Analog SFF, January-February 2009

by Dell Magazine Authors

  Yu had reviewed those plans so many times that he felt he knew this house. He'd toured the holographic model, he'd opened all of the various security systems, he had slipped through the doors as if they were his own. He was ready.

  He only hoped Rhonda Shindo wasn't.

  He had planned his arrival for the middle of the day, when Rhonda Shindo would be at work and her daughter would be at school. He wanted to establish himself in the house before either of them arrived, shut down the House system, and use the element of surprise to get Rhonda Shindo out of there with the minimum of fuss.

  He had to deliver her alive and undamaged to the Gyonnese. He also had to check to make sure that Shindo hadn't done a secondary bait and switch. There was the slight possibility that her so-called cloned daughter, named Talia, was the actual original daughter, Emmeline.

  Before he left, he needed to check for the mandatory cloning number, which was usually tattooed on the back of the head.

  The house had a side entrance, made invisible from the neighborhood houses by nooks and crannies in the design. Valhalla Basin residents were encouraged to use the front entrance, in full view of the neighbors and the street. Most residents did, but Shindo didn't.

  She did a number of things that weren't typical for Valhalla Basin residents, including a refusal to upgrade her House computer to the best model possible.

  Yu's hacker colleague had already given Yu the repair code for the House system that Shindo was using. All he had to do was touch it into the small security panel on the side door, and the door clicked open.

  "Nice,” Nafti whispered.

  Yu whirled on him. Nafti had prepared himself for this job by tattooing his entire face and extending the whites of his eyes so that his blue irises looked like mere slits.

  "I was just saying...” Nafti shrugged.

  "Nothing,” Yu whispered. “You're saying nothing from now on."

  Yu knew that wouldn't last, but it would cut down on the random chatter. He stepped inside the house. The side door opened into a kitchen that smelled faintly of real Earth coffee.

  "We have not put in a request for service,” the House said in a kind, matronly voice. “I shall notify the homeowner of your presence immediately."

  "The homeowner requested our presence,” Yu said. That claim would stall the House system while it verified his statement.

  He went into the living room—sparsely decorated with the provided Aleyd furniture and a few personal items—and opened the House's control panel. One glance confirmed that Shindo had the system he expected her to have, with no upgrades and no internal modifications.

  This was the system he had already disabled in his practices, and he did the same here. He set up the system to shut down any human's internal links, so no one could contact the authorities from the inside. He left the House's overall system mostly intact—so that environment, cleaning, and general maintenance went on as usual—but he dismantled every aspect of the security systems except the ones that would trigger an automatic silent alarm.

  Which meant that the exterior security barrier was still active. All he did there was disable the cameras closest to the side door.

  He saw that feature as a protection for himself as well. If anyone unexpected—even a police officer—approached the front door, the House would comment on it and ask him if he wanted to take action. The part of the House system that notified anyone outside of the house of an approach had already been disabled by the homeowner, probably because it would be annoying to be interrupted at work every time a neighbor came by.

  Even though the work was easy, his heart was pounding. He was used to quick jobs. When he was recovering things, all he would do was enter, shut down the security system, and recover the item. He would already know where the item was, what it looked like, and how hard it would be to carry.

  "Okay, we're in,” Nafti said from the kitchen. “Now what?"

  "You let me work,” Yu said. “Go to the bedroom and wait. The woman will be here soon."

  But not that soon. Yu figured he had about three hours to prepare the scene. He wandered through the common area. He had to set up the repeating holographic message that the Gyonnese wanted to leave behind. The message explained Rhonda Shindo's crimes, in case the Valhalla Basin police did not know she was a convicted felon under Earth Alliance law.

  The message would give Yu time to escape with his prisoner and get to the rendezvous point. Because even though the Valhalla Basin police department was on Aleyd's payroll, it had to enforce Earth Alliance laws. And Earth Alliance laws allowed for the capture—or in this case, recapture—of a convicted felon.

