He picked up the remote and muttered, "A fruit basket would have been nice. I'm starved." He clicked on the TV and went to work unloading the boxes.
Anchorwoman Linda Harvey with NBS reported, "Today's top story. The Jackal an Illicit Closer was captured early this morning by Noir Civil Police Force. The N.C.P.F. at this time have given no details as to the identity of this killer, and the illegal assassin is thought to have murdered over thirty people in the Hellenistic Sector. It is believed the Assassins Guild will ask for the death penalty if the Jackal is found guilty. The Jackal is accused of killing without a license. We will update you as this story progresses." Linda switched camera view. "We have an update on the Un-Men attacks we aired two days ago. The Sphinx Corporation has taken full blame for this line of bio-mechas and will compensate for all losses of life and property. Sphinx assures the population that this model of Un-Men has been recalled and will be destroyed. For more information, we now go to Frank Trepit who is standing by for a press conference."
The scene switched to a noisy room crowded with chairs. Reporters and representatives from other corporations filled the seats and in the back of the room, a man with a mic looked to the camera.
"Thank you, Linda. The conference is about to start. We'll be seeing Sphinx's new Press Secretary. She took over the position on Thursday which was less than twelve hours ago. She..." Frank glanced to the front of the room. "Here she comes now."
A woman with shoulder length auburn hair and wearing a dark blue business suit walked to a podium, and she waited till the room quieted down and then said, "Hello everyone. Many of you may not know me, I'm Jane Speer. I'm the new Press Secretary for Sphinx's Third Branch Office." Jane looked to a H.H.C. she carried. "I would like to first assure those in Noir that the rogue Un-Men have been eliminated. There's no need for worry." She paused and emphasized the next statement as she spoke, "I would also like to add that the technicians who looked over the T-3s programming believe the project was sabotaged by a rival corporation."
The room erupted with chatter as reporters raised their hands and shouted questions at Ms. Speer.
Zax changed the channel as he muttered, "The news is depressing and full of lies."
The bounty show Show Me The Money! was wrapping up with some final words from its host, Karen Miles. "All right viewers, if you have seen any of these people call the number you see on the screen to..."
The TV audience shouted with her, "Show Me The Money!"
The credits rolled and another bounty show called Easy Money! started.
He turned the TV off. There was nothing on but the news and bounty shows. One would think they would try putting something on the tube that was entertaining. Maybe a show about heroes. It would never happen, not on this planet. Maybe he'd listen to music, so Zax clicked the radio on with the remote and tuned it in to a classical station.
Within an hour, he unloaded the boxes, set up tables, and equipment to monitor Apartment H next door. He placed all the tables and equipment in the Master Bedroom, even purchased and had delivered a second large flat screen TV, and hung it in the bedroom. He had it put there in case he wanted to watch the news. He removed a cell phone.
"This is Delivery Man, connect me to R.G." He paused, waiting for his mysterious boss to pick up the line. "I have set up surveillance. I entered Apartment H yesterday while they were out and placed the devices, and I have cameras looking in on the kitchen and the living room. I have even tapped into the building's security and have a visual on the hall." He glanced at all the monitors. "At the moment, Kimberly and Katharine aren't at home." He listened. "Yep. Yep. I'll submit daily e-mails on the two. Yep. I understand. If something out of the ordinary happens, I'm to contact you immediately but for now, I'm to stay at Stage One surveillance. Understood, Delivery Man out."
Chapter Eleven
Where Is Pandora?
