“I’m rather attached to my digits, but I get you. Now, I’d love to just let you rest for several more days—it would make you complain less—but we really do need to be going if we want to catch Ms. Markosian before she finds out how deep we’re in this mess. If she finds another guide before we get to her, we lose a fat payday and a ticket out of town.”
Rali dumped out the bowl and poured a fresh batch of water from a canteen. “This stuff is fully purified. Doesn’t quite have the character of rainwater, but it’ll hydrate.”
“So glad I came to your rescue, Ral. By the way, you do realize that the both of us are out on our asses now? I’ve probably already been written out of the will.”
“I’m kinda used to that already. Now try getting on your feet. Doctor’s orders.”
“Fine, fine.” Darius swung his feet off the table slowly. That dull pain in his side woke up a little, but not sharply enough to stop him. Once on his feet, he gingerly twisted left and right.
“Looking good so far,” said Rali. He handed the bowl to Darius, who took a grateful sip.
“Take a walk around the room, D. See if you can manage on your own two feet.”
Rali lifted the portable lamp, giving Darius enough light to navigate a small loop around the abandoned office. He came back to the gurney and took another draught of water. He couldn’t remember the last time such a thing had felt so refreshing. He must have lost more fluids than he’d realized.
Rali rolled up the empty food pouch and stowed it in the rucksack. “All right, so you can walk. Let’s walk, then. Hand me that bowl.” He took the bowl, poured the remaining water into the canteen, and put the canteen strap over one shoulder.
“You’re all heart.”
“So I’ve been told.” Rali hefted the rucksack onto his back. “Follow me, I’ve mapped out the route to the motel. By the way, what’s a high roller like her doing in a motel like that?”
“I was wondering the same thing. She didn’t give any details. Hopefully we’ll get over there quickly enough to ask her.”
Rali nodded and headed out the door. Darius followed at a slower pace.
“You know,” Rali said when they were back in the main tunnel, “you still look like you lost a fight with a katorak. Maybe you should have ducked the butt of that sledge.”
“Sorry, I forgot to pack some makeup on my way out of the gunfight.”
“My point, D, is that our prospective client is going to see two young guys that look like they’ve gone twelve rounds with an angry chimpanzee, and we need to figure out some answers that won’t give her cold feet.”
“Okay” said Darius. “Good point. Any ideas?”
“Well...we could just keep it simple and say that we got beat up by some muggers.“Muggers that left us with a rucksack full of these supplies?”
“I don’t know, maybe we got mugged before the rucksack came into the equation.”
“That might work,” said Darius. “I gotta admit, your capacity for deception does have some advantages.”
“Somebody’s gotta do the dirty work, momma’s boy.”
“Gods, here we go again.”
“I’m sorry, D, I was just...”
“Being an asshole?”
“Again, I’m sorry. I’ve put everything on you. I know that.” Rali rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I’ll tell you what. We’ll find a hard line somewhere in these tunnels that we can tap on the way to that motel, then we can check the news feeds to see how things went down. I’ve tapped one or two before. Sound good?”
“Yeah...I guess that’ll work. As long as we don’t tap in for too long, it should just look like a blip.”
“All right, then keep your eyes peeled for a terminal or maintenance room. And one other thing—the police know what they sign up for. And it’s not like you sent them into a trap. You just asked them to do their jobs, D.”
“Maybe. I kind of did, but I kind of didn’t.”
“Did you not tell them that there were multiple armed assailants?” asked Rali.
“Well, yeah...”
“And what were they armed with? Did they have any guns?”
“Not that I saw,” Darius admitted. “But I heard gunfire. Towards the end.”
“That was probably the police. You know that it’s really rare for gangs to have any guns. They’re heavily restricted.”
Darius sighed. “Yeah, but...I don’t know. It still feels bad.”
“You have a conscience. That’s a good thing. Or at least a net positive. And I’m betting that the police came out of it okay. They’re trained for this kind of stuff. Those goons, meanwhile, they’re just...goons. Based on my encounters with the law, my money’s on the cops.”
“That’s not entirely comforting, Ral, but thanks.”
Darius could sense Rali’s eagerness to move more quickly. “I’m moving as fast as I can manage, Ral.”
“I know, D.”
“How about you scout ahead for us. I’ve got your map on my wristpad here. Just set the map pins, and I’ll follow you.”
Darius did his best thinking in isolation anyway. He wanted to figure out why Nadira Markosian’s name sounded so familiar. He decided that it wasn’t because she was someone famous, or associated with someone famous. Something about this connection felt personal.
“All right, D. But if you need something, anything, you give me a yell. Okay? I don’t need you falling into this muck and getting carried out to sea.”
Darius nodded. Rali sped up his pace and turned right at a four-way junction. By the time Darius made his way there, Rali had already disappeared down another tunnel.
A few turns later, Darius arrived at Rali’s last map marker. He surveyed his surroundings. There was another ladder to the street, and a side tunnel on his left. He shuffled to the side tunnel. Upon closer inspection, its signage looked like the kind for a maintenance shop. Darius headed down the corridor within and opened another door on the far side.
