Visions

by Teyla Branton

  “It crossed my mind. But if it was that important to someone in the CORE Elite, it might also mean that they don’t want you dead. Yet.”

  Small comfort, especially if there was any substance to the odd hints Summers had made about Jaxon’s parentage. All his life Jaxon had wanted to know who his father was, but not if it meant being the son of a lying whore wrangler. Even if the whore had been his mother. He didn’t blame her. She’d survived in the colony anyway she could, and that was more than many had done.

  “I’ll be careful,” he said.

  “Good.” Brogan picked up a skin-like substance lying in a mass on the table and pulled it over his head. In the few seconds it took for him to settle the mask, he changed from the well-respected AED captain to El Cerebro, feared leader of the underground in Amarillo City. The thin, faintly reddish mask concealed his identity with success, but the smoothness of the fake skin made him resemble a Nuface addict. The evenness of his guise was marred only by the C-shaped tattoo on his fake cheek, easily recognizable, even by CORE residents who didn’t deal with the black market. Fake brown hair followed the mask, covering his normal black. The whole ensemble was topped by a black knit cap, pulled low over Brogan’s brow, that flattened the hair against his neck. The transformation was eerie. Only El Cerebro’s top people knew his real identity, and he had to keep it that way if they had any chance of changing what was happening in the CORE.

  “Keep me in the loop,” Brogan said to Jaxon as they walked to the door together. “And keep an eye on Dani. We still need her.”

  So the captain—or was it the El Cerebro part of him?—had picked up on Dani’s threat. Somehow Jaxon needed to hold it together for all their sakes.

  Outside the door, two of El Cerebro’s soldiers stood guard with assault rifles at the ready. The conference room was deep in the heart of an ancient, pre-Breakdown underground train system and also close to the undergrounders’ main lair. Every time Jaxon had been below, at least two guards were standing watch.

  The rest of Jaxon’s crew waited with the guards, but they weren’t alone. Nova, El Cerebro’s niece, also stood outside, her eyes eager. “I volunteer to help, whatever it is you’re doing.” The child looked dirty as usual, her dark curls matted down her back, and she was so thin she looked younger than fourteen. Jaxon knew both the dirt and the innocence were fake. This was a child who’d once used pre-Breakdown tech to break into Reese’s apartment and who tripped through the streets after curfew like she owned them.

  “Not this time, Nova,” El Cerebro said, his voice altered by a nearly invisible box on his throat.

  “But it’s been over a month since we did anything, except that one bitty raid on that electronics warehouse.”

  El Cerebro snorted. “The sales from that bitty raid are going to keep us in food down here for a year.”

  Nova was about to say more, but a look from her uncle froze the protest on her lips. Giving Jaxon an evil stare as if her exclusion were all his doing, she started down the dark tunnel, her heavy pack swaying and appearing close to toppling her over.

  Jaxon shrugged toward Reese, and she hid a smile as they left El Cerebro with his guards and followed the others in the opposite direction from the one Nova had taken. “Looks like she’s no longer pining after you,” Reese said.

  Jaxon snorted. “That’s a good thing. I was beginning to worry she’d lock me in some abandoned room down here until I gave into her demands. Whatever those might be.”

  Reese laughed and engaged the projection light on her iTeev. “Sounds about her style.”

  The maze of tunnels was tricky, and they’d both gotten lost in them before, but Eagle could retrace his steps now even without his glasses, so they were in no danger of misdirection with him around. Jaxon could feel his suit’s heat volume kicking up to account for the colder temperature in the tunnels.

  They walked for a few minutes, and then Reese said, “This doctor, how far do you think his ability goes?”

  “Grow back limbs? Raise the dead? Who knows?” He laughed as she snorted. For that moment, the conversation between them was easy, like in the old days, but it wasn’t always that way now.

  “Anyway, Brogan’s right that we need him.”

  “You’re having more symptoms?” he asked her.

