Mortal Lock

by Andrew Vachss

  CHARM

  (inside her own head, watching the blood dry)

  I have to be careful not to go too deep. Blood dries quick here, and the moisture keeps it clean. By tomorrow, it’ll look like a tattoo. Besides, even the Scanners know—you can’t work the fields without getting cuts on you every so often.

  FADE TO:

  Radioman talking to a Merchant Boy, gesturing frantically. Finally, he hands over a bone-handled knife. As the Merchant Boy speaks, he listens intently, then walks off.

  RADIOMAN

  (aloud, as if speaking to someone next to him)

  Now I know where it is. I’m going there. Now.

  FADE TO:

  Charm is on her bunk, wearing a regulation sleep-suit. But she is wideawake, her slitted eyes sweeping the dorm.

  CHARM

  (inner voice)

  There’s other Dancing Girls here. But even talking to a member of your own crew means you get a jolt. Everything is on video. Even in the dark, they have infra and thermal. There’s no way to connect.

  Marking myself is all I have. The Rulers know the Overseers are going to want sex, so they make them take pills. But they don’t work—they don’t erase things, they just bury them. You have to know how to dig down deep. The nuim helps me do that.

  I can do it anytime I want now. And I have only three cycles left.

  She closes her eyes and fades into a peaceful sleep as the camera comes in on Radioman, checking the map he bought from the Merchant Boy.

  RADIOMAN

  (to the voice in his head)

  Why are you lying? Charm will come with me. What she said that time, she only did that to fool the others. The only thing that scares me is how the HydroFarm changes people. I remember when Ithar got off the Discharge Conveyor; he was like a different person. Maybe it’s the jolts. That’s when I first started hearing you. When I was there myself before, I mean.

  CUT TO:

  Charm, back to working in the fields. She drops to her knees and puts her head down, pulling at a stubborn root. She cants her head to one side, sweeping the area. When she picks up on an Overseer watching her, she twitches her bottom subtly. Her mouth is an ugly slash in her face.

  CUT TO:

  Radioman, now standing on the far perimeter of the HydroFarm:

  RADIOMAN

  (to the voice)

  I can see Charm now, but I have to make sure she sees me before I take her away. I have to be quiet until then. No moving!

  CUT TO:

  Charm, still in the same position, still eye-sweeping the area. She knows the show she’s putting on will keep the Overseer from ordering her back to work.

  CHARM

  (inner voice)

  That crazy Radioman has been here for three turns now, just standing outside the perimeter. He came for me because I have what he needs. I have what they all need. And I can’t wait anymore.

  She stands up, holds up two fingers. Looking at the Overseer. She licks her lips.

  The Overseer nods, pointing at his wrist.

  Charm takes off.

  RADIOMAN

  (to the voice)

  Here she comes. She wants to be with me. I told you!

  FADE TO BLACK

  COME IN ON CHARM

  She is working in the fields, really moving her way down the row, picking expertly. Energized.

  CHARM

  (inner voice, still excited)

  Radioman even brought my razor. Now I can keep the feeling inside me for a long time. Long enough to finish my cycles and get back to where I belong. Radioman was so good to me. He knew what I really needed. Maybe that’s what love is—giving someone what they need … no matter what.

  FADE OUT TO RED/BLACK

  FADE IN

  ZAK

  The Book of the Mind teaches that some can be transformed through revelation. Helped and healed. But it also teaches that understanding is not transformation. Some are beyond our reach. We must learn to know such people, because they cannot be allowed to walk among us.

  FADE OUT

  Humming noise on emerging screen

  FADE IN

  INT: Gathering hall

  At the podium stands a man in his late forties/early fifties. His long hair is gray-streaked, his face is craggy, and his voice has a preacher’s carrying power.

  MAN AT PODIUM

  My name is of no consequence; I am my father’s father’s father’s son. I will not be staying among you. It takes many, many spans to learn the Book of the Path, and I must use the time left to me to teach it.

  FADE OUT on the man gesturing, accompanying a speech we don’t hear …

  FADE IN

  INT: A murky dive that could be a bar or a café or a diner, depending on viewing angle. There is no uniformity to the place—the furnishings were all randomly assembled from scrap and salvage.

  A man is seated in a booth in the farthest corner. The seat against the wall is an individual chair, so that whoever occupies it can use the table as a work desk. The other side of the desk is piled-up scrap, creating a wall. A small terminal to the right of the single chair shows strings of trailing data, much like an electronic stock ticker.

  CLOSE UP: The man in the booth is maybe in his mid-thirties, but with a very old man’s eyes, cold behind clear bifocals. He is scanning various publications, including individual sheets, occasionally glancing at the terminal. A colorless drink is just past his left elbow. He makes a few more marks on a long, narrow sheet of paper, like an adding machine tape. This is a man at work.

