Broken People

by Ioana Visan

  “Yes. I’ve acquired some power in this city … I’m sure you noticed.”

  “I did. More reason for him to keep you on his side.”

  “Yes, except that … I was his little side project, and he even hoped I would stay for a while. The circus was different back then. It was more of a freak show. I guess they owe the class to Anya and Nicholas. Big Dino made a huge compromise taking him in. Tonight was one of those times when it paid off.”

  Dale didn’t want to discuss Renard’s special abilities with her, though she didn’t seem fazed by them. He turned the discussion back to her. “So you didn’t stay.”

  “It was never a question. It would have made me one of them.”

  One of the freaks.

  “No need to say I wasn’t pleased with the results of the procedure.” Aurore knotted her hands in her lap, as if trying to hide them.

  “Those are top-of-the-line prosthetics. They’re probably better than anything I’ve ever seen.” Better than his implants? It was hard to say since hers hadn’t been designed for combat, but they were a work of art.

  “I bet you haven’t seen golden ones until you came here.” The bitterness in her voice was hard to miss.

  “It doesn’t matter what they look like as long as they do the job,” Dale said with a shrug. What made her so self-conscious of her condition? It wasn’t like Bratislava was a small village that still used gas lamps. It used to be a capital. “Why are you telling me all this?”

  “Because you’re not judging. I mean, you’re judging my whining and the way I boss people around, but not what I’m made of. I guess it’s hard to do it when you’re the same.”

  They passed by the old train station, and Dale smiled in the darkness left by the building’s shadow. “What gave it away?”

  “Your eyes.”

  “My eyes are human.”

  “It’s the way they scan your surroundings when you think no one’s looking. I saw the same look in the eyes of the soldiers stationed here on their way to the front. You must have been military at some point. Who else would dare to do what you are planning?”

  “Why can’t I just be a good thief?” Dale asked, amused by her reasoning.

  “Who said anything about being ‘good’?”

  The car rocked on the uneven ground, and they soon parked outside the cord. Dale climbed out and jumped over the separating cord. Aurore followed him but slid underneath. They were closer to the train than the fair entrance so there was no point in going all the way back.

  Aurore pointed at the car with a green lizard painted on the side. “Let’s stop by the factory first.”

  34

  The door panel flashed, recognizing Aurore’s handprint. Her fingers itched. She felt uneasy each time they did that. The security system had been customized to work for her, too, despite the absence of biological tissue in her hands. “It also checks the stress levels, so don’t get any ideas.” Not that there were any stress levels in her prosthetics to check, but this wasn’t a good time for him to try to break in by force.

  “There’s nothing in there I want,” Dale said.

  Wrong. There was someone he needed inside this car, but Aurore had no reason to remind him of that. She stepped over the threshold and crossed the narrow corridor leading to the factory.

  They found Spinner with his left arm resting on the table, open from shoulder to wrist, all the bits of bone and metal put on display. Rake was working on the arm.

  “We’ll be with you in a second,” Spinner said, sounding fully awake and in a reasonably good mood, considering the circumstances. “I just pulled a muscle. How did you like the show?”

  “Wonderful,” Aurore said, her eyes taking in the familiar layout. Except for a couple of new machines, the room looked the same as it did in her memories. She had spent a lot of time here, and in the next room, too. “Especially the end.”

  Spinner winced. “Yeah, that was quite a showstopper.”

  Bent over his arm, a set of tweezers in hand, Rake let out a low grunt that could have been a chuckle.

  “We’ll have to insist on using the new theater next time.” Spinner picked a sponge from the table and handed it to Rake.

  “If there is a next time,” Rake rumbled, his eyes not leaving his work.

  “It all depends on your performance on Saturday,” Aurore said. “Inside the Hrad.”

  “Saturday?” Rake looked up.

  At the same time, Spinner asked, “The Hrad?” He let out a low whistle.

  While they stared at each other, Cielo’s blonde head peeked through the door. “Did anyone call?”

  “We’re performing in the Hrad,” Spinner told her.

  “All of us?” Cielo asked in a little voice.

