“It’s really okay,” I smiled.
She smiled back, genuinely relieved I wasn’t angry, and looked to Laura. “It’s nice to see you out-n-about. How’re you feelin’?”
“Of all the times I’ve been blown up,” Laura said, “this was definitely the worst.”
Doctor Taylor looked to me, unable to tell if Laura was joking or not. She turned back to Laura. “That prosthetic looks pretty good. What kind is it?”
“Yeah, when I saw this model, I just had to give it two thumbs up.”
Looking back at me, Doctor Taylor said, “I can never tell what she’s actually feelin’.”
“I’m still trying to figure it out myself,” I glanced briefly at Laura, her eyes still staring down at the plate of uneaten food. I turned back to Doctor Taylor and said, “I couldn’t help seeing…you and Teagan are talking?”
She smiled, “still tentative for now,” her smile went away, “when the news came about what happened to Tanya and Regina, she called me. We’ve been talkin’ a little since then.”
I nodded slowly, “silver linings.”
“If only it coulda happened under different circumstances.”
“You have to take what you can get.”
She nodded slowly, glancing back at her two daughters as they spoke with some other guests I didn’t recognize. She turned back to me and said, “I’ve…looked at the results again. The results of the procedure we tried doin’ on you. I’ve looked at them over and over and over. I haven’t been able to stop goin’ through the events of that day in my mind. None of it…it doesn’t make any sense,” she shook her head slowly, “I still can’t get myself to believe your story, but I’m absolutely certain that somethin’ strange is goin’ on. Somethin’ I…I can’t explain.”
“It’s a deep rabbit hole,” Laura said, her sleepy eyes looking up from her plate, “it keeps me up at night.”
Doctor Taylor bit her lip, “my life’s been…very interesting since all’uh you crossed over that border.”
I smiled, “let’s hope this is as interesting as it gets for you.”
She smiled back, “I’d like to continue helpin’ in whatever capacity I can.”
I nodded, “Your help would be more than welcome.”
Doctor Taylor let out a sigh of relief, “good. I’m glad to get…to get this conversation outta the way.”
I chuckled, “me too.”
“Great,” she smiled, “when’re you comin’ back to Cortez?”
“I’m not sure,” I said, “now that we’re all healing up, there’s business to be taken care of.”
“Your friends comin’ back.”
“That’s a big one,” I said, “but now I have to figure out what to do moving forward,” I glanced to Bita, who had only shown up after the service.
“Well, if you need anything…”
“I don’t at the moment,” I said, “but I bet I know someone who’d love to talk science with you. Maybe even try to explain those lab results.”
Doctor Taylor looked over to where Akira was now standing alone again, Yukiko having gone to her father. She was standing in the middle of the room, staring into her ARs.
Doctor Taylor cleared her throat. “I’ve seen her around. She still not workin’ with you?”
“She’s…sort of an outside consultant,” I said.
She smiled, “I see. Maybe I’ll go say hi, have this same uncomfortable apology again. Take care, you two.”
“Sure thing,” I said, seeing her walk off.
Bita immediately made a beeline for me.
“Eshe,” she said, stopping in front of me, “where have you been?”
“Denver,” I said.
“I’ve tried contacting you like fifty times,” she said, “I hoped to find you here.”
“I…wasn’t taking calls,” I said, “I, uh…”
“Doesn’t matter,” she shook her head, “Kali’s been eager to know what’s going to happen,” she glanced at Laura.
I followed Bita’s glance. “She’s fine.”
“Never been better,” Laura said, scratching at her shaved, bandaged head.
“Are you still planning on going to Atlanta?” Bita asked.
“Yes,” I said, “I’m still going to uphold my end of the deal. Disrupting GPFTA negotiations. Has she found anything out about Imelda?”
Bita took a deep breath, letting it out slow. “Kali says her people have made some inquiries. Both through proper channels and back channels. Kali says the Chinese government is only willing to give up the girl if they get what they want in the GPFTA negotiations. Apparently Benecorp’s promising them just that.”
“I see,” I nodded slowly, “meaning the Chinese must not know her real worth.”
Bita furrowed her brows. “What is her real worth?”
“Nevermind,” I said. Stupid! “Just make sure Kali’s ready to retrieve the girl when I install the tech at the Director’s mansion. But tell her that if I don’t make it back to the LoC afterwards, give the girl to Akira, not Sachi.”
“I see. I’ll let her know,” Bita said, turning and hurrying away.
“How are you going to disrupt the GPFTA negotiations?” Laura asked.
I kept my gaze on Bita as she slunk out of the gym. “I suppose the blackmail will help. But mainly by hacking their network with the tech Kali sent.”
Tech almost certainly accessible by Kali herself.
“It might help if we kill Sovereign’s people while we’re there.”
I turned, looking back to Laura, who was busy staring at her bionic hand again. “They do a decent job with it?”
“I’m thinking about getting the other one done,” she said without looking up, “next time I get blown up I’ll have to throw my other shoulder into it.”
“Hopefully we’re all done getting blown up,” I said.
“But it just wouldn’t be Hell without it,” she said, lazily raising her gaze.
