by Cindy Borgne
My fellow workers gathered around and asked questions.
“Get back to your stations,” Williams ordered, but nobody budged.
Hector worked his way in front of Williams. “What’s going on here?”
“Get these people back to work!” Williams snapped.
Hector folded his arms. “Not until I know what’s going on.”
More people stepped forward.
“Stay back,” Williams ordered.
The officers put their hands on the laser pistols dangling from their belts. Everyone stood their ground. I dropped the drill, strained to pick it up and continued to fumble with no success at opening the back of the elevator. I dropped to my knees and held my arm. Williams and his officers chuckled at me. I wanted to throw a crowbar at them.
“What’s going on here?” Sonny shouted from his office and pushed through the crowd. “Ian!” He shoved Williams out of the way, but the officers grabbed him by the arms.
“Get your hands off me.” Sonny squirmed. The officers released him, but stood ready to grab him again.
Williams dusted off his shirt. “Are you aware that your young worker was wandering the tubes at all hours of the night?”
“I’m not a babysitter, Williams,” Sonny said with a growl in his voice. “What did you do to him? I need him to work to meet your damn quota.”
“Admiral’s orders,” Williams continued, “Connors has been insubordinate. He’s lucky he’s not locked up somewhere.”
As they argued, more and more workers watched.
Sonny arched a brow at the tall masked figure. “Dieter? Is that you?”
Dieter turned toward Sonny.
“What are you doing with that stupid mask on?” Sonny asked. “You’re not fooling me. I’d recognize your bulky ass anywhere.”
Dieter pulled the mask off. The crowd of workers gasped as his large head emerged.
“What the hell are you trying to pull?” Sonny asked.
“He found a better offer.” Williams marched over to me. “Get up and get back to work.”
“I can’t.” I held my arm, not able to utter anything else.
Sonny tried to reach me only to be stopped again by the officers.
“Pick up that drill,” Williams said through his teeth.
I tried, but it kept slipping out of my hand and landing on the cement. The third time the drill bit fell off and rolled under the bench. I leaned over, seeing it under a bunch of dust balls. As I reached for it, Williams kicked me in the stomach and knocked the air out of me. I curled up into a ball and was jammed up against the workbench.
Sonny tried to pull his arms away from the officers and ended up shoved to the floor. The workers shouted out things and it was impossible to tell who.
“Get the hell out of here, Williams.”
“Dieter’s a traitor.”
“Leave him alone.”
The swearing and yelling turned into a chant. The workers surrounded me, forcing Williams and the officers to back up.
In the chaos, Sonny grabbed Williams by the collar and shoved him back. “You need to get out of here.”
“You’re all going to be charged with insubordination.”
Sonny released his collar. “You've roughed the boy up enough for one day. I’ll make a deal with you, Williams. Fifty more elevators repaired this month, plus we don’t tell anyone that you weren’t able to complete your assignment.”
My friends formed a cement wall around me. They stood silent for several seconds.
“One hundred more elevators.”
“Fine.” Sonny agreed without hesitation.
“You better come through, or you’ll be demoted.” Willliams spun around and left with his men.
Nobody complained. Instead they shuffled around and whispered to each other. The quota was hard enough. I didn’t see how Sonny would end up not being demoted. Several people crowded around touching me and talked about how best to help.
“My arm,” I said through shattering teeth. “It’s killing me.” I took my hand away from my shoulder and blood covered it.
Sonny touched my head. “Move back, his arm might be broke.”
The crowd parted as Sonny and Hector carried me toward the office. They took me all the way back into Sonny’s bed. The workers gathered around the door. Sonny nudged his head toward the door.
Hector knew what Sonny wanted and went to the crowd. “Everyone, go back to your stations. We’ll let you know about Ian later.”
Sonny helped me lie down and put a pillow under my head. He tried to be gentle as he tore my shirt away from the wound, but any movement caused pain and I squirmed.
“I know it hurts,” Sonny said. “Try to stay still.”
As Sonny examined the wound, Hector came back and sat on the other side of the bed.
Sonny went out into his office and came back with a first aid kit. “I’m not up-to-date on this stuff, but it looks like he jabbed you with a nasty nerve toxin.”
“Great,” I said with chattering teeth, wondering what he meant by not up-to-date. He loaded an injector and pressed it right next to the wound. My arm trembled and I moaned.
Sonny tapped the side of my face. “You’ll thank me in a few minutes when it’s numb.” He dampened a washcloth and put it on my forehead.
“Thank you,” I said several times. “Sorry for all the trouble.”
Sonny leaned back and looked out the door. “Some of them are still lingering out there. Hector could you make sure everyone is working. We can’t waste any time.”
“Will do, boss.” Hector hurried out.
“Whoever injected you overdid it.”
“It was Dieter. He said they were going to give him a house in the executive bio-dome.”
His eyes hardened. “That fool better never end up back in my shop.” Sonny wiped the blood off my other hand. “Hopefully, I won’t have to call a medic. It wouldn’t be good for any reports to get back to Beacon.” He took a fracture detector out of the kit and ran it over my injured arm. “I’m not finding anything broke.”
