Altered Humans

by Darrell Bain

  “Maria is the name I was given as a child. That will do well enough.” Her voice had a Hispanic lilt to it, but it was melodic and pleasant to listen to.

  “I'm Gary Daniels,” he said without thinking, then realized he had given his real name. Well, it probably wouldn't matter to her one way or another. From all indications, she was now on the run too, and certainly she was almost as involved in his latest homicide as he was. “What was going on in that place anyway?"

  “I thought I had taken a job as a hostess there, but it seems I was mistaken. The man you killed owned the place, and I guess he decided he owned me too. He thought I could serve him better by favoring to his customers with sex rather than drinks. He kept me from leaving when I tried to quit. That's when he began beating me and that's when you and Booger Bear stopped him."

  “Just call him Booger,” Gary said absently, still trying to figure out what to do. “By the way, I left my bag back there. Is there any chance of getting it back?"

  “I wouldn't try it if I were you. Too many dealers were into him for one thing or another and they would like nothing better than to make you liable for it. Was there anything important in it?"

  Gary considered. He had gotten away with his money and his lasergun with two spare powerpacks. Anything else could be replaced fairly easily. The bad aspect was that he could be traced through his belongings, and then both killings would be connected to him if there was an investigation of any consequence. He wondered about the girl—woman, he amended. She wasn't carrying any belongings other than what might be in her pockets. But perhaps she had things elsewhere. “No, there was nothing important in my bag,” he finally said. “How about you? Do you have anything to collect?

  “No. I've never had much to start with,” she said simply.

  Gary eyed her again, looking carefully for signs of age. He decided that she was even younger than he had thought, perhaps no older than sixteen or so. Other than her few brief words, he knew nothing about her. Nevertheless, he and Booger Bear had intervened in her life and now he felt somewhat responsible. Besides, she appeared to know more about the surroundings as he did and he badly needed some advice; he just didn't know quite how to ask.

  He yawned suddenly and his stomach growled at the same time, reminding him that he still hadn't finished a meal since breakfast. His purchases from the vending machines had been only half consumed before the fighting started.

  Maria was also giving him a searching examination, from his expensive jeans and jacket to the very expensive cat curled in his lap. Taking in the sight of the cat, her expression softened for a moment, but then she remembered where she had first seen Gary Daniels. It was not a place where she would ever have expected a savior. Was he one of the customers? If so, she didn't think she wanted much more to do with him. On the other hand, his pet cat seemed to be not only satisfied, but pleased and trusting of him. That carried a lot of weight with her. And he spoke of a bag. Customers normally didn't carry luggage into a place designed for clandestine activities such as sex and drug dealing or hiding from such law as still prevailed. Yet she was destitute and needed even more help that he and his cat had already provided. Finally she spoke. “I have to find a place to stay,” she said, leaving the rest of the gambit up to him.

  “So do I,” Gary replied, trying to stifle another yawn.

  “I think I know a place if you have a little money,” Maria offered.

  “I have some,” Gary said cautiously.

  “There's one other thing."

  “Yes?"

  “It's mostly a place for altered humans. Would that bother you?"

  “It wouldn't bother me and it certainly wouldn't bother Booger. He would probably just find it interesting. The question is, would they mind him?"

  “They would probably like him. It's sort of like a hotel catering to altered humans, so long as they can pay a little toward their keep."

  “How do you know about it? No—sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

  Maria decided to be at least mostly honest since he obviously could tell she was an altered human. “I stayed there for a few days when I first came to Houston,” she told him.

  Gary didn't ask any more questions about her physical being. He was curious but he knew that many altered humans were sensitive about their differences, especially since most of them hadn't asked to be born that way. He held none of the common prejudices concerning altereds, but like any young man in the presence of a pretty girl, he wanted to find out more about her. That could wait though. The important thing now was to get off the streets and try to devise a long range plan. He stood up, waking Booger Bear in the process.

  “Let's go."

  * * * *

  The hotel, as Maria had described it, was several streets over where the business and entertainment districts began merging with old apartment buildings and homes converted into boarding houses for transients and refugees. Several apparently normal humans were lounging on the porch as they came up, including an enhanced dog of indeterminate breed laying on the floor. It woke up as they approached, eyed the cat without animosity and went back to sleep.

  Inside there was a foyer inhabited by a matronly, gray-haired woman dozing in a corner lounger. She opened her eyes as they entered.

  “Hello, Maria. Back so soon?"

  “It didn't work out,” Maria said shortly. “Is my room still open?"

  “If you can pay. Who's your friend?"

  “He's with me,” Maria evaded.

  The woman raised one brow in a cynical expression. “It will cost extra."

  Gary stopped her speculation. “It's not like that. We just need a place to camp for a day or two. And something to eat and drink too."

  “Money? Extra for your cat."

  Gary fished for a gold coin. The old woman weighed it in her hand, then surprisingly, gave him some change taken from the folds of her voluminous skirt. She dropped the gold coin into her bosom.

