by Gideon Mills
The sheer amount of waste created by the upper levels was astonishing. Amita shook her head to try to forget about it. What Amita needed to do was concentrate on where she was and what she would be doing.
“You going to tell me what I’m going to do?”
Marie stopped. “You will be working as an assistant to William Mara.”
Marcus had mentioned him. He was a friend of Marcus's. In some ways, Amita owed William for even being here. He had dared Marcus to go to the street level. If Marcus hadn’t, Amita would still be there and none the wiser to some of the differences in the levels.
Though, William might hate Amita. She was sure he would see her as a Streeter, someone beneath him. To make matters worse, Amita knew nothing about being an assistant.
“Okay,” Amita said. “I, uh, don’t really know what that means.”
Marie snorted. “You do what he says. If he wants coffee, you get it. If he wants you to set up a meeting, you do it.”
Amita nodded. It sounded simple, but she was still a little lost. Hopefully, she would figure it out.
They arrived at a large ornate door that was made of wood. It was different from all the others they'd passed on the way here since it was designed to stand out. Marie knocked, and a deep voice answered, “Come in.”
Marie walked in, and Amita followed right behind. William Mara was tall with black hair. His face was covered in a beard—a rarity these days. He looked about Marcus’s age, late twenties or early thirties. At first glance, Amita didn’t notice any mods on him. That, of course, didn’t mean there weren’t any. He could have a small leg mod that allowed for shoes, or subtle ones that clothes hid.
“Hello, Marie,” William said. “I see you have my new assistant.”
“I do. The girl you requested.” Marie had a tone to her answer, as if Amita wasn’t a human, and William was less-than for having Amita work for him.
Amita frowned. How William knew about her and why he wanted her were baffling.
“Thank you, Marie.”
“I will be leaving.” Marie left. She wasn’t one for words.
“Amita,” William said and reached out a hand for Amita to shake. She grabbed it. “A pleasure to meet you.”
“A pleasure, sir.”
Amita couldn’t resist and scanned him.
Wililam Mara: Mara Corp: director
Stats:
Intelligence: 7
Strength: 7
Cunning: 5
Speed: 7
Modification: Right leg, right arm
William smiled. “You don’t have to call me sir.”
He wasn’t what Amita expected, not from the person who'd dared Marcus to go to the street level. From what she’d heard, he wasn’t much of a worker and got into trouble.
“You’ll love working for me. Keres put me here to get rid of me. I’m not on her best side.”
“Oh,” Amita said. Why had William told her that right away? It was a little confusing.
“Come in and sit. Relax.”
The office had several chairs and a few desks too.
William sat behind the big one. “That one is yours.” He pointed to the second desk.
“Oh, thank you.”
“It has a phone connection and a tablet. You won’t have to worry. I make most of my own calls. You just have to run some errands for me. Otherwise, we sit here and pretend to work.”
Amita couldn’t help but wonder if he was just playing nice and setting her up so he could watch her better. Be the eyes and ears for his aunt. It wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibilities for Keres to do that.
Even though from what Marcus said, that wasn’t likely for William to do. He really didn’t get along with his aunt. But Amita had the thought running through her head. It just might have been what was going on.
Amita hated that she had become paranoid. It wasn’t the best thing to be. Though Keres was watching her—at least according to Marcus’s father. If he could be trusted. Amita thought he liked her, but Marcus said his dad had told him not to see her.
She spent the day with William and ended up doing very little. Amita did learn how to make coffee. That was something she never had access to before. It wasn’t delicious. She wouldn't be taking it up as a beverage of choice, but William did like it. Amita would have to get used to making it.
The rest of the day was uneventful. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to handle this type of work after being so busy at the factory. All of this was so much slower, so much less.
12
A trip home
Monday morning, Marcus woke up early and tired. Amita was on his mind, but he had to force himself to work. As much as he wanted to pretend he didn’t have a job, he couldn’t. Thankfully, he could work from home.
That was one of the many benefits of being a coder. Though his boss didn’t like him much. Marcus was one of the few coders who didn’t have his hands modified to type faster. Marcus just didn’t want to be that heavily upgraded. While he wasn’t the only one that didn’t get a lot, he was in the minority. Many of the upper echelon would upgrade several body parts, but stop short of the mods that a Security Force member did.
That was one of the few things he hated that happened to Amita. She was changed because of the mods to her body. Not that she appeared to show it. She was one of the strongest people he had ever met.
Doing his best to put all that out of his mind, Marcus went to work, typing away on his computer in his office. The project he was working on was due next week, and was basically done. Marcus was doing a quality check on the code. Finding the bugs that inevitably happened in any code.
As much as Mara Corp liked to pretend bugs didn’t happen, they did. The company that Marcus worked at might not be Mara Corp directly, but it was in all but name. Marcus wanted to work for one of the few companies not controlled by Mara Corp.