  The thing that the holoimage did not mention was that, as far as the Earth Alliance was concerned, the conditions of Shindo's sentence had been met and there was no need to take her back into custody.

  If the Valhalla Basin police force was like any other force, it would take them a while to access that information and even longer to act on it.

  By then, Yu hoped to have already turned Shindo over to the Gyonnese.

  The side door rattled, then banged open. Yu jumped, half expecting some kind of exclamation out of Nafti. But, for once, the big man said nothing. Maybe he hadn't heard.

  "Mom?” A young girl's voice echoed through the silent kitchen.

  Yu's heart pounded. He had hoped to avoid the girl entirely. She should have arrived home long after her mother had.

  "Your mother has not returned from work as of yet,” the House said.

  Yu felt a half second of relief. The House hadn't revealed his presence.

  "What's that smell?” the girl asked.

  Nafti's cologne. Yu had gotten used to it, but it probably trailed behind him everywhere he went.

  "It is a mixture of yicia leaves and synthesized scent enhancers, probably initially sold in a spray form,” the House said. “I am unfamiliar with the brand name, but I could find it for you."

  "No,” the girl said with irritation.

  Yu pressed himself against the wall. She walked past him into the nearest bedroom. She was as tall as he was, and rail thin. She also had the blondest hair he had ever seen.

  "Just tell me where the smell is coming from,” the girl said.

  "That information is not available to me,” the House said.

  "What?"

  Yu headed toward the bedroom, hoping it wasn't the one Nafti was waiting in. He didn't want Nafti to get to the girl first.

  "What do you mean it's not available to you?"

  "Exactly that,” the House said. “Certain things are no longer within my purview. If you would like the controls reset, you must contact the homeowner and have her use the established protocols."

  "Homeowner?” the girl said. “What—?"

  Her voice cut off suddenly. Then there was a large bang, followed by a female grunt. Apparently Nafti had been waiting in that room after all.

  Yu hurried in. Nafti had his strong arms wrapped around the girl. Her eyes were a pale blue and they flashed with anger.

  "Who the hell are you?” the girl shouted. Then she said, “House! House! Notify security! Call the police! Call Mom!"

  "I'm sorry,” the House said. “My emergency system has been disabled. If you would like to reinstate the programming, you need to..."

  The House system continued speaking, but the girl screamed over it. She kicked at Nafti but he held her tighter, cutting off her scream.

  "You're not supposed to damage her, remember?” Yu said. He had made that rule when he hired Nafti. Yu didn't want anyone to get hurt on this trip, particularly the girl and her mother. Not to mention the fact that the Gyonnese wanted Rhonda Shindo to be undamaged.

  Nafti let the girl go. She staggered forward, gasping for air.

  "Grab her arms and hold her, but don't hurt her,” Yu said. “I have to check something."

  Nafti reached for the girl and she slapped at him. The movement was ineffectual. She was still gasping for air.

  Nafti caught the
girl by the arms and pulled them behind her. Tears sprang into her eyes.

  "Not so tight,” Yu said.

  Nafti loosened his grip. Yu walked up to both of them.

  The girl stared at him in complete hatred.

  "Sit her down,” Yu said.

  Nafti sat. The girl had no choice but to do the same.

  Yu crouched beside them. The girl continued to watch him, her pale eyes defiant.

  "Bend your head forward,” Yu said.

  She raised her chin ever so slightly. She never took her gaze off him. He both admired her spirit and worried about it. If the Gyonnese had sent someone else, her attitude could have gotten her injured or worse.

  "Bend your head forward,” he said in his most menacing tone, “or we'll do it for you."

  "No,” she said. “And you can't make me."

  The answer was childish. He hadn't expected it from her. She continued to watch him, her cheeks turning a pale rose—whether from fear or anger, he couldn't tell.

  Yu sighed and nodded to Nafti. Nafti clutched her arms with one beefy hand and put the other on top of her head, pressing it forward.

