by Dave Swavely
It seemed to take forever, but they made it to the surface level of the garage before the blast. The four other Gotham agents and Stephenson were waiting for them just outside the entrance, and all three converted taxis were also back on the street. Stephenson told the other agents to take the surviving criminals in, and he and Korcz escorted Tyra to their car.
They were almost there when the lab exploded. At first Korcz thought that the Money makers overdid it in their zeal to erase their operation. The ground shook like a major earthquake and a heavy cloud of debris, gas, and liquid chemicals burst out of the stairway, the elevator shaft, and two grates on the street. Then the ground suddenly began catching fire everywhere the cloud landed. As the flames started to spread out in every direction, Korcz realized it was actually the snow that was reacting with the burning chemicals from the lab, and from the recesses of his brain remembered hearing that there were often deadly accidents involving water when Money was being synthesized. He even remembered hearing that people had been burned alive, and now he saw it firsthand as the flames caught the fleeing criminals and agents and literally consumed them from their feet to their heads, the incendiary chemical mixture reacting with the few flakes of snow that had fallen on them, their sweat, and maybe even the moisture in their bodies.
It was like a science experiment from hell, but Korcz and Stephenson didn’t have time to gawk at it, for the deluge of fire was headed their way, and was about to surround them. They moved quickly toward their taxi, dragging Tyra with them, but then saw that two of the other agents had managed to jump into theirs and start to drive, only to have the flames overtake the vehicle. The balls of fire seemed to jump onto the snow that had accumulated on the car and then into the inside of it, and the yellow on the taxi and the men’s armor soon was turned to red and black.
The last place Korcz and Stephenson now wanted to be was inside their car, so they instinctively and pointlessly fled to the only place they could go, which was the top of it. They scrambled onto the trunk, pulling Tyra with them, and then to the roof as the flames reached the tires and very quickly climbed the sides toward them. This progress of the fire up the car probably took only three or four seconds, but time seemed to slow to a crawl for Korcz. He could even see that some of the snowflakes falling through the air near them were sparking into tiny flames. It would have been beautiful, in a way, if he wasn’t about to die.
The trio held onto one another, again purely by instinct, as they stood on the top of the car and waited to catch fire.
Then a small slab of plasteel, about the size of a hand, slammed into Korcz’s shoulder. Two small snakes of the same material shot out of each side of it, flashing around the three bodies till they joined at the ends and constricted painfully. Then all three of them were jerked up and away from the engulfed car and carried gradually higher and away from the apocalyptic scene below.
Korcz looked up and saw that the other end of the tether was attached to one of the flying cars owned by his former employer, the Bay Area Security Service. Some other recess of his mind informed him that he had been rescued by a RATS, which stood for “retrieval” something. He couldn’t remember the other words in that acronym, either. But he was definitely grateful for this fancy tech, because a look back down revealed just how apocalyptic the chemical and water fire really was. He could tell that it had already spread beyond the street outside the garage, and he later heard that it consumed over two whole blocks before it petered out.
The aero dropped them on a nearby rooftop, and then landed next to them after it had released and retracted the RATS. A woman with beautiful long blond hair stepped out of the passenger side and greeted them, periodically looking in the direction of the fire to make sure it hadn’t moved faster and farther than she thought.
“I’m Raylyn Young,” she said, “the BASS ambassador to the Big Apple.” They shook hands with her after they had helped each other to their feet. “I was coming to make you an offer in person that was too important to do over the net, and too time sensitive to make an appointment. Seems a good thing that I came when I did.”
“She is wounded,” Korcz said about Tyra.
“Yes, I see. We’d better get her to help, and I can talk to you on the way.”
She gestured toward the aero and joined Korcz in helping Tyra, supporting her other side without concern for the blood she might get on her stylish clothes.
When they were helping her into the backseat of the aero, Korcz noticed that Stephenson hadn’t walked with them, but was still standing in the same spot, his arms limp at his sides and his mouth hanging wide open.
