The Harmony Paradox

by Matthew S. Cox

  “We don’t shoot every criminal we investigate.” She scowled.

  “Stab them sometimes?” He winked.

  Nina leaned forward. “Sounds like you’re feeling like the rules are too much of a burden to follow.”

  “Hey.” He raised his hands. “Nothing like that. Just a little inter-division jabbing.”

  She let out a silent sigh. “Can you give me anything to work with?”

  “What, so you can go whack some guy I’ve been investigating for two months?”

  Nina tapped her foot for a few seconds, trying to resist the itch to live up to her reputation and start shouting. “Detective Weber… you asked before why Division 9 is involved in the investigation of street drugs. We’re looking into suspected ACC involvement.”

  Weber’s mouth opened. He stared at her in silence.

  “Detective?”

  “Oh, that makes sense now.”

  Nina relaxed back against her chair. “What does?”

  “The drug-induced rejection of authority. Make the shit cheap so it gets everywhere. In a couple months, you’re looking at citizen revolt or large-scale riots.” He whistled. “Maybe it’s a good thing you’re in on this after all. That could also explain why we’ve had such a hard time finding the gang responsible for the theft. Maybe it wasn’t a street gang at all.”

  “That’s… an alarming idea.” That I hadn’t even considered. “I… think that might only be a side effect though. The ACC component of this had a rather specific application.”

  Detective Weber smiled. “You show me yours, I’ll show you mine?”

  She grinned. Technically classified, but this guy seems on point. “Nanobots mixed in with the drug. They wired up my vic’s brain and turned him into a walking surveillance unit. Audio and video. We picked it up due to intermittent data bursts going to a Mexican network address.”

  “Whoa. Sounds above my pay grade.” He tapped at the holographic keyboard and swapped screens. “My investigation uncovered a common thread among several of the most prolific dealers in the sectors under my jurisdiction. There seems to be one individual who is providing Placinil, I guess you could say ‘wholesale’ to several players.”

  “And… that’s who?”

  He chuckled. “That’s the bit of evidence I’m missing. I’ve got a couple grabs from nearby citycams, but mostly a plain white van. Once the back of a man’s head. Light brown hair, suit. I’ve been trying to get the go-ahead to send in an undercover, but command is pushing back, thinking Harmony’s a non-issue. They don’t want to risk it.” Detective Weber grinned like a used hovercar salesman. “Of course, you don’t have that problem.”

  “Send me your list?” She stood. “Maybe it’ll lead somewhere.”

  Detective Weber brought up a few files on his terminal, made ‘grabbing’ gestures at the holo-panel, and ‘tossed’ them to her. The NetMini on her belt chirped. “I’d appreciate it if you shared anything you don’t wind up classifying.”

  “Sure. Street chems aren’t normally my concern. If there’s nothing tied back to the ACC here, it’s all yours.”

  “Be careful.” Weber grinned. “Some of those dealers live in areas where a pretty woman could get hurt.”

  She gave him the side-eye. “I don’t have that problem.”

  atya glanced away from the Nacho Mama van, shaking her head with contempt. That someone as inept as Anders wound up on a live assignment made sense only if they’d sent him expecting that he’d be found. The man evidently had some skill with network operations, at least enough to pose as an employee of Laughlin-Reed Innovation… enough to recognize her intrusion by technique.

  She debated slipping into the bathroom to unburden herself of the precious cargo, but before she could stand, a tall man with short slicked-back white hair and a square-shouldered black suit walked in. Her attention gravitated to the cobalt blue tie practically glowing from his chest. The man looked like the most stereotypical corporate leg-breaker she’d ever seen.

  He scanned the bistro interior as he crept forward. His expression and motion didn’t change in any noticeable way when he looked at her, so she figured he had no idea what his contact looked like. When he got close to her table, she spoke without looking up.

  “Nice tie.”

  “Go fuck yourself,” said the man.

  Katya set her empty cappuccino mug back in the saucer. “Too late. Already did.”

  The man flinched, his stare hardening.

  Guess he wasn’t ready for that response. She gestured at the chair Anders had vacated. “Seat’s warm.”

  “You look like you need a ride.”

