Shadow Life

by Jason Mather

  “Don’t drown on me in there, we just got you back.”

  Hans liked her, and not just because she was the first woman he’d been intimate with in years.

  After getting him back into bed she brought him his first solid food. A plate of slightly mushy vegetables, some broth with a little tofu in it, and some kind of synthetic meat, which Hans chose not to eat. He never could stomach the lab-grown crap. It was good to actually chew his food.

  Despite warnings to the contrary, Hans was so happy to have solid food that he ate way too fast, thus resulting in his first really good heave since waking. He had limited ability to turn himself and mostly covered the sheets. The day nurse sprayed something liquid and green on the sheets to help break it down and Hans got to watch as the sheets quickly absorbed the spew and began to wick the stains down toward the foot of the bed. The whole process took a couple of minutes. When it was done Hans took the sheets off, too creeped out to have them touching his skin.

  Hans called his mother. The day nurse (he felt a little odd not knowing her name, but she wasn’t wearing a nametag and Hans had promptly forgotten the first and only time she’d told him) brought him a portable with which he could access e-books, watch television and movies, or make phone calls. Hans’ mom picked up on the third ring, sounding slightly distracted. The viewscreen had the capacity for video calls, but his mom, like himself, had never really seen the point. “I don’t want to have to make myself presentable just to talk on the phone,” she’d often told him. “Besides, I take a lot of my calls in the toilet.”

  When she realized it was him, Hans could almost hear her focus.

  “They’d told me you were going to be coming around soon. I’m glad you’re ok.”

  “Yeah, they say I’m gonna be able start right into destroying a completely new body.”

  “Hans… I…” Hans had a frightened moment when he thought she was going to say something inappropriately personal, but she backpedaled. “What happened, Hans? What were you doing?”

  “Trying to get home.”

  “You sure took the scenic route.”

  “Wasn’t that scenic.”

  “They wouldn’t tell me exactly where they found you or why.”

  “Not really surprising.”

  “No. I suppose you won’t either.”

  “It’s not really important. I made a stupid decision and these people picked up the pieces.”

  “Are you coming home?”

  “When they let me.”

  “So, you’re a prisoner.”

  “They explained it to me a bit differently.”

  “They would.”

  “Yeah. I’ve been told I can leave as soon as I answer a few questions.” This wasn’t exactly a lie.

  “Well, don’t make any more stupid decisions. A year is long time to worry if your son is gonna live or not, Hans. Your little decision probably cost me a decade.”

  “I’m not planning on any more stupidity.”

  She snuffed at him for that. “Have you talked to your sister?”

  “Not yet. I imagine I’ll probably see her in the near future.”

  “You call her. She’s been worried as sick as me.”

  “I will, Mom.”

  “OK. Gonna get off the phone now, Hans. You take care and call me tomorrow. Don’t pull any of your shit on those nurses and doctors. “

  “I won’t.”

  Hans’ mother was not a particularly long-winded.

  Hans dozed off and on most of the day, still regaining his strength. Lunch came and he took his time eating it, less because of his fear of throwing up and more because he did not want to see the sheets do their creepy voodoo dance again. He tried to watch the little viewscreen they gave him, but he’d never really been into TV and the only movies he watched were too old to be on the movie lists. He did manage to find an old Raymond Chandler book in the vast library. He was about a quarter into it when Gino peeked his head in.

  “Commander’s on her way in.”

  “Now?”

  “About thirty minutes.”

  — «» —

  The commander arrived exactly thirty minutes later, resplendent in the type of suit that only military people thought represented civilian wear, a black skirt suit with too much shoulder and not enough leg.

  Hans raised his eyebrows.

  “Dressing up for me? What’s the occasion?”

  “Not for you. Formal function tonight.”

  “Well, I’m sure you’ll have every eye in the room.”

  She ignored him and took the chair next to his bed, trying desperately to simulate an air of relaxation.

  “Thank you for hurrying out here so quickly, Grit.”

  She just stared out the window.

  “Jesus, Hans. What the hell were you doing there?”

  “It’s nice to see you, too.”

  “Do you have any idea what it was like to walk into that room and see my own brother laying on the floor?”

  “I might have preferred it to where I was.”

  Her next comment was cut short by her internal communicator. Hans could tell by her expression she was listening to something he couldn’t hear. She sub-vocalized something and turned back to him.

  “Seriously, Hans, how did you get there?”

  “I needed the money.”

  “You needed the money? And so you decided to walk into an exchange between two major criminal organizations?”

  “News to me. A man offered me five hundred to carry a box up to a room in an abandoned building.”

  “And you didn’t think that was suspicious?”

  “I was desperate. I had no money and was trying to get home.”

  “I would have given you the money. I didn’t even know you were in the city. Has Jackson been screwing around with your tag again?”

  “I don’t need your money.”

  “No, but you needed money from some random stranger handing you a package.”

  “Safer bet.”

  “Fuck you, Hans.”

  The door opened and Antonia came in carrying his dinner. It looked like a repeat of lunch.

