[In Distress 02.0] In Pain

by Caethes Faron

  “Yes, it’s going to take an incredibly long time, so there won’t be any harm in waiting until tomorrow to work more on it.”

  “Please? I promise I’ll be done for the day by dinner.”

  Malcolm wanted to tell him that it would make no difference to the movement if Will started today or next week, but that sounded unnecessarily harsh. The work Will did was valuable, perhaps some of the most valuable in the movement, but Malcolm knew that any measurable results of their efforts would take time. Malcolm had been working for the movement for nearly two decades, and the progress they’d made had been infinitesimal. He didn’t want Will running himself weary in a race he could never win. There would always be more to do.

  He was about to tell him he had commitments to his family as well as the movement, but his eye caught on the metal collar encircling Will’s neck. He was so used to seeing it that it had become nearly invisible. A manmade object, made by Panacea in fact, marking the love of his life as something less than. Inferior. How could he convince Will that tearing down the system that had put that collar around his neck was less important than spending time with him? Especially when there were days Malcolm felt sure he’d snap and torture Vincent, the Alpha who had basically thrown Will away after his leg had broken?

  The file on Vincent still sat on his computer. He checked in often, keeping an eye on the Alpha’s dealings, waiting for the time to strike. It was coming. Malcolm had already done little things: orchestrated some bad investments by Vincent’s money manager, hacked into his comm account, arranged an “accident” for the horse that had crushed Will’s leg. Small inconveniences that were untraceable. It wasn’t enough, though. The day would come when he would make Vincent beg him for mercy.

  When he harbored such lowly desires for revenge, how could he possibly fault Will for wanting to spend every waking moment working to take down the Geneticists? He couldn’t.

  “All right. Come down to lunch with me and then I’ll leave you to it afterward.”

  Will grinned. “Thanks. I know I tend to get caught up in all of this, and I’ll try to do better. I just feel like we really have an opportunity to do something. If the system ever changes, it’s going to be under your leadership.”

  That leadership was exactly why Malcolm couldn’t afford to rush in and do as he pleased. Responsibility was stifling that way. “It’s going to be because of your work. I know that, Will. The movement needs you, but I’m selfish, and I won’t hesitate to step in if your work is taking you away from me too much.”

  “There’ll be plenty of time after dinner for me to show you that nothing could ever take me away from you.” Will’s lips connected with Malcolm’s, taking him by surprise.

  As soon as his brain registered the action, Malcolm relaxed into the kiss, melting against Will and pulling him closer. By the Spark, it felt good to have him in his arms. Malcolm relished the taste of Will’s lips and mouth. He’d be willing to miss lunch if he could get Will out of his clothes without him getting distracted by his damn computer.

  Will broke away first. “Can’t be late.”

  “Why is it you’re only interested in following my rules when they result in discomfort for me?”

  Will shrugged. “A bit of justice I suppose.”

  “Fair enough. Let’s go see what Marcy and Jess have prepared for lunch.” Malcolm followed Will down to the kitchen, trying valiantly not to look at Will’s ass too much, knowing he’d get no relief, and then eventually giving up. Even if he couldn’t touch, there was no harm in looking.

  Chapter Two

  After lunch, Will gave Malcolm a peck on the lips and retreated to the office. Malcolm thanked the Spark for Will’s frequent displays of affection. Some days, they were all he had.

  “So the sunroom then?” Kaleana asked as soon as Will was out of sight.

  “Am I really that transparent?”

  “Only to me. There’s something brewing in your mind. Best to get it talked out.”

  Malcolm seated himself next to Kaleana on the floral-print sofa in the sunroom. A canvas with an unfinished painting of a rose stood on the easel by the windows. As the only one in the family artistically inclined, Kaleana had made the room hers. The room even smelled of her, a light, distinctly feminine scent.

  “So what’s worrying you about Will now?”

  Malcolm shook his head. Kaleana had always been able to read him like a book, even when he first got her when he was only twelve and she was sixteen, the older sister he never had. “There used to be a time when he couldn’t wait to go across the divide. Now all he wants to do is hole up in the office working. Our deal to keep balance has gone by the wayside.”

  Kaleana chuckled. “It seems you two have switched places.”

  “That’s what worries me.”

  “Don’t. It took you almost two decades to find balance. Give him some time. This is still new to him. He’ll find his footing.”

  “He acts like he must singlehandedly dismantle the entire caste system before dinner.”

  “Well, you are pretty strict about being on time to meals.”

  Malcolm quirked a half-smile, more because Kaleana wanted him to than because he felt it. “Setting aside the fact that he shouldn’t feel such pressure, I worry that he’s too invested. It’s a delicate game we’re playing. These types of changes take place gradually. Forcing them at a faster pace will only end in disaster.”

  “He’s not reckless. All he wants is to make a difference.”

  “I know. I’m so proud of him, Kaleana. Every day I look at him and I’m amazed at who he is, at who he’s becoming. I just don’t want to see him disappointed.”

