The leader nodded his head and waved his metal pipe around to indicate what he was going to use. “Paid us a mint to.”
She waved to the slightly pink atramento on her cheek as she asked, “You know what the atramento means, right?”
Since only she had the strength atramento it might be a close thing if the men decided to take their chances and attack. The man looked uncomfortable, but nodded his head.
He added, “We didn’t know you guys were marked. Not when we took on the job.”
She could tell they didn’t want to go through with the attack, now they knew they were part of Misha’s army.
She asked, “Do you know the guy who hired you?”
The man said, “We’ve done business with him before. He used to work with Marcus when he was around. He hasn’t been in the neighbourhood since Marcus went down though. He is a posh sort, but I have no idea what his name is. Marcus always called him the gentlemen.”
That was more information than they had before. Though it was vague enough that it could be almost anyone in Warren’s world.
“Thank you,” she thanked him for more than the information as it was clear the men weren’t going to go through with the attack.
The man hesitated. “You aren’t going to tell anyone about this, are you?”
Natasha said, “No one needs to know.”
The leader motioned with his hand and the others left just as quickly as they had arrived.
Warren asked, “Who is this Marcus guy?”
She moved closer to him as she answered, “He used to sell Ambrosia.”
She had mixed feelings about Marcus. He had threatened and hurt them all. When he had committed suicide, she had hated that he had hurt Hal in his selfish act. Besides that, she was glad he was dead.
Warren pulled her closer. “I know about that stuff. A lot of the students at the University are addicted to it. The Enforcers have a treatment now for it.”
She turned to look at him. “You must have been in the loop then as they attacked you just after that was discovered.” He probably heard it from Harold.
Chapter Four
Whatinga March, 2087
Natasha stopped at the doorway to Misha’s old room. She placed her hand on her hip and asked, “What are you doing?”
Warren threw his clothes into a pillowcase. He didn’t have much as he had only been there a few weeks. Clothes were expensive, so he didn’t have many changes.
He didn’t stop packing as he answered, “I have to leave. I am only bringing trouble to you all. If I stay they could kill you. I need to go back and face my enemy. Now.”
Maybe they shouldn’t have spoken about the gang attack over dinner, Natasha thought. Misha had been concerned as the gang members had outnumbered them. And if they had decided to attack it could have been ugly.
Misha had taken her through different ways to deal with the situation in the future, but it had been all a bit grim.
Natasha begged him. “But you don’t even know who your enemy is.”
Warren looked at her, his eyes very serious. “I will find out.”
She snorted. “You are oblivious to people, Warren. Admit it. You have no idea how you are going to find them.”
“They will come out of the woodwork. Besides, I have a doctorate in anthropology, surely, I can turn it to my advantage. I’m not a fool, Natasha.”
He might be right, but not before he got himself killed. And though she worried about him leaving her, the real reason she worried was, that whoever was after him had no qualms about killing him.
Anger flavoured her tone. “You really think they will come after you directly? They will stroll up to you and say, ‘Hey, I’m going to kill you.’ You are dreaming. They obviously know how to hire thugs who are willing to do anything. He or she will smile at your face and you will have no idea who they are until someone stabs you in the back.”
He tied off the top of the pillowcase and turned to her. “He must have been after me the first time. He didn’t use thugs when he stabbed me. The attack was too personal. If I can just remember…”
Warren paused to think. He had recovered most of his memories over the last few weeks, but it was painful for Natasha to watch him try to drag to the surface the last of his lost memories.
She pled with him, “You might never remember those moments, Warren. What you need is back up. Someone who can protect you. I would recommend Misha, but with the involvement of those gang members I will assume that whoever is after you knows that world and Misha is too obvious.”
Warren said, “Obvious?”
“Yes, Misha has taken on gangs and only last month managed to take down the gang who was manufacturing Ambrosia.”
Warren said, “Ambrosia? The one the University students use?”
“Yeah, Harold told us it was the new drug of choice amongst the elite. We don’t know who is manufacturing it now. But it probably originated on University Hill and it could even be the one wanting to kill you. But I’m getting off the point. You need help, Warren. You can’t do this alone.”
They both looked towards the door when Hal said, “She’s right. Take Natasha, she will watch your back. Everyone will think you are slumming it and had to wait for your father’s approval to bring home your new bride. She isn’t as good as Misha, but she knows more about fighting than you do.”
Natasha snapped out “Wait? What?”
Warren coughed. “Do you think people will believe she is my fiancée?”
Hal waved it off. “Why, the heck, not? You have never chased anyone on the basis of beauty before.”
Natasha glared at her. “Thank you very much there, Hal. I don’t know how I’m going to get the knife out of my back.”
Hal sparked a look at her. “I didn’t mean it that way, Natasha. You are hot. At least he thinks you are. No, Warren was a very discerning type when I knew him.”
Natasha finally understood what she meant. Halcyon wasn’t always the best at communicating her ideas to people because she thought in a plane above what most people understood.
Natasha rolled her eyes as she said, “You mean he didn’t date at all.”
