Absorption: Phase 03 (The Eighteenth Shadow)

by Grafton, Jon Lee

  She did not turn as he drew near, but spoke plainly enough, “Howdy, Hunts with Gunpowder. You come here to shoot me? Or you just like to carry a big piece of wood around everywhere you go?”

  The corner of William’s mouth turned briefly. He lowered the brim of his cowboy hat to block the sun and wiped a few beads of sweat on his jeans, watching a black dot on the horizon grow closer. The dot became larger, speeding down the median line of the river, traveling east toward The Linwood Township. It was a river drone. SIEGFRIED raised his head to scan its passing, then relaxed after it disappeared around a bend.

  William held his hat and leapt the small space of mud between the sandbar and the river bank, “How long you been here?”

  “Couple hours.”

  “How many river drones?” he asked, repositioning the rifle on his shoulder.

  “Eight, so far.”

  She unscrewed the lid from her jar of beer and took a swig.

  Sarcasm belay William’s tone, “It’s a real mystery… patrols in this sector doubling overnight.”

  “You got me,” Tara shrugged. “Tell me something?”

  “What?”

  “Do you think the river will ever be blue again?”

  He scratched his sideburns, playing along, “They spent the last 200 years dredging the bedrock. Now it flows mud brown, filled with dead cows and poison from the old stockyards outside Manhattan. Don’t you own a leather purse?”

  Tara did not bite.

  She fell back on her lean, tanned arms, taking a hit off the joint and luxuriously blowing the smoke out her nostrils, “Maybe they could mine some gravel from the moon and bring it down here and put it in the river? Then it would be beautiful again.” She finally faced him, smiling behind her sunglasses, “What do you say, buckaroo?”

  William pursed his lips. She could make even him uneasy when she wanted.

  He walked past her and the Coyotes and looked at the far bank, eyes searching for motion in the trees, “That’s a fine plan. We’ll put moon rock in the river. Then we can teach the pups to shit fairy dust.”

  Tara laughed breezily, “Jeez… who had an extra glass of haterade for lunch? It would be blue and amazing! Dorothy thinks this spot is beautiful too. We come here and smoke sometimes. It’s the best part of the farm. Blue water would make it better is all I’m saying.”

  William was unmoved, “River and sandbar are state property. The pups and I have dispatched six mercenaries along this trail, dumped the bodies right there.”

  “Why do they all come past the delta?” asked Tara with child-like whimsy.

  William took his cowboy hat off, squinting against the sun, “You know why. It’s the only west to east game trail between here and the 1500. The cemetery’s public property. They can dock their hovs there and access the whole river. Every asshole with a BB gun gets told you gotta go into the countryside if you want to bag a big still. Better question’d be, why now?”

  “Why what now?”

  “Cut the shit,” said William, spinning to face her. “Why’d you do it? You go to that nurse’s house, make a big scene with her wife. Not to mention taking one of the fuzzballs here with you,” he jerked his thumb at the nearest Coyote.

  Tara turned her head back towards the river and took another swill of beer, “The Coyotes like to escort me. They know the risks. As for sweet Lucinda, I don’t see the problem.”

  William dropped the stock of his gun to the sand and leaned on the barrel, “You don’t see the problem? Taking a Coyote into public? As a Federal fugitive? Then, you used your lady ways to get inside the house, let the nurse’s wife blow you on camera. You rubbed cupcakes on her tits! Got her drunk on preacher’s beer! I miss anything?”

  “Look… I didn’t know there was a camera. I assumed Joan had us.”

  William walked around and blocked her view with his silhouette, “Maybe if Joan could fly, she would have. In fact, records show she did. She wiped every stream that came up mentioning your fugitive mug. Even reports of stray dogs in the last 48 hours. That is, until you stepped into Marlene and Lucinda Fossbender’s living room and got yourself 49 minutes of footage on a closed circuit cam!”

  Tara raised her chin defiantly, “How could I know the bitch had an unsynced vidnet?”

  William smacked his leg with his hat, “That ain’t the point, betty. Why do it in the first place? You need some revenge two years later? All sudden like?”

