Our Lady of the Ice (25 page)

“Cabrera is a different matter,” Luciano said. “She would not program the maintenance drones to kill people in the city.”

Marianella sighed, slumping against the bench. Maybe there was truth to that. If all Sofia wanted was to kill humans, she just had to program the maintenance drones to turn off the electricity. That would be the end of humanity. But she was far cleverer than that. If Sofia killed the entire city, she risked the mainland dropping bombs on the domes.

Marianella closed her eyes. The overgrown tangle of the garden felt claustrophobic, despite the expanse of the lake only a few paces away.

“Her plans are more complex than that,” Luciano said. “Surely you know—”

“Complex?” Marianella said. “She wants the same thing the city officials want, really, just in reverse. A place for robots instead of humans.”

“It would be a place for people such as yourself, too,” Luciano said softly.

Marianella fell quiet. He was doing the same thing Sofia always did, including her in those plans for the future. But Marianella didn’t want to be included in their revolution. She had designed and built an agricultural dome, meant to sustain human life. That was to be her legacy. Not a smoldering pile of ash in the warehouse
district, not the souls of twenty-six people severed violently from their bodies.

She would handle Ignacio in her own way, in the civilized way. She would not kill him.

Luciano picked up his book and reopened it. His head tilted down over the pages. Marianella gazed up at the white dome overhead. Maybe the Midwinter Ball was a frivolous thing in the wake of everything that had happened. But it was a reminder of the work she had done. Alejo wanted her there for financial reasons, but she understood now that she was going to go for personal ones, for moral ones.

She wasn’t a robot. She wasn’t like Sofia.

Attending that silly ball would be her proof.

CHAPTER TWENTY

ELIANA

Eliana paced back and forth across her office, smoking. A week had passed since she’d seen the explosion at the warehouse. She had followed the story, listening to all the different theories—Independent terrorists to computer error to human error. An electrical fire.

The whole thing unnerved her. Accidents happened, and she could accept that. She had gone into a dangerous line of work, and she could accept that as well. But the combination of the two, the idea that she could die as the result of an accident that she had no control over, that she had been so
close
to an accident that she had had no control over—that was upsetting. It left her shaky, like Hope City was pulling apart at the seams. She’d always wanted to get to the mainland so she wouldn’t be trapped here, and now it felt like being trapped could be dangerous.

The bell on her door clanged. Mr. Gonzalez walked in. Took off his coat, his hat. His golden eyes stared at her from across the room.

“Mr. Gonzalez!” She forced out a bright smile. “I wasn’t expecting you until later.”

“Yes, well, my morning meeting was canceled. You said on the phone that you had everything ready.”

“That I do.” Eliana finished her cigarette and immediately lit
another one, hoping Mr. Gonzalez wouldn’t see her hand shaking. Despite the explosion, Maria had come through with the fake schematics. The promise of ten easy bucks had managed to transcend any anxiety from near-death experiences. Actually, she’d told Eliana when she’d dropped off the schematics, the explosion had made it easier. “Everyone’s in a tizzy down at the city offices.” She’d laughed, although the laugh had been forced. “No one noticed me using the mimeograph machine.”

Mr. Gonzalez walked across the office. His footsteps echoed against the wooden floors. Eliana stopped pacing and stood beside the window, nervously running her fingernails over the inside of her palm. Smoke wreathed her head like a shield.

He sat down in the visitor’s chair.

“It’s sitting on the edge of the desk there.” Eliana gestured with her cigarette.

He gave her a quick smile, then opened the file and read through it. Eliana watched him. Her spine seemed to vibrate inside her skin. She sucked hard on her cigarette. She trusted Maria to do a good job, but she didn’t trust Mr. Gonzalez not to recognize a forgery.

He set the file down on the desk, and Eliana’s chest tightened.

“Excellent work, Miss Gomez. I’ll admit I had my doubts, but I do think this information is far more useful than any observations you could have found at the park.”

He reached into his coat and extracted a thick envelope. He dropped it onto the desk. Eliana stared at it for a moment. She had smoked her cigarette almost down to the filter, but she knew she couldn’t light another without giving anything away.

“What I owe you,” he said.

Eliana stared down at the money, dizzy. It wasn’t just money. It was a way off Antarctica.
Her
way off Antarctica.

She dropped her cigarette into the ashtray, picked up the cash, and thumbed through it. She’d never held so much before, not even when she’d broken into people’s houses as a teenager. That had been for kicks, mostly. And now here she was, taking so much money for a forgery.

Eliana was pretty sure this was the most dishonest thing she’d
ever done. At least with stealing, the mark knew what had happened.

“Do you need anything else?” She hoped he would say no.

Mr. Gonzalez considered her question. He was still flipping through the faked documents. “As I said, this is far more useful than I was expecting.” He nodded. “I should be able to work with this, yes.”

