He winced, then pulled Judy further up the stairs. There was no point in trying to intervene, no matter what he thought was going on. The victim wouldn't thank him, while the gangs – if the victimiser was a gang member – might take it out on his family. He took Judy the rest of the way without incident, then paused outside her door for a quick kissing session. His cock stiffened, urging him to try to talk her into bed for a second round, but he knew it would be futile. Judy’s parents were stricter than his own, with good reason.
“Goodbye,” he muttered.
He strode away before she could say anything, if she had anything to say. Behind him, he heard her door opening and the voice of Judy’s mother demanding to know where she’d been all night. The woman had a voice like a fucking cat, Darrin had decided when he’d first met the bitch, one of the women who liked keeping up appearances even in the CityBlock. And, sure as his name was Darrin, she had a whole series of embarrassing secrets in her past. It explained why she was so damn strident.
Fitz was staggering against the wall when Darrin reached his own apartment, his fingers jabbing at the concrete as if he expected it to magically become a door. Darrin smirked, realising that his stepfather was so drunk he couldn't see the fingerprint sensor clearly, then slipped past him and opened the door. He half-hoped it would close before Fitz managed to bumble in, but no such luck. The bastard lurched in, collapsed on the floor, then staggered back to his feet and advanced on Darrin.
“You bastard,” he said, his words slurred together. “You should have told me.”
It took Darrin a moment to realise what Fitz meant. The results of the competition hadn't been announced publically until a day after Darrin and the other winners had been told, leaving the gamblers in the CityBlock a chance to lay their bets on the sure thing. Darrin could have told Fitz, but he'd kept it to himself. For someone who spent most of his days drunk off his ass, Fitz had realised that he'd missed the opportunity to make some easy money very quickly.
“You should have told me that people were gambling on it,” Darrin countered, quickly. He honestly hadn't known, although if he had he might have placed a bet on Gary. The nerd had had the best chance of winning fairly ... but then, the competition wasn't fair. How else did one explain Barry and Darrin winning too? “I didn't know.”
“Of course you did, you little bastard,” Fitz slurred. He pointed towards the sofa. “Get bent over, now! And get your trousers down!”
Darrin shook his head, taking a step backwards. He’d been thrashed bent over the sofa once and the bruises had lasted for days afterwards. And besides, he was younger and weaker then, without the strength that came from exercising regularly. He told himself, desperately, that Fitz didn't have the right to touch him, even as his stepfather ambled towards him, murder in his eye. His fists suddenly looked as big as planets ...
Fitz took a drunken swing at him. Darrin moved to one side, then threw a punch back, right into his stepfather’s nose. There was a satisfying crunching sound as the nose broke under the blow, but – drunk as he was – Fitz barely seemed to notice. Instead, blood dripping from his smashed nose, he took another swing at Darrin. Darrin jumped backwards .... and crashed into the wall. He'd been backed right up against it.
“Gotcha, you little bastard,” Fitz said. “I bring you up, I pay for your schooling, I put food on the table ...”
“That’s a damn lie,” Darrin snapped, anger overriding fear. “You take the SLA from me and use it for yourself ...”
Fitz threw a punch. Darrin managed to dodge it and Fitz’s fist hit the wall. He let out a howl – that had to have hurt, even though the drink – and Darrin brought up his knee, hitting him in the groin. Fitz bent double, screaming in agony; Darrin kicked him in the head as hard as he could. The drunkard fell to the ground, stunned.
For an awful moment, Darrin thought he’d killed his stepfather. The man had been a bastard – and it wasn't as if getting away with it would be hard – but losing him would affect his mother quite badly. And yet, when he checked, Fitz was still breathing ... Darrin hesitated, utterly unsure of what to do. Part of his mind suggested, quite urgently, cutting the man’s throat while he was helpless. The rest of him just screamed for him to run.
