Deadfall: A Post-Humans Story

by Bassett, Thurston

  The answer came as a vibration in his jacket pocket. Ryan pulled the phone and read the message.

  Five tables straight ahead of you. In front of sushi bar.

  He looked up and scanned the tables ahead of him.

  There she was.

  She was beautiful.

  Kara sat with her legs crossed sipping at a bottle of iced-tea. She looked like an echo of his mother, yet a little like himself.

  He pushed through the crowded court between the tables to reach her.

  She wore her hair cropped short and was dressed like any other trendy university student. She was very delicate. Slim, built like a dancer.

  As he approached, Kara was looking him up and down, maybe seeing her father in him, but Ryan doubted it. His aunt had always told him that he looked like his mother.

  “Hello, Ryan.” She sat the iced-tea on the table and crossed her arms.

  Ryan was relieved; he thought maybe she would want a hug.

  He took a seat opposite her at the small round table.

  Kara smiled.

  “I did not know what to expect,” She nodded towards him, “but I think you look more like me than our father.”

  Ryan laughed. “That is exactly what I was thinking. We both look like Mum.”

  “Mum?” She chuckled. “I have not heard that. I called her ‘Mother’.”

  Ryan smiled remembering his mother and realized that they were both silent.

  “How long have you been in Australia? Are you staying?”

  Kara looked thoughtful for a moment then shook her head. “I have been here two days, it took me a while to track you down. I do not have any real plans yet.”

  Track me down? Ryan thought. How did she find me?

  “How did you do that?”

  “What?” she said, surprised.

  “How did you find me?”

  Kara narrowed her eyes as she looked into his. “Are you different, Ryan?”

  “Pardon?” Ryan blinked.

  “Are you different from other people?” She looked quite serious.

  “I guess everyone is different from everyone else. They say no two people are the same.”

  Kara raised her eyebrow and looked down at the iced-tea on the table. “What I am asking is are you Post-Human?”

  Ryan was looking stupidly at her for a moment.

  “Do you not understand, Post-Human?”

  Ryan scratched at his chin and shrugged.

  Kara took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Post-Human is when you develop abilities when you are young that other people cannot do. For example breathing fire or flying.”

  It was Ryan’s turn to raise an eyebrow. He nodded slowly.

  “Do you have any abilities like that, Ryan?”

  Ryan shook his head. “I…I don’t know what you are talking about, Kara.”

  “Okay. I am different. I am Post-Human. I thought that, if I am, you must be too.”

  “Er…no. I’m just a normal guy.” He shrugged. “Why are you Post-Human? Are you ill or something?”

  Kara looked thoughtful for a moment. “Take out your phone.”

  Ryan did as he was asked.

  “Take a photo of me.”

  Ryan nodded and aimed the camera at his sister. The picture on the screen was odd. Ryan closed the app and opened it again. The image was the same. It flickered and flashed, as if something was wrong with his phone.

  Kara gathered from Ryan’s knitted brows that the camera was doing what she expected.

  “Just take it.”

  Ryan touched the button and it made the familiar click.

  He held the camera in his hands looking at the new photo on the screen. It was a slightly pixelated photo of the railing behind Kara and the sushi bar further behind. It was as if the camera could see straight through his sister.

  He took another photo of her; it had the same result. Then another.

  “What is happening?” He looked worried.

  “You can stop. It will always be the same. Somehow I cannot be photographed, filmed or recorded in any digital way.”

  “Why? What is this?”

  “I am Post-Human. A mutation, if you like. An anomaly. This is the way it has been since I was eighteen when my ability developed.”

  Ryan sat with wide uncomprehending eyes.

  “You do not understand.” She sighed. “That is okay, nobody does. There are very few people who know about the Post-Human anomaly.”

  “Why don’t you show up on cameras?” Ryan said slowly.

  Kara laughed and took another sip of her iced-tea. “That is only part of what I can do.”

  Kara then proceeded to tell him about her ability to climb vertical surfaces and across ceilings.

  He didn’t believe her, but he nodded anyway.

  She then told him about how she was employed in Hong Kong as a thief and a spy. She also told him that she was tired of being a criminal and wanted to start fresh in Australia.

  Which was a lie.

  Kara just wanted to branch out in fresh territory.

  That day she went home with Ryan and moved into the spare bedroom.

  Two weeks later, she never came home.

  There would be no word and no clue.

  Chapter 18

  Cynthia, Matt and Ryan had been walking for what felt like hours, through the sewer.

  Ryan had told them about his family and his search for his sister Kara. She was a Post-Human like Cynthia. According to Ryan she had been a professional thief, but she had come to Australia to start a fresh life.

  Cynthia knew for a fact that you cannot hide from who you are, and this woman was not going to be able to turn her back on her ability.

  “Just there.” Ryan pointed to a shadow just ahead on the right. “That is the door.”

  “About time. I’m starving.” Matt smiled.

  Cynthia shook her head and laughed. The air they had breathing down here was putrid. None of them were hungry, if anything they wanted to be sick.

