Daugher of Ash

by Matthew S. Cox

  “I’m aware you have trust issues with scientists. I’m no geneticist, Kate. I’m not even a researcher. I’m a psychiatrist.”

  “Hi.” Kate accepted the handshake with a forced, vapid smile. “I’m a science project. So, at what point is my ass going back in a tank?”

  Perrin set a cup of coffee in front of her. “You take it black?”

  “I’ll take it any way I can get it now.” She made a face at him.

  “Pheromones still not worn off?” Perrin sat.

  “Now who’s the one with the dirty mind?” Kate grasped the cup. “I was talking about coffee.”

  A small amount of color appeared in his cheeks. Kate smirked, the measure of discomfort racked up one minor victory. The coffee was hot, and average. She couldn’t help but wince a little as it hit her tongue.

  “Sorry, it’s government issue.” Perrin chuckled. “Cutbacks, you know. Even the coffee took a hit.”

  “How much did I cost?” She dunked another cookie, trying to give the liquid some flavor.

  “I don’t have that information. I’d like to build some trust with you, so I’m going to tell you some things that are classified.”

  “Ooh.” Kate perked up. “I get to know about myself? Do I have enough clearance to know that I exist?”

  Doctor Mlodzik seemed to be fighting the urge to smile.

  Perrin showed no reaction to her attitude. “You did not lose your parents, Kate. You never had them.”

  She let the cookie fall into the cup, arms limp on the table. It was something she had always assumed, but hearing it―even from him―hurt. Trust and Perrin were far from the same thing, but the quality of his voice rang true. What Archon had shared about the information matched.

  “Ekaterina Myshkin?” muttered Kate. “They were trying to clone some old person. Guess they screwed something up.”

  “I see the file breach found its way to you already.” He forced a smile. “Then you know I’m not being deceitful. You were a weapons project, but something went wrong. The constant heat made you unsuitable for any assignments they had in mind.”

  “Yeah, I got that part.” The heaviness of the metal around her neck held back her desperate curiosity to read Perrin’s mind. “Right around the time they went to hit me with neurotoxin.”

  “Unfortunately, the general in charge of the project set an overly demanding deadline. Ramesh decided on his own to stop working on a way to ‘turn it off’ and start all over.”

  Kate jumped with a flashback to the man’s face as he boiled from the inside out.

  “What was that?” asked Dr. Mlodzik.

  “I remember Ramesh. I couldn’t hear them talking through the tank, so I read their minds. I knew he wanted to kill me. I begged him not to hurt me, but he kept reaching for that button. I wasn’t a child to him, just an animal in a tank, a project.” She stared at the flecks of cookie floating on the coffee, wavering in a white spot of reflected fluorescent lights. “He was the first person I hated. My abilities picked up on that hate and I boiled the fluids in his body. I didn’t know what I was doing. My rage made it happen.”

  “The site team thought he’d been hit with a microwave weapon,” said Perrin. The chuckle underlining his words triggered a disturbed glance from Dr. Mlodzik.

  “One of the scientists tried to stop them, but they dragged him out.”

  “Dr. Aldus Solomon. He was the lead researcher on your project.” Perrin noted her eyebrow lift. “Ramesh was the bureaucratic head. He pushed documents, not genes.”

  Kate slurped at the coffee-cookie concoction, thinking about the old man who wanted to protect her. “Solomon’s as close as I’ve got to a father.”

  “That’s an excellent analogy,” said Dr. Mlodzik. “And like a parent, he tried to protect you.”

  She pouted at her reflection on the dark liquid. “Pity they shot him.”

  Dr. Mlodzik’s smile fell flat.

  “Actually,” said Perrin. “He vanished. We still haven’t located him.”

  “So much for Military Intelligence.” Kate frowned.

  “That means one of two things. He’s either gone to the Badlands, which I doubt, or he’s in the Beneath.”

  “I’d like to talk about the time between your leaving the facility and now,” said Dr. Mlodzik.

