Authors: Al Robertson
Soon he’d know for sure.
[ Now we’re talking,] said Fist, pulling Jack out of his reverie.
[ You’re in?]
Fist tittered, irritation all but forgotten in the joy of action.
[Part of the way. Got the basics.]
[So who’s that up ahead?]
[ It is Akhmatov. Looks like he’s asleep.]
[Must have had a hard day’s night.]
For a moment, Jack remembered the best parts of his time with Fist – the sense of vastly more efficient systems grafted on to his own mind, working both with and beyond it to achieve the impossible.
[Getting any info on him?] he asked.
[Some basics. He’s discreet, but not discreet enough. The meat’ll be deeper in. I need to get up close to one of his servers. Second door on the left.]
Fist bounced ahead of Jack as they walked up the corridor. The door was decorated with a particularly complex, tiger-shaped glyph. It was unlocked. Jack tiptoed through, then carefully shut it behind him. All was pitch-black.
[ Right,] said Fist.
And then the lights came on.
Akhmatov was sat behind a large stone desk. He was dressed in a smart white suit. His pale face hovered beneath grey-black hair. There was a tightly trimmed moustache at its centre, sitting above precise, fussy lips. His eyes were masked by round black lenses. He was lighting a cigarette. There were men dressed in black, two to his left, one to his right, and one behind. All four had the same face. There was a leather armchair in front of the desk. The rest of the room was empty.
‘I always thought, Jack,’ said Akhmatov, exhaling smoke, ‘that you had a little more style than this. But then, you have been away from us for rather a long time. And your little man is so easy to fool.’
[Shit,] said Fist. [ This fucking cage.]
‘All these years,’ said Akhmatov. ‘And we finally meet.’
[ Fist,] Jack whispered, [what happened?]
[ He spoofed me.
I TOLD YOU THIS
WAS A FUCKING STUPID IDEA
!]
‘Your little man is less effective than he boasts,’ said Akhmatov. He contemplated the tip of his cigarette for a moment. ‘I’ve force-opened some of your weave channels. The cageware should stop me from doing that, but it seems that somebody’s cut a little hole from inside. Naughty naughty!’
[ He’s overloaded my weaveports,] said Fist. [ The cage is reading it as a potential hack, so I can’t manifest. I’m all locked down, you’re on your own. Run! Don’t let him hurt you!]
[ Bouncers’d be on us straightaway.]
Akhmatov gestured, the cigarette trailing smoke in the air. ‘But where are my manners? You should sit.’
An attendant appeared at Jack’s side and waved him towards the armchair. There was no other choice. Jack let himself subside into it. The faded leather was soft and welcoming. It sighed as Jack sat back, exhaling a fusty reek of cigars and privilege.
‘It’s really just plastic,’ smiled Akhmatov. ‘Rather well programmed, isn’t it?’ The dark glasses gave him the look of an insect.
‘What do you want, Akhmatov?’ said Jack, barely keeping his voice steady.
‘Your return has caused, let us say, quite the stir. In circles that I move in, at least. In fact, I was warned not to receive you. To shut you out, to let your licence run out, to let you die and your puppet take the strings.’ Akhmatov’s smile became a chuckle. ‘Of course I’ve always resented being told what to do. I think you might sympathise with that?’ He leant forward in his chair and inspected Jack. ‘No, I really don’t see it. Jack, there are entities that scare even me. You’ve slept with Grey, you know what I mean. And some of them’ – Akhmatov raised his hand and pointed at him – ‘are mortally afraid of you, and of the little cuckoo in your nest.’ He sat back. ‘No, I don’t understand it either.’
Jack realised that Akhmatov was looking at him expectantly. But there was nothing to say. He shrugged, hoping to at least display some bravado. ‘I really wouldn’t know,’ he said.
‘Still the same old
ingénue
. I watched you, Jack, watched you trying to draw your strings around me, back in the old days. You were very sharp. Of course I was aware of every move you took.’
Jack was at once shocked by Akhmatov’s revelation and surprised to hear real respect in his voice. Memories of the investigation shimmered through him. ‘Perhaps that’s what they’re scared of,’ he replied. ‘I would have had you, Pierre. A month more, maybe two. And your backer too.’
