by Darcy Town
“And sentenced your entire planet to an invasion?”
“It’s going to happen anyways! Why would we be different from any of their other colonies?”
“Colonies?” Rake’s father shook his head. “Enough, we’re not speaking on this. I am here for one thing. If you do not provide her to me, I will be forced to go through with the execution.”
“Forced?” Rake laughed. “I can see it pains you so much.”
The President stood. “You are still my son.” He looked disgusted. “That does mean something despite how much of a failure you turned out to be.”
“No thanks to you either, I failed all on my own.” Rake grinned. “Do you want to hear what I’ve been up to recently? I spent the last year shooting up and getting high, and to pay for that I took to blowing guys in back alleys and setting up rigged gambling tables and I almost always took money from Americans, just for you, Daddy.”
“Why do you tell me these things? Do you think it will evoke pity?”
“No.” Rake shrugged. “But it makes you get this queasy look on your face. You look like a sick bird.”
“Drake—”
“Not my name.”
The President struggled for calm. “Rake, there is no point to withholding her location, you neither have the funds nor the resources to help her, but I can. The same alien bastards you hate can help her.”
Rake examined his face. “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“Why help her now?”
“She’s my daughter!”
“I’m your son! And you’re planning on putting me to death on fucking daytime television between soap operas!”
“The public expects it.” The President sighed and straightened his tie. “You tried to kill me.”
“I just wanted to poke you a bit. You would’ve bled. We would have had some beers and laughed it off later. It would have been a charming bonding experience.”
“Somehow I doubt that.”
Rake shrugged. “Well that’s my version anyways. So, aliens are going to cure Sammy. Is this with more of their bribes to keep silent about the fact that they’re out there?”
“You really have no idea what kind of technology they have, what we have now, Rake. They could help her, they could restore her! But you don’t know, because you’ve been stuck in that disgusting backwater Bangkok for too long.”
“I like being at the bottom.” Rake leaned his head back on the metal chair. “Sammy doesn’t want to see you.”
“How do you know?”
“We’re twins. We have super psychic twin powers. Hold on, I’ll channel her.” Rake closed his eyes and made his voice high, “Fuck you, Dad. I hate you! You should let Rake go! I think Rake’s the best!”
Rake’s father scowled. “Is everything a game to you? Everything is one large joke? Even your death and your sister’s health?”
Rake grinned. “You’re such a joke yourself. I can’t help but follow along. Only Sammy, well, ventures forth, cutting her physical strings so to speak.” He raised an eyebrow. “Unless you impregnated some other poor woman, do I have blood-related siblings?”
That got a glare in response. “No.”
“Too bad.” Rake frowned. “Oh well.”
“You’re not going to give her up are you?”
“Nope.” Rake smiled. “And with my death her location goes with me and you’ll never speak to her again. So sad for you.”
His father got up. “You should think of her, Rake. I can’t imagine she is doing well or is happy wherever you have her secreted away to.”
“She is peachy keen.”
The President looked him over. “You’d tell me, if she were finally dead wouldn’t you?”
“No, of course not.” Rake looked away. “You have no right to know anything about either of us. You lost that privilege a long time ago.”
“You’re being selfish, Rake, terribly selfish.” He headed towards the door. “We can help her.”
“She doesn’t need your help or want it. In fact, I am pretty sure she’d like to remain as-is forever rather than get help from you.”
The President knocked at the door and looked back one last time. “If you change your mind, tell anyone, and the deal still stands.”
“Are you worried she’s going to do something? Another unfortunate virus or web attack on the White House, is that why?” His father turned back and shook his head. Rake smiled. “And you think I’m unruly, girls are always worse.”
His father stepped out as the door opened. He did not look back or speak to his son further. Jason entered. “My, that didn’t go well.”
“Suck my dick and swallow.”
“No thanks, Drake.” Jason smiled and lit a cigarette. “Come on, I’m taking you back to your holding cell.”
“Holding cell? Why can’t they just shoot me now?”
