The Killing Jar

by RS McCoy

  Aida shook her head.

  Then Sal was gone and the room was quiet again.

  Aida sat at her desk and perused the LRF news feed. She could only try on outfits from her limited closet for so long.

  Within minutes, an ecomm notification appeared at the bottom of her screen.

  TO: AIDA PERKINS, PLANETARY SYSTEMS

  FROM: PLANETARY SYSTEMS DEPARTMENT

  MSG: PROBE DATA RECEIVED.

  Uncaring to her appearance, Aida slipped on her shoes and half-jogged, half-walked to her office. Dr. Hill waited at the door.

  “You got it, too?” she asked, her breath a bit uneven.

  “I sent it. I thought you’d want to know.”

  Dr. Hill looked her up and down. His mouth hung open at her bright red skirt and voluminous top. Her hair was even down, skimming her shoulders in the waves she so rarely let loose outside of her apartment.

  “You’re right. I do.” Aida left him in the narrow corridor and walked around her desk to sit in her chair. She all but threw her tablet to the desktop and tapped the ecomm that gave her the link to the file.

  A vast amount of information filled her screen. File upon file, charts and graphs and readings. There was so much to go over, so much to learn.

  Aida dove in with unbridled enthusiasm.

  At last, at long last, after so much waiting, they would finally know if Perkins-196 was the right planet.

  SILAS

  CPI-AO-301, NEW YORK

  AUGUST 22, 2232

  Nick marched into his office without a knock. Silas knew, by nothing more than the set look in his jaw, that they had a job.

  “Delta confirmed an Echo. Toronto. Level One.”

  Silas knew ‘confirmed’ was a loose term in their line of work, but if an intel team was confident, he had no reason to doubt them, especially Delta.

  Remembering his conversation with Ramona, he asked, “Who’s the host?”

  Nick flipped through the files on his tablet. “Uh, a pharmaceutical chemist, Dr. Divya Prataban. I can have Recon4 on a shuttle within the hour.”

  His jaw tightened. “No. They haven’t had the extraction training.” Recon4? Maggie and Theo? No way in hell.

  Nick continued, unaffected. “The training is little more than walking them through the vids and showing them the gear. They’ve already studied the vids. Besides, Recon5’s not ready.”

  “Neither is four. Send three.” Silas looked out his slim window. Dusk had already fallen, the grounds of the CPI complex slowly disappearing into the dark.

  “Three is in orbit. One and two are out of commission. You know this. It has to be Recon4 or Recon5. Between the two, I’m opting for four. Georgie’s not ready.”

  “None of them are ready.”

  “Yes, they are. Have you looked at the case file logs? Mable’s opened every file, every vid. Theo’s done more than half. They’ve been combing through them for days. They’ve seen the extractions. I’ll give them a quick run-down of the gear before they go, but you either send them or risk the host. It’s a Level One. Who knows when—”

  “I know what’s at stake.” Silas refused to turn and face Nick. It was his worst nightmare come true.

  “So four?” Nick tapped his shoe on the floor as he waited for confirmation.

  “I’ll do the run-down.” Should anything happen to her, he wanted to know he’d done everything possible to keep her safe. It might help him sleep at night, but probably not.

  “Whatever you say.”

  “Send them the ecomm to go to the lab. And put together their identities and files.”

  “Right away.” God, Silas wanted to kill him. For someone who was supposed to be here to help him and relieve some of his stress, Nick was failing in apocalyptic fashion. What a useless ninny.

  With no time to spare, Silas made his way up to the lab. Theo and Maggie were already there. Theo wore his usual tight shirt and athletic pants, but Maggie was the one he cared about. Her hair was twisted into a bun as was the Scholar fashion. She wore a conservative blue dress shirt and khaki pants with bright blue sneakers. Anyone who saw her would automatically assume she was a Youth about to go Scholar, just as he wanted. It wasn’t a spectacular alias, but it was the best they could do on short notice.

  Aside from their clothes, both wore grim expressions, awaiting whatever he was about to show them.

