She came to Ida’s house and saw her motorcycle was there, although it was covered by a large camouflage cloth and backed behind a bush.
The tin Lucy carried was getting cooler, easier to touch from the walk and the cool air. She knocked on the large wooden door.
After a few moments, there was nothing. She banged again, using the large door knocker this time.
Nothing.
One final, loud knock, and this time Lucy thought she heard movement inside.
The door opened suddenly. Ida’s dark red hair was a mess of tangles. She looked as though she had just woken up and, judging by her red, puffy eyes, had a rough night.
“Oh, hi. It’s me,” said Lucy.
Ida squinted at the outside brightness, then focused her eyes on Lucy. Her gloved hand reached out and pulled Lucy inside. She quickly closed the door behind them.
Lucy walked in a few more steps, surprised she wasn’t brushed off this time.
Ida walked over to stairs that led to a small window that faced the front. “Did anyone follow you?”
“Huh? Wha—? No,” said Lucy. She held out the tin. “My mom made these cookies for you. She wanted to say thanks. She’s really grateful for you saving her life.”
Ida continued looking out the window, scanning the view before climbing back to Lucy’s level. She took the tin and shook it. Then she tossed it on a table that was overflowing with paper stacks and other odds and ends.
Lucy looked around the place—her first time getting a good look inside Ida’s home. She turned around slowly, taking it all in. A few large packing crates were still unopened. There was a small kitchen, and behind it, a bedroom. Besides a table and two stools in the kitchen, there wasn’t any furniture. From the looks of it, Ida wasn’t planning to entertain anytime soon.
Ida walked into the kitchen, seeming less aware of Lucy’s presence. She opened the fridge looking for something to drink, and pulled out a can of water.
“My mom’s really doing much better now,” Lucy said. “I guess she got a wakeup call, you know? She’s even started getting up in the mornings, and she’s been calling around to the city offices. She’s also applied for us to get financial assistance—you know, on account of her being single and me being seventeen. She even started buying some food again, and cooking. She used to cook a lot before the…before she started using.”
Ida gulped down her water and reached for another. “Is that so? How do you know she’s not going to use again?”
“Well, I’ve been thinking. I went into her phone and deleted a ton of numbers I didn’t know. She didn’t seem to care. Or maybe she hasn’t noticed yet. I figure if I can keep her away from the people who were giving her drugs in the first place, that would be really good.”
Ida stood with her back against the fridge. “It’s a start, kid. But you’re going to have to watch her closely.”
“Yeah, I know. Lucy shrugged. “Paul said he’d help look out for me if anyone comes back to the apartment. He also helped me get the key changed.”
“Good. I’m glad things are looking up for you. I gotta tell you, I’m exhausted. I had a hell of a night last night.”
“What happened?” asked Lucy.
Ida glanced at her, and Lucy got the hint that there would be no recount of events.
“So, I need to get back to bed for a few hours before I can feel like a normal person again. Thank your mom for me.” Ida started to head for the door.
Lucy stood her ground. “I want to repay you for saving my mom.”
Ida stopped, her gloved hand on the door handle. “That’s not necessary,” she said with her back to Lucy.
“I could come by and clean your place, make your food, tidy up your outside area. I’m really good with all that stuff.”
Ida stood at the door, still motionless. She closed her eyes.
“And I was thinking you could teach me about fighting, and maybe how to handle a knife.”
“Why?” Ida asked sharply.
Lucy hesitated. “I want to be able to protect myself.” She shifted slightly, balling her fists as she recalled the night her mom had overdosed. “In case one of my mom’s druggie creeps comes back and threatens me again, or tries to hurt my mom.”
“Again? Someone threatened you?”
“Yes.”
Ida pushed the door open wide this time. “Tomorrow, same time. Your first lesson.”
Lucy smiled, and as she left she thrust a piece of paper at Ida, forcing her to take it. She waved as she ran down the path toward home.
