Rothan nodded at Kaden and Dhiren, then went over to Tobias, and effortlessly slung him over his shoulder before walking away.
Megan came running up a few seconds later, towing a wheeled stretcher. Crista, our unit doctor specializing in injury treatment, was chasing after her.
Lucas hastily stood up and moved out of the way to let Megan kneel beside me.
“Amber, exactly where did Tobias punch you?” she demanded.
I pointed at my left cheek. “It was more of an accidental slap than a punch, but it knocked me off balance. I fell and landed on my right elbow. That’s hurting quite a bit.”
Megan waved some sort of mini scanner at my cheek. “Did you hit your head in the fall?”
“No.”
“Are you absolutely sure you didn’t hit your head?” asked Megan.
“I am absolutely, totally, and utterly sure that I didn’t hit my head,” I said. “As I told you, I landed on my right elbow, which is extremely painful.”
Megan continued scanning both my cheek and head for the next minute, then handed the scanner to Crista. I hoped Crista was going to do something about my elbow, but she spent at least two minutes scanning my head, and then had a brief, unintelligibly technical discussion with Megan.
Finally, Megan announced her verdict to the anxious crowd. “Amber has a bruised cheek, but there are no signs of brain trauma.”
There was a general sigh of relief, and I coughed pointedly. “My elbow still hurts.”
Crista scanned the painful elbow that everyone clearly considered of minimal importance compared to my telepathic head. “You’ve got significant bruising to your right arm, Amber, but nothing is broken. I’ll give you an injection to help with the pain and swelling.”
She gave me a shot with a pressure jet, and the pain in my elbow gradually faded away.
“Thank you,” I said. “Can I get up now?”
“Yes,” said Megan.
Lucas helped me to my feet, and I looked around. The silent crowd had now expanded to fill the large open area by the lifts and was overflowing into the corridors. As far as I could tell, every person in my unit was here, including all the cleaners and maintenance workers.
“Listen carefully, everyone,” I said. “You mustn’t blame my bodyguards for what happened, and don’t mention it to anyone outside this unit. It was entirely my own fault for jumping between Tobias and Lucas.”
“Yes, it was your fault,” said Lucas, in the murderous voice of someone who’d just moved on from being terrified about my safety to wanting to strangle me himself. “You must never, ever, ever do anything that stupid again. I’m perfectly capable of dodging a punch.”
I lifted my hands in surrender. “I accept that I shouldn’t have got in the way, and I shouldn’t have insisted on Tobias being given a second chance on the Beta team either. Now he’s going to be transferred to Hive Defence, just as Adika wanted.”
“I’m not sure that a transfer to Hive Defence will be possible any longer,” said Buzz, “but we can’t make any decisions about Tobias now. We need to give him until at least tomorrow morning to calm down and fully absorb what he’s done. After that, I can do a psychological assessment and decide the best options for his future. If you wish, you can read his mind as part of that assessment, to satisfy yourself that no errors are made.”
I tugged at my hair. “I will want to do that, but you’re right. Tobias needs time to calm down, and I have to go shopping with my mother.”
“You’re still planning to go shopping?” Megan sounded incredulous.
“Yes. I must have cancelled this shopping trip a dozen times already. I’m not abandoning it over a bruised elbow.”
Chapter Thirteen
Both Adika and Megan insisted on joining the shopping trip. They were overprotective of me at the best of times, so the Tobias incident had sent them into a state of complete paranoia. Adika said that he obviously couldn’t trust anyone but himself to bodyguard me, while Megan kept talking about some vanishingly rare cases of late-developing brain injury.
After messing up so badly with Tobias, I didn’t feel entitled to argue with them, so meekly agreed they could join the party. There was an oppressive silence as our group went into the lift and it started moving downwards. Adika, Lucas, Megan, and Buzz all took out their dataviews and began working on them.
