Looper

by Ann Bakshis

  I pace around her, which causes her to shake more. I feel she’s on the verge of collapse when I gesture towards the bathroom so she can retrieve the item. Once we’re inside, I close and lock in the two of us.

  Twenty-Six

  “Icarian isn’t what you thought it was, is it Cil?”

  The woman’s body relaxes, almost going limp. “How did you figure it out?” she asks, leaning against one of the walls.

  “You left the suit behind.”

  “Still, that shouldn’t have tipped you off.” She removes a necklace from around her throat and her face morphs into the one I’m familiar with, her hair color and length returning to normal as well. “Comes in handy when you’re hiding,” she says, handing me the necklace. “Keep it. I have more.”

  “Where you’d get it?” I ask, fingering the smooth shiny metal.

  “The same place you got the suit.” She sits on the floor, her body completely at ease. “Did you know they have cameras in each room except this one?”

  So that’s how Jack knew I was alone.

  “That doesn’t surprise me,” I say, sitting on the cool tile and leaning my back against the shower stall.

  “Still, Max, how’d you know it was me?”

  “You’re the only one I noticed without a laurel tattoo on the side of your wrist. The others have them, but you don’t. Which means you haven’t been here long. Also, I caught the look in your eyes down in the lobby yesterday. You can wear a mask, but when you recognize someone, your reaction is hard to hide. The others didn’t look startled. But you did. That could only mean that you thought I was elsewhere. Everyone else I know is either in the Outer Limits, or dead. You seem to easily move about the regions without any problems, so who else could you have been?”

  She lets out a laugh, which causes me to laugh as well.

  “So, now what?” she asks.

  “I ask you a couple of questions, then I kill you.”

  The laughter stops. “You can’t be serious.”

  I swing the Kopis towards her throat. “Very.”

  “Why… why would you want to kill me, Max? I’ve done nothing but help you,” she says almost pleading.

  “You’re a Dracken traitor, Cil. You tipped off the Patrician on how to get into Pentras Tower, but you also told the Keepers about the plot to mutilate me. You’ve been playing both sides, but I can’t figure out why.”

  “You’re crazy, Max.” She shakes her head and lets out a nervous laugh.

  “Then tell me, how did the Patrician know what type of lighting was needed to read the directory in the lobby of Pentras Tower? You’re the only one besides Lok who knows how to maneuver their way around the wristbands’ programming. Also, you just said it yourself that you got this necklace the same place I got the suit. There’s only one way you could’ve possibly known that: if you are actually a Dracken. One from the previous society that was destroyed by the Patrician.” I lean in closer, the top of the Kopis almost piercing her skin. “Tell me, Cil, how have you been kept alive all this time? That attack happened what, about a century ago? That would make you an ancient. Yet, you still look young. What did the Patrician promise you if you helped them?”

  “Immortality,” she hisses. “I told them that I could get them into Pentras Tower, but they couldn’t wait. When their plan failed, they finally listened to me. Only my terms went up.” Her eyes grow dark as she crosses her arms across her chest. “I was one of the researchers who helped create the technology the Patrician are seeking. When they arrived, they threatened our society, said they would turn the world to ash if we didn’t give them what they wanted. I began smuggling some of the items out, but the Patrician grew impatient. They dropped nuclear weapons on Pentras while I was traveling to one of their ships. The tower’s defenses went into action, preventing any entry. The city was so contaminated that no one could get close enough to disengage them. The Dracken that survived, retreated to the Outer Limits after securing the area with the dome. I was the Patrician’s only link to the technology they craved.”

  “So, you traded your soul for living forever. Unfortunately, that’s not going to pan out for you. But why help the Patrician at all?”

  “Sometimes worlds just need to be scratched from existence. This one needs to be left in rubble.”

  “Tell me why. It may cause me to spare your life.”

  “Wow, Max, you’re as nuts as your parents. That’s what their thinking was too, and look where it got them. And you, for that matter.”