  “Put it there,” Grit ordered, pointing at the foot of the bed. Antonia seemed not to hear, and came around the opposite side to place the tray in front of Hans.

  “Old girlfriend?”

  “Antonia, meet my sister, Greta.”

  Antonia smiled at her. “Hans and Greta?”

  Grit just glared.

  “My mother has a strange sense of humor,” Hans said.

  “I’ll bet.”

  Greta tried her best to smile. Her face had never been quite able to pull it off. “Could you leave us alone for awhile, Antonia?”

  “Toni.”

  “Hmmm?”

  “Call me Toni. Only my mom calls me Antonia.”

  “Your mother and Hans.”

  Toni shrugged.

  “Look, Toni, I really need to talk to my brother alone, so, if you don’t have any other duties…”

  “The doctor would really rather you don’t upset him.”

  “The only person upset here right now is me at having my orders questioned.”

  “Heaven forbid. I’ll be outside if you need anything, Hans.”

  Hans piped in before his sister, “Thank you, Antonia, I’ll let you know.”

  Antonia beat a slow retreat.

  Grit stared at him, “Already flirting with the nurses, Hans?”

  “Don’t follow.”

  “Antonia?”

  “I didn’t like Toni.”

  “Neither do I.”

  “Anyway, this isn’t some kind of cheap porn. Antonia’s been nursing me since I came here, she’s sort of adopted me.”

  “So now you’re a lost puppy. Seems about right “

  “Did you have anything else you wanted to know?”

  “Yes, how….” That distracted look came over her face again as she received another internal communiqué. Hans hated talking to people with
those damn things installed. Grit grimaced and stood up.

  “Damn it. I have to go, Hans. Crisis in the works.”

  “There always is.”

  She took a moment to lean over and air-kiss his cheek. “I’m glad you’re OK, Hans. I’ll be back soon.”

  “Yep.”

  Grit exited quickly, on her way to save the free world.

  — «» —

  She motioned to Gino without stopping. He fell in beside her.

  “Who’s on the door?”

  “Carlton’s on his way down.”

  Sensing their proximity, the elevator opened immediately. Grit had put it on a security override when she arrived.

  “Floor, please,” the elevator said.

  “Roof.”

  “Yes, Commander.”

  The doors shut. Grit did not want to discuss the situation until they were back on board the jumpcraft. Gino would not break the silence until she did.

  The doors opened onto the rooftop security check. Grit barreled through, heading out the doors to the insectile vehicle on the pad. A burly black man passed them, heading down to replace Gino.

  “Nothing happens to him, Carlton,” It was not a question. “I want him healthy and uninjured. So, I can kill him.”

  “Yes, ma’am, no one kills him but you.” The scarred face smiled, sort of.

  The jumpcraft’s jets were still running. Grit had told the pilot to keep them powered up while she was inside. She and Gino climbed up through the hole in its belly and strapped themselves in.

  “Go.” The pilot responded instantly to her command, thrusting the engines to full, causing the craft to plummet off the side for a moment before it caught its balance.

  “Do we need to send you back to training, Juan? Or get you a smaller vehicle?”

  “Just trying to keep you entertained, Commander,” They both knew he was the best around, or he wouldn’t be her chauffer. She turned to face Gino across the aisle.

  “You heard?” she asked him.

  “Yep.”

  “Do you know where we’re going, Juan?”

  “Yes, ma’am. ETA eight minutes.”

  Grit was nervous. There had been no sign of the package since it disappeared from the scene of Hans’ injury. Her intelligence team had been working overtime trying to figure out a way to track its signature, to no avail. And yet, thirty-six hours after Hans woke up, suddenly it came up on the radar. She did not trust either the signal or the situation, but did not have any other options.

  “What do you think, Gino?”

  “I’d prefer the skirt a little shorter.” He smirked.

  “I’d prefer trousers, but neither of us got our choice tonight.”

  “This situation seems very convenient and very hinky. I don’t think we should go in there by ourselves. “

  “I have a light strike team on the way.”

  “Always prepared.”

  They didn’t talk the rest of the way.

  The area where the signal was emanating from was one of the mostly abandoned neighborhoods left from when the city dwellers had migrated to the super skyscrapers near the center of Denver. The outlying areas were in severe disrepair, despite efforts to save some of them for historical reasons. Many of the areas had already been significantly reclaimed by wild flora and fauna. Denver University had been one of the first in the nation to start up a college dedicated to studying the wild reclamation of these areas. Grit’s primary concern with them was their state as a nearly ideal place to conceal, transport, and trade a vast quantity of illegal contraband.

  “Strike team nearing location,” her comm informed her.

  “Form a perimeter and wait for my arrival.”

  “Gotcha.”

  Grit took a lot of flak from other high brass for her soldiers’ use of what they saw as “overly familiar” chatter, some of the comments gender-specific. They couldn’t do much about it, however, as her results had spoken for her troops many times. Whether they agreed with it or not, her method of forming them into a family made them a stronger fighting group. She viewed their protests as yet another reason why so many positions of power were female-dominated nowadays. She expected that at some point they would take a good look around and realize what century they were living in.