  She hesitated. “Alex gave me a neural suppressant and it did make the sketches come less frequently, but it’s a little like seeing through a cloud, so I stopped taking them.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because it wasn’t necessary.” She sounded angry, but he knew it wasn’t directed toward him. “I just want to be able to control this thing like the others can.”

  On that he agreed. The rest of the crew could control their abilities far better than he or Reese, even the twins who sometimes “traveled” unintentionally in their sleep. Reese had no choice but to sketch images she saw from people’s minds, including those she didn’t want to see, and he had equally little control over the frequency or subject of his premonitions.

  “It’ll come.” He hadn’t told her everything either, and he didn’t plan on it. Besides, the premonition he’d had of them together was so far off that he was beginning to wonder if it had stemmed more from his desire than from an actual vision.

  The darkness in the tunnels seemed heavy and ominous. It was dangerous business, living this secret life. If they were discovered down here, working with El Cerebro, the punishment would be psychological reconditioning at the least and more likely surgical enhancement and permanent banishment to one of the welfare colonies.

  Ahead, the twins were talking with Eagle, their lights moving as they walked, but Dani fell back with them. “We can use more healers in Newcali,” she said.

  Why was she so one-sighted? “You can’t have him,” Jaxon told her. “They need him here.”

  More than one undergrounder had died from a disease they were ineligible to obtain help for as long as they weren’t valid citizens of the CORE. Others died from infection after digging out their implanted CivIDs or while giving birth to a non-authorized baby.

  “I know.” Dani didn’t sound convinced. “Let’s just get this done. I need to get to my brother.”

  The moment “brother” came from her lips, the pressure that had been building in Jaxon’s head exploded in a flash of blinding light.

  A man in enforcer blues stands over Dani, who is sprawled on the ground, an assault rifle aimed at her heart. “You can’t dodge this many bullets,” he says with a smirk. To his comrades, he adds, “She’s from Colony 6, guys. No doubt about it. Cuff her and toss her into the shuttle. The Controller is going to enjoy this extra little gift.”

  Jaxon jerked from the vision, finding himself on the rocky ground and everyone staring at him, their lights shining in his direction. His arm went up to cover his eyes. If Reese thought her ability was out of control, his was impossible. Lately, even the mildest premonition caused that pressure at his temples and sent him scrambling to the ground. The more he tried to resist, the worse it became, but when he didn’t fight them, he’d sometimes lose hours where he remembered nothing but the premonition. Only the hunches, gut feelings really, didn’t cause a physical reaction, and those came less often now as the full-blown visions had taken over.

  “Lights,” Reese said, lowering her beam to the ground in front of him. The others did the same.

  “Was it the doctor?” Lyssa asked. “Do we get him?”

  Jaxon shook his head and gazed at Dani, finding her staring back at him, her black face blending in with the darkness around her, making the whites of her eyes that much more prominent. “You’re going to be captured by Special Forces. They’re going to take you to the controller.”

  “No,” Reese said, her voice hard as she offered him a hand up. “We’re going to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

  But they all knew his visions came true. Always.

  Chapter 2

  REESE DIDN’T REQUIRE touch to receive a sketch, thou
gh proximity was important. Usually any strong image within one and a half meters would end up flashing through her mind, and eventually she’d have to draw it. This time she waited to draw the man from Jaxon’s vision until they were out of the subway and seated in their shuttle.

  Black and red stripes running down the silver sides of their shuttle marked it as an enforcer vehicle, but its larger engine was what really separated it from the public shuttles used by most of the two million residents of the CORE. Private cars on the road were far more rare, unnecessary with the free sky trains and shuttle system. Only the very rich had the time or inclination for them.

  If it hadn’t been important, if it had been a sketch of a clerk at a store or a child playing in the park, she would have pushed it off as long as possible with the hope that eventually one day she wouldn’t have to draw the insignificant sketches at all, the ones that didn’t relate to her cases. So far, she still had to draw them all, and each evoked the same amount of pressure in her mind.