Shaking her head, Ida looked at the paper. It was a flyer for a student art exhibition—the one Lucy had mentioned a few days before. The event was downtown, near the river. And it was that night.
Chapter 20
“Rest assured, we will get to the bottom of this act of violence against one of our city’s most prized landmarks.” Vance Drem paused and scanned the crowd of citizens gathered in front of him on a morning made frosty by a sudden cold front.
He looked at Nancy Brown, who stood in front of him next to J-Man. “It’s not a coincidence that the destruction of the planetarium happened last night. No,” he said, shaking his head. “My citizens, the group behind the attack is a known terrorist organization, and they had stolen information about my plans to rebuild the planetarium.”
Vance paused for dramatic effect. When he spoke again, puffs of air floated, as if in anticipation of the coming words. “Today was to be the unveiling of plans for a grand new imagining of the planetarium.” Vance shook his head in disbelief and balled his gloved hand into a fist, shaking it back and forth. “Fellow citizens of Spark City, hear me when I say we will bring this terrorist faction to justice. For now, we must demolish what remains of the old planetarium. The structure is unsound, and I can’t risk endangering any lives. But I will finish what I started and build an incredible monument to take its place.”
He glanced at the crowd and journalists who had gathered to film him before waving goodbye. Then, he walked off with his men and Nancy into a waiting black SUV.
Vance sat quietly inside the vehicle, his head resting on a cushioned headrest. His expression was sour. Across from him, Nancy quietly wished for his mood to turn on someone else, anyone but her.
“Nancy, where is our next appointment?” asked J-Man.
She hastily grabbed her purse and brought out a small planner book. “221 Rock Ledge Avenue,” she said, loud enough for the driver to hear. They turned onto a side street.
Vance removed his gloves, revealing his cybernetic hands. “With whom?” he asked between clenched teeth.
“A gentleman by the name of Cordon. Alex Cordon. He requested a private appointment with you. Said he had met you before and has a gift for you.”
Singlet piped up. “Cordon. I can vouch for that guy. He did some work for you in the past.”
Vance leaned back in his seat again and grimaced with pain. “Do you have those pain pills, J-Man?”
The man seated next to him reached into a pocket and pulled a small pill bottle out. Vance popped five at once.
Shortly, they arrived at their destination. The area was dingy. The address was no longer a building. It had been a restaurant, but it had burned down. Outside, a man was waiting. “That’s Cordon,” said Singlet.
Vance looked at Singlet. “This a good guy?” he asked, one of his metal thumbs pointing to Cordon.
Singlet shrugged. “Was when I knew him. Heard a little while back he’d gotten deep into drugs. That’s why we stopped using him. He started showing up late or not at all. Unreliable, I guess you could say.”
“Wait here, I’ll talk to him privately.” Vance popped open the door and climbed out. His long black coat swayed in the wind, and his figure was imposing even without his new steel exposed.
Cordon looked at him warily and stepped back a foot. “Hello, sir.” He coughed and looked sideways.
“Greetings. Mr. Cordon, I presume?”
“Yes, that’s right
.” Cordon swayed side to side slightly, trying to stay warm. He seemed underdressed for the frigid morning.
Vance crossed his arms. “Well?”
“I…I have information you will be interested in. I’m willing to part with it. For a price.”
With greater restraint than usual, Vance waited for him to continue. Be patient, there is something here, he thought.
“Two days ago, I was with a lady. She OD’d. I saw it myself. Hell, I gave her the dose myself. I was out of it, but I was having fun and wanted to see how far things could go.” He looked down, and a cruel smile crept across his face. “I wanted to see how much she could take, kinda like my own little experiment.”
Losing patience, Vance forced a thin smile to show he was listening.
“So I left, but I kept a small camera there to see what would happen with her daughter.” He coughed. “Her daughter was hot, you know what I mean? I figured a camera left behind would be fun.”
Arms crossed, Vance nodded and rocked back and forth on his heels. A mental image of the men he had tortured to avenge his mother flashed through his mind-cruel men like this one.