  He was satisfied. There would be no record of their visit. He doubted that she kept any records at all, merely paying off the police to avoid word getting to the city that it was a business establishment.

  From the other side of her skirt she produced an old fashioned key and handed it to Maria. “Go ahead. I'll bring you something to eat and drink. Mind the cat now. No messes."

  “Thank—You,” Booger Bear said, deciding to speak up for a change. He pronounced the words slowly but articulately. The gray haired woman raised her brows again but said nothing.

  Maria led the way down a narrow hall to the back of the first floor.

  The room was small but neatly kept. There was a standard double bed, a dresser, some shelves and a tiny bathroom with shower. There was even an old holovision set. Gary glanced at the controls and saw that it had modern search programs for all that it was an older model. He thought of trying it out to see if his name was in the news yet, but he was simply too tired to worry about it, even supposing he was ready to share the events surrounding his previous homicide with Maria, which he wasn't yet.

  A tap on the door produced the taciturn old lady, holding out a container of food and a jug of water. Maria took the meal from her with thanks then closed them in again.

  The food was all synthetic but Gary ate hungrily. He sat in the single chair, while Maria sat cross legged on the bed. She let Booger Bear nibble from her hand as she ate, which the cat liked to do, and something that had always given Amelia fits. Maria smiled and talked to his pet as they ate, raising her a notch on his approval scale.

  When they were finished, Gary stood up and brushed away crumbs. He eyed the bed, hoping that Maria intended for him to sleep there rather than on the floor. She perceived his intentions.

  “We can both use the bed, but let's keep it at that, huh?"

  “Fine."

  Gary began undressing while she used the tiny bathroom, then he took his turn. Booger Bear joined him and complained about the lack of cat facilities.

  “Just go ahead and use it,” Gar
y told him. “I'll take you outside tomorrow.” He stripped and began showering, a necessity his pet thought was simply one more of the strange things humans did that were both unnecessary and inexplicable.

  Maria was already under the covers when they came back out into the room. He crawled into bed while Booger Bear jumped onto it and waited patiently for Gary to settle down and get the covers arranged.

  “Lights out,” Maria told the room. “Good night, Gary. Good night, Booger."

  “G'night,” Gary said and closed his eyes. He was asleep before Booger Bear replied, if he did.

  Maria waited tensely for the expected overture or thinly disguised groping, but none came. Shortly she heard his breathing slow into sleep and relaxed, undecided over whether to be relieved or miffed. She closed her eyes again and let Booger Bear's soft purring lull her to sleep.

  * * * *

  Gary woke to the sound of noises coming from the bathroom and took the opportunity to turn on the holo. He puzzled out the search program and entered his name. Seconds later his picture appeared, then those of Amelia and Deacon Pilkington. The facts of the accompanying story were more or less accurate, but the opinions and explanations were decidedly slanted, and not in his favor. He found that he was wanted for both murders, with no ameliorating circumstances mentioned. Maria was named as his accomplice in the second, and possibly first, killing. She was also cited as being an altered human and probably as dangerous as he was.

  The Deacon's face stared at him as though they were both in the same room. His forehead crinkled in genuine grief and simulated puzzlement at the murder of his son by his son-in-law. Amelia flanked him on one side and her mother on the other.

  When the deacon finished speaking, Amelia declared to the world that Gary was an anti-Christian freak-lover and that if she had known it beforehand, she wouldn't have married him. The tears streaking her pretty face were soap-opera real.

  Fascinated by the unfolding version of events being presented to the Houston viewing audience, Gary failed to hear the bathroom door open.

  Maria watched tensely, and sensed with her feline awareness that her partner of the night was feeling no remorse; rather, he emanated emotions of disgust mixed with apprehension. She trusted her senses to a certain extent, but she began wondering what she had gotten herself mixed up in.

  She froze her expression into normality as Gary cursed his erstwhile family and switched off the holovision set. He turned around and saw her standing in front of the bathroom door. Her unexpected presence held him in place.

  * * *

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “Now you know why I'm on the run,” Gary said resignedly. “If you want me to leave, I will. I'll give you enough money to take care of yourself for a few days. All I ask is that you don't report that you've been with me—and I'll do the same for you."

  Maria was more startled by Gary's offer of money than anything else. Anything ever given to her in the past had meant a sexual trade. She didn't know what to make of him, but she didn't intend to split up, not unless he showed a darker side of his character than he had so far. She was under no illusions about what would happen to her if caught. Altered humans fared very poorly in court these days, and that wasn't even considering the fact that she was an illegal immigrant.

  “I think we should both leave,” she said, coming forward and holding out her arms to take Booger Bear. The cat was agreeable; he jumped from the floor and landed on her chest. She cradled him into a comfortable position before he needed to extend his claws for purchase.

  “You mean together? Don't you want to know anything else about what you just saw?"

  Maria lowered her gaze to Gary's pet, who was practically shaking the room with the deep bass rumble of his purrs. “Yes, I'd like to know why you murdered you wife's brother,” she said simply, not willing to credit him with being as cold blooded as the news clip she had just watched made him out to be.

