by J P Carver
“You know it, you lazy bastard.”
“I’ll be back,” Lawrence said and went to the door.
“You dumb? They’re out there looking for idiots to pick up. You’ll stand out like a beacon.”
“Would get me away from you,” he called and went to the door.
Kay watched him go, shaking her head and grinning. “He’s going to the neighbors, they always have beer. He’s so damn jealous.”
I gave her a confused look. “Jealous?”
She nodded as she went to the fireplace and stacked a few logs into it. “Yeah, he thinks me and you had a thing years ago.”
“Uh, why would he think that?” I asked.
She gave me a shy smile as she took a match out of a box. “Might have never corrected him when he wondered.”
“Oh, come on…”
“What? He’s more fun when he’s jealous. I could be wrong, could be jealous of you and your cutie. He had a thing for you too.”
“Yeah, no way. I gave him too much shit for that. You were the one sweet on him.”
“He was much less of an ass back then. Anyway,” she struck the match and held it to the wood. “I’ll get something together to eat if you two want to take it easy for a bit.”
The fire lit to life and she shook out the match. She left for the kitchen without another look and the partition wall closed behind her. I looked at Marcus who already went to the couch. He sat down holding his hands over the fire. I moved to join him with a glance out the window. The snow came down in giant flakes that splattered against the window pane.
Marcus rubbed his hands together. “You had an interesting life before we met.”
I laid back against the couch and put a hand to my stomach. It still ached, but I could tell the glue was holding. “That’s one way of putting it. Drugs will get you into some weird situations.”
“So you and Kay never…?”
I smacked his arm, and he looked over. “No—” I paused as a memory welled to the surface. “Well, there was one time, I think. Was not a sober thing though, happened right after CherryWash made its way onto the scene. We learned that day that you don’t take that shit when someone else is around unless you’re into them.”
He grinned. “Only once?”
“Yeah, and stop imagining it, you creep.” I dug into my pocket and pulled out the scrap of paper. “Besides, we gotta figure this out.”
He reached over and took the paper. “Shouldn’t be too hard for your neural if it’s a code of some sort.”
“Already running it through some code breaking programs and coming up with nothing.” I said as I leaned on his shoulder and stared at the paper. “Also ran the email, it’s dead.”
“You get a bounce back?”
I shook my head. “No, which is strange. It’s like it’s frozen somewhere. A mail trace shows it left my mail server, but after a few connections it goes dark.”
“Man, why does it feel like I’ve seen this before…” He placed the paper down on the little table that sat between the fireplace and couch. “It’s itching at the back of my head. Wait…” He paused and his eyes went distant. He was looking for something through his neural. “I knew it.”
“What is it?”
“It’s an IP address.”
I stared at him. “No it’s not, it’s too short.”
He shook his head. “Yeah, it’s too short now, but everything we have nowadays is on IPv6.”
I shrugged. “So? Everything has been the same for the last thirty years, I think. This is only four groups. I doubt this would even resolve.”
“Worth a shot, isn’t it?” He handed the paper back. “Go for it.”
I tried to get to it through the internet, but it didn’t resolve as expected. I tried it as a mail server and sent an email using it and the email address. It didn’t bounce, and the trace showed it was delivered. “Well, shit.”
“It worked?”
“Email went through. Glad I used one of my aliases. What are we thinking? Drug deals via old tech?”
“Someone is trying to keep off the net, this is a dark web kind of thing,” Marcus said.
“You would know all about that according to your posters.”
“Shut up.”
I laughed and then sighed. “You know who we’re probably gonna need to contact for this.”
“We’re not going to Hayden.”
“Why not? I’m not the biggest fan of him either, but this links back to whoever tried to OD me. I think we can deal with Hayden if it helps us figure out who that was.”
“That's a big if.”
“I’ll get Crow to come with me.”
“Yeah, good luck with that. She told me what happened there last time. Freaking cockroach,” he said and had a point. The last time I went to Hayden he had Nina’s avatar on a leash and was selling them to the groupies that followed well known cracker groups.
“You two have a lot in common,” I said, and he looked over, his features dark in anger.
“You did not just say that.”
“Pretty sure I did,” I said and turned to him. “What are you going to do about it?”
He grabbed me by my arms and pulled me toward him. I gave a cry surprise and laughed. “Be careful, still not stitched together right,” I said.
“You never were, Ragdoll,” he said against my ear and then nuzzled my neck.
“Ouch, and you call me mean.” I pulled back and placed a hand to his cheek. “You’re not looking to check out if Kay was telling the truth, are you?”
We both looked over to the crackling fire.
“Not with her in the next room.”
“Don’t mind me!” Kay called, and we broke apart like two teenagers that been caught. “Gonna be in here getting stuff together for a bit longer. Get it on if you want.”
Nine
Into the Nest
Evening rolled in by the time we got out of Kay’s crash spot. Our dinner sat heavy in our stomachs as we rode the subway back to Marcus’s place. He wanted to get my wounds straighten out and his dad's clinic would be the best place to do so.
