I looked at him, incredulous he could be so calm while everything fell apart. “I can’t imagine why. I’d think you’d like the spectacle.”
“Perhaps, but Mars was a long way to travel to see it. Still, despite the distance, I think it was well worth the trip.”
I blinked. “Were you setting him up to fail?”
Belikov’s expression hardened. “The Consortium takes care of its own. Going forward, you needn’t concern yourself with Alexei’s emotional well-being.”
From upstairs, I could hear the sound of furniture smashing. The crashes were thunderous and terrible, reverberating throughout the house. I actually felt the whole structure shake under my feet as if we’d been hit with an earthquake. Belikov winced, and rattled off an order to two of the chain-breakers then sent them upstairs.
For a second, I was worried. In all the time I’d known Alexei, I’d never seen him so out of control. Then I reminded myself he was a lying, murderous bastard I couldn’t be around for another second. It was time to leave.
“Good luck with that,” I spat out.
“Luck? Isn’t that your department?” he asked, chuckling with inappropriate humor. “Not to worry. Soon this unpleasant business will be over and you a forgotten memory in the Consortium’s long history. With a little effort, I’ll bring Alexei round to where I need him.”
Gods, how could I have ever believed I belonged in this world? “You do that. I’m sure you’ll all be very happy together with your secrets and your plots for world domination.”
Finally I wrestled open the door and was outside, breathing the cool night air. I raced down the laneway. Not thinking. Only running. But it’s hard to run from who you are. Impossible actually. By the time I’d made it to the road, I sank into despair. With it came a stabbing pain in my chest more intense than anything I’d ever endured.
I stood for a while on the road in the cold light of Vesta and Pallas, crying. I couldn’t go back to Alexei, even if the calculating gleam in Belikov’s eye made me anxious. I couldn’t go forward to Brody because I wasn’t sure that was where I was supposed to be. I couldn’t go to Lotus or Celeste either. How could I explain when they didn’t know about the luck gene? Plus, I suspected Alexei would come after me once he’d calmed down and I didn’t want to drag them into this. I didn’t know what to do. Every direction was equally wrong.
Until it hit me. There was one place where I could feel protected, though it had its own inherent dangers. Even if my tech was old and crappy, my shitty c-tex bracelet could still reach anyone if I’d contacted them previously.
So I did the only thing I could think to do: I shimmed my grandfather.
Chapter Twenty
Under-Secretary Vieira sent a flight-limo to collect me. It brought me to the house he’d rented while on Mars, just outside Elysium City in a posh district where other One Gov officials lived. Elysium City was the capital of Mars, primarily due to its proximity to the space elevator. Mars didn’t have countries per se. Each city was more of a city-state, governing the surrounding area. Countries might come eventually, but not during my lifetime.
Because it was dark, I couldn’t get a sense of the house other than it was big and One Gov hooahs patrolled the grounds. If Alexei wanted in, he could still manage it, but he’d also have to take on One Gov. I doubted he was that irrational.
Hooahs escorted me inside, each dressed in their standard-issue black uniforms and carrying a variety of weapons as if expecting an immediate attack. If I’d been in a different frame of mind, I might have rolled my eyes. Instead, I shuffled where I was led, barely taking in my surroundings.
Vieira met me in a formal office where it looked like he might meet with other world leaders and they could kiss his ring. It also looked like he was working. Given the time—the tail end of Witching Time—I thought it odd. Then again, Alexei was often awake most of the night working. The Under-Secretary probably kept a similar schedule. It made me realize this man, who practically ran the tri-system and had power over billions of lives, had come all this way to see me. And I was running to him all teary-eyed and pathetic because I’d just broken up with my boyfriend. I might have laughed at the absurdity of the situation if I didn’t feel like dying instead.
He got up from behind a desk that looked to have been carved from a solid slab of granite and approached me.
“May I hug you?” he asked, his Portuguese accent softening the words. “You look like you need it, and I believe it’s what grandfathers do.”
