Luca (19 page)

Zero and Giraffe are lying on the concrete as if asleep, palms up, bellies rising and falling in slow rhythm with each breath, like newborn babies.

Kneeling between them, Luca senses the calmness in their minds. As she touches their foreheads, slowly, deliberately, their eyes open, and they stand simultaneously.

“It’s gone.” Giraffe swallows. “The darkness and hate. All the regret. All the fear. The emptiness. It’s gone.”

“It’s the voices,” Zero says, his mind devoid of revulsion toward the insects and animals that crawl through the courtyard. "I used to be so angry. The voices healed me.” He turns to Luca. “We have to share this with everyone. With the world.”

“We will,” Luca says. “Starting tomorrow.”

25

GYROPODS

Ricky smiles outside the car as Jedd and Qaara stare at him from inside.

He just saved my life. Again.

Jedd throws the door open and jumps out, gaze going to the remnants of the two burning hulks of the Peruvian Mafia cars. “How did you do it?”

Ricky’s holds up his jax. “The Peruvs are good, but sometimes they’re too confident. Sloppy. And I got lucky. Broke through their encryption on the first try. It helps to have access to Chinese military-grade quantum algorithms.”

“The Chinese are extremely protective of their QAs.” Qaara slips out of the car on the opposite side from Jedd. “They treat them as state secrets. More precious than the megatons of gold they’re hoarding under the Forbidden City. How did you get access?”

Waving his hand as if it’s a stupid question, Jedd takes a step closer to his friend and drops an arm around his shoulders. “Ricky here’s a born Mesh-jacker. All those years in the Zone with me trying to survive. It teaches you a lot about improvisation. Getting around obstacles. And you’d be surprised what you can find in the Fringe if you look hard enough and know the right people.” Jedd turns to face Ricky, eyes narrowing. "But how
did
you find me?”

Ricky plucks a small black tracking dot off the back of Jedd’s neck. “Did you really think I was going to leave you on your own? Especially when you were going to look for
her
."

They both look at Qaara, as she walks around the car.

Ricky’s eyebrows rise as he pokes Jedd.

“Oh, right.” Jedd motions to his left. “Qaara, meet Ricky. My best friend since we were kids out in the Zone. Ricky, meet Qaara. Inventor of Graff. World celebrity. All around genius.”

Qaara’s stops. “How do you guys know about the Zone?”

“Born and raised there.” Ricky leans on the car. “Until we were teenagers; then we escaped.”

Jedd thinks that telling Qaara about the Zone isn’t a good idea.

He turns to warn Ricky, eyes pleading for him to stop talking. The last thing Jedd wants a cultured girl like Qaara to know is that he came from a cultural wasteland like the Zone.

“Are you serious? You crossed from the Zone into the Fringe?”

Ricky ignores Jedd’s face. “It wasn’t easy. The Zone’s a crazy place. We lived with a gang of marauding murderers called the “Family,” led by an insane psychopath named Moses. Saw a lot of bad stuff. Heads blown off, that sort of thing. Got turned into child soldiers. Almost got ourselves killed when we decided to leave. Barely made it out alive."

“But that was all a
long
time ago.” Jedd is horrified and jumps in to move the conversation in a different direction. “We’ve both done a lot of growing up and lot of
changing
since we were kids.”

“One time, Jedd and I found a herd of cows feeding at a pond. The only one guarding them was an old man. We wanted to impress Moses, so we—”

“So, Qaara, tell us more about you.” Jedd pushes Ricky to the side and elbows him in the ribs. “We’d love to hear your story. You’re from India, right?”

“I’m the newest entry on Mercer’s death list. Which, I’m told, he works through very quickly. By the way, Mr. Ricky, thanks for saving my life. Very impressive Mesh-jacking.” Qaara glances back at the blackened wreckage of the cars in the middle of the street. “But now we have another problem. Messing with the Peruvian Mafia usually results in a severe shortening of one’s lifespan. And now we’ve done it twice. I’m sure they’ll be coming after us with a vengeance. And probably an army. I doubt anywhere will be safe. In the City or in the Fringe.”

“Good point.” Jedd turns to Ricky. “But I’m sure Ricky here has already got it all worked out, right? A place to hide until all this blows over.”