  When they reached the iron door, Cynthia needed to pick the lock in torchlight.

  The lock finally clicked over they pulled the door open and ascended the ladder.

  Matt pushed the steel manhole open and the three of them climbed out in a dingy storage shed that was built over an alley.

  “This,” Ryan gestured at the stacks of boxes, “is one of my mini store houses. I use it to keep product moving.”

  Cynthia looked at the small boxes bound in tape. “Do you carry these the way we just came?”

  Ryan nodded. “It makes things less traceable if I do it that way.”

  Matt sat down on a crate and rubbed at his temples. “We need to make our move. This ‘Ace of Clubs’ guy has made one hell of an entrance so we can safely assume we aren’t chasing a ghost anymore.” He looked up at Cynthia and Ryan. “This guy is larger than life now, and he’s dangerous. He has an army of goons willing to fight for him. That is something that Carlyle does not have. We are not willing to throw ourselves into the line of fire or into police custody over this.”

  Cynthia nodded. “I agree. What’s our move?”

  Matt shrugged.

  “This is not your move to make. Mr C is the one in the cross hairs here. We are merely pawns in a game between him and this new enemy.” Ryan gestured vigorously.

  “Ryan’s right,” Cynthia fixed her hair into a tight bun and pinned it secure. “This game is between Ace of Clubs and Bronson Carlyle. We are going to get ourselves killed if we get between these two.”

  Matt sat back and took his phone out of his jacket pocket. “Yeah, we would be the buffer. Carlyle is not going to arrange a meeting with the psychopath and he doesn’t keep an army of gun toting goons. It takes a different kind of guy to attract crazy people that want to commit public violence.”

  “What are you doing?” Cynthia said gesturing to the phone in his hand.

  “Calling a ride. We need to report in, Cynthy. This is big and anybody else calling it in
isn’t going to have the same info we have. We are the only ones that know about Mirage.”

  Cynthia nodded in agreement.

  “I will take you to a place where you can get a ride. Also, take my number. I need any information about my sister that you find. If she has been committing felonies using her abilities someone like that gangster could be using her. And she could have been involved in the theft of Mr C’s product from that depot. I heard about it through someone in Mr C’s employ. He said that there was no trace of forced entry and all keys were accounted for.”

  “You think that could have been Kara’s work?” Cynthia asked.

  Ryan shrugged. “It could be anyone, but it is a lead and it is my sister.”

  Cynthia smiled and rubbed his arm with her gloved hand. “We will do the best we can, Ryan. We owe you.”

  Ryan shook his head. “I am thankful, Miss Abell. I just hope she is alive.”

  Matt called one of their drivers and organized to meet him not far from where they were. Ryan exchanged numbers with the two of them and said his goodbyes leaving Cynthia and Matt to meet their driver.

  They had only just stepped into the car when Cynthia’s phone began to buzz.

  She took it from her jacket pocket.

  Hey beautiful.

  Hope your day is

  Going well?

  Do you like leopards?

  Tony

  Cynthia smiled. That guy had no idea what kind of a day she was having. Her stomach fluttered a little thinking of Tony Carlyle.

  “What do you think this means?” She leaned over and tilted the screen for Matt to see.

  “Do you like leopards? No idea.” He grinned.

  “Lame. I’ll ask, I guess.” She typed back.

  Interesting day.

  What’s this about

  leopards?

  His response was fast.

  Meet me at the leopards

  and I’ll tell you.

  Cynthia sat baffled for a moment and stared out the window of the car as they cruised down the crowded city streets.

  “Matt, I need to go to the zoo.”

  Chapter 19

  It was a weekday in early spring, yet the zoo was not very busy.

  Cynthia followed the shortest route she could to the big cats.

  From the main gate entrance she had to cross the whole zoo keeping to her right.

  Cynthia loved the zoo. She had been there many times with her mother as a child and then she went a few times on her own as adult to do some photography and to do some research for her paintings.

  She casually followed the path, until she reached the circular gardens in the middle and then turned right and followed another path, passed the marine aquariums and penguins. She followed it until she reached the bears.

  She craned her head as she looked for Tony’s familiar build amongst the dozen or so visitors that milled about near the enclosures.

  Cynthia remembered from previous visits that a lot of the animals shied away during the hottest part of the day.

  As she approached the bear enclosure she saw the big shaggy beast lying in the shade, its fur wet from a recent bath in the pond that formed a moat around his man-made island.

  The big cats were the best at hiding during the hot afternoon. They would notoriously find places in their enclosures that hid them from prying eyes. This would be a recurring disappointment for young children who had been excited to see the leopards and black jaguars.

  She stopped in front of the cage that housed the black jaguar. An infamous symbol of stealth and power, yet all she could see was the tip of its black velvet tail. The rest of the animal was hidden inside a massive log like structure.

  She laughed to herself, what do they expect from a nocturnal predator?

  The next cage held the North American mountain lion. It didn’t hide, though it didn’t look comfortable. It lay on a rock ledge staring out at the passers by. The cat was sleek, clean and completely still except for the tip of its tail which twitched up every few seconds.

