“I, well I, perhaps,” she had not thought of it that way. “Given the events of the last couple of days, I’ve not stopped to think about why they gave me the job.”
She quickly trawled through her conversation with Richard Hapgood, Euros’ ambassador to the European parliament, on the day before she’d left London. Unbidden, a memory came where she said she was ready for more of a challenge, that she was perhaps coming to a natural end of her time at the bureau. She did not think someone would have searched out something like this for her based on a single conversation, but Richard had always pushed her towards examining security work. It was an area she had resisted getting into.
“I know what you’re thinking,” said Raeph. “That it all turned on one conversation.”
Helena looked at him, startled. “It did,” he confirmed. “But long before whatever event you’re thinking about.”
“My younger sister Margarete is already in the parliament’s security office. Quite enough of my generation already work to protect Oligarchy interests, at least in my humble opinion,” said Helena.
“Right,” said Raeph. He put his arm round her. The act of touch broke the dam she’d put in place against the sinking of the Amazon Fell, the death of Ngasi, her Uncle’s betrayal. Helena grabbed Raeph back and held onto him. At first she thought he’d got the wrong idea, but he shifted his body and let her hold on until she was ready to talk.
Patting down her clothes, watching the desert’s dust billow out from it, she said, “Thanks. I’m going to need a few more of those before this is over.”
Raeph smiled, a thin line of amusement crowded round with worry. “Ya’ve not chosen an easy one girl. Ya sure ya’ll right with it?”
Helena looked around, stared up at the sky, as if to take in the world and figure out how she’d manage it all into submission. With a deep breath she turned back to her old friend.
“What have you got for me Raeph?” asked Helena.
“Indexiv know about your hovertank, they’ve probably been tracking you since Johannesburg.”
So much for outwitting them she thought, if Raeph knew she’d come from there it was because Amenic had been watching.
“Amazin’ as it is, Indexiv seem ta have left ya a clean passage through ta Keetmanshoop. I don’t pretend ta understand why that is, but it ain’t ‘cos they’re fans of yours.” He took his hand from around her shoulders, gestured laconically for her to follow him into a small hanger. It was cooler inside, the sun’s incessant heat barred from the building.
“It’d be better for you ta take an all-terrain vehicle. Lightly armed for sure, but what good’s a tank against an armoured division eh? Best that Indexiv think you’re still here.”
“What?” she asked in surprise.
“We’re gonna’ keep the tank here, make like your prize was bein’ kept here at Kimberly. It’s important that you get this boy ta London, for all of us,” said Raeph, his expression focused sharply on Helena.
“For goodness sake, how do you know about this?” she asked, exasperated beyond belief that her life was a public spectacle.
“Come on now Hels, do you think Amenic don’t know what’s good for it? Indexiv’s forced to start a war it wasn’t ready for ‘cos this boy’s existence has come ta light. The kid is the future for all of us.”
“That’s not what I’ve heard,” said Helena, “In fact almost the opposite of that.”
“Ah, depends on who’s telling the story now doesn’t it,” said Raeph with a smile, but he didn’t elaborate further. Helena looked round the small space Raeph had brought them to, it was quite dark, although her eyes compensated for the lack of light. The dimness obscured the far walls of the chamber, even though they were less than fifteen metres away.
The entrance they had come through was a door in a larger rolling wall that could be winched up to allow the whole room to become accessible, probably for vehicles. It smelt of organic motor oil and a dark patch in the centre of the room suggested the presence of a mechanic’s pit.
“I take it you’ve got a hummingbird for us then?” she asked.
“I thought you’d never ask,” said Raeph and clapped his hands together. The lights in the room went on, strips that lit one by one, rolling from close to them out across the ceiling. On the other side of the pit was the hummingbird; a small two-person all-terrain vehicle, powered in the same way as the hovertank, using superconducting magnets to generate fields powerful enough to lift the chassis.