Eliana didn’t answer. She thought about her gun, shoved away in her desk drawer. Second to top, beneath the drawer with the money.

Mr. Gonzalez stuck one hand out over the desk, sideways. She stared at it for a few seconds before realizing he wanted to shake.

She reached over, grabbed his hand. His palm was cool and dry. Unflappable.

“It was enjoyable working with you, Ms. Gomez. I’ll be in touch if it turns out I need anything else.”

Eliana found her voice and gave as flirtatious a smile as she could muster. “Promise you won’t go to the big downtown agencies?”

Mr. Gonzalez smiled back, the cold empty smile of a businessman. “You’ve certainly impressed me, Ms. Gomez.”

He turned and walked out of her office. She hoped out of her life, too.

When the door slammed shut, Eliana sat very still, staring down at the envelope of cash. Her blood felt cold, as icy as the northern winds howling outside the dome. She could buy a visa. Just a few cases more, and she’d have the ship ticket too, plus a bit more to start her new life. Mr. Vasquez had told her that she could call him, if she ever found her way to the mainland. He’d probably be able to give her a job. It wouldn’t take long. Soon, she’d be able to leave everything behind—

Diego. His face came to her like a dull thump in her chest. She could leave the city behind, and she could even leave her friends. But now that she had the money, the reality of leaving Diego settled in. It hit her much harder than she’d expected. She’d thought idly about convincing him to come with her. Now she understood that this would never actually happen.

Eliana picked up the envelope. It was heavy and cool in her palm, the paper slick. She pulled out one of the bills and held it up to the overhead light, where the blue ink glowed.

*  *  *  *

When Eliana came home from work that afternoon, she found Diego smoking on the stoop of her apartment building, his body hunched over the glowing ember of the cigarette. It was colder than usual out. Darker, too.

Eliana stopped a few paces away. He didn’t notice her at first, just kept puffing at his cigarette. She’d deposited Mr. Gonzalez’s money on her way home, and the receipt from the banker was folded away in her checkbook, a reminder that she had enough for a visa.

Diego looked up. His eyes, dark and glittering like coals, locked on to her. And then he broke out in a wary smile.

“You’re okay,” he said.

For a moment Eliana didn’t know what he was talking about. Then she realized: the explosion. She hadn’t spoken to him since the explosion, even though she had called his apartment. He’d never picked up.

“So are you,” she said.

Diego flicked his cigarette over the side of the stoop and bounded down the stairs. “I’m sorry I’ve been away,” he said. “I heard you were there.”

Eliana frowned. “How’d you hear that?”

He didn’t answer, only enveloped her in a hug, drawing her in tight against his chest. Eliana closed her eyes and breathed in the smoky-spicy scent of him. For a moment, her worries went numb.

“I wasn’t
there
there, anyway,” she said, speaking into his chest. “I was at the Azevedo warehouse—”

“You were close enough.” He pulled away and looked down at her. “It’s so good to see you. Mr. Cabrera had me busy, but I came as soon as I could.”

“I called.”

“I was at the Florencia.” Diego looked away and let out a long breath. “Working on something. But you’re safe. That’s all that matters.”

Eliana didn’t say anything. His concern physically pained her.

“Let’s go inside,” she said, threading her arm around his waist.
She led him back toward the stoop and into the lobby. It was just as cold inside as it was out, and the light fixture flickered overhead, casting short staccato shadows across the dirty tile. Diego grabbed her hand and squeezed, and they took the stairs together, not speaking. At her apartment, Eliana opened the door and went in, tossing her purse onto the dining table. The receipt inside was a reminder that she almost had the money to leave, a reminder that she would have to tell Diego.

“Do you want something to drink?” she asked. “I think I still have coffee.”

“Don’t waste it on me.” Diego switched on the radio and slid down into her couch. Some crooner’s voice, old-fashioned and soothing, trickled out of the speakers. It was the sort of thing her parents had listened to, dancing together in the living room when Eliana was a little girl.

“They’re saying it was an accident,” Diego said glumly. “That’s the latest news.”

Eliana sank into the couch beside him. He stared at the opposite wall, one hand rubbing at his forehead. “An electrical accident, faulty wiring and all that.”

“You don’t really believe that, do you?” Eliana sure didn’t. It was like with the blackouts. The city came in with their bullshit explanations that only raised more questions than anything else. “I mean, what sort of power plant has bad wiring? What if it had been one of the atomic plants, for God’s sake?”

“Oh, they keep those safe,” Diego said. “Mainland interests, you know.”

Eliana cringed.
Mainland.
She had to tell him. And more than that, she had to convince him to come with her. Not just because she’d miss him but because the city was dangerous. Faulty wiring and electrical accidents. Cabrera. The robots lurking in the park.