He thought he had found that when he took this job. But a few months into his work, it was purchased by Mara Corp. That angered Marcus more than he let anyone know. There was little doubt to Marcus that this had been done by his father. Jackson Ward just couldn’t let his son go out on his own. That pissed Marcus off.
Marcus tried to find other work at a place in Detroit that wasn’t part of the Mara Corp. There just weren’t many around and none did what Marcus wanted to do. He could move to New York, or Philly. But that just didn’t feel right.
Detroit was the technological capital of the world, and Marcus loved that aspect of it. He wanted to be in the center of the power, and that meant dealing with Mara Corp.
At lunch, Marcus heard from William. The man had found a way to get Amita to work for him. That was both good and bad news. In the balance, Marcus was thankful that Amita was away from Keres. At least for the time being.
Marcus stood outside William’s office building. Amita might learn more about Marcus while working for his friend, but William was a troublemaker. Marcus was going to need to find a way to thank William. Let him know that he appreciated what he did for him.
There was a lot Marcus was learning about Amita and the street level. That was why he was here. He wanted to learn more, to learn everything about her. She was intoxicating.
Marcus waited patiently for her to leave. Patience wasn’t one of his strong suits. He liked to get what he wanted and right away. Which was why he was here even though he had a million other things to do.
After what Marcus knew to be the end of the day for William, both Amita and his friend exited the building together. William noticed him first and strode over. It took a moment for Amita to see that William was walking to Marcus.
“Old friend,” William said. “You come to make sure I didn’t ruin your savior?”
Marcus laughed. “Something like that. Keres make you take her?” With William, it was okay to be direct. Sure, he might be a little upset with the question, but he had to expect it.
His old friend didn’t miss a beat. He smiled and patted Marcus on the shoulder. �
�No. She was earmarked for working with Marie and being watched twenty-four-seven. I stepped in. Figured I would help out.”
Marcus hung his head. That was like William. He wasn’t much of a worker and liked to goof around, but he cared for his friends. Well, Luke and Marcus were the two he made sure to take care of. The three of them had gone to school together, even college.
“Thank you,” Marcus said. “Keres is up to something. I just don’t know what.”
William shrugged. “When is my aunt not up to something? She is a vicious bat.”
That was their running joke with her, though they did try not to say that in the open like this for fear that Keres would have her eyes and ears out in all places. If word got out that her own nephews didn’t like her, that would be bad. She would find a way to remove them. The job that William had was proof she was able to move him around. It must have been painful for Keres to let him have Amita. Marcus was thankful for that.
Amita arrived next to William. She had lingered back for a moment. “What are you doing here?”
“Wanted to see both you and William,” Marcus said.
“Really?” she asked. Her face scrunched up, and she smiled. Marcus loved her smile. It was one of many things that had been making him fall for her.
The whole time she had been out at the hospital, he had watched her sleep. When she’d smiled, it was pleasant, and it made him relax. He had wondered what she was dreaming about and hoped it was terrific.
“Yeah. Don’t be surprised. I owe you my life.”
William laughed. “I’m really sorry about that. Didn’t realize it would lead to that.” The well-dressed man looked at Amita. “I’m sorry. Luke and I had no idea that it would get Marcus and someone else beaten up. We thought the dangers were overstated.”
Amita shrugged. She was shorter than both men and yet the most powerful among them. Her presence astonished Marcus. “Dangerous isn’t the word I’d use.”
William tilted his head. “Yeah. From your point of view, I guess not. Look, I’m off. Have to meet Luke, then our parents. See you tomorrow, Amita.”
He left.
Marcus focused on Amita.
The small woman stared up at him. “I’m glad you’re here. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to get home.”
“I can take you, but we do have public transit.”
Amita glanced at Marcus, confused. “Oh.”
Marcus put his arm around her, turned her to the street, and pointed up. It was a rail for a train that connected all the levels but the first. “See that? You can ride that. It will get you back to your place.”
“I’ve never been on a train,” she said.
“I’m sure you will figure it out.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
Marcus loved her innocence. She really had not lived the life that most here had. Of course, Marcus had no idea the life those on the first level lived. In reality, he didn’t know what those on the second level lived either.
Perhaps he was the one who had lived a sheltered and naïve life. They all did in some ways. That was what Keres wanted. Something needed to be done about that.
Today, Marcus had taken one of the family cars. Like most in the city, it was self-driving. He could switch to manual and drive himself, but there was no point in doing that. It would distract him from Amita.
“Being in a car is so strange,” she said.
They were able to go from the fourth to the third level. The elevator for cars was large and capable of transferring dozens at a time.
He grinned, amused. “I just can’t get over how different the life you and I have lived is, even though we live in the same city and not all that far from each other.”
Amita smiled. “This isn’t my city. What I lived wasn’t part of this at all. It might have the same name, but it isn’t the same city. Not even close.”