  Nick must have told them already.

  “You’ll be headed to the shuttle dock shortly, but I wanted to give you both a few tips for your first extraction.” He scanned his hand and pushed in.

  “What’s the rush?” Maggie narrowed her eyes.

  God she was difficult. Silas rubbed his hand over his chin. “The intel team listed the extraction as a Level One. We don’t know why, but the bugs seem to kill the hosts in the hours before a big event. A conference. A presentation. We think it has to do with stress levels. Something in the cortisol triggers the bug to terminate the host.”

  “And this one has some big event this afternoon?”

  “She’s presenting at a conference tonight. You’ll go as a Youth interviewing her about her career and how it led up to her presentation. The specifics are in the file. You don’t really need to say much. It’s just to get you close enough to disable her and perform the extractions. Let me show you what I—”

  “We’ve watched the vids. Over and over again.”

  “Watching and doing are two different galaxies.” Maggie gave him a bored look. “Humor me.”

  “Why don’t you use the gas canisters anymore?” she asked, her arms crossed.

  “A few times, the canister was shuffled in the commotion and an agent gassed themselves or gave the host the wrong gas. It was too much of a risk so we discontinued the practice. Theo, Maggie, this is Dr. Albert Quincy. He’s our Lead researcher here. This is his lab.”

  Quincy barely looked up from his table. He peeked over some convoluted viewing device and nodded.

  Silas led his newest recon team to the back where they housed the extraction equipment. “These are the Echo clamps. You saw them in the vids?” Both Theo and Maggie nodded.

  “You can extract any bug with any clamp, but each is designed to streamline the extraction for a particular bug.”

  Theo stared at the clamps. “Why would you need them to be functional for all four species? Should we expect that it might not be an Echo?”

  “Probably not, no. The intel teams are pretty good, but there’s no way to be certain. It wouldn’t be the first time they got the species wrong.”

  “Oh great,” Maggie fussed.

  “Make sure you have your clamps, gloves, and killing jar. You absolutely cannot forget those three things.” Silas held Maggie’s gaze for several seconds so she’d know he was serious.

  “Gloves? Are those really going to protect me from a bug?” she asked as if she didn’t notice.

  “You’ll stick your hands inside someone’s mouth. Trust me, you want the gloves.”

  Both cringed.

  If it had been anyone else, Silas would have laughed.

  “How am I supposed to knock out the host? I’m assuming they don’t want to be awake during their involuntary laryngoscopy.”

  “In the past, the agent got close and tripped the vagus nerve. I’m not sure you’ll be strong enough, actually—” She was just too small.

  “I can do it,” she insisted.

  Silas sighed. “I believe you, but the answer is no. Take a gas canister, but be very cautious about which end you use.” He opened the bottom drawer of the lab table and pulled out a silver gas canister. Satisfied it was full and operational, he showed her how to dispense the gas. “Here, blue dot for blue gas to knock them out. Green dot for green gas—”

  “Wakes them up. Got it.” Maggie all but snatched the canister from his hand. “Anything else?”

  “Have everything you need?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What are the three things?” He had to be sure.

  A l
ook of fury crossed her face. He shouldn’t have asked, he realized now. Maggie was more than capable of remembering three simple items. “Gloves, clamp, jar, and a rod to stick up your ass.”

  Theo stared at her in shock, embarrassed to witness such an outburst. Silas had no such delicate sensibilities. She could curse and insult him all she wanted, as long as she came back in one piece.

  “Theo, go ahead and get a fresh jar from Quincy.” At least the kid was smart enough to take the hint. He turned on his heel and walked away.

  “I need to know that you take this seriously.”

  “Yeah, sure.” Maggie turned to follow Theo until he grabbed her upper arm and yanked her back. He didn’t mean to yank her so hard.

  She flashed him angry eyes. “Quit it!”

  “Maggie. You need to take this seriously. Bugs are dangerous. Pay attention to your surroundings. Listen to Kaufman. He’s your handler. He’ll be with you the whole time. Follow the procedure. Be careful.” He sighed and released his grip. “I need to know that you’ll be safe,” he pleaded.

