“It’s keeping you alive. I had it made just for you. R&D have been working on similar principles for the last couple of years and with a little extra funding they’ve made this prototype for you.”
“But what it is? Get me a mirror so I can see.” Milford’s tone had shifted to one of impatience. Devan looked about the room to see if there was one. It seemed the designers of this room hadn’t seen fit to incorporate any so Devan slipped out his tablet, turned the front camera on and handed it over. He hadn’t been prepared for this. There had been days when he’d thought through this scene in his mind, wondering how Milford would take to his surgery.
An uncomfortable moment passed as the patient studied the unfamiliar figure on the tablet’s screen, putting his fingers to his face. His one remaining eye narrowed, and he moved the tablet to the side of his head, then raised it above him, taking in the full impact of the mask.
“Where’s my eye?”
“Too badly damaged. The surgeons couldn’t save it. The bullet bored right through your skull. Your eye and about a quarter of your brain were ripped out with the initial strike. You should have died—would have died if it wasn’t for Langer. He grabbed the emergency pack from our car and packed the wound with Nanosalve. That and the nano implants in your heart kept you alive long enough for the emergency medics to keep you stable long enough to get to hospital.”
“I should be dead.”
“Yes,” Devan replied. “But you’re not.”
Eventually, Milford broke the silence that threatened to engulf them. “It’s not exactly done anything for my looks.” A grin appeared on his face but it was empty, painted on.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m thirsty.”
Devan got a cup of water from the dispenser and held it out to Milford. He sipped at it and continued to stare at himself in the tablet.
“What is it?”
“You can check out the designs yourself when you’re more up to it, but we’re calling it a micro-bio unit. It’s hooked up to central systems so the doctors can make changes if they need to.”
“What sort of changes?”
“You’ve got some cybernetic neural latices in there and they occasionally go out of phase. We’ve seen it happen in the lab but we’ve always been able to make manual corrections to—”
“What the hell are cybernetic neural latices?”
Devan shut up. It had been months since he’d spoken to Milford but it already felt like he’d never been gone. “I’ll get one of the team in to talk it through with you. I don’t know the system well enough. I’ve been busy…” It sounded crass to talk about how busy he’d been since Milford had been incapacitated, but he needn’t have worried; one look at the patient and Devan knew he was being ignored. The man looked weak and pasty, never one to partake in any sort of outside activity, this wasn’t an unusual colour for the man, but his limbs were skinny and he’d lost many pounds from his body. It added ten years.
Alone
The sound in his head came from nowhere.
Find me
“Something’s been happening to me Milford,” he began, taking in the view of the beach and the sea beyond; ignoring the drones patrolling the shoreline. They’d been around for so many years now that the novelty had long worn off. “I heard a voice in the apartment last night when nobody was there.”
“What kind of voice?”
“It wasn’t like any voice I’d heard before… it was like…” Devan didn’t know what it was like. He’d experienced nothing like it before so attempting to compare it was difficult.
“Like what?”
Devan turned and saw his partner slumped back on his pillow, the earlier signs of energy already drained. It could wait, he supposed. But not for long. Devan had a feeling that if he didn’t sort out what was happening to him soon, he might go mad.
Monday, 27 May 2115
10:01 AM
From the moment she’d stepped foot inside OsMiTech headquarters, Ruby had been on tenterhooks. Being surrounded by telepaths at all levels and in such numbers made it tiring to keep her blocking patterns up. At the beginning of her fourth week as the DRT liaison, she’d realised that not everyone was out to get her. The men and women working in this organisation had their own lives to worry about; they would not pin her down and steal her thoughts against her will.
Ruby smiled at Rebecca behind the counter and paid for her drinks. Take this woman. A class one telepath, so her ability to read minds was limited, she was serving coffees to dozens of workers every day. A telepath serving coffees. She could do so much more, but for whatever reason, OsMiTech decided to put her to use serving beverages. And she was a nice woman as well. Diagnosed for five months, she’d left her old life as a housewife behind and was now living in the accommodation block, fighting her husband for custody rights. Perhaps to her, OsMiTech was an escape, a way out of the narrowing tunnel that had become her life.
Ruby had been in the office since seven and this had been her first break since arriving. Starting early had become a habit. Her intention was always to get in, do the necessary auditing work, then have enough free time in her schedule to investigate Nikoli’s death. Things hadn’t worked out like that though. The DRT work was taking far too much of her time and when she got downtime, she found herself too tired to do any digging, preferring to take a break down in the atrium or seek a quiet spot in the gardens.
In her weekly catch up with Glynn yesterday, he’d confirmed that he’d sourced two new DRT officers to start immediately. Peter and Eddie were both fully trained and had transferred in from the south of the district. Ruby had promised that she’d drop by and say hello but she didn’t know when that would be. Glynn had seemed short with her and she didn’t know why. Perhaps he’d concluded she really was the best asset his DRT office had. She smiled at the thought as she wandered back past the growing queue and settled herself at her regular table, looking for her friend.
Moss arrived with a smile and sat down opposite, taking the proffered latte happily.
