Chapter Fifteen
What Lies Beneath
Nightsky's Doss
Tacoma Seattle
November 5, 2059
6:45 am
A distant beeping woke Nightsky from his sleep. It took the better part of a minute to convince himself that the beeping was real and not just some hallucination of his exhausted mind. It took another minute of fumbling around before he located the source of the sound.
The wristphone. He flipped up the tiny screen and let it set on the edge of the bed. Hector's face appeared on the video pickup. The older man made a slight frown. That's when Nightsky realized that the position of the phone probably gave the fixer an interesting view of the adept's left nostril.
"Hector? It feels early. Too early."
"There's a situation."
Nightsky groaned and rolled over. He made a halfhearted attempt at burying himself in the bed sheets. The last thing he wanted to hear about this morning was another job offer. The team had just finished a big run against the Laken Retreat. Now the credsticks were full and the body was tired. It was time to lay back for a while.
"Nightsky?"
"I don't care. I'm beat. Find someone else."
"This isn't about a job."
That caused a few brain cells to perk up. There was no logical reason for Hector to call if it wasn't about a job. Something had to be wrong.
"This is important."
"What happening?"
"Is this a clean line?"
He nodded.
"I got a tip off that Findler was at the party last night. I didn't invite him because I didn't trust him enough. The only reason he was in with the last run was because Lenny needed the extra muscle."
"Then how did he get in?"
"He said that Smiley invited him, but that doesn't scan. Findler gave Smiley too much credit. Might be just chumming up, but it doesn't set right with me. Smiley's the kind of guy that doesn't care one way or the other."
Nightsky rubbed his eyes. All of it was a little much to absorb when only half his brain was working. "Can you tell it to me straight, Hector?"
The fixer gave a serious expression. "Findler's a tap." He said blankly. "I put a tag on him last night. He made some drops to an empty mailbox on the Matrix."
Nightsky's eyes widened at that. Definitely not good news. Hector meant that Findler was acting as an informant. Probably for some official body like the Federal Bureau of Investigation or Lone Star. He could sell out the whole team and Hector too.
"I hope to drek that you're joking."
"I wish I was."
"Who is he working for?"
"Probably LS."
"I should probably disappear for a while."
"Not yet."
"Huh?"
"I've already had the mailbox trashed. Whoever he was passing information to won't be getting it. If my sources are right Findler's working deep. . That's the only way to explain why I didn't pick up on it before. It also means that there's time, but not much. I've got Tart digging up dirt and jamming his telecom lines, but I can't keep that up for long. I've also called up Riggs and a few other chummers of yours. I want you to pick Findler up, take him to the place in the Barrens, and find out what he knows. Call me back once you've got something. Then we'll know if anyone needs to get out of Seattle for a while."
"Why talk to me about this? I'm no good at the sort of thing. Why don't you talk to Lenny?"
"Lenny and Shard are out of town. You're the only one who's got he smarts. Riggs doesn't have it. I definitely wouldn't ask Smiley to handle something this delicate by himself."
Nightsky groaned. "So ka, Hector."
"I want to make sure you understand what I'm asking you to do."
"I get it, pick up Findler and find out what he knows."
"Correction, find out everything by any means necessary." He had a certain malice in his voice. "If it is true you know what has to be done."
Nightsky bit his lip. Yeah, he knows what has to be done.
"Time is very important."
"I'm on it now."
The fixer nodded. Then cut the connection.
This was not a good thing to wake up to in the morning. Nightsky stretched, feeling the ache of confined muscles. He hopped out of bed. There was no time to grab a shower or breakfast. Nightsky collected his things in a few minutes. He was careful not to wake Alona on his way out.
St. Ives Memorial Hospital
Calrucha, Azltan
7:30 am
The sound of heart monitors and IV drips filled the stale, sterile air. Nurses and orderlies hurried down the hallways on their morning rounds. Their squeaky shoes echoed on the freshly buffed floors.
Shard didn't like hospitals. There were depressing. Plus she had spent the better part of a month in one earlier this year. Laying in the same bed for three weeks would drive anyone bonkers. It was harder on Shard because she was magically active. She sensed the strong emotions that bred in places like hospitals in a level that no mundane could understand.
As Shard and Lenny approached the Intensive Care Unit she felt tempted to peer into the astral plane. It took all of her will not to. The variety of emotions and feelings made the ICU a torrent place. The range of emotions was what made it overwhelming. It is like feeling intense joy and deepest loss all at the same time.
A nurse at the front desk managed to tear her eyes away from the monitors to ask what they wanted. Lenny produced a small card that identified himself using the persona Hector had created. The nurse directed them to the proper room without a second glance.
When he stepped into the room Lenny hardly recognized the young woman he had once known. He remembered Haiku was always a strong, active person with big, shiny eyes. Cybereyes. Haiku's cybereyes were slightly too big for her face. When they were opened she looked like an old japanese anime cartoon. Now they were tightly shut. She was smart, creative, and a complete genius when it working with fine details. And one hell of a chess player. That stuck in his mind more than anything. Last year the two of them had spent an entire night playing the game. She bested him more often than he liked to admit.
That did not look like the same Haiku laying on the hospital bed. Tubes and wires ran from her frail body. Her skin, once a deep brown, was a sickly yellow. Bags pumped medication and blood into her veins. A machine beeped harmoniously at her bedside. At first Lenny did not know what to do. He was didn't want to touch her for fear of causing the poor woman more pain. He didn't want to speak because he didn't know if she could hear him. It took a prod from Shard to get him to take a seat by the bedside. He was careful disturb any of the tubes or wires.