I leaned against him, fighting off sleep. He sat wide awake, his eyes distant as he continued to work on the IP address and mail server. He couldn’t get very far with his neural setup, which meant he was hoping that he’d find something simple so we wouldn’t have to see Hayden.
I wish he did, but by the time we reached our stop, he was dozing with his head against the window. I sat up and pulled him straight as the computer announced out stop. “Come on, otherwise you’ll be riding the train the rest of the night.”
“Would keep us from seeing Hayden,” he slurred as I helped him to his feet. He yawned and stretched for a few seconds and then stood on his own. “We don’t need him.”
“We don’t have the time to wait. You got some credits, don’t you?”
“Dating a day and already trying to bum credits,” he said as we headed out onto the platform.
“I mean, what else are you useful for?”
“Not useful for money, I can tell you that.”
“Figured you were as broke as me. We’ll see what Crow has. It shouldn’t cost much for the info.”
“Still don’t think we need him,” Marcus said as we stepped out of the crowded entrance to the subway and into the chilled night air. We were about two blocks from his dad’s. “We pull in all the Mourning Stars and we’ll get this tracked easily.”
“They’ve done enough for me the last few days,” I said and crossed my arms against the chill and the guilt that rose inside. “This might be nothing.”
“You still don’t get that we don’t really care, we’d help you if you needed it. That I will.”
“I don’t like asking for help.”
He laughed. “No one does, but that’s what friends are for: for help when you need it. You’ve helped all of us when ever we asked.”
“Fine,” I said, annoyed that I didn’t have an argument. “I’ll ask Crow and you can ask Z
iller and Jankiee as Ziller probably doesn’t want to talk to me.”
Marcus stopped me with an arm and a group of people walking behind us almost ran into our backs. They trudged around us, and Marcus held my glare as they passed. “You’re talking with Ziller. This is getting stupid, Doll.”
“What do you want me to say to him? He’s the one acting like a dick.”
“You’re both acting like dicks. He had a point and you know it.”
“You think he was right? That I put you all in danger—”
He grabbed both my arms when I turned away and forced me to face him. “You know he’s right, I saw it when you two talked at your place. You’re staying mad at him by force of will now and it’s not helping anyone. Yeah, he was out of line, but so were you. You had no idea how badly you scared him that time… how badly you scared me.” He dropped his gaze and released me. He took a few deep breaths and then trudged through the snow again, leaving me behind.
However scared I was when it looked like he wouldn’t wake up, it didn’t compare to what I put him through by getting captured in Autumn Sin. I watched him go for a few seconds and realized I was letting someone else walk away from me when they meant so much. I took off at a sprint, calling after him.
He paused and looked over his shoulder as I skidded to a stop beside him. As soon as I had my footing, I threw my arms around his neck. “I’m sorry,” I said and kissed his cheek and pulled him even closer. “I’m sorry, I forgot about that and I shouldn’t have.”
His arms slowly went around me and held me. “It’s all right.”
“No, it’s not. You’d think I’d have learned by now… you’re right. I need to talk to Ziller. To everyone else and you.” I pulled back and wiped angrily at the tears in my eyes. “I don’t get why you like me, I’m a mess, an idiot, and not to mention, an asshole.”
“So am I, at least the first two.” He smiled at me. “But that’s why it’ll work.”
“I hope so. It’s been nice so far.”
“Am I the greatest one day boyfriend you’ve ever had?”
“Yeah, you are. Let’s see how you do on the second day.”
“No pressure, right?” He bent and caught my lips. We kissed under the glow of a street light while snow fell gently around us. It felt like something out of a story book, but I wasn’t going to ruin the moment by tearing that strange feeling down. It was nice, warm, and safe. When we broke apart, he took my hand in his and we walked the rest of the way to his dad’s, so close that we bumped shoulders every few feet.
When we reached the front door, I noticed shadows moving in the living room window. Marcus and I shared a glance before he unlocked the door and we entered. We walked toward the living room, but made it only a few steps before something short and green-haired hit me back a step.
“Where the hell have you been?” Nina asked as she moved back and glared at me. “It’s been hours and you two just disappear like freaking… I don’t even know. I’m so angry that I can’t even come up with a comparison. Where the hell were you? Visiting that friend of yours should have been an hour, tops.”
“Take it easy, mum,” Merigold called and even she wilted a little when Nina turned to her. “That—that is a hell of a look, I think I feel sorry for Winter now.” Nina narrowed her eyes and then faced Marcus and I again while Merigold carried on. “I’m just saying, let them talk and then we can berate them into dust when we don’t like their answers.”
“This is between you guys, I’m not gonna do a thing,” Ziller said. He sat in a large chair next to Marcus’s dad. Dr. Thaxton watched everything with annoyance, but it seemed forced. I was starting to think he liked having a house full of interesting people. “I’m just here to watch the carnage.”
“Nothing else for me to do right now than do the same,” Dr. Thaxton said and held up a glass of wine.
“Nice greeting,” I said and steeled myself to face Nina. “We got a bit side tracked. It’s not a big deal.”
“Someone tried to kill you, Raggy. It’s a big deal if we can’t reach you or Marcus.”
