The Game of Luck

by Catherine Cerveny

  “Stay close to the building. You’ll still have your security detail with you, but I’d feel better knowing you’re nearby” was all Alexei said, watching us.

  “Planned on it,” I said while I fiddled with Feodor’s leash. “You know, I didn’t want to pick sides between the Consortium and One Gov. I thought I could be neutral and sit in the middle. But I see now I was wrong.”

  “I think that if it was left solely in your hands, you would have succeeded. But that’s not how things work—unless you’re the one in charge.”

  Being in charge—now there was a nice thought. “Whatever happens, you know I’m going to pick you, right? I’ll always pick you.”

  He gave me a slow smile. “I know.”

  Seeing that smile, I thought about abandoning Feodor, crossing the office to Alexei, and exploring all the ways I knew how to make him groan under my hands. And of course, all the ways he knew how to make me weak with wanting him. How had this man, who was the opposite of everything I should have wanted, become everything to me? How had I fallen in love with someone who terrified most of the tri-system? Not just loved him, but irrevocably bound my life to his. I had no idea, but knew I wouldn’t walk away from him or our life together for anything. Knew it right down to the fabric of everything I was. Whatever he was and might be, I belonged with him. Ten of Cups, after all.

  “When we get home, I plan to scratch that itch of yours,” Alexei said. The promise in his words made me shiver, as did the look he gave me. Both said he knew what I was thinking because he was thinking it too.

  And there I’d been planning to blurt out how much I loved him. Instead I laughed and rolled my eyes. “Don’t forget you just had a week of an adoring wife granting your every wish.”

  “It wasn’t nearly enough,” he assured me.

  I laughed again. “Okay. When we get home, you can scratch my itch.”

  I let Feodor pull me out of the office.

  * * *

  I made use of the long stretches of walking path that surrounded the complex. Along the way, I toured the flowering hedge gardens and the meditation pool tucked into a protected alcove in a grove of palm trees. I even played fetch with Feodor, although he was still unclear on the game’s particulars. He was great at running after the ball, but not so great at bringing it back. There was a lot of me throwing, him running, then me running after him, and him running away—the chain-breakers following us. Alexei was no doubt at the window watching his wife run around after his dog, and laughing at us.

  Since I wore a cute thin-strapped dress decorated with seashells and low-heeled sandals, and hadn’t planned on running all over Soyuz Park, the game didn’t last long. I hiked us both to the nearby meditation pool, waving my chain-breakers off a discreet distance to give me some space. Thinking was impossible when I knew I had these three-hundred-pound masses of muscle just feet away. Besides, how much trouble could I get into sitting beside an ankle-deep pool of water? Protection was one thing, but this felt stifling.

  I’d just peered into the meditation pool when I felt the ping in my head. Rax Garwood had finally deigned to speak to me.

  “Rax, what’s going on? Is Felipe all right? Why hasn’t anyone gotten in touch with me before now?” And why the hell are you in charge? I wanted to add, but bit my tongue.

  “Felicia, I won’t lie to you. Things are bad. There’ve been emergency meetings all morning and everyone is in lockdown. One Gov offices are closed throughout the tri-system as a precautionary measure and Secretary Arkell and his Attaché have been moved to a secured location. All essential personnel are in protective custody for their own safety. One Gov is executing an order to impose martial law and roll out troops to restore order. Right now, we need to contain things and reassure everyone we’re not returning to the Dark Times.”

  Oh shit, none of this sounded good. “Is there anything I can do?”

  “We need you to come in. Tanith requested it. She wants you in protective custody as well and your safety guaranteed. She doesn’t want what happened to Felipe to happen to you.”

  Alexei wouldn’t go for me traipsing off, and I had no intention of going anywhere Rax told me to. My gut agreed.

  “I’m safe where I am.”

  “You’re a high-profile target. MPLE suspects your attempted abduction is part of some larger conspiracy against One Gov.”

  It was part of a conspiracy all right—just not the one Rax meant.

  “Look, Rax, I’m not going into protective custody. I wouldn’t be any safer with One Gov hooahs watching me than I am right now.”

  “You have no idea what we’re facing. What’s on the news outlets is only a fraction of what’s in motion. You need to come in, Felicia. For your own safety, you need to get to the emergency center in Elysium City.”

