Axis crossing, p.3
Axis Crossing, page 3
“Clone access to residential buildings,” Ceda commented. “It saves us time getting to and from work and accomplishing our chores. Management ensures they squeeze the most out of their assets.”
Witnessing the pain in Allie’s eyes, Ceda quickly apologized. “Sorry,” she said. “That remark was out of line.” Then she quickly turned and led the way down the corridor.
“I’ve been so ignorant,” Allie whispered to Escher. “It makes me mad.”
“Don’t feel bad,” Escher replied. “I was that way too until Ceda started speaking about the world she inhabits.”
“How long?” Allie asked, swinging a finger between Ceda and him.
“First graduation celebration,” Escher replied.
“That was four years ago,” Allie exclaimed in astonishment.
“You must be quiet,” Ceda requested. “We don’t want to attract attention.”
Allie waved her hand palm outward to Ceda to indicate the message had been delivered.
Ceda stopped at a plain door.
“Wait,” Allie whispered. “Escher, what are you planning to do?”
“Haven’t thought it through,” Escher admitted.
Ceda turned to Escher. “You need a plan before we go through this door,” she said, and she crossed her arms in front of her to wait.
“I know Thorne and his family will still be here,” Escher explained. “His parents are in accounting. Everyone who was taken shared similar specialties.”
“You can’t walk into their apartment,” Allie stated adamantly.
“That part I know,” Escher retorted.
Allie had another thought, but Ceda’s hand on her forearm halted the words. She’d seen Escher’s eyes lose their focus.
A few minutes later, when Ceda saw Escher’s determined expression, she asked, “Are we ready?”
Allie regarded her brother’s face and replied, “Hard to tell, but let’s do this anyway.”
Ceda passed the back of her hand over a panel, which read her cid, and the door slid aside. She peeked into the corridor. Seeing no one, she waved at Escher and Allie to follow her.
The new corridor was strikingly different from the one that they’d just left. There was no doubt that they were walking a residential corridor.
“You lead,” Ceda said to Escher.
“I don’t know where we are,” Escher whispered urgently.
“Sorry,” Ceda replied. “We’re in Thorne’s building. I just don’t know where he lives.”
“Oh,” Escher uttered. Then he led the way to an elevator at the end of the corridor. When he triggered the panel, it indicated they were on the third floor, and that the car was en route to him.
In the car, Escher signaled the fifth floor. Thorne’s parents had a top floor apartment, which Thorne often bragged about.
Escher hadn’t recognized he was in Thorne’s building because each floor was decorated in a different motif. The higher the level, the nicer the arrangements.
“Ceda, is there a back corridor access on this floor?” Escher asked.
“Assuredly,” Ceda replied. “We’ll use the one mid-corridor.”
“You and Allie wait inside there,” Escher directed.
Her brother’s tone told Allie that this wasn’t the time to argue.
Escher and Allie followed Ceda, who walked farther down the corridor and stopped at a decorative panel. When she passed her hand over the display, it recessed and slid aside.
“Can I access this?” Escher asked.
“Wrong cid type,” Ceda replied. “Tap lightly. I’ll hear you.”
When the display slid shut behind the women, Escher proceeded to the end of the corridor where it split. Two doors to the left was the Thorne family residence.
Rather than use the apartment door’s panel, he tapped lightly. Then he raced around the corner and waited.
“No one here,” Escher heard a female teenager complain loudly. It would be Thorne’s young sister.
After a brief wait, Escher repeated his act. There was silence, and then Escher heard Thorne hiss, “Escher, is that you?”
When Escher stepped around the corner, Thorne blanched.
“Are you vacuum sucked, Escher?” Thorne exclaimed in a hushed voice. “You can’t be here. You’ll get my family arrested.”
“I need to know what’s going on,” Escher replied, “and then I’ll be gone.”
“What makes you think I know anything?” Thorne retorted, motioning Escher to step around the corner.
“You always know things, Thorne,” Escher shot back. “Tell me what I need to know.”
