by Dana Lyons
Good.
He walked past her, stopped and glanced back. “Hilde, I’m Leonard. Hi.”
She eyed him up and down. “What do you want?”
“Oh, nothing. But I heard your fight earlier. I’m sorry about your troubles. I understand you’re out on the next flight?”
“Yeah,” she said, sniffling.
He said softly, “Got nowhere to stay until you leave?”
She shuffled her feet, hesitant. “No, I’ve been kicked out.”
“You’re welcome to stay at my place. It’s only a couple nights, and there’s no strings attached. I’m just trying to help.” He smiled with genuine sympathy.
“Really?” she asked. “You won’t expect me to—”
“No,” he said, waving his hand. “I promise. No sleazy expectations.”
“Well, okay then.” She still didn’t move.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “Everything will be fine. Can I carry your bag for you?” She passed him her bag and he slung it over his shoulder. “Where you from, Hilde?”
They chatted the short distance. He glanced about to make sure no one was in the hallway watching. It was all clear. He opened the door wide. “Come on in.”
When she passed by, he closed the door and motioned her to proceed him. She took two steps before he hit her in the head.
* * *
“You want me to help you catch Givens?” Simon blurted. “What about catching Lazar?”
Dreya cringed at Simon’s outburst. When Quinn asked for his help catching Givens, Simon’s eyes bugged and he choked.
“Lazar just—” he continued.
“Did something you can’t ever tell,” she said. “Let’s not stand here and talk about it. You’re coming with us—”
He hesitated.
“For now,” she coaxed. “Please?”
“I decide,” he declared, his brow deeply furrowed. “I decide where I go, with whom, and why.”
“Of course, and we wouldn’t force you to go anywhere against your will, Simon. Right now, will you decide to come with us?”
For a moment he hedged, but he radiated confusion and anger. Retaining his stony face, he finally answered. “All right. Since you asked so nice. Sure.”
He went with them back to their suite. As they poured through the door, a silence of secrets and unspoken questions followed them in, congesting the air.
Rhys and Quinn took seats around the room, giving Simon space. He sat, but Dreya didn’t need telepathy to see he was ready to explode.
“So how does this work?” he asked. “How exactly did you come to be in this stinking situation?” The sarcasm was heavy, his face closed, anger filled his eyes.
“Smith tried to kill us with a bad batch of Nobility,” she said. “But we survived, and now we’re different from what we were before. We have a bond, emotional, and telepathic for starters; Nobility is constantly at work strengthening our connections. Expect changes to come.”
“What kind of changes?”
“Priorities,” Rhys said.
“Attachments,” Quinn added.
“Everything, ultimately, will change,” she said. “But we suggest that you—”
“Not make up your mind—” Rhys started.
“Give Nobility a chance,” Quinn said.
“Give us a little time—” she coaxed.
“To grow on you,” Quinn finished.
Simon shot to his feet and stomped back and forth. “How can you sit there so calmly? Hell, you three sound like you’re selling timeshares. I want to know, why didn’t you kill Lazar the minute you saw him? Huh? Cause I’ll tell you, right now I’m ready to rip him apart.”
There was no way for her to appease his anger. “The deed is done, Simon, irreversible. You’ll learn to live with it or your anger will kill you … or worse. Actually, Nobility will help you come to terms.”
“Huh,” he snapped, unimpressed. “You talk like Nobility is going to be my best friend.” He stopped, threw his arms up, and turned loose his rage. “Lazar altered my DNA. I didn’t ask for this!” he shouted, thumping his chest. He went back to pacing. “Dammit,” he yelled and swung a fist through the air.
“We all started with this anger,” Quinn said. “You’ll come to see Nobility … or rather, see yourself, with new eyes—a new perspective.”
“Your actions,” Rhys added, “motivations, and decisions will come from a new place.”
“I like to make my own decisions, if you don’t mind,” Simon argued. “I choose my own path.”
Dreya remembered what it was like to declare such autonomy. “It’s not that you’re wrong and Nobility is right—Nobility just illuminates a new perception … of yourself. You know, Nobility isn’t so bad. In fact, we’d like your help tonight in the outback.”
Mentioning the night run brought a sparkle of anticipation to Rhys and Quinn. She was willing to bet the same would happen with Simon. He had yet to experience the joy of being animal.
Let him run free with his brothers.
She smiled. “Care to go for a run tonight?”
10
Leonard had the bathroom all prepared for Hilde’s incarceration. By the time she regained consciousness, he had the muzzle on her head and the shock collar around her neck, the straight-jacket on, and a cable attached from the back of the jacket to the wall.
She moaned, coming around.
He saw her eyes flutter. “Now, Hilde, I know this looks scary, but it’s really not what you think. If you’ll let me explain—”
With mystified eyes, she blinked and looked down at the straight-jacket, at him and at her surroundings. Comprehension bloomed. Her eyes grew large with panic.
He backed up and held his hands out, placating, his voice soft. “Listen, Hilde. Just listen. Please.” He put his hands together in prayer, begging.
She pushed her back against the wall. Panic still bugged her eyes, but the I’m-gonna-fly-out-of-here wildness receded. She nodded.