  He finally got through. She looked back the way Theo had gone, making sure they were alone. So quiet, almost a whisper, she said, “I’ll be careful. Promise.”

  “I expect you back here safe and sound by morning.”

  “You know, you’re starting sound like my dad.” Maggie huffed and walked back to Theo, then the two left for the shuttle dock.

  Silas shook his head and laughed nervously.

  He reminded himself that she was ready, she was smart, she was resourceful. Where Alex had been sheltered, she was resilient. If anyone could do this, it was her.

  Now if only his nerves would believe that.

  MABLE

  CPI CORRIDOR

  AUGUST 22, 2232

  Mable clutched the strap of her black bag as she walked to the pod with Theo. She was putting her favorite items at risk, but if she had to run, she would take her treasures with her. There was no telling when an opportunity might come up.

  She might get to see Hadley today.

  Or she might have to leave Dasia behind today.

  Mable wasn’t as thrilled at the prospect of leaving as she used to be. Still, the Root was her home and Hadley needed her.

  Instead, she was stuck with Theo. In a plain black backpack, he carried their extraction supplies.

  The pair marched forward with a sort of confidence she wouldn’t have expected. Over the last week, they’d spent nearly all their time together, reviewing the files and discussing the extraction procedures.

  All in all, he wasn’t more than a pack mule. His shirt was so tight it looked to be cutting off circulation—courtesy of the style-blind hussie girlfriend—but he was actually pretty smart. At least his questions didn’t melt the flesh off her face.

  Theo let the pod navigate on autopilot, probably for the best considering his history. They rode in silence to the shuttle dock passenger load area and headed for the terminal. The busy crowd of tablet-obsessed travelers created a continuous rumble through the metallic dock. Theo and Mable tried to weave through the crowd but found it less than manageable.

  When the fourth person crashed into her, she’d had enough. “Get off me!” she shouted as she pushed the woman away. Her attention forced away from her tablet, the woman looked up as if she’d been set on a new planet, then returned to her tablet and continued on her way.

  “Fucking tablet whores!” Mable groaned to no one in particular.

  Theo rubbed the short stubble atop his head and let her take the lead. Of course, he didn’t want to be seen with her.

  Mable pressed the travel badge on her wrist to the scanner at the shuttle door. When the screen flashed “Welcome aboard, Camille Cristophsen (S)”, Mable laughed and continued onto the shuttle. Only Arrenstein would pick such a prude name.

  Mable found a seat along the wall and sank into it. Theo followed behind and joined her a second later.

  “If you’re not ready, I’m sure we can get Nick to assign someone else—”

  “I’m fine,” she muttered in response. She reached into her bag and pulled out her tablet.

  “What happened to ‘tablet whores’?”

  Mable noticed for the first time he didn’t have his. “You’re flaming out your ass because you forgot yours?”

  “It’s in my bag. What’s your problem?”

  “You’re my problem.”

  “Fuck off,” she whined.

  “Fuck you,” he fired right back. Mable refused to tell him, but she was kind of impressed. Maybe good ole Theo pretty boy was growing a spine after all. She kind of liked it.

  That was a problem.

  She found her place in her book and continued reading, giving him the coldest shoulder she could manage.

  From the corner of her eye—not that she was looking—she could see Theo rub both his hands down the length of his athletic pants. Up and down, up and down.

  He was getting nervous.

  Not her problem. She kept reading.

  The sudden plethora of good books to read was by far the best part of her new life at CPI. In the Root, there was a finite quantity of physical books, mostly manuals for various mechanisms, and even fewer tablets. Stolen tablets would self-destruct and it wasn’t as if making one were easy in the underground. Mable had gone a good two years without more than the book of fables in her bag. She’d read it cover to cover nearly fifty times.

  Not that she didn’t like fables, but she was ready for something new to read. In the last month, she’d burned through six books, but Memoirs of a Geisha was by far the most interesting and she wasn’t even finished yet. Ancient Japan was a cruel place. Mable liked to think she could relate to that.