  Yu brushed Nafti's fingers, releasing a little of the pressure. Then Yu pushed aside the hair at the base of the girl's neck.

  He didn't see a cloning mark. By Earth Alliance law, clones were supposed to be marked with their number—the first clone getting a 1 and so on. He had expected to find a five.

  That he found nothing made him nervous.

  So had her behavior. Maybe he just wasn't used to sixteen year olds, but he didn't remember them being quite as reckless and childish as this girl. Maybe the Gyonnese had gotten it wrong. Maybe she wasn't the original child or a clone.

  Maybe she was a sibling.

  "How old are you?” he asked.

  "How old are you?” she snapped back.

  Nafti grinned at him. Yu glared. He didn't want the girl to know that she was impressing them.

  "Cooperate, child,” he said. “Then we won't have to hurt you."

  She didn't say anything.

  Nafti clutched the top of her skull and slowly turned her head until the strain showed in her neck muscles. Yu shook his head at Nafti but didn't verbally remind him to leave the girl alone.

  Yu moved so that he could see the girl's face. It was red. Tears stained the corners of her eyes.

  He wanted to tell Nafti to stop, but before he did, he needed to get control of this girl. So Yu said, “It doesn't matter to us what condition you're in, so long as you're alive. Doctors can repair almost any injury these days, so long as you don't die first. But they can't take away the pain you'll experience until the injury is fixed. You'll always have the memory of that. We can guarantee it."

  She blinked at him.

  "Now,” he added, “tell me how old you are."

  "I'm thirteen,” she said, tears in her voice.

  He was trembling. If she was a sibling, he had to take her and the mother. He wasn't prepared for that. He'd only said that the ship had a crew complement of three. He'd have to find a way to explain the girl's presence.

  "Thirteen?” he said. “Stop lying."

  "I'm not lying.” The tears made her voice thicker. “Honest I'm not."

  "You can't be thirteen,” he said.

  "I am.” Her hands clenched against the floor, but she no longer tried to get away. “You've got the wrong family."

  He felt a thread of panic. The houses did all look the same.

  "You're Rhonda Shindo's daughter, right?"

  "Yes,” she said. “But you confused my mother with someone else."

  He didn't answer that. She had no idea who her mother was.

  Nafti kept his hand on the girl's head, but he watched Yu. “Maybe the mother shaved twenty-nine Earth months off her age."

  Yu thought about that for a moment. Maybe the mother lied to the daughter. She had lied about everything else.

  "Or maybe they're counting her age in units other than Earth time.” Yu turned to the girl. “Tell me your age in Earth years."

  A tear ran down her cheek. She looked confused. “I'm thirteen Earth years."

  Yu cursed.

  "The tag has to be on the back of the neck,” Nafti said.

  "Only in the Alliance,” Yu said. What if Shindo had cloned the daughter outside of the Alliance? Then he wouldn't be able to tell if she was a clone or not.

  "What tag?” the girl asked. “What's a tag?"

  Yu ignored her. He reached for his pouch and said to Nafti, “A couple places do put the tag under the skin."

  He opened the pouch and brought a pen shaped laser identifier. He hated these things. They weren't always accurate. But it should at least reveal if she had a hidden tag.

  She was watching him. “You're not going to cut me open, are you?"

  The identifier couldn't cut open skin. It was designed so that it wouldn't harm anyone. But apparently, she didn't know that. So he decided to use it to his advantage.

  "Naw, honey,” he said coldly. “Head wounds bleed."

  He moved the identifier toward her. She closed her eyes.

  Nafti turned her head back to a normal position and Yu held the identifier about the base of the skull.

  "Nothing,” he said in frustration. He didn't want to take her with him.

  "Some of these places allow tags anywhere on the back of the head, so long as they're not in front of the ears for humans.” Nafti said. Yu wondered how he knew this.

  Yu moved the identifier. He shoved more hair aside and then moved the delicate edge of her right ear. A number flared up at him.

