Diamond Eyes (40 page)

‘Oh?’ Ben got out, not swiftly enough for Duet, who was already striding towards the administration building. Ben dodged the gaggle of elderly bus passengers still unloading and ducked a shortcut between rows of stalls filled with hand-made baskets, jewellery, toys and pottery. ‘So where are we going?’

‘That’s all need-to-know, and you don’t need to know yet, buddy.’

‘Hold it!’ Ben grabbed Duet’s arm, pulling him around, but Duet blocked and deflected his hand with military precision.

‘Don’t touch me again, pal, or I’ll put you on the ground.’

Ben raised both hands and backed off. ‘I just want to know what’s going on. I came here to help the docs with Mira, and now you tell me that we have to go somewhere else. Where to — their hotel?’

‘Sorry, I can’t gab with a civilian. You’ll have to wait.’

‘I’m not going anywhere else with you until I know what’s going on,’ Ben argued. ‘Mira’s expecting me to visit her
here
so far as I know.’

‘Miss Chambers is coming with us.’

‘She’s
what?
Does Matron Sanchez know? Did she give permission?’

‘Hey, don’t take my word for it.’ Duet headed for the door marked
Reception.
‘Ask her yourself.’

‘Ben!’ Mira shouted from the doorway.

He glanced up to see her waiting there in a pale blue-and-white polka-dot dress and sunglasses. She had a walking cane that she lifted as an extension of her wave.

‘You’re late,’ she called. ‘Is everything okay?’

‘I’m not sure.’ He jogged to meet her, ahead of Duet. ‘Where’s Matron Sanchez?’

‘In her office, on the phone. She was expecting Doctor Zhou by now, so she called him. You’ll never guess — they’re taking us to his hotel! Isn’t that exciting? I’m going out again! And look! They’re letting me wear shoes, bra and a dress!’

She tugged the white bra-strap up so he could see it, and he chuckled. The rockabilly dress was so old it was back in fashion.

‘Yes, Mira. That’s great news, and you look lovely.’

She blushed and toyed with the fullness of the skirt. ‘Do you really think so?’

Duet muttered a curse under his breath.

‘Stand still, Mira. I need you to meet someone. This is John Duet. He’s going to be our driver.’

‘Miss Chambers.’ Duet nodded, but Mira extended her hand for him to shake.

‘She’s blind,’ Ben explained. ‘It’s up to you to take it.’

‘Blind, hey?’ He shook her hand curtly. ‘Seems very confident on her feet. And how did she know we were coming?’

‘I heard your argument, and I’m not deaf, so you can speak directly to me you know.’

Ben chuckled. ‘I think we’d better see Matron Sanchez before we go.’

‘She’s coming now,’ Mira said just as Sanchez rounded the corner. Both her tall and short heels had soft rubber soles today and her footsteps were almost silent, even as she drew nearer. She handed a small slip of red paper to Ben.

‘You could hear that?’ Duet asked Mira.

‘You have no idea,’ Ben said, stashing the day pass in his pocket. He glanced at Mira, wishing he could share a wink with her. ‘She can probably tell which brand of toothpaste you use — or not — from this distance.’

‘Mira is a very special young lady,’ Sanchez agreed. ‘She therefore has very special needs. Ben knows all the details, so you’ll need to listen to him and do precisely as he asks, when he asks it, especially when it comes to touching her. Hands off unless he says it’s okay. And make sure they’re both back safely by five-thirty. Is that clear?’

Duet nodded. ‘The plan is to have her back by five, ma’am.’

‘Don’t we need to sign in as visitors?’ Ben asked.
I need to speak with you!
he signed to Sanchez.

‘Forget it,’ Sanchez said, asking
Why?
with her hands. ‘I can sign her out for a day, just like a day pass.’

‘Oh, thanks.’
Her poet trees are gone!

What?

Burned! I saw them!

‘Hey, what’s with the hand signals?’ asked Duet. ‘She’s blind, right?’

‘Hand signals?’ asked Mira.

‘Nothing, honey. My poor hand needs regular flexing.’ Sanchez spun on Duet with the ferocity of a tornado. ‘And
you,
Mr Duet! Mind your tongue and your own business!’

‘Trying to, ma’am. But our business is elsewhere.’

‘Then don’t let me hold you up.’
Sorry,
she signed to Ben.
I did try to stop them.
‘Just take good care of her. Understand?’

‘Don’t worry,’ Ben said. ‘I’ll bring her back safely this time if it kills me.’

*     *     *

‘… if it kills me.’