  Tara hissed, getting angry, “Maybe I did. You have no idea what that woman did to me in there. It was sick. What do you think she does to other girls? Who don’t have the power to escape!? I could hear the memory of their screams in her mind as she took me. I was powerless too. No one knows but Dax.” She pet the nearest Coyote, causing it to raise its head and study her as she spoke, “It was a fuck up. I’m sorry.”

  William knelt before her in the sand and hung his head, “Does Dax know?”

  “Yes,” she said mournfully. “He knows. He doesn’t care. I don’t know why not.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “Something is about to happen. Dax knows but won’t tell me, okay? So quit harshing my sunset, man, fuck.”

  She stood, causing the Coyotes and SIEGFRIED to shift and jump to their paws. The cyborgs resettled as Tara walked to the edge of the sandbar and dipped her bare toes in the muddy water.

  William walked up behind her and spoke softly, “I am the one in charge of security. So when your name lights up a Fed stream, after we’ve done such a fond job keeping you dark? It ain’t good. They got nowhere to start scanning except your last known. And that’s still three kiloms from here, as far as the world is concerned.” He scratched the back of his head, “Thank Jeezus you wrecked in front of Purple Tree Farms’ property.”

  “I know,” she said, biting her lip, “I get it. All the same, I don’t know what Dax is planning. It’s making me so angry, I start doubting myself! I usually know everything he’s onto.”

  “I thought you guys were like one brain?”

  “He’s more powerful than me. A lot more powerful, I think. He knows everything I do, but he’s keeping something specific hidden. He won’t admit it. If I try and go there, it’s the one thing that pushes him away, he clams up. Then we just lay there in silence for the rest of the night like two mute mannequins.”

  William couldn’t take his eyes off her jean shorts, curves dusted with sand.

  He tried to resist his own thoughts, “Just like he knew about…”

  Tara took another swig of beer and turned to face him, “Yes, just like that. Of course he knows. He could give a damn.”

  “He won’t tell?”

  She took off her sunglasses and made sure he saw her roll her eyes, “No, you oaf. His primary interest in the world is keeping his precious tether happy. That means keeping Dory happy. He doesn’t hide those thoughts from me, just the one thing. Whatever it is.”

  “Dory and I are happy. It was a mistake.”

  Her mouth curled to a sly smile, and she raised her eyebrows, looking over the outline of muscles pushing through his white t-shirt, “Best mistake I’ve made in awhile.”

  He turned away, chin hard.

  The touch of her voice on his ears was like electric sunshine, “Oh, come on… Hunts with Gunpowder,” she teased. “Dory’s never gonna find out from me, or Dax.”

  He turned to her, “She’s your friend. She loves you.”

  “Yes, she does,” she said, taking his hand and pulling him closer, “I love her too. So if she ever finds out, cause you’re a dumbass and tell her, she’ll believe you when you say you were helpless.”

  William tried, but it was already impossible to pull away from the light sheen of sweat on her upper lip, breasts pushing through the thin blouse, the feel of her heartbeat closing in on his own, “So this is why?” he managed. “You’re doing all this because you’re mad at your boyfriend? ’Cause he has a secret? Just a brat.”

  She took his rifle from his hand and tossed it aside. Coyote One rose and led her gray
family away to the shore where they resettled in the shade of a small cottonwood. SIEGFRIED followed them. Obviously the cyborgs had no compunctions about the arrangement.

  Tara took William’s hand and put it on her breast, kissing him, sliding her tongue into his mouth until she knew he was hers.

  “That’s right,” she said after a moment, kissing his neck softly as she spoke, loving the taste of his sweat. “I’m doing it because I’m tired of hiding on this farm. I don’t like not knowing everything, and Dax has to be punished. So I’m going to have his favorite thing in the world for myself.”

  Then she lowered William to the sand as though he were a living doll and began to unbuckle his belt, nice and slow, taking her time, just the way she liked it.

  Police Headquarters – Downtown Lawrence.

  Dennis Slopes considered the Twinkie (with a truffle back) to be one of mankind’s pinnacle achievements. The computer had been improved upon, the car had lost its wheels and learned to fly. Energy was clean, free and omnipresent. Yet the Twinkie had been perfect for 152 years, a singular constant. An example of what humanity could aspire to if they applied themselves.