  “Wait a minute.” I lower the sword and scoot closer to her. “My parents wanted this place destroyed?”

  “Yes, but not because of the Patrician. This world was heading for destruction before the Patrician arrived. They just accelerated the process.”

  “Then why?” I raise my weapon again, almost jamming it into her throat. “I’m tired of this bullshit, Cil. Just spit it out already.”

  “Fine. Because they learned the truth about what the Dracken were going to do. I helped them realize it, but that was only after they had been exiled to the Outer Limits and you had disappeared.” She takes a deep breath. “The technology is not only to assist the Dracken in moving from one world to another, but to leave those behind who are inferior to die. They were only going to transfer those they felt worthy of their superior society, which meant that millions of people would be left to succumb to the poison the world houses.”

  “You’re giving me a headache, Cil.”

  “The Dracken need their technology to survive. If they take it with them, then those who aren’t permitted to go will perish. Their technology keeps this world from killing its inhabitants. The Patrician were offering a way out for those of us who were going to be left behind. If we helped them get the technology, they would take us with them. We would be saved.”

  “They lied to you. I’ve seen what the Patrician have down to the worlds they invade. Nothing is left, including its people.”

  “Did the Dracken show you that?”

  My head really does begin to pound the more we go around and around with this nonsense. “At this moment, Cil, I don’t believe anyone. Including you.”

  “Suit yourself. But don’t blame me when you get tossed aside by the Dracken when this is all over with.”

  “Too bad you won’t be alive to see it.”

  I thrust the Kopis into her neck, almost severing her head. I clean the blood from the blade in the tub, hide the suit in the bottom drawer of the dresser, and use the call button. A new Matron is sent up when I advise her that there has been an incident. Cil’s body is removed and the bathroom cleaned. I have to change my clothes again due to the blood spatter, but this time I put the suit back on, covering it up with a dark blue jumpsuit. I belt my Kopis around my waist and look for an apartment number on the communicator.

  “Change your mind?” Jack asks as he opens the door a few minutes later.

  My Kopis slices his thigh, then I shove him to the floor and quickly close the door.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?!” he shouts at me, as he puts his hands on his leg to try and slow the bleeding.

  “Tell me about the academy.”

  “What?”

  “What were you all taught at the academy?”

  “What does that have to do with anything?”

  I tap my weapon against his other leg. “Tell me or your other leg will be just as useless.”

  He winces from the pain as blood flows down around him. “Get me medical attention, then we’ll talk.”

  “I need a guarantee then.”

  “Like what?” he asks through gritted teeth.

  “You leave me the fuck alone. You even try to rape me again, I’ll gut you.”

  “Fine.”

  I press the call button in the kitchen. Since his apartment is identical to mine I didn’t need to ask where it was. His Matron arrives swiftly. The two of us move him onto the couch so she can begin mending his injury.

  “Talk,” I say, sitting on t
he coffee table, tapping the bottom of his good leg with the Kopis.

  “Garrett can have you. Or is it Frey you’re with? Troy tells me you’re quite the object of people’s desires lately. I wonder who’s next for you,” he says through grunts as the Matron applies the healing ointment.

  I slide the Kopis up his thigh. “What did I tell you?”

  “You’re no fun.” He waits until he’s mended and the Matron leaves before continuing. “The Patrician run the academy. Or at least they used to.” He adjusts his position on the couch, trying to get comfortable. “We weren’t taught much. It was mainly propaganda against the Dracken. What we did learn was that the Patrician are a people who absorb others. They didn’t hide the fact that they’ve destroyed other worlds. In fact, they boasted about it. Told us that if we were to be loyal to them we needed to know our history. The Patrician history.”

  “And the Dracken?”

  “We had the occasional student voice their opinions about what liars the Patrician are. But that was mainly because their parents were Dracken loyalists. Like Frey’s father.”

  “What about your parents? Especially your father. Remember, he’s the reason my parents are dead.”

