Zero

by J. S. Collyer

“Listen... whoever you are... just wait one second,” he stammered as he held his hands up, staring at their faces. Webb moved across the room in two strides and pulled the spray can out of his belt. He stood shaking the can and staring at Ankle as Hugo came forward, keeping his gun trained on the Splinter.

  “No, please, I...” Ankle's chins wobbled as his mouth fell open. He glanced from Hugo to Webb and back and his eyes widened. “You?” Webb turned his back and started spraying a black line across the papers and posters pinned to the wall. “No. Stop. I can help,” Ankle came forward, hands up. “I can help you guys. I can. I can get the contract erased, like it was never there. Just let me...” He stooped to retrieve his panel.

  “Don't move,” Hugo growled, taking a step closer.

  The can hissed as Webb sprayed the second line of the black cross on the wall. Ankle whimpered.

  “Who's your client?” Hugo snarled. Ankle opened and closed his mouth a few times, eyes fixed on the gun, but no sound came out. “Who is it?”

  “It's all -” Ankle squeaked, coughed, wiped his mouth on his sleeve then tried again. “It's all on there...” he sputtered, waving at the panel on the floor.

  Hugo stared at him a moment longer then bent to retrieve it.

  “Hugo, look out!”

  There was movement, a bang and flash of heat across his arm. When the world stopped spinning, he blinked up at the ceiling for a moment that stretched on forever before Harvey was grabbing the shoulders of his jacket and hauling him back and onto his feet. His senses came back to him with a rush and there was a sharp, throbbing pain in his bicep and liquid heat soaking into his sleeve.

  Ankle was sprawled on the floor, Webb stood over him with his gun drawn. The Splinter had a hand clutched at his chest where blood was pumping through his fingers as his breath came in great bubbling heaves. Blood and spittle trickled through the stubble on his chin as Webb kicked a gun away from Ankle's other hand. The commander muttered something in what sounded like Latin, then fired again. Ankle jerked, then was still.

  “You okay, Kaleb?” Harvey said.

  Hugo shook himself, holstered his gun and clutched at his arm to slow the bleeding. “We need to get out of here.”

  There were nods from Webb and Harvey and they moved back to the door. Hugo paused, averted his eyes from the dead man's stare and grabbed the panel from the floor, tucked it into his jacket then followed the others back out of the apartment. They shut the door behind them and Webb shot out the door camera as they passed.

  ɵ

  Harvey helped him wash and bind his wound when they got back to Doll's. Hugo watched the bloody water swirl down the sink and felt clouded. He wanted to be angry, hurting, guilty... anything. But it was all just numb. He barely felt it when Harvey tightened the bandage over his injury. They washed the black crosses off their faces in silence.

  They rejoined Webb in the lounge just as he threw Ankle's panel back on the table with a disgusted noise. “It's completely fried,” he muttered. “Slimy bastard must have installed a suicide protocol.”

  “What, you didn't think we'd caught a break, did you?” Harvey grumbled.

  Hugo rubbed his head but then paused as they heard Doll coming back from her evening shift. He pulled on a t-shirt to hide the bandaging but she didn't glance up when she came through the room. Webb watched her go, face blank.

  “Two down, two to go,” he muttered, but only after they'd heard Doll's bedroom door close.

  XII

  That night, Hugo turned this way and that on the bench for a long time until he gave up and just lay on his back and stared into the darkness. He wasn't convinced Webb was asleep either but couldn't think of anything he wanted to say. He got up before the day-cycle began and went into the bathroom to splash his face.

  Webb was up and scrolling though channels on the wall display when he returned. He leant against the wall and watched over the commander's shoulder, arm throbbing. Doll left for her shift without a word or a look at either of them. He saw Webb tense as the door shut but he didn't speak.

  The morning wore on and light crept in through the frosted window. Harvey brought them breakfast and coffee and made them eat but all three had their attention on the newsfeeds. Hugo was just pushing the last of a packet of eggs around his plate when Sector 3 and the name of the barhouse Ankle lived under was mentioned. Harvey put down her mug and Webb turned up the volume.