Freddie hid in the garden, listening to the final whisper of that echo as it dissipated over the soft end of the sound barrier. Again he could have shouted a warning, but again he stayed silent. Mira needed to learn for herself how dangerous it was out there, or else she would only keep trying to escape.

And one small dose of disaster should be enough.

He consoled himself that this time, the role of culprit would not fall upon him. This time, he had a different game to play — a game in which he could finally play the hero.

‘M
ake way!’ Freddie shouted as he streaked out of the staff change room with a pair of trousers in one hand, a woman’s skirt in the other, and red French knickers on his head.

Ged Stevens tried to run after him, but tripped while pulling on his trousers. Steffi Nagle appeared, clutching a jacket around her hips, with Narelle Ramsey not far behind, buttoning her blouse.

‘Come back here right now!’ Nagle shouted. ‘Before I give you a better reason to run!’

Freddie turned and laughed. ‘This’ll teach you for not letting me join in! Power to the people!’ He paused to dance a jig. ‘I’ll run these up the flagpole to show your true colours!’

He bolted around the corner of the administration building, past Phoebe and Joan, who were fighting over a Taser glove they’d found in the rubbish. Distracted by them, he ran into the back of Ben Chiron, knocking him into Mira and like dominoes, they fell together.

Scrambling to get off them, Freddie’s knee struck Ben again, knocking the wind from him. Ben grunted in pain, Mira struggled under their weight and a stranger hauled Freddie back to his feet.

‘What’s going on here?’ the stranger demanded. He wrenched Freddie backwards and restrained him with one arm twisted roughly behind his back. ‘Who are you?’

Ben’s face contorted with pain, but he staggered to his feet, more concerned with helping Mira.

‘Sorry, Ben!’ Freddie shouted. ‘Let go of me, you dumb Nietzschean! I’d never hurt
them
on purpose.’ He twisted free, and as he dodged around the stranger, he spotted Mira’s walking cane on the ground beside her and realised it could provide her position in relation to the front gate — and worse: the GPS could be tracked by anyone who knew how to do it. Same went for the button-shaped electronic key that logged her movements throughout the centre. He could see it peeking out from her collar.

He snatched both away from her and used the cane as a bat to smash a home run with the key. ‘You can’t leave!’ he shouted, ignoring the hail of complaints as he snapped the cane. ‘Death’s waiting for you!’

‘But I’ve already been to the mainland,’ Mira said as Ben lifted her back to her feet. ‘Ben gave me these,’ she tapped her sunglasses, ‘and now sunlight doesn’t hurt me anymore.’

‘Hurt as much,’ Freddie argued. ‘You’re too used to pain to —’

Ged Stevens came running around the corner, followed by Steffi Nagle, who’d recovered the skirt that Freddie now realised he’d dropped.

‘Got to go!’ he said, dodging Ben to snatch Mira’s sunglasses. ‘Yoink!’ he laughed, making off with them. ‘You’ll thank me!’

‘Hey!’ Mira slapped both hands over her eyes and turned away from the piercing sun.

‘Trust your senses, Mira! Not any Nietzschean tools that make you dependent on them!’

He snapped her sunglasses too, discarding the fragments as he bolted through the crowd waving his other trophies.

Trembling, her face turned to Ben’s chest, Mira clamped both hands tightly over her eyes to shield them against the fierce morning sunlight. ‘I’m not afraid,’ she whispered repeatedly.

‘Give her yours,’ Ben ordered.

‘My what?’ asked Duet. ‘I can hardly hear her.’

‘Shades, man! Isn’t it obvious? She’s in pain from the glare!’

‘You told me she was blind.’

‘Just do it, okay?’

‘They’re prescription! I need them to drive.’

‘Look, pal, do you want to spend the rest of the day here arguing? Or do you want to loan her your sunglasses and let me drive? It won’t be far. We can pick up a replacement set as soon as we hit the mainland.’

Duet sighed. Mira guessed he was handing over the glasses. She straightened, keeping both hands over her clenched eyes until she felt Ben position the glasses gently against her face.

‘How’s that?’ he asked.

Cautiously, she opened her eyes. ‘Everything’s clearer! Different, but clearer.’

‘They’re supposed to be clear,’ Duet grumbled. ‘They correct for myopia. But how can you be blind and still tell that?’

‘Because the murky purplish-brown isn’t so murky anymore — it’s slightly more purple.’

‘Oh, of course,’ he said sarcastically. ‘Why wasn’t that obvious?’