“Well, my neural was down, so I have an excuse.” I said, hoping Marcus would forgive me for throwing him to Nina. His expression told me he wouldn’t, but it turned fearful when Nina focused on him.
“What do you mean, ‘was’? What did you...?” Merigold asked before Nina could get started. Everyone faced her. “You — you didn’t boot it while you were out, did you?”
“Would it help if I said it was life and death?” I asked and felt all eyes return to me.
“No, not really, you idiot. You could have fried your brain.” She put her cup and saucer down and stood. “Go for her legs, Crow, I’ll take her head. We’ll beat some sense into her if it’s the last thing we do.”
“As much fun as that would be to watch,” Marcus said and stepped forward. “We do have a good reason and she needs the skin reapplied to her abdomen, it’s starting to pull apart.”
“I knew you weren’t ready,” Nina said and hit my arm.
“Would have been fine if the droopers hadn’t shown up.” I rubbed at my arm. “Was not planning on that.”
“What were you doing messing with droopers?” Ziller asked as he sat forward. The chair he sat in was larger than most, but it still looked too small for him.
“I went to see Kay.”
“Yeah, I got that, but that doesn’t answer anything.”
“It’s a long story after a long day,” I said tiredly, but that was not the answer any of them wanted.
“We’ll explain it all after I get her stitched up again, all right? Merigold, I could use your help.”
There was an evil glint in her eye. I turned to Marcus and shook my head. “Ask your dad,” I said under my breath.
“It’ll be fine, besides she’s better at applying the synthetic skin than he is.” His hand went to my back, and he gently pushed me toward his dad’s clinic.
Merigold stitched me back together, all the while giving me death glares. When she finished, she made me plug in a diagnostic bridge so she could take readings from my neural. She scowled the entire time she stared at the readout.
Marcus for his part seemed to be trying his best to blend into the furniture of the room. He didn’t make eye contact with me or Merigold and continually let his eyes roam the room. I couldn’t blame him, Merigold was pissed, and he had become one of her favorite targets.
In a huff Merigold turned off her omni and stared at me.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re fine,” she said and stood and then towered over me. “Somehow.”
“That’s a good thing, right?”
“You’re an idiot. Braindead. Zombie dumb. Amoeba are smarter. Your idiocy will be near the end of the Hall of Human Stupidity for all eternity.”
“Wow, could you fit in any more insults?”
“Some, but I don’t think you’re smart enough to understand them.” She turned and tossed the omni-pad onto the counter with a clang. “I don’t get you anymore.”
I pushed myself from the chair and to my feet. “What don’t you get?”
“How do you keep finding new ways to almost kill yourself? You’d be safer in a suicide cult at this rate.”
“I didn’t put myself in danger, it found me,” I snarled which just made Merigold radiate a seething rage I hadn’t seen from her before.
“You keep looking for it, don’t you?” She spoke calmly. “This is the last time I patch you up from doing something stupid.”
“Merigold,” Marcus said from his stool and Merigold focused on him. “Knock it off.”
“What did you say?” She pushed around me and Marcus stood to meet her. “You find some balls somewhere, kiddo?”
“This isn’t Ragan’s fault, I was there with her. We didn’t get ourselves into that, but we had to get out. We didn’t think we had any other choice than to boot her neural. I agreed with her.”
“So it’s you I have to thank for almost killing her? Go
od to know.” She shoved him back a step. “You were there, so why didn’t you protect her, huh? Why d'you let her do something stupid?”
“You think we called those droopers down on us? You think we expected to get trapped? No, but it happened, and we survived. Again.”
She moved in close and grabbed the front of his shirt. “What about next time? The time after that? You going to be there to make sure she doesn’t get herself in too deep?”
“Yes.”
Merigold regarded him for a moment and then she released his shirt and stood straight. She brushed off his shoulders and she smiled at him. "Good. Guess you are better than a lot of other assholes out there. You have my blessing."
Marcus looked at me and we shared a confused look. Merigold was practically beaming.
“What?” we both said.
“You have my blessing. I’m cool with you getting it on with my good-as daughter.”
Another confused look passed between Marcus and I as I pulled Merigold around to face me. “You knew? Since when?”
“Since you two looked like you done kicked a puppy this morning.”
“Yeah right, you wouldn’t have been able to stop yourself. Crow said something, didn’t she?”
Merigold rolled her eyes and shrugged. “Not out right, but she was pissed that none of us could get ahold of you.”
“Right. Then if this bullshit is over, I’d like to chase down the lead I got on who tried to kill me. You know, if you’re okay with that.”
“By all means, just keep the snogging to the hallways, otherwise you might give daddy Thaxton a heart attack.”
I left the room without another word. I couldn’t believe she had started that whole thing over not being told Marcus and I were together. She could be such a bitch, but calling her one would just make her smile. I went back into the room where the rest of the group was. Marcus’s dad was talking with Ziller, a more unlikely friendship I couldn’t come up with.
“Ziller. Kitchen. Now,” I said as I breezed though the room to the kitchen. I went around the island and stood there, waiting. He entered a moment later, an eyebrow cocked in question.