Rali sat before a bank of maintenance consoles. He glanced over his shoulder at Darius. “This tech is ancient. I suppose I should have expected it to be. Damned empire only cares about this planet when it comes time to collect their taxes.”
Rali was sweating now. Darius decided to not say anything about his brother’s worsening condition this time. Instead, he eased himself down onto a dusty spare stool and inspected the consoles. “I take it that you’re having problems interfacing with it?”
Rali nodded ruefully. “I’ve had to spend the lastten minutes just jerry-rigging compatible inputs. We need a proper repair kit for the necessary wiring and cable termination. I’m stuck with these first-aid pliers.”
“Want me to take a look at it?”
Rali shook his head. “I think I’ll have it soon.”
“Good, because you’re much better at that stuff than I am.”
That got a laugh. “I wish I was recording this, D. It’s not often my brother compliments me on anything.”
“I’ll make a note for my memoir.” Darius could just barely reach the rucksack without having to get up again, so he dragged it closer and began rummaging around for some food. His appetite wasn’t completely back, but he thought that getting some food down could help with the pain.
He looked around the shop. It was dingy, but not dirty. There was space enough for up to three people to operate without bumping into each other too much. The ceiling was much lower here, and not arched. The consoles were also the only illumination back here. They gave the compact room a ghostly green glow, with blots of yellow and orange popping up as a graph spiked or another automated message came through from the city AI. Darius thought about rooting around for a light switch, but the semi-darkness was kind of relaxing. Maybe he’d gotten more ansoline than he thought.
It was in times of deep stress that Darius thought of just finding a little nest-like space such as this one and holing up until things blew over. And he'd spent many an hour in a crawlspace in the Bakari house that was connected
to his old bedroom, reading comic books by the light of his wristpad when he was supposed to be sleeping. He dreamed nonetheless.
“How are you doing, D? Do you need more ansoline?”
Darius dug out a protein pouch from the bottom of the bag. “Oh, I definitely want more. You’re not wrong, it’s a nice feeling. But I think it also dulls my senses. In the middle of that shootout, I should have been pissing my pants. But the stuff gave me a strange sort of calm.”
“Doesn’t sound like a bad thing, given the context.”
“Maybe. But I think a psychological allergy to extreme danger is also pretty important for keeping your ass bite-free. I think we’ll both be needing that alertness, Ral. I don’t want to forget to watch my back—or yours.”
“First you’re complimenting me, now you’re even worried about my safety,” Rali said with a chuckle. “Maybe mortal danger has been doing you some good. You know, building character.”
“At this point, Rali, I’m more than ready to slide back into my usual degeneracy. This has been way too much building for my taste.”
Rali connected a wire he’d been fiddling with since Darius arrived, and an inactive console finally beeped and booped to life. “This rust box might take a few minutes to boot up,” he warned. “The hardware isn’t slow, but the network update can take a while if the unit hasn’t been powered up recently.”
And sure enough, they found themselves facing the most dreaded indicator in all of computing: the awkwardly lurching progress bar.
“I don’t know why these things still exist,” Rali hissed. “They are a plague upon mankind.”
“People would just complain that the system lacked proper feedback.”
Rali shook his head and grumbled wordlessly.
Eventually, the terminal chirped and bleeped, then there was a chime as the full interface came into view. A small window appeared in the center of the screen, asking for a password.
Rali rubbed his chin. “Hmm. This is truly more archaic than I anticipated.”
“I have another idea,” said Darius. “Let’s try to get a signal from Imperial News Radio.”
“Hells, I’d forgotten they still do that. But how are we supposed to tune in down here?”
“Let’s use one of these power conduits as an antenna,” said Darius. “Some of them have to lead back up to the surface.”
“That...might actually work.” Rali grunted. He began poking around the panels on the wall behind the console.
It took a few minutes to find a conduit and pick up a signal.
Rali activated the speaker on his wristpad. “...top story this hour comes from Aberdeen Station, where imperial troops are responding to reports of illegal protests...”
They listened for a few minutes and heard nothing about the fight at the shop. Darius breathed a sigh of relief.
“We’re not necessarily in the clear,” said Rali. “Sometimes they decide this stuff isn’t important enough to make the news. The empire will seize opportunities to project power, especially if there is a political angle. But a story about some thugs robbing a gift shop may not get their attention.”
“I didn’t know you were into politics, Ral.”
“When you live in the kind of neighborhood I do, you have to be. Sometimes it’s the only early warning you get before the teargas and spotlights come raining down. You really ought to come over more often. You’ll keep your edge.” Rali switched the radio off.
Darius pushed himself to his feet. He felt better now that he had some food in his stomach. “I’m ready to get some sun on my face. Or a breath of wind that doesn’t smell like an old diaper.”
“I’m with you there. I assume I’m still on manhole cover duty?”
“Right you are, Ral.”
“Then after me, your highness.”
✽✽✽
The motel was on the outskirts of town. From his vantage point at the nearest manhole, Darius didn’t see any suspicious activity. As a former expert in such things, he liked to think that he knew what to look for. Rali didn’t seem to be picking anything up either.
