by Al Robertson
Jack sighed. ‘No. You’re not going to help me find Yamata because I’ve made you love me, barely able to scrabble around in your own memories for lust of me. You’re going to do it because you’ve understood just how you’ve been used, and you’re more angry than you are afraid. Aren’t you?’ He let a few seconds hang empty in the air, then nudged an East switch in his mind. He moved in even closer and whispered ‘Aren’t you, Akhmatov?’ as quietly as he could.
‘They should have let me fucking kill you when I had the chance!’
Akhmatov’s sudden movement knocked Jack backwards. The other man was on top of him, fingers scrabbling for his throat. ‘I told Yamata that you were a risk to me,’ he shouted, ‘to all of us, but she didn’t listen – and look where we are now! That bitch coming back from Sheltie, pretending it’s a job for her security firm, and we kill a man I’ve known for twenty years and some fucking policewoman, and you’re here, and look where we fucking are now!’
[ Bingo!] said Fist. [ That’s it.]
When Jack hit Akhmatov it was like punching a wet pillow. The club owner sagged and fell away, the burst of energy that had given him a brief advantage shattered. Fist was on him instantly, hands buried in his head. Akhmatov screamed. ‘No!’ snapped Jack. He rolled forwards and snatched the puppet away, tearing him out of Akhmatov’s mind. The club owner gaped in shock while Fist cackled madly.
[ What have you done to him?]
[ I haven’t hurt him. At least, not as much as you have. I’ve done him a favour.]
[ Fist …]
[ I’ve dropped deep sweathead tags into his weave presence. Unremovable. Everyone’s weaveware will just blank him out, blank him right out! He’s the invisible man now. He won’t be able to tell anyone what we know.]
[ For gods’ sake, Fist. We still need information from him.]
[ No we don’t. I know which of his contacts Aud Yamata is, and I know how to find her.]
[ You’re sure?]
[ It was much easier to fillet his business than I thought it would be. Almost like I was built for it.]
[Any clues on her boss?]
[ No mention of that at all. Just like the man said.]
As they spoke, Akhmatov crawled away and collapsed in a corner of the room. He was shaking.
‘One last question,’ said Jack, turning back to him. ‘Do you know who Yamata works for?’
[Don’t get your hopes up, Jack. He’s just a minion.]
‘I told you I don’t know,’ he choked out. ‘I’m better than that fucking bitch, and I’m still running this fucking club, and the Pantheon are still fucking playing with me. And I don’t even know who it’s all for.’
‘You’ve Easted him, haven’t you?’ said Fist. ‘He’ll be telling the truth. But we’ve got a more immediate problem. InSec’s coming. For you.’
‘Shit. Let’s go.’
‘Why? I can hide you from those wankers now.’
‘I don’t want them finding out you’ve been unlocked.’
‘Backing away from a fight? Boring!’
‘We’re running. Now.’
They got three hundred metres down the road before the InSec flyers caught them.
Chapter 27
‘I don’t know what I’m going to do with you, Jack.’
He was alone with Lestak. She’d flown her flyer up to hover between two spinelights. Nobody could disturb them. There was a black silk mask over his head. Its gauze eye patches gave him sight.
[ Not sure if your charm will work through this, old son. Heavy cageware.]
[ I won’t be using it on her.]
[ Wimp.]
‘I’m not impressed by what you did to my men back at the hotel.’
‘They’ll recover.’
‘Perhaps. I’ve petitioned East for her help. One of them keeps on asking for pictures of you. The other two don’t say much, but they smile a lot. We had to handcuff them to stop them playing with themselves.’
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t realise what she’d done to me.’
‘You’re touched by Pantheon and it doesn’t occur to you to see what you’ve been given?’ A tired exasperation filled her voice. ‘But then, that’s always been your excuse. Nothing’s your fault.’
‘What’s not his fault, Mummy?’
Jack jumped. The young girl’s voice came from the front passenger seat. It must be Issie, Lestak’s dead daughter. He was surprised that Lestak had let him hear her speak.
‘Grown-up talk, darling. Hush – here, play with your doll.’
