Shadow Life

by Jason Mather

  “Illiyana,” he was at a loss for a moment, “we’re friends.”

  “So?”

  “Friends help each other, that’s the way it is.”

  “Not in my experience.”

  “Then you’ve never really had a friend.”

  — «» —

  Gino was awake and grumbling. He didn’t like the food. He didn’t like the bed. He wanted a cigarette. He wanted a hamburger. He wanted out. The doctor in charge resorted to a mild sedative through the IV. It left him groggy and pleasant, peacefully watching the news feed, which was still full of the dual detonations.

  “You shouldn’t watch that too long,” Grit said.

  “Probably not, what the hell else am I gonna do?”

  Grit had attempted to go home, get some sleep. Nothing doing. She rarely slept at the apartment the city had assigned her, a large two-floor suite near the top of one of the great towers. A perk for her high office. She had asked for something more basic on numerous occasions, but the wheels of bureaucracy turned hesitantly. From the moment she’d arrived she knew it wasn’t where she should be, and just a few hours later she sat in the hospital room with Gino. He wasn’t going to like what she was about to tell him.

  “I talked to Hans.”

  “Yeah.”

  “They’re coming here tomorrow.”

  “They?”

  “Him, Onyx, Mother, my soldiers, and some girl.”

  “Your mom’s coming?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Why?”

  “She wanted to.”

  “And Hans didn’t talk her out of it?”

  “You’ve talked to my mother.”

  “Yeah.”

  Gino’s face was slack from the sedative. She detested seeing him like that. He was nearing full recovery, but she knew how he hated anything that messed with his head. He’d have grilled her mercilessly otherwise. It was underhanded broaching this when he was still stoned.

  “I’m going to meet them.”

  “Where?”

  “The south station.”

  “Why?”

  “To pick up some weapons.”

  “And then what?” he asked.

  “We’re going to Colorado Springs.”

  She expected another why, didn’t get it.

  “Well, I guess I’m getting out of here soon then.”

  “You’re not coming.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “No. You’re injured.”

  “I’m coming.”

  “You have to stay here until the doctor releases you.”

  “It’s a free city, I can release myself on my own recognizance.” But in his stupor it sounded more like “recognize.”

  “Gino, it’s an order.”

  “No.”

  “Are you refusing a direct order?”

  “I am responsible for the safety of Her Majesty Greta Ricker, Queen of Colorado, Diva of Denver, and the hottest piece of ass ever to wear a flak jacket.”

  Greta tried not to laugh at him, didn’t succeed. He took it in stride.

  “I will not shirk my duties because of a small hole in my torso.” He tried to sit up and gesture grandly at her, pulling his IV over.

  “Lay down, you idiot.” There was no malice in her tone. She crossed the bed and picked up his IV, re-hung it.

  “Gino, you have spinal damage.”

  “Doctor says it’s pretty much repaired.”

  “Pretty much, yes. Completely, no.”

  “Pretty much is good enough.”

  “Gino…”

  “I go where you go.”

  “Gino…”

  “I dare you to tell me I can’t. I go where you go, always. We’re a team. Ain’t nobody better’n us. Gino and Grit versus the whole damn world, and you’d be an idiot to bet against us, am I right?”

  “Yeah, you’re right. You still need to stay here.”

  “Not gonna happen.”

  Gino was losing consciousness. Whatever was in his IV had increased its movement into his system when he knocked it over. He fell asleep repeating “you go I go”. Grit went to get the doctor.

  — «» —

  It was a strange crew that left Glenwood that morning, packed shoulder to shoulder into the jumpcraft. Four soldiers, a civilian, a crime lord, one old woman looking decidedly green, and a young girl in an oversized flak jacket and helmet, looking intently out the window. Lori was in sensory overload, pointing at things at the window, looking back at Hans, and making small sounds in the back of her throat. She kept beckoning him to the window. Hans wasn’t interested. An hour on the jumpcraft had turned him as green as his mother.