  “The victim,” a reporter said over an image of Ankle's front door, roped off with yellow tape, “is believed to be a resident of the apartment. Enforcers are releasing no details at this stage but locals believe it to be gang related.”

  The report lasted under a minute then the feed moved on to a piece on a drug bust in Sector 2. There was no mention of Breonan.

  Harvey went out after breakfast for more supplies. Hugo hadn't wanted her to go on her own but was too tired to argue and felt that, because he was so highly strung, he was not going to blend in with the stooped and shuffling crowds in the markets anyway.

  Webb didn't even seem to hear her leave, so fixed was he on the newsfeed. Hugo got up and started going through their weapons, unable to keep still. Webb didn't speak, just kept watching the display and spinning his knife on its point on the table.

  “How long do we wait?”

  “A couple of days,” Webb said. “Let them sweat.”

  “How much do you think Doll knows?”

  Webb stilled his knife. “She'll have put two and two together by now.”

  “We should ask her. She could tell us exactly what people are saying.”

  “No.”

  “Commander...”

  “I said no. Leave her be.”

  Harvey arrived back with more supplies and food to restock Doll's cupboards and Webb went to help her pack it away. Hugo was left to stare around the cluttered little room with the bare concrete walls and the newsfeed that reported nothing useful.

  Doll came back earlier than usual and Harvey prepared a meal. She thanked them for the food but dinner was a distant affair and Hugo was glad when it was over. Doll left them, indicating that she was retiring early and Harvey, scrubbing her face, went with her. Hugo knew he wouldn't sleep so didn't even bother with the pretense of getting into bed. Webb didn't either and continued tapping keys at the workstation. He would occasionally report on something he found to do with stock or credit transfers between points that may or not be the Splinters making new deals, but Hugo suspected it was just a way for him to distract himself and Hugo bitterly wished he had a way to do the same. He had cleaned and serviced all the guns, knives and tech twice over. His nerves felt like strung wire.

  When his mind began wandering to what Gamma Company might be up to, he got to his feet and grabbed the deck of playing cards and started to lay out a game of Dead Man's Candle.

  “And... now.”

  Hugo looked up from his game, frowning. “What?”

  Webb turned in his seat. His smile was a bit frayed. “You've done it, Captain.”

  “Done what?”

  Webb held up his wrist display and pointed at the chrono on it. “You've now officially been captain longer than any other schmuck.”

  Hugo blinked. “It feels like I've been captain since the day I was born.”

  “Don't it just?” Webb said, stretching. “Whatever you think of this work... it gets under your skin. One way or another.”

  Hugo stared at his cards, not seeing them. Webb sighed and strolled over to drop himself in a chair at the table. He leaned over and picked up the Ace of Clubs and moved it over onto the King, completing the group. “I don't pretend to know what it's like,” Webb murmured. “I just know lasting this long has to say something.”

  “What does it say?”

  Webb shrugged, moved a Ten of Hearts onto its Jack. “You tell me.”

  Hugo sighed and propped his elbows on the table and rested his head on his fists. “Something's got me this far...but whether it's good luck or bad I can't decide.”


  Webb didn't say anything but he heard him move across the room and then there was the clink of glass. “Here.”

  Hugo looked up as Webb placed a small bottle of blask and two glasses on the table between them. “Where in the hell did that come from?”

  Webb smiled and poured some out. “I told Harvey to watch out for it. You'd be amazed what you can find towards the hub.”

  “How much was it?”

  “Christ Almighty, Hugo. Try not thinking, just for like ten minutes, okay?”

  Webb held out a glass to him. Hugo took it and drank. It was certainly not the best but it was familiar and it warmed him. He made himself just enjoy the taste and the way it helped him slump a little easier in his chair.

  “Armin's next,” he eventually said.

  “Couldn't happen to a nicer guy,” Webb muttered.

  “Do you think we're doing the right thing?” Hugo asked after a pause.

  “Don't you?”

  He took another mouthful instead of answering.

