Diamond (7 page)

The Grid was powered by water, which gave them electricity. Generators needed fuel, and fuel was in short supply. They had factories converting fossil fuel into refined fuel and often natural gases, but reserves were limited. They searched for other ways to locate natural resources—all scarce commodities they needed to survive. C-Tech provided a way to manipulate their electricity, extend its life, but they had no clue how long it would last, or what effects—if any—it would have on them after prolonged use. They tested sparingly. C-Tech was older than he was by hundreds of years, and they’d barely scratched the surface of its power. He needed a way to unlock its full potential. Use it to restore some semblance of balance. People in the city wouldn’t want to rise against him if he could provide longer use of electricity and clean water to drink. Currency came in three forms: sex, Wave, and C-Tech. He had the market cornered on two out of three. Now, he needed to find a way to grab hold of the third.

“Onyx, I want you keeping an eye on the Grid at all times. Lip, send Lins in, I want to question her about the girl. And Phyr, you and Amethyst need to work together to find out who the fuck tried to blow me the hell up.”

“What about Zira? I need to check on her,” Amethyst questioned.

“Go see to her after we’re done here, but you and Phyr are front on the investigation.”

Amethyst nodded her head.

“Wait, what girl?” Phyr questioned, his eyes shifting from Diamond to the others in the room. “Who is she?”

“Possible suspect, but I doubt it. She looks like she’s from Inwood, complete with the grime and grease.”

“You actually let one of them in? They are two steps away from catching a case of Rage. Seriously, Diamond,” Amethyst complained.

It was true, those living on the outer edges of the city were more susceptible to infection. They didn’t live close enough to be connected to the Grid. They also didn’t
want
electricity. They preferred to live with the animals, claiming Gaia would provide for them.

“Lindy brought her in. Em, I need you to do a full body scan on her. If what she says is true, I want you to report back. This could be a big payload.” It would also give the leaders of the inner-city gangs something else to focus on. They’d want breeding rights to her, and knowing them, they would hold fights in order to pick a successor. Distraction may be just the thing to save his ass. As long as the girl checked out.

Emerald’s gaze widened. Diamond could tell he knew what Diamond was hinting at. Most females lost their virginity at a young age. It was one of the few things that could get someone pure Wave, which was currently only available from a mountain on the Mainland. Pure Wave was non-existent in the city. Trying to obtain pure Wave meant going outside the walls. It was certain death for anyone who tried. Lawson, the self-proclaimed President of the Mainland, owned the mountain. He and Diamond very rarely liked to deal with each other, but this time, there was something valuable on the line. The women on the Mainland were infertile. A genetic anomaly that had spread throughout the generations. Women inside the city were fertile. Emerald thought it had something to do with the food they consumed. All of it cloned and free of comet particles. He’d had plenty of Mainlanders come to the Quarry to further their bloodline. The males usually took their offspring, but only if they were female. Still, their breeding programs on the Mainland were hit and miss. In the long run, Diamond ended up with more mouths to feed than he knew what to do with. His only solution was to recycle through harvesting.

“Lavarious, I thought we agreed, no children,” Emerald argued.

“She’s not a child.”

“No shit?”

“Nope, but triple check for that, too. She may look older than she is. Like I said, Em, full body scan. Leave nothing unchecked, and have Marina in there with you so you don’t scare the poor female to death.”

Emerald was a huge son of a bitch. He also had a nasty scar across his face and piercing green eyes that invaded the darkest part of a person’s soul. Emerald noticed everything. If he didn’t scare the girl with his giant build and face, he’d definitely make her feel uncomfortable with the tribal tats that covered his face and body. The Maori was a warrior of old. At times, Diamond wondered if the other male wasn’t a rabid beast.

“On second thought, I told her to sit her ass on my couch until I came for her. Lip, change of plans. I’ll grab her, and Emerald, you go and get whatever tools you need to check her out. Bring Marina with you, she’s been asking for you anyway. The rest of you know what needs to be done. Stay alert, I don’t want this shit getting out of hand any more than it already has.”

