Recombination

by Brendan Butts

  It hadn’t taken her parents long to guilt her into telling them what happened. Her parents had called mine right away. My parents, apparently wanting to teach me a lesson, had questioned me about being drunk, letting me lie to them, letting me believe that they believed what I was telling them. Only once I was done denying everything, did they tell me they had already heard the truth from Sasha’s parents.

  "I have something of his. A chip. It has some data on it that's important to him."

  Plex looked surprised at this revelation. Malak, who had sprung for my cloning, did not look surprised. I knew he wouldn't have handed over that much flash without an explanation, not even to his own brother. Zenigra would have told him the whole story, or at least as much as he felt comfortable telling over a grid phone. This was all likely to just be a test.

  "Where is the chip?"

  "Sub-dermal."

  This did raise some curiosity in Malak. So Zenigra hadn't told him everything after all.

  Malak began looking me up and down and I understood what he wanted to know.

  "Right arm," I said.

  "What was the name of the plantation you and my brother were at the last few months?"

  "Dandil. It’s as far north as you can go before they have to close for the winter." I explained.

  Malak looked down at me for a long moment. His face was stoic, but I could sense the mixture of emotions and thoughts playing themselves out below the cool surface.

  "He was close, then. I could have sent someone to get him during Fall. He didn't need to stay at the plantation at all." Malak shook his head, looking more annoyed than confused.

  "He wanted to get here without your help, I think."

  Malak shook his head again and turned to Plex.

  "Keep him here. I've got biz to handle." Malak said, and then strolled out of the room. The door slammed shut behind him.

  As soon as Malak was gone, Plex moved to my side.

  "Are you alright?” Plex said, crouching down next to me.

  "I've had worse," I said, thinking of the beating Parli had given me.

  I attempted to raise myself up on one arm. The pain that shot through my stomach wouldn't let me get up just yet, so I just lay there. I didn't meet Plex's eyes. I didn't want him to see the pain in my face. I looked at the wall instead.

  "He had to know you were telling the truth. It's his brother, ya know?" Plex sounded apologetic.

  "Yeah, well, don't expect me to send him a thank you card," I said, trying to bite back the anger in my voice. It wasn't Plex's fault, after all. Even if he had done the kicking, he hadn't been happy to do it. Plex wasn't a sadist like Parli, I could tell that much about him. My previous anger with him was dissipating. Not his fault. Just doing his job.

  He seemed loyal to Malak, even if he didn't fully agree with his methods. Still, I wondered if he might be able to help me somehow.

  "What does Malak have planned for me?" I asked.

  Plex sat down beside me and was pressing his fingers to my stomach. Checking to make sure I didn't have any fractured ribs, I guessed.

  "The boss," Plex said, slightly annoyed.

  "Right. What does the boss have planned for me?"

  Plex shook his head, "He isn't in the habit of telling me what his plans are, ya scan?"

  I nodded, "Yeah, but you seem to be in the know. You've been in the gang a while. What do you think?"

  Plex frowned, looking apprehensive, "I think he's going to do whatever it takes to get his brother back. That's important to all of us. We're a family, see?"

  I shook my head, "I thought you were a gang."

  "We are, but we're family. That's how we roll. We're all orphans or people who don't have any other family. The Snakes are all we have."

  "So?" I asked when Plex didn’t seem to want to continue.

  "So," Plex said quickly, "I've seen the Boss go to extremes to protect the Snakes. What do you think he's going to do for his own blood? Nothing’s broken. Just bruised. Thought I might have, but, nothing's broken."

  With that, Plex got unceremoniously to his feet and walked out of the room. I heard the door slide shut, then beep to signify it was locked.

  With Plex gone, I had no reason to sit up. So I didn't bother trying again. I just lay on the ground for a long time, waiting for the pain to ebb.

  It took an hour or so, but I felt back to fighting strength. Nothing had been broken. The bruises were setting in and movement wouldn't exactly be pleasant for a few days, but I had that locked down.

