Murder of Crows (Book One of The Icarus Trilogy) (14 page)

“They’re just like us,” he heard his brother say from his side.  He looked down to see the boy in his orange shirt with just a splash of red below the ribcage.  All the guilt he felt for the last game was replaced by a new wave of guilt from his other crime.

“You need to shut up,” Cortes said as he looked away.

“They’re family, just like us.”

“They’re different,” he said, unable to stop talking with this fabrication to his side.  He looked down at his delusion to see the young boy looking at the spot of red.  The young boy looked back.

“The feelings are the same.”  Cortes let the tears fall freely this time.  There was no one to keep him from feeling anymore.

“I didn’t mean to.  It was an accident,” Cortes said before looking at his younger brother.  The hallucination looked down and then back up.

“I know, but you did.  You can’t take it back.”  Cortes looked away and could not escape his self-loathing.  It was his constant companion.

“I love you, Sam.”

“I know, Hector.  I know.”  Cortes looked down to get another glance at his brother but the hallucination had gone.  He cursed his mind and walked to the doorway.  The Spaniard struck his hand against the frame as he walked by.  He heard a crack and felt the pain in his knuckles.  Cortes looked at his hand as it started to swell.  He shook his head and walked down the hallway towards his room.  He laid in his bed and tried to sleep.  Hector Cortes cried as he remembered his family.

Abrams woke from her slumber and could feel the light coming through the windows.  It was at least twenty minutes before the morning alarms and she had some more time to curl up if she wanted to.  Instead she let the sheets fall from her as she sat up on the bed.  She looked to her left to see Norris sleeping soundly.  She wondered as she always did why she chose him.  Most of the time he annoyed her, but there was something about him that drew her attention.  It wasn’t attraction.  Abrams actually disliked his looks and behavior.  She sighed at herself in disgust as she remembered why. 

He just didn’t care; the dirty, dark asteroid didn’t hinder his joy or his life.  The Englishman used to be different but the personality he showed to all of them now was the true Norris.  There wasn’t any going back to the shy, sweet man he used to be.  Abrams thought about whether she would still sleep with him if he was still that sweet kid who had to kill people every once in a while; if he was still the same guy who nervously smiled at her with a set of crooked teeth.  She shook her head as she walked to her clothes.  That man in her memory was even less appealing.

She slid the shirt over her head and picked up the khakis around her waist.  Abrams looked at the sociopath on the bed still snoring and hated herself for giving him any pleasure.  She walked out of the door with fifteen minutes left before the morning alarms.

As she walked down the hallway she peered in some of the windows of the individual rooms to see the occupants inside.  The only one who had survived was that coward Cortes. 
Fucker got me with that grenade
, she thought.  She passed by his room and saw his face was swollen and covered in cuts and bruises. 
Someone must have gotten to him first.

She walked past Roth’s room and saw that the kid was moaning in his sleep.  The first death was usually the worst, but she couldn’t see the new soldier going places.  The soldier with the dirty blond hair would probably get traded away within the next few weeks. 
He doesn’t belong with us
, she thought as she looked into the young man’s room.  His eyes were closed but his mouth was open in agony. 
This’ll be just one of many
.

She continued walking down the hallway and felt a familiar cramp. 
Oh, goddamnit, really?
she thought as she realized her new body was primed for another menstrual cycle. 
Why can’t they just get rid of this shit? 
She hurried to her room to try to find a leftover tampon from the last time she had to get them.  They weren’t exactly commonplace on Eris.

She entered her room and went to her desk.  As she tried to rummage around one of the drawers she could see the photo of her sister and their trip to Australia.  In the photo the gladiator had her arm wrapped tightly around Rebecca while the younger girl had her eyes shut.  The image usually made her smile but she was more distracted by her current need.  She found the box for the tampons and was momentarily elated before she realized there was nothing left inside.  She sighed heavily and threw the box into her trash can.

“Last thing I need is to deal with that fucker.”