  ɵ

  They were just gathering plates from another quiet dinner with Doll the following evening when the buzzer went. Hugo froze, as did the others. Doll glanced between them all, face serious.

  Bolthole, she mouthed and Webb scrambled to the bench. He started hauling it away from the wall and Hugo bent to help as Doll gestured to Harvey to help her gather up the remains of their dinner and the tech that was scattered about the room.

  “Hurry,” Webb hissed as he hauled up a trap door under the bench. Harvey clambered down, arms full of packs and Hugo jumped down after her. Doll and Webb handed down the blankets and the rest of their supplies and then Webb dropped down beside them and lowered the door. They were plunged into utter darkness and then there was a scraping as the bench was pushed back into place.

  Hugo could hear Harvey and Webb breathing but couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. Touch revealed they were in little more than a concrete hole, so shallow that he had to stoop. He heard Harvey and Webb shuffle themselves to the floor and followed suit, trying to stay quiet.

  “What?” Doll's muffled voice filtered through the metal and concrete.

  “Doll? It's Phoebe. Open up.”

  There was a pause and the sound of bolts and hinges then Doll's voice, distant, reached them again. “I thought you had the evening shift?”

  “I did,” came the woman's voice again and there was the sound of the door closing. “Foreman's shut us down. Came to tell you to keep your door locked and to not bother coming in tomorrow.”

  “What happened?”

  There was the sound of scraping chairs and the newcomer heaving a sigh. “It's these killings. The foreman's spooked.”

  “Which killings?” Doll said after the slightest hesitation.

  “Come on, Doll. Which do you think? I don't mind telling you it's a relief to be able to scurry away and lay low. You know that Ankle guy was at the meltworks just the other day?”

  “I didn't see him.”

  “Slunk in the back way, didn't he?” Phoebe continued. “I was having a smoke behind the slag shed. Foreman let him in himself. Well, now he's been crossed too, it's got the foreman scared shitless. Someone's after Splinters, but no one knows why, or where they’ll stop. The foreman's shutting down operation and about time too.”

  “Until when?”

  “Until they're caught,” Phoebe said. “Or until they're done.”

  “Thanks, Phoebe,” Doll said after another pause. “Are you going home now?”

  “I've got someone coming to pick me up. I ain't risking the shuttles.”

  “Good. Stay safe.”

  Again there was the sound of chair legs on concrete and muffled goodbyes and then a solid silence in which Hugo blinked into the darkness. For one unreal but unsettling moment Hugo was sure that Doll wasn’t going to let them out again but after another long second, there was a juddering from above and light fell in around the edges of the trapdoor.

  They emerged just as Doll left the room. Webb's face tightened and he followed her. Hugo hesitated, looking after them.

  “Don't,” Harvey said quietly.

  “Get everything packed up,” Hugo replied, then went through the door and down towards the kitchen.

  “...don't justify anything to me,” Hugo heard Doll say as he approached the kitchen door.

  “Just let me explain,” Webb replied, voice brittle.

  “There's no point, Ezekiel,” Doll said. “I can't understand. And I'm better off not knowing.”

  “She's right, Commander,” Hugo said, stepping through the door. “Donatella, we're leaving. If Ankle truly was involved with your meltworks there may be more people around with questions. We've put you in enough danger already.”

  Doll looked like she was wrestling with something but eventually nodded and turned her back, busying herself in a cupboard. Webb's face was set and pale as he watched her.

  “Commander,” Hugo said, startling the commander out of his thoughts. “Go and help Harvey pack.”

  Webb swallowed and for a moment Hugo thought he was looking at him without really seeing him. Then he nodded and moved to leave.

  “Ezekiel,” Doll said, not turning round but hands stilling on the counter. “What I said still stands. You will always find sanctuary here. Remember that.”

  Webb stood in the doorway, face drawn. Then he nodded again, though she wasn't looking at him, and left.

  “Thank you,” Hugo said, taking a step closer to her. “I won't forget what you've done for us.”