Marcus sighed. She was right. It wasn’t. In many ways, all the levels of Detroit weren’t the same city. Each one was different. It was more like a large metro area with various towns and standards of living.
That wasn’t how it was supposed to be. In school, they taught about the rise of the New Republic and what it was built on. How they were all equals. Even then, Marcus had realized that wasn’t the case, but now he saw how wrong that was.
“You’re right,” he said.
They arrived on the third level and continued to her place. Amita might not think it, but many considered it to be a dangerous part of the upper levels. Marcus wasn’t scared to be there, not after visiting the street level. That didn’t change the fact that it was a rough part of town.
It didn’t take long to arrive.
“Thank you for the ride,” Amita said.
“You are very welcome,” Marcus said. He hugged her. He wanted to do more but feared it would be too much for her, too fast for her. It was almost too quick for him. The way he'd fallen for her, the depth of it, the attachment, it scared him, but it also made him happy. There was no way he was going to tell her. He didn’t want to send her running.
Plus, this wasn’t the place or time for it. Keres was plotting something, and Marcus wanted to get to the heart of it. She had watched Amita from the moment he'd paid for her surgery. That had sent up so many warning flags. Marcus hadn’t done much in figuring that out.
That was about to change.
“I’ll see you soon,” Marcus said.
“I hope so.” Amita left the car and went to her apartment.
Marcus was sure she would stay in and do nothing. She was free, but she was still stuck in her old life.
13
An old Friend
Marcus went in search of information about Keres. While Marcus wasn’t the best coder, he did know a few who were talented. He was going to see if one of them would help him. It was tough to figure out who to ask. Many people on the upper levels loved Keres or were so scared, they would never go against her.
Marcus had narrowed the list down to two. It was a flip of the credit as to who he would ask—Ihor or Paul. Both were good, beyond good. Both had shown an interest in taking on Mara Corp.
Though, for most, that was merely talking. The challenge of hacking the biggest, baddest company around would be incredible. It was suicide in most people’s eyes, but Marcus thought it was possible, that one of them could do it.
Without even making a choice, Marcus took over the control of the car and drove manually to the fourth level. Both men lived there. They didn’t come from elite families but still had money and prestige.
By the time Marcus arrived at one house, he realized who he had decided on. Ihor. Marcus wasn’t sure why he was the choice. He just seemed like the logical one. Marcus was relying on his gut.
He knocked on the door and waited. Marcus hadn’t talked to him in close to a year. He was sure that Ihor would be shocked to see him.
A few seconds later, the door opened, and a dark-skinned man answered. He wore glasses, one of the few in the city who did. Most that needed corrective lenses got cybernetic eyes, at least those living on the upper three levels of the city.
Marcus hadn’t thought about the lower levels. They must have lots of people with glasses or contacts or who just walked around blind. How little Marcus knew about it all now angered him. He had been oblivious to the world around him. No longer.
This, he hoped, was the first step.
“Ihor,” Marcus said.
The man’s face held a look of surprise. “Marcus. It’s been a long time.”
“It has. Sorry to drop in unannounced.”
He let his scan of the man show up.
Ihor Smith: Programmer Mara Corp
Stats:
Intelligence: 9
Strength: 4
Cunning: 6
Speed: 2
Modification: ten fingers, other
“No worries. Come in.”
Marcus followed the skinny, lanky man in. His home was orderly. Everything was in its place. Ihor had always been t
he neatest, cleanliest person Marcus knew. That hadn’t changed. The house was in perfect condition. Marcus wished he was more like Ihor in that matter. Marcus hated to clean.
“What have you been up to?” Ihor asked.
“This and that.”
Marcus went into his trip to the street level and then into Amita and Keres. He didn’t ask anything or tell Ihor that he loved her. Did Marcus love her? He wasn’t sure. It couldn’t happen that fast. It was supposed to take time. That was what everyone told him.
“Wow. Interesting. Keres has been increasing the patrols recently.”
Marcus hadn’t thought much about it, but over the last few months, they had increased. “You’re right. She has. I wish I knew why.”
Ihor shrugged in a way that said he might know more. Was he already investigating?
“Really?” Ihor asked.
“What do you know?” Marcus asked. He was intrigued by this. Clearly, he had come to the right place.
Ihor gave him a look that said he wasn’t sure if he trusted Marcus. “I won't say anything. I just want to learn more. I’ve been opened up to more in the last month than ever before.”
“You have. I can see it, but it isn’t my place to tell you.”
It was clear that Ihor had scanned Marcus and in ways that Marcus couldn’t understand. The man was a genius that was for sure.
“Oh?” Now, Marcus was interested in what was going on. This had taken a turn he hadn’t expected.
“Wait here,” Ihor said. He left the room.
Marcus could hear Ihor talk in a low voice. He had called another person. Whoever it was, they spoke for several minutes before Ihor returned.
“If you really want to know, I can take you to the person who can answer your questions.”
“I do.”
“Then come with me.”