Jason walked around the table and worked on detaching Rake from the chair. “We need a good time slot for it, Drake. No one wants to watch an execution at eight AM in the morning.” He hauled Rake to his feet.
Rake slammed his forehead into Jason’s, knocking the other man into the wall. He made no move to escape; he just watched and laughed as Jason touched his head. Rake bowed. “All right, I’m ready.”
Jason got to his feet. He kneed Rake in the groin and pressed his head against the metal table. Jason took a drag on his cigarette. “You’re such a spoilt brat. Did you know that?”
“You’re a repressed fag. Did you know that?” Rake smiled. “I know you only hate me because I’m beautiful, step-bro.”
Jason stabbed the lit cigarette into Rake’s cheek. Rake closed his eyes and fought to ignore the pain. Jason pulled Rake upright and brushed the ash off. “Not so pretty anymore. I can add a few more of those, so behave. The public wants to see your pretty face.” Jason shoved him out the door and let the guards grab hold of Rake and take him away.
***
Ravil took hours to go from drowsy to fully conscious. She was sore, her muscles cramped, her head filled with stuffing. She yawned and sat up in a plush bed, huge and soft. She looked around. “Rake?”
She sought him out with her senses, but couldn’t feel a thing. She tried again, same result. “Rake?” No answer. Her heart pounded, each beat a labor. She looked around in desperation. “Rake!”
She jumped out of bed, tripped, and fell to the hardwood floor of the bedroom. She shook off the hit to her head and looked at her limbs. Her feet and wrists were bound in metal coils. She rolled to sitting and stared at the handcuffs. Her stomach churned as she recognized the metal. “Gold.”
She bit the handcuffs and pain shot through her teeth. She winced and took deep breaths. Gold was bad, very bad. Gold meant she couldn’t jump. She couldn’t sense Rake, even if he sat right next to her. She couldn’t even sense the room. The metal dampened her natural talents to the point that she effectively had none. She climbed back up into the bed and looked around.
The room was gorgeous, modeled after European aesthetics. Drapes, silks, and hardwood were everywhere. The large windows to her left looked out onto a massive estate. Sunlight illuminated a stretching lawn where the natural flora was artificially held at bay. She did not recognize where she was; the room itself was unmarked. The door at the far end of the room was chained shut.
Ravil squinted, searching for a Codex or a phone. Bookcases lined the walls, but the books were in a myriad of different languages, nothing to indicate her locale. There were no electronic devices, not even an old-fashioned telephone. She looked back at herself. Someone had dressed her while she was out; the clothes she wore were bright, a wrap of some kind from silk. She pulled at her gold bindings, but they did not twist or budge. She steeled her nerves and bit the metal a second time.
Her teeth dented the cuffs. She tore and wrenched, but could do nothing other than deform the surface. Ravil let go with a gasp. She sank her head into the pillows and rode out the wave of pain that radiated from her mouth. Even
that pain, though intense, could not cut through the growing anxiety that separation from Rake caused.
Ravil bit on the gold to drown one ache out with another. Gold was not poisonous to Navigators. Though it felt like a corrosive material ate away at her mouth, no damage other than redness was apparent on the skin. She held back tears as the pain slowly faded. Thoughts of Rake seeped in.
Ravil took a deep breath and bit again. Her scream tore through the room and into the hall beyond, but no one came to check on her. She stared at the metal, determined, but bogged down with a sinking sense of hopelessness. There was nothing she could do to help her situation and as far as she was aware, no one even knew where she was. She was on her own.
***
Danny’s Wasters and the trio of Hunters stopped a fair distance north of Bombay; they pulled their vehicles off a rarely used road and regrouped. Danny and Lincoln reviewed the information that Tasanee and Oro had retrieved from hacking into the local government’s computers. They’d been able to confirm Ravil’s location north of the city. Rake was held south of them in the city of Bombay itself. Their locations were marked on their GPS devices.
Lincoln, Oro, Evgeniy, and Katarina planned to remain north of Bombay, set to attack the place Ravil was held. If they could free her, she was the best chance Rake had at a successful escape. In case of their failure, Marx, Tasanee, Danny, and Kennedy would head into the city itself to retrieve Rake. Satisfaction with the group divisions was low except where Marx was concerned; he was thrilled.