  When the drone port over his desk flicked open, the rushing air startled him. His slick, bony fingers lost control of the little yellow snack cake and it plummeted to the floor. He had savored only his first, delectable bite! The Twinkie’s white, sugary center had oozed on impact with the blue office carpet.

  Creamy filling…

  Slopes angrily tapped his jaw, “Julie! Why was I not notified of the incoming?”

  The secretary’s voice quipped, “Well, let’s see, detective. To start, you didn’t ask me to monitor your private drone traffic, only order you one. Second, I don’t have a record of any coded drones arriving. Sorry, sir.”

  “I bet you are…” he mumbled.

  Ken Sapet was useful and reliable, like a hammer. But efficient he was not. Slopes had not expected a response so soon.

  I expected the oaf would need a week to write a letter.

  Suddenly, he was excited!

  Sapet must have found something good.

  Slopes clicked the backs of his long, gray fingernails together as the SkyDrop© unit alighted on his desk and opened its cargo doors. Inside was a rolled document, likewise some sort of thick paper like the Bristol board he had sent out. It was tied with a red ribbon and smelled of perfume.

  Perfume, Sapet? Disgusting!

  He unfurled, half-standing and snatched up the document, tore away the ridiculous ribbon and unscrolled the sheet of paper. His beady eyes began to vibrate. His jaw started quivering. He fell forward, one hand on the desk, mouth breathing. Every pore in his rickety body began to leak sweat, breath coming shorter, shorter, shorter…

  It’s been so long. Here it comes.

  Dennis Slopes fainted.

  The full momentum of his limp chin impacted the desk’s edge and his brittle teeth gnashed, shattering, slicing off the tip of his tongue. The dime-sized piece of fatty muscle skittered over the puzzle desk, blood-staining the cardboard pieces already lain flat in place. But those thousands of loose pieces not yet snapped where they belonged trickled down around his collapsed form like heavy snowflakes.

  Chapter 3.4 – The Precipice

  Thursday, October 14, 2082 6:13 pm – Forty Two Hours Before Event.

  “How come other shiners don’t use nanobot filters?” asked Dorothy.

  She sat cross-legged on the warehouse floor beside Goran, who was cranking an unseen bolt inside an access port on the still’s primary water intake. In her hands was a ring-shaped filter with a central matrix of diodes around which she and Tara had spent the last two hours weaving web-like nanobot filaments. She held the saucer-sized filter carefully. Tara and Cat sat atop THOR, off to one side watching.

  “Because the common shiner does not have the digis necessary to purchase this technology,” replied Joan’s voice from the ceiling.

  “But it just means a more purified water?”

  “Correct. It also prevents any unwanted microbots from accessing our supply line via the river.”

  “Aquatic drones?”

  “Correct.”

  “Dad? Are we there yet?” sighed Tara behind them.

  Cat, who was laying on THOR’s neck, let out a plaintive meow in agreement without opening her eyes.

  “Velasquez and I still have to run the gauntlet tonight,” Tara continued. “This is taking forever.”

  “For the record,” said Dorothy, “I’m actually interested in learning about how the still works.”

  Tara rolled her eyes as she jumped off THOR’s back. The giant cyborg remained still, only moving his head to confirm her safe landing. Cat remained, napping in place.

  “This is the final step, Dorothy Marie Angevine,” said Joan. “Hand the filtration disc to Goran for installation.”

  The resolute dwarf took the filter, holding it by the exterior silver ring using his left hand. Dorothy could see thousands of nanobots scurrying across the white filament matrix like bits of pepper. Goran carefully placed the filter inside the pipe and the filaments began to glow.

  “Nanobots bind the filter to the support diaphragm and Goran will seal the access port. Now you may reopen the primary valve.”

  Dorothy stood and pulled a large red lever on the wall so it was once again parallel with the intake pipe. The plumbing shuddered. The metal chilled with the rush of fresh river water.

  “That gives me goosebumps every time!” said Dorothy. “Thanks for the show, Goran,” she said to the little engineer. “It’s very cool.”

