The Great Game

by O. J. Lowe

  And all the air was suddenly kicked out of her as something heavy and stinging struck her in the small of the back and suddenly she was flat on her suddenly pained face, her limbs refusing to respond, her kjarnblade dead in her hand. She could taste blood in her mouth. It was all she could do to stay conscious, keeping her eyes open was a tremendous effort. Above her, she could hear fresh footsteps from on high. Footsteps and laughter. Her mind felt a mess, she couldn’t gather the Kjarn…

  Three of them above her. She could sense them, sense but not touch. Not affect. She ground her teeth in her bloody mouth. Come on…

  Three separate stun blasts hit her at close range, cut through any resistance she might have put up and that defiance was the last thought that came to her.

  The tenth day of Summerpeak.

  His face hurt, his eyes were sticky with disuse and he didn’t know where he was. For several long moments, Wade Wallerington blinked repeatedly. He was laid in a bed, the walls foreboding and sterile-looking. Almost unconsciously he moved to scratch the discomfort screaming at his face and felt the bandages there. For a moment panic threatened to overcome him but it never quite found the momentum. He could smell the salve and if anything, that cut through the urges to claw at it. He’d not gotten where he was today by overreacting to circumstances that were a little different to what he’d come to expect. Above him a harsh light beamed down through blurriness and he closed his eyes quickly to shut it out.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven. This Flesh Is Fragile.

  “When you have examined every option in sight, when you’ve run down every possibility, when you think you should have the answer but you don’t… Chances are you’re missing something. Like as not it is something obvious. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. Sometimes a little lateral thinking is needed to solve a puzzle that has no immediate answer. Don’t be afraid to ignore the improbable. Remember, your enemies are trying to get away with it and they will stop at nothing.”

  Prideaux Khan lecturing Unisco trainees on investigation techniques.

  The eighth day of Summerpeak.

  Neither of them waited after the silence that had greeted their knock on the door. Leclerc and Fagan had looked at one another, then drawn their weapons. Neither of them wanted to take chances. Not with the urgency the director had prescribed to them. Casual inquiries at the desk had told them Maddley hadn’t left his room.

  Twice they’d knocked. Three times. Again, they glanced at each other and then Fagan stepped back, leaving Leclerc a free run at the door. He sized it up, then brought his foot forward viciously into the door, it gave a little but not relenting on its hinges. Once more he kicked it and this time it flew open and they entered the room, mufflers active and weapons up. Main room empty. Closet empty.

  Bathroom…

  “Fuck!” Fagan yelled as he backed out of the room, his face contorted with disgust. “We’re too late.”

  His heart heavy, Leclerc stepped past him and glanced into the bathroom, saw the body on the floor and groaned. “Damn.” He said a few more curse words in a native Serranian tongue and shook his head.

  “That’s Maddley all right,” Fagan said, already past him and standing over the body. He leaned down, placed a hand on the body. “Huh, not been dead long. Still could pass for human.” He continued to look down at the body, Leclerc turned tail and took in the main room. The door had been locked, the key card was still in its slot powering the room. The viewing screen across from the bed had been cracked, rendered inoperable. He could feel cold air blowing in from the machine on the wall, could see the window open…

  On a hunch, he checked the window, saw it was open and looked out onto the promenade down beneath them. Below, he could see dozens of people milling about, all oblivious to what was going on above them. Well, maybe not all oblivious. Someone knew. Someone somewhere.

  “Nicer than our digs huh?” Fagan called. “No sign of any visible entry or exit wounds. I’m not sure what killed him here.”

  Leclerc didn’t hear, still studying the scene below out the window. If someone had killed him, it wasn’t impossible they could have exited through the window. They weren’t that high up, Maddley had kept a room only three floors up of the Oceanside. Still high enough to make a nasty splat if you hit the ground. And if the assassin had left via a spirit or something, there was always a chance someone might have seen something. Especially if it involved a bird large enough to be able to carry a person. Even shimmying the side of the building would have left some witnesses, even this time of night. Someone would have seen it, even now there were too many people down below.