  “Now that you mention it…” Katya waved the doll waitress over.

  The man waited for her to settle her tab. Katya stood, feeling a bit like a twelve-year-old when her head barely came up to his chest. He offered a polite nod before walking outside and going past the exterior tables. She followed him to the sidewalk, where he turned right and headed at a deliberate pace for blank white cargo van parked six cars from the café. This is how people get abducted. Hesitance slowed her step as she scanned around for possible escape routes.

  Without looking back to see if she’d followed, the man pulled open the side door. The interior contained limousine-style furnishings. Four individual faux leather seats faced a tiny round table. A wet bar sat behind them by the back end, and wide holo-panels simulating windows covered both walls, looking out over a white-sand beach dotted with palm trees. Another man, as opposite as possible from the pale giant, sat in the rear-facing seat working on a mixed drink that faded from clear at the bottom up to violet. If Blue Tie had been a stereotypical corporate leg-breaker, this man looked like every bad holovid representation of a Syndicate hitman. Deep tan, black hair, wide smile, and an immaculate suit. Though he didn’t stand as she approached, she figured him for her height or perhaps even a little shorter.

  “Come in, please… have a seat,” said Black Tie. “Can I offer you anything to drink?”

  Katya stepped up into the van and slid into the rear left seat. Plush leather creaked as fluffy cushions compressed. “Thanks, but it’s a bit early for me.”

  While Blue Tie got in and pulled the door closed, the smaller man offered her a canister of purified water. “Our mutual friend tells me you have something for us?”

  “I have a lot of friends.” She smiled, opened the water, and sniffed it. A tiny implanted sensor in her nose sampled the air, transmitted its data to her NIU, and: ‹H20› appeared in text along the bottom of her vision. Katya took a sip.

  Black Tie seemed to notice her testing the water, but his smile didn’t falter. “Of course. A moment.” He glanced at the window to his right, Katya’s left. The view of the beach faded to black, replaced by the mirror covered letters of the ComTec International logo, a giant C with T and I nested inside, all rotating.

  After a few seconds, the logo faded, revealing Alex, wearing a shimmery lavender suit with a fluffy frilled ascot. “Ahh, good of you to vid.” He looked between Katya and the men. “I trust all is well.”

  “So far,” said Black Tie. “Just confirming the mutuality of our friendship.”

  “Yes, of course.” Alex nodded to Katya. “You have the information with you?”

  She fidgeted. “Yes.”

  “Go ahead and transfer it then. Let us finalize our arrangement.” Alex smiled and… plopped sugar cubes into tea.

  “Are you really wearing that and drinking tea with sugar cubes, or is this your avatar?” She fidgeted again.

  “I appreciate the finer things in life.” He held up a cube with a pair of small tongs. “It may not have grown from the earth, but it is chemically identical to sugar. You should try it some time.” He dropped it back in the dish with a soft clank.

  Katya rolled her eyes. “Fine. There was a small complication with the security at LRI.”

  “Complication?” asked Alex.

  The Ties looked at her with new unease.

  “More s
ecurity than anticipated. I had to take an unusual step to get the data out.” She stared at the canister of water in her hand. “Oh hell. It’s inside me.”

  Alex raised an eyebrow.

  “My dog ate a cufflink once,” said Blue Tie. “Took a day, but it came out.”

  Alex and Black Tie stared at him in disbelief.

  “I didn’t swallow it.” Katya set the water down, stood, and reached for the button on her jeans. “Oh hell. Might as well get this over with. Give me a moment.”

  Black Tie raised his hand. “Wait.”

  “Call me back,” said Alex, ending the vid.

  “Wait?” Katya blinked.

  Blue Tie opened the door and got out.

  Black Tie followed. “Pull the door open when you’re finished.” He closed it.

  She stood dumbfounded for a few seconds at being given privacy. Wow. I was not expecting that. Katya dropped her jeans and removed the foam insert. She fought the urge to fall seated with her pants around her knees and enjoy being rid of the thing, and fixed her clothes back in place. After tugging the door open an inch, she sat, leaving the foam-encased neural memory stick dangling from her fingers by the string Doctor Crowley had so fortuitously included.