“Lawrence?” Korcz said, and when the short man didn’t answer, the big one walked back to him and waved a hand in front of his glazed eyes.
“Holy Shiva, mother of all fuhhhh…,” Stephenson mumbled until he ran out of breath. Then he came alive again. “Did you see that?!”
“Yeh…?” Korcz replied. Then it starting dawning on him. “Daaa.” Then it dawned on him more. “Ohuitelno!”
“It was exactly like in the dream.” He gripped the Russian’s shoulders, which he had to reach up to do. “The precog dream. They were right! There was the car, the fire, and us going up. Except I thought that was our souls going to heaven. But it was actually us going up.”
“You forgot the hugging.”
“Yeah, and the hugging thing. Unbelievable. I can’t believe it. I knew it was real, I knew … I believed it.”
“Wait now, not so fast.” Korcz was thinking further. “The woman was not in the dream.”
“Hmmm,” Stephenson said, grabbing his chin. “I wonder why. But it doesn’t matter, it’s still the most amazing thing ever. This proves … something, that’s for sure. Did you see it?!”
“Ohuitelno. I was there. But we have to go now.”
“Yeah, okay, right,” the little man said, and practically skipped to the car, making Korcz have to double his stride to catch up.
* * *
The BASS ambassador turned on the holo projectors in the backseat of the aero, and soon the three passengers were facing the top half of Terrey Thorn, as if he were there with them and not three thousand miles away in San Francisco. The handsome Aussie knew a lot about each of them, including Tyra, whom he had researched just prior to the call.
“I don’t really believe in destiny,” he told them. “But if I did, we could put this night on the poster for it.” They looked at him and each other quizzically. “Something’s going on here, I don’t know what. But I’m going to ride the wave…”
And then he proceeded to offer a ridiculously high-paying, short-term job to Korcz and Stephenson, plus an opportunity to stay with BASS afterward if they did well.
“And I hope you say yes,” he added, “because I’ve had four others turn me down while we were locating you, and I’m running short on time.”
The two men accepted his offer with little hesitation, partially because an idea like destiny was on their minds, too, and they felt like they might miss it if they didn’t “ride the wave” themselves.
“Hah! Fired and hired in the same night,” Stephenson said, positively giddy with the buzz from the dream thing, not to mention being alive. “Fired and hired, get it?”
Then Terrey surprised even himself by offering a job to Tyra as well, as the destiny wave kept rolling and the details coalesced in his mind.
“You’ll need some place other than New York to recover,” he said to her. “Won’t you?” She looked perplexed again, but a little less this time. “And you might be needing that place and a new life just enough to do a dangerous job for me. Plus you’re no stranger to walking the edge.”
“What’s he talking about?” asked Stephenson from the other side of Korcz, whose big bulk filled the middle of the seat. “Why would you have to leave New York?”
“My papa will know now that I’m not with him,” she said with the unique Black Italian accent.
“You were the police mole in the lab?” Stephen
son asked, realizing why she would be in trouble with the mob.
“Papa has known it’s been comin’ for a while now. He won’t be surprised, and he loves me too much to kill me. But he can’t have me around doin’ damage to the business. Even doh I cut his losses.”
Stephenson pondered for a moment, then said, “You were the one who tipped the mob off too?”
“I have … uhn … interesting relationship with my father,” she said, nodding.
When Korcz heard that this woman had basically caused the explosion that almost killed them, he bristled visibly and scooted over away from her in the seat, far enough that he was crunching Stephenson. He also gripped the rifle resting between his legs.
“This gives new meaning to the term double agent,” Stephenson said, trying to lighten things up a bit. “Working for both sides at the same time.”
“I’m on your side for good now, feel me?” she said to Korcz, touching his knee with her hand. “You saved my life.” The big man relaxed a little.
