Turou narrowed his eyes. “He’ll come through. I think.”
“You sure?” Ada leaned over across the bar, to a few of the other patrons who had glanced at her, and turned to the bartender. “Can we get more of whatever we just had?”
The bartender looked up from the device in his palm and nodded, while Turou frowned and rubbed his head. “Why do they need weaponry from Earth? They’ve spent the last few centuries shooting dissidents and protesters their guns already do a fine job at that.”
“You’re forgetting the drug cartels and the slave trade.” Elsa winced at her drink, and quieted as the bartender brought more. Ada took a gulp of hers, and as she did Elsa seemed to notice something outside the tavern. Ada glanced towards the windows, but saw nothing except a somewhat larger crowd than before.
Elsa fidgeted with her wrist device. “Ada, I need to go use the ladies’ room. Come with me.”
Ladies’ room? Ada looked around in confusion, briefly disoriented; she didn’t know what that was, but it sounded moderately interesting. “What? I -”
“Just follow me. Turou, we’ll be right back.”
She stood up to follow, and suddenly felt a rush of tingling through her brain. Oh; she was starting to feel the drinks. They were stronger than they tasted. Was that why Elsa was drinking so slowly?
She followed Elsa into the back, into a thoroughly uninteresting room of vaguely yellowish tiles and a long mirror lined with sinks and strange little spouts. There were stalls on the other side that looked a bit like animal pens, but a barely-perceptible, heavily masked smell told Ada what kind of room this actually was. “Uh, Elsa, why are we -”
Elsa checked the stalls quickly, making a pinching motion with her fingers, then turned to Ada and stepped next to her, looking into the mirror. “I was hoping everybody here would be too drunk to pay attention, but somebody must have noticed you.”
“What?” Ada lowered her voice. “The military?”
“No, just - just people. I checked the networks - there are rumours people saw you in this neighbourhood. People are looking for you.”
“What people?” She glanced around, but they seemed to be alone. “Also, again, why are we in a -”
“We need to get out of here, Ada, okay?” Standing next to Ada in the mirror, Elsa looked even smaller than Ada thought she was. “We’ll tell Turou to keep in touch, and then we go. I think -”
The door to the room opened, and a short, thin young woman wandered in with a slight swagger to her steps. Her eyes quickly flicked to Ada, then away, and she reached up to do something with the headpiece that reached a small screen over her left eye. The stranger stepped into one of the stalls, and Elsa nodded towards it as the door closed.
The devices? The eyepieces, earpieces, wristbands, the rectangles and ovals the colonials held in their hands - were they using those to give away her position, somehow? Why? If they weren’t military… she was just a popular curiosity, wasn’t she?
Elsa grabbed her wrist and pulled her from the bathroom, but almost as soon as they stepped back into the main area of the tavern, two heavy-looking human men stepped up with remarkably unfriendly smiles, at least for one, an odd alien accent. “Have we met before? You look familiar.”
Ada was taller than him and his friend, and was not intimidated, but Elsa quickly intervened. “Sorry guys, we need to duck out early. Lady business.”
“Really?” He turned to Elsa. “I’m not opposed to some lady business.”
What was he talking about? He sounded threatening, but nothing he said made sense. Her fingers twitched for code, but she felt the locator stone in her pocket. Isavel wouldn’t kill people so quickly. But she also wouldn’t do nothing.
Ada stepped between them to try and block him off, knocking over a stool she hadn’t noticed with a loud crash. The entire room went quiet, the two men and Elsa all gaped at her, and she froze for a moment. Then she rolled her shoulders, crackling some joints, and stared down the little man. “What do you want?”
Elsa stepped in front of her and yanked on her bicep. Hazel eyes, olive skin. Ada felt a rush of defensiveness even as Elsa tried to speak. “Ada, it’s fine, let’s just go -”
“Just looking to meet new people.” This human eyed her up, his confusion shifting to a poisonous smile. “Kinda freaky how tall you are. Say, are you that earthling?”
She flapped her hand at him, almost striking him. “Back off.”
Elsa’s voice hardened. “Ada, we need to -”
The other man suddenly moved, grabbing Elsa’s wrist but addressing both of them. “We’re just looking to hang out. Want to dance?”