“Fine,” Thorne replied. “I’ll tell you what I have now, and I can probably find out more tomorrow morning.”
Escher had heard Thorne constantly brag about his contact in dome security. It’s what made him a good source and a dangerous one.
“There’s some hush-hush issue on Beta Two,” Thorne continued.
“That’s an X-Ore planet,” Escher mused.
“Right. Apparently, X-O needs engineers who specialize in creating materials from exotic substances. Things that haven’t been made yet ... futuristic stuff,” Thorne explained.
“What else?” Escher prodded.
“That’s all I’ve got right now,” Thorne said hurriedly. “I’ve got to get back inside before my nosey sister comes out looking for me. Tell me where you’ll be about nine tomorrow morning. I’ll meet you there with more details.”
“Tomorrow, nine, in front of my parents’ building,” Escher said, pointing a finger firmly at Thorne.
“I’ll be there,” Thorne promised and hurried around the corner.
Escher wasted no time. He raced down the hallway and tapped lightly on the decorative panel.
Ceda heard Escher, and she used her cid to trigger the hidden door aside.
“What happened?” Allie asked anxiously, after the panel slid closed.
“Thorne said that the families were taken to Beta Two,” Escher reported.
“That’s two loops outward,” Allie interjected. “Why?”
“All Thorne knew was that it’s a secret X-Ore project requiring exotic metal specialists,” Escher said. “We’re meeting tomorrow at nine, or so he thinks.”
The women grinned at Escher, who was tweaking his eyebrows upward.
“Where’s this happening?” Ceda asked.
“In front of our building,” Escher replied.
“That’s too public,” Ceda remarked, surprised that Escher would take the risk.
“Yes and no,” Escher replied with a smile. “How do you feel about air vents?”
∞
“What do you suppose is going on, Lita?” Gat’r asked.
From their hiding place, Lita and Gat’r had watched a strange scene unfold. They’d arrived at the dome’s sweet moment when the outermost ring lights faded. Starlight crept across Geneva’s surface, but it had yet to strike the dome. It was the perfect time to make a food run on the kiosks that lined the walkways.
The pair had arrived in time to see three residents skulk along the building faces and hide behind the kiosk that was supposed to be their first target.
Lita was the number two in the gang, and Gat’r was her muscle.
As a boy, Gat’r had lost both arms. He’d been with his father when the engine of a huge piece of boring equipment had melted down and exploded. The father was killed, and Gat’r was severely injured. The mother had leveraged her future contract payout to purchase her son’s augmentations.
Gat’r had hated the powerful tools that had replaced his hands. In protest, he’d decorated them by welding scales on the metal surfaces. He’d copied the imagery from one of Earth’s ancient creatures.
A few years later, Gat’r’s mother was dead, and, at the age of fourteen, Gat’r was an abandoned orphan.
Lita chose Gat’r to accompany her because it gave him a purpose for the augmentations that he still detested. Their food acquisition technique was smash and grab. Gat’r’s heavy mechanical hands and arms would break through the kiosk’s tough barriers.
“Why are crats hiding?” Gat’r asked Lita.
From Gat’r and Lita’s vantage point, they’d watched the women crawl into a huge air vent, while the man had stayed hidden behind the kiosk. He’d frequently checked his slate.
The pair’s next surprise was to witness a dome security squad hide in various places on the other side of the broad pathway.
Lita had ducked deeper into the shadows, and Gat’r had followed. He was careful not to let his metal monsters, as he called the augmentations, scrape against hard surfaces and make noise.
“What are you thinking?” Gat’r asked, intently focusing on Lita, who seemed deep in thought.
Lita smiled at the seventeen-year-old. At twenty-two, she was one of the oldest of the gang, and the younger ones looked to her as their mother figure. She rubbed Gat’r’s head, which he relished, craving the touch of human hands.
“I think,” Lita said, “that there’s a meeting to take place, and those three who arrived first are supposed to walk into a trap.”
“Why would security want to arrest crats?” Gat’r inquired. He was confused by actions that made no sense to him.
