Sim
Page 19
‘Will they send him?’ I asked.
‘Cantrell?’
‘Yes,’ I said, taking up my position by the detonator.
‘Maybe. Z is working on it.’ She laughed hoarsely, wincing in pain as the stitches in her chest and shoulder pulled tight. ‘He’s supposed to know your mind, Justice D; know the way that you think. But I don’t think anybody truly knows your mind now, do they?’
‘No,’ said I.
‘That’s why I love you,’ smiled Snow.
‘Good.’
Sullivan was crying now, sat with his back against the wall and his knees drawn up tight against his chest. Suddenly, I found his weakness was disgust and disgust had always made me react with hot narco violence. I shot him through the head, and he slumped sideways and was still.
‘That’s for the broken nose,’ I grunted.
Minutes passed, and outside in the corridor we could hear voices. There were arguments, then hushes, then more raised chatter and clatter. Then a voice I now recognised clearly.
It was Z.
‘Justice D! This is an insane thing you have done! I command you to give Sullivan over to us, and then turn yourself in. We offer you retraining, reprogramming, a new life under the banner of the GOV! You will be able to return to your old Justice D units. You will go back on Leviticus tours of the dregs, hunting out reb scum and doing what you love to do – killing scumpuke over the fukking wire, WarBruv. We can offer you all these things, Justice D. Just give us back Sullivan. He is more important that you could ever dream...’
I looked at the corpse. Hmm.
‘How is he important?’ I asked, voice a low growl.
‘Sullivan’s awesome engineering skill has discovered a mechanical solution to the HRG virus and Canker! Without his input, Cantrell has proved we will all catch Canker. Every human on the planet! We will all die, Justice D. Keeping Sullivan alive is paramount for the benefit of all Humanity!’
I looked at Snow.
She shrugged.
‘Did you bring him?’ said I.
‘Yes. He is here. Cantrell is here!’
‘Cantrell?’ My voice had dropped low now. It trembled with emotion.
‘Yes, yes, it’s me,’ he said.
‘I want to speak to you. Face to face. Any of you other motherfukkers move, and I’ll kill Sullivan dead as dead narco and proper dead good, and you’ll all rot in Canker Hell. Understand?’
I unlocked the door, and grabbed Cantrell, dragging him inside. I locked it again, and threw Cantrell to Snow, who caught the scientist who looked dishevelled, as if dragged from his bed at a minute’s notice. Which was probably the case.
‘You,’ said I, pointing.
‘Me?’
‘You condemned my cat,’ said I.
‘Listen, we have statistical proof, and assembled medical and biological evidence that all animals are carriers of the HRG virus and its mutated offshoots...’
‘Shut up,’ said I, and put my gun against his teeth.
Then, his eyes caught sight of Sullivan. Poor, dead Sullivan. Engineer genius. Saviour of Humanity. Well, he would have been if his brains weren’t all over the floor.
‘What have you done?’ wailed Cantrell.
‘I did what I had to do,’ said I.
‘You’ve killed us all!’ whined Cantrell, and I smiled, and my fake eyes clicked, and I gave a little shrug. ‘Maybe. But maybe, if humans, all dreg and scum and reb and pep and GOV and SIM – maybe if our virus is cleansed from the world, then Life and Nature and Harmony will rebuild and repopulate. Not with a species whose single aim is to destroy.’
‘You cannot do this,’ said Cantrell, and he lunged for my gun. I shifted, and smashed him on the back of the head. He hit the ground and lay there, groaning, blood leaking from an opened skull.
‘This is for Emmy,’ I said.
I exchanged glances with Snow, and she licked her lips.
Then, leaning over, she kissed me and I could taste her salt and her wild essence on my lips. She tasted good. She tasted like... Freedom.
Snow pressed her hard body against mine. She was so sweet. So beautiful. So anarchic.