Cordon continued, “So’s next thing I know this other lady comes in, and a boy—a teenager, same age as the girl.” More coughing. “And you know, this time, the mom who OD’d, she’d been out for at least an hour. Weirdest thing I ever saw.” He stopped and looked at Vance. “You’re not going to believe me, but I have the video to prove it.”
“Prove what?” asked Vance, his icy breath snaking out in smoky tendrils.
“This lady—she healed her.” Cordon started rocking from side to side like he couldn’t control his excitement. “She brought her back to life somehow. Just by touching her.”
Vance squinted at Cordon and uncrossed his arms. “This is an interesting story, Mr. Cordon. Interesting information after all. You’re sure this is captured on your video?”
Cordon seemed to come back from drifting off in thought. “Definitely. I thought about asking around to a few places, looking for a buyer, but you were my first choice, Mr., uh, Mayor Drem.”
Vance held up his hand. “Please, spare the formality. You say you have video proof of a woman with healing power who saved an overdosing woman from the brink of death.”
Cordon nodded.
“And where is this video?” asked Vance. “And what’s your asking price?”
Cordon licked his lips. “Thirty grand.”
Vance tilted his head to one side. “That seems reasonable. Where is this video?”
“It’s hidden. I get the cash, you get the location.”
“Very strategic, Mr. Cordon. Since I don’t generally carry that kind of cash on me, won’t you accompany me as we complete the transaction?”
Cordon allowed himself to smile. “Certainly, happy to.”
Vance saw that Cordon’s hands shook. An aging junkie who enjoys watching women overdose. It will be fun killing him with my bare steel hands, he thought as he climbed into the car after Cordon got in.
Chapter 21
That night, Ida struggled with whether she should turn up at the art show or go see Gatz and find out information.
She’d seen the news coverage of the planetarium events. After they’d escaped, the police droids had destroyed the landmark building by exploding multiple bombs. Worse, Drem had staged it as a terrorist attack and sworn to find the criminals and bring them to justice.
Ida had a decent idea what justice meant in Vance Drem’s terms. This was exactly what she had feared about getting involved with Gatz. She knew he was up to no good, and now their lives were in danger.
So much for lying low and assimilating.
And then there was Gatz’s conspiracy theory about Drem poisoning soldiers. Could it be true? On his advice, she’d gone to a bar frequented by former soldiers. She’d stopped in there that afternoon and struck up a conversation with another patron—a guy who’d been back a week longer than she had. Ida quizzed him on whether he was getting food, water, medicine—anything supplied by the military or the city. She made it sound like they weren’t getting their fair shake, that returning soldiers in other cities were getting more support than they were.
After an hour, she’d come away with nothing. Ida didn’t see how soldiers were getting poisoned or programmed to be violent. She’d finally asked the former soldier, Brandt, what he thought was happening to their fellow soldiers to turn them so violent. He only shook his head and ordered another shot.
Either Gatz’s source was wrong or lying, or she was missing something. Was Gatz deceiving her to distract her from something else?
She thought better of going to Dox. It was probably best not to show how badly she needed info. Instead, she would check out the art show. It would be good for her to get out for air. She’d been busy thinking and researching online, but being cooped up in her house wasn’t going to make things better. She was a sitting duck at home if Vance’s police were onto them.
After a quick shower, Ida glanced in the mirror and ran her hands through her wet hair. The short red bob would dry quickly, so she threw a small black cap on. Red lipstick plus her usual outfit of tee, leather moto jacket, black pants, and boots, and she was set.
The art expo was downtown, near the river, in an old city auditorium. Ida parked her motorcycle after finding an empty spot on Rochester street. She was surprised to find so many people at the show.
As Ida entered the hall, she took in the size and scope of the expo. There were aisles of small tents where each artist displayed their paintings or other artwork. Ida wound her way through rows upon rows of oil paintings, charcoal sketches, and photographs. Fascinated, she stopped at one artist’s booth to take in his paintings of Spark City. She couldn’t stop looking at one painting in particular. It showed a sienna riverscape. She stared at it so long the man in the tent finally asked her what she thought about it.