I suspected they were all studying Forge’s recording of the Tobias incident, and exchanging messages with each other. I didn’t like to peer nosily at their dataviews to check though, and I certainly wasn’t going to risk reading anyone’s mind. Especially not Lucas’s mind. It would probably have a dozen glittering thought trains inventing creative curses about me.
Forge, Rafael, and the other Beta team bodyguards weren’t saying a word. Their body language showed they expected Adika to execute them at any moment. Even Eli, who technically hadn’t been coming on the trip as a bodyguard at all, but to entertain my mother, was wordless and guilt-ridden.
When the lift stopped on Level 1, everyone put their dataviews away, and Adika opened the doors and led the way towards the belt interchange. It wasn’t until we reached the southbound express belt that I remembered something.
“I’m sorry. With all the distractions from Tobias, I forgot to say I’d changed my mind about going to the Hive centre point shopping area. I arranged to meet my mother at the Orange Zone centre point shopping area instead, because it’s closer and should be less crowded.”
“I thought we were going to be horribly late meeting your mother,” said Lucas, “but that means we still have a chance of getting there on time.”
“But it also means we want to go north rather than south,” said Adika.
“And I’ll need to change some arrangements,” added Buzz.
Adika led us down a side corridor that led to the northbound express belt. Once we’d reached that, we all stepped onto the slow belt, and moved across to the medium, and then the express belt.
When I was on the belt system with my Strike team, they usually tried to spread out and mingle inconspicuously with other travellers. Everyone was staying close to me today though, and Adika’s intimidating bulk and glowering expression were keeping other groups of travellers at a wary distance.
Buzz did some tapping at her dataview, before putting it away and turning to Megan. “My skin tones are far too dark for my makeup to be any use to Amber. Do you have any makeup with you, Megan?”
“Yes.” Megan produced a tiny makeup case from her pocket.
I frowned at the pair of them. “I’m already wearing as much makeup as I want, thank you.”
“I think you should consider wearing a little extra to meet your mother, Amber,” said Buzz gently. “The mark on your cheek where Tobias hit you is rather noticeable.”
“It is?” I took out my dataview and used it as a mirror to check my face. “Oh, I see what you mean. Yes, you’d better put some makeup on my cheek.”
“We have to do your whole face for it to look natural,” said Buzz.
I groaned and stood obediently still while Megan and Buzz rapidly worked on my face. They then started debating whether Megan or Buzz’s lipstick would be best as a finishing touch.
“Definitely use the fuchsia,” said a strange male voice.
I looked around and saw we were overtaking someone on the medium belt, a young man in a dramatic black and silver onesuit. Buzz gave him a forbidding stare.
“Are you an expert on women’s makeup?”
“I’m a clothes designer.” The man began jogging along the medium belt to keep up with us, and held out a card towards Buzz.
She shook her head. “I’ve just made an appointment with the finest clothes designer in Orange Zone.”
I blinked. I’d been feeling nervous at the thought of entering a Level 1 clothes shop. The idea of going to a clothes designer was even more intimidating.
The man grinned engagingly at Buzz and spoke in grandiose tones. “You can’t have made an appointment w
ith the finest clothes designer in Orange Zone. I am the finest clothes designer in Orange Zone. In fact, I’m the finest clothes designer in the entire Hive.”
Buzz burst out laughing. “The finest clothes designer in the Hive wouldn’t be riding the belt system handing out cards to random groups of shoppers. That’s the desperate act of someone completely incompetent.”
The designer joined in the laughter. “I’m not desperate or incompetent. I came out of the last Lottery, so my brilliance is still relatively unknown. I admit that I’m riding the belt system handing out cards, but I’m not doing it at random. When I see what has to be a group of bodyguards accompanying three ravishingly beautiful ladies …”
Buzz interrupted him. “I understand. You’re an ambitious new designer working out of the communal Orange Zone Designers Forum. You’re specifically hunting for prestige clients who will help you qualify for your own premises on Designers Row. Give me your card and then leave us in peace.”