-

Goldstein sat by himself in the mess hall.  He didn’t mind that.  The rank and file around him kept him at a distance which allowed him to feel superior.  During his stay on Eris all he really wanted was some free time to call his own.  It allowed him to keep track of all the debts and accounts of the soldiers and support staff.  The merchant saw Roberts walk by and thought about getting the weekly shipment of painkillers into circulation.  Goldstein hated the boy’s situation and the part he played in it, but he appreciated the soldier’s addiction.  It was one of the biggest sources of income for the merchant.  The only thing more lucrative was the side-betting from the support staff. 

As Goldstein poked at his breakfast absent-mindedly he saw Feldman walking by and tried to figure out what the giant might need.  So far the titan had neglected to use Goldstein’s services, but to a businessman that just meant the big guy was an untapped market.  The merchant failed to consider that Feldman would not associate with him; he failed to see why the giant might not want for anything.

Goldstein continued to eat his breakfast and was trying to think of new ways to manufacture debts when he saw Abrams approaching him.  He never could tell what she wanted until she asked him, so most of the time that meant he had to keep a larger inventory.  Goldstein felt that was a bit of an inconvenience but it just provided more of an opportunity.  She sat down across from him while he was eating his home fries.

“Never too late to practice safe sex, Abrams,” he said, trying to push her buttons.  When she was flustered she didn’t tend to barter.  That was always a good development for the merchant.

“No reason to start, jackass.  I need tampons,” she said, staring at him while rubbing her forehead with her fingers.

“That time of month, eh?  Shame they don’t get rid of that for ya here.  Anyway, why don’t you just go to medical?  You’ve never asked for ‘em before,” he stated.  He didn’t really carry tampons.  The rest of his clientele were of the opposite persuasion and it would look awkward if any of the higher ups found that kind of stuff in his room.

“Oddly enough you’re less of a pain in the ass.  Hawkins or Kane would probably make me go through a bunch of tests and a lot of other bullshit.  Last time I was in there was just a little too much.  With you I just have to pay and I’m guessing you’ll stay quiet and not tell stories to the other boys,” she said while wiping the sleep from her eyes.

“Why would I do that?” he asked.  He liked giving her a rough time.  It was his form of friendship with all the soldiers.

“Because that’s your business, ass,” she said curtly.  He laughed at that.  He always appreciated her kind of behavior in a woman.  It gave him hope that he might find someone like her for himself.  She would have to be prettier than Abrams, of course; maybe just a little more top-heavy.  He shook his thoughts from his fantasy girl and brought his wits back to the business at hand.

“Fair enough.  I’m guessing you need ‘em pretty soon?” he asked.

“Like five minutes ago,” Abrams replied while pursing her lips.  He looked at the clock on the wall and sighed.  The scientist wasn’t supposed to deliver for another hour.

“Well, I’ll see what I can do.  Gimme a minute,” he said before getting up to leave towards his room.  He turned his back to Abrams and didn’t really care what she did after that.  Goldstein walked down the hall and entered into his room, finding himself looking at the false floor underneath his bed.  He wondered for a moment if he did have some tampons down in there, but he pushed the thought from his mind.  The merchant grabbed the communicator from his drawer and keyed in the number for his contact in the clinic.  It rang four times before he heard the man’s voice on the other end.  Goldstein took mental inventory and then spoke to his supplier.

“When you bring that shipment of pills go and grab me a box of tampons… Nope, it’s for a nosebleed, stop being a dumbass and just bring ‘em with…  I’ll let her know.  If you can be here a little sooner I’d appreciate it,” he said as he clicked off the communicator.  The merchant wrote down a few scribbles onto his notepad and started off back to the mess hall.  He was gone for only a few minutes; nothing too suspicious about it.  None of the watchers would really know he was the king of the black market unless they were in on it.  Goldstein smiled to himself as he made his way back to his tray.

To his surprise Abrams was still sitting across from his seat.  She had a tray of food, at least, but it was still something that Goldstein thought was pretty inconvenient.  He sat himself down and gave her a glare of annoyance.

“You know how it works, Abrams.  There are plenty of other seats.  I can always come over to you, instead,” he said, trying to lay the subtext on easy enough for the woman to comprehend.  She didn’t even look at him or stop eating.