  So how had they done it?

  He could still sense the ghost.

  It was the second surprise he’d found involving that thing and even then, not the biggest shock of the day. As Scott wandered back to his room, he felt something, a presence moving around in the distance, not an exact position but a vague sense of location. It felt stronger, like a pressure in his head if he faced the right direction and started walking, weakening if he turned away.

  So how was he going to use that? He could. And he had been impressed with the potential raw power of that ghost. It had nearly done for him. It had run rings around both him and Palawi. Something like that could be useful.

  But that was the problem. It had run rings around him and Palawi. There wasn’t a guarantee that come the next time he’d be able to prevent it from doing the same thing again. Admittedly he hadn’t been prepared. But was there much more he’d be able to do under the same circumstances?

  Maybe he should look for some special ghost containing equipment. It obviously had its merits. And there wasn’t any shame in doing something the easy way if it worked. It all boiled down to a point of view. Doing something the hard way when you had an easy option didn’t score you any extra points. It didn’t make you better or worse. Being a martyr wasn’t for everyone. It was a hard path and not one he really wanted to walk. Sometimes he just wanted things to be simple.

  He’d strode into the lobby of his hotel, aware of how much worse for the wear he looked and he saw her, exactly the last person he wanted to see when he looked like this. It had been too long and he suddenly found himself despising fate for throwing them back together at the worst possible time.

  Last time he’d seen her; she’d been beaten up by that freak-of-nature Harvey Rocastle guy. She’d had her nose smashed, she’d been covered in her own blood and he’d been genuinely terrified for her.

  They’d managed to fix her nose, only a slight crook remained in it where she’d taken the blow. Strangely enough it didn’t make her less attractive, he couldn’t help managing a smile as their eyes met. He could see her taking in his dishevelled appearance, the blood and stains covering him and his smile grew a little more apologetic. She approached, he smelled her as she sashayed up to him. Judging by the wrinkle of her nose, she could smell him as well.

  “Whew… You been rolling in garbage?”

  “Had a…” Best way to describe what had happened? “… minor incident on the way over. Nothing too serious. Bit ill is all. Might have had a reaction to medical webbing.” Not true but it’d do for the time being. Given he didn’t have any other explanation that made sense. “Never mind me, how are you?” He looked pointedly at her as he saw the hesitation, a look of worry flash across her face at the question. “Been avoiding me?”

  That got a reaction. “No! Never.” She looked a little hurt by his comment and immediately he felt bad at what he’d said. Really bad. Like it was the worst thing he’d ever said. “I’ve not been avoiding you.”

  “I was joking!” It burst out of him and he was aware how lame it sounded. Mia looked a little startled by it, an eyebrow raising.

  “I got that,” she said. “But I’m hurt that you think I’d be avoiding you. Why would you even think that?”

  “Because I’ve not seen you for a few days,” he said. “You remember what happened last time we were together in the same building?”r />
  “Yeah!” He couldn’t miss the sarcasm. “Probably better than you. Scott…” He could hear it fade from her voice and he exhaled sharply. “Can we talk? In private? Not down here.”

  It took him half a second to come out with an answer and he gave her a grin. “Sure. Step into my room.”

  Okay, with hindsight maybe it hadn’t been the best idea he’d ever come up with. His room had been left a bit of a sty recently, ever since Jess had stopped coming over, he’d kinda stopped giving a shit. Housekeeping hadn’t been in for a few days, he’d purposely blocked them out and mentally he blanched at the sight of the underwear he’d left on the floor. The words Jess would have uttered if she’d seen it came to mind and the second uncomfortable twitch was more noticeable than the first.

  Can’t take you anywhere nice, can I? It was like hearing her voice and he grinned weakly at the memory. Wasn’t like he had to put up with that any more. Thankfully.

  Still it wasn’t the ideal thing he’d liked Mia to have seen on her first visit to his room. He wondered if he could kick them under the bed before she noticed them. Unlikely. And knowing his luck, he’d probably forget they were there. Be a bit embarrassing when he suddenly remembered it a few thousand miles away. It’d probably mean he likely wouldn’t be returning to the hotel. But then again, if it hadn’t been heavily subsidised by the ICCC, he probably wouldn’t be here anyway. Coming back probably wasn’t an option soon.