Quickly, he walked back to his room, picked up his bag ... then paused, outside his mother’s bedroom. He peeked inside and swore, grimly. She was lying on the bed, drunk out of her mind. Darrin silently bid her farewell, then walked past Fitz’s body to the door. Maybe his stepfather wouldn't recover, maybe he would ... but Darrin knew that he could never go home. He might as well stay on the colony world. Yates had said that there was always work for those willing to work hard.
He took one last look at the apartment, realising just how little personality had been stamped into the walls over the years. And then he stepped out into the corridor, closing the door behind him.
***
It was eight in the morning.
Gary tore himself away from the computer, then activated a special program he’d traded with several online contacts to obtain. All evidence of his non-scholarly activities – the hacked computer codes, the game programs and the porn stash – were wiped within seconds, leaving the computer returned to normal. He would have to re-hack the system when he came back, if he had time to play games while studying frantically for his exams. It was irritating to know that all of his high scores were gone, but he would have to live with it. If nothing else, he could take pride in having an unbroken string of victories.
I'm the most popular person in the gaming network, he thought, recalling a joke that was so old no one had any idea where it actually came from. That makes me number billion on the datanet as a whole, behind all the porn stars.
He checked his bag carefully, making sure that his reader and small computer terminal were carefully stowed away. Yates had advised them to be careful what they brought, pointing out that Meridian couldn't produce everything they might want. Gary had actually looked up investment opportunities, downloading a number of flicks and musical tracks that might not have reached Meridian yet, but there wasn’t much they could actually carry. It was annoying to realise that the starship they were taking was huge, yet relatively small when it came to cargo capacity. But then, most of its hold carried colony gear.
Undressing, he inspected the bruise on his chest where Moe had hit him. Barry had been keeping his distance over the last few days, much to his surprise, but Moe seemed to be under no obligation to leave him in peace. Nor was anyone else; the last two days had been hellish, with almost everyone playing jokes and pranks on him. But he'd soon be gone. If Barry hadn’t been coming along, he might almost have welcomed the trip ...
There was a tap on the door. “One moment,” he called, reaching for his dressing gown and buckling it on. “Come in.”
The door opened, revealing Sammie. She looked wide-eyed and innocent, only slightly married by the mark on her face. Gary knew what that meant; someone had hit her, deliberately. But she was only nine ...
He shook his head. What did age matter? They’d started getting at him as soon as he’d entered school for the first time.
“I wish I could come with you,” Sammie said. “I’m going to miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too,” Gary said, although he knew that he could do nothing to protect his sister. What good was he when he couldn't even stand up to a pack of nine-year-olds? But then, those nine-year-old brats had older siblings, siblings who shared his classes at school. They would get at him if he got at them. “Take care of mum and dad, ok?”
Sammie nodded. Gary picked up his bag, checked it one last time, then slung it over his back. Yates had told them that they wouldn't be going to school, but the aircar pad on top of the CityBlock. He gave his sister a tight hug, then walked out of his bedroom and said goodbye to his parents. Both of them muttered something, then turned their attention back o the big screen in front of the sofa. They preferred fantasy worlds to reality.
Gary’s lips twi
tched. How could he complain? He spent most of his time playing in VR environments as it was.
Waving goodbye to Sammie, he stepped out of the door and headed for the lifts.
Chapter Eight
In short, the educational ideal is to fill young children with knowledge and awaken their intelligence, making them fit to discharge the duties of citizenship in an enlightened and independent manner.
- Professor Leo Caesius. Education and the Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire.
There was a bleep as someone tapped the buzzer on the far side of the door.
Kailee opened it, then smiled in relief as she saw Yates. He’d offered to escort her to the aircar pad – the rest of the girls wouldn't be going, naturally – but she hadn't been sure he would keep his word. It was hard to get any sense of personality out of him; there were times when she thought he approved of her and times when she had the impression that he hated all four of his charges. And she had never caught him looking at her breasts when he had the chance.
“Thank you,” she said, picking up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder. Yates moved to take it, but she shook her head. Boys had a habit of assuming that doing favours for a girl automatically gave them rights over the girl or access to her body – and it was easier to refuse the offer than tell them otherwise, after the fact. “Are we going now?”