  The next big cat in line was the leopard. In the dappled sunlight of its enclosure it was almost invisible. It was laying hidden amongst logs and some deep grass, barely visible.

  “You must be the famous leopard I’m here to meet,” she muttered.

  “That would be me,” a husky man’s voice rumbled behind her.

  Cynthia turned to find herself in Tony’s arms. “Where did you come from?”

  “I was close. I was getting sore feet standing here, so I grabbed a seat.”

  She returned the hug awkwardly. His grey t-shirt was soft against her face.

  She couldn’t fight the smile that crept across her face.

  “Your day was good, then?” he growled above her.

  She was still for a moment then nodded. She didn’t want to worry Tony with the details of the day’s encounter. She was obligated to report to Bronson first about Mirage and Ace of Clubs. He would hear it all from his father in due time.

  “Do you like the zoo, Cynthia?” He asked breaking the embrace. “I didn’t even ask. You could have been allergic to elephants or something,” he said grinning.

  “No, I love the zoo.”

  He took her hand and leaned against the railing in front of the leopard’s cage.

  “I love the zoo, too.” He gazed down at the concealed cat. “It is the best collection Darwinian diversity you will find in the city.” He gestured to the leopard. “It’s hard to believe that this specimen right here is one of many in a big family. Did you know, that cats evolved in the continents that dominated the northern hemisphere of the planet?”

  Cynthia shook her head.

  “The cats evolved from small insectivores, same as dogs. Their paths both split at some time in ancient history and they pursued different prey and inhabited different environmental niches. When the southern continents, that were once Gondwana, merged with those on the northern hemisphere, the cats spread. At first I guess they would have been fairly similar, but then they broke off and found new places in the evolutionary tree. Cheetahs’ bodies adapted the to the open savannah and the fast prey that grazed there. Lions developed social systems to cope with the same environment. The jaguars and leopards were very successful in multiple environments and evolved the beautiful patterns you see here,” he nodded towards the sleeping cat, “and they developed hunting and survival tactics that made them the most successful of the cats.”

  Cynthia leaned into him as she watched the cats spotted fur rise and fall as it took each breath.

  “I thought lions and tigers were the most successful?”

  Tony laughed out loud. “That is just because they are recognized all over the world for appearance or reputations. Lions developed a social order and hunting methods. They found that they were only successful in those environments when their species developed those adaptations. And tigers were close. They spread over a large area but their choice of landscape was very similar and their tactics and prey didn’t change. Thus they ended up as a series of different species that had only marginal differences. They all lived in forest of some kind, they all hunted similar animals and they all maintained the same pattern, roughly.”

  “So then, smarty pants, why are leopards so great?”

  “Are you making fun of me?”

  “No, tell me.” She smiled.

  “Well, what I’m getting at, is that leopards and Jaguars are the most successful big cats of all of them.”

  Cynthia raised an eyebrow.

  “Look, leopards spread right across Africa extending into any niche environment that was offered. They hunted the forests, the plains and even invaded the villages of men to steal their livestock. They did exactly the same thing right across to India. They retained the appearance and the tactics because they worked. They were perfect. No needed for change. Jaguars did the same in South America. They were the dominant big cat and they didn’t change.”

  “What about snow leopards and clouded leopards? An
d those other cute ones?” Cynthia teased.

  “Well, excluding those.”

  “What’s this about, Tony? Are you telling me a leopard can’t change its spots?”

  Tony smiled and turned around to face the people that strolled passed. “No, I guess what I’m say is that they don’t need to.” He turned to face her. “I find that to be very powerful. Leopards perfected the design and they stuck with it.” He glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping cat. “I respect that.”

  Cynthia half smiled and put her hand in his. “Your animal stories are fascinating, but I need to find a little girls room.” She broke away and poked him in his hard stomach with a finger and grinned up at him.

  “Hurry back. I have tons of other useless facts to rant about.”

  Cynthia headed back down the path, passed the sleeping bear and towards the enclosures of small cats.

  There was no one around in this area. She could hear the sound of children and adults on the other side at the lion enclosure, but it seemed that no one was interested in the smaller cats.

  The first Cynthia saw, was a serval. It paced up and down at the front of its cage. She felt sorry for it.

  She had been here so many times and reveled in seeing these beautiful animals, but she sometimes forgot how rough their lives must be.

  “Here!” A voice hissed from the women’s toilets.

  Cynthia was still for a second, making sure the voice wasn’t a figment of her imagination.

  “Over here!”

  She made her way into the toilets making sure she wasn’t watched and acted naturally. “Hello?”

  An Asian woman’s face appeared out of the shadows. There was no mistaking the face, the short black hair, dancer’s lithe body. This was Kara Chen.

  “My name is Kara Zang and I have been sent to kill you.”

  Cynthia raised her brow, surprised.

  “Deadfall, I am not going to kill you. I am going to get us out of here. Ace has his men everywhere here. This is a trap. It was set up to kill you.”