  No point missing what you’ll never have again.

  He shot a grin back at Mia, a little unnerved by the whole circumstances. “Yeah, sorry about the state. Didn’t know I’d be entertaining.”

  Fair play to her, she made a point of avoiding looking around, despite him seeing the twitch in her eyes as if she wanted to peruse.

  “I’ve seen worse. Should see the dressing rooms some of the guys have on the spirit dancing circuit. They can be right divas about stuff. Things get thrown about. Sometimes they break stuff.” Scott, remembering his most recent encounter with a spirit dancer, only smiled politely.

  “Yeah I can imagine.”

  “Pair of pants on the floor?” She asked, before scoffing politely. “You’re an amateur in the trashing places terms, flyboy. Sorry to tell you that.”

  “I’ve never been so happy to hear that,” he grinned. He was surprised to find he genuinely meant the words as well. “Hey, we’re all human right. All do stuff sometimes.”

  She grinned at him. “Oh yeah.” Mia sniffed at the air, her nose wrinkling as she did, as if she could smell something on the air. What it might have been, he couldn’t say. Nor did he want to. “You have many other people up here?”

  He shrugged. “Not recently. Just me. And I’ve not been spending that much time here. Just sleeping.” Don’t say it’s probably old sweat, don’t say it’s probably old sweat, he urged himself quietly. “You know how it gets, I imagine. Sometimes it’s hard to settle somewhere so you just make yourself comfortable how you can. If tossing some clothes around makes it feel more like home, then I say do it.”

  “Home,” she said with a chuckle. “You never lived at my house growing up. My mom’d have gone nuts if we’d left clothes on the floor.”

  “Heh.” He wanted to add that his would too but the truth was he honestly didn’t know if she would have or not. Maybe if she’d been there for him more often, he’d have had the chance to find out. “Nice for some freedom, eh?”

  “Definitely,” she said. Now she was looking around easily, running her eyes into every corner of the room and as he faced her side on, he could see the crook in her nose more prominently.

  “Hey, can I ask you something,” he said. “You know when you’ve tried claiming a spirit?”

  “Yeah.” She looked a little taken aback, like she’d expected something else but as to what it was, he couldn’t say.

  “And you know when it gets away?”

  “No, but go on.” Big cocky grin as she said it.

  “Oh, it doesn’t matter then,” Scott said, watching her sit down on his bed, she tested the springs with a motion that made her breasts bounce pleasantly. He could see she still had that look about her and he figured he should get it back on track. “Yeah, sorry. I guess you didn’t come up here to talk about the job though, huh?”

  “Nope,” she said. He shot a glance towards the bathroom and then back to her. He could hear the shower calling following the endeavours of the day. Maybe burn these clothes as well. They’d seen better days. Be likely cheaper to buy new than get them clean and repaired. Shame. He’d liked these jeans. Now they were shredded in a dozen places and stained with blood and alley filth.

  “Mind if I hop in and get cleaned up first?” he asked quickly. “I mean, sorry, but…”

  “Sure,” she said.

  Scott, not hearing her and expecting an argument carried on as if she hadn’t spoken. “I mean I got injured earlier, I’d…”

  “Scott, it’s fine.”

  “… Don’t want infection, I mean what?” He gave her a surprised look. “Okay. Sorry. Didn’t expect that. Was expecting an argument.”

  “Does you wanting a shower usually devolve into an argument?” she asked. “You must have had some rough experiences.”

  “Mia, m’dear,” he said, tipping her a wink. “You don’t know the half of it. I’ll be a moment and then we’ll talk. Sorry.”

  “No need to keep apologising,” she smiled. “As cute as it might be.”

  He came out, clutching the towel around himself and he could see her turn her head and take a long look at him, her eyes drinking in every detail. He fought the urge to slip back into the bathroom, instead met her eyes and gave her a grin.