  I still had to concentrate to keep myself from taking the deep breaths that would have sent a sharp pain through my chest, but other than that, I seemed okay.

  I started pacing around the small room, a general sense of anxiety building inside of me every minute that passed.

  What the hell was Malak doing? Was he contacting Lucas? Setting up a meet? Would I really be traded for Zenigra? I could accept that. I might even go along willingly.

  The spinning suddenness of the situation I was now stuck in the middle of was finally sinking in.

  I'd hoped the Snakes would welcome me, or at least give me some respect if I showed up with Zenigra. Instead, I get the King Snake's brother caught and I get tossed in a room one door removed from a Dungeon. I tried not to think about the room outside. Or to imagine the room Zenigra was probably being held in.

  I was fairly certain I could take Plex out if I had to. I could play on his reluctance to truly hurt me, and maneuver him into a situation that put the odds in my favor. Still, I would have nowhere to go. No hope of getting Zenigra back on my own. I was going to have to trust Malak to do whatever he had to do to get Zenigra back, and hope that didn't include my real and permanent death.

  As I thought all this through, ruling out different possibilities and letting scenarios play out in my head, the ball of uneasy anxiety in my stomach slowly uncurled. It was even easier to breathe now, though there was still a dull pain.

  This was out of my hands. Worrying about it unnecessarily wasn't going to do me any good. The best plan would be to not expect anything and thereby be ready for everything.

  With that in mind, the next time the door beeped, I positioned myself in the center of the room, facing it. My legs were spread slightly, just in case I had to take another punch. I could easily dodge out of the way. I kept my face neutral and my hands unclenched at my sides.

  Plex stepped through the door followed by Malak's big frame. Malak moved forward into the room, positioning himself in front of me. Plex hung back to secure the door.

  I looked up into Malak's face, and we stood there for a moment, appraising each other. Malak spoke first.

  "Tell me about the man who has my brother, this baka Lucas." His tone was a bit less rough around the edges then it had been during our previous ‘conversation’ but the threat of violence was wrapped tightly around every word. I wondered if he could even, in the best of times, unravel that threat from his voice.

  "What do you want to know?" I asked, unmoving. Malak’s presence was intimidating, but I couldn’t let it show in my posture. I didn’t shy away from him when he spoke.

  "What kind of person is he?" Malak regarded me and if he was at all impressed with my show of bravado, he hid it well.

  I thought about Lucas, thought about what Malak might need to know about him. I ran through a list of words that described Lucas in my head, many of which would have made my Mother cringe. I settled on the one that stood out the most.

  “He smart, real smart. You don’t get to where he is without that. Maybe the smartest guy in his business."

  "What biz is that?"

  "He has a network that moves illegal drugs using the plantations as staging grounds and migrant workers as couriers."

  "Big business that. You say he’s the top dog? He’ll be connected. And rich." Malak gritted his teeth but did not look afraid.

  Malak was obviously tough chummer, but I doubted he had ever dealt with someone like Lucas before. It was impor
tant that Malak understood the full extent of what Lucas was capable of.

  "Yeah and he knows you’re in the game now. He'll be gunning for the Snakes next."

  Malak raised a hand and I couldn’t help but flinch away as he pointed a finger at me, "Yeh, and we got you to thank for that, chum."

  I turned back to him, embarrassed at having been put on my guard so quickly.

  "It wasn't my idea to come here." Which wasn't exactly true, I'd basically guilt-tripped Zenigra into letting me tag along, but Malak didn't need to know that.

  Malak sneered, "I put in a call to Dandil, talked to a guy named Jack."

  It was surprising to me that Jack was the one who Malak ended up being able to get in contact with.

  "I know him. He's as much on the level as you can get at that place. No love lost between him and Lucas."

  "Yeah, he said as much. He didn't have a way to contact Lucas, though he said he figured he'd be checking in with him at some point and he'd let him know I called."

  "You left him a number or something?"

  Malak nodded.