  “Her brother is a fanatic when it comes to genetic engineering. He thinks enhanced animals and altered humans like yourself should all be killed, preferably after some very disagreeable pain."

  “Lots of people feel that way."

  “Yes, but he tried to sneak into my house while my wife and I were out and kill Booger Bear. She gave him the house code and told him when we would be gone. The only thing that saved Booger is that we broke up and I came back early. Then he tried to kill me as well. I had no choice, just as I had no choice when that guy beating on you tried to kill him."

  “You love your cat, don't you?"

  “Yes. He's a better person than most humans, altered or otherwise."

  “That's good enough for me. You already know I have some cat in me, don't you?"

  “For someone like me, it's hard to miss. I'm a geneticist, and specialize—or did specialize—in improvement of mammalian species."

  “Okay, I won't hold it against you.” She smiled, showing canines slightly longer than those of normal humans. “Shall we go?"

  “I'm willing—but to where? Everyone who watched that news clip knows what I look like now."

  “Which means we should get out of the city,” Maria said.

  “Yes, but how? The airports and bus stations require computer identification. I don't have any now, and unless I miss my guess, you don't either.” For the first time, Gary was beginning to regret selling the car. Then he remembered that it wouldn't have helped to keep it, not without money for recharging, or even to eat on for that matter.

  “We'll have to go overland. The trucks are still running, and they'll take passengers so long as they're armed and can pay."

  Gary could understand about being able to pay, but armed? “Why would they want passengers to be armed?"

  “To help fend off hijackers, and in case of breakdowns to keep the feral animals at bay."

  Gary thought she knew a hell of a lot about how to get around for a sixteen year old girl. “How do you know so much about them? Have you traveled that way?"

  “It's how I got to Houston from Del Rio. Don't worry, one of them will take us."

  Gary did worry, but he didn't see where he had much choice. He was so far outside the bounds of his previous life that almost every waking moment held some new surprise for him. “All right, Maria. Lead the way."

  * * * *

  They were on their way, but barely two blocks from where they had spent the night, waiting at an intersection for a hole in the undirected traffic to slow enough for them to cross the street. Maria stopped suddenly, senses alert. She looked casually around as if trying to decide which direction to take, then grabbed Gary's hand and urged him quickly through the entrance of a used clothing store.

  Gary didn't know what was happening, but followed Maria's lead. He was beginning to trust her more and more.

  “Security Rats ahead,” she explained softly, still holding his hand.

  “How do you know?"

  “Never mind now. There was one on each side of the street, coming our way. Listen, I don't think they spotted us, but we'll have to buy something to stay here more than a few minutes. Best to try it on some pants or something and get out of sight. I'll wait here; they don't know my face yet."

  The proprietor, a slight man with a limp was already eyeing them suspiciously. Gary quickly began looking at a selection of jumpsuits. Surprisingly, he found a consignment of the new temperature controlled garments, usually available only in upscale stores in affluent parts of the city.

  “Find a pair your size, and whatever else you need,” Gary told Maria, knowing she would need a change of clothes as well as him.

  While Maria was still looking, Gary took a jumpsuit he thought would fit and asked the little man if he could try it on. He agreed reluctantly only after Gary showed him the color of their money and after insisting he hold a coin for “security". Gary took his time in the dressing room, pausing to read the instructions for setting the controls for different temperatures. When he came out, already wearing the jumpsuit, Maria had a jumps
uit and several other garments in her possession. Gary selected undergarments and a shoulder bag big enough to carry Booger Bear with room to spare. At the last moment, he also bought a western style straw hat, hoping it would help shade his face. At his suggestion, Maria also bought a bag to carry her purchases in. By this time the shop owner was smiling happily and wasn't adverse to spending a little time dickering over prices. All the while, Gary was holding his breath, hoping he wasn't a news junkie and that no one who was would come into the store while they were there.

  “They're past,” Maria said, leaving first then motioning Gary on out through the door.

  “Do you think it was us they were after?"

  Maria's shoulders twitched. “Who knows? They were heading in the right direction anyway. Best to be careful."

  “How did you spot them?"

  “It's easy once you've seen a few of them. They're always down in this area, trying to find out who's paying the cops, who's changed identities, and so on. And some of them regularly came into the place I was at, looking for payoffs."

  “Speaking of identities, don't we need some new ones?"

  “Best to let it wait until we get where we're going. The truckers won't ask."

  “How does someone as young as you look know all this stuff?"

  “You learn by being a fugitive, or by being around others who are."

  “I didn't know you were wanted."

  “I wasn't, until yesterday. Or at least not by no one but the Border Rats."

  “Oh,” Gary said, feeling small. She was an illegal immigrant. He should have guessed.

  “Don't worry about it. If you want my life story, I'll tell you about it, but not now."

  Just then, the stutter of small caliber automatic weapons sounded from back the way they had come. There was an explosion, then more automatic gunfire that gradually tapered off to single shots and finally stopped completely.

  “It sounds like we got out just in time,” Maria said, showing little emotion. She did take his hand though, and hurried him along.