Artificial Absolutes (Jane Colt Book 1) (21 page)

Fedora sat down beside him and looked sullenly at Jane’s untouched drink.

Eaglewing shrugged. “Meh, plenty of stars in the night.”

“True that.” Fedora picked up his beer.

Eaglewing picked up his own and clinked glasses with his pal.

Jane walked down a grimy corridor lined with bars, whorehouses, and other hives of debauchery. Her brother kept her close, glaring at any drunk who glanced at her the wrong way. One particularly rude man got a threatening gun in the face.

Devin kept the gun in his hand after the man stumbled off. “Now will you tell me why you’re dressed like this?”

“It’s my Hellfire Furis costume. That’s how I got past the bouncer bot: I went into the club as a performer.” Jane described how she’d looked for a back way into the club and seen Van Dinh slapping an unconscious girl while yelling at his assistant to find him another. “I went to tell him to stop hitting her, and he asked if I wanted a job. I saw my way in, so I said ‘sure’ and nicked Mandi’s outfit. We sang all my favorites.” She smiled as she recalled the joy of being able to, just for a moment, forget the craziness of the past few days.

Devin’s expression relaxed. “Had fun?”

“It was awesome. Okay, your turn. How’d
you
get in?”

“They mistook me for someone else and let me through.”

Jane narrowed her eyes. “Do you really expect me to believe that?”
I don’t get what’s so secret about conning your way into a club.

Devin stopped at one of the doors that led to the float’s public transportation system. He opened his bag and dropped the gun inside, then grabbed a card and swiped it against a square scanner. The doors parted, revealing a box-like transport.

Devin stepped inside. “C’mon.” He punched a code into the control panel. “Hold onto something.”

Jane entered and grabbed a handrail. The doors closed. She was about to ask how he knew his way around so well when the transport zoomed forward. She forgot her question as she clung to the bar, struggling to remain upright.

A few dizzying turns and a terrifyingly long drop later, the transport stopped.

Jane kept her grip on the handrail as the doors opened. The ground seemed to sway beneath her. Her head ached as if someone had jammed a pole through her forehead, and her face tingled with cold.
Ugh. This is no time to be motion sick.

She stepped out of the transport. A group of Wrath Guards stood at the end of the corridor.

One of them pointed at Devin. “Hey, there he is!”

Devin pushed Jane back into the transport as the Wrath Guards fired, along with the float’s internal defense guns. He reached into his bag and grabbed the odd spherical device she’d seen previously.

She covered her ears as a high-pitched electric squeal ripped through the air. An invisible force knocked her into the back wall of the transport. The lights cut out.

A few seconds later, a neon green luminance broke the blackness. Devin had a glow-torch, a cylindrical light powered by phosphorescent chemicals. He pulled Jane into the corner behind him. She pressed her back against the wall, unable to see anything but the vague green light.

A series of unusually loud and sharp
bangs
rang out. Each shot seemed to jam a new pole into her head. She squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn’t tell which shots were fired by the thugs and which by her brother. A minute later, she heard shouts from the corridor, followed by the sound of running.

“Jane, let’s go.”

Jane opened her eyes. “What was that?”

Devin stepped out of the transport. “I could see them, they couldn’t see me, and they were smart enough to run.”

She stood. “That’s not what I meant! What was that blast?”

“Portable electromagnetic pulse bomb. Knocked out power to the whole sector, and probably some of the neighboring ones.” He walked briskly down the corridor.

Jane rushed to catch up. “Where the hell did you get something like that?”

“Had it on me.”

“You expect me to believe you happened to be carrying it around in your freaking
office bag
? Liar! Why can’t you just tell me?”

Devin stopped at an intersection, swept his glow-torch, and proceeded down the corridor to the right. “Let me know if you hear anyone coming. Looks like Madam Wrath put a hit out on me. Either she has a hell of a grudge over the trouble I caused last time, or No Name’s pretending to be her. Do you remember anything specific about the warehouse?”

“Only that there were a bunch of machine bits around. Wait, you’ve been
here before?” Jane was more annoyed than frustrated when Devin didn’t respond.
Guess I should be used to it. Jerk!

Under ordinary circumstances, she would have harangued him about keeping secrets from her when she told him everything. Walking down a dark corridor while keeping an eye out for armed thugs hardly counted as ordinary circumstances, so she kept her rant to herself.

She jogged to keep up with Devin’s hurried pace. Each step took more effort than the one before. Her aching head felt strangely heavy.
What’s with me? It’s just a little speed-walking! I’m probably sleep-deprived and dehydrated.

