“I’d imagine.” Draven smirked and picked up the cigarette and drew on it. “I have enjoyed your company, but I didn’t value you for what you could give me or what I could give you. You’re a lovely woman. I hope you find a nice Second to keep you in good society.” He slipped on his shoes and searched around the room. He couldn’t seem to find his undershirt.
Hyoki sat back and lit another cigarette. “You’re right,” she said after a few fast drags. “You never can give me what a Second can.”
“I’m glad we’re in agreement. Have you seen my shirt?”
“It’s probably stuck up your ass.”
He laughed. “Can we be civil at work?”
“I’m always civil,” she said, smiling with her lengthy teeth exposed.
“If you ever want to drop by and enjoy my company, you’re welcome.”
“You think high of yourself.”
He gave her a little smirk and pulled on his shirt without the undershirt. “Do I not have good reason?”
She grinned again and dragged on her cigarette. “I have no complaint.”
“Good. Then I hope you’ll stop by if you get lonely some morning. And bring me my shirt, if you find it. It’s fine-spun cotton. I quite like it.”
“Why don’t you get a Second to keep you for her mistress, she buy you lots of spun cotton to stick up your ass.”
He leaned his fists on the bed and leaned towards her. “You want to give me a kiss goodbye, lovely Hyoki?”
“What’s that you say in North America? Go suck on a sapien.”
He grinned. “I’d prefer to suck on you.”
When he leaned down, she pushed his face away with her knee. “Go away, rude man. I no like you.”
“Your accent gets stronger when you’re angry. It’s quite sexy. The accent, I mean, not the anger.”
“You are very rude man. Go, before I call Mr. Vitrola and he command you to leave me alone.”
Once more, Draven glanced around the room for his shirt and didn’t see it. So he dropped the butt of his cigarette in the glass of water beside Hyoki’s bed and walked out. When he got back to his apartment complex, he wished he’d waited until evening to end things with Hyoki. Sleeping in his own apartment only reminded him of how much he lacked in his life. Now he didn’t even have a girl to distract him.
Squinting against the morning sunlight, he climbed the stairs to his apartment with heavy feet. He checked his account again—no new activity. He sighed and stopped at his door. Someone had come into the hallway behind him. He knew the scent of her, the sound of her, the feel of her energy. He didn’t turn towards her, even when she came along the hall and stood behind him.
“What, you’re not talking to me now?” she asked.
“Hello, Lira. Can I help you?”
“I haven’t seen you around in a while. I thought maybe you moved, but I checked your file in the database, and this is still listed as your residence. Where have you been?”
“I went on a secret government mission.”
“You don’t have to get all sarcastic on me. I just asked out of concern.”
He sighed. She tired him and gave him a headache every time he talked to her. If he wanted all that, he’d go out in sunlight and get the same result. At least he knew how to get rid of sunlight headaches. This headache had no cure.
“Like how you called the Enforcers on me out of concern?” he asked.
“That was just a silly mistake. I was mad at you. You can’t still be mad about that.”
“I’m just tired and I stayed out too late. I need some sleep.”
Lira followed him inside without an invitation and looked around as if she imagined she’d find some clue as to where he’d been. He’d told her, but of course she hadn’t believed that. After all, he was only a Third like her. What would the government want him for?
“Were you at the clubs?” she asked. “Did you meet someone? Or are you still getting attached to that skinny girl?”
“It didn’t work out.”
“That’s too bad,” Lira said. She looked at him with more interest now. “So, are you keeping company with anyone?”
He looked at her a long moment. He knew of one way to make the headache of her badgering go away. After a minute he smiled. What would it hurt? He hadn’t managed to get rid of her with rudeness in the past. At least he could get something out of it if he indulged her.
“Only you,” he said at last.
She stepped closer, slid her arms around his neck and pressed against him. “That’s all I wanted to hear all along,” she said. She smiled up at him and flicked her tongue out to lick his bottom lip.
“Then let’s quit this silly talk and go in the bedroom.”
“Can I stay the day?”
He gave a little smirk and untangled himself from her arms. They always clung with such binding force. “We’ll see. Ask me afterwards.”
Perhaps he’d let her stay this time. He didn’t have anything better to do.
49
The moment Draven awoke the next evening—alone—he checked his account. The full one thousand anya deposit showed at the top of his account activity. By morning he would be the proud owner of one piece of livestock, homo-sapien number 8813871, Cali Youngblood.
He could hardly contain his excitement. He wanted to tell someone of his good fortune. But Hyoki gave him a cool look at work and he returned it, and they didn’t exchange words. He had never gotten close to her or to any woman since Myrna. The person he wanted to tell was Byron. Perhaps after purchasing Cali, he’d leave Byron a message. His superior would approve of such a wise investment.
The hours crawled by. Finally, at last, Draven finished work. He punched out, received his pay, and slid behind the wheel of the Mert. His basic, unremarkable car felt like a luxury model Rosso tonight.
Tonight he would change his life.
But first, he had to think of practical things. He stopped at a feed-store and bought a box of crackers, a few cans of beans, a can of mangoes, and a few containers of vegetables. At the counter he scanned the food items and then added a caramel. It was an expensive item and he didn’t want to spoil Cali, but he wanted to make the first night as pleasant for her as possible.