  “Your parents’ own ignorance are the reason they’re dead. Not because of my father. They just couldn’t leave well enough alone. Our society was making great headway with the Patrician in creating an alliance with them to secure our existence, but your parents had to go and fuck everything up.”

  I’m half-tempted to punch him in the face for being so naive, but I need him to keep talking so I try to keep myself calm.

  “What my father did was for our own protection. Including yours,” Jack adds.

  He moves his leg slightly, checking its strength. The healing ointment has done its job, so he’s able to put his weight on the leg. He gets up and goes into the kitchen. I stay seated on the coffee table. He brings a pitcher filled with a pale red liquid and two glasses. He hands me one, pours me a drink, and sits back down on the couch. I know better than to trust anything I’m given now, so I sniff at the drink.

  Cinnamon.

  “Nice try,” I say, setting the glass onto the coffee table.

  “Hey, you know I’m not going to give up, Max. You’ll eventually see things my way.”

  “Have you always been this arrogant, or am I just lucky?”

  He laughs as he pours himself a drink from the same container. “Not only does this stuff increase your desires, it also relaxes the hell out of you.” He raises his glass then pours the liquid down his throat. “Ah, now that’s better.”

  “Why would you want to form an alliance with the Patrician? They obliterate worlds, including its people.”

  “And the Dracken aren’t any different,” he says, pouring himself another. “At least with the Patrician, you’re given a fighting chance. The Dracken are just cold-hearted individuals that only believe in the preservation of the most worthy. Of which, there are few.” He empties his glass, then pours more.

  “So, what did the Patrician promise you if you followed them?”

  “Whatever I want, which of course keeps changing every day. Like now, for instance, you’re what I want the most. So, what do I have to do to earn you?”

  He moves to the edge of the couch, places the glass next to me, and begins to massage my thighs. I’m about to run him through with the Kopis, when I stop myself mid-thought. I put the weapon off to the side, take his hands, and place them on my hips as I move closer to him.

  “Get me to the Outer Limits without the Patrician or the Dracken finding out.”

  He smiles, but it’s more from the alcohol than my request. “There’s a way I can do that. But, I need some kind of security from you. What are you willing to give me now, so I know you’re serious about this transaction?”

  I think about that, since it won’t be a simple price. “I can give you a preview of what to expect.”

  I climb into his lap, straddle my legs around his waist, and shove my tongue down his throat. He has me on my back in seconds as his hands search for the opening of the jumper. I push him back, move from the couch, and let him fall back down.

  “There’ll be more, later,” I say as I push the button to exit. The door slides open and I’m back in the lift ascending to my floor before he has time to recover.

  Garrett rings the bell just as the sun is setting. I don’t turn on any lights since I don’t want anyone to know I’m letting him in. Especially Jack.

  “Why do you have it dark?” Garrett asks when he crosses the threshold.

  “No privacy, remember. I don’t want my life to be on display for all of Icarian.”

  The door closes and we sit on the couch. “Have you seen Jack? Troy has been looking for him for hours, but no one can find him.”

  “Nope. I haven’t seen him since we got here.”

  Garrett pulls me into his side and starts to nuzzle my neck. “So, are you ready to tell me what happened earlier?”

  “Forget it, it’s been taken care of.”

  “You still don’t trust me,” he says, but his accurate observation doesn’t stop him from pulling me down on top of him.

  “Is this all any of you think about?” I ask, pushing myself up.

  “What can I say? You’re desirable, Max. I want to enjoy you as much as possible whenever possible.”

  “Have you taken anything with cinnamon in it?”

  He stops and looks at me puzzled. I can see the wheels turning in his head and then click when it finally sinks in.

  “Shit,” he says.

  I move to the other end of the sectional while he adjusts his clothing.

  “I warned you about it in Tarsus, and here I am bathing in it.”

  “Bath salts?”

  “No, body wash.”

