Eadie turned the page. The back side was blank. She pulled the pen from the wire spiral and began to write.
I don’t know who you are, and I guess I’ll never know. Like you, I’m going to use this notebook to keep track of my own thoughts. Maybe it will keep me from going crazy, as I hope it did for you.
When I was sleeping a little while ago, I had a dream. It’s strange because I almost never dream …
It was about my father. I was visiting him at the Public Brain Trust, where all those bodies are lined up with their heads together in a circle around the equipment. But he wasn’t all bloated and strange like I know he really is now. His face was like I remember from when I was a little girl, friendly and warm. His eyes stayed closed, and there was a tear running down his face. I knew he was thinking of me. The entire time I was aware that it was a dream and that it really came from your experience that I read about here in this notebook.
But I knew more than that. I knew that my father wanted me to do exactly what you’ve talked about in these pages. He wanted me to set everyone free. He wanted me to free him. And that’s what I’m going to do, for my father and everyone else. For God.
Somehow.
A knock on the door was followed by a voice. “It’s Dok.”
Lawrence opened the door. Dok and Old Fart came in, with Old Fart leaning heavily on Dok’s shoulder. Old Fart’s lip was freshly split. “Got mugged,” Dok said. “They took everything. All the supplies, the gold we had left, even my spectrometer.”
Eadie’s face was still tilted toward the book but her eyes darted from Dok to Old Fart. “We need those supplies. Has to be you going out again, Dok. You’re the only one who knows what you need. We should’ve known not to send you without adequate protection. Did Old Fart get more chips?”
“No. His wife locked him out of his accounts.”
“I can do it, but it won’t be easy,” Old Fart said. “I’ll have to go and straighten it out from inside the company, and that’ll mean going back to my job.” He sighed, groaning a little as Dok lowered him to the edge of the bed. “I’ll try as soon as I can walk right again. After that it might take a few days to get everything arranged. I won’t be able to leave my job again, but at least I can get you folks some chips to help out.”
Eadie reached up under her shirt, freeing the last gold coin from where she had stashed it inside her bra. She flipped it toward Dok with her thumb. He caught it in his fist.
“Kel, you go with Dok this time. And hurry. It’ll be dark soon.”
Kel stood up.
“Should they take the gun?” Lawrence asked. “In case they’re mugged again?”
She shook her head. “Too risky. If anyone caught sight of it there might be ambushes, or panic, or maybe Feds. Even gangs keep their guns hidden off the streets.”
Kel and Dok went out. Eadie lowered her eyes back to the notebook, reading the words the previous owner had written.
But who will be brave enough to take the lead, channeling the anger of thousands into a movement strong enough to overcome the conditioning and trepidation of the very people it’s intended to save? Who will finally be the one to stand against this soul-crushing machinery and do what needs to be done?
Perhaps no one will ever be brave enough.
And yet it must be done.
Fiend territory
Six Fiends. A Round, or half of one, at least. Brian’s Round. The five men and one woman stood silently, observing him with reptilian detachment. Brian tightened his jaw and fought the urge to wipe dripping sweat from his face, influenced by a sense memory of the samurai’s self-discipline, his ability to keep his expression and reactions always in strict control. He addressed his instructions mostly to “Spiral,” a trackmarked killer with wild eyes.
“All right,” Brian said. His voice was the hiss Fiends used on the few occasions when they spoke at all. “I understand this group’s been assembled from other Rounds that didn’t make it, so we need to spend a little time getting used to each other. We’re going to move around this building for a while and work out whatever problems come up. When we’re all set, we’ll see if there’s something more interesting to get into.” His steady gaze shifted from one face to the next.
You are all tools for killing, for inducing pain, for revenge upon the world. And I will use you as such before disposing of you.
The Fiends stood silently in the pairings he had assigned for effective communication.
He worked the imparter, producing a series of clicks and pops, struggling around the splints and pushing it against his chest to make it function. The first two pairs of Fiends headed out, finding cover ahead and to the left. He sent the last pair forward two standard lengths to take cover to the right.
A few trips around the building and then we’ll head west toward the nearest border of Fiend territory.
The Zone rooftop
“The dark one came out again, this time with some Zone punk instead of the old man. Should we go see who else might be in there?”
“No. Keep watching the building and make sure there’s no other way out. I don’t know who his friends are, but it’s unlikely that he would have the girl with him. Extracting information’s still our best shot. We’ll corner him when it’s convenient and beat out whatever we can.
“Give me his heading. We’ll stay split into pairs until the other team gets here.”
The edge of New Union territory
Coiner and Lux watched through a hole in the wall of a ruined building as Rounder Samurai moved out of New Union territory.
“He’s got some really good Elements,” Lux said. “If I hadn’t been watching when they first faded, it’d be a real pain in the ass trying to follow them now.”
“Yeah, I know,” Coiner said. “They’re leftovers from some of our toughest Rounds. Every other Element who worked with them met Unity because they were always in the heaviest shit. I’d rather have given them to your Front, but this was the only way to test him with some leadership duties without disturbing other Rounds.”