  “I said I’m fine and I meant it. If you need something from me, ping me. But I’m not going to huddle around with everyone else and wait for something to happen.”

  “Where are you now? Is it secure?”

  “I’m in the middle of nowhere at Soyuz Park. I hardly think a riot will break out here.”

  A beat of silence, then, “You’re with Petriv?”

  What a stupid question. Where the hell else did he think I’d be? But something in his tone had shifted, putting me on alert. My gut prodded with a vengeance; I needed to be ready. For what, I had no idea, but something was in the wind.

  “Why are you asking me that?”

  “Felicia, get away from him. That monster is responsible for the CN-net reboot. He murdered over twenty thousand people.”

  “You have no proof of that. Brody couldn’t find anything implicating the Consortium.”

  “Actually, yes, we do, and Brody has been arrested for evidence tampering.”

  The other shoe had finally and irrevocably dropped.

  “Get away from Petriv before it’s too late. One Gov won’t protect you if you don’t come in.”

  “This is bullshit, Rax. Alexei isn’t responsible for this. There’s no way you can arrest him.”

  Rax continued as if I hadn’t spoken. His tone hardened and I had the feeling what he said next had been prewritten for him and he read from a script. “Alexei Petriv is an enemy of the state, and if you stay with him, you’re guilty by association. You know his plans, and have access to One Gov intel he could exploit. If you help One Gov finalize its case, we can protect you. If not, you’ll be arrested and face the same charges. Nothing will protect you from what’s coming.”

  His threat was unmistakable. No cajoling, coaxing, or wheedling. Just a flat-out ultimatum: Do what we want or pay the price. The bottom dropped out of my stomach and my knees turned to water, leaving me boneless and limp. I’d been standing before, but now I sank to the ground—not exactly fainting, but not conscious of my surroundings either.

  “Did you hear me, Felicia? Come in on your own or be scooped up in the same net as Alexei Petriv. Decide fast because you won’t have another opportunity. This is a onetime offer.”

  I sat in the dirt in my pretty dress with Feodor sniffing at me in concern, reeling in shock. Not even my gut could get me moving, my whole body needing the time to process the new information that had slammed into it. I had no idea if Rax could make good on his threat, but I wasn’t going to let that little shit push me around like yesterday’s leftovers.

  “You can take your onetime offer and shove it up your ass. I’m not coming in and I sure as hell am not going to help you build a case against Alexei. Good luck trying to bring him in. One Gov isn’t going to be able to touch Alexei.”

  Rax’s sigh came through loud and gusty. “I’m sorry you feel that way, Felicia. I was looking out for you, but you’re not interested in doing the smart thing. Whatever happens next is on your head. Remember, I did warn you.”

  He cut communication then, breaking it off so abruptly, the feedback clanged like cymbals in my head. I would have staggered with it if I wasn’t already sitting down. As it was, I clasped my head in my
hands, feeling a sharp, sudden ache. The following bolt of pain was ferocious, a white-hot brand lancing through my skull that made me cry out. I’d never felt a ping terminate like this, even with the fiercest disconnect. And never with any pain before. But this…I didn’t know what this was.

  The spike of agony spread down my back, racing along my spine like an electrical pulse as it worked its way through me. I arched with the pain, certain my vertebrae popped out through my skin with every excruciating crackle. By the time it was over, maybe all of ten seconds had passed. I lay huddled on the ground, curled in on myself, panting and confused. I tried to get up. Couldn’t. Nothing worked. My body wouldn’t respond to even the most basic commands. Move a leg, arm, hand, finger…Nothing. Not even so much as a twitch. I could breathe, but everything else…The jolt had paralyzed me. My body felt like it didn’t even belong to me. I looked out of eyes that could do little more than blink. Gods, I couldn’t even move them! They remained fixed in one direction, staring at the blades of grass in front of me. I lay awkwardly on my left arm, but I couldn’t adjust my position. It was trapped and useless, pinned under me, and there was nothing I could do to fix it.