  A man formed under her hand, tall and lean, dressed in enforcer blues with the special patch that identified him as coming from the Headquarters Enforcer Division, or HED, so Jaxon was right about him being Special Forces. Dani appeared in the image next, lying at the man’s feet on a floor made of stone, one hand out as if to block a blow. Reese wished she could see more of the scene, as she normally could when sketching someone’s actual memory, but this was better than nothing.

  Their shuttle made a perfect turn, gliding in and out among other automated shuttles to roll into the ramp leading down into the police shuttle bay. As she climbed from the vehicle, Reese passed the drawing to Dani, who studied it a long time before relinquishing it to Jaxon. Dani was already wearing the long, dark brown wig she used to cover her hair at division, her natural white making her stand out too much even in her relatively private occupation as Brogan’s assistant.

  “I’ll ask Hammer to see if he can ID the man,” Jaxon said, “and if there’s a current location on him. There doesn’t seem to be anything in the picture we can use to identify the location, so it might not happen in Santoni. We need to be as prepared as possible.”

  Dani nodded. “I’ll meet you guys at the sky train. I have something to take care of first.” She stalked off across the shuttle bay without waiting for a reply.

  When she was out of earshot, Reese said, “We can’t let this happen. She’s given up a lot to help us.”

  “We won’t,” Eagle said. “I’ll bring along a few extra toys.” He had a smile on his face, and Reese was certain those extra toys would mean explosions.

  “Remember, no civilian casualties,” Reese said. “And we need the doctor alive.”

  Eagle laughed. “Have I ever let you down?”

  Reese thought a moment. Though Eagle was technically an enforcer and had been through the training, he wasn’t as skilled as she and Jaxon in combat, but growing up in the Coop, or chicken coop as they often called Colony 6, had toughened him in ways the average enforcer could never understand. More than anything, even as a child, he’d been dependable.

  She set a hand on his arm. “Bring anything you want.”

  Lyssa was frowning. “We should be there too.”

  “No.” Jaxon shook his head. “You two keep on the feeds from HED. We’ve got to figure out exactly where they’re holding Dani’s brother and what it takes to pull him out without getting caught. The sooner we get him, the sooner we can deal with the rest.”

  And not worry about trusting Dani. Though he didn’t say the words, Reese knew he had to be thinking them. She was.

  “We’re recording everything we can on the TAD-Alert without setting off any alarms,” Lyssa said. “I’m just not sure it’ll be enough. It was meant for tracking and prioritizing emergency calls, not spying.”

  Reese had her doubts about that. The Teev Aided Dispatch Alert System, or the TAD-Alert, was a super Teev that tracked and recorded callers, prioritized emergencies, and recommended which enforcers should respond. Each enforcer division was equipped with one and could link instantly to most home or work Teevs in the entire city and beyond to have immediate eyes on the scene.

  Using the TAD’s recording capabilities, Lyssa and Lyra had come up with a set of supposedly innocent requests and had been sending them to the feeds at the Headquarters Division. Altogether, the requests might have been flagged by someone in the Controller’s office, but alone, they were either responded to or ignored. That was how they’d learned Dani’s brother was at HED. But they didn’t know much more than that about him. They were focusing now on the number of employees and daily schedules to see if anything was out of the ordinary.

  “We’re bound to find something soon,” Reese said. “Hammer and the fringers are working on it too.”

  The twins separated then, Lyssa going to dispatch and Lyra heading to pick up Lyssa’s daughter, Tamsin, from the sitter. The official records said Lyra was the mother, and her lie had prevented her sister from being punished for the unauthorized birth—and possibly saved Tamsin’s life.

  “Let’s meet back here in an hour,” Jaxon said to Eagle and Reese. “Unless anyone needs to go home for something.”

  “No, I’m good.” Reese looked at Eagle, who nodded.

  Reese went first to outfitting to pick up a clean set of enforcer blues and a battle helmet from the dispensing machine. The name “blues” was misleading because the bulletproof uniforms were completely black, including the shiny strips running up the sides of the pants and jacket. If there ever had been a reason for the name, no enforcer Reese had ever met understood it, and the tradition carried on, despite several attempts by the younger enforcers to change it.