“It’s, I…” Ida rarely found herself lost for words. “The city is beautiful.”
The artist smiled. “I’m glad I was able to capture that.”
Ida regained her senses, stuffed her hands into her pockets, and muttered, “Thanks” before walking off.
She walked another circuit among the tents before finding Lucy’s booth. Lucy shared a tent with four other teenage artists. Some of her paintings hung on the side of the tent, while others were displayed on the table or positioned strategically on the ground.
Lucy was seated, and her face lit up when she saw Ida. “Hey, Ida!” Lucy came out from behind the table. “I’m so glad you came. Can you believe the turnout? It’s amazing! I’ve already sold two pieces.”
“Wow, that’s great,” said Ida, taking in Lucy’s artwork. “Your work,” she paused, looking again to be sure, “it’s wonderful. You have real talent.”
Lucy blushed. “Thanks, Ida. That means so much to me.”
Ida looked around again. “This is something. I had no idea so many people would be here.”
Lucy smiled. “Yeah, we’re thrilled. People need art in their lives, it turns out.”
They stood for a moment, and then Lucy said she had something behind the table to show Ida. “It’s an unveiling. Something I’ve been waiting to show you. It wasn’t ready until today.” She moved back into the tent and squatted to slide something from underneath the table. It was a large painting wrapped in brown paper. Lucy handed it across the table to Ida and told her to open it. She said it was a gift.
“What?” Ida seemed reluctant. “Kid, I don’t need anything from you.”
“Please, open it.” Lucy’s eyes were bright.
Ida slid a gloved finger underneath a piece of tape and removed the paper to reveal the backside of the painting. She carefully turned it over and frowned.
Lucy looked alarmed. “You don’t like it?”
Ida struggled for words. “Is this supposed to be me?”
“Yes.”
The painting showed a gloved woman holding a gun pointing up in each hand. C
omplete with black leather jacket, brown pants, and a tee, there was no mistaking it was Ida. Lucy had captured the details of Ida’s face and red hair.
Even more striking was the background. Lucy had painted in Spark City’s skyline in the distance, and behind Ida, on one side, stood a line of android police. On the other side, there was an army of what looked like regular citizens.
The citizens looked strong and defiant. The robot force was shrinking back. It was as if Lucy had depicted Ida as their leader.
Ida quickly turned the painting over and wrapped it tightly back in the paper. “I don’t know what daydream fantasy life you have going on in that head of yours, but you can’t paint shit like this.”
Lucy was speechless. Paul came over beside her; he’d been talking to a few other people from school on the other side of the tent. Sensing a conflict, he touched her arm. “It’s okay, Lucy,” he whispered.
“I could…we could get in a lot of trouble for this,” said Ida. She covered the painting in the wrapper and took off with it, leaving Lucy behind to deal with her disappointment.
How could she be so stupid? She wondered where she could ditch the painting without causing suspicion. When she’d walked in, she had noticed a few police droids patrolling the borders of the expo.
Now, as she made her way through a long aisle filled with attendees and artists, she saw a droid coming straight at her. She held the painting under one arm and nonchalantly ducked into a tent to look at paintings, hoping the robot would pass her by. She thanked herself for wearing the hat, hoping that would disguise her red hair.
Ida wondered if there was film of the planetarium battle, and whether Vance Drem knew to look for a borderline psychotic ex-soldier and a panda.
Inside the tent, she looked closely at a painting while keeping view of her periphery. Just outside the tent, the droid paused and looked from side to side. The droid was probably filming the scene, Ida realized. She didn’t know much about the police droids, but knew they were equipped with cameras that were nearly always on—except when they were sued for misconduct. When accused, the story was always that the cameras had malfunctioned or been turned off. The city’s record of police misconduct was nearly spotless, and nobody even bothered to challenge them anymore.
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