  In the distance, I heard a noise like the hum of heavy machinery. When the source of the noise rolled into my range of vision, I tracked it with eyes I no longer controlled. The object was black and shiny, hovering off the ground, windowless but heavily armored, and very slow moving. I saw One Gov’s emblem on the side of the vehicle—those three white dots surrounding a yellow sun—and knew it was a troop carrier, used to ferry in hooahs to conflict zones.

  I sat up, and my head followed the troop carrier’s progress. But me sitting—it wasn’t because I wanted to sit up. I’d been struggling to get my arm out from beneath me without success. And yet now I rose clumsily to my feet, as if the legs under me weren’t mine and I had no clear idea how to use them. I staggered, fell, couldn’t move my hands to break my fall, and went down on my side, barely missing landing on my face. What was wrong with my body? Why couldn’t I control it? What the hell was happening to me?

  I jerked myself upright again. The troop carrier was closer, and I took a wobbly step toward it. What the hell? I had no desire to go in its direction, and yet I couldn’t stop myself. I couldn’t make myself do anything I wanted. My confusion morphed into full-blown, mindless panic.

  Chain-breakers surrounded me, hemming me in and putting a wall of flesh between me and the approaching carrier. Feodor went berserk, barking and running wildly at the intruder and the cacophony of noise. I wanted to catch him, couldn’t, and watched in horror as the dog ran full speed toward the carrier, barking all the way. The carrier’s door slid open. Black uniformed hooahs climbed out wearing full body armor, face shields, all weapons drawn. Feodor kept running and barking, but I couldn’t see what happened next. Instead, the sky was suddenly full of drones. The black-and-gray-colored whirling machines hovered just above our heads, each with its own distinctive whirr and about the size of my hand.

  They darkened the sky until it was impossible to see the sun, blotting everything else from sight. Chain-breakers swatted at them as if they were insects, but it was chaos. One would be swatted aside, and another two took its place. I was buffeted about between chain-breakers and drones, unable to raise my hands to protect myself or keep my balance. When I fell, I went down in a heap—first to my knees, then landing on my left shoulder. It hurt, but I couldn’t cry out.

  A drone landed on my open palm, looking like a dragonfly. I couldn’t swat it away. Instead I watched as it maneuvered itself into position and dropped its payload—a laser stun pencil. Small and lethal, at its highest setting it could cut a human body in half like a hot knife through butter. It took three tries, but my hand closed around it in a fist. I couldn’t open my hand again. Couldn’t drop it. Couldn’t do anything but clutch it so hard, my nails dug into my palm.

  At that, the drones suddenly dispersed. The sky was visible again. A hand closed on my arm, jerking me upright. A chain-breaker hauled me from the unfolding scene, tucking me against a massive body with muscles so hard and dense, every jostling step bruised me. I was run back to the office building, thrust in through the front door, and handed off into another set of arms.

  Alexei. I knew it instinctively. Felt him pull me into him, even as my own arms hung limp at my sides, stun pencil still in hand.

  “It’s One Gov,” he said. “They’re moving to surround the complex. Are you hurt?”

  I said nothing. Couldn’t raise my head to look at him. Couldn’t talk. All I did was stand there, staring at his shirt while all hell broke loose around us.

  Not waiting for an answer, he pulled me after him. “If One Gov takes the complex, we’ll be trapped. We can hold them off, but this is an office building, not a fortress. It has panic facilities, but they can’t hold against a full-scale assault. We need to leave. Come with me.”

  Alexei pulled me along, but my legs refused to move, and I tripped. He caught me before I could fall, gripping me around the waist and picking up my deadweight. Helpless and paralyzed, I could only go where he took me, a reactionless and expressionless doll.

  Or not. I started fighting him. My body began to move, punching and kicking, desperate to get out of his arms. I couldn’t do anything to stop myself from lashing out and striking him. Could do nothing but struggle in his grip, fighting with everything I was to be free. I started to scream—just a wild wordless scream—as I fought. I tore at his clothing, exposing his neck. There was the spider tattoo I’d kissed so many times. But not now. Now, I swooped down to that tattoo, mouth opening wide, jaws hyperextending. My mouth closed over the spider, my teeth clamping down hard as I broke the skin and tasted blood.