Warren said, “I was engaged to Isabelle for a while, but otherwise I never noticed the girls at all.”
Hal raised an eyebrow. “Why would you take that snake to your chest?”
He wrinkled his nose as he answered, “It would have been a good match. Two great families brought together.”
Hal snorted. “Two sets of random genes you mean. The Hausers aren’t Hausers. What? You didn’t know. Isabelle has the wrong eyes if she is her father’s daughter and Digger has the wrong nose. I think their father was the landscape artist who came through town and then decided to stay until, what six years ago. Isn’t that when Mrs Hauser died?”
Warren chuckled at her openness and tactless report of the Hauser children’s genetic background. “Is this why you were never invited to places, Halcyon? You can’t go around telling people Mrs Hauser had affairs right under Mr Hauser’s nose.”
Hal said, “No one cares about those kinds of things there. They are all like that, Warren. Your parents were the rare exception. I think that is why I liked them.”
Hal gestured to his chest. “Stay a few days. Your scars are almost healed and I need to sort out a few things for Natasha. I’m not letting her into that pool of piranhas without outfitting her at least a little.”
Hal sighed and added, “Maybe Misha can also educate her a little. She’s as blind as you are to people.”
Natasha took exception at that. “Hey, I’m not. I understand the type of person he is going after. They will be the Smilers. All teeth with no sincerity.”
Hal smiled at her with warm pride. “Yes, they are. They hide, but if you reveal them, they will run or attack, be careful.”
Warren objected. “No way is she coming, she will get hurt. She is better off here.”
Hal turned and started to leave and said over her shoulder. “You�
��re going to have to introduce her to your father one day. Well, why not now?”
Warren said, “She doesn’t know what she is talking about. I mean we have only…well, we haven’t done…I mean we aren’t serious, are we?” he asked her piteously.
Natasha came to his rescue. “No, we aren’t. What we have is only temporary.”
Though she knew she at least lied. Despite the pink in his aura, she wasn’t entirely sure he would want her long term. They had been enjoying a slow flirtation. She did not want to admit she was afraid to take things further. They were too different for anything to last beyond a short fling.
Hopefully, if it was short, she wouldn’t get her heart broken. She knew in many ways it was too late. The end of what they had would be messy and it would hurt.
___
Warren paced up and down the room, frustrated. They had already talked over this terrain for a while.
Jephry said in his calm and deep voice, “I have seen what some would call miracles when it comes to the atramento, Warren. Natasha will be safe.”
Warren glared at Jephry and then looked at Hal. “Can’t you find someone else who can act as my bloody bodyguard?”
Hal said, “I don’t understand why you are against Natasha helping you. You like each other, don’t you? You can trust her at your back. What is the problem?”
Warren felt lost. There was an ache in his chest and he couldn’t put into words the fear that gripped him every time he thought about Natasha facing off with whoever had tried to kill him. He often woke up from nightmares of some dark figure looming over Natasha and stabbing her over and over again.
He knew it wasn’t rational. Whoever had attacked him had been passionate about his need to kill him. They didn’t know Natasha and they were more likely to hire a hit man than to try themselves. And he would be the target not Natasha.
The air left his lungs and he was dizzy as a realisation hit him. He sat down before he was forced to by the sudden vision; he had of a gun man shooting Natasha in the chest. He could almost feel her blood on his hands as he tried to stop the bleeding in the vision in his mind.
Misha surprised him by placing a hand on his shoulder. When he looked up at the man, he knew he understood what he feared.
Misha said in his calm voice which seemed to shiver through him. “Wrapping her up and keeping her away from danger will only destroy what you care about instead of protecting it. Embrace the fear and understand that it is part of life.”
Hal let out a breath. “Man, Misha, where do you come up with this crap? I swear you were a bloody Zen master in your last life.”
Warren nodded at Misha. He realised the man was right. No matter that he only wished to protect Natasha by keeping her out of this he might lose her altogether if he pushed her away to protect her.
Natasha said, “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I have all the atramento. I’ll be able to hear and see the danger long before it is a hazard. And strong enough to face it when it comes.” She added, “Besides with you there you can always keep an eye on me and make sure I don’t get into any trouble.”
Warren looked at her and knew he couldn’t go through this without her with him. He let out a breath. “Fine, but you must be careful.”
She grinned. “I’m always careful.”
___
“You’ll need credit.”
Hal announced over breakfast the next morning.
Natasha frowned with confusion. “I don’t have a lot of money to flash around.”
Especially not enough to impress anyone on University Hill.
Hal said, “No, no. They will think you crass beyond measure if you used actual money around them. The elite don’t want to remind people they have wealth in any overt manner. They show it in little things like the fact that their clothes are all handmade and tailored to fit.”
Natasha glanced down at her own jeans and t-shirt. “So, I assume this won’t do.”
Hal waved off her attire with a flick of her hand.
“No, and you have to have a bioware chip in you which has credit. You just wave your hand over the sensor and it deducts money from your account.”