‘Do it,’ she whispered.
the end
ALSO AVAILABLE
THE OFFICIAL SOUNDTRACK TO THE NOVEL
SIM
TEN AWESOME ORIGINAL AUDIO TRACKS BY
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ANDY REMIC is a larger–than–life action man, sexual athlete, sword warrior and chef. His exploits have garnered him acclaim in the Guinness Book of Galactic Records, and he once worked as a biomod technician pioneering illegal nano–tek for underhand government agencies. His writing has picked up numerous esoteric awards for visceral hardcore action, clever plotlines, black humour and a willingness to push the boundaries of science fiction and sexual deviancy, all in one twisted whiskey barrel.
When kicked to describe himself, Remic claims to have a love of extreme sports, kickass bikes and happy nurses. Once a member of an elite Combat K squad, he has retired from military service and claims to be a cross between an alcoholic Indiana Jones and a bubbly Lara Croft, only without the breasts (–although he’d probably like some). Remic lives in Lincolnshire and enjoys listening to Ronan Keating whilst thinking lewdly about zombies.
You can find out more about ANDY REMIC at
www.andyremic.com.
ALSO BY ANDY REMIC
The Clockwork Vampire Chronicles
Kell's Legend
Soul Stealers
Vampire Warlords
The Spiral Series
Spiral
Quake
Warhead
Combat–K
War Machine
Biohell
Hardcore
Cloneworld
Other Titles
SIM
Serial Killers Incorporated
Theme Planet
Links:
www.andyremic.com
www.anarchy–books.com
PRAISE FOR ANDY REMIC
“Hard–hitting, galaxy–spanning, no–holds–barred, old–fashioned action adventure.”
The Guardian on War Machine
“Loud, brash and so in–your–face that it’s actually
gone right through and is stood behind you, giving
you a good kicking when you least expect it.”
Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review on Biohell
“It’s been so long since we had Robin Hood, or Conan the Barbarian floating around, and Gemmell – he updated them with class. For me, Gemmell revived my favourite heroes and gave them a good kick in the pants… Mister Remic looks like he could do this, too.”
Lateral Books on Kell's Legend
“Violent is really not the right word for this spare–no–detail fantasy monstrosity. Insane? Maybe. Really, the only way to describe Remic’s Kell’s Legend is with a phrase: a bloody, violent, fantastic journey through carnage, terror, and a downright epic tale that makes Underworld and every zombie movie look bad… Remic is the Tarantino of fantasy, and if that isn’t a compliment, then I don’t know what is.”
Fantasy SciFi Lovin’ on Kell's Legend
“My favourite science fiction novel of the year. Yes, you heard correctly: Peter F. Hamilton, Neal Asher, Richard K. Morgan... War Machine topped them all, and no–one is more shocked than I am! I loved every testosterone–fuelled second. And the sequel is easily one of my most anticipated new releases...”
Fantasy Book Critic on War Machine
“Soul Stealers is fast, brutal and above all unmissable, there is quite simply nothing out there that can currently compare to Andy Remic’s unrelenting, unforgiving and unflinching style. The new King of Heroic Fantasy has arrived. 5 *****”
SFBook.com on Soul Stealers
“Fun characters, hard–wired combat, character traits that many authors would not dream of touching... It’s these touches that leaves you wond
ering if he’s a madman or a genius, for the sheer scope and depravity that he manages to inject in his tightly bound pages.”
Falcata Times on Hardcore
“I mean really top quality fight scenes. One of Gemmell’s most redeeming qualities as an author was his ability to write about fighting and war to such a degree that you almost felt like rushing through his novels to get to those bits. Kell’s Legend fight scenes live up to this quality and elevate the novel way above the standard fare. Kell’s Legend is a novel of power and scope, able to stand as a worthy successor to the Gemmell crown. 5*****”
Science Fiction Fantasy Books on Kell's Legend
“Kell’s Legend is a rip–roaring beast of a novel, a whirlwind of frantic battles and fraught relationships against a bleak background of invasion and enslavement. In other words, it takes all the vital ingredients for a good heroic fantasy novel and turns out something very pleasing indeed. If you can keep an open mind then you may get a real kick out of one of the most surprising novels of the year.”
Speculative Horizons on Kell's legend
“At the heart of this novel is a very good hack and slash but, instead of just getting blood and guts you get a fairly decent story with a really great main character and a interesting supporting cast… If you love Gemmell you will love Remic.”
State of Review on Kell's Legend
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