“It was a good decision, sir—“
“Look at him go, Lux! Heading right out away from the training areas!”
“You didn’t specifically order him to stick around here, sir. He’s not disobeying anything, yet.”
“I wouldn’t call this model behavior, either,” Coiner said. “It doesn’t make sense. What the fuck is he up to?”
“Capturing the Round?” Lux said. “Trying to learn our secrets? Maybe he’ll take them somewhere and turn them over … torture some information out of them.” Lux shifted, keeping his eyes on the little band as it moved farther away. “But why go through all he’s gone through to end up with half a Round as prisoners?”
“And if he’s a spy,” Coiner said, “why draw so much suspicion by taking his first Round straight out of the area?” He sighed. “Let’s go. We’ll just follow until we can figure out what his plan is.”
The Williams household
“You have to go now, sir.”
“I know it, One-Fourteen. I know.” Chairman Williams hustled his daughter to the Williams Gypsum truck.
“This truck is loaded with supplies and a few mementos from the home, sir,” the Unnamed said. “Your relatives, including your wife, sir, have been moved by the office workers you reassigned. Everything is proceeding according to your order, sir.” One-Fourteen climbed behind the wheel. The engine was running, its biocatalysis fuel cell making an angry hiss. They slid into seats, closing dark-tinted bioplexi doors.
“And the rest of our Unnamed?” Mr. Williams asked.
“Stashed the last truck and are waiting to watch the house, sir.”
Chairman Williams nodded. The truck took off, bouncing and leaping across the uneven pavement. Ani was staring at the crowded blocks of little houses as they sped by. “Sir,” One-fourteen said, “it might be a good idea to switch on communication with the team.”
“I’m comforting my family.” Mr. Williams said with
out turning from the window. “Just tell me.”
“The four Ricker trucks have split up, heading toward us from the north and east. I’m taking us southwest as fast as I can, of course, sir. Our team wants to know if it should engage them at the house.”
“No. There’s at least one team per truck coming. Probably more. We can’t risk having all ours wiped out by those superior numbers. Tell them to handle things as planned and meet up with us at the destination.”
“They want to know if one should watch and record so you can see for yourself when the bomb goes off at the house, sir. Count the number of dead, that sort of thing.”
Chairman Williams closed his eyes, shaking his head. “They’ve still got us outnumbered. More than two hundred teams. The bomb will take out a few but it won’t make too much difference. Why bother watching that?”
The Zone, outside of Fiend territory
Brian gave three quick, quiet snaps, turning his hands so the splints pointed in different directions around the imparter. It was the command telling his Elements to find the best cover they could and wait for further instructions. They obeyed, switching positions so fast that Brian had to count to be certain they had all actually moved.
He blinked, holding his eyes closed for a few beats, trying to concentrate. The mist was forming at the edges of his vision, threatening a return of the samurai. He swallowed and shook his head, struggling to push the mist back.
“I’m not going to let you fuck it up this time,” he thought, aiming the words inward toward the other man hiding in his brain. “I brought them all the way here, back to a place I know. You’re not taking over. Fuck off.” He fixed his attention on the marketplace, with its milling people and little stalls.
His vision clouded completely over, but just for a second. Brian clutched at the little vial of Juice Coiner had issued him. The stuff was supposed to help you focus in addition to making you bloodthirsty … maybe it could block out the samurai. But what if it worked differently than he thought? What if it ended up trapping both Brian and the samurai in the mist, leaving the body catatonic?
What if I don’t actually get away and the Fiends keep me in sight of Unity for years?
His eyes locked on two distinctive figures making their way through the marketplace. Kelvin and Dok.
What?
He gasped. He stared, forcing himself to exhale, but the breath came out raggedly. This had to be some trick his exhausted mind was playing. It could not possibly be as he had seen. Why would Dok be walking through a market with Kelvin?
But it was true. They were here, a short distance in front of him.
Wait. Wait! What’s the goddamned command for ‘wait?’
He punched the center of the imparter with his pinky knuckle a few times, producing the popping sound that told the Round to stay put.
Dok and Kel! The two people who were most capable of helping him escape. Dok could clear up his head and Kel could fight as well as anyone he’d ever seen …
Yes, Kel could kill them, hurt them. But they haven’t killed for me, yet. A waste, it would be. A shame. But best to see them die, see them bleed.
But what would the Round do? They’ll either think I’m attacking, running away, or being kidnapped. And no matter what, the Fiends will swarm down on those two … And a Fiend popping up in this market would draw attention …
As Brian stood frozen by uncertainty and indecision, his sight grew dim and hazy once again. He cursed and rubbed his eyes but he could not clear his vision. Within seconds, he was standing alone in the mist again.
At the hotel
The window looked out on a brick wall so close that Lawrence could have reached through the bars and put his palm flat against it. “I’m glad Kel went out with Dok,” he said, grinning at Eadie. “The way he was pacing around in here, I thought he was going to wear a hole in this floor like he’d done at home.”