There were nods of agreement from those around the table before Diamond got up and made his way back to his room on the top floor. The girl had better be a virgin as she claimed, because if she wasn’t, he was going to make her wish she had never come through the Red Door.

V

The water wasn’t pure, but it wasn’t dirty either. There was some kind of conditioner making it softer than what Nadya was used to, and it didn’t smell bad. What made the shower even better were the multiple showerheads. Two at the top near the ceiling, and three right down the middle of the shower wall on either side of her, hitting her body everywhere. This place looked as if it were untouched by all the bad shit going on outside. She’d seen a magazine once with a picture of a walk-in shower like this one. She would have thought Diamond was from the Mainland from the way things looked inside his bathroom. The water wasn’t hot or cold. It was pleasant and very relaxing. Her muscles loosened under the barrage of blissful water as it constantly beat at her from all sides. Soothing pulses lulled her body to relax further. The people back home would never believe any of this was real. This was what she wanted for Anna and her daughter, maybe not this opulent, but damn near close. Anna, when she was able, would give her and Dominika massages all the time. Now, she was barely able to get out of bed most days. But on the days she could, Anna was up and giving orders.

Diamond had told Nadya to wash until all the dirt was gone, but she still wasn’t sure if she were truly clean. He was right, she had dirt in places grime had no business being. Nadya scrubbed until her skin was red and raw. Her face and other sensitive areas proved to be the hardest. There was so much muck, it gathered at her feet and clogged the shower. Nadya grinned. Lavarious Diamond would not want his shower clogged or caked with filth. She shrugged nonchalantly. He did tell her to make sure she was clean. She’d followed his orders to the T.

Nadya turned off the spray, jumped out of the shower stall, and tried to unclog the drain. It was futile; the oily black water burped at her. She laughed. There was no telling how old the pipes inside the Quarry were. Prior to it being called the Quarry, it had been a prominent landmark building in the city. Nadya didn’t know how she knew that, but she did. Like a lot of things, the memories would just come to her out of nowhere. Sometimes it felt like her head was a filing system that only worked at the oddest times.

The building had once been a magnificent architectural beast. It, along with others, had stood up to time and corrosion, but had finally been overtaken by nature. There were trees and moss inside the entryway that had taken root and spread. Some of it dangerous, all of it bad. Mother Nature, it seemed, had a mind of her own. Fungi grew in the corner of some of the walls, like a puss-filled blister ready to pop. Once you got beyond the fourth floor, things started to clear. Walking in, she’d had to be careful not only where she stepped, but also where she touched. The elevators were covered with black moss. Mushroom spores fell from the ceiling, littering the floors. Thank goodness they hadn’t taken them. Masks were a necessity and a part of life for most. It wasn’t a surprise when Lindy had instructed her to keep her breather on. But the moment they’d hit the fifth floor, it was as if they’d stepped into another world. Polished marble floors so clear you could see your own reflection abounded, and the walls were free of nature’s touch. Instead, they were decorated with old portraits, which had either been restored or survived the comet. There were also new murals depicting the world as it was now.

The shower was a lost cause. Diamond had to know this would happen. He wouldn’t just tell her to get in the shower and clean off all the dirt and not expect her to clog the drain. Right? He’d told her to sit on the couch and wait for him. His directions clear. He hadn’t asked her to clean the shower should it get clogged, and she couldn’t anyway. Nadya found the towels he’d mentioned in the cabinet and dried off. When she’d finished, she made sure there wasn’t a spec of dirt on her. She couldn’t say as much for the floor in his bathroom, or the shower itself. At least, she was clean. She couldn’t find the robe he’d mentioned was hanging on the door so she had to use another towel. This one thicker than the one she’d grabbed previously. She wrapped herself in it with little thought to her almost nakedness. He’d already seen what she had to offer, and he’d made it very clear that he didn’t like it.
Why does that sting my pride?