The flying metal that killed Gat’r’s father and took Gat’r’s arms also hit the boy’s temple. Despite the surgery, permanent damage had been done to the right side of his brain. Gat’r had always appreciated Lita’s patience with his questions.
“Good question, Gat’r,” Lita replied. “It must have something to do with X-Ore’s security invading our dome.”
“Are we going to bust some kiosks, Lita?” Gat’r asked impatiently.
“Not this morning, Gat’r,” Lita replied. “This is too important. Those three who are hiding might be just the people who Jasper needs.”
“Are they going to join the gang?” Gat’r asked.
“In a way,” Lita explained. “They’re going to help us, and we’re going to help them.”
Gat’r nodded his acceptance of the compromise.
The pair returned to their view from the rooftop. They watched the man behind the kiosk set a small reflective ball on the deck at the kiosk’s edge. It was a child’s toy.
“What’s he doing now?” Gat’r asked.
“Clever,” Lita commented, which made Gat’r smile. He liked to hear about clever people. Somewhere in his damaged brain, he believed he’d once been clever. Had he been able to save the fantastic drawings that he’d created before his accident, he would have had evidence of that fact.
“The man is using the reflective ball to watch across the pathway without showing himself,” Lita explained.
“Pretty good for a crat,” Gat’r said, chuckling quietly.
“Yes, it is. Yes, it is,” Lita replied, speaking even more thoughtfully the second time.
“Is there going to be fighting, Lita?” Gat’r asked eagerly.
“I hope not,” Lita said, laying a hand soothingly on the back of Gat’r’s neck. “We need those three unharmed.”
“I’ll protect them,” Gat’r promised, lifting his mech arms.
“Not against security, Gat’r,” Lit admonished. “They’d hurt you. I’ve told you this.”
“Yes, sorry,” Gat’r said contritely. He hated it when he forgot things that Lita told him. When he’d been reminded, he’d practiced thinking about what she’d said over and over until he could recall her advice. Although, more often, he wasn’t successful.
From behind the kiosk, Escher checked his slate chronometer again. It was a half hour to go before the meeting. That’s when he saw the Raw Metals security team exit his building, scatter, and hide. He didn’t bother to swear when Thorne showed on the hour. Their suspicions were confirmed. Thorne hadn’t been trustworthy.
Now, Escher crouched to study the reflection in the mirrored ball. He knew they couldn’t leave their hiding place until the agents disbanded. At a quarter hour after nine, the team appeared from their secreted placements. Two X-Ore security agents arrived. One wore the shoulder insignias of a commander, and she turned and surveyed the area.
Escher’s heart quickened. He was stunned to see the agents spread out to search the area.
The ball’s reflection showed Escher when he had a clear window of time in which to move, he snatched the ball and stuck it in his pocket. Then he snuck behind the kiosk to the rear building.
At the vent, Escher whispered, “Open up.”
The women released the vent screen, and Escher levered it open, quickly climbed inside, and pulled it closed.
Allie was anxious to ask what happened, but the tense expressions of Ceda’s and Escher’s faces kept her quiet. Soon, the trio heard the sounds of security agents checking behind the kiosk.
“I’ll be happy when that X-O commander gets her butt off this planet,” an agent remarked.
“Don’t let her hear you say that,” another voice said. “Besides, I don’t think she’s leaving until she has every family member.”
“Can you believe the Talons’ son ran from X-O agents?” the first agent asked. “Why would he do that?”
“That’s a foolish question,” the second voice replied. “With those augmentations and those weapons, they’d scare me. Why wouldn’t a citizen be frightened?”
Soon afterward, the trio in the vent heard the voices and footsteps fade.
“How soon can we climb out of here?” Allie whispered.
“I’ve blundered,” Escher said, hanging his head.
“Thorne turned us in, didn’t he?” Allie insisted.
“Yes, he did,” Escher admitted. “But my mistake was in hiding here.”
“Because of what the agents said,” Ceda offered, and Escher nodded.
Allie stared through the gloom at her companions.