“You took my place on the travel list. I have to leave, or I’m going into Limbo—that’s another five-year contract for me.” The panic in her eyes shifted to guilt.
“Now, you wanted off Draco so bad you screwed that fat pig, Meyers. So, I know you understand why I want out of here so bad. You took my place on the Fly Out list, Hilde. I can’t let you do that.” He rose and walked to the door.
“You only have to stay here until I fly out in your seat. Then you’re free to leave on the next flight.” He shrugged one shoulder and smiled. “See. I don’t mean to hurt you. All you have to do is stay here two days, and it’s over. I’ll bring you food and water in the meantime and you have the bed and the toilet. Do you want me to bring you something to read?”
She screeched into the mouth gag.
“Oh, right. You can’t turn the pages. Music, then?”
She screamed again and jumped up, lunging at him to the length of the cable.
He backed up. “Hilde, come on. I’m trying to make nice, here.”
Another lunge. He backed up further. “I’m going to get you food.” He tapped the wall, activating the screen. “What kind of music do you want, Hilde?”
She moaned and glared at him.
“Calming,” he told the screen, and left.
* * *
Dreya, Rhys, Quinn, and Simon rode down to Level 4. “You deactivated those new cameras?”
“Yep,” Simon answered.
“You looking forward to this?” She peeked sideways at him.
A hesitant smile at the corners of his mouth said he grappled with the idea. He noticed her inspection and immediately frowned, losing the edges of his smile. “Maybe. That’s all I’m going to say.”
They reached Level 4, greeted by the same supervisor. “Still looking for something out there?”
“Everything holding the status quo here?” Dreya responded.
“All are accounted for.”
“We’ll be out till sunrise,” Dreya said, and they turned off t
oward the wild lands again. When they were out of sight, she said, “I saw Givens out here last night.”
Simon stopped. “What happened?”
“He showed up out of nowhere, quoted the Bible, and left like that.” She snapped her fingers.
“How did he look?”
“Wild, very wild. I’m afraid of his temptation to fly out here.”
He snorted. “What Bible quote?”
“Deliver me from the workers of iniquity; save me from bloody men.”
They reached a point out of sight. Rhys and Quinn began stripping. Simon peered askance at their sudden nudity and put a hand up, blocking his view.
She laughed. “You’ll get used to it.” Rhys and Quinn shifted and waited for Simon. He peeled out of his clothes and transitioned immediately. Dreya picked up his suite before giving him a closer examination.
His fur was silky like Quinn’s. At her touch, he began a loud purr. Feels good.
“We’re looking for Givens, but I’m hoping the Bible reference means there’s an opportunity for discussion.” She patted the tranquilizer rifle slung over her shoulder. “I’ll shoot him if I have to. Most important, don’t engage him physically. I can’t lose any of you.”
Rhys, keep an eye on them.
They took off in the outback night, dog, cat, and bird seeking the highest expression of their newly activated DNA. Rhys was a black blur skimming the tree tops. Quinn was a silver shadow fading into darkness. Simon trailed close behind them, a golden mass with his nose to the ground and the end of his tail twitching madly.
Stay in touch.
On instinct, she returned to the place where Givens revealed himself. It was a steady upward climb and she stopped for water once she reached the spot. She wiped the back of her neck and sat on a rock to catch her breath.
Her men’s animal thoughts bounded through her mind in a collage of wind and earth and excitement. The thrill of zero restraint filled Simon’s mind as he processed the infinite new smells.
There are four of us now, she thought. We’re not going to fit in my apartment. We need a place where their DNA can exercise its natural expression. “Gonna have to move out of the city.”
A noise behind her and she glanced over her shoulder. Givens stood where he did before, one move away from invisible. Her hand rested on the rifle beside her. “Nate.”
He took a step, now two moves from invisible.
Givens is here.
“Nate, you got a bad deal. Come in and we’ll talk.”
Another step closer. He was more soiled than before; the bloody shirt was gone and his bare torso was dirty, as was his bearded face. “Who are the workers?” she asked. “The workers of iniquity?”
His nostrils flared and he tilted his head back, testing the wind. “You can’t catch me, even with them helping.”
“You going to live out here?”
“For a while. Lazar gave me medicine.” He gazed off, a lost expression crinkling his eyes.
“You plan to stay out here forever?”
His eyes came back. “Forever may not be as long as you think.”
“Who are they, Nate. The workers of iniquity?”
“You tell me. Under the heading of wicked—perhaps Pantheon comes to mind?”
She shouldn’t have sympathy for him, but she did. His point of view was clear to her, thanks to—
Damn Nobility. The law is black and white, not grey around the Noble edges.
“What do you want to do? You’re a Pantheon investment with five billion still to produce. I think the sum total of what’ll happen to you is no more overtime. That’s good for you.”
“You think I care about what happens to me—after what I did? It’s too late for me.” Pain shadowed his face and tears flowed freely. “You saw the body, my first kill in the elevator. I ripped his throat out with my bare hands. I enjoyed it!”