It was lightly armoured, less than three metres long with a stealth-capable skin. Covered in a neural net of nanomachines, it blended more effectively than a cuttlefish. Whereas Helena could change her colour if she so needed, the skin on the hummingbird could change its texture and patterning to reflect its environment, even while moving at a hundred kilometres an hour. It was called the hummingbird because of the noise it made, a continuous soft humming like the furious beating of wings.
“We’ve packed a little picnic too: stun grenades, directed energy rifles and a couple of projectile weapons. Oh, and ‘cos you and me go way back I managed ta sweet talk the others into lettin’ you have a plasma rifle. Careful though, it’s got a limited shelf life.”
He looked at her; she could tell he was concerned, even worried.
“Raeph, how many of you are here?” she asked
“Four. Now don’t fret, we know how ta take care of ourselves. I hear you’ve picked up a stray along the way,” he said, smiling again, a wide lop-sided grin she’d never been able to resist.
She chuckled. “You could say that. I can’t exactly leave him behind now can I, he got me this far. He’s certainly been more reliable than my damn uncle,” she said, more forcefully than she’d meant to.
“Don’t go soft Hels. You’ll be better off on your own,” said Raeph. “He could stay here.”
She shook her head, the feeling of loyalty towards Denholme surprising her. “You know what they’re like. He’d be lost, a child, he’s better off with me.”
Raeph raised his eyebrows. “He’d be better off? What are you tellin’ me Hels? That you’re more concerned with his wellbein’ than what you’ve got ta do? That ain’t like you.”
“Raeph. No, it’s,” she hesitated; he smirked again, second guessing her.
“You know his name don’t you,” he said suddenly, as if solving a particularly tricky problem.
She blushed. “Hels, don’t forget, they is nothing like us, they’re just like you said, children. It can’t be any other way, can it, that’s how we’ve been made. Neither side can become like the other. Now I’m not shedding a tear over Indexiv’s thinking, but they have got one thing straight. Your pilot and everyone like him are less than us. If you think he can help you then knock yerself out, but don’t screw the world over ‘cos you worried about him.”
“I know,” said Helena, feeling unexpectedly distant from her old friend. “But he’s gotten me this far. I’m telling you that Raeph, I wouldn’t have got here if it weren’t for him. He’s earned my loyalty. I think he can help me find the boy.”
Raeph chewed on his lips then said, “Good job the Hummingbird’s got two seats then ain’t it!” He slapped her on the shoulder and moved on.
Helena sensed Raeph use his Tertiary AI to summon a technician who arrived a few seconds later, head down.
“Find Lady Woolf’s man and bring him here.”
“Sir, yes sir,” said the soldier.
“Hels, I’ve missed you.” said Raeph.
Helena was touched at the tender tone he used. It had been more than ten years since they’d last seen each other. She guessed he had been in Africa for about that long. Ten years did not represent much of her life, but it was still a long time even if their relationship had been one of convenience and pleasure.
“Me too,” she said looking at him, wishing devoutly that she wasn’t on the course in front of her.
He took her hands in his and pulled her close. “You still a fan of Schmerl then?”
His question was slightly too earnest to get away with the light tone he used. She laughed, enjoying his defensiveness. Of all the partners she had had he was still her favourite. He was considerate and thoughtful. His manner, mostly affected as it was, still charmed her even now.
“He’s with Indexiv,” she said. “I doubt I’ll be seeing him again anytime soon.”
“Sweetheart, come back and see me again when you’re done savin’ the world.”
“Ha!” she said. “You’re the one who never came to see me if I remember rightly.”
He pulled a face. “That’s as maybe, but I’m stuck out here in Africa babe. You the one living the perfect life in Europe.”
She put her arms around his back and kissed him. He felt like home. Hearing the approaching footsteps, she pulled away and put a finger to his mouth and a hand to his groin.
“I’ll try; you just make sure you take care of yourself. Remember that I’m at war with Indexiv, their view stinks and it smells bad on others too.”
