by Joe Canzano
The room was stuffy, and she felt the moist air inside pressing against her; it smelled like sweat, and it was dark and shadowy, and there was a lone spotlight shining down—and Suzy saw a mostly naked man strapped to an upright table. She felt a jolt of panic and heard the sound of her pounding heart.
Ricardo! No! She stopped breathing and suppressed a wail of agony.
But it wasn’t Ricardo.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she realized it was someone else. She felt a wave of relief wash over her—followed by a feeling of butterflies swirling around in her stomach. She didn’t recognize the prisoner, but she knew something horrible was about to happen. She scanned the rest of the room.
There was a desk that held a plain-looking gray console; it was positioned about three meters in front of the guy, along with a few cushioned chairs. Suzy was pushed down into one of them. She briefly recalled a school trip to a theater to see Macbeth, where she’d been reprimanded for bad behavior and then disciplined after pointing out that Macbeth’s behavior had been much worse than her own.
Blurr pointed at the bound man. “Suzy, do you remember Sergeant Loomis? I suppose he’s harder to recognize now that he’s naked. Would you like to take a closer look? Would you like to see the fingers he shoved into your twat?”
Suzy narrowed her eyes. What the fuck?
Yeah, it was him.
“What is this?” she said.
Blurr grinned again. “We need to discipline this person, and I thought maybe you’d like to help.”
Suzy wasn’t sure what to say—but since she didn’t want to help Blurr with anything, she said, “No. I don’t think so.”
Blurr waved his hand. “But Suzy, he beat the hell out of you, and then he initiated some non-consensual finger-fucking—both against regulations.”
”Since when do you care about regulations, Blurr?”
“I care when it’s convenient,” he said. “Besides, I don’t condone certain kinds of abuse; I have places where I draw the line. And that reminds me, your friend Captain Banks wanted to be here, but I somehow forgot to tell him about it—because he draws the line in a less convenient place than I do. Anyway, let’s get down to business, unless you want to forgive this guy.” He paused and leaned toward her a bit. “Do you want to do that, Suzy?”
Suzy stared at Loomis as a dark movie in her mind flickered a few times. And no, she didn’t feel all that forgiving; in fact, she hated the bastard. But she said, “Blurr, you’re the one I can’t forgive.”
Blurr shrugged. “I explained those situations. I told you they weren’t my fault. I’m trying to help you out.”
“If you want to help me out, take off these handcuffs so I can shoot you.”
“You’re a tough case.”
“Maybe. Or maybe you’re just an asshole who deserves to be shot.”
Blurr looked at a guard and said, “Take off her handcuffs. If she does anything aggressive, shoot her—and shoot to kill.”
“Yes, sir.”
As the guard removed the cuffs from Suzy’s wrists, Blurr said, “I think we’ll get on with this.” He turned his attention to the prisoner. “Hello, Sergeant. How’s everything going over there? Are you following this conversation? Do you recognize the woman sitting next to me? Of course you do.”
Blurr hit a button on the console and the Sergeant’s face burst into a purple mask of agony. He started screaming.
“The Rectifier is a simple device,” Blur said over the noise. “No digital readouts or dropdown menus or any of that bullshit. Hit the big red button and it applies pain according to the level that’s controlled by this knob. Hit it again and the pain stops. It won’t kill him, either—it’ll just hurt. So, what do you think?”
He hit the button again and Loomis stopped his screams. His face was bright with sweat and he was gasping for breath.
Suzy said nothing, but she felt a smoldering anger. Not because she cared about Loomis—hell, if he were drowning, she’d toss him a bag of rocks. No, she had a better reason.
She scowled at Blurr. “Today, it’s a big, dumb thug,” she said. “But tomorrow I’ll be the one on that table—or someone I care about.”
Blurr sighed and rolled his eyes. “Suzy, you’re just not getting into the spirit of this thing... I don’t want to strap you to that table. I just want to teach this soldier a lesson.” Blurr glanced in the Sergeant’s direction. “So, Loomis, how did you like that? Are you learning anything? I asked you a question.”