  Three pairs of eyes turned to Aurore.

  “While you figure out who performs where,” Dale said, “I’ll go check on Cole.”

  He didn’t wait for permission as he started for the door. Cielo nodded and stepped aside to let him pass into the adjacent room.

  Aurore raised an eyebrow at seeing Dale act so at home, but she had more urgent matters on her mind. “I need to speak with Dino.” Her skin was itching as if from some strange food allergy, and she could barely restrain herself from scratching.

  “Big Dino is … sleeping,” Spinner said.

  “You’ll wake him for me.”

  “He won’t like it.”

  “He’ll like it less if you don’t,” Aurore said, her jaw set.

  The knife throwers exchanged a look.

  “Cielo, take Miss Aurore to see Big Dino,” Rake said. “You know what to do. I’m not done here.”

  Cielo glanced back into the other room as if checking up on the visitor but did not protest against being sent away. She limped to the corridor and led the way towards Big Dino’s car.

  “How much does he know?” Aurore asked when they reached the door.

  “He doesn’t know anything. He hasn’t been awake in two weeks,” Cielo said.

  “Then who authorized the show?”

  “Rake and Spinner.” Cielo unlocked the door and stepped into the room. Machines attached to the giant creature lying in bed beeped while their lights flickered on the walls.

  “That’s …” Aurore frowned. “Not good.”

  “No. But they didn’t want to upset you. And it worked.” Cielo smiled and picked up a vial from the nightstand. “The crew is happy. They wouldn’t have been able to do the show if he were awake.”

  One look at the bed was enough to explain why, but Aurore remembered it all too well. The bald head, round eyes, and a gentle, but sneaky smile were only part of what made Big Dino who he was. The thick skin with a green tinge and dark crusts scattered over it had a bigger impact on people. It worked at the circus, but it wouldn’t have worked on the stage of a classy theater.

  Cielo checked his vital signs, then plunged the contents of the vial into the IV. “He’ll be a little drowsy in the beginning so have patience.”

  Aurore, standing at the foot of the bed, nodded. She was used to having Big Dino greet her with a big smile and open arms. His hibernation period didn’t usually start this early in the year. She wouldn’t have bothered him if she hadn’t needed his help.

  “Mmm … What?” The man on the bed, sometimes called Toad or Dinosaur, mumbled. The thick fingers of his right hand twitched, but his eyes refused to open.

  Aurore removed her glove and placed her hand on top of Big Dino’s. Her synthetic skin was warm compared to his coolness. She squeezed lightly, hoping the friendly gesture would draw him from his slumber.

  One black, round eye opened, then the other one. “Aurore …?” Big Dino licked his full, brown lips, and Cielo offered him a glass of water. He drank from it with big gulps. “Ahhh … What are you doing he-here?” His voice sounded stronger than earlier.

  “I need your expertise.”

  “With what?” The skin shifted on his wrinkled forehead as if he’d raised an eyebrow, except he didn’t hav
e any.

  “I experienced a glitch today. I don’t have glitches so I’m … concerned.”

  Big Dino fell silent for several, long moments. “Did it happen here?”

  “No.” Why would it happen here? She had visited the circus before and had never had any similar symptoms. “I was at the theater, watching a show. I think that maybe the visual or audio stimulus had something to do with it.”

  “No—” Big Dino tried to shake his head, but the effort was too much for him, “—that wouldn’t interfe— What kind of show?”

  “A circus show,” Aurore said with a side glance at Cielo.

  “We did a show in the city.” Cielo’s voice was barely a whisper. “It was Rake and Spinner’s idea.”

  Not entirely, but Aurore didn’t find it fit to contradict her. Despite how powerful she had become, the kid inside her still had a healthy respect for Big Dino’s temper.

  “Did we make any money?”

  Cielo blinked, obviously not sure how to answer that. “I—I think so.”

  “Plenty of money,” Aurore said, being more familiar with the ticket prices.

  “Well, I should leave them in charge more often.” Big Dino chuckled and coughed, which prompted Cielo to give him more water.