  "There it is!” Nafti said as if he had discovered it himself.

  But Yu wasn't excited. He was irritated. The Gyonnese had it wrong. She wasn't a Fifth.

  "It's a six,” he said. “A damn six. When were you born?"

  The girl was shaking. She gave the date and the year in Earth time, then repeated it in Alliance Standard.

  "Thirteen Earth years ago,” Nafti said as if Yu couldn't do the math himself.

  "Six. That bitch put her here as a decoy.” How many children had that woman created for the sake of her own ego? How many had been captured by the Gyonnese before being let go as unworthy?

  "What?” the girl asked.

  She had the right to know what her so-called mother did to her. She had to know that she wasn't here as a beloved child, but as an extra round of protection for her mother.

  "You weren't born, you know,” Yu said. “You were hatched. You know that, right?"

  "What?” she asked again, her voice even smaller.

  "Maybe she doesn't know,” Nafti said. Was the girl getting to him, too? “Or maybe she had things erased. You want to check?"

  For once, Nafti had outthought him. Of course he would want to check. If the girl knew where the original was, then Yu could go back to the Gyonnese with that information—and without Rhonda Shindo.

  "Please don't mess with my brain,” the girl said. She sounded truly terrified for the first time.

  Yu ignored it. He had to.

  "I don't have the skill to do a full memory recovery,” he said. He didn't have the skill to do a memory recovery at all. “I was just supposed to bring her back. Humans are out of my league."

  "There are truth drugs,” Nafti said. “I've used them before. Here, hold her."

  And then he swung the girl toward Yu. Yu grabbed her, feeling startled. Nafti must have worked with Trackers. Otherwise he would have had no need for truth drugs.

  Nafti got up and left the room. Yu's heart was pounding. Would truth drugs hurt the girl? He had no idea.

  The girl didn't say anything. She just trembled. He respected that silence. She was terrified, but she wasn't going to beg.

  Nafti returned with a small vial. He poured some leaves from it into his hand. Then he grabbed the girl by the face, forced her mouth open, and shoved the leaves into it, massaging her throat until she swallowed.

  She coughed and then choked. That w
as enough. Yu didn't care what she knew. He reached around and pulled the herbs out of her mouth.

  Her eyes were already lolling in the back of her head.

  "How much did you give her?” Yu asked.

  "Normal dose,” Nafti said.

  "For what size human?” Yu snapped. The girl fell limply against him.

  "I dunno. Most."

  "This girl is younger than most. Get some water."

  Nafti disappeared again. When he came back he had a glass. Yu rinsed the girl's mouth. He'd hate it if she died.

  "Can this stuff kill?"

  Nafti shrugged.

  Yu glared at him. “House,” Yu said. “Do you have medical protocols?"

  "I do,” the House said.

  "And a baseline for the daughter of Rhonda Shindo?"

  "I do,” the House said.

  "Analyze this and tell me if it will harm the girl.” Yu looked at Nafti. “Go pour that truth drug on the card near the main control panel. Now."

  Nafti disappeared into the living room. There was a momentary silence, and then the House said, “There are no harmful herbs here. Depending on the dose, the girl will either be quite talkative or she will sleep for several hours."

  "Looks like we got sleep,” Yu said to Nafti.

  "If you would like,” the House said, “I will do a body analysis to see if the herbs have interacted with anything in her system."

  "Yes,” Yu said. “Do that."

  A small needle formed out of a nearby piece of rug. It took some skin and blood samples from the girl and then disappeared into the rug again.

  Yu stared at it. He knew there was a reason he didn't own his own home. It could attack him at any time.

  "She will sleep for twelve Earth hours,” the House said. “She has ingested no other drugs. She will awaken slowly and might be confused about what has occurred."

  But he wasn't sure he would be off-planet within twelve hours. He had to make sure she didn't notify the authorities.

  "Put her in that closet,” Yu said to Nafti. “Make her comfortable. I'll take care of the rest."

  * * * *