“And we did, too,” Terrey interrupted. “So would you risk it for us a little while, for a pile of money and a better future?”
“Yes, I guess I will. Don’t have to think about it much, ’cause you’re right about no place to go. And besides, I like this one.” She squeezed Korcz’s leg this time. “Being serious, doh, I do owe you BASS people, and I don’ wanna any money, juss what I need to heal, and to live after that.”
“Wow, okay,” Terrey said. “Are you sure?”
“No extra money. It’s a blood debt.”
“Whadda you think of that, mates?” he asked the men.
“I owe BASS also, two times now,” Korcz said, holding up that many fingers. “But I do want the money.”
“I want the money, too,” Stephenson chimed in. “And I also want you to replace something that I lost in the fire back there.” He leaned forward so he would be less crunched. “Ever hear of Dreamscape?”
18
LOVE NEST
As we drove through the urban sprawl of Napa City, I noticed how overcrowded and poverty stricken it had become, since the flood of refugees had transformed it after the quake. And I looked forward to the stark contrast we would experience when we passed through the Oak Knoll Gates into Napa Valley, which was now one of the world’s largest private communities, walled off by an electrified strip of metal that protected the wealthy residents from their not-so-wealthy neighbors and anyone else who might not be privileged with access.
The home I shared with Lynn was inside this beautiful area, located on a secluded set of high hills known as Stags Leap. But I wasn’t going there right now, nor for a while; instead I was headed to a secret place that Lynn herself had never been to, and wouldn’t be happy if she knew I was going there. I didn’t think she would be very happy with what was happening in this car right now, either—the girl I had rescued was curled up against my side, resting her head on the side of my shoulder.
Angelee had situated her little son on the right side of her seat after he fell asleep, and then moved over toward me. I thought she would soon become uncomfortable sitting on the emergency brake and cup holders like that, but she didn’t seem to mind at all. In fact, she seemed downright happy to be there. At this point I thought that perhaps she was viewing me as a father figure, and I had just been with Lynn earlier that night, so I wasn’t turned on at all by this. But I had definitely noticed, as any man would, that she was a very attractive young woman.
I used an anonymous BASS identification card at the East Gate so I could enter the Valley without anyone knowing I was Michael Ares. The scanners wouldn’t read the car as belonging to me, or even to BASS, because it was one of a number that we kept as “blank slates” for this very purpose of being able to move around the Bay Area without being detected or located. So right now, this Asian girl was the only person who knew where I was, and she didn’t even know who I was. I marveled again that I had actually found someone like her to hide with me, and that the place I was going was also perfect for what I needed in order to be invisible while the kaleidocide ran its course. It was within “striking distance” of my home, about fifteen to twenty minutes by car, but no one knew about it except the owner, who was hardly ever there.
The girl’s eyes were closed, either sleeping or just savoring her safety, so she wouldn’t even see where I drove, and probably wouldn’t recognize anywhere we went anyway. It was still well before sunrise, and I was sure she had never been inside the exclusive Valley. I thought of telling her where we were, because I was already beginning to enjoy the innocent, childlike pleasure she took in everything that was happening, but I also didn’t want to disturb her. I had seen people sleep for days after trauma of various kinds, and wondered if she would be like that. It made me feel good to be protecting her, despite the danger I was in myself, and I wondered briefly if I would have had that feeling if she weren’t so beautiful.
In twenty minutes we were deep inside the Valley, and with little trouble I found the long driveway through the vineyards that led to our destination, even though I hadn’t been there in about seven years. The memories started flooding back as I approached the house, and were surprisingly fresh considering all the time that had passed, and all the circumstances, like a wedding and two pregnancies. They also were rather guilt-inducing, considering those circumstances.
We reached the end of the long dirt path, and the external house lights lit up when they sensed the car. The place looked basically the same as it had years earlier, with some minor landscaping changes. An inside light near the front door came on at the same time as the outside ones did, which confirmed to me that no one was there, as I had fully expected.