Ada bared her teeth. “Not with you.”
She snapped her fist up, cracking loudly into the side of the first man’s face and snapping his head back. He stumbled and fell, someone shouted from the corner of the tavern, and suddenly the other man was snarling. A few other men appeared on the sides, too - why were they all human males? Fucking colonies. So weird.
“You think you can -”
Suddenly Elsa thrust her arm out in front of the second man’s neck, did something with her feet, and sent him down to the ground. She glared at Ada. “Damn it Ada -”
Ada waved her off. “No, no, I like this!” Blood rushed past her ears, a roaring wind. She remembered the feeling of the hurricane in Campus, the code swirling round and round, keeping her safe, giving her the time to say goodbye. But she shouldn’t have. But she did.
She turned to the other men who were staring at her. Their eyes were bothering her. Like it was her fault for being here. “Come on, what’s the matter? You bother me and my friend, and now you’re angry? Come on, let’s work this out.”
“Ada! What the -”
She pointed at the nearest of the angry-looking patrons. “You! You’re scared of me, aren’t you?”
“Fuck you, freak.” She stepped closer and wobbled. He backed off. Ada grabbed a drink from the bar - it was near Turou, conveniently - drank it down, and flung the glass against the black marble floor with a crack and a spray of shards. She growled in her own native language. They’d get the picture, right? “Come on, you colonial shits, mess with me! I dare you!”
“Ada!”
She was already swinging a fist at the man, but he ducked and rammed into her stomach. Well, there was no such thing as a fair fight. She slowed time to a crawl, code clawing its way out of her fingers and through the air, and aimed a force sigil at the bottom of his foot. Subtle, nobody would notice, but when she returned to normal time he stumbled and fell. As he tried to get up she kicked him in the chest, and vaguely heard a crunch he slid across the floor straight into a table.
She could do this. She could take any of them, and woe betide the fucker who decided to mess with Isavel. Or her other friends.
“Come on! Is everyone in your Union a whiny little -”
Somebody else tried to tackle her, grabbing one of her arms and growling something. She fumbled, yanking her arm forwards. The motion flung him to the ground, unexpectedly, and she giggled as he thumped against the floor, turning around to glare at her as he got back up.
“What’s the matter? This is pretty fucking tame compared to Earth, you -”
Suddenly Elsa was grabbing both her arms. “Ada, that’s the fucking bouncer - stop it. Let’s go. Now. ”
“Bouncer? He bounced off me all right.”
Elsa glared at Turou, in that cute way she always did. No, wait. This was Elsa.
“Turou, what the hell? We haven’t even been here an hour, how much did she drink?”
Turou raised his hands in submission. “More than I expected, faster than I -”
These two were so cute, and she felt a welling of mirth. Or alcohol, maybe, but it felt like mirth. Ada reached out and grabbed him. “Come on, come on! If we’re going, then let’s get going!”
Elsa wrestled free and stayed inside the building for a moment while Turou dragged her outside. People were pointing more devices at her, their l
ights were swimming oddly. She was drunk, wasn’t she? How embarrassing! This hadn’t really happened in years. “I’m sorry, Turou. Elsa’s a big drinker, you know, this is really her -”
Elsa suddenly stormed out of the building and shook a finger in her face. “Ada you crazy alien psycho, I had to pay a lot of money for them not to call CitySec, and that’s going to be all over the news tomorrow. We’re going home. ”
“Money? What’s money again?”
Suddenly Ada was on the ground. Huh? How had she gotten down here? The lights were blaring, the cars were moving strangely. One pulled up, Elsa and Turou said things, their words slipped out of Ada’s ears like soft pudding. She understood nothing.
Ada slowed time. Okay, okay, think. Think slowly, maybe, but think. What was going on? Was there any danger? Elsa was there, Turou was there, they were all in a car. She didn’t recognize the driver. She didn’t see any weapons, any military. Any monies.
It was dark, though. She lashed out with code and etched a scraggly-looking light sigil into the ceiling. Ah, much better. Why was the car driver shouting? It was just light. Fucking colonials. They didn’t make any sense.