“Yeah,” Eadie said quietly. She was squatting on the floor next to the pile of coats where Old Fart was resting. The stick lay on the floor next to her. It was the first time he had seen her willingly let go of it since the fight in the street. “Kel needs to roam free,” she said. “Confinement is clearly not his thing. And anyway, Dok needs his protection if we’re ever going to get those supplies.”
“Yeah,” Lawrence said. “I could do with food. If Kel doesn’t eat it all before he gets here.”
Eadie nodded toward the bed, where Arrulfo slept on one side, facing the wall, and Mari lay curled up with Rosa on the other. “Ever since I said what I did about Mari, Rosa’s looked ready to kill someone. See? Even asleep she looks furious. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be that little girl—to have someone who cares about her as much as Rosa does.”
Lawrence cleared his throat. The air in this room had a nasty, acrid smell like the dust that got stirred up in the first few minutes of an acidic rainstorm. “What …” He swallowed and tried again. “When you said that, about ending humiliation … or whatever you said … what did you mean?”
She stared at the opposite wall, reaching down with two fingers to caress the stick again. Her voice was still friendly and conversational, in spite of her chilling, megalomaniacal words. “The Prophet is right, Lawrence,” she said. “I’m going to fix it. I’m going to change the whole world and make all that stuff disappear forever. I’m going to lead an army. Now that he’s told me, I can feel it.”
15
A marketplace
The doctor was right there in front of Sato. Memories from the other man—Brian—suggested that the oddly top-knotted one who stood alongside was friendly. He must act now. There might never be another opportunity to speak to the doctor and reunite with the General.
Sato stood, striding quickly toward the two, with merchants, peasant shoppers, and other inferiors gasping and scurrying to get out of his way. It was natural that they did this, and natural also that they relaxed somewhat when he had passed. He was samurai. The few cries he heard—things like “Fiends” and “Fiend raid”—indicated that his new status inspired more fear than his old. It did not matter.
As he approached, the young one spun toward him, wielding a strange flexible weapon with sharpened bits of metal. He had the reflexes, but certainly none of the decorum, of a samurai. Perhaps he was the doctor’s bodyguard.
“Brian!” the young one said. The weapon disappeared.
“Brian!” the doctor repeated. “I’ve been worried about you. How are you feeling? Let me take a look, see how you’re healing.” The man’s hand reached for Sato’s shoulder. Sato shifted his weight and gently blocked it. The doctor reeled two steps sideways before recovering and standing straight again.
The younger one—Kel, Brian’s memories said—was talking at the same time. “ … whole fucking building went up—saved your pipe, though. Got your shit over where we’re staying. C’mon, we’ll get it back to you.”
“I am here with my men and I cannot leave them behind,” Sato said. “They will not walk with you. I will meet you at your clinic, doctor.”
“Well, I don’t actually have a clinic anymore. But why don’t you come back with us—”
“I will bring my men and follow you.”
“Brian, are you feeling all right?” the doctor asked. “You seem strange. You may be a little confused right now. There’s nobody with you, Brian. I think you should come along and—”
“Yeah,” Kel said. “Since when you got men? Where they at? You got invisible men, Brian?”
“Yes.” Sato locked eyes with the doctor. “I will follow you.” He moved away again. The doctor called after him, but Sato was already too far away to make out the words.
Outside New Union territory, near an open market, viewing from deep fade positions
“What was that?” Coiner hissed. He forced himself to settle back down behind the brown brick parapet at the edge of the roof they had faded upon. “What the fuck was that? He unfades right in the middle of a fucking open market and walks off to chat?
And now look! He’s taking the whole Round with him, following those two! I’m tempted to send him to Unity right here, right now.”
“It could just be one hell of a training exercise,” Lux said. “And you’ve only brought one Round with us today. Our twelve to his six, but you gave him some damned fine Elements. We’re at your service, Patrol Leader, but that won’t be an easy kill there.”
Coiner exhaled through his teeth. “What idiot takes six Elements into a crowd this size? And while it’s still daylight! This is exactly the type of crazy shit I don’t want him doing with a Round in my Patrol.”
Lux said nothing. They both watched as the samurai guided his Round out of the marketplace. “Let’s follow for now. We’ll deal with him once we’re away from the crowd.”
Inside Agent Hawkins’ brain
“Agent Hawkins? This is Agent Robinson from Central Information. We’ve probed the father’s memories as best we can. Nothing useful came up. She was five years old when he went into public trust; all we know is that she used to play on the floor of some rental property they owned and she liked the color green. Sorry we couldn’t be of more assistance.”
Rooftops
“Sure looked like we had a Fiend raid there for a minute. I could have sworn … guy popped up out of nowhere, just like a Fiend. Now it’s only the dark one and the kid with the hair. They’re heading back your way carrying stuff from the market.”
“Too bad, sir. Fiend raid would’ve been fun, especially with two teams here now. It would’ve given us a chance to try out the new equipment.”
“We’ll get that chance soon enough. Don’t lose sight of the Negro. When he gets back to the hotel we’ll nab him inside.”
The Book of Eadie, Volume One of the Seventeen Trilogy Page 24