Division Zero: Thrall (2 page)

Kirsten avoided another huge root. “You mean nag them to death?”

“
Hmmf
.” The floating brick pivoted away, as if offended. “I’ll have you know I perform a very important function.”

“I’m sure you do.”

With a shake of her head, she turned from the patrol bot and came to a halt. The induced fear was pervasive, omnidirectional. She could walk for hours and never find anything just by sight.
Maybe who or whatever this is only comes out at night. Ugh, this is a waste of time.
One more try.
She closed her eyes and reached out with mental energy. Her influence projected into the astral realm and swam through the emanation teasing at the edges of her mood. She swept back and forth, hoping to feel some sense of direction that would lead her to an entity. After some time, she concluded the effect was an imprint on the area rather than active radiance. A spirit had infused this section of the park with its desire to frighten the living away from its domain.

She let her head sag backward and sighed at the treetops. “Well, not the first time I’ve chased my own tail.”

“You there,” said the bot. “The fine for littering is―” The pronouncement cut off with an electronic scream. “Assaulting a municipal patrol robot is a crime!”

When she opened her eyes, a face was less than twelve inches away from hers. With a gasp, she leapt back and collided with another man behind her. He was all too happy to catch her by the arms and hold on. The sudden shock of a grab from behind left her unable to do much but squirm for a few seconds.

The bot glided up behind him. “Now the total fine is 4,942 credits. Please swipe a NetMini or await the police.”

“Well, well,” said the man in front of her, ignoring the nuisance behind him. “Candy cute. Do your parents know you wandered off alone?”

He did not appear to be much older than seventeen, and had a long, multi-pocketed coat and frizzed-up orange hair. A glowing NanoLED tattoo wrapped around the right half of his face, a dragon drawn in red. The light darkened with his expression.

“Do yours know you’re assaulting people in the park?” She stopped struggling. “You two should go back to school. Not much future in the UCF for people without advanced degrees.”

They both laughed. A mix of warm and cool gathered at the left side of her neck as the man holding her pressed his face close and inhaled.

“Relax, princess. I got some stuff that’ll make sure it doesn’t hurt.” He slipped his hand out of his coat, holding a refurbished, refilled autoinjector. “Or, if you’d prefer not to remember it at all…” His grip shifted, fanning two more like cards out from behind it. The purple one still had dried blood on the end.

The way the man at her back held her arms prevented Kirsten from aiming the E90 at the one in front, despite not wanting to kill someone that young. She tried once more to wriggle free, but found her strength lacking.

“This is normally where I would give you one more chance not to make a stupid mistake, but I’ll settle for being happy you two idiots decided to try and grab me instead of some helpless kid.”

“Whoa, Skeev, we found a freak. I think she likes it.”

“Yeah,” she said, as her eyes faded to flat white. “I’m going to love it.”

Her thoughts wrapped around the sentience behind her head. The mind blast knocked the man into a stupor, pared back to the point where it only stunned him. Skeev, or whatever his name was, backpedaled from the eerie glow in her glare. Kirsten shrugged her arms free and raised the E90, her eyes returning to their usual sapphire blue.

“Police, Division 0, on the ground, now.”

Whether by panic, ignorance, or desperation, Skeev howled and charged. Not wanting to shoot him, and not feeling threatened by him, she spun into his attack and guided him face-first into a tree. When he bounced away and staggered to face her again, she kicked, slapping him across the face with one of her sneakers.

Meow
.

He flailed his arms to maintain balance. Kirsten advanced on him as he went for a knife, kicking it out of his grip before he had it all the way out of a belt sheath.

Meow
.

Skeev backed off, cradling his wrist. He glared, reaching for a pistol.

“
Freeze.
” Light flickered through her eyes.

“Ssssomeone lose a cat?” moaned the stunned punk.

The psionic suggestion had such a profound effect on his weak mind that he ceased all motion―even breathing. Onset of a sudden pallor and cold sweat made her worry she’d stopped his heart.