“Stay here,” I said to the girl. “In case this doesn’t work.” As I left the car and stepped toward the side of the house, I thought again about what I would do if it didn’t work. But somehow I knew it would, not because I was so smart, but because I was so weak that I had failed to completely break off a relationship that shouldn’t have existed in the first place.
I found the light casing in the flower bed, and as I expected the keycard was still there. I pulled it out and walked around to the front door, and as I did the words I had heard in many conversations played in my head. Our love nest is still there, waiting for you. Go there anytime, call me, and I’ll be there as soon as I can. Even if I’m at work—I have plenty of vacation time saved up. You know where the key is …
Tara had even programmed the card so that my entry would not be registered on any security grid, and I didn’t have to be afraid that someone would find out I was there. She wanted to make it easier for me to commit adultery with her, of course, but little did she know the much better purpose it would end up serving. Not more enjoyable, I thought to myself, but better. It struck me as ironic that I had always thought if I ever came back here, it would be for the purpose of renewing my relationship with her, but now a plan had already occurred to me how I could use this situation to finally put an end to it.
Not long after these thoughts about avoiding adultery were in my head, however, I found myself faced with the issue again. I carried in the girl’s bags to the master bedroom, saying “Here you go,” and watched as she laid the boy down in the big bed and tucked him in under the covers. But then she followed me out of the room, leaving the door slightly ajar, and stood looking at me when I turned to face her in the foyer. It took me a few moments to realize what was happening, but then I started to understand, and she soon removed all doubt.
“I owe you everything,” she said nervously. “But I would feel a lot better about this if we were married.”
She was used to men wanting only one thing from her, and she was assuming it was included in my intentions for this arrangement. Her religion apparently limited sex to marriage, and she was obviously thinking that I was single. I had never worn a wedding ring, partly because of the nature of my initial work as a peacer, and she didn’t use the net, so I realized that she could go on thinking th
at indefinitely unless I corrected her. I realized that this could serve my purposes well, and also give her a safe place to stay for a while. She would go on thinking a relationship with me was a possibility, and that would give her hope and string her along sufficiently until enough time had passed and she didn’t need to be here anymore. If and when she found out the truth, I could honestly say that I had never confirmed her hopes. So I let her have them for now.
“I wouldn’t ask that from you,” I said, “unless we were married.” I thought that would end the conversation, but she surprised me with her response.
“Thank you,” she said with relief, but then grew nervous again. “So … did you want to get married now?”
“I, um, I told you that I can’t go anywhere for a while,” I said with a puzzled look on my face, “especially not to a courthouse or a church.”
“Peter and I said our vows by ourselves, and we were married right then.”
“Didn’t your religion have a problem with that?”
“No, our church didn’t believe in ceremonies, like with the government. ’Cause of the gays and besties getting married, and all that.”
It seemed that she wasn’t only willing to do this, but actually desired it. And I didn’t want to reject her too strongly, because I needed her for now and didn’t want to send her out into the world just yet, while her pimp might still be looking for her.
“You’re very beautiful, Angie, but—” Then I had a second thought. “Am I getting your name right? Is it Angie?”
“It’s Angelee,” she said proudly. “Thanks to you.”
“What do you mean?”
“The first time I became an escort, I was sixteen.” She started to choke up as she told the story. “One of my regular tricks was Peter, who became my husband. He had a lot of guilt being with me, because he was a Christian who had gotten into a bad habit, you know. So we ended up talking a lot, and he didn’t want me to be with anyone else, so he took me home and took care of me. I didn’t have to … give myself up anymore.” She was sobbing now. “Then he died and I had to take care of Chris. The only thing I have … they say I’m pretty … I took the place Simon gave me, and was going back to where I was before I met Peter. But then you came—that man you saw was my first customer. You saved me like Peter did, you’re like him coming back to me. I belong to you now—all of me.”