  A woman approaches. She has long blonde hair, a very short skirt, and extravagant (implanted) breasts on display via a tight-fitting top. Her face is something like the man’s mid-thirties but with much older eyes. She looks like a hooker past her sell-by date if you’re flying first class.

  WAITRESS

  Want something to eat, Ace?

  ACE

  (shakes his head no)

  WAITRESS

  Business first, huh?

  ACE

  (twists his mouth in a half-smile)

  WAITRESS

  Well, I had to ask. I mean, I know how you are, but people change, right?

  ACE

  That’s like saying the favorite doesn’t always win, Candy. It’s true enough, but what’re the odds? That’s what counts.

  CANDY

  That’s for … things, not people. Nothing’s ever going to change here. Underground, that’s forever. But every single person is a separate thing. You can never be sure.

  ACE

  That’s how I earn my living, little girl.

  CANDY

  You’re the only one who calls me that. Some of them, they’re old enough for that to be true, maybe, but you’re not. And you never grab my ass, either.

  ACE

  (interested in her reasoning)

  So you add that up, what do you get?

  CANDY

  (hands on hips)

  You mean, like in the Sex Tunnels? Some of the buyers only want little girls; they wouldn’t go near a grown woman. So, one: that’s not you.

  ACE

  (even more interested: this could be info he could use)

  How do you know?

  CANDY

  (her lips curl: smile-sneer-snarl)

  I know because I took the course, and I paid the tuition. Maybe I don’t know much, but what I know, I know for real. You don’t say “little girl” like you want to dress me up and spank me. And you’re not putting me down, either. I know what that means (she pauses, folds her arms under her breasts) even if you don’t.

  ACE

  I know good logic when I hear it.

  CANDY

  Yeah? What’s all that logic good for, Ace? You’re here every day. It’s like this is your office. And I’m your secretary. More than that. I take care of you, don’t I? You get the best food, the cleanest drinks. Anybody wants to see you; they have to see me first.

  ACE

  (quietly, not softly)


  And I take care of—

  CANDY

  ’Cause you always leave a tip that’s way too big? That’s not taking care of me; that’s paying me.

  ACE

  What’s the—

  CANDY

  You know how many of the men who come in here offer me credits to … “take care” of them, Ace? Got any idea? What’s the odds, Ace? (not quite angry, but close)

  ACE

  (not reacting to her mood)

  Off the charts.

  CANDY

  (mockingly)

  Very good. But, then again, you’re the best, aren’t you? Try a harder one. Do I ever do it? Do I ever “take care” of any of them? Come on, smart guy. You don’t miss a thing. Tell me.

  ACE

  (studying her closely)

  Same call.

  CANDY

  (leaning close, both sexy and angry)

  I’m a little slow about that whole odds thing, Ace. How about you spell it out for me.

  ACE

  (flat toned, full eye contact)

  You get offered credits for sex every single day. You never go for it. And there’s no chance you would, no matter how much anyone had on their card.

  CANDY

  (appraisingly)

  I see why everyone says you’re the best. You see it all, don’t you? Except I’m not a Traxyl, Ace; I’m a woman. I’ve got something for you … and you know it. But you won’t ante up, will you?

  ACE

  I don’t know what you—

  CANDY

  You’re afraid. (Not said snidely, more like a diagnosis.) This (she pats her left breast) is what scares you. Emotion is the enemy, right? If you start feeling things, that gets in the way. You make your living betting on things with no feelings. They just do what they do; they never think about it. But you bet against people who have feelings. All kinds of feelings. Superstitions, hunches … stuff like that. That’s why they don’t have a chance against you. That’s your edge.

  ACE

  (gives her a long, slow look)

  You don’t miss much yourself.

  CANDY

  (as she turns and walks away)

  You may be the best, Ace. But you don’t play to win.

  FADE OUT

  BACK IN ON SAME INT: A man approaches Ace’s booth. Ace hands him a strip of paper and a plastic card. The man inserts the card into a hand-held device, then taps in the information Ace just gave him, and displays the screen for Ace’s approval:

  B/4 UF44TT 1,000 7-1

  B/6 OOR2II6 4,000 9-1

  Ace nods. The man extracts Ace’s card, returns it to him, and leaves. Candy approaches. She is carrying a tray of food.

  ACE

  I didn’t—

  CANDY

  (just short of bossy)

  Business is over. Time to eat.

  ACE

  Yeah, yeah, okay. But I didn’t tell you what I wanted.

  CANDY

  (putting out the food)

  Since when do you order food? I picked this out for you, like always. The same way I make the Runner wait until you’re ready before I send him over. I know you don’t care what food tastes like, all you want is the fuel. That’s not good for you, so it’s my job to make sure you get the best. Like always.

  ACE

  I never—

  CANDY

  What? Put me in charge? That’s right; I put me in charge. Any time you want to change things, you just put in your own damn orders, okay?

  ACE

  (not just looking at her, capturing her eyes)

  I do want to change things. But that’s not something I can do here.