  He cursed and dropped me, shoving me so hard, I staggered and fell. I slammed into a nearby chain-breaker, who deflected me away. I stumbled, collapsed, and lay there. My entire body throbbed in pain I couldn’t react to; my mouth was full of blood it didn’t know how to swallow or spit out. I got up again, my body helpless to do anything but obey the command. Finding my footing was easier this time, as if whoever issued the commands was more comfortable with the controls. Whoever—whatever—moved me was getting better at using my body.

  Alexei’s hand was at his throat. I saw blood drip between his fingers. The coppery taste filled my mouth, its slick texture all over my teeth. I could feel it on my lips and dribbling down my chin. His eyes narrowed as he studied me. He didn’t look like he was in pain. Rather, he looked calm—dangerously so. When he spoke, his voice held that same dangerous coolness. He was a coiled snake, waiting to strike.

  “Felicia, why did you bite me?”

  I couldn’t answer. Instead, I ran in the opposite direction. Awkward at first, it was a rolling shuffle-trot that barely had me moving. I staggered into a chain-breaker. Floundered, my hands skimming over him. Bounced away. Was almost at the door. Moving, always moving, unable to fight what controlled me.

  “Felicia, answer me!”

  Not calm at all now, Alexei grabbed my arm, whirling me to face him. And, gods, I don’t know how I’d done it with my shuffling gait and body that didn’t know how to function properly, but I still had the laser stun pencil in a sweaty death grip. I clutched so tightly, my nails drew blood where they dug into my skin, leaving my hand slick with its wetness. My arm lifted, and the hand—my hand—pointed it at Alexei.

  We collided and the stun pencil jabbed him in the abdomen. We both stilled. Our eyes met. I don’t know what mine said, but his were wild, enraged, and struggling to make sense of my behavior. All of a second passed, but it felt like an eternity.

  “Felicia…” His gaze darted over me and understanding bloomed, suggesting he knew far better than I did what was happening. His expression hardened. If a person could be both composed and enraged all at once, it was Alexei. “I’m not talking to Felicia anymore, am I?”

  My words came as a whisper, in a voice I barely recognized as my own. The sound of it, the harshness a
nd the hatred, terrified me. “No, Alexei Petriv. You’re not.”

  “Who are you?” he demanded.

  “Do you actually think that question gets an answer?” A bark of laughter followed. “Don’t worry, by the way. We’ll take good care of Felicia.”

  Then with the stun pencil aimed dead center of his abdomen, I fired it at my husband, and did not miss.

  I kept on firing. Turning, hitting anything that moved, running forward, firing again. I was out the door in seconds, running full throttle. My hand dropped the stun pencil. My fingers felt sticky and wet. Blood, I knew, without having to see it. Blood everywhere, all over me. Alexei’s blood. Inside, my mind had gone into shock. Outside, I just kept moving.

  I dodged around the building in a loping run, away from the advancing troop carriers, and found an air-hack. Gray and dented, its paint scratched and showing hints of rust, it hovered off the ground, door already open. Sweet fucking gods, I had a getaway vehicle.

  I paused at the door, my hand fumbling with my wrist. My head looked down, eyes on my c-tex bracelet. After a few false starts where I managed to smear bright red blood up to my elbow, I unsnapped the bracelet and let it drop to the ground, discarded like so much trash.

  And my body, without a care in the world for what had just happened or what it had done, climbed into the air-hack and let it drive me away.

  20

  I sat in utter stillness for the entirety of the flight—hands folded in my lap, legs crossed, back straight, head up. The position was so rigid, my back started to hurt, but I couldn’t unbend. I was trapped in a model of perfect posture. I was also covered with blood while my body ached from more cuts and bruises than I could catalog.

  And I’d just killed my husband.

  My brain couldn’t get past that. I’d killed Alexei. Me. My body, no longer under my control, had been used to kill the man I loved.

  That thought chased itself around in my head, circling without end. It wound itself into a ball of horror and disbelief, because I couldn’t understand what had happened. This had to be some terrible nightmare. It was the only thing that made sense. None of this was real. As the thought wound tighter, I had trouble following that ball. Confusion grew and I couldn’t trust what that ball told me. Then the ball would break open, revealing its terrible truth again. Alexei was dead. I had killed Alexei. And the cycle would begin anew. Panic. Disbelief. Shock. Rinse and repeat.