  Next, she chose a set of cool-weather civilian clothing, a protective undervest, and two extra sets of underclothing. Usually she preferred her own clothes for the rare times she wasn’t in her uniform, but today standard issue would have to do. That also meant a pair of boots that didn’t look like they belonged with her enforcer uniform.

  From her private dressing cubicle, she retrieved her extra weapons, packing them in her weapons bag with her clothing. They’d need their enforcer CivIDs to take weapons onto the train, so it would be better for them to travel in their blues and change once they were closer to their location.

  After packing, she hurried to her tiny office. The walls came alive with holo feeds, three depicting beaches from Haven in Estlantic, and the fourth a depiction of the transfer station from Colony 6. She kept it there so she’d never forget.

  Setting her bag on the floor, she removed her iTeev from the sleeve of her uniform, unfolding the earpieces and putting it on like a pair of glasses. The plastic molded and settled against her skin. “Call Theena Parker,” she said.

  Her aunt—her great-aunt really, but they usually dropped that unnecessary detail—answered moments later, appearing in front of her in holographic form. She wore a flowing pink dress, and her ebony hair was down today, framing her face that was tight with Nuface therapy. She was seventy-five, but like most people her age, she appeared decades younger. The CORE might prohibit changing hair color or facial structure without submission of a Change of Appearance intention and resulting photographs for the annually updated database, but looking younger through Nuface therapy was encouraged.

  “Hi, Aunt Theena.”

  “Reese, good to see you. Though you’re looking a little tired.”

  Theena always said this, so Reese took it in stride. “Am I? Can’t imagine why.”

  Her aunt rolled her eyes. “Too much overtime. I know how much you work. I’ll be glad to get you home tomorrow night for the weekend. You can bring that doctor fellow you’re dating if you want.”

  “About that,” Reese began. “I know I promised to clean out all the stuff I’ve left at your house, but I’ve been assigned to go out of town tonight for work. It’s possible I won’t be back at all this weekend. I may not be able to call, either.”

  “Is it dangerous?” Theena sounded more inter
ested than concerned.

  Theena’s tone didn’t fool her. The old woman had raised Reese from age ten and was her only living relative. She’d be more than worried inside her calm façade.

  “I don’t think so, but I’ve a team backing me up.”

  “Jaxon?”

  “Yes.”

  Theena’s voice warmed. “Then you’re in good hands, and so is he.”

  Reese hadn’t told her about the others from Colony 6 also showing up, or the thousands of deaths. Theena was outspoken enough that she might get herself in trouble, and Reese wanted to protect her. Her aunt wasn’t CORE Elite, but Theena’s grandfather had been the Big Horn city manager, which was a lower level Elite position, and her aunt was well-known and respected in Big Horn. She still knew people in high places.

  “I’ll call you when I’m back in town. But don’t worry, okay? I might be a few days.”

  “Well, I suppose I can always reach your captain if I don’t hear from you.”

  Reese stifled a sigh. Theena had saved her in more ways than one, and she loved the older woman more than life, but she absolutely didn’t need her calling the captain. “Please don’t call. I’ll be fine. It’s just normal work.”

  “I can tell when you’re lying.” Theena put her hands on her hips. “You think I don’t know you’re hiding something?”

  “It’s classified, that’s all. Sorry. You know I would tell you if I could.”

  “Hmmm.” Theena’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve heard some rumors . . .”

  Reese’s heart began to thunder. If Theena had become connected with anyone who was openly discontented with the restrictions in the CORE, she would be in danger. But that would be far better than if she suspected the truth about thirty thousand imprisoned workers in the colonies, or that Special Forces had murdered over ten thousand residents of Colony 6 after the experimentation had created abilities that made them go insane.

  “We’ll talk when I get back,” Reese said quickly. The Teeve feed was always monitored. Had she told her aunt that? She’d have to warn her again. “I have to go.”