It Sometimes Snows In May: A B.E.A.N. Police Novella (11 page)

“Do you know who I am?” Elisa asks.

“Yes, I do. And by this time tomorrow, so well everyone on the planet,” Ryles says. She looks to Zota. “Tie the them up.” Ryles tosses Zota a pair of strip binders. Zota catches them both and and begins to cuff Aalin and Elisa to the vehicle.

“What are you doing?” Elisa says.

“You tried to kill me.” Zota says. “I guess I was some kind of bastard. Ryles levels the submachine gun at Elisa on cue.

“You weren’t always like that,” Elisa says.

“You’re either crazy or stupid.” Aalin feels the fresh blood on the side of his face as he steadies himself onto his knees. “You’re not really going to kill a
dulcet
, a congresswoman?”

Ryles hits Aalin again with the submachine gun, knocking him unconscious. She turns her attention back on Elisa. Elisa eyes begins to dart about, and tear up. “I’m pregnant!” Elisa blurts out.

“What?” Zota says.

“That’s a good one,” Ryles says.

“It’s yours,” Elisa says to Zota.

“She’s playing you, again,” Ryles says.

“You’d choose your whore over your own child,” Elisa asks Zota.

“I don’t believe you,” Zota says. “Give me the ware, and I’ll disappear, like you wanted me to in the first place. We’ll call it even.”

“Scan me,” Elisa says, looking at Ryles.

Ryles flips on her shades, which shows a thermographic image of Elisa. The view zooms in lower, and a secondary body, pulses fasts, and is white in color.

“She’s definitely knocked up,” Ryles says.

“But is it mine?” Zota asks.

“I’m not a whore,” Elisa says.

“I’m not a killer,” Zota says, “but here we are.”

Blue and red lights flash against Elisa vehicle. Ryles turns around in the opposite direction. “You’d better wrap this up. We’ve got company.” Zota see a barrage of blue and red flickering in the distance.

“Let me keep the ware, and I’ll tell you who’s it is,” Elisa says. “If you don’t believe me.”

Zota moves in closer, and stares into Elisa’s eyes. They are red and vacant. “I don’t know how, but we may have a problem,” Zota says to Ryles. “The ware somehow infected her.”

“So we take her with us, until you can sort it out, but we gotta go..now!” Ryles says.

“Are you kidding? We’ll have the whole of New Mass looking for us, not to mention Morefishco,” Zota said.

“You got a better idea?” Ryles asks.

“The State of New Mass will hunt you down like a stray dog,” Ryles says.

“I’ve got a much better idea,” Zota says. “D-M, shutdown code one-eight-november.” Ryles eyes immediately rollback white in her head and she collapses into Zota’s arms. Zota lays Elisa gently on the ground. He then grabs her left wrist with the embedded media interface and twist it until it pops off.

“Crap!” Ryles said. “You did it.”

“Now let’s go get paid,” Zota says, placing Elisa detached writs in his pocket.

“Thirty percent,” Ryles says.

“I thought it was twenty,” Zota says.

“Ryles bounds over the side of the bridge. Zota follows Ryles over, and down into the night.

THE END