“Sir!” Loomis sputtered. “That woman tried to kill four of our people.”
Blurr nodded, sarcastically impressed. “A man of his convictions, even after a good jolt—a man who wants to set things right.”
Suzy frowned. “I could’ve killed all of you, Loomis, when you were down on the floor, and I didn’t.”
“You could’ve blown up the whole ship.”
“I was trying to survive, and no one died. What you did to me was over the line.”
“You could have killed us all! What are you crying about? You probably even liked it.”
Suzy blinked. Had he really just said that?
“No, I didn’t like it!’’ she shouted—and then like a crumbling dam that holds back a river, a wall in her mind collapsed and the full force of her memory came flooding back to her.
“How do you like this?” she said.
Her hand lashed out and punched the red button.
Loomis shrieked, and a warm feeling flooded her heart. But he didn’t shriek quite enough, so she reached over and gave the knob a hard turn.
Now Loomis gasped and made a series of strangled, high-pitched noises.
“How many other girls ‘liked it,’ Loomis?”
Loomis couldn’t even speak. He was too busy screeching at the top of his lungs.
“Who the fuck is crying now?”
She turned the knob again, and he was screaming like a siren. Take that, motherfucker! Feel the pain! Feel it!
Suzy’s chest was heaving. It was wonderful to see Loomis in such agony; she never wanted it to end. Then she looked at Blurr, and her blood went cold.
He was smiling from ear to ear and nodding his head. This was just what the bastard had wanted—damn!
She reached over and slammed her finger down on the button.
“All right, that’s enough,” she said.
Blurr was still grinning, and he gave a little laugh. ”Nice job.” Then he spoke louder and in the prisoner’s direction. “He deserves worse, Suzy. Are you listening, Loomis? I’d like to give you another few minutes, but Suzy is giving you a break. Are you going to thank her?”
Loomis just sobbed a few times.
“I said are you going to thank her?”
Loomis seemed only semi-conscious but he managed to blubber a bit and then said, “Thank you.”
“I think you can do better,” Blurr said. “And while you’re at it, apologize. Make it good or I’ll give you another ten minutes—and believe me, it’ll feel like ten years. We’re waiting.”
“I apologize,” he said in a strangled whisper.
“To who? Say it.”
“Suzy, I apologize! I’m sorry I hit you. I’m sorry…for everything.”
“Well, I don’t know,” Blurr said. “Suzy, are you—"
“I’m sorry, too!” Suzy blurted. “I lost my temper, Loomis. And I regret it—even though you’re a scumbag.”
Blurr looked at her and snickered. “Do you hear that, Sergeant Scumbag? Suzy is sorry she lost her temper concerning your vicious attack. And if you’re lucky, she won’t be back tomorrow to do it again.”
Suzy said, “I’m not coming back here, Blurr—you bastard. Not unless I’m the one strapped to that table.”
Blurr just motioned for the guards. “Confine Ms. Spitfire to a cabin. Suzy, I’ll have a meeting with you later.”
Then the guards handcuffed Suzy and led her away.
Chapter 32
Suzy was disgusted with herself. Blurr
had set up a test for her, and she’d failed.
Of course, she hadn’t failed in Blurr’s eyes. In his eyes, she’d passed at the top of the class—or at the very least Magna Cum Laude. He’d wanted to see that rage in her personality, and he’d wanted to help her get revenge on that rotten bastard. But why?
She rubbed her pounding head and considered the upside. At least she’d stopped before things had gotten out of control. She hadn’t killed Loomis—so maybe her grade hadn’t been so depressingly high. On another high note, she was no longer in a cell; she was in a cabin. It was a sweet one, too. She figured this was another part of Blurr’s plan. But no mints on the pillows? Nice try.
It was going to take more than this little sugar-shack to make her cooperate. It was going to take more than this almost full-sized bathroom—wow, not only a bathroom, but also a shower. Okay, he was still off the mark but he was getting closer. She stripped off her clothes and stared at herself in a full-length mirror.