Remembering deep competence helped Jack’s self-control reassert itself. It was surprising how relaxed he felt. He started wondering how he could make use of Akhmatov’s evident interest in him. He had his own abilities to draw on. He’d always been the most forensically precise of Grey’s auditors. That skill set had existed long before Fist had climbed out of his subconscious and into the processing nodes nestled snugly against his spine.
‘Oh no, Jack. You couldn’t have touched us.’
‘Really? We knew that Bjorn Penderville was working for you. We were about to prove that you’d had Aud Yamata kill him. I had most of your network analysed. I knew when your shipments were coming in, how you used sweathead avoidance codes to make them invisible, who your dealers were, how they transferred their profits to you and how you laundered them – even how you paid your suppliers.’
‘Aud Yamata,’ spat Akhmatov. ‘That bitch.’ He took a moment to recover himself. ‘But let’s not get sidetracked. Your investigation was very impressive, but you didn’t have the most important thing.’
‘Yamata’s Pantheon protector? I saw the traces. I would have followed them back and found out who it was. And Harry and I would have shut them down.’
‘And taken down a god. You know, I think that’s something you might have been capable of. You were certainly very good at your job, the best perhaps. Yamata and her master saw you as a very major threat. They wanted you dead. Grey must have fought hard for you, to keep your punishment so light. And Harry – well, you heard how we had to deal with him, in the end.’
Akhmatov slowly and deliberately made a pistol shape with his hand. He pointed a two-fingered nozzle towards Jack. His thumb came down like a hammer.
‘Bang.’
[Shit, Jack. He’s going to kill you.]
‘InSec are watching me. If I die, they’ll want to know how. They’ll find you quickly enough.’
Akhmatov laughed. ‘And once again, Yamata’s patron would steer them away from me. But you’ll be relieved to hear that my hands are tied. I’ve been ordered very specifically not to harm your little man or his future property. There are other plans in place for that little weapon’s special talents.’
[ Well that’s a relief,] said Fist.
[ No it’s not. It’s very worrying.]
‘But when my panthers bite,’ continued Akhmatov. ‘they cut deep into the mind and leave no wounds in the flesh. As you are about to find out.’
[ Ha!] said Fist. [ No physical damage at all!]
[ It’s still going to hurt.]
[ What’s a little pain, Jackie boy? You’ll get through it. Maybe it’ll even teach you to keep out of harm’s way.]
‘I will ravage you and break you, without touching your body at all. And I’ll show my masters that I’ve done so and laugh, and maybe they’ll be that little bit less scared of your puppet, and they’ll respect me just a little bit more, and my life will become that little bit easier.’
Akhmatov made a complex gesture with his left hand. Four matt-black faces turned towards Jack. They started to change. The room shifted with them. Gloom fell, silvered with a luminous moonlit haze. The air was suddenly dense with the scent of rich earth and new growth, with the whispering of a soft breeze through leaves. The moonlight caught at vines and small trees as they grew, reaching up to the empty sky above.
‘Akhmatov? Where are you?’
[ He’s a tricky sod.]
Jack stood up. The chair disappeared. He was standing in a small clearing. Small wild sounds washed over him. Insects scraped at themselves, scratching noisily in the night. Birds leapt into being and started to sing. There was a distant scream. Jack remembered playing with monkeys at Old Earth simulations. When they were frightened they’d open their mouths wide until their gums showed and give a high-pitched yowl. Off to his left small birds whistled with surprise, then whirred up into the sky.
A dark shape that could have been a man moved in the forest. There was a rustling at Jack’s back, a flicker of movement that pulled at the corner of his eye. They were circling him, walking at the edge of the treeline. He saw another one, moving with the fluent grace of a shadow cast on water. As Jack watched, it fell forwards. Its arms shortened, its head changed shape and then its body flowed away from humanity. It landed on four feet and padded out of the light.
[Spooky!] said Fist.
Now the jungle was silent. Jack turned in a full circle, trying to remember where the door had been. Humidity simulators had come online. A soft, sticky breeze touched his face. This was confusion software of a very high order. Jack had no doubt that the four security bots surrounding him were of equal quality. It had once been so natural for the weave to replace the world with visions. Now it felt like a transgression.
[ You can’t do anything at all?] said Jack.
[ The cage is in full panic mode. He knows his stuff.]