After he left the store, he stopped for a few minutes at a small shop down the street. He came out and tossed his purchase on the seat beside him—a basic guide for sapien care. He thought he knew the basics already, but he would probably overlook something obvious and look like a fool. He already felt like a humanoid idiot and he hadn’t even bought her yet.
After making his last stop, he made his way toward the Confinement, trying to contain his enthusiasm a bit. After all, he only meant to purchase a sap. Lots of people owned one. Sure, Cali was special, and this night meant a lot to him, but it wasn’t as if she were a person. The prospect of seeing her shouldn’t make him quite so happy, though he reminded himself that it was only wanted to satisfy his craving.
Of course on the night he wanted to hurry, he ran into Bonnie.
“Why, hello, Draven. Long time since I’ve seen you in here. What, you too good for me now?”
“No, Big Bonnie. Just been out of town.”
“You been out of town? What kind of excuse is that? You know how to use your pod? Come on, now. Next time you better think up a good excuse.”
“Actually, I did some thinking while I was gone, and I believe you’ll be happy to hear my conclusion.”
“Well, I’ll be,” Bonnie said, shaking her head. “I never thought I’d see the day when Draven Castle came in here thinking.”
“All right. I guess I won’t tell you then.”
“Aw, come on now, you know I’m only pulling a joke. What you got circling that big brain of yours?”
“Still your mind. I’ll tell you next time.”
“You best tell me now. You know I’m a patient woman, but you’re killing me here. What you got to think about?”
“Only that I might return to my Catche
r job.”
“Hallelujah, lord and master. I never thought I’d see the day. Come here and give me some love.”
Draven laughed and allowed the large woman to embrace him. “I’d like to fill out the forms today, but I have some other business to take care of first.”
“Business? What kind of business you got here?”
“I’m buying a sap.”
“You mean to tell me you came into some money and you haven’t shared it with Big Bonnie? Come on now. I thought we were friends.”
“I’ll do the formwork at the same time as the ownership files.”
“All right then. You just go on and get yourself a good one, and we’ll get you all squared away. At least you know if your sap runs away you’ll be the first one to find her. I’m going to draw up your files right now. You come on back here as soon as you find the one you want, you hear now?”
“Yes, Ms. Bonnie. I’ll be back shortly.”
Draven left Big Bonnie, a bit impatient at the delay. Still, he always found himself in better spirits after talking to her. He pushed through the doors of Cali’s old barracks before he remembered she didn’t sleep in the bunks anymore. He continued anyway, glancing at her old bunk out of habit. A young man slept there.
Draven exited the barracks and turned into the muddy lane that led down the middle of the row of shanties. He stopped at the booth at the end of the row and scanned his card. He could have done this after he had her, but since he already knew which sap he wanted, and he already knew her number, he disposed of the formalities first. He had punched in Cali’s number and was ready to push the FINISH button when the screen blinked back at him.
UNKNOWN IDENTIFICATION CODE. PLEASE TRY AGAIN.
Draven punched the number again, impatient this time.
UNKNOWN IDENTIFICATION CODE. PLEASE TRY AGAIN.
He grew irritated. The Superior guard stood in the booth reading a magazine on shoe design. Draven had to knock on the counter before the man looked up.
“Hello there, gorgeous,” the man said. More of a boy, really. “Remember me?”
After a moment, Draven did remember him. The boy had worked at 28 Flavors. For Ander. Ander, whom Draven had killed five weeks ago. A sudden stab of paranoia jolted through him, that somehow the boy would know. But he doubted the boy owed allegiance to Ander anymore. After all, Ander had died and the boy—Crane, Draven thought—had found employment elsewhere.
“Ah, yes. Can you help me?”
“Oh, you know it. I can help you anytime, with anything. What you want tonight?”
“I’m looking to buy this sap, and the screen says I’m putting in an incorrect ID for her.”
“Ooh, you buying a sap? I like a man with money, honey. I knew you looked delicious, and now you’re getting an even bigger rise out of me. Let me help you with that.”
Crane took Draven’s ID card, touching his hand longer than necessary in the process. “My ID is fine. It’s the sapien code.”
“Okay, I got it. Tell me the code and I’ll look her up right here.”
Draven stirred restlessly, glancing down the row of houses. He could have gone to her house and known by now. He kept running into people who wanted to talk, when Draven only wanted to go claim his prize.
“Um, you see, she’s not in our system anymore.”
“She died?” Draven asked, feeling something akin to panic set in. He’d done all this, and he’d thought of her lying sick in the hospital while he was gone. But towards the end, and especially after he’d completed the mission and knew he’d have enough to buy her, he hadn’t let himself think about the possibility of her not surviving. He had the money, he meant to buy her, and he couldn’t accept any other outcome. He’d killed a man so that he could have this one thing. He had to have it. Otherwise, he was simply a murderer.