Neon signs and flickering street lights cast a dim glow on Wayfaring Lane as Dry Clouds roared and growled overhead like a wrath filled beast. Tainted Rain fell from the menacing sky, specking the streets and people with black drops, and soon the storm left the area, leaving behind an oily residue. A street clock chimed five times as evening approached. Without clocks, no one would know if it was morning, afternoon, or night. Stephanie walked through Wayfaring Lane; it was a street made famous in the Hellenistic Sector, Old Business Vicinage for its unscrupulous activities. She had shoulder length blonde hair, wore jeans and a black printed t-shirt of a smiley face, and passed many people lining the street. They sold canned food, Transgenic Vegetables, and used clothes, and a few bartered flesh, Sunna Snaps, and/or stolen water ration cards. The streets were crowded. Some of the people wore Winnow Masks, marking them as immigrants to the Dark Half of the planet, but most of the people didn't wear the air filters, having lived in Noir long enough for their lungs to become accustomed to the pollutants. Stephanie paused and adjusted the bright yellow backpack on her shoulders. She didn't wear a mask.
A Street Sanitizer activated once the Tainted Rain storm passed and as the loud automatized machine rumbled down the potholed road, she quickly crossed the street ahead of the machine. Stephanie paused at the sidewalk and turned, watching the Street Sanitizer. She had wondered how they got rid of all this oily muck and shifted the pack on her back. She couldn't understand why any one would want to live in the Dark Half and yet... Stephanie grinned, thinking of the twenty-four hour clubs she visited and the men there who satisfied her in carnal ways, so eternal darkness did have its perks. She made her way to a shelter called the Kitchen and went in to the office, and she waited a few minutes before a man came in.
"Can I help you?" he asked, carrying a sack of Chinese takeout.
"Yes, I'm looking for my sister." Stephanie reached into the backpack, pulled out a H.H.C., and showed the man a photo on the screen. "Have you seen her?"
"Let me see." He took the device and looked at the picture. "Yeah." He shook his finger at the photo. "Her name was Katie... No wait. Kat, I think. She hung around Preacher a lot." He handed the small computer back. "He used to run this shelter."
"Where can I find this preacher? Is he at a church or a temple somewhere?"
The man shook his head and answered, "He wasn't a real preacher; it was his name around here." The man removed the food from the sack and placed it on the desk. "Anyway, Preacher's dead." He opened up the sweet and sour chicken. "He was killed over a week ago. He was gunned down right outside. They say it might have been the work of an Illicit Closer."
"Oh. Do you know of anyone else who might know this woman... Ah... I mean my sister or where I might find her?"
"No." He removed chopsticks from the sack and broke them apart. "But they're holding Preacher's funeral tomorrow." He grabbed a piece of chicken with the chopsticks, shoved it into his large toothy orifice, and continued talking with food in his mouth. "Maybe she'll show. Here..." He scribbled down an address on a napkin. "This is where it'll be."
Stephanie's view...
"Thanks."
I take the paper, grab my bag, and walk out of the office, reading the napkin. It looks like it will be tomorrow. I put a hand to my chest as my heart races. I've never been this excited. I can't wait to meet... What did he call her? Kat... I'm looking forward to meeting Kat and proving myself.
I wave for a taxi. The Council's sending its best wishes, and tomorrow Pandora will meet Cerberus.
* * *
6:09 P.M...
The Chamber...
A male analyst noticed a change in Pandora's bio-data, and he waved over a supervisor.
"Yes," she inquired.
"Look at this." The analyst pointed to his computer's screen. "Something's going on with Pandora; its readings are off the chart."
"Let me see. Hmm... The data can't be right; it's probably a receiver hiccup. I want you to make a note of it though but remember, the Council deemed Pandora a failure. Let's keep our f
ocus on Cerberus unless something drastic changes."
"I understand."
"All right then. Back to work."
Chapter Twelve
Another Room
6:11 P.M...
Hellenistic Sector, Commercial Vicinage...
Etna Toys Distribution Station Bravo...
The door Kat kicked in opened into a large room filled with about a hundred filing cabinets, and it was apparent the room hadn't been used in years.
"Come on, there's no time to be sitting around," Kat said.
Kim stopped staring at Kat and hurried in past her, and then that woman glanced outside before shutting the door. Kim searched the room over the barrel of her PPK and lowered the gun after finding no threat.
Kat walked over to a filing cabinet, noticed the old metal surface, and opened the top drawer of five, and it squeaked. "They're a little rusty. They've been in here a long time." She turned back to Kim. "What do you think?"