I smiled weakly. “It might be stiff and awkward, but I guess it would be okay.”
He pulled me into his chest and patted my back. Just as quickly, he let me go though his hands remained on my shoulders. He peered down at me with green eyes unnervingly like my own.
“What has he done that’s brought you to my doorstep in the middle of the night?” he asked gently.
I sniffed and rubbed an eye with the palm of my hand. I sort of laugh-cried, as I swiped away the tears. “The long answer, it’s complicated. The short answer, he lied. I shouldn’t have come here but I didn’t know where else to go.”
“It’s fine. I’m sure One Gov can stand against the Consortium a little while longer as you sort yourself out. Perhaps this will allow us an opportunity to learn about each other. Relationships can’t be forced, but we are family so who can say? I’ve had a room prepared for you.” Then he gestured behind me and turned me slowly. “Andreza will show you the way.”
A young woman waited. She had dark olive-toned skin, and long brown hair styled into impossibly shiny waves that made me want to touch it. Her brown eyes were framed with lashes so long, I felt like I was being fanned every time she blinked. She was so fresh and pretty, especially given the late hour, I felt like a bag of crap beside her. I wondered if she was one of Vieira’s three mistresses, then decided I had other nonsense I could occupy my thoughts with.
“Thank you for taking me in,” I said. “I know it’s late and this whole situation is awkward, so again, just…thank you.”
He smiled again. “If family called in the middle of the night and asked for help, would you turn them away?”
The answer was automatic. “Of course not.”
“There’s your answer. You can thank me by letting Andreza take you to your room.”
I gave him a watery smile. “Okay. No more thank-yous then.”
“Exactly. I’ll see you tomorrow. Good night, Felicia.”
“Good night…What do I call you? Sir? Mr. Under-Secretary? Grandfather?”
He laughed. “Let’s leave it at Felipe for now.”
My bracelet vibrated on my wrist. Steeling myself, I looked at the screen. Alexei. I powered it down, leaving it dead on my wrist.
“You will need to speak to him eventually,” Felipe said.
“I know, but not tonight.”
“No,” he agreed. “Not tonight.”
I followed Andreza, swallowed up by One Gov and a family I didn’t even know I had, resolving to deal with everything later. But first, I had to make it through tonight. And that, I knew, wouldn’t be easy.
Later turned out to be an entire week later because once I stepped inside the bedroom, I couldn’t bring myself to leave. I didn’t know what to do. Usually, I relied on my cards or my gut feeling to direct me. No matter how deeply I wallowed in my own misery, I could always come up with a plan.
This time, nothing. I had no ideas. No strategy. No cards. No gut feeling. No way to deal with the situation. All the tricks and tools I’d used in the past felt like they’d betrayed me. I saw myself as a stupid pawn who made bad decisions, picked the wrong men, and bumbled through life without learning anything from my mistakes. Where were the great lessons I should have learned these past twenty-six years? Oh yeah, don’t trust liars. And definitely don’t fall in love with them. Well, too late. I’d done both of those things with spectacular results.
I wanted Alexei and I hated him. I missed him with a pain that made me ache, a pain w
orse than anything I’d experienced a year ago because, then, I hadn’t loved him. Now I did and that made the agony crippling. I hated myself because I’d fallen for his lies all over again. I hated Brody too because he’d brought this chaos into my life and showed me how the life I’d thought was perfect was really a sham.
And now I was stuck on Mars, jobless, homeless, and broke. I had nothing but the clothes on my back and my c-tex bracelet. I didn’t even have Granny G’s cards. I don’t think I’d ever been in more of a mess in my life. It was actually astonishing to me how far I’d fallen—from everything to nothing in mere minutes.
These were the thoughts that chased themselves in my head as I lay in bed for a week and ignored the world. Throughout, Andreza brought me meals whether I wanted them or not, silently taking them away when I couldn’t eat. My new grandfather made a few efforts to talk, but mainly left me alone. So long as I didn’t die in my room, it seemed I could take whatever time I needed to recover.