“Thank you,” he said. “How’s tricks?”
“Same old,” she replied leaning back in her chair and stifling a yawn. “Sorry.”
Moss grinned. “You’ve been working too hard.”
“I’ve been trying to keep on top of things. I never appreciated how much Nikoli did.”
“Anything I can do to help?”
“No. I’ll manage. Thanks.”
“How’s your dad doing?”
It was a cutting question although she knew that Moss hadn’t intended it as such.
“His doctors won’t attempt any more teep therapy. I’ve not heard any more from Dr Pemberton after he’d spoken to the hospital administrators. They’re being suspiciously quiet. Dad seems OK though. He doesn’t want to step foot in another hospital.” She sighed.
“I’m sorry.”
She gently shook her head, looking away at the main doors of the atrium. “I don’t know how I feel about it. I’ve barely had enough time to process what it means for him.”
“You spoke to any of his colleagues from the police yet?”
“It’s proving difficult to find them.”
“I’ve already told you to give me their names and I’ll help you track them down. You don’t have to do this on your own.”
Ruby lowered her voice. “But, Moss, they used adjusters on him. They wouldn’t have done that unless it was serious. By including others, I’m putting them at risk.”
“Hey, I work for OsMiTech. You work for the DRT. What can they possibly do to either of us?” He smiled and touched the side of his latte. Too hot, he let it alone.
“The church had been sniffing around him again. I went to see him a few nights ago, and he was entertaining a preacher. He quickly left as I arrived.”
“You think they were pushing for more money?”
“He’s hardly got any left. Most of his pension is going to them already.”
“You should speak to Jo
salyn Koma. Tell her to leave him alone.”
“I’ll just add it to my list.”
Moss stayed quiet. He pinched his lip and looked away.
Ruby put her hand out and touched the back of his. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound so harsh.”
“No need to apologise. You know that if there’s anything I can do to help…”
Ruby had never expected to enter into a friendship with a telepath at this centre of teeps, but even after three weeks, she couldn’t imagine not having Moss as a friend. Perhaps it was his abilities, perhaps it was just his gentle demeanour, but around him, Ruby felt the weights lift from her mind. The pressure of all her responsibilities had never before been so stifling, but Moss was her vent in a way that Fin had failed to be. She’d made it a rule though that she’d never discuss her relationship with Fin to her friends. Partly shame, partly her determination that she would work through her problems with him on her own. Moss knew enough to not ask.
“Have you found out where Candice is yet?” Ruby asked. “I’m worried about her.”
“You’ve no need to worry,” Moss said. It was becoming a common phrase of his.
“It’s been weeks since I’ve seen her. Where is she?”
“I spoke to Langer. He said she’s moved to the fourteenth floor.”
Ruby tilted her head. “And what does that mean?”
“Classified. Not even Langer knows what goes on inside that section.”
“But, that doesn’t explain why I wouldn’t get to see her at all. She can’t be holed up on the fourteenth all the time.”
Moss shrugged. “I don’t know. When they’re on these short-term classified projects, they’ve taken all their meals up there and work late. Have you been to the apartment block?”
“She’s never there. I’ve left messages. Moss, I’m worried for her.”
“You’ve no need to be. OsMiTech look after their own. They always have.”
Despite Moss’s sincere tone, Ruby couldn’t help but be concerned. Candice had shown no sign of wanting to keep away from Ruby before.
“What if,” Ruby started, finding it difficult to voice her worry, “What if, she’s a prisoner up there?”
Moss almost spat out the coffee he’d just sipped. Apologising, he grabbed a napkin and wiped up his spill. “Prisoner,” he whispered. “Ruby, we don’t have prisoners here. Employees are free to go and stay at will.”
But in Ruby’s research that wasn’t entirely correct. Plenty of teeps working at OsMiTech lived in the accommodation block and hardly ventured off the compound.
“I didn’t want to bring this up with you...”
“What is it?”
“At the InfiniteYou announcement event, I stopped a man from blowing the place up.”
“I know. Thank you.”
Ruby waved her hand dismissively. “He said something to me. ‘On the inside telepaths don’t always find their way back outside’. What do you think he meant by that?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t there. What do you think he meant?”
She pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes for a moment. “I think he was scared by something he’d heard was going on at OsMiTech. Something that got him so scared he was prepared to kill himself and others to make sure he didn’t wind up here.”
“That’s a big leap, Ruby. From what I’ve heard, Scott Logan was unstable. He failed the aptitude tests and psychological tests and would never have been admitted to OsMiTech. Diminishment would be the only option for him. He was scared that’s all.” Moss wrapped his hand around his coffee and pulled it closer, glancing down at the thin layer of froth on the surface. “It’s change. We’re all scared of it to a degree, aren’t we? It’s human nature.”
Ruby kept silent about the failed diminishment cases she’d been involved with over the years. Three of her captures were failed cases. The process was dangerous and painful as hell. No wonder few were prepared to go through with the procedure. That must have been a concern of Scott’s.
