Dead Man Running (Raised Book 1)

by Stevenson, Sharon

  “He’s the one with a contract to sign,” Nick protested.

  “We’re drawing one up first. Pete’s our friend. We’re not enslaving him without checking over the details.” I could barely manage to spit out the ‘friend’ part. All we really needed was for Nick to get the bitch to tear up Pete’s contract. We’d had to sweeten the deal with Pete’s ownership to get Nick to help. For all we knew Pete’s real User didn’t want him so it wasn’t a totally raw deal. Pete would still need a User to step forward and claim him. If Nick was all we had, he would have to do. Mickey had sat back down, conceding to let me deal with it. I looked back at Nick. “What price do you want for becoming Pete’s User?”

  Mickey got out his overstuffed wallet. He’d pay anything to get his cousin back, and we all knew it. Nick’s piercing encrusted face calculated that thought before he opened his mouth. “Ten grand,” he said. “I’ll let him do his own thing, but he has to come to all of my gigs. And if I want any errands run he’ll do them.”

  It sounded fair enough if a little bit vague. I looked at Mickey. He took a wad of notes out of his wallet. “Two grand. You get the rest when the new contract is signed.”

  Nick smiled, pocketing the money. “Glad we could cut a deal.”

  “Right, can we get going?” Mickey got back up.

  I nodded, opening my bag for William. Nick watched him fly inside.

  “A.I.?”

  I frowned at him.

  He shrugged. “Maybe I should have made more demands.”

  “The deal’s done. Let’s go.”

  Twenty-Four - Pete

  I paced for a bit after Nine left. What she’d said had me worried. The last thing I wanted was undue attention from the crazy bitch who’d lured me here to be her slave. I was glad of the abundance of Animates she had at her disposal. Being forgotten about would be the best I could hope for. The room wasn’t so bad. It had its comforts, its perks, like Cal had told me. Being a slave might not be so bad. Aye, right.

  I realised I still had my phone in my pocket. I hauled it out and dialled Mickey. He’d know what to do, he had to. The call wouldn’t connect. I should have known better. I tried again. Same damn problem. There was probably a signal blocker or some damn thing, which would be why Britt hadn’t just taken it off me. I put my phone back in my pocket. If I got sent out on a job, I’d try to use it then. The agonising pain of my disobedience would be worth it.

  I looked through the contents of the fridge. I couldn’t tell any of the bottles apart and I couldn’t figure out how Cal had, either. I could just inhale them all and see what happened, I supposed. It was the one that made him look alive that I was most interested in. I wanted to file it away for a potential escape plan later. I supposed I’d figure it out once I got my first job.

  But who knew when that might be? I picked up one of the bottles. They were all the same colour and without markings. Could be cake, could be Viagra, could be cocaine for all I knew. There was really only one way to find out.

  I opened it and downed it. Twinkies! Amazing. Kit’s face popped into my head. She was all worried after I’d moaned when she was hovering over me cleaning make-up off my eyelashes. Her concern had been real enough. Maybe she didn’t completely hate me. It was an oddly reassuring thought.

  I picked up another bottle at random, looking it over and attempting to make a guess at the contents. There was nothing different about it and so I downed it. Not food then, I realised, when I didn’t taste anything. I stood up and went to the bathroom mirror. I didn’t look any different.

  Then I felt it working, in my pants. Magical Viagra. I started to regret the choice to play Russian roulette with the contents of the mini-bar. Kit would have found it funny. I was getting a little bit worried about myself now. Mickey’s stalker was on my brain like some kind of drug. It was ever since I’d smelled her perfume. No, it was ever since she’d smirked at her prank to make me eat. I was a twisted freak. Getting all aroused over being treated like shit was the stupidest thing I’d ever heard. I couldn’t believe it was happening to me.

  Maybe it was because I deserved it. I’d been a total shit to her. She’d most likely heard half of the snide comments to Mickey when I was drunk. All because she wasn’t thin like the girls I took home and never called again. She wasn’t fat, and I never should have said she was.