They were at the hotel. When had that happened? What the hell had she had to drink?
She was laughing into the crook of Elsa’s neck. She didn’t smell like Isavel. Disappointing. But she did smell nice, something savory, and then Elsa shoved her off. Hey, what?
Flashing numbers and glowing lights, but not the kind that felt ancient. The kind that felt brittle, weak, colonial. Gods, this was not what she had wanted when she came here. Where was the glory? Where was the knowledge? This whole place was a junkheap. Everything was junk. The doorbell she had exploded was still on the floor, still junk. She had never figured out what it was for.
She was on the couch, and Turou and Elsa were looking at her, concerned. Elsa was stuffing a pillow under her head. “Ada - Ada, you need to sleep.”
She smiled. “No, no, Elsa, I don’t -”
“You sure as hell do. Here.” She shoved a drink in her face. “Drink this.”
It smelled like nothing. Water. Ada drank it. “Turou -”
He was behind her. “Ada, listen, I’m going to talk to my friend about -”
She grabbed him. “Oh come on, let’s deal with that tomorrow.” She dragged him onto the couch, but he struggled back up and Elsa hauled him away.
“She’s drunk as hell. Elsa, why did you let her drink your drink?”
“I didn’t see her doing it!” Elsa ran her hands through her hair. “She just reached for it. They were so close I don’t even think she realized it.”
What were they talking about? Her head was spinning, so she lay down on the couch, staring at the ceiling. Elsa and Turou walked away into the kitchen, and Ada let her gaze lower a bit, looking at both of them. They were so cute. So small. She wanted to hold them in her arms and squeeze them while -
“Ada? Here.” They were pressing something into her hand, a little round and white chalky thing. “Eat this. It’ll help with the alcohol.”
She ate it, and stuck her tongue out. “Gross. What -”
“You don’t chew - ugh..” Elsa shook her head. “You’ll be okay, but -”
Ada winked at her, and patted her lap. “You give me half an hour, Elsa.”
Elsa’s eyes widened, and she turned away, gripping her head. “I can’t deal with this. God damn it, Turou, she’s like a huge deadly teenager.”
Turou sat down next to Ada. “I’ll stay over and watch her too.”
Ada sat up on the couch and slipped a hand into Turou’s robes, running her hands over his smooth chest. “That works too, Turou. Too-Turou-row -”
He jumped up from the couch. “Ada, stop it.”
She laid back and stared at the ceiling. Everyone was so weird here. So strange. She just wanted to feel okay, to feel like things were going to be alright.
But things weren’t. She was alone, so far away, and she had nobody. She closed her eyes, trying to think of what it had been like, to have someone you… you expected to be around, to be close to. But the images in her mind kept blurring, kept mixing with other people, other places, other faces Isavel had worn.
She jumped up from the couch and yelled. “ I can’t deal with this!”
“What the hell is she talking about -”
She lay down on the floor and curled up, and here, on the flat ground that pressed awkwardly against her spine, she remembered a bit what it had felt like to lie on the solid ground in that tent, with nothing to cushion her but Isavel’s body. Her breathing slowed, and she closed her eyes, trying to hang onto that feeling in the rushing dark.
Chapter 6
Ada woke up in a bed and a silent room. Morning light bunched up behind the curtains, the only real indication that she had slept the night. She looked around; the room was empty, her suit was still on, and the door was shut. She only remembered passing out on the floor.
She stood up, reached into her pocket for the locator stone -
It was missing.
She scoured her pockets again. Nothing. She checked the bed. Nowhere. It wasn’t on the floor, it wasn’t anywhere she could see. Where was it? Out in the common area?
She burst out of the door and found Elsa sitting on the couch, Turou nowhere to be seen. The locator stone was neatly placed in the middle of the table in front of her, and she looked up at Ada. “Looking for this?”
Ada nodded, and strode forward, but Elsa placed her palm on top of it.
“We need to talk.”
Ad’s fingers twitched. It hadn’t fallen - Elsa had taken it from her. On purpose. She knew what it meant to her, and she knew how dangerous Ada was. What the hell was she thinking? “What? Give me that.”
“ Sit down. ” Elsa pointed at the couch. “How are you feeling?”