  Kate remained silent until the feeling of confinement from the guarded door and the metal ring around her neck became too much. In a monotone voice, she spoke of living in the forests of the Scattered Lands, a feral child hunting deer and sleeping on dirt mounds. Mlodzik took particular note of her guilt over the first kill, offering a reassuring expression that encouraged her to continue.

  The story rambled through her increasing loneliness and into East City, gangs, and the Syndicate. Figuring she was as screwed as screwed can be already, she held nothing back―except the old priest and Althea. If they thought she’d cracked and started believing in demons, they’d probably just shoot her.

  “So, now you want me to work for C-Branch, right? I’m guessing it’s not much of a choice. What if I refuse?” Kate held up a hand. “Wait, let me guess. That whole ‘you’re not a prisoner’ thing changes.”

  Perrin interlaced his fingers, tapping his hands on the table. “You have to understand our interest in protecting the citizens and the nation at large.” He swiped his hand over a silver fleck, activating a holo-pane. Images of some of her syndicate kills scrolled by in midair, as well as full motion video of her feeding frenzy at CyberBurger when she burned Alfonso. “The man still wets himself at the sight of you.”

  “I was starving, still only a kid, wild, and scared shitless.” Kate snagged a brownie. “I didn’t want to hurt him, but he ran at me with this giant spear thing.”

  “You may want to slow down. Now that you’re no longer burning 24/7, your metabolism’s back to normal.”

  “I think I can spare a few extra calories today.” Kate poked herself in the ribs. “So, basically, I get locked up if I don’t agree to join you guys.” Officer Ahmed’s sparkling brown eyes danced in her memory. Division 0’s offer seemed less hostile. Could they really have protected me from these people? Fucking Esteban. Why did I leave Querq? “I think you’re overreacting. I’m not that dangerous.”

  “Oh?” said Perrin. He poked at the light panel.

  The image changed to one from a distant pole-camera, aimed at the front of the remote facility. Little Kate stood on a portable stairway, hands balled into fists, hair in the wind. The diminutive figure looked downcast. Intense light formed around her, seconds before the entire scene erupted in a yellow-orange fireball ringed with smoke. Lines of static tainted the image for several seconds before it cut out to black. When it recovered, a platoon of soldiers lay motionless, military vehicles had melted and warped, and Perrin was gone.

  “You did that when you were a child,” said Perrin. “You’ve had a lot more practice since then.”

  “How is that any different from someone with a plasma grenade? How are my fireballs any worse than someone with a gun? I’m not the kind of psionic that can possess people, mind control people, steal secrets, or do all that other freaky shit. I’m a weapon with tits.”

  Dr. Mlodzik looked away, blushing.

  “Your comparison is not too far off the mark. However, your ‘firearms’ can pass through security systems undetected. Without a need for weapons of any kind, you could slip into the deepest, most secure places under the guise of a lost tourist or prostitute or girlfriend and then…”

  He replayed the explosion.

  “If you think I’m going to whore for the government, you’ve got no idea who I am.” Kate leaned forward, pointing at him. “I’ve killed for the Syndicate, but I’ve never…”

  “Haven’t you?” He pulled up an image of that hotel.

  They knew about Tyrel.

  Kate blushed. “I was unconscious. They had to knock me out to get past the thermal sensors. It was just to get in the door. Even if it were possible at the time, I ha
d no intention of fu―”

  Perrin held up a hand. “No one is saying you have to go that far.”

  “Oh.” Kate crossed her arms. “Yeah, that makes sense. Because everything always goes according to plan. I sneak in like someone’s paid-for date and not expect things to run off the rails, not even once. No chance of a situation blowing up in my face and winding up with my ankles behind my head to stop something worse from happening. Oh, if you go crazy and blow the shit out of the place, it’ll create an international incident. I’m not an idiot, Perrin. I know why they made me look like this.” She jumped to her feet. “Be a good agent and take one for the team. Bend over and bear it. It’s only a little old man cock. Wait for him to be alone before you kill because dozens of innocent lives are on the line if you make a scene.” She unzipped her jumpsuit. “Come on, Perrin. Might as well break me in now. It only took me twenty-five years to be able to wear clothes, and the first thing you people want is for me to take them off again.”

