by Rook Winters
“How?”
“You do something for me and I do something for you. It’s the way the world works, kid. You help me keep my boss happy and I’ll do what I can to make sure you and your friend don’t spend the rest of your lives in prison, or worse.”
“I’m listening.”
“The data vault we recovered from Marsh Lapin was encrypted. With the help of some Qyntarak quantum computing technology, we were able to crack it easily. But once I heard what it contained, I knew we only had the first piece in a larger puzzle.”
Kane scratched at his jaw like it was bothering him. Having just experienced the itchiness of tissue growth accelerant, Court wondered if the man had suffered injuries of his own recently.
“I believe the reason you and the girl traveled from your little woodland community to Toronto was because you were following instructions in the message that we don’t understand. All I need from you is help finding the next piece of the puzzle. In exchange, I’ll recommend for you and L37 to have your fines and penalties expunged in recognition of your service. I work directly for Governor Torkanuux, so when I recommend something, it’s taken seriously.”
Court contemplated his options for a moment but he had so few that it took very little time. He could help Kane or he could take his chances at whatever an arraignment was. Ursula had copied the data vault and hidden the original. If he showed Kane where to find it, there was still the copy. And the data vault contained data obtained from the Qyntarak, so he wouldn’t be leading them to information they didn’t already have. If he could get Elle freed in the process, there was a chance that she could somehow deliver the data where it was needed.
“Alright, I’ll help.”
“That’s the smartest decision you’ve made yet, kid. Now, this old friend that Clint Donovan wanted L37 to meet, is it Nora Barrett, the woman you were with? She had a data vault on her, but I know it’s a ruse. It was using outdated Reclamation encryption keys and the data on it was old and useless. I believe there’s another data vault out there and that Donovan was smuggling secrets, in which case, you’re mixed up in something way out of your league. It’s not your battle. There’s no need for you to be a scapegoat. Take me to the real data vault and we can forget all this ever happened.”
Court hesitated for a few seconds. Was he actually going to do this? Was he going to trust the man who had murdered his adopted family? Did he have a choice?
“Yes, there is another data vault. It contains information about Qyntarak technology. I don’t know the specifics, it was all over my head.”
“And where is that data vault now?”
“Still in Toronto. They hid it before you kidnapped us.”
“Kidnapped you? We took you into custody.”
“Taking someone into custody when they haven’t done anything wrong? How’s that different from kidnapping?”
“If you think you haven’t done anything wrong, you’re more naive than I thought you were, and that is saying something.”
“I told you what you wanted to know. Now let us go.”
“You’re not done yet, kid. You’re coming with me to Toronto to show me where you hid that data vault.”
CHAPTER 49: COURT
A guard in the detention facility insisted that Court wear a tracking bracelet when he left with Kane. Once they were outside, Kane produced a T-shaped device from one of his pockets and waved it over the bracelet, which clicked and fell from Court’s wrist.
“I don’t like people tracking my movements. Remind me to reactivate this thing when we get back.”
They boarded a small flyer and Court fought back nausea as it rose and accelerated.
Traveling in the grav flyer made him feel vulnerable. The sound of it dragged his worst memories to the front of his mind no matter how hard he tried to push them away. It was permanently connected to the day he lost his parents and the day he lost his village. He was finding it hard to breathe.
The two of them rode alone in the flyer. Court knew very little about the way Kane and his team operated but this felt off to him.
“You like music, kid? It’s going to be twenty-five or thirty minutes to get to Toronto from here. We can listen to something.”
Court didn’t have much experience with music. What he knew were the little songs they sometimes sang at the campfire or when working around the village. He hoped Kane didn’t expect him to sing.
“It makes no difference to me.”
“I find it helps me relax.”
Kane tapped a button on his wrist computer and vaguely musical noises filled the air. Court couldn’t tell where it was coming from. Kane waved his hands around in time to the music, which helped Court decide that he didn’t care for it.
By the time they reached the university building, Kane did seem relaxed, like he and Court were friends out on an excursion. That fleeting thought triggered a memory of Walker. He felt the initial tingling threat of tears and blinked repeatedly to keep them away.
“Here we are.”
As they ascended the steps to the building, Court asked, “Why did you bring me?”
“Don’t ask stupid questions, kid. I need you to get the data vault.”
“I mean why me instead of someone else?”
Kane scratched at his jaw again. Court felt like he was taking too long to answer.
“The old lady is a pain in the ass. And L37 needs to stay put. Besides, I kind of like you, kid.”
Unlike Court’s first visit, the university doors were locked. That made sense, given that Ursula was unlikely to be here. The door’s lock yielded after a swipe from Kane’s wrist computer. Once inside, they found Maud at her desk, the same place where she’d extorted qynars from Elle.
“Kane. What are you doing back here?” She stammered a little as she stood from her chair.
“Don’t get up on my account. I’d hate to be responsible for you having to do any more work than absolutely necessary.”