He absently licked his lower lip and said, “You’re at war with them are ya?” He thrust his hands into his pockets to hide an obvious bulge. Their visitors were on the other side of the garage door.
“You need any Leak?” His words were uncertain, as if he was not quite sure if they should be said or not.
Helena was caught off guard, she had not used the stuff for years. It had eventually begun to impair her ability to know reality for what it was.
“That’s all behind me now Rae.” She wanted to ask if he was still using it. Perhaps that was why he was so calm about acting as her decoy. She felt conflicted; he could not have convinced the other Oligarchs here if they knew he was high on Leak. They’d have ignored his judgement.
He shrugged, “Just asking. You remember how it used to help us study.” His eyes were still questioning her, offering one last chance.
Leak did exactly what it said; it allowed the user’s consciousness to leak into their subconscious, into the wider areas of their mind that they would not normally be able to access. Synesthesia was the most fundamental of experiences it offered.
Originally devised for bored Oligarchs for whom sleep was optional, it was intensely popular and used, without prejudice, by all sections of society. For Helena, the experience was like having a waking dream, where the images were not hers to control, but the real world was still perceived. As if the edges of the user’s perception had been perforated and fantasy was allowed to leach into the everyday.
Unlike a dream, self-control remained. Unlike less engineered psychedelic drugs, users were not at the mercy of the experience and were able to cognise, function and work. The vivid imagery lent itself to learning, since it allowed exquisitely built experiences and images to be associated with difficult concepts and ideas, the very things that implanted artificial intelligences could not help with.
She decided to change direction, “How do you get that stuff out here?”
He sniggered, quite unattractively she thought, “Hels, where do ya figure the stuff is cropped?” He did not need to explain. “The Oligarchs don’t outlaw the drug since we’re quite capable of rehabilitation. Ain’t much concerned about its effects on anyone else.”
“Are you using your AIs to stave off addiction?” she asked.
It was a powerful drug. However, chemical dependency was overcome simply through sleeping. If an AI believed its owner to be in personal danger, it would bring about sleep, a flatline, and wait for the Oligarch to break the addictive cycle before waking them again.
Normal people did not have the option.
She tutted like a mother, “Please tell me you’re not humming along just below flatline Rae.”
“That hurts,” said Raeph, his manner still friendly. Then his face became more serious, his eyes focussing on her, hoping to grab the last few seconds in private.
“The Namibian province is a cesspool Hels. The people, your pilot’s people, are lost in a sea of fantasy. Don’t expect any help. Those runnin’ the show up there work for the corporations, indirect like. They not our people in any sense of the word, if they scuttle onto the fact that you all alone out there they’ll have their fun.” He leant back as the garage door wound itself up, letting the heat and light of the sun flow into the room like warm honey.
A man dressed in combat fatigues looking for all the world as if he had been born with a set of weights in his hands, stepped neatly under the folding door. He was followed by Denholme who, compared to his escort, looked like an underfed child.
Raeph chuckled at the giant next to him, as tall as the two Oligarchs, but twice their weight. “See Hels, we’ve got proper soldiers here.”
She looked the chunk of meat up and down; there wasn’t a lot she could say. The soldier stood there, eyes straight ahead.
Trust the Americans to have the biggest and the best.
“Rae, I take it the energy rifles are limited to disablement?”
He nodded. “Plasma rifle Hels, that’s your baby, look after it. I want her back.” He pursed his lips in a dry smile. “She’s mean enough ta take out your tank, so treat her with some respect. Heh, like you’d treat your pilot,” he said. Denholme looked at Helena, then away again. He walked to the Hummingbird and got into the driver’s seat.
Helena moved after Denholme to the buggy, stopping by the passenger door. Raeph followed her at a distance. His eyes were flat, his expression absent of the cheer that had graced it until then.
“Raeph, take care of yourself,” said Helena.
He smiled wistfully, “I’ll be right, you the one off ta the lion’s den ain’t ya.” She nodded in agreement at the idiocy of heading north and opened the door to the Hummingbird.
