by Jason Mather
“You don’t know.”
“It’s not that simple, Grit. She’s still an international crime lord.”
“She said she’s giving that up.”
“We’ll see. I don’t think she’s ever had any relationship where one of them wasn’t just a bauble to be played with. I’m not interested in being a bauble.”
“Sounds like you’re in denial.”
“Maybe. But we haven’t really known each other. We went through a lot, I spent a long time in her mind, and I don’t know how comfortable she is with that. We both want to take care of Lori, and we’ll always be friends…”
“Just friends?”
“You’re a real hassle sometimes, Greta.”
“Runs in the family.”
“All right. I’d say probably, eventually. I think we could be happy together. But it’s not going to happen right now. She’s never even had a good friend as far as I can tell. Once we get that established, then who knows. But I’m not in a rush, and I doubt she is either.”
“But do you love her?”
“Like that? I don’t know.”
Grit huffed at him.
“I don’t know what you’re looking for from me, Grit. Commitment? Should I make an honest woman of her? I’ll consider it when you make an honest man of Gino.”
Grit laughed at that. “I’ll think about it.”
“How long have you two been shtupping each other, anyway?”
“Five or six years now, though I wouldn’t exactly call it shtupping.”
“Fair enough. Do your bosses know you’re breaking company policy?”
“I get the impression they suspect. But they don’t care as long as we get results. Most of them think the hard-ass bitch could use a good lay anyway.”
Hans raised his eyebrows, giving her a leer. “And?”
“They’re right. Though if they think it’s going to cool me off they’re sadly mistaken.”
They both laughed. Hans reached for his cigarette, and Greta swigged some of the dark beer she’d brought with her.
“Do you love him?” Hans asked finally.
“Yes. Very much.”
“Good.”
— «» —
Another few weeks found him standing in front of Denver General, watching Illiyana and Lori walk off into the distance. It’d been an eventful morning, beginning with a screaming match between Illiyana and his mother. Pat had found out that Illiyana purchased the deed for her property from the company she’d mortgaged it to. They’d gone at it, neither backing down, until Yana had laid the deed in front of Pat. She’d signed it over.
“I pay my debts,” Onyx had said. “The land is yours.”
It was the first time Hans had ever seen his mother speechless.
They’d arrived on a private jumpcraft, also paid for by Onyx. Hans had a room rented for the next year in a building next door to Denver General, a large suite with room for him and Lori. Onyx too, maybe. He wasn’t sure where they were heading in the long run, but he’d received a kiss on the cheek from both of them before they turned to leave. They were going to the zoo. Lori wanted to see a panda.
He turned and entered, asking for Doctor Laud at the front desk. Laud came down to greet him, shaking Hans’ hand vigorously. They walked to an elevator, Laud ordering it to the hospice ward.
“I don’t know what to make of your suggestion, Hans. It’s obvious you did something miraculous with your lady friend…”
“It wasn’t a miracle. I’ve just been given tools we haven’t had before.”
“I’d much like to see these tools.”
“I am sorry. They won’t work for anyone else, and they could be dangerous.”
“That does not fill me with confidence.”
“My results should.”
“It’s your results that convinced me. Do you expect to be paid for this?”
“No, I don’t have any need for money.”
“No, I expect not. Out of curiosity, what made you decide on this?”
“Forty-three.”
“What?”
“That’s my debt.”
— «» —
The idea had come from Lori. They were sitting on his porch with Illiyana, drinking coffee.
“I see you finally got that old coffee machine working,” Yana said.
“It just needed a power source.”
She looked at him, a disbelieving smile on her face.
“What?” he asked.
“You’re not.”
“I am.”
“The most powerful device ever created on this planet, and you’re using it run an antique coffee maker?”
“Is the coffee good?”
“Yes. Very.”
“Damn right it is.”
Everyone had a laugh at that.
Then Lori spoke. “Maybe you should try to help others?”
“Hmm?” he asked.
“You used it to help me and Ms. Onyx.”
They’d not been able to convince Lori to call her Illiyana just yet.
“Maybe you can help others the same way.”
— «» —
The idea percolated. Hans had been secretive about his own problems. He still awoke most nights from nightmares of exploding trains, people blaming him. He could still see Lori’s body when he shut his eyes, feel the impact of the steel bar. For the last year he’d spent his energy exhausting himself in his quest to bring Illiyana back, spent another year before that in coma, in missing time, though this time it had been someone else’s. It still felt the same. Lying on that floor, dying, watching her face, was only a few days ago in his mind. He had spent over two years in stasis, one real, one self-implemented. Since her return his mindset had been crumbling slightly. It was no one’s business but his own. But the voices of forty-two dead passengers and a lonely child called out for retribution, and he could not ignore it.
— «» —
“I don’t understand,” Laud said.
“You don’t have to. Just know that there are forty-three lives that I have to atone for, maybe a couple more. And I will start here.”
Onyx had tried to argue against his guilt. It wasn’t his fault, he hadn’t meant to kill those people. The daughter had left no alternative. But it made no difference. She’d argued that he’d saved all their lives at least once. But that is just what you did for family, for friends. Onyx didn’t realize that yet. He couldn’t count those.
So he would start here. Number forty-three. He had a skill no one else had, a tool no one else could use. He would save this woman who’d saved him, then there would be forty-two.
He sat next to her. They’d moved her from the stasis room, her body healed, her mind still damaged. This woman who had saved him first. He would return the favor.
Wake up Antonia…
…Wake up.
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About the Author
Jason Mather is a resident of Greeley, Colorado, and a graduate of University of Northern Colorado, where he majored in music. He is a free-lance musician, part time welder, and part time kennel worker. He lives with his wife Heather, and his three dogs: Gizmo, Kaori, and Ellie Mae. Shadow Life is his first book.
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Shadow Life
by Jason Mather
Copyright © 2017 by Jason Mather
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Published by
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HADES PUBLICATIONS, INC.
P.O. Box 1714,
Calgary, Alberta, T2P 2L7,