I smirked, “well, maybe I’ll go find us some more dangerous missions.”
“You’re such a sappy motherfucker,” she looked back down to her hand.
“I want to come along,” Laura said.
“I think you need to take some more time to heal up,” I said, “besides, it’ll only be a couple of months at the most.”
Both of us were back at the house in Cortez. There was a strange mixture of familiarity and alienation to the empty building. Somehow it was as if I’d never left, yet hadn’t seen it in decades. Either way, it felt much larger with just me and Lura inhabiting it.
Laura had gone straight for the unopened bottle of vodka in the freezer as soon as we walked in the door. I had told Laura about my plans to help with Goodwin’s campaign, going back into the CSA territories. She seemed to have expected this.
“I should be able to walk by then,” she said.
“Yes,” I said, “maybe you’ll even be able to walk the entire length of the kitchen by then. I thought you were afraid of getting shot and blown up again?” “You said Sovereign will be there.”
“Yeah…” I said, “that’s where the negotiations are taking place.”
“And that’s why you don’t want me there,” she said.
I sighed.
She lifted her gaze to mine, “if you knew what made you the way you are, wouldn’t you at least want answers from them?”
“None of the people there will the the ones on your bedroom wall,” I said.
“They will get me closer,” she said.
“Maybe,” I said, “but even if they can, there isn’t a way we can get to them that won’t get us arrested or worse.”
“You don’t want to help me.”
“I don’t?”
“We only do the missions you think are important.”
“Getting revenge isn’t…” I sighed, “okay, I know it’s important for you. And that makes it important for me, too, but we have to prioritize.”
“You’ll really help me find who did this to me?” she
asked.
“Of course I will,” I said, “in fact, once we get Imelda, we’re going to have to wait for her to grow a little older in order to get any useful information. In the meantime, we’ll put all our focus on Sovereign.”
Something like a smile passed briefly over her lips. “What am I supposed to do while you’re in the CSA?”
“I…” I looked to the basement door.
“If you say work in the lab, I’m going to tear your arm off.”
“Well…maybe you can be my eyes and ears on Sachi’s people,” I said.
“How am I going to do that?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted, “maybe you could spend some time with Akira and Masaru. I’m sure Yuki would love to see you.”
Laura said nothing, her gaze having sunk back to her lap, looking at both hands side-by-side. I could tell that none of this was thrilling her. But the truth was, I was scared of losing her. She may have had the spark of life reignited into her corpse, but she still needed her corpse to persist. She was mortal. And Masaru was right – death meant something different to me than it does to other people. I had to remember that. And Laura could die. I wasn’t going to let that happen.
“We still have a couple of weeks,” I said, “so let’s just think about that for now.”
Laura lifted her gaze. I leaned over, gently putting a hand to the back of her head and pressed my lips against hers. She returned the kiss, bringing her bionic arm up to the side of my head, the cold polymer pressing against my skin.
When I stood back up, the smile was back on her lips. This time it remained.
“Want to get drunk?” she asked, holding the vodka bottle up.
“I…” I shrugged, “you know what? Why the hell not?”
“That’s the sort of easy surrender to my will that us Germans love,” she said, handing the bottle to me.
I took a sip. Laura scowled. I grinned, put the bottle to my lips and drank deep.
“You’re really against working in the lab, I take it?” I said, feeling the buzz ramping up as I handed the bottle back to her.
She took a drink, wincing as she forced it down. “I think I’d still choose the risk of getting blown up again over going back down there,” she said, holding the bottle out for me.
I took the bottle, brought it to my lips, and took several more large swallows. I didn’t stop until I felt like I might vomit. When I brought the bottle down, Laura had her hand out. I was about to hand the bottle back when I saw four white pills sitting in the palm of her improbably uninjured left hand.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“Pain killers,” she said, “special concoction I bought from a guy at the Denver hyperloop station. Mostly oxycodone with a little Demerol and Ativan thrown in. Want some?”
My better judgment told me not to, but the increasing alcohol buzz turned that voice into a whisper. I grabbed all four tablets, popped them in my mouth, and washed it down with another chug of vodka.
“I like a man who goes big,” she said as I handed the bottle back to her. She put four pills in her mouth and washed it down.
“We’re going to regret this in the morning,” I said.
“Morning?” Laura scoffed, “I’m going to regret this in a few hours while you get to sleep it off.”
“We’ll have to do something fun,” I said.
“You have another old man prank in mind?”
I grinned, “not this time. That wheel chair able to go down stairs?”
“You want to work in the lab for fun?” she said, “why can’t we just go by the coffee shop and see if it blows up again?”
“I have a surprise,” I said, “come one.”
Laura pursed her lips, handing the vodka bottle to me. She pushed the joystick forward, going to the basement door. I followed slowly behind, taking another drink.
She stopped at the top of the stairs, pressing a button on the chair’s arm. It inched forward, the front wheels working their way down to the first step on an extendable axle. The process of going down the stairs went slow, the affect of the pills starting to kick in by the time we reached the bottom.
“Well, there it is,” Laura said, “now we’re at the lowest level of my Hell. Where’s the surprise?”