  FADE OUT

  OPEN ON

  INT: A private cave that is both luxurious and monastic. All the equipment has a top-of-the-line look, but there are no cooking facilities, just a cold-box big enough to hold several small unlabeled cans. The place is heavily carpeted; even the walls and ceiling are lined with sound-absorbing pads. The single chair is a recliner, with an ottoman. A data-screen—very similar to what was in Ace’s booth, only much bigger—covers one wall. Various charts and graphs are pinned to another.

  ACE

  I built it just for me. But I could put in a—

  CANDY

  (looking around)

  With that carpet, we won’t need any—

  ACE

  (offended)

  I wasn’t talking about—

  CANDY

  (pulling off her top as she speaks)

  I know, stupid. But I waited long enough. You’re the man I can prove it with.

  ACE

  (befuddled)

  I don’t—

  CANDY

  You know what I … did. Before I went to work at the Den. That’s no secret. But there is a secret. I hated what I … did before. It was only my secret that kept me from killing myself before my time was up.

  CANDY

  (slipping out of her skirt, a seamless, latex-like garment)

  I never told anyone my secret, not any of the other girls. You want to know my secret, Ace?

  ACE

  (deliberately looking away from the strip tease)

  Yes.

  CANDY

  (walks over and stands very close)

  My secret was that I knew someone loved me. I didn’t know when he would come for me, but I knew he would. So what they … took from me there, that was nothing, see? All that time, I was saving. Saving it all up, like storing it on a special card. I saved a lot, but I was always afraid it wouldn’t be worth anything.

  ACE

  Your —?

  CANDY

  Love? No. Listen; this is hard to say. I knew, when the man who loved me found me, I would love him, too. I would do anything for him. Not … what you think. I mean I would … die for him. That had to be worth something. But the stuff I got paid for, I hated that.

  Ace closes his eyes, as if he doesn’t want to see what Candy is seeing.

  CANDY

  I could never understand when the video stories talked about people “making love.” How can you make love? So I never knew if the man who loved me would feel … cheated when he finally came for me. I waited until I was sure. But now I have to prove it, don’t I?

  ACE

  Candy, you don’t have to—

  CANDY

  (unhooking her bra)

  Prove it to myself, honey. Prove they … none of them … they never really took anything from me. I still have it. All saved up. Saved up for you. (She reaches out her hand) Come on. Come on, Ace. It’s time to find out if my secret was the real thing … or just a get-numb dream.

  Candy leads Ace over to the sleep-mat as we FADE TO BLACK

  OPEN ON INT: Ace’s cave.

  Now significantly redecorated to accommodate two residents. All his gambling tools are still present, but the place is softer, somehow. The sleep-mat has been replaced with a double-wide futon, the cold-box is much larger, and there is a series of burners over what might be an oven. It is obvious that some significant time has passed.

  The digital clock reads: 03:03:16

  CLOSE-UP: Ace is lying on his back, smoking. Candy is next to him, in a sitting position. The room is very dark.

  ACE

  You really want to hear all this?

  CANDY

  (reaching over to stroke his hair)

  From the beginning. Every word. I want that inside me, too. Just like I always want you inside me. Deep. So deep it makes us like one person. I have to feel what you feel. And I can’t do that unless I know. But I can wait, sweetheart. I waited a long time for my secret to come true; I can wait some more for the rest of it.

  ACE

  (reaches out and holds Candy’s thigh)

  FADE OUT as Ace starts to speak …

  FADE IN … Ace has been speaking for a while … we come in on him in the middle:

  ACE

  They always had these fights. Before the Terror, I mean.

  CANDY
r />   (not challenging; interested)

  How could you know that?

  ACE

  You can check out stuff like that—I mean, stuff that happened before Underground—if you really want to. There’s history terminals in the Knowledge Tunnels, if you have the credits. But those are all a sucker play—the only truth in Underground is free.

  CANDY

  (nodding)

  The Book Boys.

  ACE

  Yeah. But they tell only truths; not info. And that’s what I need, info. Most of the players aren’t like me—they’re gamblers, not professionals. It’s just like you said once, Candy: they never think about the odds, they don’t do the research … they just go with their blood, with their feelings. That’s my edge. And you figured that out just from watching me.

  CANDY

  (knowingly)

  Everybody’s always looking for an edge. And some people try and make their own.

  ACE

  You can’t fix a Traxyl fight, little girl. There’s always rumors about drugs and stuff, but it would be real hard to drug a Traxyl. You could never get a needle into them, so it would have to be in their food. And Traxyls eat only Zone Rats. I guess you could maybe drug one of the rats; then, when the Traxyl ate it … But I can’t see anyone pulling that off—everyone could tell right off if a Traxyl had been poisoned.

  CANDY

  So what if they could tell; who would they tell it to? Gambling on Traxyl fights is against the Rules, so if anyone complained to the Rulers about cheating, they’d be telling on themselves, right?