Fist sounded almost gleeful. A panther growled behind Jack. He spun round. It was an absence carved from shadow, reminding him of the voids between stars. There was hot breath at his ankle – another cat to his left. This one was lying down. It licked the side of his foot and he leapt away. The panther’s rough tongue left a tingle behind it.
[Shit,] muttered Fist. [ I felt that.]
A third panther was coiled up on a tree branch overhanging the small glade. The fourth would no doubt be behind him. Akhmatov strolled into the clearing, his white suit perfect dress for the jungle. The moonlight caught at his pale clothes and skin, and made them glow. The dark glasses he wore made dead suns of his eyes.
‘You see why I called my club the Panther Czar?’ he said. One of his digital creatures growled. Jack gagged at the bloody reek of its breath. ‘The illusion is far more complete than it was in your day. My guests downstairs are very familiar with these creatures. The panthers wander the club, watching for trouble. They have never been seriously challenged. I wonder how much of a diversion you will provide for them?’
The first of the panthers pounced. Jack felt a heavy weight thud against him. Shards of pain exploded across his right shoulder, his chest, his thigh. He staggered and fell sideways. The panther’s claws stayed in him as he went down, tearing and slicing at his flesh. The illusion was devastatingly painful.
Fist screamed too. [Shitting hell!] he howled. [ I felt that! He’s force-linked our pain receptors!]
[Stop them!]
[ I fucking wish I could!]
There was a flash of sparking cageware. A bright light burnt up then flared out as Fist tried and failed to attack. A spiked paw snatched at Jack’s shoulder, turning him over. Another pushed against the back of his head, forcing his face into the ground. Something tore at his back. He felt flesh lift off bone and he screamed [
GODS!
], mud clotting into his mouth as he did so.
Someone else was screaming too. It was Fist. Bright light exploded again. Nothing changed. Another counterattack had failed. The heavy cat weight lifted off Jack’s back. For seconds the pain was gone. He remembered that he was whole and that all this was illusion. Then the agony crashed back again, the tearing bulk of a panther driving it into him.
[
YOU FUCKER
!] shouted Fist. [
YOU
FUCKING FUCKER! I’D FUCKING HAVE YOU IF I COULD!
]
‘Your boy is caged,’ said Akhmatov, ‘and my cats are hungry. And the night is so young.’
‘Fuck you!’ Jack screamed into the soft night.
The jungle whispered on around his pain.
An hour or so later, Jack was pushed out of the Panther Czar night club. The queue was much longer. He stumbled through the line and into the road, then fell over. Someone swore at him. Another threw an empty drink can. It bounced off his back. He pulled himself to his feet. His movements were stiff and awkward. ‘Fucking drunk,’ shouted a woman.
Jack blinked. His head jerked to left then right until he found her. He swung his whole body round to face her. ‘I’ll break you, you bitch.’ His voice was higher than usual. It had a rasping, semi-formed quality to it. The girl giggled. ‘Don’t you laugh at me. I’ll show you,’ he snarled, lurching towards her. His legs were stiff, barely bending at the knees. One arm swung up to point. ‘I’ll take you offweave and fuck all your data.’
A man stepped protectively in front of her.
‘You just try it, mate.’
‘I will,’ screeched Jack. ‘I’m untouchable!’ He stumbled towards the man, fists raised. Then there were three InSec agents between them, one placating the girl and her partner, the other two holding Jack.
‘What do you think you’re doing? They insulted me! Me!’
One of the policemen slipped a pair of handcuffs around Jack’s wrists, securing them behind him. Then the other started to walk him toward a police flyer, parked on the other side of the street. Jack’s face reset itself, moving from anger to shocked surprise. It was as if it only had a few very specific expressions to choose from.
‘What is this? Where are you taking me? I know my rights! Don’t you know who you’re fucking with?’
When they reached the flyer, there was a brief scuffle. Jack broke away from the policemen. His expression changed sharply to show manic happiness. He started off down the pavement, running in an
awkward, stiff-legged way. His pursuers were much quicker.
One of them tackled him and he crashed awkwardly to
the floor. A gash on his cheek oozed blood. It
dripped on to his clothes, but he didn’t notice.