  When the woman came by with their drinks, Mable was beyond disappointed to find a glass of water. For real? Water? What happened to vodka?

  “Not going to drink it?” Theo asked when his glass was dry.

  “I’d prefer something a little stronger.”

  “Dr. Arrenstein wants us to be cautious. I’m sure alcohol wouldn’t help.”

  “Wow, thanks mom.”

  She could feel his anger fall off him in waves. His breath grew tight in his chest as he said, “What happened to you? Seriously, there’s no reason to be like that. I don’t treat you like that.”

  “It’s none of your business.” It was pretty much the example of not-his-business.

  “Do you want to know how I got here?” he asked, quieter this time.

  “No.” She already had all the details she needed.

  THEO

  VERONICA STREET, TORONTO, NORTH AMERICA

  AUGUST 22, 2232

  Theo pulled up the ecomm system on his wristlet and typed in the message.

  JANE GALLAGHER: I’M GOING TO DO IT.

  She would know what it meant. Nate sacrificed for Casey. Theo would sacrifice for Jane. That’s what people were supposed to do when they cared about each other.

  The shuttle landed without another word shared between him and his ‘partner’. Mable was the most useless, combative partner he could imagine. At least it would be short lived.

  As they navigated the tube, Theo pulled up the coordinates on his wristlet and pointed the way.

  “What is that thing?” she asked.

  “Something I made a while back. It connects to my tablet so I don’t have to carry it around all the time.”

  “Impressive.”

  Theo couldn’t decide if she was genuine. Her hands were busy adjusting her hair into a loose pony tail, though several pieces still fell across her face.

  “Aren’t you supposed to keep the bun? Dr. Arrenstein wants you to look like a Scholar.”

  Mable rolled her eyes. “I’m supposed to be a Youth. And Arrenstein can eat shit and die.”

  Theo shook his head and kept walking. He wanted to like her, to make this work. Somewhere deep in there, Mable was probably a good person, but she was too warped, too rough around the edges. Theo wouldn’t be forced to tolera
te her behavior. Not when there were alternatives.

  “Are you going to wear the cam?” Theo tried to keep the hope from his voice. He couldn’t be blamed if she refused to follow instructions.

  “Yeah, how else are you going to communicate with me?”

  Dammit.

  “You said you didn’t want to wear it.” Theo fished the device from the equipment bag and handed it to her. “Do you need help?”

  Mable snatched it. “No.”

  From the shuttle dock, the Toronto Institute of Pharmaceutical Evaluation was only four blocks away. Not worth the trouble of arranging a pod. The pair stepped into the afternoon light of the dome and stopped so Mable could maneuver the cam over her ear.

  Theo tried to help, to offer her a better suggestion for placement, but she swatted him away. He could only watch as she held the device above her ear and winced as the five points punctured her scalp.

  Her breath became ragged with the pain, but she never cried out. Theo was almost impressed until her remembered the way she screamed at cleaning. Clearly that had been nothing more than a cry for attention.

  With the cam in place, they walked in silence for two blocks before they passed a café. “This is close enough,” he told her and started for the door.

  “Hey,” she called after him. “The bag.” Mable reached out her hand.

  “Right. Here you go.” Theo lifted the strap over his head and handed it to her. “I’ll trade you.” He held out his hand but she ignored him. Mable slid the bag over her shoulder to sit on top of the one she already carried. Then she turned to continue on toward the lab.

  The Ninth Street Diner was a fine establishment, though he didn’t have much basis for comparison. The walls were lined with black booths and a series of tables occupied the central space. A long counter ran along the far wall and sat a few single patrons.

  Theo slid into a booth and attached the audio tabs behind his ears. He set his wristlet on the table and projected her vid feed onto the facing chair. The tablet would have been much easier, but he needed the wristlet for this.

  Scanning the café, the other patrons were mindlessly engaged in their own tablets. None would notice him.