  Kaleana eyed him with pursed lips for a moment and then shook her head. “No, that’s not it. Partially, maybe, but not all of it. You’re worried the movement is going to replace you, that Will is going to have more interesting things to fill his time with, that you’re going to become a side nuisance.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” Malcolm might not understand it, but he did know that Will loved him. Yet, he felt the uncomfortable stab of truth in her words. “I just don’t want to see him wear himself out. You saw what this work did to me, Kaleana. I don’t want that for Will.”

  “You and Will are two very different people, if you hadn’t noticed. All you need to do is be there for him, support him, and keep doing what you’re doing to bring balance. He may not like it now, but he’ll appreciate it later. It’s an intricate dance, but you two will be fine. I have no doubt about that.”

  “You’re right. I don’t know how you put up with all of my moaning.”

  “Years of practice. Come here. Lay your head down.” Kaleana guided his head into her lap and began massaging his temples. “You can tell me to mind my own business, but how are things going between the two of you outside of work? You’re coiled tighter than you’ve been since you two got together.”

  “We’ve both been busy.” It didn’t help that the stress of the situation with Will only made Malcolm’s libido more demanding, exacerbating the whole problem. There were days when Malcolm wanted to snatch Will up and run off to the Wastelands with him.

  “Do you want me to talk to him? It might help for him to hear my perspective, get it from another Zed. As much as we love you, it’s different coming from an Alpha. If he’s not taking care of your needs, it’s because he’s too distracted and doesn’t realize it.”

  “No, don’t worry about it. He’s got this new project organizing everything from the hack with some other intelligence. I think he’s just riding a wave of excitement. If I let him keep at it, he’ll probably tire of the monotony of the actual work, and we’ll get back on track. I just don’t want him to resent me.”

  “I won’t let him resent you. He’s got a house full of people who would smack some sense into him if it got that far. Be patient and be firm. He forced you back into balance; you’ll do the same for him.”

  Malcolm hoped she was right.

  * * *

/>   After dinner, Malcolm could practically see the information scrolling through Will’s head. He could put on a good front for the boys, but when it was just them, he didn’t even try to pretend. Malcolm was glad he didn’t feel the need to put up any fronts with him, but Malcolm couldn’t compete with saving the world. By the time they slipped into bed together, Will was too distracted and tired to do anything other than roll over and go to sleep.

  Chapter Three

  A red blinking light drew Will’s attention to the Glass surface of his desk. The reminder prompted him to check the latest patent filings on the government’s website. He dismissed it and pulled up the site on his secondary display. He’d passed many of his administrative duties on to Carson, but this one he kept for himself. He found the latest advances in technology endlessly fascinating. After hours of sifting through information from the mole and the hack, he could use the distraction.

  As usual, there weren’t many new patents. His eye had become adept at scanning over the listings, dismissing the non-beneficial ones and pausing on those that showed promise.

  “Whoa.”

  “What is it?” Malcolm spoke from his desk across from Will.

  “There’s a new patent filing we need to move on.” Will’s eyes didn’t leave his screen. His heartbeat gained speed, and he could feel the blood rushing through his body. This could be their way in, the solution for how to move forward with the movement.

  “What for?” Malcolm moved to stand behind Will, looking over his shoulder.

  “A metalworking process. It’d be perfect for the collars. The resulting metal is lighter and has a fair amount of give to it. I’m surprised the Geneticists didn’t hold this one back for themselves.” They always saw the patent filings before the public in order to buy any that they wanted.

  “Why? They’ve never shown interest in making the collars more comfortable.”

  Will’s eyes, brain, and mouth were all working at different speeds, processing different parts of the patent. “Of course not. But look here. When you get past the cursory explanation, it’s clear that this process would also make the metal better suited for transmitting data and detecting surrounding substances. If a chip were embedded in this material, its sensitivity wouldn’t be as hindered as it is by the current metal we use for the collars. I’m telling you, Malcolm, you need to get in touch with the owner now. He’s a Beta. We should be able to secure it. I still can’t believe this slipped by the Geneticists.”

  Malcolm already had his Glass Tab out, looking up the contact information for the Beta who owned the patent. Will focused back on the filing, trying to tune out Malcolm. With the excitement coursing through him, he’d only be in the way if he listened in on Malcolm’s conversation. He wouldn’t be able to keep himself from being a nuisance, butting in and interrupting. Instead, he pulled up a blank sketch document on his desk and began to jot down notes with his stylus.

  With the new capabilities of a collar made out of this material, it’d be easy to convince the Geneticists to go with a new model. They wanted to be able to detect as much as possible about a Zed’s body through the collar. The tech in the new metal made with the patented process would be able to transmit far more data at a more efficient rate. It didn’t escape Will that it would also conduct electricity in a more controlled manner, making it easier to execute Zeds. Even knowing he was safe with Malcolm, he couldn’t quite suppress the shudder that thought elicited.

  Will caught bits of Malcolm’s conversation, but not enough to tell if it was going well. All he could hear was the icy coolness of Malcolm’s voice, but that was how he spoke to everyone who wasn’t family. Will went back to doing some quick calculations. The new collars would be half their current weight. With the give in the metal, they’d also be able to last longer before needing to be replaced and wouldn’t dig into the skin or chafe as much around the edges.

