Tailspin, page 70
Shay stopped. “I can’t do it.”
“Hey! You can’t leave it like that,” Pim said.
“I’m going to break it, break you.”
“You won’t. You’ve done really well so far. Just one left, right?”
“Yeah.” Shay wiped his eyes. He was tired. So tired. Just one…
“I trust you,” Pim said. “Come on, you can do it.”
“One attempt,” Shay said. “That’s all I’ve got. If this won’t fit or work…”
“I trust you.”
Shay moved to the sink momentarily, ran the cold tap, and washed off his face and the sweat.
“Take all the time you need.”
When he’d steadied his hands and his mind, Shay returned. Gently, with the clamps, he eased the eye away. It was at the highest point of the stretch. All the other connections wouldn’t move anymore. They risked being detached, and now, after the eye was his…it wouldn’t take another hit for damage.
“Tweezers coming in,” he said. Then I hold and carefully pull both sides together while moving and slotting the eye in place. The connection was made with a pop, and the eye was sucked into the socket. Shay just about removed the tweezer.
Sparks skittered across from his desk. “Pim?”
Pim’s body jerked and pulled the vices out of place.
Quickly, Shay grabbed a towel and threw it over his friend. “Pim!”
The jerking stopped.
Shay leaned over. “Pim?”
The eye twitched in the socket. Sparks flying about the surface were very different sparks, though. They were mana.
Both eyes then focused on Shay.
“I see you,” Pim said.
Shay sat back and rubbed his hands down his legs, then he sat on them. Mainly to stop the shaking. “How do I look?”
“Like shit,” Pim said. “You need sleep.”
Shay laughed. “Yes, yes, I do. But maybe a snack first.”
“That sounds good,” Pim said. “I can always eat.”
“I have no idea where you put it.” Shay stood and made to move.
“Err, finish untying me.”
Shay returned to his desk and slackened off the rope. “Sorry.” Pim moved, unsteady on his four paws. “You okay?”
“Everything just looks so close, so weird. It’s all moving differently.”
Shay scooped him up and popped him on his shoulder. “It will take a while. You’ve been so used to just processing things you see with one eye.”
“You don’t really look like shit,” Pim said. “You look amazing.”
Shay blushed. “Thanks,” he said. “We’re doing okay. The money’s good here, the jobs, the work.”
“Yes, it’s making a big difference in life. I like it. This running. Gives us both purpose and I help, no?”
“You do help,” Shay said as he went to the kitchen, and he opened the fridge door.
Anada whirled in the room. “Food again?” She paused, looking at Pim. “Wow, you did it?”
Shay grinned from ear to ear. “You like it?”
Anada stepped in close to look, gently holding Pim’s face to move side to side. “It looks great. That’s outstanding work.”
“It was hard work,” Shay said and returned to look in the fridge.
Anada swore. “Fuck.”
Shay spun around as she ran to the living room, flicking on their viewscreen.
The view of a forest came on, then something else with it. Fire. Lots and lots of fire.
Shay moved in beside her as Janet came into view.
“I’m broadcasting this sooner than I thought I would, just for you. I need you to see it. M-Corp has mobilized everything it can.” She waved behind her to the massive swelling of smoke. “But it’s not looking good. Shore Farm lies less than thirty kilometers from here, and so do the linking systems to our other working farms, food supplies, and livestock. If M-Corp and our firefighters can’t get this under control, Artem is at risk. I need you to get to the nearest shops and stores and get anything you can without causing any unwanted attention. Visit several shops if you have to but do it now.”
Shay and Anada traded glances, and Shay moved in closer to her. The older woman, the woman he now considered a friend, pulled him to her, walrat and all.
“She wouldn’t be messaging us directly if this wasn’t bad,” Anada told him.
“No, she wouldn’t,” Shay agreed. “How big is that fire?”
“I’m not sure. If I can speak with her, she’ll tell me more. I’ve seen fires, but nothing like that before.”
They both stared at the screen, watching the forest burn. In the distance, there was an odd spot. Helicopter? Shay wasn’t sure. He’d not seen any of those up close to know.
“How many credits have you got?” Anada asked.
“Not much left at all. Just bought that eye, remember?”
“Shit. I just got parts for Janet’s HUD upgrade, too.”
“We’ll do what we can with what we’ve got,” Shay said. “Right?”
“Yeah.” Anada squeezed him and let him go. “Get what you can. I’ll do the same. You hit the south side stores. I’ll go west.”
“Got it,” Shay said, stopping by the door. “They will get those fires out, right?”
Anada shook her head. “I hope so. Janet will watch it before she reports anything to the public, but if panic sets in…”
“People are the worst,” Shay said.
“Artem won’t have long at all. They have to believe those fires can be put out.”
“Okay, mum’s the word,” he said. Then he left her.
“Where to?” Pim asked.
“There’s a nice little shop I know has some good staple foods. We’re best buying in low-quality, yet long-term products.”
“So rice, potatoes?”
“Yeah, I think they sell some dried meats, too.”
Blugh, Pim growled. Dried meat’s the worst.