I walked forward a few steps, looked around, and found a one liter Erlenmeyer flask. I picked it up, wound back, and hurled it into the lab. It hit the negative eighty freezer, glass shards flinging everywhere.
“Get me one,” Laura said, uncharacteristically excited.
I grabbed a couple flasks and beakers and handed them to her. She set them on her lap and navigated her way forward. There wasn’t enough room in the cramped lab for the chair to fit through, so she tossed them through the narrow walkway in rapid fire. Glass shatted, shards falling to the floor like confetti.
“That’s more satisfying than it has any right to be,” she said, “thanks.”
“We’re not done yet,” I said, handing the vodka bottle to her.
A look of surprise came over her face when I bent down, put my arms beneath her knees and lower back, lifting herfrom the chair. The surprise turned into a giant grin as I carried her through the narrow walkway further into the lab. I set her down on the bench and when to the cabinet and grabbed two pistols from inside.
“Now we’re talking,” she said as I handed one to her.
“Here,” I said, going to one of the jars, grabbing cotton balls out, “put these in your ears,” I grabbed safety goggles and surgical masks out of a drawer, “safety first.”
After we got sufficiently protected, Laura began firing enthusiastically. Even under the mask I could tell she was smiling larger than I had ever seen her smile. She first put three shots into warmer, holes opening in the clear polymer. Laura always had a special hatred for growing cultures, but I knew what she really hated.
“Here,” I said, taking down some of the SDS-PAGE gel apparatuses from the shelf.
“Yes,” she said, “those. Those things can eat shit and go to Hell!” she threw them across the room as I handed them to her, unable to get good thrust from where she sat on the lab bench.
“You motherfuckers!” I shouted, jumping and stamping my feet down onto the plastic cases, feeling them crack and crumble beneath my feet, “torment us no more!” I kicked, sending pieces colliding against freezers and large centrifuges.
“I got an idea!” Laura said.
“Yeah?”
“Put a bunch of shit in that centrifuge and turn it on high,” she said, “unbalanced.”
I grinned, “hell yeah.”
I opened it up and signaled to the glassware hanging on racks behind Laura.
“See how many you can make into it.”
She smirked, took a drink of vodka, and then started grabbing the flasks and beakers off the rack, throwing them into the centrifuge like basketballs. The glassware shattered all over it, some making it into the washing machine sized instrument. I went about the room grabbing bottles of chemicals, tossing them into the machine. Once it was full almost to the top, I shut the lid and dialed in the highest speed for half an hour.
“We might want to go up the stairs a little ways,” I said.
“Why does safety always have to be so boring?” Laura wined sarcastically.
I programmed the centrifuge to start running in three minutes as I went to the bench and lifted Laura up again.
“Fuck the chair,” she said just before I set her back down into it, “if it lives, it lives.”
“Sure,” I said, bringing her up near the top of the stairs, setting her down. She was able to bend over to see beneath the basement ceiling.
“Shit!” she said.
“What?”
“I left the vodka on the lab bench.”
“I’ll get it,” I said, bounding down the stairs.
I squeezed my way through the freezers and instruments, back toward the lab bench. There stood the vodka bottle, down to its last quarter volume. I grabbed it and brought
it to my lips, taking several more mouthfuls.
“Show off!” she taunted.
“I got plenty of time,” I said, “there’s still-”
The machine started humming, making an ugly crunching, cracking sound.
Shit!
I squeezed myself back into the walkway. The centrifuge continued speeding up, the sound getting louder. I shuffled sideways through the gap. The machine started banging as it wobbled, unbalanced. Something caught my shirt. I tugged, feeling the fabric tighten back against me. I turned my head, seeing the bottom of my shirt caught on the freezer handle. I reached back, my nerve-damaged hand in my intoxicated state struggling to free myself. The whole floor vibrated as the machine shook violently, still accelerating.
“Hurry the fuck up!” Laura called.
“I’m stuck,” I said, just as my hand was able to pull the fabric off the freezer handle.
I scrambled, shuffling sideways, feeling dizzy. The sound of the centrifuge became deafening. I stumbled out from the narrow gap and sprinted, ramming my knee into Laura’s wheel chair.
“Goddammit!” I shouted, almost dropping the vodka bottle.
I limped to the stairs and scrambled up. Just as I did a thundering crash ripped through the lab. I jumped flat onto the stairs, instinctively covering my head.
“Holy shit!” Laura shouted as chunks of wood and glass continued clattering to the floor.
I lifted my head. The place where I had been stuck in the gap had exploded, knocking the large freezers toward the stairs, smashing Laura’s wheel chair against the wall. The shelf containing all the thermocyclers and other smaller instruments making up the other side of the gap were gone, a hole blown in the wall behind them. Water sprayed out from a pipe inside the wall out onto the rest of the lab.
“That…was fucking…awesome!” Laura said.
I grinned, “it was. Wanna break some more shit?”
“You know the way to a woman’s heart,” she said as I picked her back up off the stairs, “unnecessary destruction.”
Chapter 36
“This place is secure?” Sachi asked.
“Akira’s gone over it twice for bugs,” I said, scratching at the scarred flesh on my right hand. The damaged nerves often itched something terrible.
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