‘But Mummy …’
‘Shush.’
‘You’ve brought her here?’ said Jack. ‘And you’re accusing me of irresponsibility?’
‘Issie’s often in the flyer. She likes it.’
‘I can see everywhere!’ chirped Issie.
[ I could infiltrate that fetch,] Fist whispered in Jack’s mind. [ It might help us.]
[ No,] replied Jack. [ I don’t want to risk damaging her.]
[ I can hear you!] interrupted Issie. [And I’m not “that fetch”, I’m Issie.]
[Shit!] said Fist. [She’s tapped into us.]
Issie giggled.
[ That’s really why she’s here,] replied Jack. [ Block her.]
‘They were talking about me, but I can’t hear them anymore,’ complained Issie.
‘It’s good that you told me about that. It’s very rude to talk about people behind their backs, isn’t it?’
‘Oh yes! And it’s even ruder to shut people out when they realise!’
‘I’m sure Jack won’t let Fist do that again – will you?’
[Let’s go with it,] said Jack. [ I want to find out what Lestak’s got to say.]
Fist shimmered into life on the seat next to him. ‘I’ll be good,’ he promised.
‘I’d forgotten how real you look,’ replied Lestak.
‘As real as Issie,’ said Jack, expecting a sharp response from Lestak. But she said nothing. There was a moment’s silence, then Issie stuck her head round the seat. But for her white skull face, she was a perfect simulacrum of a small child.
‘It is the funny puppet again! Can I play with him?’
Mist hung in her eye sockets with the soft density of cotton wool. When she spoke, wisps escaped from her hollow mouth. Jack worked hard not to shudder. ‘Fist won’t hurt her,’ he told Lestak. ‘That’s not how we work.’
[ Boring,] sang out Fist.
Lestak nodded. Issie squealed.
‘Off you go then,’ said Jack. ‘Play nice.’
‘I’m not a toy,’ muttered Fist, but he stood up quickly enough, and with a little jump was next to Issie. She shifted in her seat, letting him sit down next to her – one face carved from wood, one from bone. Indulgence and concern mingled on Lestak’s face. Stifled giggles and little whispered words rose up.
‘Are you sharing secrets, Issie?’ asked Lestak.
‘Oh yes!’
‘That’s what we’re going to be doing, too. You and Fist should make sure nobody can hear.’
‘You said that was rude!’
‘Not when you’re sharing secrets.’
A moment of silence, then the puppet and fetch voices combined to say ‘We’re firewalled.’ The giggling and whispering continued. Lestak relaxed.
‘Her eyes are full of weaveware,’ said Jack. ‘You use her for security?’
‘It’s about keeping her safe, as much as me. You make powerful enemies doing what I do.’
‘Yes, must be very handy having a little friend like that.’
‘Now listen, Jack. Corazon was starting to take you seriously, and she had good judgement. That’s why you’re here, now. And that’s why nobody can hear us talk. But don’t push it.’
There was a snorting laugh from the passenger seat.
‘I’m sorry about Corazon. She was a good policewoman.’
‘East said she gave you the news.’
Memories of Corazon’s last minutes jostled at the edge of Jack’s mind. The
y had started to lose their sharp, unintegrated edge. They were almost bearable. ‘Yes,’ he said.
‘We found out about your meeting with Corazon. We thought you’d killed her.’
‘I had nothing to do with it.’
‘East confirmed that. I wish she’d come to us before we tried to arrest you.’
‘She’s a playful one,’ sighed Jack. ‘Does she know who did shoot Corazon?’
‘No. She’s more upset by that than by the death.’ Jack remembered how outraged East had been not to have known instantly that Corazon was dead. ‘Sandal came to me too,’ continued Lestak. ‘The guards you broke were his. He was furious. Two Pantheon manifestations in one day, and both about you. If Grey hadn’t been sequestered, I’m sure he’d have popped up as well. What have you done to get this much attention, Jack?’
‘I’m trying to find out the truth about the Penderville murder. About Aud Yamata, and her patron. And now about Corazon.’
‘Those are truths that kill, and that makes you dangerous.’
