Perception (11 page)

The sky train came to
a stop at one of the many stations high above the ground. Passengers used
either the escalator or the elevator to get to it. Other stations were at ground
level, so the journey felt like riding a large, lazy roller coaster. A tired-looking
Latino woman with two little boys in tow boarded. Behind them, two teen guys
dressed in leather and chains. One ground a cigarette on the floor with his
boot. Two girls boarded just before the door closed, holding hands and
laughing. They sat across from us, and started kissing.

Above the buzz of
light chatter an electronic announcement named the next stop.

“So, I have to ask.”
Noah fidgeted, turning slightly to face me “Why are you here in LA with me,
instead of in Sol City with your boyfriend?”

I stared at the haze
of lights out the window. “I think Jackson is hiding something from me.”

“But you said earlier
that you believed him, that he told you everything.”

“I wanted to believe
him.”

“Okay. So what do you
want from me?”

I worked my lips
before facing him. “Liam’s body was found in LA. You’re from here. You know
people.”

Noah flicked his
hand. “So?”

“So, I’m hoping
you’ll help me. I want to find out what Liam was doing in LA. I want to find
his killer.”

“Isn’t that a job for
the authorities?”

I let out a
frustrated sigh. “I’m not sure I can trust them either.”

Noah scratched his
head. “I mean this in the nicest way, but you’re sounding kind of paranoid.”

I felt my eyes tear
up and couldn’t stop myself from pleading. “Maybe. Maybe not. But will you help
me? I can pay you.”

The lights of a
seedier district in LA streamed passed the window in a blur that cleared as the
train came to a stop. A street walker boarded—too much make-up, too much
perfume, too much skin. She flashed a fake smile at Noah, motioning for him to
join her as she took the seat opposite. He shook his head slightly, and turned
his body to face me.

“You’re saying you’ll
pay me to help you find out what happened to your brother?”

“Yes.”

“Just to be clear. A
business deal? With me?”

I was more certain
now than ever. I needed Noah’s help. And a part of me, a part I was choosing to
ignore right now, wanted an excuse to hang out with him again.

“Yes.”

Noah leaned back and tapped
his fingers on his legs. I thought for a moment he was going to say no, and I
wouldn’t have blamed him.

But then he said, “Okay.
I’ll have to talk to one of my guys. If I’m going to be able to help you, I’ll
need his co-operation. Can you meet me tomorrow morning at the church?”

A felt the flood of
relief hit me, and I leaned my head against the window, closing my eyes.

“I can’t promise you
we’ll find anything useful,” Noah said.

“I know,” I said
softly. “I just need you to try.”

Chapter 13

I’d hardly slept, and
I wasn’t the only one. When I found Paul the next morning, he was just waking
from a half-sitting, half-reclining position on the sofa. His shaggy hair was
unwashed and crisp with salt from the ocean, and his skin was grey from lack of
sleep. He looked hung-over.

“Dad?”

“Oh, good morning, Zoe.”

“I wouldn’t call it
good.”

Paul’s eyes seemed to
focus like he realized he was in a bad dream, not waking from one. “Yeah,
right.”

I headed for the
kitchen. “I’ll make coffee.”

The machine spit out
each of our preferred coffee styles–espresso with one sugar for Paul and a
sweetened latte for me–in less than half a minute. I carried them back to the
grand room, setting the espresso on the glass table in front of him and taking
a seat in the matching chair.

“How’s Mom?”

“I had a prescription
shipped over last night—tranquilizers. They’ll wear off soon.”

I took a tentative
sip, savoring how the coffee burnt the back of my throat.

“Have you heard
anything new?”

Paul scratched his
head. “Just that a kid found him.”

“A kid?”

Paul nodded.

That meant the Sol City
authorities hadn’t tracked him down. That the outside police force had been
informed first. If the Sol City authorities
had
found Liam’s body first,
would I and my parents even know about it now?

I really was getting
paranoid.

“What happened to
him? How exactly did he die?” The words felt thick and poisonous, but I had to
know.

Paul hesitated. “Well,
that part seems to be a mystery. The coroner’s report should be in by tonight.”

“What about the chip?”
I insisted. “What happened to that?”

Paul tossed the
remaining gulp of espresso down his throat. “Look, Zoe, I don’t know. You can
read the report for yourself when it comes. I’m going to go check on Alison.”

He stood abruptly and
headed for the stairs. My frustration was reaching critical levels. I was so tired
of being kept in the dark.

I followed him
upstairs shortly afterwards with plans to get dressed. I was eager for the
morning to pass so I could get on with my meeting with Noah. I heard soft
sobbing down the hall. Alison was awake.

I paused at the top
of the stairs.

“Maybe we could do it
again.” Alison’s voice broke.

I didn’t mean to
eavesdrop, but I couldn’t tear myself away.

Paul answered, “You
weren’t that happy with how it turned out last time, remember?”

“But, technology has
advanced since then, and your father....”

“Alison, no. It’s
still illegal. Besides, he was too old and too many people know he’s dead.”

I felt immobilized, my
mental circuits rushing to make sense of what I’d just heard. What did Paul
mean when he said Alison wasn’t happy with how it turned out last time? What
was illegal? And what did my grandfather have to do with anything?

I couldn’t make sense
of it, but a dread grew in the pit of my stomach.

I showered, letting
the hot water fall on my head longer than necessary in an attempt to wash away
the creeping sorrow and my growing anxiety. Why would someone kill my brother?
Unbidden tears erupted as thoughts of Liam flooded my mind.