This time, he didn’t put up a struggle when they reached the car. The door clunked shut behind him. The two policemen climbed into the flyer’s front seats. The lift-off was rapid. There was someone sitting next to him. His head turned quickly, then jolted suddenly to a halt. His eyes snapped closed and back open. His face was blank.
‘Hello, Hugo,’ said Lieutenant Corazon. ‘I can’t think how many laws you’re breaking by taking Jack for a walk like this.’
‘I’m not Hugo. I’m Jack.’
‘Don’t take the piss, Hugo. You’ll only make it worse for yourself.’
‘I had to do it.’
Jack’s voice – or rather, Fist’s – had something of a wheedle to it.
‘You’re riding him. It’s illegal under Station law, and outside the terms of both your installation licence and usage agreements.’
‘They were torturing him. He passed out!’
‘Was there reason to believe that his life was in danger?’
There was a silence. All went dark as the flyer passed into the Wart.
‘I said, did you believe his life was at risk?’
‘No.’
‘You broke into the Panther Czar night club, and entered Akhmatov’s private office space. His security systems contacted us and informed us that a breach was in progress. We had an alert from your cageware, too.’
‘I told him not to break in there!’
‘That doesn’t make any difference.’
‘We were investigating a crime. Akhmatov’s a crook.’
‘He is. But in this case it’s you two that were breaking the law.’
‘Akhmatov’s software nearly killed us.’
‘Knowing what he’s capable of, I think you both got off rather lightly.’
‘What brings you meddling, anyway? I could have got him home.’
There was suddenly a wide grin stretched across Jack’s face. Fist had switched expressions, in the hope of placating Corazon. The insincerity of it shook her.
‘Lestak’s tagged you both. The incident report came in, she was alerted and she asked me to deal with it.’
‘Can’t you just drop us back at the hotel?’
‘We have to be assured that the proper relationship between you and Jack has been restored before we can release you. You’ll be spending the night in the cells, under observation.’
Jack’s smile spread a little wider. ‘So we just sit back and relax? And wait for the doctors to check us out tomorrow?’
‘More or less, yes. And you need to shut down.’
‘Do I? I’m rather enjoying this.’ Fist had Jack stretch his arms out in front of him. He twisted his hands, then curled and uncurled his fingers. It was like watching a machine run through initialisation tests. ‘I love having a body. I like being a real boy.’
‘What you’re doing now is illegal. Shut off, or we’ll be forced to take punitive action against you when we touch down.’
‘You know, I thought you’d be much more fun,’ grumbled Fist in an accusing tone. Then he was gone. It was as if invisible strings had been severed. Jack’s arms fell into his lap. His head slumped back, eyeballs rolling up into their sockets. He slipped sideways and fell against the flyer window. The jolt set the cut on his cheek bleeding again. As Lieutenant Corazon reached over to close his eyes, red smeared itself across her uniform. She shrugged, then nudged her weave settings so that the mark became invisible.
Hours later, when Jack came round, a microdrone was watching him. It was a very basic one, taking the form of a small silver ball with a flashing blue light mounted on top of it. A moustache was painted above a tiny black hole. There were no eyes. ‘Are you awake?’ it asked.
Jack sat up, saying nothing. His stiff muscles creaked and his joints felt wooden. Fist was nowhere to be felt. The microdrone moved in towards him. Its voice became a little louder and a little deeper. ‘I said, are you awake?’ Jack wondered who’d written its respect/intimidation protocols. It emitted a low whine, presumably meant to make him imagine that a tiny taser was powering up. He supposed that he was meant to be scared. He chuckled, remembering battles in deep space, and found himself surprised at the sound of his own laughter. It had been a long time since he’d heard it.
‘Yes, I am,’ he replied.
The whining stopped. A small slot opened in the ceiling and the microdrone shot through it. Jack wondered who it had gone to warn. He stood up and grimaced. It was as if he could feel every single bone grinding against its brothers. The thought reminded him of his last conscious moment. He’d been lying face down. His back had been entirely stripped of flesh. One of the cats was laid out next to him, biting at something soft and wet and red. The second was licking blood from his thigh, every so often nicking his skin with a sharp tooth. He could feel the breath of the third on the back of his neck, the series of soft tugs as it ran an exploratory claw down the white ladder of his vertebrae. Then Hugo had taken charge and the world had vanished.