Seeing Allie’s frown, Ceda explained. “We’ve just heard agents comment that the X-Ore commander who witnessed my interrogation is here to stay until the two of you are caught.”
“Oh,” Allie uttered. She regarded her brother. “Then you don’t know when it will be safe to leave the vent.” With a resigned sigh, she added, “Oh, well, might as well make ourselves comfortable.”
The trio had only a meter of shaft length before the vent dropped deep into the tunnels. Allie sat opposite Ceda, and the women stretched out, their legs crisscrossing. Escher took the space next to the vent screen. He tied a piece of clothing to an internal protrusion on the screen to make it easier to keep it closed.
“Gat’r, listen carefully to me,” Lita instructed. “Go find Jasper. Tell him that Lita said it’s important. Tell him to bring Red and Scrounger. Now, repeat my message.”
Four recitations later, Gat’r was ready, and he crawled silently away. He lived for these moments. Lita had entrusted him with something important.
Using the gang’s secret exit from the surface, Gat’r dropped several tunnel levels. Then he asked everyone he saw for Jasper’s whereabouts. An hour of searching resulted in zero contacts, but Gat’r was undaunted. Although, he was getting hungry.
“Bibi!” Gat’r cried excitedly, when he spotted a member of the gang. “I need Jasper. Important!”
“Okay, Gat’r. Calm down,” Bibi replied, placing her hands on Gat’r’s shoulders where they were safe. “Who needs Jasper?”
“Lita does. It’s important!” Gat’r said.
“Did you eat yet, Gat’r?” Bibi asked, examining his flushed face.
When Gat’r shook his head, Bibi pulled a juice drink from her pouch and handed it to him.
Gat’r popped the tab and guzzled it in one continuous flow. “Good,” he commented, with a small burp.
“Do you have a message for Jasper?” Bibi asked, knowing Gat’r’s challenge.
“Lita’s message,” Gat’r replied, nodding vigorously.
“Why don’t you share it with me, Gat’r? I can help you remember,” Bibi urged.
Gat’r thought this was a great idea. He carefully lowered his arms to his sides and practiced breathing like Lita had taught him to do.
Bibi waited, watching Lita’s influence on the teenager.
When Gat’r was ready, he rolled off the message, with only a few words omitted.
“One more time, Gat’r,” Bibi encouraged. “She noted the difference in the repetition and requested he try one more time. The second and third recitations matched, and she was confident she’d heard Lita’s message correctly.
Bibi led Gat’r to where Jasper and most of the gang were working.
“Gat’r has a message for you, Jasper,” Bibi said.
“Talk to me, Gat’r,” Jasper encouraged.
Gat’r repeated his breathing exercise, and then he spooled off Lita’s message.
Jasper glanced toward Bibi. Her nod told him that the relay was probably accurate.
“Great job, Gat’r,” Jasper said, ruffling the boy’s shorn hair. “Red, Scrounger, you’re with me. The rest of you stay at it.”
Turning to Gat’r, Jasper added, “Let’s go see what’s interested Lita,” and Gat’r nodded enthusiastically. Then Jasper led the way to the surface through the gang’s unique pathway.
3: Three Crats
Jasper crawled beside Lita. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“We’ve three crats hiding in an air vent,” Lita replied. “Interestingly, there are two Raw Metals security agents hiding across the pathway.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Jasper interjected.
“That’s because you didn’t let me finish,” Lita remonstrated. “The story gets much better.”
“Sorry, go ahead,” Jasper said.
“The agents don’t know the crats are hiding there,” Lita continued. “The crats arrived earlier. Two women crawled into the vent, and a man kept watch. Then a team of agents arrived, and they hid too. Then another crat showed up. He paced up and down in front of that building, where the agents hid. After a while, the X-O commander arrived, and the agents spread out to search the area.”
“Exactly where are the three crats?” Jasper inquired.
Lita guided his eyes, and Jasper pulled a monocular scope to survey the vent.
“They’re doing a good job of hiding,” Jasper commented. “I can’t see anything.”