“Didn’t have time to give it much thought, to tell the truth,” Ricky says. “But Qaara’s right. The City and the Fringe will both be dangerous. Doesn’t leave us many options.”

“Agreed,” Jedd says. “So I figure we should head down the coast in the direction of Old Florida.”

“You’re forgetting something.” Qaara says. “The most obvious choice." She points her finger west, away from the rising sun.

Jedd and Ricky both freeze.

“Isn’t it clear?” Qaara says. “Especially since both of you came from there and know all about it.”

“You can’t be serious.” Jedd says.

Ricky shakes his head. “The Zone?”

Qaara nods. “It’s the last place Mercer will expect us to go.”

“Yeah, for good reason.” Ricky casts a glance down the empty street. “The Zone’s like a prison. A place to escape from and leave behind. No one goes there. We should know. People in the Zone don’t live; they just survive. It’s suicide to go back.”

Thump, thump, thump.

“Heli-ships!” Jedd peers into the sky above the City. “We better duck out of sight.” Three black silhouettes appear above them. “This way. Come on.” Jedd runs across the street and presses his back against the nearest building, staring up.

Qaara and Ricky follow him.

“It’s suicide
not
to go into the Zone.” Qaara scours the sky. "Mercer’s probably watching us right now. The Genesis surveillance network is massive. Going to Old Florida won’t help. We have to get out of the datasphere.
Away
from the coast, not
along
it. Deep. Off-grid. The Zone’s our only option. If you want to survive to tell the world.”

“Tell the world what?” Ricky says.

“Long story.” Jedd shakes his head. “I’ll explain later."

“The point is,” Qaara pushes her shoulder blades into the wall, “we won’t be of any use to anyone if we’re dead. The choice is clear: get out of Mercer’s control. And the only place to do that is the Zone.”

Thump, thump, thump.

“I’ve got a real bad feeling about the whole Zone idea.” Jedd grabs Qaara’s hand and pulls her down the sidewalk as they slide along, backs to the front of the building.

A black heli-ship with police markings suddenly appears from around a corner only a hundred meters above the street. Its nose dives toward them.

“This way!”

Jedd pulls Qaara around the corner. Ricky follows. They sprint thirty meters past a large neon screen of a woman, laser sword in hand, battling a T. rex above the words
Jurassic Wars
. They escape down a narrow walkway between buildings. The black heli blows past the open gap.

Another heli-ship drops onto the street at the opposite end of the walkway. Three men in helmets and battle gear emerge, pulse rifles in hand.

Jedd halts and retreats in the direction they came from. “Back this way.”

Another black heli drops to the pavement in front of them. Three more soldiers pour out and enter the alley, guns pointing.

They’re surrounded.

Looking from one end of the alley to the other, Jedd stops.

“What now?” Qaara says.

“No choice.” Jedd steps near a black door in an indentation in the middle of the alley. “We go inside.” He pushes on it, but it doesn’t budge. “Ricky, can you open it?”

The soldiers approach, guns drawn, slowly moving in from both directions.

“Out of my way.” Ricky whips the jax out of his pocket and bends close to an orange square imprinted on the side of the door. “Give me a minute."

“Half a minute.” Jedd thinks of Qaara lying in a pool of blood on the pavement. Without hesitation, he finds himself stepping back into the alley to meet the soldiers. Face falling into a smile and hands stretched up, he speaks in a voice loud enough for all to hear. "Ladies and gentlemen, there must be some mistake. My friends and I were just out for an early morning workout.”

One of the soldiers raises her weapon and fires it. The pulse projectile ricochets off the wall inches from Jedd’s head, forcing him to crouch.

The soldiers briskly enter from both directions.

“Let me try,” Qaara whispers.

“No!” Jedd says.

Before he can grab her, she jumps into the alley.

“Glad you finally got here. Don’t believe a word this man says.” She points at Jedd. “Scum from the Fringe. Him and his friend started following me on my walk home this morning, asking for money. I was just going back to my apartment, and they refuse to leave me alone.”

“What are you saying?” Jedd stares at Qaara’s back. “We're here to help you.”

“See what I mean?” Qaara’s voice gets louder with each word. “Now if you can just escort them away, I’ll be on my way. Oh, and one other thing. You might want to take them in for questioning. I’d guess they are in possession of contraband mesh-jacking equipment.”