  “So, my prosthetics?” Aurore asked.

  “They’re fine.” The look Aurore gave him made Big Dino roll his eyes. “Is it night?”

  “Yes,” both Cielo and Aurore said.

  “After midnight?” They nodded. “And there isn’t another show planned, right?”

  “N-no.” Aurore’s short hesitation passed unnoticed. She didn’t know what Nicholas and Uncle Tem had agreed on after she left the theater.

  “Fine. Have Rake and Spinner run an analysis if you want, but they won’t find anything.” Big Dino’s hand moved on the blanket covering his big belly. “Stay away from the circus this fall and you will be all right …” His voice dropped and so did his eyes.

  “The drug’s effect is running out,” Cielo said. “Are you done? I’d rather not give him another dose.”

  “Yeah.” Making an unhappy face, Aurore stepped back but not before brushing her lips against Big Dino’s raspy cheek. “Sleep well, old man.”

  Cielo shook her head but didn’t say anything. She checked the machines—Big Dino was already snoring—and signaled for Aurore to leave and let him rest.

  “You lied to him,” she said while walking in the corridor. “About the show …”

  Aurore raised one finger. “Not a word to the others.”

  “It’s your body.” Cielo shrugged.

  Prosthetics, Aurore corrected silently.

  35

  “You said it would work,” Dale was saying as Aurore and Cielo returned to the factory.

  The shorter blonde shuffled quietly out of the way. The taller one stood behind and removed her cape, remaining in a pair of skinny, black pants, ankle boots, and a white shirt that revealed an off-the-shoulder red top hidden underneath. She must have already had the pants on under the long, evening dress, but where she had kept the shirt, Dale had no idea.

  “What isn’t working?” Aurore placed her cape on an empty chair.

  Spinner swallowed under her piercing gaze. “The grafting. It took, but … umm … the work he’s had done didn’t respect any known standards and reacted badly to our interference. We kind of ruined his legs in the process.”

  “He won’t be able to move as well as we anticipated,” Rake said and put away his tools.

  “He won’t be able to walk at all.” Spinner let his head fall on the recently repaired arm.

  Dale’s fists clenched at his sides, but Rake and Cielo stared at Aurore as if she were the client. In a way, she was.

  “Well, don’t look at me,” Aurore said. “It’s not my problem.”

  “It’s someone’s problem,” Dale said. No walking meant no hands, and no hands made the access to the vault impossible. “You said you can help with transportation.”

  The silence that followed weighed heavily on them. Rake produced a knife from inside his sleeve and turned it around his fingers while he stood there with his shoulder propped against the wall. So, this was how it was going to work. They didn’t want any trouble despite their failure to deliver the promised service. Dale wasn’t thinking about retribution … yet. He had other, more urgent matters on his mind.

  “While you come up with a solution,” Aurore said, “who’s going to give me a full check-up?” She stepped into the other room without waiting for an answer.

  The knife throwers locked eyes and, after a long moment, Rake pulled away from the wall and went after her. Cielo stayed put.

  “Any problems lately?” Rake’s distant voice came through the open door.

  “Just tonight,” Aurore said. “There was interference …”

  Dale moved two steps to the left so he could see, too. Rake had placed Aurore’s leg inside a machine that displayed the scan’s result on a screen. There was no need for her to undress or have her prosthetics open.

  Convinced she didn’t need his protection while in there, Dale turned to Spinner. “What are our options?” There had to be a way.

  “I …” Spinner closed his mouth. “We could—” He tried again but stopped and tilted his head.

  The main door opened, and Renard stumbled inside, supported by the Swan. He collapsed in the closest chair, pale and shivering, but fully alert.

  The Swan kneeled by the magician’s side. “Nick, are you all right?”

  “I’m fine, Anya. I’m fine,” Renard said. “Just give me a moment to catch my breath … Apparently, this circus owner is a light drinker, or at least that is what everyone in town has heard by now.” He laughed.

  Cielo and Anya fawned over him, and he grimaced and grumbled under their attentions until Cielo grabbed a syringe and injected him. Renard’s tremors slowly subsided.