He did this almost as good as Clare, which made me suspect he had some medical training.
The lines deepened around his eyes. “Were you really insubordinate?”
My arm tingled as it went numb. “I gave Beacon some false information because he was trying to attack some innocent people.”
“You’re messing with the devil, boy.” He brought out another damp washcloth and dabbed at the wound. “You can’t feel this, right?”
“No, thankfully. How do you know it was a nerve toxin?”
“Years ago, I was a field medic.” Sonny cleaned the wound, wrapped it up and tossed out what was left of my shirt.
“I feel terrible about you raising the quota to help me.”
“It don’t matter.” Sonny covered me with a blanket.
“I wanted to help you, but wherever I go I cause problems.” I turned my head toward the wall.
“But you have helped me a lot by saving Hector, and in general you have a way of anticipating problems. My production has gone up twenty percent since you’ve been here. The only thing that does bother me is that I know in my gut you won’t be staying here.”
I turned back. Sonny was the best friend I ever had.
“I hate these bloody wars too. Why do you think I became a field medic?”
“So you wouldn’t have to fight?”
“Exactly.” He put his foot on the bed and rolled up his pant leg, revealing an artificial limb below the knee.
“Oh, no, no.” I tried not to stare and winced at the thought of the pain from losing a limb. I didn’t want my friend to be without a leg.
“I dove on top of my buddy, trying to save his life. They considered me unfit for duty after that.” He lowered the pant leg. “And in gratitude for losing my leg, they sent me down to the factories.” He spoke with the pain of betrayal in his voice. “Don’t tell anyone about it. The only others who know is Hector and Bret. It’s best peo
ple don’t know.”
I tried to imagine the bravery it must have took, knowing the risk and not hesitating. But I hated the thought of him having to drag around a prosthesis.
“Oh Sonny.” I touched his knee.
“Don’t worry. I’m good.”
“I never understood about the wars until . . . .” I stopped myself. Fatigue made me let down my guard.
“Until when?” Sonny asked.
“I shouldn’t talk about it.” I remembered Nate tumbling helplessly out of the midrange.
Sonny sat on the edge of my bed. “Have you ever heard the ancient saying that no man is an island?”
I thought a moment. “No, the only sayings I learned were from Admiral Beacon.”
“It figures, but you think about that saying for awhile. You’ll find it’s true. Now don’t leave me wondering after I just patched you up.” He smirked.
I owed him. I had to say something. “I was in the battle of the mine.”
Sonny paused for several seconds. “You saw the ugliness of it, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Greed, it’s all about greed and the innocent pay,” Sonny said bitterly. He went into his office, and came back with a bottle and some shot glasses. “This ought to help you relax.” He chuckled and poured me a shot. “Cheers.” He downed a shot.
I drank it and blinked from the burning sensation.
He refilled the glasses. After the third shot, my eyes drifted open and shut. It was a relief to tell Sonny a few things, and I’d consider telling him more tomorrow.
“Get some sleep. I’ll be right at my desk if you need me.” Sonny shut off the lights. He leaned in the doorway, looking out into his office.
Chapter 15
A distorted, angry voice echoed in the darkness. Its volume increased and became unbearable. I strained to get away, but my limbs were frozen. A round, pale object hovered in the middle of darkness and slowly moved closer. Eyes and a mouth formed. With dread I recognized Beacon’s face as it scowled down on me twisted and distorted.
I tried to scream, but nothing came out. The rumble of machinery broke through the roaring voice. I awoke and whipped my head around to make sure Beacon wasn’t lurking somewhere in the room. But I found myself alone trembling in Sonny’s bed. Was Beacon going to kill me?
The clatter of the shop faded again, cut off by the slam of the office door. I sat up and squeezed my fingers. My arm ached, but the pain was nothing like last night. I peeked under the bandages. A few red marks were still there, but at least the swelling had gone down. I went to call for Sonny, but stopped when I heard him talking on the holo.
I recognized Bret’s voice.
“As I warned you before, it’s going to cause you problems befriending an elite.”
“You know,” Sonny said, irritated, “having an elite around makes you edgy. Do you have something to hide? I still haven't traced where that fake production chip came from. You're not cheating on your rates, are you?”
“C’mon Sonny, you know I run a straight shop. I just don’t want to see you get in any trouble. You need to convince him to go back and do his job because if he keeps on irritating the Admiral he’s going to end up in a prison camp.”
“I doubt he’ll agree to that.”
“All I have to say is don’t get mixed up in his problems or you’ll be going to prison with him.”
Sonny huffed. “Are you going to send me some extra workers to get this quota done or what?”
“I told you I would.”
A straight shop? I held back a laugh at that one. Bret sounded like he feared someone might be onto him. Still, he was right. I had to leave. Involving Sonny would only put him in danger. Another rumble of machines rising and fading let me know someone came through the office door.
“Hi Sonny, I hate to interrupt,” Kayla said, sounding like she stood near his desk, “but I’m a friend of Ian’s and I heard what happened. Can I visit him?”
“Hmm,” Sonny mused. “Aren’t you the new inventory clerk from Bret’s shop?”
“Yes, I’m the one who gave Ian a tour of the hangar and thought I’d bring over a new part to cheer him up.”