“Can I help you with something?”
“Have you been down in the basement since we took the prisoners out yesterday?”
“No, the Others told me not to touch anything in case they had to come back.”
“Good, that’s good. I’m taking the kid down with me to locate something we missed.”
As they went down, Court realized his memories from the day before were a bit fuzzy. He remembered Ursula making a copy of the data vault. Now that he was here, he wasn’t confident about where they’d hidden it. The copy, the one with Reclamation encryption, where did she say that would be safe? He couldn’t recall. The other one, it was, where?
Think, Court. Come on.
The smell of the basement prompted a partial memory. He did remember.
“Over there, there’s a hidden storage room.”
Court opened the wall panel the way he’d seen Ursula do it.
“Where’s the data vault?”
“There was a box, a green box, and a fake brick in the wall behind it.”
“That fake brick?”
Kane pointed to a gap in the wall. On a shelf below it, a hollowed out brick lay without a data vault inside.
“This means there are more people involved. Who else is there?”
“Nobody. I mean, nobody I know about.” Court hoped like hell that his lie was convincing.
Kane said a word that Court didn’t know—it sounded like axe can—and threw the brick at the wall. He turned his back on Court and swiped at his wrist computer.
That data vault was my only advantage, if it’s not here, he’ll send me back, and I can’t get Elle out.
Court watched the gun bobbing on Kane’s belt as he moved. Court panicked and reached for it. The clasp resisted initially and then the gun came free in Court’s hand. Kane spun, his eyes narrow, and bared his teeth like a wild animal. Court aimed at Kane and pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
Kane brushed the gun aside with one hand and hit Court in the stomach with the other. T
he punch doubled him over and he stumbled back with a grunt. Before Court realized it was happening, Kane pried the gun from his hand.
“That was stupid, kid.”
Kane took the Scorpion from his thigh and jammed it into Court. Pain consumed his entire body. Burning from inside came in waves. For a fraction of a second, in a surreal moment of lucidity, he realized that he was bawling and tears were pouring from his eyes, but he didn’t care. He just wanted it to stop.
The pain overwhelmed him again.
He tried to say something, to beg for it to stop, but the words sounded like nonsense.
Then the pain seared through him with even more force, if that was possible, until the mercy of numb blackness replaced it.
CHAPTER 50: COURT
Court wasn’t fully conscious but damp coldness compelled him to move. He rolled to his side and it ached. All of him hurt.
Where am I?
He opened his eyes but there was nothing to see in the dark, not just dark but blackness. He couldn’t see anything. Were his eyes even working?
“Hello?”
There was no answer, no sounds at all. He pushed himself up to his feet, the spot from the Scorpion attack burning as he did.
He moved across the floor slowly until his fingers brushed something. Probing with his hands, it felt like a shelf. Kane must have left him in the university basement. That meant he could find the door and get out. He groped his way along the shelves and walls until he found the gap under the false wall panel.
The mechanism released but the door wouldn’t open. He pushed harder with no success. It was blocked from the outside.
He felt his way to the other false wall and leaned into it with his shoulder. That door didn’t budge either.
“Nacking piss bucket.”
In his panic, he’d forgotten to pull the latch. He dropped to his knees again and found the metal lever at the base of the wall. He pulled up and heard a satisfying click. The door swung open.
Enough light came from the far end of the tunnel for him to make his way. He kept one hand against the wall as he went. His pants were wet and once he was aware of that, the smell of urine was unmistakable. He didn’t know how long he’d been unconscious but the Scorpion had left him exhausted and thirsty.
Where do I find safe water to drink? Or food?
Taking a moment to think, he became aware of the uncertainty of his situation. He didn’t know where to go for anything.
He stopped walking and leaned against the wall. Kane left him trapped in Toronto. Where did the advocate say they had been? New Boston? Court had never been keen on geography; he didn’t know the distance between Toronto and New Boston.
How am I going to help Elle? Where’s the data vault? Who took it? Was the copy safe?
A shuffling noise startled him. A small animal, possibly a rat, made its way along the edge of the hallway. With his heart pounding, Court decided he needed to keep moving. He needed to get away from the university.
When he reached the doors to the outside, the sun was high in the sky. Either he had been out through the night or not very long at all. He licked his lips. He was thirsty but not completely parched; it was still the same day.
There were no signs of anybody nearby so he burst out into the daylight and walked away as fast as he could, trying not to look suspicious. With urine-soaked pants, he hoped anyone he encountered would give him a wide berth.
He was reasonably sure that he could find his way back to the Rofchild, and there was a place near there that had food. Maybe if he pled his case, someone would help. A little food and time to think were all he needed for now. Then he would figure out how to get to Elle.
CHAPTER 51: BRITT
Petra looked at the notification on her wrist computer.
“Well, this is interesting. My boss made a little trip up to Toronto. And he took your friend with him.”