  “I think this place is full of that stuff. That’s probably why everyone is so into bedding each other. It’s false desire,” I say.

  Dracken influence or Patrician? What a second? When Lok and Garrett warned me about it, they said that Leader Fallon had banned it. So, it is the Dracken providing this drug-like substance. Does that mean they really did create Icarian? If so, for what purpose? I bet Cil would have known, but there isn’t any way to ask her now. Who’s left from the original Dracken society? Is there anyone?

  “Max, did you hear me?”

  “Sorry,” I say, shaking my head to clear it.

  “Have you eaten dinner?”

  I tell him I haven’t. He calls down to the Matron and asks for our meals to be brought up. For this, we have to turn on the lights. The Matron brings us our meals, but we only manage to get through half of it when the doorbell chimes. I get up and see that it’s Troy. He looks agitated. I open the door, he walks in, and I quickly close it.

  “Did you find Jack?” Garrett asks, getting up from his seat at the dining room table.

  “Yes, but there’s an issue,” Troy says. “And I need Max to come with me.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you,” I say, returning to the dining room.

  “He’s in trouble because of you!” Troy shouts. “You fucked with his head, Max, and now his life is at risk.”

  Garrett turns towards me. “What did you do?”

  “The same thing everyone has been doing to me. Manipulating him to get what I want. And I’d do it again, to any of you. I’m tired of this damn puppet show. I just want this whole thing over with. At this point, I don’t care who wins.”

  “Fine,” Troy says. “Then come with me.”

  “I’m going too,” Garrett says.

  “Well, I’m not going unarmed.”

  I retrieve my Kopis from the sectional where I’d left it when I returned earlier. I then slip into the bedroom and tuck the necklace Cil gave me into one of the pockets in my jumpsuit. We take the lift down to Garrett’s room where he retrieves his bow and arrow. The lobby is bustling with Matrons and citizens. It seems Icarian’s nightlife is a lot more colorful and entertaining than the
daytime activities. We exit, cross the courtyard, and take the road behind the apartment building.

  As the sun sets, the sky turns to black, displaying vast amounts of stars that I’ve never seen before. The air is too polluted in the Outer Limits, and Tarsus had so many lights it washed the night sky out. I continue to stare up as we walk. Two objects look out of place: one a colored globe, the other a bulkier metal sphere. They’re a great distance away, but it’s obvious they aren’t a natural phenomenon. I turn my attention back to the road.

  Troy veers off the road about twenty minutes later, and down a pebbled path leading into the middle of the field. It takes another ten minutes before I finally see a structure. It’s oblong and covered in a dome-roof made of small reflective panels. A small light hangs next to the lone door. Troy presses in a code on a keypad by the light and the door opens. We step inside and before I know it, someone knocks me down from behind. My head hurts from the impact and everything is blurry. I can make out Troy and Garrett scuffling by the now closed door. An image slowly comes into focus of my attacker as he gets closer. Jack kneels down next to me, resting on his heels.

  “How dumb do you think I am?” he says to me. “You’re just as treacherous as your parents.”

  He grabs my throat and lifts me into the air. I claw at his hands, but his grip only tightens. I try to reach for my Kopis, but I can’t find it. Troy punches Garrett hard in the face, breaking his nose. Blood pours from the wound as Garrett collapses to the sandy floor and Troy begins kicking him in the ribs. I can hear them crack.

  “Enough!” someone shouts from behind me. “Jack, put her down.”

  He doesn’t do it right away, so the man behind me has to tell him again. Jack drops me and I fall to the ground, suffering through a violent coughing fit as I try to get air into my lungs. As I scan the room looking for another exit, I realize that none of us have our weapons. Not even Jack and Troy.

  The older man who told Jack to let me go comes over to me, extends his hand, and helps me to my feet. “Weapons are not permitted in this building,” he says, noticing my glance. At the sound of his voice, flashes of memory come back to me, but only for an instant.