The building was a simple two-story affair, with adobe-like walls and even some Spanish-like tile on the roof. The materials were all likely to have been synthetic polymers optimized for heat and humidity resistance, but it did give the place some personality. There were a few vehicles parked out front, but little movement.
The weather had started to break, letting the late morning sun pour its reddish rays through gaps in slowly-drifting high-altitude clouds. With the fresh rain gone, the air was now as clear as could be. One could see curvy skyscrapers clustered downtown to the south, with sunlight glittering off their countless facets.
If you had a good zoom lens, you would be able to see the covered walkways that linked them all together, more than a thousand feet in the sky; the landing pads that could take ships coming directly from orbit; and perhaps even the shiny sinew of the space elevator that shuttled thousands of people in and out of a port that sprawled across many miles of the planet’s surface.
And in the northern distance, as part of a ring around the vast city, there was a line of vibrant and giant fungal trees that marked the beginning of a much vaster tropical forest. Since the city’s taller buildings were all in the other direction, the forest edge was easier to make out in this part of town. The mushrooms also vaulted hundreds of feet high in some cases, so there was that.
This tropical belt spanned a world twice the size of Old Earth. The wild growth advanced towards the city every year, and the city fought back with fire and chemicals. It was a constant battle. Fire was more effective, but they had to get the wind right to avoid choking everyone in New Caledonia. So the chemicals were favored over the smoke, but then you had to worry about groundwater sanitation.
If NC had been the only metropolis you had ever known, you would probably think the whole thing was quite a sight. And maybe it was if you were standing on one of those skyscrapers and watching the glitter and sparkle below. But here on the ground amid buzzing insects, Darius could only wonder. His family had never been able to afford a reason to venture that high up, where the air was scented and the metals were polished to a mirror shine.
Satisfied that they were not about to be swarmed by cops or thugs, the brothers warily headed towards the motel. From a distance, Room 204 looked the same as all the others. Darius didn’t know what else he was expecting.
“Ral, did we ever figure out why this lady defaulted to meeting us in person?”
“We did not.”
“I reckon she must be able to handle herself, then.”
“I reckon that too.”
When they came to the unit’s door, they stopped and looked at each other, each realizing that they didn’t want to volunteer to do the knocking.
Rali shrugged. “You’re closer.”
“...Fine.”
Darius rapped three times. Rali scanned the parking lot intensely, looking for unexpected movement. There was none.
The front door swung open, and there stood an older woman about their height. She was relatively tall. She wore flowing robes that were shades of brown and dark purple. She was dusky like them, but with higher cheekbones, an aquiline nose, wavy black hair flowing down to her shoulders, and hazel eyes.
“Gentlemen.”
“Hi, I’m Darius Bakari, and this is my brother Rali...”
“Ma’am,” said Rali.
“We’re here,” continued Darius, “about the tour guide request you made.”
“I see. I wasn’t expecting you two. I was expecting your father or your uncle, Omar. Also, I must say, you both look like you recently lost an argument with a dump truck.”
Darius cleared his throat. “Well, unfortunately, my father passed several years ago. Magnusson’s disease got him in the jungle...”
Rali rubbed the top of his head. “We, uh, got attacked by some muggers last night—very unusual, I assure you...”
The woman’s eyes wide
ned, but only for a second. “I see. My condolences. And your Uncle...?”
“He only works at the shop part-time.” said Darius. “My mother owns it now.”
“Oh? How is Zara doing these days?”
“Fine, thank you. Well—”
Rali cut in. “We may look a little worse for wear, ma’am, but we have years of experience traveling the jungle. It’s where we get most of the things we sell. Darius and his uncle go out there all the time.”
The woman sized them up pensively. “Tell me about that gift shop you work at. It’s my understanding that it looks like a bomb went off in there this morning.”
“Very aggressive muggers,” mumbled Rali. “Wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
She leaned against the door frame and crossed her arms. “Gentlemen, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you aren’t telling me the whole truth. But here’s the thing—I actually knew your father, and he was an honorable man. He wouldn’t raise bad seeds.”
Rali coughed.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Perhaps I should call your mother and ask her what she knows about the damage to the store?”
“Well,” Darius began, “She doesn’t exactly know the whole story...”
She looked to him. “And do you?”
Darius thought about that. “Actually, ma’am, I’m not completely sure.” He glanced over at his brother. If anyone knew the breadth of this sordid tale, it began with him.
Rali glanced at both of them with the eyes of a cornered creature. “Yeah, mistakes have been made,” he said quietly. “If I were in your shoes, ma’am, I couldn’t confidently say that I would hire us. But not because we lack skill or experience. We’re probably the best at what we do. Between me and my brother, we’ve probably taken over a hundred trips into the jungle over the years, and all of our clients have come back safe and sound, on their own two feet, on schedule, and within their budget. It’s been a clockwork operation, and we have the customer reviews to prove it, with the highest overall rating of any tour guide outfit in the whole city.”
The Animus Gate (Book One of The Animus Trilogy) Page 5