I chuckled, but a jolt of pain from my ribs reminded me to stop.
“I don’t know,” Sonny said. “He’s all banged up, and I’d hate to wake him.”
“Sonny,” I called, softly. Raising my voice hurt my stomach. I wanted to stop her before she left. The noise of the shop kept them from hearing me. My arms and legs felt as if they were still asleep.
“Why don’t you come back after dinner?” Sonny asked. “He’ll probably be a bit better by then.”
Having on only boxers, I hastily wrapped the blanket around myself. I forced my legs to walk to the door and steadied myself with my other hand. She was about to go out the door.
“K-K-Casey?”
She turned. Her mouth dropped open. Then she frowned and I could’ve sworn I saw her whisper, “Those bastards” under her breath.
As I wondered why, I caught a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror. My bottom lip was swollen. A bruise covered part of my cheek and surrounded my eye. The sight of myself made me want to crawl under an elevator. I raised the blanket halfway over my face.
Her fair skin turned an attractive shade of pink. “I just thought this would cheer you up.” Her eyes dropped down to the engine part in her gloved hands. “It’s the newest fuel injector for the midrange MC1000.”
“Nice.” I figured she was embarrassed for letting her emotions slip. It’d been a long time since a girl blushed in front of me. I’d forgotten that it made my cheeks tingle - maybe because I had a soft spot for blushing girls.
And even though she wore baggy, grease-stained overalls and a dusty cap over short reddish hair, she was beautiful. I remembered her once long wavy hair and that flowing blue night gown – like it was yesterday. Seeing her dulled the aches and pains, but I didn’t want to startle her by how horrible I looked.
Sonny raised his eyebrows at me and looked back at Kayla like he picked up on my attraction to her.
She turned to Sonny. “Bret told me you need some extra workers, and I want you to know that I’ll be here after the shift.”
“Thanks, I’ll repay, somehow.” Sonny offered his hand and she shook it. “Ian, I’ll go see if I can find a sling for your arm.”
I went back to the bed and went under the covers. “You can come in Casey.”
“I’m sorry about what happened.” She set the part on the beat up old nightstand. “You can have it.”
“Thanks.”
She stood by the bed. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but everyone’s saying you were insubordinate to Admiral Beacon.” She wrinkled her face with doubt. “Is that true?”
“Ah,” I hesitated, startled, yet I wanted her to know I was different than other Marcs. “Yes, it’s true.”
Her eyes flared and head bounced with disbelief. “But how?”
“I gave him false information to protect a foreign base. My lie led him in the wrong direction for several days.”
A small smile grew on her face that made every twinge of pain go numb, but she dropped it fast. “But why?”
“I’m against the wars. That’s why I’m here.” I saw no harm in telling her we were on the same side.
Kayla’s mouth went straight. “But how will we ever make it to Earth if we don’t conquer?”
Her question threw me off guard. As she waited for my answer, the tiny smile reappeared on her lips.
I couldn’t resist going along with it, so I repeated her own words. “We’ll make it to Earth by working together with other organizations despite our differences.”
The small smile dropped. Her green eyes locked for several seconds. She fidgeted with her hands. After a few blinks, she sat down next to me and straightened the blanket. “Is there anything I can get you?”
“Some water, please.”
While she went to the sink, I remembered tucking Layn
e’s com in my bag before coming here. I had to give it to her and tell her Layne’s last words before I left.
She brought back a cup of water and sat on the edge of the bed. “I’m curious . . . .” She spoke too softly and cleared her voice. “Does this base belong to that new organization? I can’t remember the name, but I think it starts with a V?”
I admired her cleverness as I gulped down the water. “If you mean Vallar, the answer is yes. Beacon is determined to get revenge on them. I don’t want to see any more senseless killing, so I lied.”
Kayla touched my hand. “Don’t do that again. Beacon will only do worse to you.” She glanced at the clock. “I’d like to talk more, but my break has been over for ten minutes now.”
I wanted to ask Kayla for help, but Bret would never trust me. “You better hurry,” I said, unable to think of anything else to say.
“Maybe we can talk more later, bye.” She rushed out with a brief wave of her hand.
With Kayla gone, the troublesome vision of Beacon came to mind. Although I couldn’t tell exactly what the vision meant, it was clear Beacon demanded something of me that I couldn’t give. I had to see if Clare had called, so I went over to Sonny’s desk and logged into the holo. Sure enough Clare had left a text message.
Ian,
I heard what happened. Lying to Admiral Beacon is a dangerous thing. Please don’t do it ever again. You must have a vision of some importance soon. Let me know when you get this message. I need to know why you lied.
PS: I’ve attached a new meditation method I want you to try.
Dr. Clare.
I slumped over the desk weary at having to come up with an excuse. If I said I was too tired to have visions, they’d send me home. I typed and re-typed some ideas.
I lied because I was afraid to admit that I haven’t been able to have visions. All I have is nightmares about the battle. I need more time to get over it.
I stared at the text for a few minutes, hoping it was good enough. Then hit send. I had to stop having visions about the shop workers and concentrate on someone who had serious problems – me.