The picture she saw made her want to vomit. Her face was gaunt and tired, and her hair looked like a pile of dead wires, and her body was like a canvas where an inebriated monkey had spattered brown and purple bruises.
You’re a mess, Suzy. Get it together!
In the shower she found some soap, shampoo, and hair conditioner. She sank down and sat in the tub. Her head was in her hands as she let the water splash over her—go ahead, wash everything away. She knew it wouldn’t happen, but after a while she did feel better. The water enveloped her like a warm cocoon, and the towels were like piles of fluffy pompoms, and the bed was a perfect place to fall into a stone-cold sleep. But she knew that was unlikely. There was too much inside her head, writhing around and pounding on the walls of her skull.
She awoke with a start. Wow! The total exhaustion must have taken over. It took a few seconds for her to remember where she was. As reality came back into focus, she realized someone was pounding on the door. Her heart skipped a beat but she was ready.
She was expecting Blurr. She was also naked, so she grabbed a robe someone had thoughtfully provided. She went to the door and hit the button and there was Kryl.
“Suzy? Hello, may I come in?”
“Oh—it’s you,” Suzy said, and she exhaled. “Hi, doc. I didn’t think you needed permission.”
Kryl walked in and the door slid shut, but not before Suzy noticed the two guards in the hall.
“Of course I do,” Kryl said. “It’s the polite thing to do.”
“I didn’t realize bad manners were a problem around here. Did they send you to the right room?”
“No one sent me. I’m the chief physician for this station and I’m checking on a patient.” Her dark eyes scanned the cabin. “The light is better in the bathroom.”
“I can see okay.”
“Suzy, I need to examine you—and the light is better in there.”
Kryl smiled. She didn’t make any insinuating expressions, but she seemed to be waiting for Suzy to realize something—right. Get in the bathroom, dumbass.
They went into the lavatory and Kryl pulled out a silvery device about the size of a saltshaker. She turned on the water in the sink and looked at a winking readout. She said, “This cabin is under surveillance but there’s no camera in here. The device in my hand will keep any sound from being picked up. I’ve still turned the water on as a precaution. I got this device from Aiko and we have to be quick.”
At the mention of Aiko, Suzy’s eyes popped wide open.
“How did you know Aiko?”
“He came here to help your father with the AI project, and we became friends. I can’t believe he’s dead.”
Kryl blinked back a few tears while Suzy studied her face.
“He never mentioned you,” Suzy said.
“We didn’t know each other long. We had a plan to leave here together but then he left without me. I guess he decided it was safer that way. He told me a lot about you. ”
“What did he say?”
Suzy knew her tone should’ve been sweeter, but she just didn’t trust anyone right now and she’d never been good at hiding her feelings.
Kryl paused. “He said you were an outlaw. He said you were brave and fearless. He liked you a lot.”
Suzy was quiet. Kryl’s comments, supposedly from Aiko, were not specific. She could be making it all up. She could be working for Blurr.
Kryl was busy looking at Suzy’s ears. She said, “Aiko told me he gave you a pair of dragonfly earrings when he was in High School. Are those the ones you’re wearing now? He had good taste.”
Okay, that was more specific. Could Blurr have known that Aiko had given her these earrings? It was not impossible, but unlikely. So at the very least, she had known Aiko, and he’d talked to her about a few personal things.
“Okay,” Suzy said. “So can you get us out of here?”
When your options are zero, zero looks good; it’s all about the math.
“I don’t know,” Kryl said. “It’ll be difficult. Your ship is in Hangar Bay Three. From what I understand the engines are being repaired.”
Suzy suppressed a smile—but if this were true, it was great news. That ship was fast.
“Have you seen Ricardo and Maria?” Suzy said.
“Yes. They’re fine. They’re in separate cells.”
“Blurr hasn’t done anything to them?”
“No.”
Suzy cocked her head and gave Kryl another long look.
“Where are you from, Kryl?”
“I’m from Earth.”