  I ran the shower. The sudden realisation that I hadn’t actually had one since I’d been killed gave me the shivers. The disgusting stuff I’d done with Angie threatened to pop back into my head. I pushed it down as I stripped off. My mind wandered back to Kit, and I didn’t bother to stop it. The sudden unwanted arousal directed at me when I grinned and reminded her of my cousin, that look on her face was for me and I was keeping it.

  I found out what wanking was like for an Animate. It was exactly the same as when I was alive. I didn’t know what Cal was talking about, what he meant about sex not being the same. It was just as good, better maybe. I ignored the temptation to have a marathon wanking session just because I was still sporting a raging hard on. It would go away, eventually. I came out of the shower feeling a whole lot better about my situation. I wondered what else there was in the mini-bar.

  Twenty-Five - Kit

  Saying I didn’t trust Nick was a massive understatement. I didn’t know the guy, and everything I was observing was only making me warier. We queued up for tickets to Britt’s live show. He’d come up with the idea as a way to get close enough to figure out her level; he said he wanted to know what he was dealing with, not that she was going to be any kind of problem. Apparently, however high up she was as far as he was concerned she was still just a little girl. The guy was delusional, but, hey, if he thought he could take on someone better than him, who was I to tell him he couldn’t? I’m only a girl. Dick-wad.

  When we got to the front of the queue, we were informed we were in luck; there were front row seats left to her midnight show, only a grand and a half each. I told Mickey to take Nick. I’d wander around with William to check the place out. There was no need for all of us to be there. Nick was the only one who could tell what level she was.

  Mickey gave me the look of a man seeing his life flash before his eyes. He passed over the money, but he grabbed my arm as I turned to leave.

  “Eh, no, I think it’s better if you stay with Nick. A couple’s less weird,” he said it quietly enough and I took on his meaning and was sorely tempted to ignore the rational thought that had put it together. One glance at Nick and his disinterest and I drew Mickey a grin. “Couples don’t always have to be straight.”

  He gaped at me. The guy on the desk passed him the tickets. There was no way I was sitting next to metal-face for an hour and a half, pretending he didn’t make me feel sick. The guy was an egotistical creep. I wouldn’t last that long without slapping his mutilated head.

  “Kit, you can’t be serious,” he said, following after me with the tickets. The big creep wasn’t in any hurry to get in the middle of the argument. He followed slowly, taking a good look around.

  I sighed. “Mickey, I can’t. Pete’s your cousin. You should be the one doing this,” I told him, feeling like a complete bitch.

  “I know you don’t like him, but I can’t do this without you,” he protested, giving me puppy eyes.

  “It’s not like I’m going home,” I reminded, breaking from his gaze before I could be swayed.

  “Please, go with Nick. Please?” His helpless pleading made me groan.

  “It’ll look better,” Nick suddenly threw in his two pence. He took my hand and grabbed the tickets out of Mickey’s.

  “I’m not…”

  “Show starts in ten,” he said. “Give over the bird and we can go, sweetheart.”

  “Let go of my hand or I rip that stupid hoop out of your lip.”

  He just grinned at me, holding tighter. “You’re a feisty one.”

  “You’re a dead one if you don’t back the hell off.”

  He wasn’t the slightest bit impres
sed. I had half a mind to bite his stupid hand to make him let go. Two things stopped me; the thought that I didn’t know where his hand had been and the shiver-inducing idea that he might just like it.

  I just unzipped my bag with my free hand and passed William to Mickey as inconspicuously as possible. He put him carefully into his coat pocket and gave me a sympathetic look topped off with a relieved sigh.

  “I’ll meet you guys when it’s over.”

  “I’ll call you,” I promised, watching him walk away and wishing we hadn’t had to get this creepy User involved. Nick started to walk and I stumbled to catch up, not done with trying to haul my hand out of his. His palm was warm and sweaty. He walked me into the queue. It wasn’t even half as bad as the ticket queue. At ten to midnight, the show was close to beginning and most of the audience had already been seated. We were shown to our plush seats at the front.