Tears were a steady stream of grief. “I don’t want this, never asked to be a monster. Pantheon promised—” He choked, but bit back his sobs. “The medicine helps, but, I can’t … I can’t sleep another night with the dreams. I can’t sleep—”
She quickly glanced around. Rhys landed in the crown of a nearby tree. Quinn, a bright shadow in the darkness, emerged from the brush behind Givens. Simon was suddenly with her; he nosed the back of her leg as he came to her side.
“They can’t take me down,” Givens announced. “But you don’t need them.”
“We don’t want to take you down,” she said. “We want to understand.”
Simon nudged her again. Already do.
Me, too. Rhys cawed.
Quinn yipped. What happened to him not right. He dropped to his haunches ten feet behind Givens.
“Damn you, Lazar,” she cursed under her breath. “Nate, we’re sympathetic to your cause. What do you want? What can we do to help?”
“Bring me Lazar.” He backed up, now two steps from invisible, but neither Quinn nor Simon seemed interested in pursuit. “Bring Lazar. He did this to me.”
“Who are the bloody men, Nate?”
He wiped the tears and stood for a long moment gazing into the night with that lost expression on his face. When he spoke, he straightened his back and caught her eye. “I am.”
She blinked. He was gone.
* * *
Hilde sat on the tile floor of Leonard’s bathroom, grateful for the pillows he brought. It’s my own fault, she thought. She recognized Leonard’s situation as being more desperate. But that didn’t give him an excuse to do this to her.
Two wrongs don’t make a right.
She glanced about for a weapon, but she had no hands in this straight-jacket. If she could just get out of the jacket. A large mirrored medicine cabinet over the sink gave her an idea.
First, how do I break the mirror?
There was enough length in her cable to climb the sink and kick out the mirror.
With a piece of glass, maybe I can cut my way loose somehow.
Leonard knocked at the door and peeked in. “Hilde, you need anything? I’m going out for a while.”
She mumbled and nodded no. He picked up her empty liquid meal cup and shook it. “Good, that long straw worked, didn’t it?”
“Un huh.”
“I’ll be back after a bit.”
He shut the bathroom door and she heard him exit and close the main door. She scrambled up; having no hands made balance difficult. The toilet was next to the sink—a pedestal model with no counter around it.
Damn, not much to stand on. Don’t fall.
Slowly testing each move, she stepped onto the toilet seat. From the toilet, she put one bare foot on the rim of the sink. All she had to do was deadlift her entire body weight on one leg and bring the free leg to the edge of the sink—all without hands.
Good thing I’m a dancer.
She bent the leg several times, testing her weight and the height needed. She brought her breath into the move and timed herself to exhale on the lift. One, two, three, she pushed straight up. Using her chest as counter weight, she got her right foot up on the sink. Her toes clutched frantically at the narrow porcelain rim.
Her face and chest were against the mirror. She had to pull off the mirror, but not so much she overbalanced and pitched backward. Using her strong core muscles, she slowly righted her torso.
Panting, she stabilized on the sink. Originally, she thought to kick the mirror with her bare toe, but standing up here, she realized she would have to use her knee. She tested the move.
Coming off the one leg was nearly impossible without hands for balance. Tears started to run, but that was a disaster—she couldn’t see. She sniffed, holding her balance by sheer will.
Snap the knee, bam, quick. Return the foot.
She breathed slow, in through the nose, out through the lips, collecting complete control of her body. Several times she gauged the best place to strike. One, two, three. She slammed her knee into the mirror and brought the foot back, panting to hold her balance.
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The mirror didn’t break.
She ground her teeth, refusing to give in to tears again. She got her balance and her focus, selected her spot, and once more snapped her knee into the glass.
The top half of the mirror shattered into large pieces and tumbled into the sink. She brought her foot back to the narrow porcelain edge. Glancing down, she saw the large shards she needed.
But she moved too quickly; she lost her balance. She wobbled backward. Without arms, she overreacted and whipped forward, throwing her face and chest into the broken mirror.
“Uh,” she grunted as a ragged shard of mirror sliced through her neck.
Blood spurted, slicking the porcelain sink and her footing. In shock, she slipped off one side and plunged to the tile floor. With no hands to brace her fall, she landed as dead weight. Her leg caught under her and snapped. She screamed. But the sound was a gurgle as blood pumped through the clean cut in her carotid.
With her face mashed to the tile floor in a rapidly expanding blood pool, Hilde closed her eyes and saw her body bag floating through space, waiting for her to climb in.
Two hours later, Leonard hummed a tune as he walked up to his residence door. Everything was working out better than he expected. Hilde was on ice until he left. He would just show up at departure time and get in line. When she didn’t show, he’d take her place.
After entering his residence, he paused to listen, cocking his head. “She’s quiet, I hope she’s not crying again.” He walked softly to the bathroom and put his ear to the door. Not a sound. His gaze traveled the length of the door to the floor—something from within the bathroom was turning the carpet on this side black.
His body tensed while his brain attempted to solve the mystery. Only one answer could claim the truth. “Oh, no,” he moaned. “How?”
A terrible fear grew in his chest, expanding, taking space from his lungs. He couldn’t breathe. The fear wrapped around his throat, tripping panic. “Hilde?” He turned the door handle and eased the door open.