Over on the radio, the song faded away, replaced by the smooth, dark baritone of the announcer’s voice.

“Hope City is falling apart,” the announcer said.

Eliana jolted. She looked over at the radio, then at Diego. He was frowning, his head tilted, brow furrowed.

“The main dome is nearly a hundred years old,” the announcer said. “Do we really think that old steam technology will last for a hundred years? We need complete atomic power. This is why Independence is a far-fetched dream. Only the mainland can provide us with the resources necessary for our survival, and in turn we provide them with clean, inexpensive energy. There’s nothing wrong with the way the system—”

Eliana reached over and switched the radio off.

“Thank you,” Diego said. “I wasn’t sure I could stand much more of that.”

“I always thought Cabrera was pro-mainland,” Eliana said. “That’s what everyone says.”

“Cabrera is pro-Cabrera.” Diego sighed. “He loves all this shit anyway. Anything to get people anxious. He didn’t do it,” Diego said quickly. “The power plant.”

“I didn’t think he did,” Eliana said, her thoughts on the money for the mainland; she hardly registered what Diego said.

“Good. I didn’t want you playing do-gooder. But he’s sure as shit going to
exploit
it.”

Something about the bitterness in Diego’s voice made Eliana hopeful. Maybe he knew he couldn’t stay in the city much longer either.

“Listen,” Eliana said. “Diego. I have to tell you something.”

Diego swooped his gaze back over to her. “What is it? Did something happen at the explosion?”

“No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just—” Her voice faltered. She took a deep breath and glanced over at her purse, still sitting on the kitchen table. “I had a client come in a few days ago and offer me a pretty easy job for a lot of cash.”

Diego didn’t say anything, just kept staring at her.

“Five hundred dollars,” she said. “Plus another fifty for my retainer. You know I’ve been saving for the mainland. Well.” She shrugged, like it was that easy. “I’ve got it. At least enough for the visa. I’m close to enough for the ship ticket too, and I’m sure I’ll have enough by the end of winter, especially with the way business has been going.”

Her confession was met with a thick, buzzing silence. The light fixture flickered once and settled.

“I want you to come with me,” she said, although she didn’t look at him. “I’m sure Cabrera would get you the money. Just—come with me. Leave. To hell with this place.”

She felt Diego’s eyes on her, and in that oppressive silence she had to resist the urge to flip the radio back on. They sat like that for a long time. Eliana kept staring at the far wall. It was the only thing she could do.

Finally, Diego spoke.

“I can’t do that,” he said. “I can’t leave Mr. Cabrera. Christ, you know that.” He touched her chin and turned her face toward him. He looked sadder than she had ever seen him. “I’m happy for you,” he said. “I know this is what you wanted.”

“It’s not just a matter of what I wanted,” Eliana said. “It’s what’s
safe
. It’s like the guy on the radio said, the city’s falling apart. Atomic power’s not going to fix that. Cabrera sure as hell isn’t going to fix that. The city stopped existing when the amusement park shut down. It stopped existing before I was even born. There’s no reason for me to stay here.”

Diego pulled back from her, a sharp, subtle movement she almost didn’t see.

“There’s no reason for either of us to stay here,” she said. “For anyone, even. I just— Please, Diego, come with me.”

Diego looked at her for a moment longer. Then he rubbed his hand over his face and stood up. Eliana felt him pulling away from her, the way you would peel a wrapper away from a candy.

“I can’t,” he said. “I’m glad you’re getting out of the city, I really am. You’re right, it’s not safe here. But I
can’t
.”

“Diego—”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Eliana was struck dumb. Diego shook his head and grabbed his coat from the hook beside the door. “I’m sorry,” he said again, louder this time.

And then he walked out into the hallway, the door swinging shut behind him.

*  *  *  *

Eliana wouldn’t even call it a fight. Neither of them had been angry, and what haunted her that night and into the next day wasn’t a raised voice or a screamed barb designed to wound, but the deep-throated sadness in Diego’s apology, the way he had shuffled out the door as if dragged by a chain.

A chain pulled by Ignacio Cabrera.

She went into the office the next day because she wanted the comfort of routine. Besides, another client or two, and she’d have the money saved up for her ship ticket and living expenses. Despite everything, the thought still made her warm inside. No wonder. Diego had chosen Cabrera over her.

But the morning went by uneventfully. No phone calls, no visits from potential clients. By eleven thirty Eliana considered closing the office early. It was cold, the radiator barely able to keep the room warm.

And then Marianella walked in.

Eliana almost didn’t recognize her. She had covered her hair with a scarf and put on a threadbare, dark blue men’s coat that was at least thirty years out of fashion. When she pulled off her sunglasses, her face was pale, and dark shadows rested under her eyes.