"Haiku? Can you hear me?" He asked softy. "It's me, Lenny. Do you remember me?"
Haiku stirred. The heart monitor beeped a little faster. Her almond eyes started to open, but only a little. Just a slit to let the light in.
"Hi there." Lenny forced a smile on his face. "Looks like you've seen better days."
"Lenny.....?" Her voice was so soft Lenny nearly missed it. Her lips barely moved.
"Yes, it's me."
Haiku's eyes squinted shut. Obviously from great pain.
Shard, who had been standing by the door, took her hand. The mage's grasp was warm and comforting as she hummed gentle song. At first Haiku was surprised that she could feel the touch. Then she felt the gentle caress of the mage's talent and welcomed it with open arms.
Haiku's eyes opened a little wider. It took her a moment to gather the strength to speak. "Did Hector send you two to remind me that I shouldn't have come south?"
Lenny tilted his head. At first he was unsure what she meant, but concluded that Haiku\ had probably taken a contract out of Seattle despite the fixer's suggestion that she stay in town. It made sense. Hector can make more nuyen when he has more runners in Seattle.
"Hector sent us, but I didn't come for that." Shard said. She brushed an unruly hair from Haiku's brow.
"What happened to you?" Lenny asked.
Haiku swallowed. It was a laborious effort for her. "You just want to hear how bad I messed up. Can't you tell my looking?"
"We came here to help."
"I'm sure. I can see you, Lenny. I know what's going through your head."
Shard tightened her grip on her hand. The warmth of the embrace grew slightly. "We didn't come her to remind you of your failure. Please tell us what happened."
She swallowed again. This time it seemed easier for her. "What do you know?"
"Hector didn't tell us anything."
She huffed. "Typical."
Lenny leaned forward. "Haiku?"
"There was a Johnson contracting in Seattle and California." She began to explain. "I never met him. Everything was handled through the Matrix. Hector gave us the advance himself. Abbott and I flew to El Paso where we met two others. A shaman, Perch, and a rigger, Austin."
Lenny noticed that she said the rigger's name with disgust.
"Abbot and I were muscle. Perch knew some special kind of magic. Austin handled transportation. In El Paso we got a message over the Matrix from Mr. Johnson. We were going after something called the Orb of Voices that was in some backwaters temple in Azltan." She paused just long enough to catch her breath. "Everything was going fine. We made it to the temple. We got the Orb. Then things turned sour."
"What happened?"
"We stirred up something when we moved the Orb. Vines were coming to life, the wind was picking up, it was weird. Perch told us to run so we ran. We were heading to the pick up zone where Austin was waiting with a copter. Halfway there Abbott freaked out. He kept screaming something about letting people go. I don't know what it was. A spell, maybe, but not like some of ones I've seen used. It was different. It's like it was in his head.
"Abbott couldn't take it. He opened up with his rifle, shooting everything in sight. Perch caught a burst. Then Abbott turned the gun on himself. I carried Perch back to the LZ. I didn't know if she was alive or dead."
"Austin brought the copter in. There was something about him though. I didn't pick up on it because I was worried about Perch. I didn't even see it coming." Haiku's eyes glanced at her chest were a large bandage was. "He shot me, took the Orb, and left us for dead."
"You made it here." Lenny tried to make that sound like a good thing.
"Yes, I made it here." If cybereyes could cry, Haiku would be crying now. "Thanks to DocWagon, a lot of patience, and a swift stream."
It suddenly occurred to Lenny that Haiku had not moved her arms or legs. He knew why now. The shot Austin had given her had probably shattered her spine.
"I guess you can go back and tell Hector now. Tell him how bad I fragged up. The job is hosed, I'm hosed, the whole team is hosed."
"It isn't your fault." Shard said.
"Yes it is." Haiku countered. "I should've picked up on Austin. Maybe then Perch and Abbott would still be alive and we would have the Orb."
"We'll find Austin for you."
"Don't lie to me, Lenny. You're know good at it. Hector doesn't care what happens to Austin. He wants to know why the job was hosed."
"The reason he sent us down here was to find out what happened to you."
"You believed him? Please, Lenny." Haiku almost laughed. "You're smarter than that. Don't let Hector's warm words and slick smile fool you too. You and I both know why he sent you down here. You and I both know he's not as noble as he seems."
Lenny didn't say anything to that. By staying silent he neither agreed or disagreed with her. Though, deep down in that part of her soul that didn't trust anyone, he knew she was right.
"Do me one favor, though. Get Austin. Do that and I can pass happy."
"You don't have to worry about that." Lenny spared a glance at Shard. "And you don't have to worry about passing."
"Worry? I don't worry. It would be a gift for me. I embrace it."
"No, we're here now. You don't have to embrace anything." Lenny glanced at Shard and gave her a nod, but the elfish mage was hesitant. Her hesitation earned a quizzical look from Lenny.
"I can't do anything." She admitted. "It's been too long. It's too unnatural."
Lenny frowned, hoping that Haiku hadn't heard that. Shard's magic couldn't help. It was strange to think that even magic had limitations. There wasn't anything they could do to help her.
"You can't lie to me, Lenny." Haiku took a deep breath. "I know what you are thinking. Just leave me here."
"I can't do that."
"I was like this before you came. I'll be like this when you leave."
"I wish there was something we could do."
"There is. You can find Austin and put an end to it. Then come back and tell me. I will hang on till then."
"I can't leave you like this, though."
"Yes you can."
Lenny stood. Haiku still lay motionless on the bed. He knew that she had probably used all of her strength just to talk with him. It hard to pull away now. Leaving her alone seemed like a worse fate, but she was right. There was nothing they could do for her now.
At least, not here.