‘I can’t help that.’
‘Sandal wanted me to arrest you and hold you until Fist – well, you know. East wanted me to give you full Wart and Homelands access.’
‘There’s a war in Heaven.’
‘So it seems. And someone needs to try and referee it.’
‘That’s won’t be easy.’
‘No. And that’s why we need to talk. With Corazon dead, I think you are on to something after all. But I’m not going to let you chase around after it, putting more people at risk. And I’ve got to please East and Sandal.’
‘So what are you going to do?’
‘When it comes to you, nothing. I’m not going to change your Station access rights. I’m not going to let you go onweave, or visit Homelands, or the Wart. But I’m not going to restrict you anymore or imprison you, either.’
‘That’ll piss both of them off. And it doesn’t help me.’
‘It’ll piss them both off equally, so they’ll take it up with each other, not me. And I’m not in the business of helping you. I’m in the business of protecting Station. Like you, once.’
‘I still am. There’s something rotten here. Seven years ago, a man was murdered with full Pantheon knowledge. The person that did it has been hidden, with full Pantheon involvement. Others have been silenced at fetch level. Corazon’s been killed.’
‘So why haven’t they shut you down too?’
‘Friends in high places,’ said Jack bitterly.
Sudden shrieks of joy exploded from the front seat.
‘Hush, you two,’ scolded Lestak. There was muffled giggling, then Fist and Issie muted themselves again.
‘I’m not going to beg,’ said Jack. ‘But I do need access to Homelands. I have to try and find Aud Yamata.’
‘You know where she might be?’ Lestak’s attention was suddenly entirely focused on Jack, the professional investigator in her cutting through to the front of her mind. ‘You’re going to share whatever you know with me, aren’t you?’
Jack paused for a moment, wondering how much to tell Lestak, how much she would record, how secure InSec was. It was clear that East didn’t trust her – or at least, didn’t trust the organisation that surrounded her. Corazon’s death had made him wary, too.
A low whine filled the car – a tug passing by, trailing chainship containers, moving towards the Wart. Jack imagined the wonders it would be carrying to the twin malls of Homelands. He thought of containers, perhaps entire chainships, loaded with sweat, made invisible by adapted sweathead avoidance code. He reached a decision.
‘I don’t know anything more than I did back then, Lestak.’
‘If you do run into anything new, you will let us know. You won’t go looking into it yourself.’
‘You’ve got Corazon’s records, that’s more data than I’ll ever have. She was tracking Yamata. I think Yamata realised that and killed her. If you go to the files, you’ll find all you need.’
Lestak wearily massaged her forehead, hiding her eyes. ‘There’s a problem with that.’
‘You have looked at them?’ Lestak said nothing. ‘That’s why they killed her, for gods’ sake! For whatever she’d found out!’
‘There was a chromacode virus. We traced it back to a weave sigil sprayed on the sidewalk outside her apartment. It penetrated her InSec weavespace and shredded all her data.’
‘You think that’s coincidence? You think some script bunny could have planted something like that?’
‘No, I don’t.’ Lestak’s voice became an urgent whisper, as if quieter words were somehow more secret. ‘No, I don’t think that. I agree with you – there’s something wrong here, and it goes all the way to the top. But I can’t let you investigate it. You were taken out of play seven years ago and you’re still out of play now.’
‘Listen to yourself, Lestak. You’re running scared.’
‘Of course I am. This is terrifying. Criminals – I lock them up, or throw them off the weave. Corrupt InSec ops – we find them, we break them. But this – if one of the Pantheon is broken, what am I meant to do? How am I meant to stop that? I have to be so fucking careful even thinking about it. And I am going to investigate it, Jack, but I am going to tread so lightly. And you – there’s nothing light about you, nothing subtle about that creature. You were never even a proper policeman, and now you’re just damaged goods, not realising who you’re hurting until it’s too late. You’re not safe to be around. Corazon proved that.’
‘And whatever you find out? Will that disappear too?’
‘I’ve been around a lot longer than Corazon, and my patron is a lot tougher than hers was. East, bless her, gives good weathergirl, and her flash mobs are second to none when it comes to stalking weave stars. But she’s not a fighter. Not like the Rose.’