A strong hand grabbed Mira’s arm roughly.

‘Back off,’ Ben warned, keeping hold of her. ‘If Mira needs time, she gets time.’

‘I’m never late for nobody!’

‘Take a pill,’ Mira snapped. ‘I
am
hurrying.’ She touched her watch to check the time but discovered the face was broken and when she pressed the side button, it didn’t respond.

‘I’ll get you another one when we get back,’ Ben said as he took it from her. He helped her pick up the pace towards the gate. ‘What changed?’ he asked. ‘I’m sure the docs will be keen to hear that prescription shades make a difference.’

She pointed back towards the administration building. ‘At first, the lawn was empty except for a man on a rider-mower, and now there are ghosts everywhere. They’re all busy building things — long rectangular metal frames with tables inside. They’re not sheds, though … I’ve never seen anything like them. They’re kind of rickety frames. And over there, two men in overalls are pulling a big sheet of plastic over the top to make walls and a roof for one row of them.’ She pointed to her left and heard Ben click his tongue.

‘All brown, I expect, but any patterns?’

‘All different … stars and diagonal stripes. That one has a big heart on the side.’

Ben whistled. ‘That’s exactly right!’

‘It’s a miracle,’ Duet muttered. ‘I don’t know what kind of scam you’re trying to pull on the docs, but first chance I get, I’m warning them.’

‘Go ahead,’ Ben said. ‘They’re just as keen to get to the truth behind Mira’s peculiarities as we are.’

Peculiarities?
Mira stumbled back a step, feeling saddened and weak.
Ben thinks I’m a freak!

She cringed all the way to the van and halfway to the mainland. Alone in the back of the van, behind Ben who’d taken the driver’s seat, she kept her head down for fear that he might have to look at her deformed face in the rear-vision mirror. For a long time, nobody spoke.

‘There’s a pharmacy,’ Duet announced finally.

She could imagine him pointing, keen to get his prescription glasses back from the circus freak. She sensed the vehicle brake and veer left, off the road. Ben cut the engine and she heard his door open.

‘Wait here,’ he said.

Mira assumed he’d meant only her, but Duet stayed too. After a long awkward silence, she took off the glasses and handed them to him.

‘You might as well take them. I can’t use them in a car. It’s too scary.’

‘Is that so?’

‘Have you ever been for a ride on a roller coaster?’

‘Not lately.’

His clothes rustled and the van rocked, as if he was shifting over to the driver’s seat.

‘Well, maybe you can imagine riding one that’s invisible. That’s what driving’s like for me.’

‘That’s nice.’

‘I’m trying to tell you it isn’t!’

‘Seriously, ma’am, I couldn’t care less. My only concern is how to get you two across town in seven minutes. Meanwhile, your boyfriend’s off on a spending spree and I’m stuck out here babysitting.’

‘I’m not a baby and he’s not my boyfriend. Sometimes I’m not even sure he really likes me.’

‘Whatever; it’s no business of mine.’

Another long awkward silence followed, then his clothes rustled, his seat squeaked, and a small gust of air touched her cheek. Mira flinched.

‘Not so blind after all, hey?’

‘I am so!’

‘Then how did you know exactly when to dodge my fist?''

Your fist? I thought you’d leaned so close it was your breath! Why would you try to hit me?’

‘I didn’t.’ He chuckled meanly. ‘You can’t smell the difference between a fist and fresh breath?’

‘That wasn’t your breath. You’re just nasty.’

She unbuckled her seatbelt and fumbled to find the door handle to get away from him.

‘Where do you think you’re going?’

‘To find Ben, away from you! Either suits me!’

He chuckled again as she struggled to work the latch. It wouldn’t respond and she panicked, punching the window.

‘Meet driver’s control. Nobody gets in or out unless I say so. Now buckle up; we’re leaving.’

‘No!’ Mira’s pulse raced. Her hands clenched into fists to smash the window, but she knew the consequences of losing her temper now. She concentrated painfully hard to stay calm. ‘Let me out! Please, I have to stay with Ben!’

She dragged her fists down the back of his seat.

‘Yeah, take a pill. It’s under control.’

He started the engine and the van lurched into gear.

‘Stop!’ She pictured herself grabbing his head, biting his ear and gouging his eyes to force him to hit the brakes. ‘Ben told us to stay here!’

The van swerved faster around a corner. She gripped the seat, squeezing and fighting so hard not to do the same to his head. Her nails dug into the vinyl, her hands trembling, but she knew she had to do it. She reached out for his neck.