A pair of wide metal doors stood at the end of the corridor. They looked eerie and supernatural in green light, reminding Jane of gateways to the underworld she’d seen in fantasy holodramas.

Devin stopped and opened his bag. He pulled out a small handgun, the kind that used bullets. His bomb must have disabled all machines, including laser guns.

No wonder those shots were so piercing.

He handed her the glow-torch. “I picked up some supplies while you were partying. Aim the light at the door.”

“Okay.” Jane held the light steady as Devin regarded the crack between the two doors. He fired first at the bottom, then at three points in the middle, then at the top.

After flicking the gun’s safety switch, he dropped the weapon in his bag. “All right, we should be able to pry it open. This warehouse is the only one not controlled by the arms dealers, so I figured the machines would be here. I hope I’m right.”

He pulled at one of the doors. His unsolicited explanation had raised more questions for Jane than it had answered.
How does he know that? Aren’t arms dealers super-secretive?
The thought of finding the machines and maybe Adam kept her from asking.

Jane put the glow-torch under her chin so she could have both hands free to help Devin with the door. Straining her arms sharpened the pain on her forearm from where the chemical had splashed.

Something snapped. The door slid open. Jane stumbled backward. She dropped the glow-torch as she grabbed her brother for support.
Adam’s gotta be in there.

She snatched the light and slipped through the opening. All she could see in the mostly empty warehouse were a few boxes and a bunch of robots, most of which lay in pieces. In the center, isolated from the rest, sat two familiar machines, deactivated, with their appendages and wheels folded. Jane wanted to grab Devin’s gun and blast them to hell.

Then she noticed what they guarded: a box about the size of a coffin attached to a complex-looking cylindrical-shaped machine. Her heart jumped, and she ran to it.

The box’s control panels were dark. A set of thick cords wound around its center. Jane grabbed one and tugged with all her strength.

Devin pulled out the handgun. “Back up.”

He crouched by the box and fired at the cords. The bullet tore through them, chopping them in half. Jane shoved the glow-torch at him. Cold air blasted her face as she ripped off the lid.

Inside, Adam lay with his eyes closed. Several round pads adhered to his face, connected to wires radiating from his head. Needles protruded from his neck and arms, attached to opaque tubes snaking into the box’s walls.

Chapter 12

Time to Go

J
ane wanted to yank those
creepy needles away from Adam, but for all she knew, doing so could make his comatose state permanent. She had no idea how a stasis box worked. Did blowing the power mess with whatever kept him suspended? Clueless, she examined the box’s machinery.
How the hell am I supposed to wake him?

“Jane!”

Jane looked over at Devin, who opened one of the other boxes in the warehouse.

Devin went through the box’s contents. “Jam the door with something.”

“But—”

“Your friend’s drugged.” He moved to the next box. “The power could return any second and trap us here.”

Jane tore herself from Adam’s side. She searched the darkness for something she could use. Her gaze fell on a headless, cube-shaped robot body. She heard a
bang
and whirled. Devin aimed the handgun at one of the warehouse’s internal defense guns and fired again.

Good idea
.

Jane pushed back the sleeves of her too-big jacket, shoved the machine body toward the warehouse’s double doors, and rammed it into the gap.

The lights came back on, making everything insanely bright. A deafening alarm shrieked.

A quick series of blasts. Jane spun frantically. Devin aimed his laser gun at a pile of deep blue machinery.

He reached into the pile and grabbed something. “They reactivated.”

Jane wished she’d had her chance at revenge even though the machines were only instruments. “Should’ve been me.”

Devin shot something beside her. “Fucking machines!”

He blasted the other robots, taking them out with a deadly precision that reminded Jane of all her questions. After he finished, he approached and gave her the handgun. “In case things get ugly. There are only ten shots left, so don’t use it unless you must.”

Jane took the weapon, cold and small, yet frightening in its power.

“Jane?” Adam sat in the box, blinking. He held his head with one hand.

“
Adam
!” Jane rushed over and threw her arms around him, relieved that he was able to wake up after all.

“Good to see you too, but why are you armed?”

“Yikes, forgot I had this.” She stuffed the gun into her pocket. “Holy
shit
, Adam,
are you okay
?”

“Yes, just… confused.” Adam brushed his light brown hair to the side, peeled one of the pads off his forehead, and examined it with bewilderment.

“You won’t believe what—”

The sound of blasts interrupted her.

Devin shot out the door, aiming high. “Hey! I’m glad you lovebirds are reunited, but it’s time to
go
.”

Jane’s mouth fell open. “We are
not
lovebirds!”

Crack.