  She did turn around then. Her face was calm but there was a brightness of tears in her eyes. “You seem like a good man, Hugo. A grade above others of your kind I've encountered, at any rate. I am actually daring to have hope for that crew for the first time.” Hugo held his tongue and just let her carry on drinking him in for a moment. “Just... promise me something?”

  “What?”

  Her eyes drifted towards the door. “Watch over him. I didn't and now it's too late for me. But you might still get the chance to save him.”

  Hugo swallowed, something unidentifiable creeping up his spine. She looked back at him, tears gone but face expectant.

  “I will,” he said.

  ɵ

  “This is going to be fun,” Harvey muttered as she shifted on her knees at the storeroom window, peering across the familiar street with her binoculars. Armin's blinds were open and all the lights were on in his apartment but this just revealed to them that they were, indeed, out-gunned and outnumbered.

  “Just be grateful he's still here and hasn't scurried off into some hole,” Webb mumbled.

  The figures in the apartment all stood around with heavy expressions, their guns ready. Armin came in and out of view as he paced amongst the men and the rooms, talking into his wrist panel or into the wall-mounted comm unit. Even at this distance Hugo could make out the mask of cold fury that was his face. He never got close to the window.

  “What's the plan?” Harvey said, scanning the street and roof. Hugo followed her gaze and saw more figures in black strolling on every level. These Splinters had their weapons hidden but they all wore night goggles and stood with the readiness of the hunted, scanning their surroundings and hands repeatedly going to hips and inside jackets.

  Webb grinned. “Wreak havoc.”

  “We'll go in from the roof,” Hugo said. “Harvey, you take the room on the right. Webb and I will go take the main room. Stay quick and keep firing. Our only advantage is surprise.”

  “Aye, Captain,” Webb said with a salute which wasn't entirely mocking. Then Hugo followed Webb and Harvey up the stairs where Webb broke into a workroom that was level with the other building's roof. He stood back with Harvey as Webb opened a window and lined up the long-range rifle.

  The first figure patrolling the roof jerked and then went down and the second followed soon after. Webb shifted onto his other knee and brought the gun round just as the third Splinter noticed his companions were down. He was
just running towards shelter, bringing a wrist panel up when he, too, fell. Webb shouldered the rifle then pulled a wire launcher from his belt. The grappling hook flew through the air and tangled round the metal railings that fenced in the roof space of Armin's building. Hugo scanned the alley and street below as Webb secured the line. The Splinter in the alley didn't look up.

  “Go,” Hugo said as the figure below wandered away. Webb clambered onto the sill, got one leg hooked over the wire then swung underneath and started pulling himself across. Harvey took a breath then clambered up and followed.

  Hugo leaned out and checked the coast was still clear. He made sure his gloves were fastened tight about his wrists then climbed onto the sill. Despite seeing the line support both his companions, he still gave it a tug before trusting his weight to it. He hooked his knee over, then there was a sickening feeling, like launching without artificial gravity, as his body swung into space. Then he was dangling from the wire and he had his other leg hooked over and he was pulling himself along.

  Sweat broke out all over his body and his shoulders strained. Darkness arched up above him, broken only by the pinpricks of the sector's track lights, like regimented stars across the sprawl of the colony's hull. He suppressed a whirl of disorientation and kept moving until he was at the other side and Harvey and Webb were helping him over the railing. They took a moment to lean over and scan the ground again as Hugo drew his gun and double checked the roof was clear.

  “Should we take them out?” Harvey whispered as they leant over to see two Splinters meet in the alley and whisper to each other.

  “They're patrolling too regularly,” Hugo muttered. “See?”

  Another figure came round the end of the alley and passed the first two who split up and went in opposite directions, the newcomer pausing where they'd been to look up and down the alley before carrying on.

  “Alarm will be sounded either way soon enough,” Webb muttered.

  “Remember,” Hugo said, “No survivors. Ready? Move.”

  Hugo felt his heart start hammering as they checked their weapons then set about securing more climbing wire to the railing. It increased as they climbed over the railing and dangled out over nothing.