  I frowned, trying to think of something to say and failing. Malak didn’t seem interested in asking me any more questions and I could tell he was about to leave. I decided to just throw it out there.

  "What's your plan for me?"

  "Trade," Malak said simply.

  Saw that coming a mile away. I’d run through all the potential scenarios I could come up with and they all came back to a trade.

  "If he won't go for it?"

  "We threaten to kill you until he agrees. If he still doesn't, we really kill you, then barter with your corpse."

  I knew that was coming too, but that didn't prepare me to hear it from someone else's mouth. Especially in a voice that sounded so similar to that of my only real friend in this world.

  Nothing more to it. No sense in explaining to Malak that if he handed me over to Lucas, I'd most likely be tortured to death. He knew all that already. If the trade fell through, and Zenigra was killed, I'd probably be tortured to death in the next room. With Malak watching. I didn't doubt that he would enjoy it.

  "I need to go to the bathroom," I said. I didn't actually have to go, but getting the layout of this part of the building could never be called a bad idea.

  "Talk to Plex."

  "Can I have my clothes back?"

  Malak didn't answer, he just turned and left. Plex held the door open for him as he went.

  When Malak was gone, Plex stepped toward me tentatively.

  "Your clothes have already been divided up. New Du-Wear? The boyos weren't going to pass that up."

  I sneered at him, then looked him up and down. No new clothes for Plex.

  "What, you didn't make it to the auction?"

  Plex just shrugged, "I'll go get you some food, then take you to the bathroom."

  After he left, my mind started skipping tracks. I'd been resigned to do what had to be done to free Zenigra when it was all theoretical, but now that I was being faced with the very real possibility of dying at the hands of the man whose brother I was hoping to save, my resolve was faltering.

  I wasn't planning to cut and run, leaving Zenigra to drown in a pool of his own blood with Lucas watching. I just wasn't sure that Malak's plan was the only possible way to get Zenigra back. Trades never went well in the movies. Someone always had an itchy trigger finger. Bullets always started flying. Kidnappings almost always ended badly and this was a double kidnapping. Both sides had someone the other wanted very badly. Both sides would do just about anything it took to get what they wanted.

  At that point, I was absolutely sure that any trade would end in the death of pretty much everyone involved. Including Zenigra. Including me. Maybe it was just my anxiety but it started playing out in my mind’s eye. Malak would show up with the Snakes, and me in tow. Lucas would send the mercs with the merc leader as his representative. The moment they caught sight of me, one of the mercs would put a bullet in between my eyes. They didn't need me alive. Lucas had already proven that by killing me once. I was sure he'd employ the same tactic. Dead men can't run away. Lucas wouldn't risk me escaping.

  When I got shot, the Snakes would open fire with whatever weapons they had. The mercs would return fire. One of them would execute Zenigra. The Snakes would eventually get overwhelmed and have to retreat. No time to carry my corpse with them. Not with bullets buzzing through the air like a swarm of bees. The mercs would collect my body in the aftermath and Lucas would get what he wanted.

  Would Malak believe me if I told him all this? Would it make a difference? Maybe he would just kill me before the meeting and show up with my severed arm. That seemed like something he was capable of. Without a body attached to the arm, the mercs wouldn't be able to open fire on the Snakes. The arm could easily be carried away as they retreated.

  My sense of self-preservation took over and I decided I'd keep all this to myself for now.

  Plex returned a few minutes later with a plate of food and a glass of water. I sat down on the couch with the plate and Plex sat down on the floor in front of me. The food was terrible and smelled faintly of burnt toast, but I was hungrier than I’d realized. I finished the plate in under a minute, downed the water, and then stood.

  "Bathroom?" I asked.

  Plex nodded and I offered him a hand. He accepted and I pulled him to his feet. I was pleased with how little discomfort this caused me.

  It had been a while since I'd given my body any reason to bruise. When Zenigra had been training me to fight, he'd always pulled his punches. Not that even a pulled punch from Zenigra didn't hurt, but it had been nearly as powerful as the kicks to the stomach Plex had given me.