Eventually, I got up. I felt too gross and sore to lie in bed any longer. Plus, I was bored of my own company. I took a shower in a bathroom as big as my entire condo back on Earth, and lathered up with expensive soaps and shampoos that probably cost more than I made in a month. When I was done, I discovered the ever-helpful Andreza had been in my room, opening the curtains, selecting clothes for me to wear, and leaving more food. I ate part of the sandwich, all of the dessert because I liked chocolate, most of the tea just because I was thirsty. Then I put on the pale cream-colored linen shift and wedge sandals. The shift was pretty, belted at the waist and dotted with pink and white flowers, though it made me feel like I was ten years old.
I glanced down at my c-tex bracelet. I had no desire to turn it on and deal with the real world. Instead, I went in search of my grandfather.
The house wasn’t as big as I’d first thought. It was also sparsely decorated, giving the impression of a hotel, not a home. Perhaps that was the case—a residence to be used only when bigwig One Gov officials were in town. There were bouquets of flowers on fancy little tables, lots of marble and stonework and pictures on the walls, but no sense anyone lived there. In a few places, I found One Gov sentries keeping watch. Their eyes flicked over me, but they mostly ignored me—something that might have freaked me out if I hadn’t lived these past few months with chain-breakers watching my every move.
I found Felipe outside, on the edge of a massive rose garden that encompassed half the property. The sky overhead was a gorgeous, cloudless blue and the sun was warm as it beat down on us. No Phobos in the sky, which was something of a relief. I don’t think I could have handled the uneasy feeling I now had in my gut whenever I saw Phobos overhead. Roses bloomed in a variety of colors and a cobblestone footpath wended its way throughout the garden. From the look of it, I could probably walk for hours before I reached the end of the path.
Felipe was dressed in a faded blue shirt and beige pants with dirty knees, pruning roses. He wore a hat to shade him from the sun and gloves to protect his hands from the thorns. The sight of arguably the most powerful man in the tri-system cutting roses stopped me in my tracks. It was so unexpected and, quite frankly, normal, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. And the thing was, he looked like he knew what he was doing. More surprising, he seemed to be enjoying himself.
He grinned as I approached. “Glad to see you’ve finally decided to join me.”
“I needed a change of scenery,” I admitted. I gestured to the roses. “Aren’t there drones to do this?”
“There are, but I find it restful. We have roses at home, and I tend them when I have a chance. I like the idea of cutting away what’s faded to make room for new growth. Something about it appeals to me. I had these roses transplanted from home, but truthfully, I’ve only ever enjoyed them a handful of times.”
“Are you going to do the whole garden?” I asked, my gaze taking in the roses in their entirety.
“I might. It depends on how long my trip here lasts.”
I nodded as if I had thoughts on the matter. “As soon as you’re finished, you’d probably have to start pruning the whole thing over again. It’s probably easier to leave it to the drones.”
“Yes, but not as satisfying.” Then he looked me over as if considering. “Would you like to help?”
I shrugged. It wasn’t like I had anything else going on. “I wouldn’t want to kill them. I’ve never had a garden. I couldn’t afford the space, and condos aren’t really conducive to growing things. Granny G—that’s my great-grandmother—sometimes had a vegetable garden back in Nairobi if we lived anywhere long enough. I helped when I was little, though I probably got in her way more than anything.”
“I’m sure she appreciated your help,” he said kindly. Then he directed my attention to the rosebush in front of me. “It’s not as difficult as you think. Besides, these are hardier than what’s back on Earth. Much tougher to kill. Let me show you how it’s done.”
So he showed me where to cut and what to trim, how to open up the plant to let in light and let air circulate, at what angle to cut and to never leave a ragged edge. I went back inside and changed into something more appropriate for gardening. I tied back my hair so it wouldn’t get caught in the thorns, was given a pair of pruning shears and a basket for my clippings, then set to work in my grandfather’s garden.