Yates nodded, gravely. Kailee flushed, then turned to say goodbye to her family. Her mother and father made a brief appearance to wish her well, then returned to sit in front of the display scene and lose themselves in the latest soap opera. One day, Kailee promised herself, they would watch in awe as their daughter took the starring role. Aunt Lillian gave her a hug, inspected Yates with a thoughtful expression, then stepped backwards. The kids were already invading Kailee’s room and exploring what she’d left behind.
“Goodbye,” Kailee said. She felt conflicted; it was good to get out of the apartment, but she really didn't want to go millions of light years from Earth. “Let’s go.”
Yates smiled. She followed him out of the apartment, then down a long corridor towards the central elevators. The gangsters seemed to keep their distance from the two of them, although she couldn't whether they found Yates intimidating or someone had bought them off beforehand. Once they reached the elevators – the block was slowly coming to life around them, now the teenagers were in school – Yates tapped a code into the control panel and called the emergency elevator. Kailee lifted her eyebrows; the only people who were permitted to use the emergency elevator were the emergency services and the bureaucrats. But when the elevator arrived and opened its doors, it was clear that it was nothing special at all, merely another metal box.
“Inside,” Yates said, shortly. Kailee obeyed, then watched as he keyed another set of commands into the panel inside the elevator. The doors hissed closed; the elevator lurched into life, heading upwards. “This may take some time.”
Kailee scowled in understanding. The CityBlock had a thousand levels, divided between residential, shopping, entertainment and storage blocks. She had never left the CityBlock; as far as she knew, only a handful of her fellow students had ever gone to the uppermost levels and seen the sky overhead. Hundreds of thousands of millions of people were born, lived and died in the cityblocks without ever leaving. Their CityBlock was their home.
And she was leaving. The thought made her feel strange, even though she’d planned to leave ever since she’d decided that acting offered her the best chance of escape. If there was one advantage to living in a CityBlock, it was that she knew most of the people near her apartment – although she knew that only went so far. People might be friendly, but they wouldn't help her if she got into trouble. No one wanted to help for fear it would splash over them.
It took nearly thirty minutes for the elevator to reach its destination. Kailee half-expected Yates to try something – he was a man, wasn't he? – but he seemed inclined to just lean against the wall and relax. Kailee watched him, puzzled; he seemed very different from most of the boys she knew, even the ones who played sports almost constantly. There was something about him she found dangerous ... but at the same time, she found it reassuring. It made no sense to her. What sort of man was he?
When the elevator doors hissed open, she found herself looking out through a large set of windows at a darkening sky. She checked her watch automatically; surely it wasn't still dark outside? But when she stepped closer, she saw ominous dark clouds hovering around the towering cityblocks. Strange flickers of light seemed to dance among the clouds, making her take a step backwards in shock. She knew about the weather, of course, but she’d never seen it for herself. There was no weather deep inside the cityblocks.
“Now, we wait,” Yates said. He sounded irritated. The others were late. Kailee wasn't too surprised; if they were coming on their own, they would have to convince the security guards that they were allowed up to the uppermost levels. And besides, being on time for anything official just wasn't cool. “Have you reviewed the files I gave you?”
“Yes,” Kailee said, feeling everything she’d learnt drain out of her mind. She hoped he wasn’t planning a pop quiz. There were teachers who questioned their pupils from time to time. They rarely lasted long – someone would issue a complaint after the first day – but they were always irritating. “I reviewed them all.”
Yates gave her a faint smile that suggested he knew what she really meant. “You’ll be tested, all right,” he warned. “And if you fail, you won't get a second chance.”
Kailee bit her lip. “What ... what does that mean?”
“Wait and see,” Yates said. His smile grew wider. “Just you wait and see.”