As the groups parted, individuals shared goodbyes. Tasanee allowed Katarina to hug her; she patted her on the back with her working hand. They had not spoken privately since they left Bangkok. Tasanee let her go. “Kat.”
“I…Rat, I’m sorry for—”
“Shut up.” Tasanee looked away. “I know what Rake and the rest of these people mean to you, and I’ve been an interloper into your family.” She took a deep breath. “But I will fight to save Rake. I just hope you do the same for Ravil.”
Katarina nodded. “I don’t wish her any harm, Tasanee!”
Tasanee kept her gaze averted. “I know, but you’d rather she and he stayed apart. Don’t try to deny it. I’ve been watching you since he came back.” She frowned. “I am not going to even try and understand what you feel. Whether it’s love or something else, it doesn’t matter to me. A part of you wants to be with him in some capacity and that part wants him over me. I can accept that, but I don’t want to get my heart broken by having to watch it happen.
“So until you figure yourself out, I want out.” Tasanee squeezed Katarina’s hand. “I don’t mean any hard feelings, and I’m not mad, but I can see myself getting hurt and angry. I don’t want to get mad at you or at him or at anyone and I will if I try and hold onto something like this. What we have, it’s getting torn from me, so I’d better let it go before it takes part of me with it, right?”
Katarina paled. “Tasanee, I—”
“You and I were a pairing of convenience and it was a lot of damn good fun, but I’ve never been able to get into that part of your heart that you reserved for Rake and Sammy. You’ve never let that part of yourself be open to anyone but them.”
Katarina’s eyes welled up with tears. “I’m sorry I couldn’t, I tried.”
Tasanee shrugged. “If I was in your shoes I might feel the same way and seriously, no hard feelings.” She repressed tears and smacked Katarina on the arm. “I want you to feel better, and I want you to get better. You’re my big buxom best friend regardless of what happens, right?”
“Of course!” Katarina’s hands trembled. “You’re that to me too. I care for you, Tasanee; I just can’t love you in that—”
“Please don’t say it.” Tasanee winced. “I already know. I’ve known for awhile.” She took a deep breath. “I hope you can find someone that can get into your heart the way they did.”
Katarina nodded. “Thank you.”
“We’ll get a beer after all this is done. I am remarkably chill about exes.” Tasanee forced a smile and looked into her eyes. “Rake’s healing that part of him. Maybe he can help you heal it too. Who knows, maybe you’ll even miss me while I’m gone.”
“I know I will.” Katarina ran her hands through Tasanee’s short hair. “You will always mean a great deal to me.”
Tasanee gave her one last squeeze and turned away. She bit her tongue to keep from sobbing; her body rigid as she walked to the rest of her group. Danny blocked Marx and drew her into a hug. He whispered, “Don’t talk about not being a part of my family, you are and have been since I found you.”
“I endeared myself to you with my thieving ways.” Tasanee wiped tears from her eyes. “Hey, I’m fine.” She pushed at Danny. “It wasn’t like I didn’t know this was coming.”
Danny rubbed her shoulders. “She’s confused Tasanee, the whole thing—”
“It doesn’t matter, Danny.”
“I know you love her.”
“Danny.” Tasanee gripped his arm. “I appreciate the father act, I really do, but I’m okay. I’d rather get out now and spare my feelings. Katarina’s a big girl. She’ll figure out what she needs eventually. She doesn’t need me cluttering up her feelings with guilt on top of everything else.”
Danny smiled. “When did you get to be so mature?”
“I’ve always been mature you fucking ageist.” Tasanee jutted out her jaw.
Marx sidled up to the pair and grabbed Tasanee as soon as Danny freed her. The Hunter bent down and licked Tasanee’s wounded wrist. He tended to the pain as a pretense to gauge her feelings. “You are leaking tears, and you are mourning for her as if she is dead.”
“Yeah, well...” Tasanee rubbed her eyes. “You don’t have to fight Katarina anymore.”