“If you’re hungry, you’ll eat it,” Shay said. “Just like I will.”
***
Janet stared behind her. The fire raged in the distance. John stood by her side. “This is bad,” he said. “Very bad.”
“Stop right there,” someone shouted from behind them. Sounds of boots and clicking guns.
Janet looked at John, and they both turned around slowly.
“You shouldn’t be here,” a voice said from the middle of the soldiers. He stepped forward and looked at Janet. “You’re not broadcasting, are you?”
Janet shook her head. “Lieutenant General Michaels, always a pleasure.”
“Walk with me,” Michaels said.
Janet looked at John. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Be safe,” he said.
“Don’t you dare hurt him,” Janet said to the soldiers.
“He’s safe,” Michaels said and asked her to walk with a wave.
It didn’t take long for them to be out of their hearing distance, even if they had mods.
“What’s going on?” Janet asked. “The truth.”
“We’re preparing a statement for you, but you can’t broadcast just yet. We’re—”
“In trouble, it seems.”
Michaels looked out to the horizon. Thick black clouds hung in the distance. It made the entire area dark. The glow of the fires bounced around those clouds, giving them a whole new level of evil.
“Yes, we are. What we don’t need is blind panic with it.”
“I understand that,” Janet said. “Do you know how long it would take Artem to fall apart?”
“We’ve run simulations,” Michaels said. “But at the worst, a few days, at best…a week or two.”
“You’d have your work cut out for you.”
“We wouldn’t be able to stop it. We couldn’t.”
Janet sighed. “I understand. I really do.”
“Have you told anyone?”
Janet thought about lying. But that wouldn’t do anything. Not now. This man beside her had the means to check, to watch her partner. Her love. “Yes,” she said. “My partner and a local runner.”
“Fuck,” he said.
“They won’t talk. They wouldn’t dare.”
“But they will buy stuff, it…”
Janet put her hand up. “They will, but they know how it works. They will not panic buy. They can behave.”
“They better. This would be mass panic.”
“Trust them. Trust me.”
“I don’t have a choice, Miss Tellier.”
“So you know who I am?” Janet asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
“You’ve been running rings around everyone for many years. Of course I know.”
Janet nodded. “You’ve never come for me.”
“We see the people you look after, the jobs you do. No. They think you’re a monster, but we see what you do. For them.”
Janet lowered her head. “Someone has to run the slums. Someone has to work the system.”
“What better way than in your position? First, to learn everything, then to act on it. Even appointing a decoy.”
“So we’re on the same page, then?” Janet asked, thinking of her decoy. The young woman she put at risk in her place as Miss Tellier.
“For now, let’s see how this goes, how we can guide the public.”
“And not panic them,” Janet said. “You need the corps to stand up. Maybe not today, but as soon as there’s a sniff, this isn’t ending soon. They need to address the city. Protect them. Not me.”
“Protect them with lies, you mean?”
“Maybe, but what’s better, panic or death?”
“No,” Michaels said. “If we have to, we will lie.”
“You mean I’ll lie.” Janet held his eyes with hers, never letting him see how scared she was on the inside. She put her hands behind her back, using one to steady the shaking of the other.
“Yes, the people trust you.”
Janet frowned. They did. She knew they did. But to not tell the truth to break that. Break them?
“Will you lie to them?” Michaels asked her, his voice stern.
“To protect them, that’s the only reason I would.”
82
I hadn’t really thought about kids; I hadn’t really thought much about women at all. Mage Baron had hit that nail in the coffin, and all I could think about was I hoped I’d find someone.
Over the next few months, it was all grind and all baby talk. I knew more about babies than Niko at some point. I was getting it off him, off Malaki and Ren. Everything was babies.
I slid my tray across the table in the mess and sat. Exhaustion washed over me. We had all been running ragged.
“You were up all night?” I asked as Niko yawned, more prominent than a tiger in front of me, showing me his part-chewed dinner.
He covered his mouth. “Damn, so sorry.”
“Jasmine?”
“She just won’t settle,” he said through yet another yawn. This time, though, he swallowed the rest of his dinner with a cough.
“Got to be hard being away from her.”
Niko shrugged. “Honestly, it’s a break I need right now.”
I’d never turn him away. That was a given. “You done?” I asked and pointed at his plate.
Niko pushed it away, even though there were still cold eggs on it. “Yeah.” He frowned. “All this baby stuff and running around has me eating at all hours and all manners. I’m stuffed.”
“Eggs were never the best here,” I said, taking his tray and mine to the waste bin. “We’re on rest, so what do you want to do, away from the nest?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
“Honestly?” He frowned, and we left the mess.
“Honestly, let’s take the day for us.”
Niko closed his eyes and breathed out. “You good at Black Ace?”
“You wanna play card games?”
“My brothers, it was always a family thing. Relaxing, you know.”
“I never had that family side of things. Black Ace to us was playing on the streets for a few extra credits to spend in Aug-World.”
“Free version never did it for us as kids, either. Was why we played so much.”
“So you’re saying you got skills, then?”
