The Burn Zone (34 page)

I didn
’
t want to care about secret haan gates, pre-Impact conspiracy theories, or bomb-toting nut jobs. I didn
’
t want to care about refugees or gonzos or SIPS. I just wanted to live with Dragan, earn enough to pay my way, get enough to eat, and have enough left over to stay in smokes, shine, and double cross. Was that too much to ask?

The streamers waved, like long ghostly tentacles that reached out over the crowd. Apparently, this year anyway, it was.

“
Jiangshi,
”
a voice said. I turned and saw kid with a wooden pole slung over one bony shoulder. Festival masks hung from the pole by their string ties.

“
No, thanks,
”
I said, but before he even got his mouth open to haggle me down, I changed my mind.
“
Actually you know what, that
’
s perfect.
”

He beamed as I picked the closest one, and then he held out the credit reader. I wiped my card over it, letting Kang pick up the tab.

“
Thanks,
”
I said. He made a cute little bow and scampered off into the crowd until all I could see was the pole, jutting up over their heads and tracing his path like a wobbly paper periscope.

I slipped the mask on, hiding my face, and tied it snugly in place. The GPS pointed left, down a narrow side street, and I squeezed through the flow of foot traffic to pass in front of a set of headlights. The guy in the two-seater honked its anemic horn and muttered something at me through the glass as I made my way down the uneven sidewalk where grit and flakes of scrap plastic from the float construction had accumulated. Up ahead was the sign for the Rukou Bar, blazing red neon against the drab concrete.

Something crept along a power line overhead as I wove through a crowd that lingered outside along the street, drinking and smoking. No one was manning the door, so I pushed it open and went inside.

The bar was packed way over capacity, four to each table along the wall to my right and a row of sweaty backs all the way down the bar to my left. I made my way between them, squinting through the thin haze of smoke. Over the drunken babble around me, I heard someone call out from the direction of the bar and saw a tall man back there with a do-rag plastered over his brown, bald head. He pointed at me, scowling, but stopped when someone whistled. Kang was sitting a few tables down, the only one by himself. He signaled to the bartender, who nodded and went back to what he was doing.

Kang had a fogged glass in front of him where whiskey formed a moat around a big ball of nitrogen-chilled crystal, and the ashtray was filled with ash. In front of the empty chair across from him was a shot of something clear sitting on a wrinkled cocktail napkin. I hopped up on the empty stool and he gave me a faint smile.

“
Nice mask.
”

“
It
’
s my cover,
”
I said, pulling it back so that it sat on top of my head. The hanging streamers still covered most of m
y
face like thick white hair. Kang nodded at the shot.

“
T
ake it,
”
he said.
“
You
’
ll need it.
”

I drank it. Whatever it was, it went down like drain cleaner.
“
Gonzo, Kang.
You trying
to kill me?
”

“
Quit kidding around,
”
he said.
“
This is serious.
”

“
Yeah, I got thrown out a window, Kang. Believe me, I get it,
”
I said. Kang sighed and shook a black cigarette out of a squashed pack. He offered me one, and I took it.
“
So, what do you need to talk to me about?
”

“
Dragan
’
s not in any of the detention centers,
”
he said, lighting his smoke,
then
holding out the lighter to me. He watched my face as I puffed mine alight.
“
You don
’
t look surprised.
”

“
I thought you might lie,
”
I said, sucking in smoke.

“
I wish I was lying.
”

“
So where is he?
”
I asked, watching his face.

He looked nervous.
“
Not anywhere easy to get to.
”

“
Shiliuyuán
Station?
”
I asked, and I saw his eyes widen, just for a second.

“
There is no more
Shiliuyuán
Station.
”

“
The haan have him, don
’
t they?
”
I asked.

He wiped sweat from his forehead and drained his glass. His hand shook a little as he put it back down and took another drag off his cigarette.
“
All I know is after she took him at the apartment, she—
”

“
How did you know it was a she?
”
I asked, but even before the look in his eye changed, I
’
d already put it together.

“
I
’
m sorry,
”
his wife had told me when I called.
“
Jake is out on assignment.
”

“
Is he on the security sweep?
”

“
No, I don
’
t think he is....
”

“
You were there,
”
I said.

He looked down into his empty glass for a minute, and I noticed then how tired and red his eyes were. He watched fog drift around the stone, and nodded.

“
Yeah,
”
he said.
“
I was there.
”

“
You were the third soldier.
”

He nodded again, and I slapped him across the face so hard it knocked the cigarette out of his mouth in a cloud of embers. The people around us turned to look. Some of them laughed.

“
It wasn
’
t supposed to happen like that,
”
he said evenly.

“
How was it supposed to happen, Kang? Huh? How was it supposed to happen?
”

“
It was just supposed to be an arrest,
”
he said, and his eyes looked haunted right then. He ran one hand over the stubble on his face.
“
He wasn
’
t supposed to get hurt, and I never thought she
’
d ...
”

He trailed off.

“
When I saw you go through the window ...,
”
he said, and shook his head.
“
I knew you only had a few seconds. She provided us with free-floating gate tech for the duration of the mission ... so while she was busy with Dragan I went to the balcony and managed to catch you with the graviton field,
then
drop you through to our exit point. It was the best I could do.
”

“
That was the best you could do?
”

“
Hey, I saved your life.
”

“
You fucking sold us out, Kang!
”

“
I know that,
”
he hissed.
“
Do you think I don
’
t know that? I had to!
”

“
You had to?
”

“
Yes.
”
He waved his hand, and I could see he was pretty drunk.
“
There
’
s ... too much at stake.
”

“
Your wife drafted the adoption papers
...
How
could you do it?
”

He didn
’
t have a good answer for that, and there was only so much satisfaction I could take from watching him squirm.

“
Does she know?
”
I asked him.

“
Look,
”
he said.
“
You might think you have some idea of what
’
s going on, but you don
’
t.
”

“
He
’
s not a goddamned—
”

“
I know.
”

“
It
’
s the kid, isn
’
t it? He
’
s got the weapon.
”

He nodded.
“
Yeah, it
’
s the Drugov kid.
”

“
Why?
”

He raised his eyebrows raised a little, surprised, even while the crazy fear still brewed in his drunken eyes.

“
Why? Why would she
—
”

“
I don
’
t know what she
’
s getting out of it, and I don
’
t want to,
”
Kang said.
“
All I know is there are
people
who want the Pan-Slavs out of the picture for good and she delivered. After she rigged him and let him go home, he was supposed to stay there and burn the PSE, eighty-seven percent of the landmass pushing east from an ignition point inside Kostroma.
”

“
Eighty-seven percent?
”

He stared, gritting his teeth and not speaking for a moment.

“
A pandemic,
”
he said finally. He looked scared now.
“
An accident.
Nobody
’
s fault.
The haan would step in and fix things, like they always said they would.
”

I couldn
’
t believe what I was hearing. I mean, if I was to be honest, I
’
d thought it before, especially lately, but thinking about it was one thing. Doing it was something totally different.

“
But why risk it?
”
I asked.
“
Why would she want to destroy them so bad?
”

“
She doesn
’
t,
”
Kang spat.
“
She doesn
’
t give any more of a shit about the PSE than she does us.
”

“
Then why?
”

“
Deals are made, kid. We see new tech appear, new benefits, better standards of living, but behind closed doors, deals are made.
”

“
What kinds of deals?
”

“
I don
’
t know!
”
he snapped.
“
I don
’
t know who approached her first, but whatever she was promised, she
went for it. If this gets out, it will be bad for
everybody, but if we can just set things right, set things back on course, it will be okay. No one has to know.
”