‘So you won’t help me?’
‘No. And I’ll be watching you. If you do anything at all that makes me think you’re investigating all this on your own, I will land on you so fucking hard you won’t even know what year it is. And don’t think you’ll be dealing with lightweights like the boys this morning. I know what East’s done to you. We’ll send the castrati after you, and you won’t be able to stop them.’
‘The castrati? I thought—’
‘They’re not just a rumour, Jack. We’ve had to deal with people East’s touched before. The Rose has developed solutions to her charms. Take a step back. You were never really a professional to start with, and you’re certainly not one now. If you keep digging you’ll be dangerous to yourself and to everyone you touch.’
The flyer started to descend.
‘Make your peace with your parents, Jack.’ Her voice was softer, now. ‘Not all of us get the chance to say goodbye, before the end comes. And being out of the game – well, sometimes it’s a privilege. It means the terms of loss are fixed. No one can force them to change.’
The flyer touched down with a gentle bump. Lestak turned to the passenger seat and smiled. ‘Issie, honey, playtime’s over.’ It took a couple of minutes to persuade her to hand Fist back to Jack. Jack imagined security systems unmeshing and ports undocking while the skull-faced girl refused to give up her new friend. In private she would be a near perfect representation of a living child. Out here, the skull revealed the truth of her post-mortal status.
Andrea had refused to show Jack what that looked like, but Issie was too young to worry about such things. Jack wasn’t sure whether he felt happy or sad for her. He wondered how Lestak remembered her daughter – whether white, empty bone had overwritten the soft liveliness of her living face.
Issie waved from the window as the flyer lifted off, her hand a little pink flutter behind the glass. Lestak’s last words, spoken as she’d lifted Jack’s hood off and unlocked the handcuffs, were simple and direct. ‘Walk away, Jack. Don’t look back.’
[Of course, you’ll ignore her,] said Fist.
[Of course,] replied Jack.
[Cute kid. Lestak’s kept her locked
at four years old, but she’s still pretty sharp. She worked out that I was uncaged.]
[ Hell. She’ll tell Lestak.]
[ I swore her to silence. She told me some of her secrets too. Fetch secrets.]
Fist sounded very pleased with himself.
[ What were they?]
Fist pretended outrage.
[ I can’t tell you! I promised!]
[ If I didn’t know you better, I’d swear you were softening.]
[ Not really. Now I can kill fetches too.]
Chapter 28
Harry was sprawled across the sofa, smoking a cigarette. Andrea wasn’t around. Jack hadn’t asked where she was.
‘So you saw her skullchild? Makes me glad I got to build myself. Missed all the bone code out. I’d hate going round like that. Apart from anything else, my hat would slip. And the smoke from these’ – Harry waved the cigarette at Jack – ‘would come out through my eye sockets. That’s really not dignified, is it? Not that it’s a problem you’re going to have, thanks to that little sod.’ He gestured towards Fist, who pointedly ignored him. ‘Anyway,’ he continued, ‘what are we going to do about Yamata? Can’t let her get away with it, but I’ve had no luck tracking her down. Now if we could break through Fist’s cage so I can use what he’s got, I might be able to dig a bit deeper. If I can’t find her, we’ve got nothing.’
‘We got all we needed from Akhmatov. Fist?’
‘Oh yes,’ said Fist. ‘I know exactly where she’s based.’
‘Come on then,’ drawled Harry. ‘Let’s have it.’
‘But I’m only going to tell you what I know if I get … certain assurances from Jack.’
‘What?’ replied Jack. ‘For gods’ sake, Fist.’ Privately, he wasn’t too surprised. Since their encounter with East, Fist had been relatively easy to deal with. He’d been expecting the puppet’s obstinacy to reassert itself at some point.
‘What the hell’s he talking about?’ asked Harry. ‘Little shit.’ He swung a large, fat hand towards the side of Fist’s head. The blow didn’t connect – Harry’s fingers passed harmlessly through the puppet. Fist tittered as static shook his face.