  The spires of Denver rose up from the foothills. Lori craned her neck, trying to see as far as possible through the side window. The pilot, taking notice, managed to turn the craft slightly, engines twisting, causing them to fly forward at an angle to where it was pointing. Lori fell into stunned silence as the buildings grew nearer, their size becoming more apparent. It’d taken only an evening and a morning for the soldiers to adopt Lori as a mascot. She was still very shy, but seemed to enjoy their friendly attention. Hans just hoped she didn’t try to sleep with one of them.

  They passed over the border with a small beep from the craft and a few words from the pilot to an unheard ground control. The engine sound increased, and the craft lurched and turned south, cruising parallel to the Rockies. Lori got her best look yet at the mountain range, rapt with their spires. Hans moved beside her, ignoring his flighty stomach, willing to risk it to see the view.

  They cruised south, reaching Denver city limits in a matter of minutes, continuing through reclamation area into thick forests. Once these were mostly plains, but mild climate changes and invasive species had turned most of it into evergreen forests. In places, the plains still intruded from the east.

  Another bump and the landing lights came on. Hans pulled Lori away from the window and made her strap in, taking his seat beside her. A few more stomach-turning drops, a spin, and they came to a soft thump on the ground. The door came up quickly, though not quickly enough for Grit, already bulling her way in, barking orders at the soldiers. Gino stood behind her, fully suited, standing easily.

  “You got better quick,” Hans said to him.

  “I’ve always been a quick healer.” Gino gave Hans a lopsided wink.

  “Don’t either of you start with me,” Grit snapped, lowering herself back out of craft to help her mother down. Pat refused the hand and leaped the couple of feet to the surface. Grit reached for Lori, but the girl cowered back, grasping at Hans’ hand. A look from Grit and Hans shrugged and leaped down, turning to help Lori. She spent a moment deciding if she wanted to put her feet on the ground, then cautiously lowered herself, testing to see if the surface would support her.

  “What’s with the girl?” Grit asked.

  “Don’t start with me,” he snapped.

  Pat immediately dragged Grit off for a private conversation, both of them waving everyone else back. What was said was heated but quiet. Soldiers and civilians stood in awkward silence.

  Onyx knelt and looked to Lori. She said something in Russian. Hans didn’t know what she said but her tone was affectionate. Lori moved over, and Onyx took a moment to straighten her jacket and helmet, push a stray hair back from her face. She said something else Hans didn’t catch, and gave Lori a peck on the cheek, sending her back to Hans. Hans started to inquire what she said, but Onyx turned her back to him and began walking toward the treeline a few dozen feet away, cigarette smoke trailing behind her.

  “What’d she tell you?” Hans asked Lori.

  “She called me something I didn’t understand. When I asked she said it meant ‘Little Flower’. Then she told me a secret. She said I couldn’t tell you. She made me promise.”

  “You should always keep your promises,” Hans said, turning to meet Grit and his mother as they returned.

  “Where’s she going?” Grit asked him.

  “Smoke.”


  Grit went after her.

  “Hold on a minute,” Grit said, catching up to Onyx. Onyx glanced at her.

  “Hello, Commander,” she said, taking in Grit’s visage. “That’s quite a scar you have there, who did that to you?”

  “You did.”

  “You know me better than that.”

  “I thought I did, up until you and your friends attacked me.”

  “I don’t know what you saw in there, Commander…”

  “I saw you, two of you, both of whom tried to kill me.”

  “Neither of them were me.”

  “Are you… you?”

  “I don’t know. I’m trying to figure that out.”

  “Hans told me about your condition.”

  “Condition? As good a word as any, I guess.”

  If her gift for withholding information was any sign, this was much more the Onyx who Grit remembered.

  “How can I trust you?” Grit asked.

  “I don’t know that you can.”

  “Hans vouches for you, though that’s not the most glowing of recommendations.”

  “You sell your brother short, Grit. In his own way, he’s quite a remarkable person.”

  “How so?”

  “He inherited the family iron, though he may not realize it himself. He’s here, he’s made his promise, and I think he means to keep it. A rarity. He seems to imagine himself some kind of old-fashioned knight of chivalry.”