“I’m going to have to get back in a minute. Have you got my stats?”
Ruby nodded and projected a screen from her HALO onto the table.
“In the last week, we’ve processed an average of two telepaths a day at each of the five OsMiTech facilities in the country. That ties in with the rates we’ve had from the International Telepath Group, but here in Southport, our average has been three a day and it’s been that way for the last two weeks.”
Moss looked at the figures and his features looked drawn. He bit his bottom lip.
“An anomaly.”
“Over two weeks though?”
“There must be other factors. None of this is ever consistent. There will always be peaks and troughs.”
“Yes. I get that. But I’ve checked. There’s demand all the way down the chain in the districts this building supports. Doctors filings are up across the board. It’s not just some backlog we’re trying to clear. And from what I’ve seen—” Ruby played with the image on the tabletop until it showed a map of the north-west with a green dot in the centre. “That’s Southport.” She adjusted the image and a series of red dots appeared on the map. “And these are the locations of the telepaths that have been going through testing in the last twelve months.”
Moss stared at the image. Ruby could sense the confusion in her friend and it was a confusion she felt herself when she worked these figures. “The dots are clustered around higher population density areas, obviously the towns will have more positives than the countryside. But, even so, you can see that there’s a definite bias towards Southport.”
“You’ve made a mistake with your figures.”
“They aren’t my figures. All I’ve done is plotted them.”
What Moss was objecting to had kept Ruby awake last night, her mind racing to work through the possibilities. “And if you go even further back.” Fast fingers adjusted the image again. More dots appeared. “It’s hard to deny it now. Why is Southport at the epicentre of the telepath outbreaks?”
Moss frowned. “Send me this. I want a closer look.” He checked his HALO for the time. “I’m meant to be somewhere.”
Ruby cleared the image then sipped her drink. And then, she noticed the newcomers strolling through the atrium towards the first bank of elevators where a man in a suit was waiting for them. She hesitated, her cup half way to her mouth. She recognised the man at the front of the pack.
“Jack Winston,” she muttered.
Moss turned to see who she was looking at. “Who?”
“The remnant keeper assigned to Nikoli’s wife. His own wife was killed.”
“Ah yes. I remember.” They both watched as the trio, Jack, followed an older man and a younger woman with a briefcase. She didn’t recognise either of Jack’s companions.
“What’s he doing here?”
Moss shrugged. “Does it matter?” He turned his attention back to Ruby. She was thinking of Nikoli again and realised it had been days since she’d given her colleague any thought at all. With all that Glynn was doing back at the DRT office, trying to get things running smoothly again, she’d not paid the past much attention. A chill ran down her back.
Derelict
She almost jumped up when she heard the voice.
Moss looked surprised. “Hey, what’s up?”
Ruby twisted in her chair. No one was behind her. The closest people were three tables away.
“I… just thought I heard someone.”
“Get some fresh air. You seem distracted.”
“It seemed so close.”
Ruby shook her head and shivered. Maybe Moss was right. Fresh air might be all she needed. Working in that office on her own, listening to the air conditioning droning, was it any wonder that her senses were heightened?
“And now, I really am meant to be someplace else.” Moss took his coffee cup and got up. “Don’t show these figures to anyone yet. Give me a chance to work over them with you.”
“Sure,
thanks.”
And then an office three floors up exploded out across the atrium, showering the space with glass and debris.
10:24 AM
The sirens started at once, ripping through the air like tormented demons.
“What the hell?” Moss shouted over the noise.
Screams from the people in the atrium quickly ceased as the immediate shock of the blast passed. But then the realisation that something terrible had happened sunk in and the dozens of people in the atrium and cafe moved like lightning, racing for the exit.
Moss grabbed Ruby’s wrist and pulled her through the crowd and into the main space of the atrium. The blast had ripped through one of the internal offices, showering glass and metal and plastisteel onto the floor below. Smoke curled out from the smashed windows and flames licked out menacingly.
The siren made it hard to think. Thoughts scrambled in her head.
Moss had his hand on her wrist still and she felt his soothing thoughts in her mind.
Above them, the fire suppression systems kicked in and sprinklers sprayed. It was raining indoors. Ruby’s need for self-preservation was offset by the concern that people might be hurt. She wanted to help the people up there but—
Ruby snatched her arm away from her friend and glared at him. “Enough.” But she knew that he was well-intentioned—it was hard to be mad at him.
Together they hurried through the atrium to the front doors, Moss grabbing hold of anyone who didn’t seem to be moving quickly enough and dragging them towards the exit.
Voices all around. Shock and pain. And something else.
Abandoned.
Ruby shivered at the voice that came from behind her but within her at the same time.
Outside, normality fought to regain control. The fresh air chilled her bare arms and sent gooseflesh patterns across her skin. Her clothes were wet from the sprinklers and her hair dripped water into her eyes. They hurried away from the building, Moss not leaving her side. Once outside, the crowd did the same, spilling out onto the steps and into the building’s grounds.
The Infinity Mainframe (Tombs Rising Book 3) Page 18