  Perrin averted his eyes. “Assassinations are not commonplace. Espionage is far more―”

  Dr. Mlodzik glared at Perrin. “Enough.” The harshness left her voice as she made a zip-up gesture. “Kate, please…”

  She closed her jumpsuit and fell into the seat.

  “A case where we would need to use you instead of a doll operative are one in a hundred thousand. It may never happen.”

  “Yeah, sure, like they can’t recognize a doll on a scanner.” Kate let her elbows land hard on the table and slumped. “What are my options?”

  “Well… You could wear that stunner for the rest of your life, eat a bullet, or work for us.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “I don’t expect you to understand this, Kate, but I do care about you. I’ve watched you grow up.”

  She traced a finger across the collar. He’s lying. If they let me leave, they know I’ll go to Division 0. They’ll get this thing off me. Perrin won’t let me go. I’ll get a bullet in the back of the head as soon as I think I’m safe.

  “I’ll need some private sessions with her before I’m ready to sign anything regarding her suitability for field operations.” Doctor Mlodzik faced her. “Kate, I’ll be meeting with you soon. I want you to know that you can tell me anything. Even these people don’t have the right to breach the confidentiality of a session.”

  The bullshit never ends. Kate gazed into her lap. They didn’t have to know she’d gotten over her demons years ago in the woodlands. Her escape had been a blur of screaming people and belching flames. What regrets could she harbor for people that either wanted to kill her or didn’t care to help her?

  Agent Jones opened the door and gave her an expectant look.

  Maybe she’d waste their time talking about the deer. That poor animal. It didn’t want to hurt anyone. Her fingers picked at the stunner as she got up and trudged to the men waiting to escort her back to her cell.

  She wouldn’t give either of them the satisfaction of crying.

  ate stopped pacing around her ‘room’ and sat on the edge of the metal slab pretending to be a bed. Teeth chattering, she lifted one foot and tried to rub warmth into it. It was anyone’s guess how long ago Agent Jones and the two synthetics sealed her in. She recalled the meal tray coming three more times, or was it four? Five?

  “You keep saying I’m not a prisoner,” she yelled, staring at the walls until the echo ceased. “How about a goddamned blanket or some socks?”

  Her hands clasped the heavy ring around her throat as she leaned forward. Looking down at her feet made her feel even colder. She squeezed the collar, wondering if they’d lied to her. More than the physical weight of the metal, it felt ponderous. Each time she touched it, the burden of helplessness grew heavier.

  Do such things exist? She tapped at the device. Maybe they’re lying. Machines sensing psionics? That sounds far-fetched.

  One hand hovered over her feet, focusing on the ambient temperature of the air. Just a little bit. It would only take a little energy to warm feeling back into her toes. Kate concentrated on raising the temperature of the air.

  In an instant, she went from staring past her fingers at her feet, to lying on the ground with a full view of the ceiling. Cold speared into her head as though an icy lance rammed upward from her heart into her brain. Flashes of blue and white lightning crackled across her eyes, each accompanied by an impact on par with a slap. Convulsions banged her head, elbows, and legs against the hard floor, her body out of control.

  The worst headache she had ever experienced rendered the overhead lights intolerable, but her paralyzed eyelids refused to close. Kate screamed in her mind, her attempt to breathe gasped out a glop of foamy spittle that slid over her cheek to her neck and the floor. Still howling in her thoughts, she strained to roll over and curl up. She wanted to cradle her pounding skull in both arms, but she felt as if straps held her to the floor.

  Kate lost track of how many minutes passed. She noticed full-body pain only due to its gradual absence. Shivering replaced paralysis. Kate yelled as she forced herself onto her side and went fetal. The skin of her neck felt raw, her head pounded in time with her heartbeat. Every muscle, the ones behind her eyes most of all, throbbed. Her mind seemed only capable of coming up with one reaction to such agony―she bawled like a child.

  At the faint hiss of the door opening, she twitched, sobbing became sniveling between staccato gasps for air.