She reached out a hand, but Adika stepped in front of her to take the card. He examined it suspiciously before passing it on to Buzz.
The young man turned his head to look directly at me, and his intent expression startled me into linking to his thoughts. I had a curious double view of events. Seeing his face through my own eyes. Seeing my face through his.
… formally beautiful older woman is meticulously dressed in standard Level 1 clothes. The spectacular girl is wearing a designer dress, but the way the bodyguards positioned themselves when I spoke to her was deeply revealing. They may be defensive of her, but they’re really here to protect the girl wearing the random casual outfit. She …
… never seen anyone with so many bodyguards. That girl has to be breathtakingly important. So important that she doesn’t need to dress to impress anyone. So important that her custom could make a designer’s career overnight, and …
His stomach churning with excitement, the young man kept his eyes fixed on me and spoke carefully chosen words. “Remember that other designers will create the clothes that they want to design. I will create the clothes that you want to wear.”
His point made, the man slowed to a walk again, and wistfully watched the express belt carrying our group away from him. I felt something touching my own lips, instinctively pulled back into my own head, and found Buzz was applying my lipstick.
By the time she’d finished, the overhead signs were showing a message about the next interchange being for the Orange Zone centre point shopping area. Buzz led our group off the express belt. As we moved clear of the belt interchange area, I was hit by the full splendour of the shopping area lit up with New Year festival decorations.
“Where are we meeting your mother, Amber?” asked Buzz.
“At the top of the moving stairs,” I said. “My mother didn’t want to get questioned by any hasties. We agreed that she’d wait on Level 27, and I’d call her when we arrived. I’ll do that now.”
I made the call, and my mother responded like an over-excited teen. “High up!”
I laughed. Our group was following Buzz through the shopping area towards the moving stairs, when an outbreak of childish screaming caught my attention. I paused and saw there was a large area of blue flooring, marked with a snaking white line. A group of small children were taking turns to run along the line, but jets of water were shooting up at random intervals, and the children were squealing when they were hit by them.
A girl who couldn’t be more than three years old came running past our group, nearly colliding with me in her rush to join the game. Adika fended her off, and I gave him a sorrowful shake of my head.
“I really don’t think toddlers are a major threat to my safety.”
Lucas had paused to watch the children too. “They’ve still got the fountain line then,” he said, in an odd voice. “I often played there as a small child.”
I felt dreadfully guilty. I’d known that Lucas had grown up in Orange Zone, and his parents were especially valuable members of the Hive. I should have realized that meant he’d lived somewhere near the Orange Zone centre point.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have dragged you here and awakened bad memories.”
“The fountains aren’t a bad memory,” said Lucas. “I was the only one who could run the full line without getting wet.”
He lowered his voice as if afraid the running children might overhear him. “The jets of water look as if they come at random, but they don’t. Each of the thirty fountains has a different sequence of time gaps that keep repeating. If you start running at the right point in the sequence of the first fountain, you can get through without a jet touching you.”
I smiled at the thought of the child Lucas earnestly working out the secret of the fountains.
We walked on to the moving stairs, where a watchful group of hasties turned to stare curiously at us. A moment later, my mother came into view on the upway. She stepped off when she reached the top and looked uncertainly around.
I waved my arm and shouted at her. “Over here!”
She came towards me, but gave me a nervous look. “I wasn’t expecting you and Lucas to bring quite so many people. I know Adika, Forge, and Eli, because they often come along when you visit us, but …”
“Megan is my Senior Administrator.” I hesitated, wondering how to introduce Buzz. It probably wasn’t a good idea for me to say she was my counsellor. That might make my mother wonder what I needed counselling about.
Buzz stepped forward to give my mother an infectiously wide grin. “I’m Forge’s girlfriend. My official name is Simone, but everyone calls me Buzz.”
“Oh, you’re Buzz.” My mother smiled. “I remember Forge mentioning you.”