  “I heard we have a new gig,” Spinner said. “Do we?”

  “It looks like it.” Renard nodded. “I kept saying ‘no’, but Ternchiev twisted my arm in the end. I don’t fancy a whole week in jail for destroying public property, do you?”

  Spinner mumbled something unintelligible.

  “I thought so,” Renard said.

  “He didn’t!” Aurore’s mock outraged voice came from the other room.

  “Oh, I’m afraid he did!” Renard raised his voice. “He’s also under the impression the Nightingale is going to sing at his party.”

  Everything froze inside the room. No one moved, and no sound came from across the threshold, either.

  “Ain’t gonna happen!” Spinner blurted out.

  “I know, I know …” Renard waved both hands in a calming gesture. “But he doesn’t need to know it.” He raised his voice again. “You’re not going to tell him, are you?”

  “Not my problem!”

  Renard rolled his eyes as if he’d expected that answer. Spinner kept glaring at him, so he asked, “What? You don’t like it? You go and talk to him then.”

  “Nick, please …” Anya squeezed his arm.

  “Right.” Renard glanced at Dale. He inhaled deeply and put on a smile when Cielo brought him a cup of coffee. “Thank you, darling. Now, the good news is this gives us an opportunity to bring Mr. Armstrong’s friend into the Hrad. He can pass for a performer.”

  “I suppose we can teach him some tricks once he can stay awake longer,” Spinner said, scratching his chin, but he sounded doubtful.

  “You do that, just in case…” Renard nodded. “I doubt anyone will keep track of who’s performing and who’s not. We’ll need some helpers, too.” His eyes turned to Dale. “He’s not on any wanted list, is he?”

  “Not on those that will be screened there,” Dale said. The security feeds checked for big-time criminals who posed a physical threat. Most municipalities didn’t have the time or means for searching databases larger than that. And Cole didn’t qualify. He had never been caught.

  Next to Spinner’s elbow, a
tablet came to life. The skeleton of an eight-legged machine appeared on the screen. Spinner used his finger to rotate the tri-dimensional image. “Oh, yes. I can work with this. Great call!” A grin split his face. “With a few adjustments and decorations, I’ll make him the life of the party.”

  Dale raised his eyes from the tablet and looked past Spinner. At the end of the other room, Rake studied the same image on a larger screen mounted on the wall. He made some adjustments while Aurore tapped her golden fingers against the side of the machine keeping her left leg prisoner.

  Rake tilted his head and took a step back to admire his work. “He’ll need a mask.”

  Cielo’s soft gasp echoed inside the room.

  “Well …” Renard lowered his head and stared at the floor below his feet. “It itches like hell when you put it on, and it’s a bitch to have it removed, but …”

  “If he needs a mask, he needs a mask,” Anya said firmly, as if it was her decision to make.

  But it was Dale’s decision, and he’d already made too many on Cole’s behalf. “Will it interfere with his recovery?”

  “No,” Spinner said. “Like all surgeries, it’s not risk-free, but it’s a totally different technology so it won’t interfere with what we’re doing. And the advantage is we’re keeping him numb anyway.” He paused and wrinkled his nose. “I wouldn’t do it right away, though. The masks have a tendency to close over the face if they receive contradictory commands, and he’s slipping in and out of consciousness a lot right now. I would wait until we’re closer to finalizing this stage of the procedure. He won’t need more than a couple of days to master basic control of the mask.”

  Given that he didn’t know the technology that made the masks function, Dale could only agree with the suggestion and hope they knew what they were doing. It hadn’t worked that well so far.

  “Since we’re settled here …” Renard left his chair and nodded for Dale to follow him out of the car. “Walk with me?”

  Dale’s eyes drifted towards Aurore, but Rake hadn’t finished the evaluation. The tubes, wires, and cyber muscles were displayed on the screen as the knife thrower’s big hand moved along her leg, holding a device resembling a remote control. An unexpected pang of envy over those hands rushed through him, but Dale pushed the feeling away.