The force of the doors crushed the machine body holding them open.

Jane hurriedly helped Adam remove the rest of the pads and tubes. Adam winced as she tugged the needles out of his arms. When she finished, she stood so quickly that black dots splattered across her vision. She started toward her brother, then noticed Adam still in the box. He clutched his forearms with his hands.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I don’t know.” Adam took her outreached hand and pulled himself up. “I’m… hallucinating or something. What happened to me?”

Jane didn’t get a chance to answer. A blinding light and a high-pitched squeal inundated her senses. Her head seemed to split in half, and she had the bizarre desire to chop it off and be done with the pain.

Devin regretted using the flash grenade as soon as he’d thrown it. He’d only had the one, and seventeen levels separated him from the Stargazer. About a dozen Wrath Guards had run straight at him. Despite his instinct to rush in firing, he couldn’t have taken them all. They currently lay unconscious on the floor, but they wouldn’t stay out for long. He’d destroyed the internal defenses in the corridor. The coast was clear.

He turned around. “Jane! Adam!”

Jane held her head with both hands, her mouth open as though screaming in silence.

Devin took a step toward her. “Jane, what—”

“
Warn me next time
!” Jane yelled.

Crack
. The machine body between the doors crumpled.

“Let’s
go
!” Devin watched the corridor, weapon raised in case more Wrath Guards showed up.

Jane climbed onto the machine body and slipped out, giving him a furious glare. She looked back. “Adam!”

Devin turned. Adam stood still, clutching his arms.
“Adam
!”

Adam snapped to attention. “Sorry.” He ran to the doors and started to climb onto the machine body, then froze.

“
Move
!” Devin yelled.

Adam blinked rapidly. “Sorry.” He climbed out.

Crack.

Devin jumped onto the machine body and into the corridor. The doors slammed shut behind him.

He glared at Adam. “What the
hell
was that?”

Adam gave him a helpless, apologetic look. “I’m sorry… I—I didn’t mean to…”

Devin put his hand in his pocket to make sure the computer chip he’d taken from one of the machines was still there. It was.

Adam leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

Jane approached him worriedly. “How long were you out?”

“No idea.” Adam opened his eyes. “The last thing I remember was entering my dorm room. I feel like… I’m losing control of my limbs or something…”

Definitely drugged.

The float’s internal defenses fired around the corner.
Too many—can’t destroy them without getting hit.
Devin looked up and found the vent leading to the utility conduits.

Jane followed his gaze. “Not more conduits.”

“Get back.” He blasted around the vent’s edges until it fell, leaving a square hole in the ceiling. The gun clanged as he tossed it up. He jumped, grabbed the opening’s edge, and pulled himself in. His head brushed against the metal ceiling. Cold air breezed past him.

Crouching, he surveyed the dark conduit.
Nothing unusual.
He reached down, grabbed Jane’s wrists, and hauled her up.

“Give Adam a hand. I have to figure this place out.” Devin approached the control panel a few yards away. Dozens of switches greeted him, labeled with letters and numbers. He ran through his memories, trying to recall the float’s layout—and which switch would turn on the lights.

Adam looked up the hole where the vent had been. “Say, Jane? I know it’s a bad time to ask, seeing as we’re running for our lives and all, but… what’s going on? It’s not every day I wake up in a box to the sound of guns going off.”

Jane lay on her stomach. “You were kidnapped. I went to your dorm and saw this deep blue robot carrying you out the window. That was… about three days ago.” She reached down, grabbed Adam’s wrists, and bit her lip as she pulled.

Adam grabbed the edge of the conduit. “Wait… what?”

Jane let go of him, sat up, and held out a hand. Adam took it, and she grabbed his wrist with her other hand.

“No one would believe me.” She sounded strained as she leaned back, hauling him up by one arm. “They said you’d gone on a retreat and couldn’t be reached because of religious isolation.”

Adam pressed his elbows into the conduit floor and pushed himself up. “That was… clever.”

AN-50N—that’s it.
Devin flipped the switch with that label. A line of green lights flickered on above him. “C’mon.”

Jane crawled behind him. “Adam, can I just say those stupid Via retreats are full of shit! Who the hell goes and cuts themselves off from the world so no one even knows when they’ve been
kidnapped
?
It’s the most
idiotic
thing I’ve ever heard of!”

Adam followed her. “That’s not very nice. Isolation is paramount to—”

“
Don’t
! Do you have
any idea
how many times I got that freaking line? Your cultish Via programs are downright
stupid
!”

“Again, not very nice.”