Natasha’s eyes widened. “What stops people from stealing? I mean they could hide a sensor…”
Hal snorted. “These people are rich enough that the few hundred dollars that get stolen in this manner is of no consequence and most banks cover it. I can put the chip in if you want. I have a lab set up.”
Only Hal would be able to casually say that without even blinking at the ridiculousness of having a private lab in a grungy warehouse in a poor neighbourhood of the city.
Natasha said, “I can’t do that, Hal. Where would I get the money?”
Hal waved off her concerns. “I’ll just put you on my account. It is better that way. If I need anything, I can always send you to buy it.”
Natasha stared at her for a long time. “You would trust me with your money?”
Hal frowned, obviously confused by the question. “Of course, yes. You are family.”
Natasha’s chest ached and tears pricked her eyes. “You’re family too, Hal. But I don’t want that kind of responsibility.”
Hal wrinkled her nose. “Nonsense. You will need it if you are to infiltrate Warren’s world.”
“Do I have to?” Natasha asked, she knew she sounded a little petulant, but many things were changing for her. She sometimes wished she could be home in her room at the sea. The academic world was light years away from fixing rusting pipes in inclement weather.
Hal asked seriously, “Do you want him to go alone without protection? You’ve been hanging around him enough to know he has a serious streak of naïve.”
“Why can’t we send Misha?” Natasha asked, although she knew the answer.
“No. They will know he is acting as a bodyguard and they will be aware Warren knows of the murder attempts. At the moment he can write them off as bad luck and his father will be pleased with you in any case. You will like him.”
Natasha wasn’t sure of that. She followed Hal as she left the workshop area. “What is he like? I mean, Warren’s father.”
“Shouldn’t you ask Warren?” Hal’s voice had just a hint of amusement to it.
Natasha snorted. Asking him about his father would be admitting she wanted their relationship to be something more than it was at the moment. They hadn’t even gotten past flirting and making out. What they had was not serious.
Natasha scrambled for an excuse. “No, because it gives him headaches when he tries to remember his old life.”
That would be a good excuse for the time being and also with the added benefit of being true.
Hal was quiet as they made their way to one of the stores on the other side of the courtyard. Natasha spent most of her time in the workshop or the courtyard. She wasn’t sure what was in the stores.
Hal took her to a store which had a broken sign with a picture of a sandwich on it and the ends of some words. They boarded the windows over so it looked rather dingy which was saying much as the courtyard was filled with junk, mostly.
Inside it was completely different from the outside. The shock of the entering this strange new world was disconcerting.
It was clean with new tiles and it was very white. A state-of-the-art medical laboratory had replaced everything.
Natasha gasped and Hal explained, “I thought I would set up shop doing Bioware down here. It took me a while to realize that most of the people in the neighbourhood were suspicious of it or couldn’t afford it. Besides, it was also the early days of the atramento. I had only explored with one of them and I wasn’t even sure if it worked.”
Hal flashed Natasha a grin as she added, “So, it is nice to be able to use this. I don’t know why I kept it up.” She motioned to one of the machines and said, “I even put in some of my atramento machines. I don’t think I’ve ever used it.” She grew a little nostalgic as Hal continued. “I used to live and breathe this kind of Bioware.”
Natasha had only half listened as she stared in wonder at the room. Finally, she asked, “How do you keep this clean?”
Natasha knew Hal was far from a housekeeper but the place looked spotless.
Hal motioned to the roof. “Self-cleaning system like they have at the hospitals.”
She waved for her to take a seat. “Don’t worry, Natasha. This is a micro surgery. And with the health atramento you shouldn’t even have a scratch in an hour.”
___
Hal and Natasha stepped off the sidewalk and slipped between vehicles as they headed down to an exclusive part of the city.
“Where are we going now?” Natasha sighed with resignation. It didn’t really matter where Hal was taking her as she would follow, anyway.
Hal didn’t slow down as she answered, “There is something you need to know about the people on the Hill. They are piranhas. They will swim around you and check you out. Then one of them will decide your clothes aren’t right or your accent is too provincial and then they will attack. Not just one of them, but all of them. I’m not sending you up there to get eaten, we need to outfit you so you look like all the other piranhas.”
Natasha laughed at her analogy. “Surely they aren’t that bad?”
Hal stopped and gave her a look. “I always thought my mother was just a pretty fool, despite that she has at least two doctorates and one of them in what basically is rocket science. But she wasn’t a fool, the dresses and the affectations were a very skilled camouflage.
“When I first was allowed to socialise with the elite, I thought it would be easy but they ate me alive. I thought it was something wrong with my parents that I couldn’t connect with them. It was then I realized there is something in me which just doesn’t connect to people in the right way.”
Natasha snorted. “You connect fine with people. They just need a little time to get used to you.”
Hal waved it off with one of her graceful flicks of her hands. “They won’t give you the time. Why do you think I left? I made connections with people easily here, amongst real people. They wanted something from me and I could provide it. That is easy and simple. These people on University Hill spend lifetimes trying to find more convoluted ways to use people. Trust me, Natasha, you will need the camouflage.”
Betrayed Hero (Atramento Book 2) Page 4