She turned, wiping the fog from the mirror. The bathroom wasn’t overly hot, but it was warm enough to leave condensation on the glass. Glancing at her reflection, she pondered what she saw. She wasn’t in bad shape. She had a few scars and the two marks on her hip—marks she must have gotten prior to the life she had now. The only thing she was sure of was her first name. Snippets of memory would leak through, and in them, a woman she couldn’t place called her Nadya. The woman in the mirror staring back at her now was a stranger. Was she from the Mainland? Did she have people searching for her? Nadya doubted it. If there were someone looking for her, someone would have recognized her by now. Whatever. The new life she’d been given was hers. She wasn’t going to mess that up for her or her family. Anna had taken her in when no one else would, and for that, Nadya was eternally grateful.

Diamond had told her she had nothing to offer. She knew she wasn’t well proportioned, but that was no fault of her own. Food was scarce in Inwood, and everyone was forced to eat whatever Gaia provided. Lately, it been beetles and roasted tree bark. Not the best fare, but it was better than nothing. Two months ago, rats had been on the menu, but they’d long since exhausted that food supply. Nadya and Dominika were lucky if Anna was able to afford to go into the city near the Quarry to trade for potatoes and salt. Things that were forbidden in Inwood. Those that lived closest to the marsh wanted nothing to do with the city or what it had to offer. With minimum food to sustain her, Nadya knew she wasn’t much to look at, but she hoped to change that and her and her family’s luck for the better. Her objective was clear. Help those who had helped her.

She needed this job. She needed Diamond to accept her contract. She wasn’t desperate, but she knew he was the lesser of the two evils. The other alternative, working for Attia, could not be an option. What Nadya had, every male would want. She was a rare commodity and she would use that as her bargaining chip.

Nadya made her way back into the sitting area and parked it on the couch. She sat on the one closest to the door. She didn’t want to sit where Diamond had sat. There was something about his posture that screamed territorial. Like everything around him that he touched or gave the slightest attention to belonged to him. Men were greedy that way. Diamond appeared even more so. The couch was worn but comfortable. The towel she’d wrapped herself in barely covered her, and she found herself a bit uneasy. In Inwood, there was no such thing as modesty, but for reasons Nadya couldn’t explain, she’d always been a bit apprehensive when someone was able to view her in the nude. She shifted a bit, and when she moved, the cushion beneath her sunk a little lower, relaxing her body further. The muscles in her neck and back were now free of knots and they hummed with a warm vibration, her legs felt heavy. It didn’t take long for her to fall into a restful sleep. This time, she dreamed of blood and glory. A peculiar thing to dream of for sure, for someone like her, but she dreamt nonetheless.

V

As long as she didn’t touch anything in his crib, he wouldn’t trip. Lavarious knew his anger got the best of him sometimes, and he tried to control it. With all the stuff happening right now, he couldn’t afford to lose his cool. Needed his head clear and free of distractions. The walk up to the top floor served as a deterrent. It gave him time to think. Everyone wanted something from him. More Wave, more electricity—they didn’t like the conservation rule the city adhered to. It was for everyone’s own good. The more they saved, the more they’d have. With constant running water, you could have electricity, which in turn would keep the factories open longer. For now, it was everything in moderation.

He was getting too old for this shit. It had taken him years to get the city back on its feet, and he wasn’t about to let the outsiders or any of the inner-city gangs take what he’d worked so hard to put together. And now to have someone try and blow him up… Well, that was all kinds of fucked up. He had no intention of getting dead anytime soon. He couldn’t pinpoint who his enemy was, but he’d find out. Marius had stopped coming to the council gatherings. Diamond knew there was a reason for it, but the last person he’d thought would try to kill him was Marius. The man had his hands full trying to control those infected with Rage.

There was a quiet snore coming from the other side of his door. Diamond rolled and cracked his neck. He didn’t recall telling her she could fall asleep. He opened the door to find her strewn across his couch, one leg hanging off the edge, the other stretched out along the cushions, her hands underneath her head. She let out another quiet snore. Of all the things he’d expected to find, this wasn’t it. His jaw tightened. He tried really hard to gather some patience.
She doesn’t know the rules.
But she would.