  Tara curled her nose, eyeing the stack of spent, dripping water filters awaiting disposal by one of the warehouse bots, “I’ve always wanted to learn how to clean up river slime.”

  “I think it’s cool,” repeated Dorothy.

  “You would,” said Tara. She turned as Cat sprung to life and jumped off THOR into her arms and she dropped the little Felix to the floor, “There you go, junior. The boys are coming out, everybody.”

  THOR raised his head and gave a quiet, friendly growl. When he lowered his head back to the cement, the impact of his chassis sent minute vibrations through everyone’s feet. Tara watched Cat return to Goran’s shoulder with a single hop just as the blast door slid open and Dax and William appeared from the aquarium. They walked to meet the men. William had his rifle slung over a shoulder and Dorothy could tell that whatever was discussed had left her husband in a foul mood.

  Dax by contrast smiled pleasantly. All eyes gravitated to him.

  He frowned and clasped his hands, “Good Dog, you all look like you spent the afternoon in a swamp! Dirty filter, Goran?”

  Cat mewled plaintively and spun on the dwarf’s shoulder.

  Dorothy slid past Dax to William, “Why so serious, hon?” she asked sweetly, nudging him.

  William would not look at Tara.

  He spoke reticently, “It’s nothing, babe. Just gonna be a long night. The stream’s on fire with bites.”

  Dorothy made a sad face, “Oh honey…” she exhaled. “You know Joan and I will be helping you guys fly.”

  William nodded curtly and she leaned against his chest. Now was obviously not the time.

  The door to the stairs burst open and the four Rottweilers poured through, followed by Hugo. The DOGS units ran straight to William and sat before him in a line, each eager to be chosen for patrol versus guard duty. They pawed the cement with excitement and whined. William gestured lightly with his hand and they all lay down before him, attentive but now silent.

  Tara rolled her eyes at this display of obedience, turned to Dax and kissed his cheek, “You see, love? I’ll never have that kind of relationship with the Coyotes. You don’t have to be jealous.”

  Dax returned the kiss, brushing his fingers over her cheek, “Quite the contrary. The Coyotes’ affection for you is something much more… primal. I have every reason to be jealous.”

  Dax again kissed Tara and said, “Hugo?”
<
br />   “Yeya, boss?”

  “Let’s have that shipment loaded and ready to float.”

  “Yeesir.”

  Hugo touched the comdot on his jaw and the two humanoid warehouse bots came to life. Their electric motors made a steady whining sound. Only thirty minutes before, they had finished stacking that weeks’ 5,000 liters of product in a perfectly geometric rectangle two meters high on the cargo elevator. The bots now stepped to the elevator and stood beside the 625 crates of liquor. The lift rose slowly until the bots and the liquor were out of sight in the barn, vanished above with a pneumatic rush of air.

  “We be ready een ten meenutes, preciosa,” said Hugo to Tara, pulling an antique joint from his tin smoke box and tucking it behind an ear.

  Tara made her eyes bright and big, “Oh good, Hugo! I’ve always wanted to fly a truck to Manhattan, Kansas, with you!”

  Dorothy giggled, “What girl hasn’t?”

  The still’s brass columns gleamed beneath the overhead LED’s and the plumbing clanked – donk-quank-dunk occasionally as steam pockets in the copper lines forced themselves free.

  Goran nodded at Dax, stone-faced as Cat mewled and pawed the air.

  “Very well, Goran,” said Dax. “Get some rest. You deserve it.”

  Cat curtsied efficiently at the rest of the group, then was gone through the door, riding her dirty dwarf’s shoulder.

  William removed his arm from Dorothy’s waist and turned to Dax, “I’m going to patrol.” He kissed his wife curtly and put on his sunglasses, not responding to the plea for explanation that lay between them. He nodded at Tara dryly, “Ma’am.” Lastly, he turned to the DOGS units, “FREYA – SIEGFRIED, with me. SNOTRA in the Ford with Tara and Hugo. LOFN, you’re here with THOR and Joan.”

  SIEGFRIED and FREYA sprang to their paws and bolted ahead up the stairs, the door opening automatically. William followed, cowboy boots echoing.