  The men reentered. Blue Tie closed the door and took a seat at Black Tie’s left.

  Neither of them seemed terribly interested in touching the foam sausage.

  “Anyone have a knife?” asked Katya.

  Blue Tie reached behind his back and drew a combat vibro-knife with a metallic scrape. He offered it handle-first.

  “That’s a bit of overkill for cutting foam.” She chuckled.

  She didn’t bother squeezing the handgrip to activate the mechanism; the plain old composite non-energized edge would more than be up to the task. Katya worked the blade into the foam with light, careful pressure so she didn’t damage the plastic housing of the neural memory stick, and made a longitudinal slash down the capsule that elicited groans from both men. It took her a second to understand why, and she laughed.

  “Sorry, boys. No symbolism intended.” She split the foam apart, exposing a black plastic wand about three inches long tipped with a standard asterisk-shaped M3 interface prong covered by a clear safety cap. She offered it to the men, bending the foam such that the neural memory stick stuck out toward them. “Here you go.”

  Black Tie plucked it from the foam and connected it to the terminal before getting Alex on the vid. Blue Tie held up a wastebasket, in which Katya dropped the foam bits. She handed him his knife back with a genuine smile. Somehow in her mind, their being polite and courteous to a woman became a conflict of UCF vs ACC, making her even happier to have escaped.

  “Ahh. That’s better.” Alex sipped tea. “Kindly let me know when the data validates.”

  Katya smiled to herself at his use of ‘when’ rather than ‘if.’

  Black Tie sipped his drink, which imparted a scent like licorice to his breath. She took a long swig of water, and enjoyed the feeling of not having anything stuck where it didn’t belong. About five minutes later, the terminal chirped. The man read over a few screens’ worth of data and gave Alex a nod.

  “Perfect.” Alex twirled his hand around and stabbed his finger at something off screen with a showy wave of the arm. “The contract is satisfied, payment should be arriving in your account within seconds.”

  Her NetMini chirped.

  “Enjoy the rest of your day, gentlemen, and lady.” Alex bowed and ended the call.

  “Where can we drop you off?” asked Blue Tie.

  Although their show of courtesy earlier inclined her to trust them, she couldn’t bring herself to let her guard down, and gave an address two sectors away from her apartment.

  Blue Tie nodded, stood, and slipped into the front via a concealed door that blended with the wall when it closed again. A mild shift in gravity surprised her, as the van didn’t look like a hover model. Given the opulent interior however, she pushed disbelief aside. The van had no markings, though these two had to work for the company who’d made arrangements with Doctor Crowley. The only remaining question would be if they could bring whatever technology she’d stolen to market faster than Laughlin-Reed Innovation, but that problem did not belong to her.

  Meaningless small talk plus the requisite assurance that she hadn’t looked at the data she’d transported filled the span of a ride a few minutes over an hour long. After they landed, she walked into the nearest apartment building as if she lived there. Once inside, she headed to the elevator. Nothing stood out as worrisome, so after riding the elevator to the roof and back once, she paged a PubTran and took it to the NaturaHealth place to pick up Eve.

  Katya floated in a blissful semi-awake state. All the tension of the job gone, she’d lay soaking in a warm bath for so long she’d forgotten what time she got in. While the autoshower could provide cleanliness, some pleasures would forever elude the ability of technology to obviate. Joey had called her back to thank her for the tip off, and drop a subtle clue that while Division 9 was inclined to believe her loyalty to the UCF genuine, they would likely monitor her for a little while. It didn’t bother her too much. She’d spent seventeen years of her life under constant surveillance anyway. People called the UCF a fascist police state, which in some ways it was, but it felt freer than Russia.

  At some point, she’d read an article claiming the country that occupied the land mass where the UCF resided had once been based on capitalism, and Russia had considered such a form of government inherently evil. She thought the idea ridiculous. The ACC lived and breathed capitalism, to the point of believing those who remained among the commoner poor deserved their life due to lack of motivation.

  Russia… communist? Hah. Unbelievable the kind of stories they come up with just to get a rise out of people.