“
Breathe.
”

Kirsten grabbed his shoulder and swept his legs, sending him chest-first to the ground. Her hand swiped at her belt, reaching for binders she did not have with her.
Crap.
She went for her purse.
Back on the bench, double crap.
The gang punk had a NetMini, though its powder-pink case made her assume it stolen. She relieved him of three handguns, six more knives, and a retractable shock-baton―the cheaper civilian-legal cousin to a police stunrod.

“Bot!” she yelled. “Get over here.”

“Not bad,” said a voice to her left.

Something about the tone made her whirl. A man leaned on a tree, clad in a dingy pair of overalls somewhere between orange and tan. Copious amounts of black grime clung to a dark high-collared sweater, and everything else. He tapped a clod of dirt from heavy work boots and straightened up before taking a step. His bulk would have been intimidating, if not for the sense of his being a ghost.

Kirsten relaxed. “They’re just kids.”

The worker spirit laughed. “Kids with guns, knives, and an itch they wanted you to scratch.”

She frowned at the stolen NetMini. “I doubt I was their first.”

“Yes, officer?” The litter bot zipped over, orbiting about her head in a side-slide.

“Outside the trees by the park edge, there’s a woman with two kids. Her name is Nila. Ask her to call for a Division 1 unit to respond to the park right away. When they arrive, lead them here. Tell Nila everything is fine, just some lowlifes.”

“What about the littering violation?”

Kirsten sighed, pressing the cold E90 to her forehead. “To hell with the littering fine, this is actual crime.”

“But…” It wobbled. “He tried to hit me.”

“Fine, take it up with the Div One officers when they get here.”

The worker ghost laughed. As the frustrated bot raced off to carry out her request, she dragged the mind-stunned assailant over and flung him to the ground near his friend. Backing off, she kept her weapon trained on them. A pang of curiosity laced with guilt came on. She could poke into their memories to see what befell the owner of the pink NetMini, but was hesitant to look. After a moment of pondering, these two idiots did not give her a murderous vibe. Chances are, the girl who owned it was still alive.

She peeked into Skeev’s head, and instantly regretted it.

The other one moaned, sliding one hand to his face. “Ugh, what happened? Why am I on the ground?”

Kirsten got their attention with a laser blast in the dirt between them. “Police, Division 0. You two are both under arrest for attempted rape, assault of an officer of the law, and illegal sexual contact with a minor.” She tried to keep a straight face. “And for attempted destruction of a municipal service bot.”

“What? Minor? That’s horseshit. If you’re a damn cop, you’re old enough!” Skeev seemed ready to cry, his bravado gone.

“I know about what you all did to your associate Blowfish’s sister.”

Blowfish glared at Skeev.

“I didn’t say a fucking word, man, I swear. The bitch was cool with it.”

Kirsten narrowed her eyes. “I don’t believe you for a hot second. Even if she
did
agree to have sex with your little gang’s leader, she’s fifteen. I also highly doubt she expected it was going to turn into a group affair. ‘Get off me you fucking assholes’ doesn’t leave much room for doubt. Skeev was stupid enough to try to pull a gun on me. And you!” Kirsten pointed the E90 at the larger boy. “You just sat in the next room and listened to her scream.”
Is this what Dorian felt like when he killed those people?
She shivered with rage, but forced herself to calm down. “You’re pathetic! By all rights, I should have shot him where he stood. If one of you so much as farts suspiciously, I’ll aerate you both.”

She was glad they were face down and couldn’t see the look on her face. They didn’t need to know she would never make good on a threat like that. More than half of being a cop was sounding the part and hoping you could go home without blood on your hands. The ghost did pick up on her nature and winked. When he sensed his presence no longer unsettled her, he wandered over to stand nearby.

“I was expecting them to choose someone a little… older.”

“I’m not a kid,” she mumbled, “I’m twenty-two.”

The ghost blinked. “No shit. Must be those shoes.”

“Yeah, I know I look like I’m still in high school.”

“Freshman, barely.”

She gave him the finger, making him laugh. “I think these shoes are cute.” Indignation passed, she glanced up at him. “Were you hovering by Evan before?”