“Which one?” Britt asked.
“Court. He must have taken him to find the data vault. Sounds like Kane abandoned him at the university. I just picked him up on a video feed walking away from the building where you were captured. He’s by himself on foot.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. Why would Kane let him go?”
“Hold on.”
Petra scrolled through a flood of data on her wrist computer, flicking her finger and taking in the information at a rate Britt found unimaginable.
“Kane sent me a message asking for someone to go pick up Court. He left him there unconscious. Something obviously went wrong. Kane wouldn’t bother trying to drag out an unconscious body himself when he can send his team to do that for him. He’s on his way back to New Boston, probably to question one of you. He’s going to be royally pissed off when he realizes they let me bail you out.”
“What will he do when he finds out?”
“He won’t find out who did it. I’ve already hacked the records, and the detention facility had an unexplained technical malfunction with its video archiving today. This is sort of my area of expertise.”
Petra gave a smug smile and Britt felt relieved that she was helping instead of hunting them.
“So Kane left Court behind, but Court’s on the move. Where’s he going?”
“I’ll track him as he pops up in video feeds. From that, we should be able to extrapolate his approximate destination, if he even has one. He doesn’t know the city, right? He might be wandering aimlessly. I could send a car to pick him up and patch into its audio system so we can talk to him. It would have to be short and vague. I’m not the only one who monitors the unsecured audio and video feeds.”
“I know a place he can go. You send a car for him. I need to make a call.”
CHAPTER 52: COURT
A car stopped a few feet in front of Court and he heard Britt’s voice telling him to get in. He looked inside but the car was empty.
“Where are you?”
“Get in quickly, please, and I’ll explain.”
Court did as instructed.
“Just listen and don’t use any names. I’m with a new friend. There’s more going on here than any of us realized. I can’t promise you that everything is going to be fine but I think we’re going to be able to accomplish what our friend asked us to do. We can’t talk long. There’s a chance that somebody might overhear this conversation. Your car is taking you someplace safe. When you get there, go inside and look for a man not much older than you with long red hair. Say that you need to talk about a coffee delivery. Tell him as little as possible for his own safety. He’ll know what to do. Then you just need to lie low until we can come for you. Do you understand?”
“I understand the instructions but I don’t understand what’s going on. Who is this guy?”
“I know it’s a strange situation but you need to trust me on this.”
“What about Elle?”
“I said no names. We need to get off this connection. We’ve already been talking too long. Remember, you need to talk about a coffee delivery. After that, wait for us. We’ll come find you eventually, when it’s safe.”
“How long will that be?”
No reply came.
The car delivered Court outside the rundown-looking building with a hand painted sign posted on the door that read FOOD AND BEER.
Inside, a man behind a long wooden counter had hair as red as a ripe apple tied back in a high ponytail, exposing the shaved sides and back.
“What can I get you, pal?”
“I need to talk about a coffee delivery.”
“Right. Come with me.”
He led Court down a flight of stairs into a musty, old cellar.
Great, another basement.
For a second, Court worried that this could be some form of elaborate trap. Maybe the voice in the car wasn’t the real Britt. Maybe this wasn’t a safe place to talk.
No, that doesn’t make any sense.
“Through here. We’ve got a soundproof room built inside a Faraday cage in back. Toronto’s mos
t private place.”
Outside the door, the redheaded man asked, “Is Britt alright?”
“She said that I should tell you as little as possible for your own safety.”
“Well, that sounds like her. The others are waiting for you inside.”
“Others?”
The redheaded man pulled the door open. Inside, Ainsley waved from a chair and Wilm jumped to his feet to clasp Court in a tight hug.
“Glad to see you’re alright, mate. You smell like piss, though, and you look like an inmate. Mac, can you get our friend here some food and some clean clothes, please?”
“Sure thing, boss.”
CHAPTER 53: KANE
“What do you mean she’s not here?” Kane’s spit sprayed on the window separating him from the clerk.
“We released her on bail.”
“How could you release her?”
“The authorization was in order and someone made payment. It was by the book.”
“By the book? Are you kidding me? She’s basically a walking state secret. There’s no book for that.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but—”
“You need to recall her. Revoke her bail and get her back here this instant.”
“I can’t do that.”
Kane read the name badge stuck to the guard’s shirt.
“Do you know who I am, Jensen? Do I look like I’m in the mood for bureaucratic horse shit right now?”
“It’s not that, sir. I literally can’t. I’m not authorized to override a legitimate bail release. The system won’t let me. You have to go a few rungs up the ladder for someone who can.”
Kane slammed his fist into the window and Jensen jumped in his chair. By the time Kane finished playing chase the middle manager, L37 could be anywhere doing who knows what. He’d have to go directly to Kantarka-Ta, which he was loath to do.
“Just tell me where she is then.”
“I don’t have access to that either. I just do the processing.”