Jack filled the sink with water and splashed his face. Its cold touch was so honest and kind and real. Fist was still dormant, exhausted by the effort of possessing Jack. It wouldn’t last for much longer, but for the moment the peace was blissful.
The cell door hissed behind him.
‘You know Jack, I was going to call you. And thank you.’ It was Lieutenant Corazon. ‘For rescuing Ifor.’
‘Doing InSec’s job for you.’
‘That’s fair enough. But then you screwed things up.’
‘Doing your job for you, again.’
‘You were breaking and entering. Like a common sweathead.’
‘Investigating. Something you should be doing.’
‘Investigating what, Jack? What are you trying to prove?’
‘Akhmatov confirmed what I told you.’
‘That one of the Pantheon’s smuggling sweat? Oh, Jack. Let it be.’
‘And that I was sent out-system and Harry was moved to another department because we got too close to it. Two years later Harry reopened the case and was killed.’ Jack stopped himself from mentioning Andrea’s murder too. ‘That’s several crimes for the price of one. And now they’re after Fist. They’re going to wait till I’ve gone then seize him and use him.’
‘That’s impossible, Jack. The Pantheon doesn’t work like that.’
‘Check for yourself. Go back to the Bjorn Penderville murder. Read our reports. And if that’s too much work, ask yourself why Aud Yamata wasn’t arrested and the Panther Czar’s never been shut down.’
Corazon sat down on the small bed in the corner of the cell. There was a look of deep sympathy on her face.
‘You’ve read what happened one way. And I really understand why you might be angry with the Pantheon, why you need to find reasons for Grey sending you away. But I’m sure that won’t be the only story that explains things.’
‘You’re not doing your job, Corazon. All of this is real and you can’t even see it, because you can’t imagine the Pantheon doing anything wrong.’
‘It’s a fantasy, Jack.’
‘It’s crime that needs investigation.’
‘Look, Jack, I understand how tough it was for you out there. I think even Lestak was shocked, once she had some time to think. I realise how little I know about the Soft War. I’ve started researching it. And I’m sorry that you have so little time left, that would make anyone bitter. But pretending that one of the Pantheon is out to get you – that’s just not what they do, Jack. They’re on our side, they work for us.’
‘I’ve fought their wars for them, Corazon. I know what makes them tick. They’re just like war machines. They want power and they want to hang on to it. If you get in their way, you’re fucked. And that’s it.’
‘Oh, Jack. You served the Pantheon well once – and now this.’
Jack felt exhausted. Limbs clacked at the back of his mind. Fist was beginning to stir.
‘Anyway,’ said Corazon, ‘I haven’t come here to argue about your past. Akhmatov’s not pressing charges. He knows your situation. He said he understands that it’s not easy for you.’
‘He’s not pressing charges because he’s been ordered not to. He went too far, and he’s been reined back in.’
‘Oh, for gods’ sake! For once in his life he’s showing some decency. Be thankful for that, at least.’
‘A known criminal does something completely out of character and you don’t even ask why? It’s like I said. They want Fist undamaged, so he’s had orders not to touch us.’
‘The Pantheon are watching Fist, Jack. Nobody will be able to seize him and use him.’
Jack sighed in defeat, suddenly feeling exhausted. ‘A god will,’ he said quietly.
Corazon stood up and moved towards the door. It opened at her touch. Jack expected her to just leave, but she turned back towards him.
‘I talked to Fist.’
‘When he was riding me?’
‘Yes. He can’t be an easy person to live with.’
‘He’s built to perform a specific role. That doesn’t make him very social.’
‘What’s it like – when he takes over? Where do you go?’
Jack sighed. ‘I wasn’t really there.’ He sat down on the bed, looking for words; wondering why he felt the need to answer Corazon’s question. Looking up, he saw deep concern on her face. It infuriated him. ‘But why are you worried about it? For gods’ sake look back over the evidence, you’ll see I’m right. You wanted to be a journalist once. Imagine you’ve found something that could be the biggest story of your life. Act like an investigator, not some fucking counsellor. Find out why they sent me away back then. Find out how they’re going to use Fist now.’
‘OK, Jack. I’ll take a look at the files. But remember that that means I’m helping you – and you don’t get to abuse me for that.’
The door hissed shut behind her.