***
Darrin had spent an uncomfortable night in one of the entertainment compartments, watching a couple of flicks and trying to forget the last sight he’d had of Fitz, crumpled on the floor. It bothered him badly that he’d left his stepfather in such a place, no matter how badly the bastard had deserved a beating. Part of him wanted to go back to the apartment and make sure that Fitz was alright, part of him knew perfectly well that Fitz would never show him the same consideration. By the time morning rolled around, Darrin was tired, irritable and headachy. He drew a painkiller from the compartment’s stores – headaches were a frequent side-effect of VR simulations – and started to walk towards the stairs.
Fitz will just have to take care of himself, he thought. It still gnawed at him. And damn the bastard.
He kept his expression carefully blank as he stepped aside to allow a pair of Civil Guardsmen to walk past him. They paid him no special attention, but he couldn't help worrying that they’d been sent to arrest him. Maybe Fitz had lodged an official complaint ... no, somehow Darrin doubted that was true. The man might have bragged endlessly of his connections, but if he’d had real connections he wouldn't be living with Darrin’s mother. And if the authorities didn't care about the gangs or the prostitution, rape or murder that took place in the CityBlock on a daily basis, they were unlikely to care about Fitz either. Seeing the Guardsmen still unnerved him, though.
There was no point in trying to talk his way past the security guards at the elevators. They were unlikely to believe him, whatever he said; few people from his level were ever given permission to travel freely to the higher levels. Instead, he found the stairwell and started to walk upwards. It took nearly an hour, but he finally reached the top, sweating like a pig. Yates tossed him a sardonic look as he staggered out of the door; Kailee merely looked amused ... and disgustingly sweat-free. No doubt she’d talked the guards into letting her ride the elevator.
The nearest pair of doors opened, revealing Gary. Darrin glared at the nerd, who stopped and took a step backwards. How had he managed to get on the elevators? Gary gave him a nervous look, then walked towards the windows and stared outside. Darrin was too busy catching his breath to care about what was going on outside the CityBlock.
“Take some water from the dispenser,” Yates advised, dryly. �
�And next time, just show the guards your papers.”
Darrin flushed, angry at himself. They could have told him that their papers included permits to use the elevators! But clearly they’d assumed that the lucky winners could work it out for themselves. Gary certainly had ... it gave Darrin no pleasure when Barry stumbled out of the stairwell, clearly the worse for drink. Darrin gulped as much water as he could, then stepped aside to allow Barry a chance at the dispenser. Yates watched them with a sardonic eye, then cleared his throat loudly.
“Now that we are finally all here,” he said, “you can follow me.”
Kailee and Gary trotted after him at once. Darrin and Barry followed, a little more reluctantly. It helped that Kailee was wearing something tight enough to show the shape of her ass. If she knew she was encouraging them, she didn't show any sign of it – but then, she had always been an ice princess. There were stories shared among the guys of each and every girl in the school, yet none of the ones about Kailee had ever been verified. As far as Darrin knew, she was still a virgin. That made her almost unique in their class.
They reached the end of the corridor and looked out into a small hanger. An aircar sat on its landing struts, waiting for them. It was smaller than Darrin had expected – most of the flicks he’d seen had made aircars out to be big bulky things – but it was large enough to take all five of them. Yates pulled a small device out of his pocket and clicked it, opening the doors, then motioned for Kailee to take the front seat. Darrin, who had been hoping to sit next to her, rolled his eyes. Clearly, Yates was interested in her too. She wasn't that much younger than him.
Gary sat at one of the window seats, Darrin sat in the middle, separating Gary and Barry. It was practical, he told himself; he didn't want to be disturbed by Barry picking on Gary – and he would, he knew. Barry delighted in picking on everyone, even if the hangover he was clearly nursing seemed to have sapped his energy. The doors hissed closed a moment later, then locked. A faint hum echoed through the aircar as the hatch ahead of the vehicle opened, then the craft lurched into the air and raced forward. Darrin barely had time to draw in a breath before they were in the open air and heading out, away from the CityBlock.
The Empire's Corps: Book 07 - Reality Check Page 7