  “Well, that took longer than most,” said an unfamiliar male voice.

  Kate ignored him. Her tenderized brain cringed from the need to do anything.

  Dark shoes and a sand brown coat stepped into the edge of her peripheral vision. A second later, a folded blanket landed with a thump next to her. Kate strained to raise her head toward it, teeth gritted at a sensation as if her neck muscles tore like dry beef jerky. She startled when a new jumpsuit, folded and smelling of laundry, landed atop the blanket.

  “W-what?” She let her head rest on the cold floor. “T-took longer than m-most?”

  “Perhaps that is an unfair statement. You are only the third psionic… protectee we have had in custody. The other two both tested the stun ring in less than an hour.” He crouched, putting two fingers on the side of her neck.

  She wanted to throw him off, evade him, or fight… but her body refused to do anything more than tremble and hurt.

  “Try to relax. The device creates the sensation of pain without causing damage to tissues. You were unconscious for several minutes, not that you noticed. The aches you feel now are not true pain, but the muscles’ reaction to the absence of stimulation. It will pass.”

  “If you fuckers wanted to recruit me, did you ever think of oh, maybe treating me like a person?” An attempt to sit up ended with uncontrollable tremors. “Take it off… I’ll play along. I swear, just get this fucking thing off me. Please!”

  Again, she sobbed like a five-year-old.

  “I’m not at liberty to make that call. I’m only an agent.” He dropped a packet of underwear, wrapped in plastic, on top of the jumpsuit. “You’ll probably want to shower. Looks like you’ve had an accident.”

  Her skin had been too numb to notice. Now that he said it, the wetness and smell became obvious. Not wanting to sit in piss, she forced herself onto all fours. A too-pale hand offered to help her up. It hurt to move at all, but she accepted. Despite his thin, almost scientist’s build, he lifted her upright with no noticeable effort. Kate wobbled on her feet, unable to suppress a few more tears at the shooting spears of fire in her legs.

  “I was trying to warm up.” She shivered, unsure if it was from cold. “It’s freezing in here.”

  “Gather your things and follow me.”

  He waited while she picked up the plastic packet and clean jumpsuit, and walked her a short distance to a room with a number of autoshower tubes. She paused at the one bench and shot him an incredulous stare as he remained with her.

  “Do you mind?”

  “With apologies, Kate. Until you have clearance,
you must be escorted within the facility at all times. Although I am an electronic artificial intelligence and do not have any sense of sexual desire, if you are more comfortable with a live female agent, I can request one.”

  “What if I prefer women?” asked Kate.

  His expression remained flat. “That is the primary reason agents like myself are assigned this detail. I possess no ability to experience sexual attraction of any kind.”

  “You may be a computer inside, but you still look like a man. It’s awkward.” She unzipped the jumpsuit. “Is this thing gonna explode if it gets wet?”

  “No. It is sealed.”

  The urge to get out of the soiled garments overpowered her humiliation. At the man’s utter lack of response to the sight of her stripping, she focused on the thought of him being no different from a PubTran car or menial labor doll. Within twenty minutes, she had showered, changed, and lay once more curled up on the metal plate that served as a bed in her cell. At least now, she had a blanket to wrap around herself.

  Hours passed. The solitude crept in as though the walls shrank inward. She alternated between pouting at the floor and picking at the thing around her neck. One by one, the faces of people she killed for El Tío flashed in her memory. What was it, forty? Fifty? Maybe more if you count that drug lab. Althea’s smiling face appeared next, small hands reaching up to embrace her. So innocent. One tear slid down Kate’s cheek. She had no idea what kind of monster I really am. All those people.

  Kate tried to remember herself as a victim, a little girl the government wanted to murder. She had become a feral child living alone in the woods, without a care in the world. A smile almost appeared on her lips until the faces of the dead returned. Screaming, begging, and pleading choked her brain to a halt. Many of them had body counts larger than hers; yet, in her mind, they all became innocent victims.

  She stared down the shivering bundle of grey-brown cloth. Kate closed her eyes, thinking back to the Roadway Corp office, and the convicts on the other side of the glass.