“Where on Earth?”
“Does it matter? New York.”
“How long have you been here?”
“I’ve been here for two years. Are you done interrogating me?”
“No,” Suzy said. “I appreciate your help, but I have to be careful. If you want to see an interrogation, come and watch Blurr sometime. So why do you want to help us?”
“Because Aiko was my friend.” She looked away again. “We were more than friends, really—maybe, I don’t know. It got complicated. But I want to help you, and I want to leave with you.”
“You don’t even know where we’re going.”
“It doesn’t matter. If I help you I’ll have to leave because they’ll find out I helped. Do you understand?”
“Yeah. So what do you want us to do? Can you get me a gun?”
“I’ll try—when it’s time to leave. But the escape will be risky. Just be ready and know that I’m on your side. As soon as your ship is repaired we’ll go.”
Kryl walked back into the main room. “It looks like you’ll be fine, Suzy. Keep getting rest and take your painkillers.”
“Sure,” Suzy said, sauntering out of the bathroom. “How about some whiskey?”
Kryl smiled. “Not yet. Maybe soon.” Then she knocked on the main door. “It’s Kryl. I’m ready to leave.”
As the door slid open, Kryl looked back at Suzy. “Don’t worry, Suzy. You’re in good health.”
Suzy watched the door close. Then she took off the robe and put on the clothes she’d been wearing when she’d left Earth. Apparently, someone had washed and cleaned them—her black leather skirt, a simple grey top, and a pair of lightweight yet stylish “space boots” favored by many pilots. But no amount of clothing could make up for the nakedness she felt without her Series 7 pulse pistol. And that was only part of what felt wrong.
It was true she’d only seen Aiko for a brief time after his arrival in Diego Tijuana, and it was true that most of that time had been consumed by shootouts and car chases—but she’d been in communication with him before that, and he’d never mentioned Kryl. He’d never said, “Hey, I met this great girl.” And he would have said that to her.
Then again, he might have considered his relationship with Kryl to be less important than Kryl did. It wasn’t uncommon for two people in a relationship to view the situation differently—or for only one of the two people to believe they were in one. For sure, Suzy had experienced this, al
ong with a few guys who’d been surprised to learn that she wouldn’t be meeting their parents any time soon.
But this wasn’t the only thing that felt wrong. There were other issues. Suzy wanted to analyze her distrust further, but then there was another knock on the door.
She caught her breath as it opened. This time it was Blurr.
He was grinning that Blurr grin—lots of shiny whiteness waiting to tear out somebody’s heart.
“Hello, Suzy. So how do you like your new accommodations?”
“Not bad. But just because you gave me a pile of pillows doesn’t mean I’m going to help you fuck the universe.”
He laughed. “I think that’s an exaggeration.”
“That’s true. You only gave me one pillow.”
“Can we sit and talk for a minute?”
“Sure. The clock is running.”
Suzy sat on the bed while Blurr took a nearby chair.
“Suzy, I’m guessing you don’t think I’m a very nice guy.”
“Can you tell? I thought I was hiding it so well.”
He laughed again. “That’s one of the things I like about you, Suzy—you don’t hide much. A guy knows where he stands with you.”
“Right. And you’re standing close to a body bag. I just need one good shot.”
Blurr shook his head. “There’s no point in rehashing the past, and there’s no point in me making a long speech. I really believe we have a lot in common, and I’m not just talking about charm and good looks… We both had weak parents. We’ve both suffered a certain amount of emotional and physical abuse—and we’ve had others close to us suffer even more.” He paused and just looked at her for a few seconds. Then he quickly continued, and said, ”We both did what we had to do without waiting around for someone else to step in and set things right... Lots of great allies start out as enemies, and I need a strong partner who can help me with my plans. I need someone smart, tough, and capable—a partner and an operative who can do what needs to be done. You’re all of those things, and more. You’re a talented person who I admire and respect, and the more I see of you, the more impressed I am. So I’m asking you to join me. We’d make a great team—and we’d get rich. What do you say?”