  I couldn’t believe I was front and centre at a massive show like this. If I hadn’t been with a creepy weirdo it might have been the best date ever. I sat down, wishing for Mickey. One well timed yank gave me my hand back. The elbow I jarred against the arm of the seat was worth it. I wiped my palm on my jeans. He smirked and put an arm around my shoulders. Damn it, why hadn’t I seen that coming?

  I threw him a frosty glare. He stared back without blinking, and I dropped my eyes first. The guy was so up himself I could barely stand being around him.

  “Keep your hands to yourself,” I warned, crossing my arms.

  The stage was lit, the room dark. The lights around the stage died and a flash of purple light drew the audience’s attention to the girl being lifted from her seat into the air, suspended without visible wiring. The girl twisted and her dark hair became blonde, her black dress became some kind of crystal coated swim-wear. Britt had made her entrance. Cue gasps of wonder and amazement.

  Me, I just asked myself how much cheesier it could get from there. Nick watched her intently, but I couldn’t tell if it was to determine how powerful she was or to try and catch a glimpse down her top. She soared to the stage and landed with the grace of a ballerina, pirouetting to face her captive audience and take a bow.

  The crowd roared. People were standing up. Nick didn’t move, so I didn’t either. It felt a little weird when we were the only ones left sitting. He moved his arm and grabbed at my hand again. I kept my arms folded, frowning at him. He leaned in close to whisper in my ear as the crowd went wild around us. “I need to be touching you to stop her from affecting you.” He moved back and stared at me. I sneered at him and kept my hands to myself. He shrugged and sat back, behaving himself.

  The curtains had gone up and Britt had danced her way through several partners to get to a horse-drawn carriage and take a seat inside. The music swelled, signalling the beginning of one of her insanely catchy pop hits. The carriage turned on the stage. The male dancers stripped off their tuxedos, revealing red clingy body suits. The carriage disappeared in a fury of smoke and fire. A black and red Dodge Viper replaced it on the stage, with Britt herself writhing on the bonnet, her modesty barely covered by strips of red PVC.

  I hadn’t realised a pop concert was my idea of hell until that very moment. There was something about her, though. It was more than just the sheer perfection of her body or the grace of movement, more than the timing or the heavenly voice that burst forth. She was something more than all her traits combined. She was something truly divine, to be inspired by, to be…

  Hell, I almost grazed Nick’s crotch grabbing his hand. My admiration went down as his pierced eyebrows went up. I gave him a glower, just to let him know I wasn’t happy about my need to touch him. He took my hand in both of his own, stroking it in an absurdly sexual manner, just to be as disturbing as possible. I gritted my teeth and just kept telling myself it was better than having involuntary lesbian fantasies about the nearly naked teenager writhing around effortlessly on the stage.

  I looked at Nick. He was frowning at her, deep in thought. I knew she was powerful, that much was obvious. The question was how powerful? More than Nick? I was willing to bet she was. By how much, I didn’t know. For Pete’s sake, I just hoped there weren’t too many levels between them.

  The show went from one extreme to the next. Nick remained silent, watching carefully with a frown that deepened whenever she appeared to do something impossible. They weren’t traditional stage show illusions; she was using her magic. Some of the tricks I could pinpoint and pin to a level. The glamours that changed her clothes and hair were level 2. It was the hovering around that was worrying. I knew that was level 6. She was at least a point above Nick. We already had at least one odd stacking up against us. I hoped that was all there was.

  “Well?” I asked, when the curtain fell down for the final time.

  He shook his head. “Back to the room.”

  I got out my phone and called Mickey. He agreed to meet us out front. The walk back to the Circus, Circus seemed to take forever. Mickey was ready to explode by the time we got there. I sat down and folded my arms.

  “So what are we dealing with?”

  “She’s level 10. At least.” He didn’t seem happy with his reveal.

  Mickey looked worried. “Don’t tell me you’re backing out…”

  “Fuck off,” Nick cursed at him. “I just need a plan.”

  “How could you tell?” I’d pinpointed level 6, I had no idea how he’d figured her for a 10. I could believe it, but I didn’t really want to.