  “Like what you see? Take a picture, it’ll last longer.”

  He hadn’t expected her to oblige him, but she drew out her summoner, one of those models with a picture box on and before he could react, she’d snapped several images.

  “Cheers,” she said. “Always glad to get permission. Nice abs. You work out?”

  “Nah,” he said. “Not especially. Just do a lot of walking about the place. Sometimes we got to run from stuff. And climb up stuff. You?” He corrected himself. “I mean are you one of those spirit dancers who goes everywhere by private hovercar?”

  She raised a thin eyebrow at that in bemusement. “I don’t know anyone who does that. Not off the top of the head. Hey, I think you’re getting caught up on the result. We still claim spirits just like everyone else. You should know that.”

  Yeah, I should… Scott grinned at her. “So, what did you want to talk about then? Come on, let’s do it. You and me… Talk! Talk, I mean.” He felt heat stroking his face in cruel amusement at his slip. She didn’t have to sit there looking so alluring. Worse part was she didn’t look like she realised he was doing it. He looked around for a fresh pair of… Well anything. He felt a little exposed and…

  She didn’t seem bothered. He straightened up, relaxed a little. He got the impression she truly didn’t care.

  “Yeah. I haven’t seen you for a while and…”

  “Well I assumed you were in hospital for the last few days. I came to visit.” It was true as well. He had. That was when he’d found out she’d checked out. “More than once. First time you were in surgery.

  She opened her mouth to interrupt but he didn’t let her. “I mean; they did a cracking job I’ve got to say. Can barely tell you had the shit kicked out of you. I mean, he was like what? Three times the size of you and you come out of it well.” He was rambling now, he knew it and he couldn’t bring himself to stop. His mouth had gone onto autopilot, his brain keeping pace but barely. “Had the feeling he was a bad ‘un. Could have told you that. You know you should be careful about who you trust…”

  “Scott…”

  “I mean look at you now. Sat there alone in a hotel room with a mostly naked man you barely know. No wonder you get into trouble like that. What’s next? Skinny dipping in the lake when there’s a maniac on the loose? Because I�
��d be up for that. Hey, I’m already dressed for it…”

  “Damnit will you listen to me!” She exclaimed and the surprise was enough to bring him to a sudden halt at her outburst. He almost dropped the towel in shock, but held on. It probably wouldn’t make the situation any better. “I know. I got out and well, I was shaken up. Can you hold that against me? Have you any idea what that feels like? I didn’t want to be in that position. I didn’t want to be someone you and your idiot sidekick felt you needed to rescue! I’m glad you did it but… Just drop it okay.”

  The anger she’d given off at first had slowly dissipated with every word and now she was calm, resigned but calm. “I didn’t want to be like that. You know who my dad is. He insisted me and my brother took self-defence classes. Me especially.” She scoffed bitterly at the words. “Because I’m his special little girl or whatever. But only when he wants me to be. Only when he’s not doing other stuff like working miles away or coming home with laser burns or… I fought. I fought Harvey and I’ll not let you get away with… Whatever it is you think.”

  Suddenly her eyes were glistening in the corners and Scott felt a tinge of pity for her. It easily overwhelmed the amusement he felt at hearing Pete described as his idiot sidekick. He’d have appreciated that if he was here to hear it.

  “I didn’t abandon you. I had a nice time on our first date. I really did. Apart from… Him. You were perfect. Which is why I felt so crappy about staying out of touch.”

  “Why did you then?” he asked softly. He dropped down onto the bed next to her, careful to keep his modesty intact. He could smell her perfume, she had an exotic tinge to her that made his own eyes water.

  She pointed to her nose. “This. Scott. They couldn’t fix it. Not all the way. I… I couldn’t face you with it.” She trembled as she said it, the realisation behind her words dawning on him as she spoke. “I mean look at me. I’m hideous. You know how many times I almost walked out of the lobby while I was waiting for you to come back? Loads. I saw it so many times you’d turn your back on me and I couldn’t face it. I didn’t want your scorn.”