”
“What?”
“Well, I mean what is it you do for the people around here? Maybe I’d like to hire you.”
Bobby shoved the other two out of his way. He stepped up and put his face only inches from Scarlett’s. “What, you some kind of funny-lady? You a comedian?”
She raised her eyebrows in feigned innocence. “No. Not at all. Look, you must have a really great service or do something really important. Ms. Ling here just handed over a hundred bucks, all while you gave her the shittiest customer service I’ve ever seen.”
All three boys reached into their pockets. Bobby eyed her up and down and smiled. “I’ll show you some customer service.”
Bobby’s hand came out of his coat, holding his knife. He brought the blade up to Scarlett’s face. “You want some of this, bitch?”
She remained still.
He held the point less than a foot from Scarlett’s nose and drew a smile in the air with the tip.
Scarlett glanced down at the blade. She relaxed her eyelids and put on her best bored face. “No. I just think for that kind of abuse, you’re either Superman, or a real piece of shit.”