Marx kissed her cheek gently. “A good thing for her.”
Tasanee elbowed Marx. “I didn’t mean that I am yours or you’re mine you freak! I meant she’s no longer my girlfriend, so you can leave her alone. This does not change anything between you and me.” Her tears stopped as she found herself irritated with the Hunter. “Stop looking at me like that!”
Marx’s mood was not to be dampened. The Hunter re-tied her bandages. “Is there anything I can get you?”
“Yeah, can you give me some silence for like two minutes or how about a few feet of space? How about that?”
“Yes, my little rat.”
“I am not yours!” Tasanee stalked off.
Oro walked by, carrying a bag with his electronic equipment; his portable Fix-It talent, as Lincoln called it. He kept his eyes on the grass. He was remotely aware of what was going on, but he didn’t really care where he went or which group he was with. All he could think of was Theo.
Danny caught Oro and gave him a hug. He held him tight, trying to keep his own grief and guilt at bay. “Oro, do not let this kill you. Theo wouldn’t have wanted that, I don’t want that, Nina doesn’t want that.”
Oro nodded once. “I know.”
“Sending him was my fault. I’m sorry, Oro.”
Oro swallowed a sob. “He volunteered to go.”
“Oro I…I’m here if you need to talk, or if you want to deck me a few times. But please don’t shut me out.”
“Yeah, okay, okay.” Oro sniffled. “I’m fine. We’ll talk about it later.”
Danny squeezed Oro’s shoulders. “I’ll see you soon.” He let Oro go and drew Lincoln out of hearing range of the others. “I fear he may…suicide.”
Lincoln nodded. “I know of subspecies that do this when their mate dies, ours is not one. Do all of your kind do this?”
Danny shook his head, thinking about his dead wife. “No, we find something else to live for, or we’re too cowardly to do the deed in which case we heal from time itself.”
Lincoln took off his sunglasses and stared into Danny’s eyes. “Then I will find him something to live for.”
Danny was startled. “You will?”
“He is a pack member, and as part of my
contingent his health falls to me.” Lincoln rubbed his chin. “I will work on this issue during the time we are together.”
Danny didn’t know what to do. He nodded. “Uh, right, thanks.”
Lincoln inclined his head. “Keep mine safe in return. Kennedy is young and impetuous. Tight leash and he will obey. Feel free to beat him if he steps out of line. Do this and he will respect your role as leader.”
Danny nodded. “Understood. Mine do not respond well to beating, I don’t suggest doing it.”
Lincoln looked to his trio of Wasters. “Also understood, their bodies are too fragile for it. I do not wish to cripple our pack.” The pair of leaders went over their plan of attack once more and divided. Lincoln’s group took off towards the north.
Danny watched them go and looked to Marx, Kennedy, and Tasanee. He smiled, tired. “Right, we have the fun job.”
Kennedy grinned. “We get to kill things! Lots of things!”
“Yes, more than likely.” Danny brought out the map Oro had loaded onto his handheld GPS. “Rat has the least chance of being caught entering the city—”
“Racist.” Tasanee managed to smile.
“Being white…” Danny looked at the Hunters. “And different. Rat, are you sure you’re okay with going overland alone?
“Yeah, I’m fine. Rather be driving on the streets than hiking though the sewers you’ll be in. As for the rest of my job, Oro already showed me their waste management systems. Won’t be a problem getting inside.” She held onto the keycard Oro had fabricated. “I’ll be able to open the doors, but you’d better be there when I do.”
Marx nodded. “We will be, nothing will stop us.”
Tasanee smirked. “Can your noses handle the smell?”
Kennedy nearly danced. “The smell, I can’t wait! Delicious smell!”
Danny grimaced. “I think the only one in danger of passing out is me, Rat.”
“I hear you will get used to it and stop smelling it.” She punched his shoulder. “Hey this is our first real mission together!”
Danny smiled. “True.”
“Right, okay.” She thumped her hand on the door of their covered truck. “Get in back. I’ll let you know when we’re at a sewer outlet.”