“Yeah. Just keeping watch on him. Theodore was trying to find you. He thinks you might’ve missed one of the
other things
and wanted me to make sure nothing tried to hurt your little guy.”

“Theodore? You know him?”

Skeev and Blowfish looked at each other, and gawked at Kirsten talking to nothing.

“Yep.” The sprit held out his pockets as if modeling his clothes. “I used to be in construction.”

“Anything you want me to pass along?”

“Nope. I’m good. Faulty retaining strap decided to teach me I couldn’t fly. Went about fifty meters from the plate to the real ground. I guess the big man upstairs really wanted to make his point ‘cause the plate slipped its moorings, fell, and landed on me. Biggest piece of my ass left wouldn’t fill an espresso cup.” Kirsten cringed. “Anyway, I like my family better watching from this side, no one to remind me how much of an asshole I was or give me shit for cheating on her.” He shrugged. “Wife was a lot happier with number two, course they’ve both been gone awhile now. My kids’ kids have kids.”

“You one of The Kind?”

“Yep. Name’s Andrew. By the way, those two are getting ready to run.”

Kirsten tensed at the two gangers’ subtle shift of weight onto their arms, in preparation to do a push-up. She thought about Dorian’s story of legging a boy ready to shoot Nila, and aimed at Skeev’s thigh. It felt excessive.

“I’m watching you, Skeev. Prison or crematorium, your choice.”

They relaxed.

“Someday, someone will call your bluff.” Andrew winked.

“Already have, but they weren’t kids.” She looked at him. “So, what does Theodore want this time? Didn’t he get enough of an eyeful the other week?”

“Actually, he wanted to ask you for help. It wasn’t one of The Kind, but a spirit got attacked. Not a great many things attack ghosts.”

“Dammit, there
was
another one.” She squinted. “Shit. How the hell am I going to find it?”

“Over here, over here.” The overt cheer in the patrol bot’s digitized voice module drifted through the air.

Kirsten unburied her face from her hand and waited. A four-foot-wide orb of cyan hologram emerged from a dim patch of woods. The litter-bot projected random images around itself to make it easier to follow. Two Division 1 officers, in blue duty armor, crunched and snapped through the foliage behind it, arms held to guard their faces from branches despite their helmets.

“Tell Theodore I’ll look into it.” She gave Andrew a determined look and approached the two Div 1 cops.

“What happened here?” The shorter one regarded her service weapon with an air of trepidation.

“I was trying to enjoy a day off in the park, but got a feeling someone was spying on my son and his friend. While I was searching for them, these two jumped me thinking I was a kid. I have a feeling I’m not the first.”

He smirked. “Guess they like them a little young?”

Kirsten’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not as young as I look. The girl who belongs to that pink ‘Mini is only fifteen.”

“Heh.” He grinned. “Never quite sure with Zeroes, I hear they start ‘em early.”

“Only if they’ve got a rare talent that’s unusually strong for the age.” She sighed, caving under their inquiring stares. “Sixteen.”

Officer Burrell gawked at her.

“No, I didn’t read your mind. I figured you saw the look on my face and were about to ask. They sent me out into the field at sixteen. Anyway, these two were going to force narcotics on me and then engage in sexual assault. I identified myself as an officer and the suspect went for a weapon.”

“The bitch’s eyes turned white and lit up! What the fuck would you do?” Skeev howled as the larger cop cuffed him and hauled him to his feet.

Blowfish blinked at the sound of the wind, still woozy from the effects of the mind blast.

“Skeev?” Kirsten took a few steps closer, standing with all her weight on her right leg, gun arm lax at her side. “Be a nice young man and tell these officers the
truth
about everything you did.
Tell them about Amy.
”

Kirsten had positioned herself at an angle where only Skeev caught the sudden glimmer in her eye. Skeev went into a frantic rambling confession about what the Red Dragons did to a fifteen-year-old, and regaled his participation in at least nine other assaults in the park. She smiled.

Andrew gave her a scolding head shake. “Now, now. What would your captain say about that?”

She jogged toward the sound of Evan’s approaching voice. “I imagine he’d be happy I didn’t kill them.”