“Megan and I are here to look at festival clothes too, and we brought Eli along because he needs a distraction from his planned operation.” Buzz gestured at the others. “All the rest of the boys are here on bodyguard duty.”
I saw the horrified look on Adika’s face at being described as a boy, and had to fake a cough to avoid laughing.
“That’s a lot of bodyguards,” said my mother. “Is that for the same reason as the change in shopping destination? You’re prepared for problems after chasing that enemy agent in this area?”
Buzz knew nothing about my previous conversation with my mother but instantly nodded. “It’s partly because of that, but also because Megan wants her partner to have an outfit that complements hers for the New Year festival. She’ll be wanting Adika to join in the clothes shopping at some point.”
Adika gave Buzz a disbelieving look, but my mother was already eagerly talking. “I didn’t know that Adika and Megan were partners.”
“Adika and I recently got engaged,” said Megan, “but we won’t actually get married until after my husband’s twins are born.”
My mother looked confused, and Buzz spoke in a respectful whisper. “Megan’s husband died in the service of the Hive. They’d always planned to have children, and he had plenty of tissue samples in storage, so Fertility Support is helping Megan honour his memory by having his twins.”
“Oh.” My mother gave Megan a look of awed sympathy.
“Now let’s start shopping,” said Buzz briskly. “The Clothes Court is this way.”
She led the way across the shopping area, and our group followed, with my mother darting from one shop display to the next, cooing her delight at a range of goods from jewellery to vases. I spotted the array of festival dresses that had brought me here, hurried up to them, then halted in dismay. At a distance, those dresses had looked beautiful, but close up I could see they were garish things, thickly encrusted with sequins and crystals.
The rest of our group joined me. “That’s the display of dresses advertising the New Year pageants at the Level 1 Orange Zone Arena,” said Buzz.
“Will you be going to see a pageant, Amber?” asked my mother.
“No, she won’t.” Adika looked appalled at the idea of me mingling with a vast arena crowd.
“Our uni
t will only get a limited amount of free time for the New Year festival, and Amber wants to save that to be with you and the rest of her family,” said Buzz smoothly.
My mother frowned. “I’ve been messaging Gregas about the New Year festival arrangements, but I still haven’t had a reply from him. I’m getting worried.”
I thought of Gregas locked in my unit’s holding cells and tensed, but tried to speak in a casual voice. “I’m sure Gregas is just busy with some teen event. You know there are lots of parties on Teen Level before the New Year festival.”
My mother suddenly looked far more cheerful. “That’s true. Gregas must be too busy partying with his friends to worry about confirming arrangements to celebrate with us.”
We walked on through an archway decorated with white lights in a traditional New Year design, depicting chains of laughing, dancing children holding hands. I could tell from the clothes displays that we were in the Clothes Court now. My mother stopped by one of the displays, and beckoned me over to join her.
“Amber, just look at that dress! It would be perfect for you to wear at the New Year Festival.”
I looked at the orange and brown dress, with its intricate golden embroidery. This was precisely what I’d been worried about. The colours might be perfect for my mother, but …
Buzz came to study the dress and shook her head. “It’s a competent design but not good enough for Amber.”
My mother gave her a bemused look. “What could be better than that dress?”
“Someone in Amber’s position should have a festival dress that’s been specially designed for her,” said Buzz.
“Specially designed for her,” repeated my mother, positively breathless with excitement. “Does that mean we’re going to the Orange Zone Designers Row?”
“That’s right.” Buzz checked her dataview. “We carry on through the Clothes Court, and Designers Row is on the …”
Her sentence was interrupted by the sound of a dataview chiming for a call. I grimaced at Lucas, thinking it was his dataview that had chimed, and we were in the nightmare situation of having to deal with an emergency while we were with my mother. Then I realized it was my mother who was taking her dataview from her pocket.
Borderline (Hive Mind Book 4) Page 14