Crane shrugged. “I wish I could tell you. All I know is she’s not in our system. She could have died, or someone could have bought her, or a restaurant, or she could have run away and gone to the blood bank. Or maybe she got sent to another compound across town that needed more females, or to the fields to work. I don’t have the information here, but the office probably does. All I have is information on the ones we do have. Anything else you’d be interested in? Or maybe it’s not a sap you’re needing anyway. I don’t mind a little nibble now and then if the moment is right.”
Draven turned away and rubbed his face. “Merde, merde, merde.” He tried to collect his thoughts, to think of what he should do next. “Okay. I will be back.” He slid his ID card back across the counter and strode down center pathway. He stopped at Cali’s house and pulled back the tin flap. He didn’t bother knocking tonight.
“You, wake up,” Draven said. “I need to talk to you.”
One of the sisters sat up and squinted at him. He counted four bodies in the bed and almost let himself believe there had been a mistake. But he didn’t savor Cali, and after a moment he remembered that one of the sisters had a baby. He lowered his voice when he spoke again.
“Where is Cali?”
Another of the girls sat up, the oldest one. “She got bought.”
“So she isn’t dead? That’s good. She recovered from the infection, then?”
“Oh, yeah. She was sick for a while after that, and she stayed in that clinic for about a week, I guess? Right?”
“Yeah,” the other sister said. “A week sounds right. Then she came back here and she was real weak for a while. But then I think she was pretty much all better?”
“So what happened to her?” Draven asked, trying to pace in the one meter of floor space and finding that he could only turn in circles.
“Some bl—someone bought her. You know, one of you guys.”
“She was purchased? When?”
“I don’t know. Pretty recently.”
If he hadn’t waited so long. If he’d gone the moment he received the deposit. Or even before that, if he’d come when he got back, at least he could have drawn from her one more time. He’d dreamed of her taste the whole time he wandered in the desert. The promise of it had kept him going when he wanted to give up and stop walking. And when he’d come back, he felt like he’d caught a faint whiff of her scent when he reached the city. The craving had set in the moment they’d drawn close. And now someone had bought her, someone who likely didn’t crave her half so much.
“Who bought her?” he asked.
“I don’t know. That one she complained about, the one who followed her out here from that restaurant.”
“That was me,” Draven said, nearly yelling in his impatience.
“No, not you. The other one.”
“The one who left her bites open? The one who gave her the infection?”
“Yeah, him. He bought her.”
“Souldamnit.” Draven hit the wall with his palm and the house began to tilt. He grabbed the support and righted the small house. The girls’ eyes went wide and they breathed a collective sigh when he saved their lodging from collapse. “Dammit, dammit, dammit,” he repeated. “Who is he?”
He thought of Ander, if the man had survived, had somehow known Draven wanted her…but that was impossible. No one knew that. Except the doctor. Had someone bribed him for information? Despite what Cali said about the doctor, Draven thought the man seemed genuinely compassionate concerning the sapiens and their welfare. Surely he wouldn’t sell a sap to someone who had infected her. Not if he’d known, anyhow.
But all that seemed unlikely. He was probably just another Superior, one with a taste for Cali. Still, for a price, the man might part with her. Draven hated to lose the extra money he’d earned, but he’d use the entire sum to buy her if needed. They’d be stuck in his apartment instead of getting to move to a nicer place with sapien accommodations. But he could work towards that.
He left Cali’s sisters, passed Crane, and went back into the office. A man Draven didn’t know sat in Bonnie’s shared office.
“When is Big Bonnie coming back?” Draven asked,
skipping the introductions.
“She made a run over to one of the other offices. Can I help you?”
“I don’t know, perhaps. I need the name of someone who bought a sap.”
“Um, okay. What for?”
“Because she was my sap. I was going to buy her.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but we can’t give out the names of our buyers. That information is confidential.”
“Yes, I see. But I need it. This is an emergency.”
“I’m sorry, sir. I can’t give you that information.”
“Big Bonnie would give it to me.”
“I don’t think she would. Now please calm down.”
“I’m not going to calm down,” Draven said. “Not until you tell me.”
“And what are you going to do with that information? Go bother the buyer? Go negotiate with him? We can’t just give out information and have people like you following our buyers home. We’d be shut down if we did that.”
“I can pay. How much do you need for the information? A hundred anyas?”
The man’s eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up at the offer, but he didn’t budge. “We don’t sell our client information. I’m sorry I can’t help you.”
Draven could see he’d get nothing from this man. “I’m sorry, too,” he said, shoving an electronic number pad onto the man’s lap and stalking out.
He went back outside. “Crane, I need your help.”
“Anything you need, you know I’d be glad to serve you,” the boy said.
“All right, fine, great. I need to know who bought that sapien I asked about.”
“Boy, I don’t even have the information on what happened to her. I don’t know who bought her.”
“Don’t bullshit me,” Draven said, leaping over the counter in one nimble movement. He pinned the smaller Superior to the wall. “Let me see the screen,” Draven said, keeping his forearm pressed against Crane’s neck. The boy didn’t struggle, just let his eyes dart to the side.
“It’s there,” Crane said. Draven didn’t have to savor fear to know the boy was scared. He probably thought Draven had gone insane. He might have. But he had worked all this time, and he couldn’t let it come to nothing. He’d murdered a man. He couldn’t let it have been for money alone.
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