Niko laughed, but his eyes held something else in them. He raised one at me. “What are we betting?”
“Well, burgers ain’t gonna cut it,” I said. “How about that bottle of malt I’ve seen on your shelf?”
Niko’s face fell. “You’ve eyes like a hawk.”
“Idiot.” But my fingers instinctively went for my eye. No one else could tell, but I knew. I could still feel the difference. Though it was amazing, I could see in beautiful details no one else might. It didn’t feel like a part of me. Maybe it never would.
“What do I get if I win?”
“How about Malaki and I take Jasmine for the night?”
“Fuck off. I can get her mother to do that. No, how about”—we took a corner around the base—”if I win, you have to buy the drinks tonight, and I get to point you towards some of the girls to ask out.”
I nearly fell over. “What?”
Niko patted my back while I coughed. “I’ve never seen you with anyone but Malaki. Never. It’s about time you took a little interest in the opposite sex.”
“I’m not—”
“Shit, you’re not into girls.” His face, though…was a picture. “How did I miss that? You like guys, really? Oh, I get it, you and Kadar, right?”
“Now you can fuck off.” I smacked him over the head. “I like women. I’ve just never seen one that captured my fire.” I thought back, though. There was one. I’d tried not to think of those few days when I came here. The mark on my record from drinking on the job.
“What is it?” Niko asked.
“Nothing.”
“No, there’s something in there. You like someone?”
“No, I don’t even know who they were. You can’t tell.” I shook my head, trying to shake the image from my mind again.
“Ahh,” Niko said as we neared the open park. “Techean?”
I sighed. “I never even thought about anyone in that way till recently, and I never thought about being attracted to someone who can’t walk on land.”
“Sorry,” he said and picked a bench for us. “That has to be difficult.”
“You don’t need to be sorry. I’ve just noticed things in so much more detail. Ren and Mage Baron. Have you seen how she glows every single Monday?”
Niko laughed. “Love does very many things. Happiness is one of them.”
I nodded. “I see that with you and Lacy. You’re happy.”
“I’m fucking tired.” He pulled out a pack of cards.
I raised an eyebrow at him. “You carry them with you?”
“I hoped I could persuade you to a game or ten.”
I let him shuffle them and waited as his thoughts processed. “So, this woman,” he said. “Any way you think we can track her?”
I didn’t know that, either. “I doubt it.”
Niko’s eyes glazed over, though. “If she was…where was she?”
“In the water, you know…Techean.”
“Your swim test.” It was a guess, but his eyes were busy now. “I think I know someone who might have access to those files from there.”
“Oh no,” I said. “Don’t—”
“Too late. Lacy’s already on it.” His eyes focused back on me as he then dealt our cards. “She’ll figure it out. You know she will.”
Niko counted out ten cards in front of me.
“Your turn,” Niko said and handed me the deck.
“Ahh, you’re playing street rules?” I asked and picked it up. On his nod, I shuffled the deck, as well. Making sure I mixed it as much as I could, just like he had. Then I counted ten cards for him. “Wild card means?”
“Picker’s choice, keep or use.”
“Okay, I can do that.” It really was just a game of chance. That was why I hated it so much. I never knew how to work it in my favor. No matter who else did the shuffle, I never got ahead. I was sure they fiddled with it; I didn’t know how.
“What element?”
“Fire.”
“Okay, air,” I replied.
Niko turned on his first card. Fire. Of course. He kept the card. He turned again. Water. He put it to one side.
“Water,” I said and turned to the next card.
It was water. I got to keep both cards and take another turn. “Fire,” I said. It was earth.
Today was going to be a long, long day.
Of course, I hadn’t played this game in a long time. I wasn’t perfect when I had, which is why I turned to racing instead. That was something I could see in my mind. But Niko was a shark. He was cool, calculated, and he knew what I was doing before I knew.
I folded yet again…after I’d lost more times than I could care to count. “Damn, man, I quit.”
“You hate this game, don’t you?” Niko asked.
“Meh,” I groaned.
He nodded. “Thanks, though.” He swooped the cards up. “It’s meant a lot, even seeing you suffer.”
“We can play more,” I said. “Day’s not over yet.”
“I’d sooner walk to the bar, see who’s about. Day off and all.”
On the inside, I hoped maybe he’d got some information about that illustrious Techean.
Niko was mostly silent, and I had to prod him. “What are you thinking about?”
“We’ve come up so fast,” he said. “There’s been no time to really think about the future, what we want.”
I could only agree with that.
“You like flying the drones?” he asked.
“I do,” I said.
“Would you consider anything else?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re going places,” he said. “That’s obvious. We’re kinda just along for the ride, and it really has been a ride. But I get the feeling you’ll be taken from us for something bigger.”
“I never want to leave the helo,” I said. “Besides, what could be out there that’s better than flying?”
Niko’s eyes twinkled. “I’ve seen something I think you’d like.” When he turned away from the bar, I knew he was up to no good.
“What and where?”
“Lacy said we should come to see her while she’s on the lower decks, getting the baby checked over.”