Ada sat down, scowling. “Unfriendly.”
“Hung over?”
“What?”
“Sick after being drunk.”
“Is that a thing?”
Elsa gave a desperate little laugh. “Not for transhumans,apparently.”
“Elsa, give me -”
“No.” Elsa looked… not angry. Not exactly. But certainly upset. “ You listen to me . We need to clear something up right now, because we have serious shit to deal with in the next few days.”
“What? Spit it out.”
Elsa stared her in the eyes. “I’m not Isavel.”
Ada’s mind blanked. Was this some kind of test? “I’m not an idiot, I know -”
“I’m not like Isavel. I’m not a replacement Isavel. Say it to me.”
“What the hell are you -”
Elsa closed her fist over the locator stone. “ Say it. ”
Ada clenched her teeth. “You’re not Isavel, not like her, not a replacement, now give me the damn rock.”
“Ada, I know you were drunk last night.” Elsa sighed. “I hold my liquor better than you, but I’ve been drunk too. I’ve done really stupid things. But I needed to be held accountable, and so do you. You were aggressive last night. I didn’t like it.”
Ada’s mind played back moments from last night, searching for what Elsa was talking about. Had she forgotten anything? She didn’t see… well. That wasn’t true. She could imagine what Elsa might be talking about, but it didn’t seem…
“You made me feel uncomfortable. Do you know why?”
She frowned. “I - I didn’t touch -”
“You did shove your face into my neck, for one thing, but you can be plenty aggressive without touching. You didn’t hurt me or do anything terribly wrong, and you were drunk, but now I don’t know if I can trust you to keep your head straight. And I don’t mean that as a pun, I’m being serious.”
“What’s a pun?”
“Not the point.” Elsa drew back her closed fist, the locator stone still inside. Ada thought about it, quiet for a moment. Elsa was right, of course, in a way. But Ada wasn’t stupid, she understood what she was doing.
When she actually thought about it.
She sighed. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
“It’s not just that. You need to deal with your damned feelings. You think I didn’t hear you sobbing in the shower when you first got here? Ada, I get that you miss her, but I’m not here to be a surrogate. My life is on the line, same as yours. We’re in this shit together, and I need you to understand that I’m a person trying to keep myself safe, just like you. Can I rely on you to work with me like an adult? Am I safe with you?”
Ada felt the last words sting in her chest. “What? Of course you’re safe, I would never hurt -”
“You boot people with your foot and break their ribs. You crack skulls by swatting people in the face. Turou and I hauled you into bed last night and you weigh a fucking ton, and I’m not even going to start with the fact that you can shoot black magic out of your fingertips. I’m a soldier, but you’re… transhuman.”
Elsa looked exasperated.
“You could break any of us, maybe without even meaning to. So I ask again, am I safe with you? Am I safe if I startle you? Am I safe if some paranoia makes you think I’m conspiring with the military? Am I safe if I don’t feel like giving you a hug when you’re sad?”
Ada was wringing her wrists, avoiding eye contact.
She had shot people without asking who they were, because they sounded dangerous. She had hunted drifters, in their garbage spaceships, because the thrill of chasing them down and shooting them out of the sky had got her blood running. She had killed the Mayor of Hive and left his child to die, killed his servants to stay hidden. She had shot humans to protect ghosts. She had almost leveled whole towers in Glass Peaks, only barely stopped by the idea that she might specifically hurt Isavel by accident. She killed for convenience, for anger, and occasionally almost for sport.
“I don’t know.” She breathed heavily, forcing the words out. “I really don’t know. I think so, Elsa, but I - I’m not… I’m not a very… nice person.”
Elsa scoffed. “I can tell you’re not fucking nice. That’s why I’m coming to like you. ” She gave Ada a look. “As a friend . Maybe. And frankly, I think I’ll probably benefit from you being not nice to other people. But I need you to be respectful to me . And that means listening when I say I don’t want you making eyes at me or jokingly asking me to come snuggle with you. Got it? Because you’re fucking scary , Ada, and I need to know for sure that we’re on the same page. We’re not there yet.”
The Broken Third (Digitesque Book 4) Page 10