“You can drive this?” she asked Denholme. He nodded.
Casting a glance at Raeph, Denholme said, “The general arranged for me to receive the correct skills Ma’am.” His voice was dry and without emotion. Helena turned back to Raeph and, as Denholme pulled the Hummingbird out of the garage into the sun, she mouthed a “thank you” at him. With a kiss blown in farewell, they left.
They sped from Kimberly, Helena handing Denholme some food as they went. The route she selected followed an ancient abandoned railroad west which would eventually turn north. At that point, she would take the Hummingbird across the interior of the country expecting to cover most of the distance by nightfall. By her calculations, they could reach a small town called Noenieput before darkness fell.
Looking back over her shoulder at the receding town, she wondered if they had lost the Hound. Don’t be so bloody naive Hels, she thought. Even if Raeph’s trick fooled those watching from orbit, the Hound would still be in her shadow.
They were heading along the edges of the Kalahari Desert, an area retaining the name of Kgalagadi. It was a wild area of semi desert she hoped would be empty of people.
It was not long before she saw small antelopes fleeing from the approaching buggy, their bounding forms briefly visible above the high yellow grasses.
The Hummingbird was far more comfortable than the tank and, after checking to see that Denholme was okay, Helena fell asleep.
She was awoken with a persistent calling of her name. It was Denholme.
“What is it?” she asked groggily. The sun was just a couple of thumb widths above the horizon. She had been asleep most of the afternoon.
As they drove towards the point where the sun was setting, she could almost make out what she believed should be Noenieput.
“Look,” said Denholme.
She squinted into the sunlight but could only see silhouettes. Her solar filters couldn’t compensate for the contrast.
“What?” she asked.
“I haven’t seen anyone. We’re less than a kilometre away from the town boundary and it appears deserted Ma’am.”
She sat up in her chair, a sense of foreboding inking through the atmosphere. Shielding her eyes from the sun she looked around them at the fields and smallholdings they were travelling pa
st. It amazed her that people still insisted on growing crops when they could have had their food shipped in. Most foods were grown using nanotechnology, it meant there was no waiting around for the seed to germinate and grow.
The outskirts of the small sprawling town were all the more barren for the lack of people. A large lizard lay sunning itself on the porch of a house. It gave them a proprietorial look as they passed.
Feeling uneasy, Helena asked Denholme to bring the Hummingbird to a stop.
Stepping out, she retrieved one of the hand guns, a palm-sized pistol. She noticed a bowie knife in the pack Raeph had supplied them with and smiled to herself.
He remembered, she thought fondly. She took it out along with the belt it had come with and strapped it around her waist.
“Denholme, stay here, be ready to move.” He shifted the magnets into a low setting that held the Hummingbird just off the ground. The buzz was gentle, like a bee behind a blanket.
Helena walked to the side of the road. Her Tertiary AI reminded her of a dinner appointment with a friend of hers, Madeline. They were supposed to be dining at the Attic, a very quiet and enjoyable restaurant owned by a third cousin. They made their pasta fresh. She pined for the moment lost then asked the AI to dismiss all appointments for the following week.
What a time to get a meeting reminder.
Reaching the side of the road, she walked in front of the Hummingbird, stopping when its noise could no longer be heard. Satisfied, she sniffed the air, asking her AI for an analysis. While it worked she stood on the road and listened.
Helena filtered out her heartbeat, her breathing. She was left with the quiet thunder of her muscles and the subsonic waves of the Hummingbird. She filtered those out as well.
At last, she heard only what was outside of herself, a silent centre drinking in the sounds around her.
Helena started walking again, towards the lizard on the porch they had passed. It shuffled grumpily out of the way seeking refuge under the boards of the house. Standing on the threshold, Helena could hear a soft whine, exhausted and weak. She brought her hearing back to normal and went into the house. It was a one storied, two roomed building. The front room was a bedroom, the other was the living space along with a small food preparation area along one wall.
A Family War: The Oligarchy - Book 1 Page 10