One of the soldiers lowers his weapon to stare at Qaara, a confused look on his face. All of the soldiers stop, as if waiting for Qaara to make another move.

A soldier raises his visor. “You look familiar. Aren’t you —”

A soft click sounds behind them.

“Got it,” Ricky whispers. “Let’s get out of here."

The soldiers raise their weapons, fingers on triggers.

Jedd and Qaara, facing in opposite directions, both step back and bump into each other. Twisting, Jedd grabs Qaara and pulls her through the open door just as a barrage of pulse projectiles slam into the wall next to her shoulder.

Ricky throws the door shut behind them. It seals with a click. All three of them rush down a long, dark hallway that arcs to the right, floor panels lighting up as they step on them.

“Where does this go?” Jedd says.

“I just downloaded schematics of the building. Trying to figure that out right now.” Ricky stares at a blue holo above his jax as he runs.

An explosion somewhere in the rear shakes the walls. Loud footsteps follow. More pulse projectiles ricochet down the hall, zinging past their heads.

“Well, Ricky?” Jedd says. “What’s at the end of this?"

They run into darkness as the hall lights up under their feet and goes black behind them.

“Looks like a parking garage below us.” Ricky gasps between breaths.

“I don’t care what’s below us.” Jedd's fingers stretch out in front, heart racing, thinking of how he can protect Qaara. “We need to find a way—”

His head slams into a wall, filling his torso with nausea. Legs buckle. He falls to the floor.

Qaara hits just to his right, and she bounces off, collapsing. Half a second later, Ricky contacts with wall on the left. All three of them scatter on the floor like bowling pins. The lights beneath them extinguish.

Ricky’s jax slides away, the holo spinning above it. Then it goes out, plunging them into utter darkness.

Warm liquid trickles across Jedd’s forehead.

Footsteps in the dark come closer.

“Which way, Ricky?” Jedd gently rolls Qaara’s limp body off his own and scrambles to his feet. Reaching out with his hands, he feels where the hallway comes to an abrupt stop, forms a T, and then moves in darkness to the right and left. “We got to know which way to go. Now.”

Ricky stirs on the floor “What?”

An old song plays in Jedd’s head, one he hasn’t thought about in a long time.

Choose the right
—

He bends down and nudges Qaara, but she doesn’t move. Bending his ear to her lips, he hears gentle breathing. His arms slip under her back and legs as he lifts her.

She’s heavier that he thinks.

“Come on, Ricky. To the right.” He jogs into the dark, one shoulder tracing a line along the smooth wall, Qaara’s head bobbing up and down next to his. The floor no longer lights up below their feet.

Ricky stumbles behind.

The sound of heavy footsteps from the rear. Dancing lights reflect off the walls. Then the movement stops.

“This way,” a soldier shouts.

A bright flash comes from behind Jedd, highlighting the point where the hallway terminates ahead of him. A high-pitched noise rips through his skull.

Sonic grenades.

Qaara stirs in Jedd’s arms.

He runs a hand frantically along the wall and confirms his fear.

There’s no way out. Dead end.

With his back to the wall, Jedd turns to face the soldiers. Red dots dance across his body. His hip brushes a raised square.

The soldiers stop to fire their weapons.

Jedd takes a slow blink.

In an instant, images from his childhood flash across his eyelids. He’s standing on a dusty plain, hands tied to a steel stake behind his back. Ricky is an arm’s distance away, tied up in the same way and staring forward at a man holding an old hunting rifle. The man grins as he raises the gun and points it at Jedd’s chest.

“You’re going to die now,” the man says. Broken teeth line his smile. “Any last words?”

Jedd shakes his head, jaw clenched. He swings his gaze over to Ricky. They nod at each other and turn back to face the man.

The man lays his cheek on the old gun’s stock and swings the tip over to Ricky.

The next instant, the man’s head is gone. His lifeless body slips to the ground. Another man, larger, comes into view on the side. He’s holding a black gun as long as his body.

“Name’s Moses,” the large man says. “Try to remember. You boys belong to me now. I’ll take care of you as long as you do what you’re told. Welcome to the Family.”

Jedd opens his eyes, and the image from long ago fades.

A hole opens in the wall behind him. He and Ricky fall back into it as the soldiers discharge their weapons. The pulse projectiles fly above Jedd’s head.