  Come to think of it, the last beating I had taken had been just before the nanos activated the mystery bacteria floating around in my blood. I never experienced a beating after that. Would I heal faster? Was it harder for me to get hurt?

  I smiled at the fantasy of somehow being so tough that I was unkillable. A super soldier, like in the movies. I could take any beating, that anyone could dish out.

  Then I remembered that this body was only two days old and my smile vanished.

  You aren't unbeatable. You aren't unkillable. You should remember that, Sev.

  Yeah, Yeah.

  Plex walked over to the door and put his hand on the keypad. Then he let it drop and he turned around.

  "We have pretty good security. The EIB's keep us on our toes. The rest of the gang knows you're down here."

  I knew a threat when I heard one.

  "I just gotta piss, Plex," I said evenly. And by then, it was even true.

  Chapter 24

  I awoke to the sound of voices outside my cell. It was dark. The light in the room was out and the TV was off. The fact that I hadn't woken up of my own accord told me I had been asleep only a few hours. I felt somewhat rested and figured it wouldn't be light out yet.

  My internal clock was set to pretty much wake me up with the dawn, regardless of if I actually saw any sunlight or not. A year of working Switchgrass plantations will do that to you.

  You're making assumptions again.

  I was. This was a fresh clone. My first. I had no idea if this body inherited my internal clock or not. Was that part of the body, or part of the mind? Did that kind of thing transfer to a new clone? Lately, it seemed like I was shoveling questions onto the things I need to know pile, and the things I already know pile, well that was someone just getting smaller.

  I sat up in bed, suddenly and fully awake. Not knowing if I was right about what time it was or how long I had slept was unsettling for some reason.

  I cocked my head as the voices outside my door rose in volume.

  "You ain't seeing him. Not ‘til I get some answers," Malak was saying.

  "What do you want to know?" The voice was smooth, confident, and vaguely familiar.

  "Where's my brother?" Malak replied. His voice was cold, and his question had an air of authority to it.

&nbs
p; "Ah, well, your brother's safe for the time being." Then I realized who he was and I was on my feet headed for the door. I reached it and pressed my ear against it.

  There was a long pause, then a crashing sound and several grunted curses.

  "Where the hell is he, baka? You start talking or I have you strung up on the wall and then the fun really starts."

  "I came here to make a deal. Put your hands on me again and that all goes out the window, chum." The merc leader's voice was still smooth, but I thought I heard a note of panic in it.

  "What's the deal then? You want a straight up trade of my brother for the kid? Done."

  "A trade, yes, but not the one you seem to have been expecting." I could sense the smirk on his face as he said this.

  "Spill it then, ‘fore I lose my patience an’ spill you," Malak replied.

  "Lucas sent me here to set up a trade. He wants you to bring the kid to some neutral location and he'll bring your brother." The Merc’s voice was matter of fact, any panic he’d been feeling had obviously been put back in the bottle.

  "Where's the part I didn't expect?" Malak snarled impatiently.

  "Well, that's what we need to discuss. But first, I need to see the kid."

  Malak didn't respond for a long moment, and I thought he might have been gearing up for another attack, but then I heard him. His voice sounded closer.

  "Get the door," he said.

  "Sure, Boss," Another voice, Plex’s this time, responded.

  I stepped away from the door quickly so it wouldn't be obvious that I had been eavesdropping.

  The door beeped and opened. The lights turned on. Malak stepped in and a flash of surprise crossed his face when he realized I was standing in the middle of the room, and not asleep in bed.

  With relief, I realized that maybe my internal clock was working after all.

  The merc leader stepped through the door, followed by Plex. Plex was watching the merc cautiously, perhaps thinking he would attack me on sight. Knowing Plex was watching the Merc for any signs of an attack made me feel more secure. I knew it was just Plex protecting a valuable bargaining chip, but it made me feel less like a prisoner than I truly was.