"They're old, but–" Kim spoke as she moved to one. "–is there anything useful in them? Go through the ones on your side, and I'll do the same, and maybe we'll get lucky and find something."
"First I need to come down." Kat stretched out her senses. "The K-99s are no where near us, so now would be the best time." She moved away from the filing cabinets, found a place to sit on the floor near the door, removed the music box from her pocket, and opened its lid.
"Maybe now isn't the best time for you to go into your... Umm... Whatever you call it."
"The Drifting Time," Kat replied as she closed the lid. "The K-99s are beyond the range of my senses, so I should use this time to come down from the Ultra-Epi. Who knows when I'll get another chance?" She assured her, "I'll wake up when I sense them and if there's some other type of trouble, just give me a good shake."
Kim thought about giving her a good shake and then maybe beating that woman before she questioned her, "Come down? You make it sound like you're on drugs. Are you a junkie like those Sunna Snap addicts?"
"No, it's nothing like that." Kat tried to explain. "If I don't listen to the music and calm down, I get anxious, and sometimes I get these really bad headaches." She thought back to other instances. "I've gone a long time without the music and without coming down, and I got the shakes."
"You went into withdrawal. It still sounds like you're an addict." Kim walked to the first filing cabinet, put her hand on top, and stared at the dust. "Have you ever seen the junkies on Wayfaring Lane?"
"Yes, and I never thought of myself that way." Frustrated about her lack of memories, Kat looked to the music box as if it held answers. "Who knows what the Council did to me?" She turned to her, trying to convince her, "If I don't come down, I'm no use to you and trust me, you're going to need me. It won't take long."
Kimberly's view...
There's that word again and it proves that woman has learned nothing from before. What will I have to do to get it through her thick skull that no one can be trusted?
End Kimberly's view...
"Go ahead," Kim told her. "I'm tired of hearing you whine. I'll start on the filing cabinets." She opened a drawer. "But before you take your beauty sleep, one more question. Do you have to do this every time you see any action?" She found nothing and closed the drawer. "Waiting for you to take a nappy-poo could get old after a while."
"Yes, every time the Ultra-Epi kicks in but so far, only bio-mechas trigger it." After a few seconds, she added, "I'm sorry."
"What are you sorry for?" Kim continued searching.
"That I'm a bother. That I'm..." Kat stared at the floor. "I'm not normal."
"I don't know why you're apologizing. It's not like you can help it," Kim said and muttered, "You little freak."
"Still... I'm sorry."
"Well... As long as it doesn't get us killed, don't worry about it." Kim started on the third cabinet. "I have been meaning to ask you something. Is the Ultra-Epi what causes your eyes to glow?"
"Yes, of what I've been able to find out it is."
"Well, hurry up and get your nappy-poo, and you better not be giving me a line of Cretan Bull, so that you can get out of working." Kim forced a smile to hide what she was really thinking. She was having more and more doubts about their partnership. She had always worked on her own in the past and didn't need a partner.
"I shouldn't be out for long," Kat said, then opened the music box, and the tune played, and soon she fell asleep and entered the Drifting Time. Moments passed, and then an image of a bearded man appeared before her as he spoke to her in the dream.
"My dear, you must remember."
She wasn't sure what he wanted her to recall, but it seemed very important to him.
"My dear, remember the poem."
"What poem?" Kat questioned.
He said, "Though the clouds darken the sun..." His words unconsciously triggered a memory in her, and she muttered part of the poem and once she finished, he beseeched her again. "My dear, you must remember the rest."
"I don't know the rest."
"You must try," he urged her.
Kat didn't understand. Why did he want her to remember more, and who was he? She did feel as though she should listen to him, so Kat told him, "I'll try." She did, but nothing came to her so after some time, Kat said, "I can't remember anymore. Are you sure there's more?"
He didn't answer her.
"Hello... Are you still there? Hello?"