  “Cowboy is more like it.”

  “True. Remarkable nonetheless.”

  They reached the edge of the treeline. Onyx offered Grit a cigarette, Grit refused.

  “What are we doing here?” Grit asked.

  “I’m not sure what you’re doing here. I’m trying to get some answers, Hans has agreed to help, his mother would not be put off, and the girl has nowhere else. While I welcome your presence and capabilities, I didn’t ask for you to be here, and I would rather your soldiers leave us.”

  “They’re not staying. I couldn’t ask them to for something like this. I’m not sure where we are going, and Hans stipulated that our ID tags had to be disabled.”

  “The great Greta Ricker committing a felony?” Onyx teased.

  “Hopefully just me and the meathead over there. Hans needs to send Mom and the girl back.”

  “Pat won’t go.”

  “She may when she finds out we have to destroy her tag.”

  “Doubt it.”

  “And the girl?”

  “Lori never had one. We rescued her in Salt Lake. She was one of Brigham’s playthings, had never been tagged.”

  “And you brought her here?”

  “She’s quite attached to your brother.”

  “Don’t tell me…”

  Onyx laughed, surprising Greta. She’d never heard the sound.

  “Do not worry, his intentions have been entirely honorable. I greatly admire him for his willingness to take her out of there and care for her. But she is severely traumatized, and will not leave his side. If he had left her she would have most likely run away looking for him. Bringing her here is not ideal, but there was no other choice.”

  “What are you two gabbing about?”

  Hans and Gino were closing the distance, the girl tagging at Hans’ side.

  “Oh, y’know, girl stuff, makeup, guys, superconducting railguns.” Onyx’s sense of humor had appeared out of nowhere. Greta had never seen it and had doubted she had one.

  “Grit.” Hans said, the word containing a multitude of changes and emotions. He moved in, put his arms around her. Grit’s sense of unreality expanded. Onyx cracking jokes, her standoffish brother hugging her. Next her mother would be crying and telling her how much she loved her. She returned the hug.

  “Glad you’re ok. Glad we’re all OK,” he said, moving back. The girl shied behind him. Hans cajoled her out. “Lori, this is my sister Greta. Greta, this is Lori.”

  The girl continued to shy, not saying anything. Greta gave her a nod. She’d make friends later, if they were still around to make.

  The group made their way back to the jumpcraft. Behind it sat the toughest looking vehicle Hans had ever seen. It was rugged and ancient, sitting on massive fifteen-foot tires, armored to the hilt, railgun turret rising from the top.

  “That’s your idea of subtle transportation?” he asked Grit.

  “That’s my idea of safe, and it can be run completely mechanically. No network linkages to be accessed, just like you asked. Ten people could live in that thing for a week and never have to breathe outside air. I called in a huge favor to get it. It was sitting in a museum.”

  Hans nodded. Despite his prodding he was glad to see it. “You did good, kid.” His Bogart impression was horrible. Greta huffed.

  Greta dismissed the soldiers. They left reluctantly, confused by her orders, but they obeyed. The jumpcraft rose and disappeared into the distance. Hans gestured for his mother to join them, and Greta began handing out the spoofers she’d acquired. They were the latest hardware, smaller then what Hans had been given when he’d first had his disabled. Hans took a moment to explain what he was going to do, that it would be quick and they wouldn’t feel anything. He’d transfer their IDs to the spoofers. Grit and Gino were already aware, but Hans hadn’t had the time or gumption to explain it to his mother. He stood with trepidation after his spiel, waiting for his mom’s tirade.

  Pat took the spoofer and checked its systems with familiarity.

  “You OK with this, Mom?”

  “No need. I had my tag removed years ago. I’ll take the spoofer though, much better than the one I’m using now.”

  CHAPTER 9

  The road to Colorado Springs had not been well maintained. There was no reason to have maintained it; few people went there anymore. They wound their way down through the remnants of the old I-25, now pitted, pocked, washed out completely in some places. The hearty military transport made short work of the varied terrain, and their pace was good.