I remembered the last
time we were together. We’d gone surfing. We’d fought about his secret project.
Now I wished I’d pressed him harder, made him confide in me.

He’d left right after
his shower, and I’d said
see you later
, barely registering the back of
his head.

I had no idea that was
the final time I’d ever see him.

I thought of Jackson
as I blow-dried my hair. I couldn’t believe I still hadn’t heard from him. This
was the worst news for both of us. Did he expect me to go to him first?

I considered wearing my
costume to meet Noah’s gang again, but changed my mind. He’d have to tell them
who I really was anyway. I just hoped they didn’t tar and feather me when they
found out I’d lied to them and was a member of their least favorite people
group.

I brushed my hair, my
ring vibrating as I pulled it back into a low pony-tail. Jackson. Finally.

I tapped the base of my
ring and his image appeared. “I’m outside your front door.” Something was
definitely wrong. Jackson always just let himself in, being one of the few
people to have authorized access to our house.

I skipped down the
stairs, making my way past the foyer wall-garden and opening one of the huge
metal doors. He leaned against the wall, his head tilted up, his eyes closed. I
spoke his name, and he gazed at me, looking worse than I did. His hair was
still damp from a recent shower, but that didn’t hide the hollow look in his
eyes or the slouch of his shoulders.

“Did you sleep at all
last night?” I asked as we cut through the house to the pool side patio. I sat
on a lounge chair opposite the one he took, the bright morning sun incongruent
with the dark emotions we felt.

“A little. The
authorities hounded me until sunrise. I dosed off for a couple hours after they
left.”

“What did the
authorities want with you?” And why had they questioned him for so long?

“I don’t know. They
think I know what happened to Liam.”

“Do you?”

He hesitated
slightly, then said, “No.”

He looked so haggard
and weary. If he knew anything he would tell me, wouldn’t he?

“What was Liam
working on in the lab, Jackson?”

“Just the usual
stuff. University studies. Pharmaceutical tests.”

“Pharmaceutical?”

Jackson sighed. “He
wasn’t selling drugs to the outside.”

“Then what was he
doing out there?”

“I told you, I don’t
know. He was acting kind of secretive. I thought he had a new girl he didn’t
want to talk about. I thought maybe she was married or something. I never
guessed she might be from the outside.”

Four days ago I
would’ve found that hard to believe too, but now I figured I had to be open to
anything. And if there was a girl on the outside who had anything to do with
Liam’s death, she’d be sorry when I found her.

Jackson covered his
face with his hands, defeated. I felt bad. I’d been too hard on him. I went to
his side and put my arms around him.

He kissed the top of my
head. “We’ll get through this.”

“I hope so,” I
whispered back.

I felt stiff in his
embrace, so I pulled away. “Do you want something to drink?”

He nodded, and I went
to the patio beverage fridge. Opening it, I found it was empty. Alison had
failed to reorder. She was seriously off her game.

“We’ll have to go
back inside.”

We entered through
the patio door, and I was surprised to see Alison standing there, dressed in
linen slacks and a cotton buttoned-down shirt. Her hair was styled and her
make-up expertly applied.

Paul must’ve given
her more pills.

She was with another
woman, who was wearing a pencil skirt. She sat upright next to Alison on the
sofa and had a consoling yet business-like demeanor.

A video of Liam was
playing on the TV monitor.

My throat went dry,
and my heart beat wildly in my chest. Maybe I should score a few pills from
Paul for myself.

Alison stopped the
video when she noticed me and Jackson in the room.

“Hi, Jackson,” she
said.

“Hello, Alison. I’m
sorry...”

She waved him quiet. “I
know. He was like family to you, too.” Then she introduced the woman to us like
they were discussing interior design instead of watching videos of her dead
son.

“This is June. She’s
our funeral planner.”

We said an
uncomfortable hello before leaving them for the safety of the kitchen.

Jackson rested
against the counter. “Your mom seems to be handling it all right.”

“She’s medicated.”

I pulled two sparkly
drinks from the refrigerator. We stared at each other while we drank in
silence. I didn’t know what else to say to him, and it was clear he felt the same
way.

I moved to the dining
room, where I had a slender view of the living room and could see the images
flashing on the screen. Now Alison and June were going through stills. Liam as
a baby. Liam in grade school. His sports teams and surf shots. Liam’s
graduation. Every once in a while a photo would pop up of me.

I viewed the images
of myself with Alison when I was young with curiosity. Her face was full of so
much delight. There was one where she was touching my nose with her own when I
was toddler, and we were both laughing. Another was of me a bit older, and we
were outside this house looking at the flowers, holding hands. I was mesmerized
by the daisies. Alison was mesmerized by
me
.

When had that
changed?

“I think I’ll go now,
try to get more sleep,” Jackson said.

I walked him to the
door. We kissed good-bye but it lacked enthusiasm. I wondered if we’d ever get our
passion back.

I had to leave soon
to meet Noah at the church but I suddenly wanted to check something before I
left. Back in my room, I instructed my computer to set up the scanner. I
positioned my chip under the laser beam.

The files on my chip
opened on my monitor. Finances, education, personal, medical. It was the
federal government’s health department that had led the way for social
acceptance of chip implantation, back around 2011, when the FDA had approved
its safety. Health officials encouraged everyone to have chips implanted in
case of medical emergencies in which individuals might be unconscious and
unable to give first responders their medical information. The option grew in
popularity as the world’s population grew increasingly older.