  “ETA three minutes, Commander.”

  “Thanks, Juan.”

  Her comm chirped at her again.

  “Grit, we have a problem.”

  “What?”

  “The signal just disappeared.”

  She looked at Gino, her concern mirrored in his eyes.

  “Evacuate everyone immediately. I want you out of there in two minutes.”

  “You think it’s a trap?” Gino asked.

  “Probably, but not for us.” She cursed under her breath. “Juan, turn around and head back to the hospital, quickly. You still on the line, Lieutenant?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Take your team and meet me at Denver General. I think this is a setup to get us away from Hans. When you get there, I want you to enter at ground level and run a sweep and contain.”

  “I’m not sure I have the manpower for that.”

  “I’m sorry, there’s no one else. I know you’ll do the best you can with what you have, and we don’t have time to scramble any more forces. I need your skill here, Lieutenant; someone may be trying to kill my brother.”

  “We’ll handle it, Grit, no one gets through.”

  “Thank you.”

  The engine noise increased as Juan ran the engines up to max.

  — «» —

  He’d been waiting twelve months for this opportunity, quietly biding his time on the janitorial staff. He could afford to be patient, as he was being paid an exorbitant amount. The command had come in while he was taking his coffee break in the cafeteria, just two words over his comm.

  “We’re go.”

  He stood up and exited the cafeteria as quickly as he could without drawing any suspicion from the monitoring system. Anyone running or hurrying unnecessarily would be instantly flagged down by the security scanners. It was inevitable that eventually the system would detect what was going on, but he needed it to be as late into the process as possible.

  The doors to the elevator opened quickly when summoned. This late in the evening there would not be much traffic in them.

  “Floor, please.”

  “Fifty-six.”

  “You are not authorized for that floor.”

  “Check again, I’ll think you’ll find differently.”

  There was a lengthy pause, then a short crackle from the speaker. The elevator began to rise, though the voice did not return.

  He checked the pistol hidden in the small of his back, certain the elevator override had also shut down the scanners and cameras. It was tiny, made from plastics, and it only held four bullets. One use only, as four shots was the max it could handle before it melted too much to be useful. One for the bodyguard, one for the target, two for unforeseen circumstances.

  The doors opened onto the hospice ward.

  — «» —

  The signal brought it to instant awareness, checking systems and finding no problems.

  Attention: target compromised. Ascertain and neutralize danger. Please confirm.

  It sent a quick confirmation signal and then burrowed in to the security scanners. An elevator had been blacked out and the system could not confirm its location. It took little effort to find the hijacking signal. One person on board, elevated heart rate, elevated breathing. Currently at floor thirty-six, heading toward the target.

  It stretched its limbs, loosening them from the exterior wall that it had been attached to. The target’s room was directly below its current position. It clambered down to window level and waited.

  — «» —

  The doors opened directly onto the nurse’s station. He had prepared his best approximation of a smile for this eventuality. There was a pretty Latina woman behind the desk. She did not see
m to believe his smile.

  “This floor is limited access. I’m not sure…”

  He put a bullet in her head. This had to go quickly and smoothly, and he didn’t have time to sweet talk her. She went down quietly.

  “I’m here,” he said into his comm.

  “Target in room fifty-six sixteen.”

  He had familiarized himself with the layout of the floors in his time here, and knew the basic whereabouts of the room even though he’d never been on this floor. Two lefts and a right from the nurse’s station, probably guarded, probably military, though he was counting on the guard being only lightly armed and armored so as not to scare the hospital staff. Their mistake.

  — «» —

  It heard the bullet leave the gun and make its way through a human head, could tell these things from the changes in sound and frequency. It heard footsteps heading toward the target’s room. One of its limbs cut a hole in the window big enough to allow its spherical body to enter, holding the circle of glass behind it and quietly pulling it into the room. The target continued to sleep.

  — «» —

  It was a close thing. He hadn’t expected the guard to be quite so prepared or aggressive. His first inkling was having a high caliber bullet ricochet off the liquid armor wrapped around his upper torso. He knew he continued to breathe only because he was considerably taller than average, as the guard had obviously taken aim for a head shot.

  Before the guard got another round off he put a bullet between his eyes.

  — «» —

  It could hear the guard fall outside the door, could hear his pulse and breathing go crazy before stopping altogether. It quietly crossed the room to the door, crouching and waiting, sensors registering that the target was probably awake.

  — «» —

  Hans held his breath. His first awareness of something abnormal came when he was woken by sounds from outside the building. Cars on the street below, jumpcraft whining in the air, distant wind and thunder. For a moment he thought that maybe he’d left the viewscreen on, but then realized he could smell the outside also, and feel a small breeze coming in.

  A muffled crack came from outside his door, then another. The doors in this place were mostly soundproof, and his alarms bells began to go off. He’d just decided to make his way to the bathroom when everything took a turn for the bizarre.