  He slipped a finger underneath his. Since the collar was fused to his spine, it didn’t move much, but it was nice to separate it a finger’s width from the skin of his neck. He needed this to work. He was tired of simply parsing information, gathering intelligence, sitting around waiting for he didn’t know what to be able to make a move against the Geneticists.

  He pulled up some information from Oculus, Malcolm’s second-in-command. He had been working on some tech that could be used to intercept the collar’s transmissions. Will had been trying to figure out a way to refine the plans for a chip that they could implant into the collars to take advantage of this new tech. So far, he hadn’t been successful. They needed a way to get it into the collars without the Geneticists detecting it. The existing collars had been around for years. The Geneticists would notice anything different about them. If they weighed even a microgram more than usual, they’d be caught.

  With a brand-new collar, however, they could get it by. There’d be nothing to compare it to. The only obstacle would be masking the chip so that it wouldn’t be noticed when the Geneticists put their own tech into the collars after they were delivered.

  His mind raced so fast with the possibilities that he didn’t even notice Malcolm had finished his call until he spoke to him.

  “I found out why the Geneticists passed on it. I don’t know why their corruption continues to surprise me. Geneticist Walken bought it as soon as it became available to the public. He no doubt wants to license it back to the DGI or to us and make a nice little profit.”

  The familiar anger that always lurked beneath the surface boiled to life. Will tried to channel his hate for the system into his work to make something good of it, but there were a few people whom his rage still targeted: Vincent, the Alpha who had thrown him away after his leg had been broken while following his orders; Malcolm’s father, who had killed the Zed boy Malcolm had fallen in love with as a young man; Geneticist Stanton, who had wanted to experiment on Will’s leg; and Geneticist Walken. He’d never so much as met Walken in person, but he’d been through the contents of his computer that Malcolm had hacked. The man became the representation of all Geneticists. He possessed the evidence that the Geneticists were classifying more people as Zeds and fewer as Alphas each year despite the results of the genetic tests.

  “Then we license it from him. I hate the idea of him profiting from this, but it’s better than nothing.”

  “No, licensing is not an option. We don’t license anything.”

  “I know you like having full control, but this is too important.”

  “Exactly. If we license it from him, he has every right to know how it’s used. He could make it conditional on him being able to observe the entire production process of the collars. I’ve been able to keep everything that goes on at Panacea proprietary. This could open us up to all kinds of trouble. We either own it outright, or we don’t own it at all. If he has the tiniest suspicion of what we’re up to, he could shut down everything.”

  He could do worse than that, but they’d agreed to not think about the consequences should they ever be found out. Nothing good ever came of it. “Then we’ll just have to negotiate a purchase price. You have enough money to convince him.”

  “My money doesn’t impress Walken.”

  “He has to have a price. We can sell off some of our other patents if we have to or even product lines. As long as we have the Med Machines and the supplies for the Eval Centers, we don’t need anything else.”

  “We’ve got to be careful, Will. It’d be better if we wait until we know what his plans are. If he’s determined not to sell it, then us throwing money at him will only rouse his suspicions, especially if he’s willing to offer nice terms, which he will if his primary objective is to get into Panacea. If he’s just looking for a payout to sell it outright, then we can’t afford to tip our hand and make him think the patent is more valuable than he thinks it is.”

  Will shook his head. “I understand, but we’re not going to find any of that out until you talk to him.”

  “He’ll contact me.”

  “And
what if he doesn’t? What if he has his own plans for the patent that we don’t know about? We can’t afford to let this slip by us.”

  “We can’t afford to mess it up by rushing into anything. Trust me. He’ll contact me first. We just need to be patient.”

  Will jumped to his feet, overcome by the storm of emotion swirling inside him. “That’s easy for you to say. You don’t have to wear one of the damn things.”

  Malcolm’s face went glacial. “No, I don’t. And you don’t have to see one around the neck of your lover or kiss around one when you’re making love. If you think it’s easy for me to see it on you, then you’ve severely misjudged this relationship.”

  Pure ice radiated from Malcolm’s eyes. It drove Will crazy the way Malcolm could appear so calm. Sometimes he wished he would get furious, throw things, show some emotion. But the cold shocked Will back to himself. Malcolm would only look at him that way if he had hit a nerve. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I know this is important to you too. I just feel so ineffectual.”

  “Come on.” Malcolm stood and grabbed Will’s hand. “We’re going to the loft.”

  “No, I have more to do.”

  “There will always be more to do. You need to learn to take time off. If you keep waiting for when things slow down, you’ll work yourself into an early grave, and you’re a fool if you think I’m going to let you do that. Come on.”

  As Will followed Malcolm up to the loft, he could feel the stress leaving him. He needed this. He needed time with Malcolm, and he needed Malcolm to make him spend the time so he didn’t feel guilt over leaving work behind.

  Once they were in the loft, Malcolm pulled him to the pile of cushions in the center of the room and they lay down together, looking through the skylight at the fluffy clouds drifting lazily by.