  He looked at me. “She moved that horse and cart through time, the motor as well. Teleporting yourself is one thing. It takes major skills to move bigger things without even touching them.”

  She had done that, hadn’t she? We were in trouble. Out of our depth was a massive understatement. Pete was as good as lost.

  Mickey started to pace. I wanted to tell him everything would be all right, but it was a lie. We were screwed. Totally and utterly.

  “Do you know any level 10’s?” I had to ask.

  Nick snorted. “Do you?”

  “No need to be…”

  “They’re rare, okay?” He hauled off his leather coat and threw it over the chair by the window. “Not every User has it in them to get that high. I might make a level 6, someday. That’s the best I’m gonna get. I know my limits.”

  He was right. They were rare. King David was somewhere past level 10 but he was the last person Pete would want fighting for him and we could never approach him, besides. It would be too dangerous.

  “So what are you thinking?”

  He looked up at me and stared. “We give her something she wants.”

  “Why are you looking at me?” There was no reason she’d want me. Nothing.

  He grinned at me. “You get that high up there’s only one thing gets you more power.”

  I didn’t get what he meant. Not at first. Mickey gasped. Nick turned his grin on him. I didn’t like this, any of it. He looked back at me.

  “A virgin sacrifice,” Nick said. “Triple your power in one easy move.”

  “I’m not a virgin.” I was a little bit insulted that he thought I was. Just because I didn’t want to hold his hand, didn’t mean I was some kind of experience-lacking prude.

  He eyed me up. “Damn. Might have been our best chance.”

  “Can’t we just lie about it?” Mickey piped in. “I mean, if it’s a ruse it doesn’t matter, does it?”

  “She’ll be able to tell. No one gets to level 10 without getting a sense for these things,” Nick said, glancing at Mickey. “What about you?”

  “What about me?” The indignant tone was Mickey’s one real tell. He was an awful liar. I felt bad, but Nick had already made his educated guess.

  “I’ve never seen you with a woman,” he said, glancing back at me and then at Mickey. “You are, aren’t you?”

  “Of course not.”

  “We don’t need this kind of plan,” I cut in, saving Mickey the embarrassment.

  “Then what kind do we need? I’m all ears.”r />
  How the hell should I know? As far as I was concerned it may as well be over. We couldn’t get to Pete and even if we could, there was always the chance he wouldn’t want to come home. I wondered if Mickey had even considered that. I didn’t think so.

  “Right, so sacrificial virgin it is,” Nick decided. “I think being a guy makes it better. She’ll probably find it amusing.”

  “We’re not…”

  “Did I ask you, sweetheart? Make yourself useful and get me something liquid from the mini-bar.”

  I’d had just about enough. He played with his lip ring, giving me a look I wanted to smack him for.

  “We don’t need you. Leave,” I told him, seething with rage.

  He sat down, laughing to himself. “Your fag hag’s fucking hot, Mickey.”

  “Fuck you, you fucking fuck-wad!” Mickey blew up, lunging at him.

  I jumped up. Nick was pissing himself laughing, still. Mickey punched him, and he didn’t even seem to feel it. He just lay there, running himself out of breath with his giggle-fit. Mickey threw a couple more punches to the same lack-lustre effect and stood back up.

  “The deal’s off.”

  Nick hauled himself up, still gasping in breaths and visibly trying to stop laughing. He looked at us both and wiped at his watering eyes. He shook his head and grabbed Mickey by the arm.

  “It’s on.”

  They disappeared right in front of me. I stood there in shock, not knowing what to do. Nick couldn’t possibly have just taken him to Britt, could he? I had to get back to the MGM Grand.

  Twenty-Six - Pete

  It was late when Cal got back in. He seemed surprised that I was still up. I suppose I should have been tired. Maybe all the fudge-cake, whiskey and Viagra had kept me up. The mini-bar was empty. I wondered when he’d notice I wasn’t the colour I should be. He flipped the light switch and stared at the bin full of empties.

  “You didn’t.”

  “Didn’t I?”

  “Why the hell would you do that?”