Jane stopped and faced him. “
I don’t care
! Dammit, Adam! You were
gone
, and no one was even looking for you because they thought you’d gone off to commune with the Absolute or some bullshit!”

“You’re right,” Adam said gently. “I guess they are pretty dumb.”

Good answer.
Devin had only met Adam once before, when he’d run into him and Jane at Quasar’s café four weeks back. Dad had charged Devin with finding out just what kind of boy Jane spent so much time with. Devin could barely remember anything about the kid other than that he was nice. There was nothing anyone could say against him, and while that was an admirable trait, Devin found it puzzling that his vivacious sister would enjoy the company of someone so… boring.

He approached an intersection. Spidery mechanical arms waved in his face. He instinctively blasted. After destroying the repair bot, he noticed the gun it had been carrying and was glad he’d shot first.

Jane peered over his shoulder. “Oh, so that’s why these things are so small. Damn machines.” She looked back at Adam. “Just so you know, we’re on Travan Float. Heard of it?”

Adam nodded. “People at school often joke about Counselors being sent to work there if they get in trouble. It’s supposed to be a crime-ridden cesspool.”

“It is. And whoever took you left you here, boxed up in a warehouse like you were a piece of cargo.”

“Who were they? What did they want with me?”

Seeing a shadow before him, Devin held up his gun. The shadow didn’t move. He looked closer.
Only a broken ceiling panel.

He relaxed and moved forward. “The Networld calls them No Name. They wanted to replace you with an AI lookalike.”

“Is he kidding?” Adam sounded perplexed.

“Afraid not,” Jane replied.

“So lifelike androids… they exist?”

“Yes.” Devin tried not to think about the lie he’d lived with or his disappointment that nothing in the warehouse told him where Sarah might be. “On the outside, they’re completely indistinguishable from humans. Before you ask where they’re coming from—I don’t know. I’ve already run into one of them.”

Devin expected Adam to ask where or when, but something in his voice must have discouraged questions.

“Thanks. For finding me, I mean.” Adam sounded almost fearful, like he was intimidated.

Devin hadn’t meant to scare the kid, and he felt a little bad for having yelled at him earlier. He jerked his head toward Jane. “It’s her fault we’re here. I had to do
something
to stop the ranting.”

“
Hey
!” Jane cried.

“You also get the credit!”

“Yes, I do.” She gloated. “Oh, and Adam, in case you were wondering, that’s why I’m dressed like a… hey, bro, how’d you put it?”

“A child prostitute,” Devin said dryly.

“Heh, yeah. I got into one of those underground criminals-only clubs as a performer and sweet-talked some demons into hacking the float’s security cameras for me.”

“I was wondering about that,” Adam said. “Didn’t seem like your usual style.”

“I actually like it. What do you think?”

“That’s entrapment! Either you’ll get mad at me, or your big brother will beat me up! I’m not answering.”

Devin smiled. “Smart choice.”

A wide shaft lay ahead. He hoped it was the one he sought. Travan was an old float, and so its transports still used cables. The thick black cords moved lightning fast as box-like cars zipped up and down at dizzying speeds.

At the end of the conduit, Devin looked out and was relieved to see crude rungs on the shaft’s wall above him. The rungs had been put in place over the years for innumerable heists and criminal missions, forming a ladder from where he was on the lowest level to the top of the float.

He shoved his gun into his bag, grabbed the first rung—which was right above the conduit’s opening—and climbed up. Less than a yard behind him, a cable moved continuously upward. Across the shaft, another cable—the other half of the revolving cable system—moved downward. A transport above him latched onto it and the other downward-moving cables, went down a few levels, and then latched onto a horizontal cable set. It disappeared into a tunnel.

“We’re
climbing
?” Jane groaned. “Are you serious?”

“It’s safer than the stairwells,” Devin replied.

“And we’ll get trapped if we used the transports. I hate being a fugitive.” She sounded drained, which was strange since it usually took a lot to wear her out. They hadn’t exactly been running around—yet.

Devin looked back. “You okay?”

Jane sighed. “I’m fine.” She climbed the ladder behind him.

Adam emerged from the conduit. “I know I’m approaching my question quota for the day, but… who’s after us?”

“The float proprietor’s goons,” Jane replied. “She put a hit out on Devin, and they don’t seem too concerned with collateral damage.”

“What? Why’s there a hit on Devin?”

“I got too close to their evil plans,” Devin said.

He was between the third and fourth levels when Jane yelled, “Devin! Above you!”

He looked up. A robotic arm with a gun reached out of a conduit a couple levels above him. He flattened himself against the rungs. A laser blast flew past his head.