  Eve hurried in and jumped on the toilet. “Sorry. This isn’t waiting anymore. I suggest rapid evacuation to minimum safe distance and or protective gear.”

  “You could’ve asked me to give up the bathroom.” Katya yawned and sat up amid soap foam.

  “It’s been almost two hours. I thought you drowned.” Eve leaned her head back and groaned. “Oh come on… I’ve been dancing in the hallway, seconds away from disaster, and now that I’m on the damn bowl, nothing’s happening.”

  Katya climbed out of the tub and wrapped herself in a towel. “Should I call a doctor?”

  Eve stared at her. “You might need one after breathing this.”

  “You have a man’s sense of humor.” Chuckling, Katya headed to the sink and attacked her hair with a blow dryer.

  “Barracks.” Eve swung her feet back and forth. “It was all fart and shit jokes.”

  Katya finished off her hair and headed to her bedroom where she changed into sweat pants and a loose black t-shirt. Not long after she flopped on the couch and resumed poring over job postings, Eve walked in, limping like a wounded soldier, and climbed up to sit next to her.

  “You look like a dog who’s done something bad.” Katya patted her on the head.

  “Just wait.” Eve stared at her. “The cloud’s right behind me.”

  She looks like a kid, but she doesn’t act like one. “How would you feel about going to school?”

  “I thought I was going to…” Eve tilted her head.

  “I mean actually going instead of the helmet. Meeting other kids your age, socializing… appearing normal.”

  Eve smiled and fluffed her snow-white hair. “There are no other kids my age.”

  Katya didn’t know whether to laugh or feel sorry for her. “I mean…”

  “Yeah, I know. Just… making jokes out of it helps.” Eve sat quiet for a little while, smoothing out her black tights wherever they bunched. She flexed her toes, tapped her feet together, and made faces.

  “What are you thinking about?”

  Without looking up, Eve asked, “Does your friend really think I’m psycho? He kept calling me psycho tot.”

  “First, that man isn’t exa
ctly my friend. Sometimes we help each other, but that doesn’t mean I like his company. I am sure the feeling is mutual. Second, he is not the sort of person who reacts to unusual situations gracefully. We had thought you were a grown man, a soldier who had gone insane. Finding you inside that powered armor was the last thing we expected.”

  “Do you think I’m nuts?” Eve pulled her feet in and rested her chin on her knees.

  “No. I think there is a conflict in you.” She knocked on the girl’s head. “You think sometimes like an adult, but your body is still little. Chemically, you’re a child. Mentally, neither grown nor childish.”

  “So…” Eve picked at her toenails.

  “You’ve got a little control over the mental. Nothing over the chemical. Enjoy it. Be a child while you can.” Katya ruffled her hair. “Those people stole that from you once. Don’t let them do it again.”

  “All right. I’ll give the school thing a shot. I’ll try not to kill anyone.” She winked.

  Red letters appeared at the upper right corner of Katya’s vision: ‹Signal Lost – Searching›

  Her heart sped up. “Eve,” she whispered. “Run and hide.”

  “Wha?” Eve shifted forward, one foot on the rug, one still up on the sofa cushion behind her. She seemed about to ask more, but stared at the door for less than a full second before sprinting into the back of the apartment while peeling her shirt off.

  What the hell is she doing?

  Katya ran to the dining room cabinet, retrieved her handgun, and took up a defensive position behind the mini-kitchen’s island counter. Soft footfalls thumped in the back of the apartment. A familiar scrape, her nightstand drawer, followed.

  Don’t be stupid. Shit. She’s going for a gun. Why the hell did she take her shirt off?

  Eighteen seconds after she aimed at the front door, it opened without a sound. A man with the physique of a Gee-ball player, though nowhere near Blue Tie’s size, started to sneak in until he made eye contact with her and realized he’d been seen.

  Katya fired. She got off four shots before a second man coming in behind the monster raised a weapon. He used the bigger man for cover, exposing only his head and shooting arm. Their guns fired within a fraction of a second of each other. She tried to hit him in the face, but missed by an inch. His shot nailed her in the right shoulder, deadening her arm. The big guy seemed to shrug off the effect of being shot multiple times and stormed over.