The dream faded, and she continued through the Drifting Time with no other strange dreams.
After about ten minutes...
Kat opened her eyes and found Kim still looking for clues, so Kat closed the lid, leaving the noise of grinding filing cabinets as the dominant sound. Kat stood, grabbed her backpack, started on her side of the room, went through drawer after drawer, and found them empty. She paused and shouted to Kim who stood at the other end of the room, "Find anything?"
"No," Kim yelled back, closed the last drawer on her side, and leaned against the filing cabinet. "You took a short nap."
"I said it would be. Did you doubt me?"
"Always have and–" Kim muttered as she walked over to the left side of the room and started on the woman's cabinets at the far end of Kat. "–always will." She then shouted, "I'm beginning to think this trip was a waste of time. The only thing we've accomplished is getting my asp nearly nipped off." She opened another one and paused. "Do you know you talk in your sleep?"
"Really?" Kat looked to her. "I talked? What did I say?"
The lights flickered, and the power went off, plunging the room into darkness and within a few seconds, the emergency lights came on and cast the area in a green glow.
"A blackout?" Kim questioned.
"Maybe not." Kat moved to the front door, listened at the frame, and came back. "The K-99s may have knocked out the power if they feel it's the only way to defend this building."
Kim removed her gun and asked, "Do you think they know where we are?"
"They're probably making their way here now."
"Great!" Kim threw up her hands. "Just great! How are we..."
"Look," Kat interrupted as she pointed to the floor at the back wall. "I see a light."
They moved to the rear and stared at the floor as a white light glowed through a small crack.
"Is it another room?" Kim pushed on the wall, and a concealed door opened. "What do you think? Should we go in or run? Hades... It could be another waste of time."
"We've come this far."
"I was thinking the same thing." Kim started through first. "Come on, let's try to salvage the trip."
Chapter Thirteen
Children of Nyx
6:48 P.M...
They walked through the concealed door and found a brightly lit room with beige carpeting. The second room felt different than the first; it felt even less used when the facility was in operation. Against the right wall stood a bookshelf full of volumes and against
the left one a filing cabinet. Kat moved to the cabinet and opened the top drawer through the fourth, finding them empty, and then she opened the last drawer, and it was also empty, but Kat saw a corner of a folder that had fallen underneath. She removed the bottom drawer from the cabinet, set it to the side, grabbed the file, and started through it, and while she did that, Kim went to the book shelf, grabbed a book, and flipped through the pages, searching for anything of interest. Once she was done, she dropped it to the floor and started on another.
Kim had a small pile going before she asked, "Did you find anything?"
"Yes," Kat answered as she walked to the center of the room. "A file, and one that appears to have been lost."
"On what?"
She scanned three sheets and then replied, "The first part is about a Greek Goddess, and it explains how Nyx is the Goddess of Night." Kat turned to the forth, fifth, and sixth sheets and then said, "Some of the information's blacked out. This next part talks about the Children of Nyx, and here's a blacked out area ending with that Nemesis is Retribution and Eris is Strife." She turned to the seventh sheet. "This page talks about an experiment." She read further. "I don't believe it."
"What is it?" Kim asked as she moved from the shelf to her.
Katharine's view...
I tell her, "The Council were the ones involved with organic-mecha."
I think about what it means for me, and if it's true, they could be the ones who made me. I can't think that way. I can't doubt my humanity, but at the slightest mention, I'm all freaked out that I am. I have to stop and have some faith in myself that I'm real.
Kimberly's view...
Organic-mecha? That's right... I still don't know if that woman's human or some patched together monstrosity created in a lab.
"Yes," she states. "This last page talks about organic-mecha. I was told..."
"You mean by the Rogue?" I interrupt. "Hades... I'd like to forget I ever ran into that thing, so let's not mention it again."
Katharine's view...
"Okay," I reply.
I think back to the Factory. The Rogue told me there were no successful attempts and that the organic-mecha experiment failed, but if it failed, why did the Rogue believe I was one of them?
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