Read The Burn Zone Online

Authors: James K. Decker

Tags: #Science Fiction, #General, #Fiction, #made by MadMaxAU

The Burn Zone (29 page)

BOOK: The Burn Zone
8.99Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

 


Come on, spaceman.

 

Nix followed him around the corner. When they were out of sight, I leaned a little closer to the glass.

 


Something else, Niu-
niu
?

he asked.

 


You still deal in weapons?

 

He raised his bushy eyebrows.

Weapons?

 


Guns.

 


What are you going to do with a gun?

 


Hopefully nothing,

I said,

but I

m in trouble, Wei, and Dragan needs my help.

 


And you think you

re going to need a gun?

 


I hope not.

 


Guns are trouble,

he said.

 


Then why do you deal them?

 


That

s not the same thing. Come on, you

re better than that.

 


Please. It

s an emergency.

 

He frowned, but he didn

t say no.

 


Guns cost money,

he said instead.

 


I know.

 


You don

t have any money.

 

I looked up and down the hall,
then
nodded at the door to the foyer.

Let me in.

 

He reached down and buzzed me in, the bolt in the door snapping open. I opened it and slipped into the cramped space. The smoke made my eyes water and my nose burn.

 


Look, I can do you a favor,

he said,

but the people I deal with don

t deal in favors, you know?

 


I know,

I said. I pushed an ashtray full of butts away to clear a spot on the desk between us, and put the stun gun down there.

You can use this to trade.

 

He looked it over.

 


Not bad,

he said,

but it won

t get you a real piece.

 

I dug out the ration sheet and tore a strip off, then two of the three doses of blue crystal I

d found in the safe back home. One by one I put them on the pile between us.

 


The stunner,

I said,

plus three ration punches, plus two doses of blue shard. This is all government-issue stuff.

 

Wei looked it over, nodding.

 


What kind of gun you looking for?

he asked.

 


Something small and light,

I said.

I don

t need some hand cannon I can

t even lift.

 


I still say it

s a mistake,

he said,

but if you say you need it, I

ll get a good gun for you. When do you need it by?

 


I

ll try and be out of your hair tomorrow morning. Can you do it that fast?

 


I

ll make some calls.

 


Thanks, Wei.

I leaned forward and hugged him. He kind of stiffened up for a second, but then he relaxed and patted my back.

 


Okay,

he said.

 

I gave him one last squeeze,
then
broke away.

You

re the best.

 


Not hardly
,

he muttered.

 

I caught him smiling, though, just a little, when I slipped out and shut the door behind me.

 

~ * ~

 

Chapter Ten

 

 

 

 

16:11:21 BC

 

I headed back to the room and was about to knock when I heard Vamp

s voice on the other side.

 


... your deal anyway?

 


Deal?

Nix asked.

 


Why are you here?

 


Sam arrived in Shangzho last night to return her surrogate, and claimed to have been attacked by a haan pretending to be human. I was sent to follow up with her.

 


Why are you still sticking around? She

s in enough trouble as it is without looking after you.

 


Because I believe I can help.

 


Yeah, you

ve been a big help so far.

 


My species stands to lose more than yours.

 


If what

s on that recording is true, you guys plan to wipe out millions of us—

 


There is no

we

in this case. One haan made a deal with your species to wipe out your enemies,

Nix said,

and as terrible as Sillith

s plan is, I am facing the extinction of my entire race. So yes, my species stands to lose more than yours. No haan in their right mind would sanction what

s on that recording. I am here because I think I can help stop this.

 

Vamp made a contemptuous snort, but when he spoke
again his voice was a little calmer.

If the stuff on that wet drive gets out, you guys are pretty much screwed.

 


Yes.

 


Still, I

m telling you straight up—if it comes to it, I

ll hand that recording over. If we don

t find that kid and fast, I

ll hand it over.

 


I understand.

 


I

m sorry, but there

s too much at stake here.

 


The recording doesn

t indicate where the boy is now.

 


No, but it will let our people know what

s going on. Even if the burn starts, if they know how it

s spreading they might be able to stop it.

 


I understand, and I won

t try and stop you.

 

Vamp didn

t believe him. I couldn

t see him, but I could picture the look on his face.

 

It got quiet again, and I was about to knock when Nix suddenly spoke again.

 


Do you plan to mate with her?

 


Who?
Sam?

Vamp asked. He laughed a little, and I felt my face flush.

 


Yes.

 

Vamp

s laughter petered out, and I waited, leaning against the wall with my forehead on the door.

 


I wouldn

t, you know, put it that way,

he said,

but yeah. I mean, I want to.

 


Why?

 


I don

t know,

Vamp said.

Why are you asking me?

 


I

m just curious. I sense your arousal when she is near. You seem determined to hide this from her. I just wondered why.

 

Vamp didn

t say anything for a while. I waited, feeling guilty for eavesdropping, but not guilty enough to stop. When we first became friends
he didn

t have any interest in me physically at all—zero. It was why we worked because at the time I couldn

t handle being touched, not by anybody. I wondered what it was, what I did, or said, that changed his mind.

 


It

s complicated,

Vamp said. When he said it, his voice was soft, distant, thoughtful... all of the things that he wasn

t.

We

ve been friends a long time. I didn

t mean for it to happen, just... something changed. I don

t know if she—

 

My hand jerked toward the door like it had a life of its own, and rapped on it three times. The voices stopped.

 

Vamp opened the door and I saw Nix standing near the basement window where flickering electric light trickled in. The room was a cramped box of water-stained dry-wall and yellowed paint. There was a single bunk, a musty, flat mattress laid over a wire spring mesh with only a sheet to cover it up. Across from it a tiny TV sat chained to a stand of peeling fake wood, and to its left a plastic curtain hid the chemical toilet. It hadn

t changed a bit.

 


You two getting along okay?

I asked them.

 


Yes,

Nix said.

I was just asking if—

 


So, you were a housekeeper?

Vamp blurted, tossing me a bottle. I caught it, then twisted the cap off and flicked it back at him. It bounced off his shoulder and skittered across the floor.

 


Hey, watch it,

he said.

I

ll have management send you in here to pick that up.

 

We laughed a little. Not long, but it felt good.

 


Nix, let me see your arm,

I said.

 


It will be fine.

 


Let me see it.

 

He held out the arm and ran one spindly finger down the seam of his sleeve. In response, it split and peeled away like the petals of a flower to expose his forearm. Against the light of the table lamp, I could make out the bones inside. Two of them were broken, splinters lodged in the meat around them.

 


Shit, Nix,

I said, holding the arm carefully and leaning closer.

BOOK: The Burn Zone
8.99Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Lie Still by David Farris
The Shore of Women by Pamela Sargent
The Ram by Erica Crockett
An Uncommon Grace by Serena B. Miller
Beneath the Cracks by LS Sygnet
Negative Image by Vicki Delany
Eternal (Dragon Wars, #2) by Rebecca Royce
Romiette and Julio by Sharon M. Draper
Double Agent by Peter Duffy
Burning Blue by Paul Griffin