The Burn Zone (15 page)

My fourth impression was that I
’
d never dressed after my shower the night before, and was still stark naked.

“
Do you always just gate into people
’
s private rooms?
”
I asked.

“
No.
”

His presence in my head trickled through to another part of my brain, maybe on purpose and maybe not, and my face flushed. As I looked into the intense pink of his
eyes, the twin ribbed crescents inside his skull shifted. Two smaller masses on either side pulled back, the network of veins around them engorging slightly above his brow. In spite of myself, I was getting turned on.

“
All right,
”
I said, trying to ignore the sudden pang below my waist.
“
That
’
s enough.
Out of my head.
”

He retreated immediately.

“
Those are for surrogate bonding,
”
I said. My lips felt warm when I licked them.
“
They
’
re not for you.
”

“
I understand.
”

“
Who are you? Are you armed?
”

“
My name is Nix.
”

“
Are you armed?
”

“
No.
”
He stayed motionless, with his hands still up. I kept the gun on him as I approached.

“
Open your jacket,
”
I said. He did, spreading the material apart so I could see.

“
What
’
s that in the pocket?
”

“
My tablet.
”

“
Let
’
s see it.
”

He reached into his coat and removed a slim metallic device whose screen appeared as a mirrored, metal surface. It was an Escher Field tablet. The screen was a small gate field that led to a larger storage area.

“
How do I know you don
’
t have a gun or something in there?
”
I asked. He swiped the screen casually with one finger, and the metallic screen crackled, then disappeared. He handed the tablet to me.

I took it, and looked inside. Through the field I could see a gap of impossible space above a series of hexagonal compartments. Each one was several inches deep and big enough to reach into. All of them were empty.

When I put my hand in front of the screen, the field expanded and jumped forward a little. I smiled as I swiped across it with one finger, and the compartments on the
other side scrolled past. Some were full, but I didn
’
t get a good look before I stopped the sweep and tried to backtrack.

“
Pretty slick,
”
I said, admiring the gadget. Come Phase Five, I was getting one for sure.

“
Thank you,
”
he said.
“
Though I think you would not like it if I held you at gunpoint and searched through your things.
”

“
I think you would not like it if I gated into your room without asking.
”
I collapsed the field and held the device up between my thumb and fingers.
“
No one asked you to come here.
”

“
That is false.
”
I tossed him the tablet, and he caught it. He stowed the device back in his coat, then lowered his hands by his sides.

“
What
’
s that supposed to mean?
”
I asked.

“
You came to Shangzho last night,
”
he said.

“
So?
”

“
You made a strange claim. Then you indicated you needed help.
”

Right.
With everything else, I
’
d forgotten about that.

“
And they sent you?
”

“
Yes.
”

I struggled to remember what I
’
d said and what, if anything, I knew about haan interactions with human security.
“
Does security know you
’
re here?
”

“
My capacity here is not official.
”

“
So they don
’
t know?
”

“
They do not.
”

I thought about it, still not sure this was a good idea. I didn
’
t like the way he
’
d tracked me down like that. He
’
d known right where I was, and if he could find me, so could someone else.

“
I think I might be okay,
”
I said carefully.
“
Just... forget I said anything.
”

“
Forget?
”

“
Security took him
…
You don
’
t have any pull with
that. I don
’
t need your help.
”

His voice box clicked,
then
began to flicker as a different voice, my voice, came out of it.

“
Look, I need help, okay?
”
I heard myself say.
“
Soldiers took my guardian. They tried to kill me. I can
’
t—
“
It
clicked again, like static, and my
voice continued.
“
I know you could help me. I know you could. If you wanted to you could—
“

“
Look, I wasn
’
t thinking straight last night. I don
’
t think you can really do anything about this,
”
I said, talking over my own voice. He clicked again.

“
One of them was a haan,
”
I heard myself whisper.
“
She was pretending to be a human—
”

I started to say something back, but stopped. His pupils rotated as he watched me.

“
She sent you?
”
I asked him.
“
The female from Shangzho last night?
”

“
Yes.
”

“
Why you?
Who are you?
”

“
I was obtained from the axial hive in Shangzho to look into this incident.
”

“
What, at random?
”

“
Not exactly.
Do you—
”

“
Who was she?
The one who took my surrogate?
”

“
Her name is Ava,
”
he said.
“
She is transitioning to become the new haan female.
”

“
Yeah, well, she
’
s got the rack for it.
”

“
What made you think one of your attackers was haan?
”
he said, ignoring me.
“
What did she look like?
”

“
She wore military combat armor,
”
I said.
“
Her face was covered by a dispersion mask. She looked human. But I picked her up,
”
I said, tapping my forehead.
“
Strong.
She was haan.
”

“
You
’
re certain?
”

“
Yes.
”

“
And you are certain this haan was female?
”

“
Yeah.
”
I rubbed my forehead, gun still pointing at the floor, and sighed.
“
Okay. You
’
re already in. Have a seat if you want.
”

“
No, thank you.
”

He entered the room,
then
extended his hand and I shook it. The skin of his hand felt smooth and cool against my palm.

“
I am Nix,
”
he said.

“
I
’
m Sam.
”

“
I know.
”

He took his hand back and looked around the room, pupils revolving as he turned his head robotically. He followed the stuff scattered across the floor until he found my feet, then followed all the way up until he finally met my eye again.
“
You are naked.
”

“
I see they sent over their top investigator,
”
I said, tossing the gun down onto the mattress and turning around to grab my clothes off the curtain rod.

“
What caused the lacerations?
”
he asked.

“
I got thrown out a window.
”
His brains twitched, like he wasn
’
t sure if I was serious.
“
No, really, look ... you can see it from here.
”

He stepped closer and followed my finger to the shattered glass hole in the side of my apartment complex. By the light of day it looked even worse, and my stomach dropped a little when I followed the path I
’
d fallen. It was a long, long drop.

“
The haan threw me.
”

“
The female haan tried to kill you?
”

“
Yeah.
”

“
I do not think a haan would have the strength to throw even a small human with such force.
”

“
She had on combat armor.
”
I held the smoke between my teeth as I slipped one leg into my pants, squinting as smoke burned one eye.
“
Look, if you asked me yesterday I wouldn
’
t have bought it either.
”

I pulled my pants up and cinched the belt. They were still a little damp, but wearable. The same went for the tank top. I pulled it down over my head and snapped the waist tight to my hard stomach and smoothed the material down over my ribs.
“
So, are you here to help me or what?
”

“
Help you?
”

“
Find Dragan.
Find my guardian. The haan and the other soldiers took him last night. Are you here to help me find him?
”

“
No.
”

I frowned, picking up the stunner and pistol and stuffing one in each front pocket.
“
Then no offense, Nix, but why are you here?
”

“
I was obtained to investigate the potential involvement of a haan in the attack.
”