“I know how you work, Goldstein, but I don’t much care.  I want to know if you can deliver,” she said between bites of sausage.  He sighed as he watched her eat; he had always found the act of eating somewhat disgusting.  It almost made him not want to eat any of the food he’d left for himself.

“It’s currently en route.  Can you pay?” he asked before grabbing his fork and poking at his own links of sausage.  It wasn’t kosher, but neither was he.  He’d left all those traditions behind him with his family on Zion.  He never much cared to keep either of them.

“I can, but you need to tell me how much,” she said before looking him in the eye.

“Seventy-Five,” he said while returning her gaze.  She coughed as her food went down the wrong pipe.  She cleared her throat after a second spasm and drank some water before speaking again.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Price of convenience, hon,” he said while looking away from her.  They were starting to attract attention from the other soldiers and that was not something he wanted to continue.  He could notice Roberts looking at him questioningly.  He probably just wanted to know when his fix would come in.  Goldstein felt a pang to his conscience, but he kept it hidden.

“The price is pretty damn inconvenient.  You know they’re just thirty at the clinic,” Abrams said as she set her glass back down onto the table.  He looked at her and shrugged.

“Yeah, but mine don’t come with tests or any experimentation by Hawkins.  I can imagine he’s quite interested in you,” he said, noticing the slight shudder rippling through her body at the man’s name.  Even if he had never laid a hand on the woman it was quite the natural reaction.  Hawkins was a moral disaster and nobody liked waking up to see him tapping on displays.  That’s probably why Dr. Kane got hired in the first place.  Goldstein looked at the soldier’s reaction and figured that Abrams had a more intimate experience with the madman.

“Ugh, fine, I’ll get you the money when you get me the damned things,” she said as she picked up her tray to join the other soldiers.

“Always a pleasure, my dear.  Should be here within thirty minutes or so,” Goldstein said as she departed.  He made a mental note to actually charge her eighty when she came to pick them up.  The woman was quite desperate.  He could use that.

-

Jenkins watched as Abrams and Goldstein chatted at the other table.  He wondered what the two could possibly talk about when he noticed that Roberts was looking at the pair, as well.  That got him to look around more and soon enough he noticed three or four of the soldiers stealing glances at the two.  Corrigan and a pair of men Jenkins had never spoken to were watching the middle-aged slave soldier.  Jenkins wondered what was so important that it could gather all of their attention.  He leaned over to Feldman on his left and nudged him a bit.

“You need something?”

“Yeah, do you know what they’re talking about?” Jenkins asked while watching the two.  Goldstein got up to leave but left his tray there.  He exited the hall while Abrams just sat there looking after him.

“Probably business,” Feldman said after glancing at the two.  The giant did what he could to ignore Goldstein’s operation; he thought it was reprehensible how the man sold nostalgia for a profit.

“What kind of business?” Jenkins asked as he saw Abrams approach the food line and assemble a meal for herself.

“Anything that Goldstein would want to sell,” Feldman said before stuffing his mouth with food.  Jenkins looked at him with his brow furrowed but then turned back to watch Abrams sit back down across from Goldstein’s tray.  He was still trying to figure out what Feldman meant when he heard Roberts’ voice from across the table.

“He’s in charge of the black market here, Jenkins,” the boy soldier said while looking anxiously towards the entrance of the mess hall.  Jenkins looked at his compatriot and suddenly the entire exchange at the other table made sense.

“What kind of black market?” he asked Roberts.  Jenkins didn’t think Feldman would entertain the question.  The giant was preoccupied with ignoring him.

“Anything you want.  I think the only thing he can’t get a hold of would be ordinance.  If you ever need anything you just need to go to Goldstein,” Roberts said with a small amount of distress in his voice.  He anxiously looked over to the other table to see Goldstein sitting back down to negotiations.  Roberts tried not to catch the man’s eye, but he could tell that the merchant regarded him with some annoyance.  The boy soldier was already in debt up to his ears but he didn’t want Goldstein to charge even more for his medicine, especially when he was about to ask for an advance.  The boy soldier went back to looking at his food while he ate; Goldstein would be alone soon enough.  He would just have to bear with the pain in his bones.