  Hans drove; he and Greta were the only ones with training. The cockpit was separated from the rest of the vehicle, and could be sealed completely with a thick bulkhead door. The rest of the vehicle had been mostly stripped of its internal workings, which had been replaced with bare-bones survival equipment; a food re-hydrator and roll-up smart mats for sleeping (which Hans had no intention of using; he’d had enough of squirming furniture). Greta had retained some rifles for their use, but the only effective weapon was likely to be the one she’d appropriated from the destroyed factory. Hans could not communicate with the rear, as the electronics had been stripped out. At one point Onyx had brought him a tasteless sandwich, and Greta would spell him occasionally.

  Lori sat up front, close to Hans, staring out the window, still mesmerized by the mountains and sky. Had she ever seen mountains before the last few days? Doubtful. He didn’t even know if she’d ever been outside before. She sat calmly, taking the food that was brought to her, only making sound to protest the one time Pat had tried to get her to come back and lay down, refusing to move even as she yawned and rubbed at her eyes. Hans was comforted by her presence.

  They drove through the remnants of other abandoned cities. An old, pitted sign welcomed them to Castle Rock, what was left of it. No one wanted to live even this close to the Springs. The fear of radiation and disease drove them away.

  Onyx came and stood behind them, watching the passing landscape, not speaking. Hans worried about her mental state. What could she be going through? She’d said very little since her revelation. How did someone deal with something like that? Despite everything she’d been cheerful most of the day, cracking jokes, and showing Lori how to stand in first position when Lori had asked her about dancing.

  Lori fell asleep in the chair, snoring slightly, her head loose and bouncing with the transport over the pitted surface. Hans asked Onyx to carry her back, expecting Lori to wake and make a fuss. She didn’t

  He drove on in silence, the act of navigating soothing him. It
was a moment of surreal familiarity. If he ignored the weapons and the armored transport, he could almost imagine them on a family drive. The entirety of his world was in this car at this moment, their presence comforting. It would only take the addition of Bogie and Bacall, currently staying with a friend of his mother’s, to complete the domestic scene. Hans was struck dumb by the realization of this awkward family he’d gained, some old members, some new, none of them expendable. Sentimental old fool.

  Did anyone else feel it? Or was it just the hope of a supremely lonely man?

  Onyx appeared in the doorway, took a seat, and continued to keep her silence. Hans left her to it, at least for a while.

  “You ok?” he asked eventually. A lame question, but it was all he could come up with.

  She turned her head toward him, nodded. “This is all very strange.”

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s your response… yeah?”

  “Everything’s been strange for me the past few days. I woke up from the dead. People tried to kill me, I met a lethal assassin who’s missing a body.” Tactless, he shouldn’t have said that. If it bothered her she didn’t let on. “Met the most despicable human being I’ve ever seen, pulled a girl from his clutches, blew up a building, killed people…”

  “Hans, you didn’t…”

  He held his hand up, “Don’t start. I know what you’ll say. I didn’t mean to. That’s the truth. It’s not murder. But I made a decision and they died. I haven’t really assessed that yet, been keeping it at until this is over. Don’t try to take my regret from me, it’s all I have.”

  Onyx didn’t contradict him, merely frowned.

  “The first man I killed,” she said, “It was on my father’s orders. He assigned me to kill one of his rival’s lieutenants. Easy enough to get to the man, I was his type, too young, too naïve, not quite Chinese. The man took me to a love hotel, the cheapest he could find. I was still a virgin. When he found this out he became very excited, vicious. There was no romance or tenderness. He hurt me. I tried not to cry, couldn’t help it. This only excited him more. He slapped me around and finished his business. When we were done I took a knife I’d hidden and shoved it through his eye into his brain. He just grunted and fell on top of me. I hadn’t thought of that, just wanted to see him dead. He outweighed me by a hundred pounds. It took me ten minutes to push him off. I was covered in his blood, in such a panic that I didn’t take time to wash it off, just ran back through the streets to my father. When he saw my state he screamed at me, called me worthless, beat me, locked me in my room for a week.”