Pruning roses was a different sort of workout than the gym. Lots of kneeling, crouching, and bending over. My back was aching within twenty minutes. Added to that bit of nastiness, I was jabbed by thorns at least half a dozen times. Those little bastards poked right through the gloves, getting their revenge on me without a care in the world. But it was mind-numbing and oddly satisfying to make a rosebush take shape. It was also pretty and smelled like heaven. Being surrounded by all those colors and having to do nothing but decide where and when to cut was soothing.
Time passed, and at one point, I realized I was alone. I looked around, unnerved by the utter stillness with nothing more than me, the roses, the breeze, and the sun. Oddly, I felt like I was on display even though I knew I was alone. Shaking off the feeling, I went back to work because I wanted to get to the end of the section I was pruning. It was really starting to take shape and actually looked like I knew what I was doing. I looked back at the pink roses with an enormous feeling of satisfaction. I could see why Felipe would find this enjoyable. Maybe I should think about growing roses when I got to…Well, when I got to wherever I was going to end up.
By the time I’d finished, Felipe returned and told me it was time for dinner, which shocked the hell out of me. I checked my c-tex before remembering it was off—no wonder I’d lost track of time. My back and legs were aching, but it was a pleasant ache. It probably wouldn’t feel so pleasant later when my abused body demanded to know what the hell I’d been doing with it, but for now, it was nice.
“I’d like to do this again tomorrow if that’s okay,” I said, watching as the sun cast longer and longer shadows along the ground.
Felipe grinned. “I think that can be arranged.”
I pruned roses with my grandfather, the Under-Secretary for One Gov, for the entire week. When I asked him if he had other things to do, he admitted he could still check on work via the CN-net. Besides, a little time off never hurt anyone. Sometimes he went away and left me on my own for stretches of time. Others, we worked companionably together. We didn’t talk much, and when we did, it was about roses. Or he’d tell me about his childhood on Earth. He was actually very funny, with a sense of humor I could appreciate. And when I did think about Alexei, it was in the few minutes before I fell into an exhausted, dreamless sleep.
I was disappointed when we finished pruning, and it seemed that once you were done, you didn’t need to start again. It would probably be another few weeks before the roses needed tending. But by the time we were done, I also knew I couldn’t keep pretending the rest of my life didn’t exist.
We were having dinner that night, just the two of us, when Felipe said, “There
’s a problem on Venus I’d like your help with.”
I looked up from my re-molecularized pork tenderloin, which was a thousand times better than anything I’d ever cooked myself, and stared at him. “I’m not sure how I could help.”
“Perhaps all I’m looking for is a second opinion,” he said. “There’s a village in Aphrodite Terra, settled before the region could be properly mapped. They’re stubborn on Venus. Left too long to their own devices, the colonists tend to run wild. It’s like the American Old West there sometimes.”
“I’m sorry, but I’m not familiar with that period,” I admitted.
“Suffice it to say that they’re reckless, headstrong, and can take advantage of a situation when no one’s watching. I’ve been focusing more on issues with the Consortium than Venus, so I’ll admit I haven’t been giving events there my full attention.”
I stiffened at that. “What’s going on with the Consortium?” Even if I was upset with Alexei, if something bad had happened, or if my reading had suddenly come true, I wasn’t sure what I’d do.
“I’m not entirely sure,” he admitted. “There are rumblings on the CN-net, and of course there are always spies and double agents, but it’s difficult to be certain.”
“Is Alexei…Do you know if he’s okay?”
“So far as I know, yes. And he still heads the Consortium, but there are issues with the mines. The incidents are isolated, but messy. People are dying. Resources aren’t in jeopardy yet but the violence is escalating and we think the problem stems from within the Consortium’s ranks. Unfortunately, my sources are only so good.”
“It’s because that snake Belikov is here,” I muttered, stabbing at my food, nearly knocking it off my plate.
“That’s entirely possible. But I’d like to talk to you about Venus and my village on Aphrodite Terra.”
I tried to refocus and not let myself worry about Alexei. His problems weren’t my concern anymore. Yeah, right.
The Chaos of Luck Page 27