Freedom Incorporated (58 page)

She nodded, fear stinging
her eyes. “Yes.”

“
No portals
either. I want to walk.” He nudged her into motion and followed her
through the bowels of the building. She took one wrong turn,
explaining that she’d never walked that way before. Dan wasn’t
making things easier by insisting they skirt the security cameras,
which were watching from blackened bubbles in the ceiling. But
after a quick prompt with the knife, she regained her sense of
direction and led him directly to Esteban’s door.

Dan listened for signs of
life before carefully opening it, ready for anything. Esteban’s
office was more elegant than Michele’s. He’d opted for expensive,
leather-upholstered couches and he’d obviously petitioned hard to
get a stunning array of art hung on his walls.

Dan spent 20
minutes exploring every nook and cranny in the office while Michele
watched from the couch. He regarded her suspiciously while he
worked, wondering what he should do with her. Part of him wanted to
kill her for her involvement, no matter how limited it had been.
Another part was sickened by the thought.
I can’t do it.
He couldn’t fool
himself into believing her death was justified, he wasn’t
delusional. She was supremely irritating and possessed below
average intelligence, but she hadn’t broken the law or done
anything to warrant death. At one point he was seeking an excuse to
justify slaying her, but deep down he knew there would be no
possible redemption for his soul if he did something despicable
like that.

The search turned up
nothing useful and he felt as if he’d wasted his time. He
straightened his aching back and groaned, “Michele…”

She raised her head to
look at him.

“
I’m not going
to kill you.” He could see the relief in her posture. “But if
you’re still here tomorrow I’ll assume you’re suicidal but too
cowardly to kill yourself and I’ll relieve you of the burden.” He
pierced her with a threatening stare. “You work for bad people
here, I suggest you withdraw the millions you’ve hoarded and nick
off. Fair enough?”

She nodded. What else
could she do?

“
Good.” He
slipped from the room without further comment, leaving Michele to
ponder just how close he’d come to gutting her.

*

“
What’s so
important?”

“
Cookie found
something you’re going to be interested in.”

A solidified lump of
chewing gum stuck to the side of the videophone had Dan thoroughly
transfixed. He was only paying for an audio signal, the bandwidth
required for videophone calls made them more expensive than they
were worth.

“
All right,
I’m coming back.”

“
Did you find
what you were looking for?”

“
No.” Dan
fumed in frustration. “Not yet.”

*

Dan coughed the tickle
from his lungs.

A trickle of sweat was
sliding down his back and he wondered why the Australian terminals
didn’t adhere to the worldwide air-conditioning standard. He’d
barely adjusted to the morning chill in America when he’d portaled
back to Australia and begun sweltering inside his thick
coat.

At least it wasn’t busy
anymore. A few stragglers and night workers scuttled past but there
were no more queues. Dan obediently let Chuck scan his weapons. The
weapon list before and after international travel had to match or
customs began asking pertinent questions, and Dan knew his identity
wouldn’t hold up to scrutiny.

“
That’s three
bottles of scotch now Mr Kennedy.”

Dan mocked a salute. “Yes
sir.”

*

Saturday, September 18,
2066

0
8
:
42
Baltimore,
USA

Esteban felt
groggy; it hadn’t been a restful night.
I
have to get more sleep.
He was beginning to
look forward to the end of the business with Dan so he could
finally get some decent rest. Falling asleep after the incident
with Jen had been difficult. Junior was yet to rise, which wasn’t
surprising considering his nasty wound. She’d certainly done some
damage, which was part of the reason Esteban found her so
appealing.

Adrian was in his usual
seat, rereading an article in Fortune magazine he’d only had the
opportunity to skim before. “You look awful.”

Esteban grimaced. “Thanks
for the heads-up.”

“
Did you
get
any
sleep?” He
adjusted his glasses and rested the magazine on his lap. He was
experienced enough to realise he’d get nothing else read while
Esteban was in the room.

“
Not much,
no.” He was hungry and the only food within striking distance was a
stale box of croissants in the bar fridge.
Better than nothing.

“
Oh God,
you’re not actually going to eat those are you?” A sour expression
crossed Adrian’s face. “You know how old they are, don’t
you?”

Esteban shrugged. “They
look okay.” He tore away a mouldy corner and tossed it in the bin.
Moisture had made the pastry soggy due to the exorbitant amount of
time the croissants had spent in the fridge, but Esteban was too
hungry to worry about that. It was food, and food was
good.

Junior ambled into the
room, a fresh bandage wrapped around his neck. The way he walked
clearly illustrated his discomfort; he moved stiffly, a cross
between Gumby and Frankenstein. If he twisted his head even
slightly, the torsional strain on his wound made him dizzy with
pain. Junior hated pain. The others could tell.

“
What the fuck
are you looking at?”

Esteban hid a smirk
behind a chunk of croissant and spoke around his mouthful, sending
a spray of milky yellow saliva over the bar. “Nothin’ man, how’re
you doin’?”

“
Don’t even
think about asking.” A black scowl crossed his face like a
thundercloud. “It hurts like hell.”

“
You’ll get
over it.” Esteban swallowed, which Adrian was pleased to note, and
continued, “Dan’s on his way, I’m sure of it. He’ll probably find
me today.”

“
And then we
get to kill the bitch?” Junior was furious with her and delighted
in visions of her torture. He’d fantasised about nothing else while
the doctors had stitched the gaping hole in his neck. The promise
of the sadistic pleasure to come was the only thought keeping him
from creeping into Jen’s room and mutilating her now.

“
No,” Esteban
said, earning himself a frown of disapproval. “I’ve changed my
mind. I want to keep her.”

“
What?”

“
That’s a bad
idea,” Adrian warned. “She’ll only cause problems.”

“
Not for
long,” Esteban assured them. “And until then, I’ll take
responsibility for whatever she does.”

“
So I have to
punch
you
for last
night?” Junior growled angrily.

Esteban wasn’t amused.
“You can try, if you feel game.” It was a mock challenge and nobody
expected anything to come of it, but nor did Junior appreciate
Esteban’s insinuations.

“
Do you mean
you want her as a prostitute?” Adrian asked, trying to clarify
Esteban’s intentions.

He nodded and gnawed off
another chunk of the soggy croissant. “Yeah.”

“
What about
Claire?” Junior asked. “Are you going to keep two? Do I detect
a
ménage à trois
in
the air?”

Esteban cast him another
warning glance. “No. I’ll take care of my loose ends.”

“
Oh man, what
a waste,” Junior moaned, correctly interpreting what Esteban meant.
“I’ll take her if you don’t want her.”

“
No.” Esteban
was adamant. “Nobody gets her, she’s mine. If you so much as
squeeze her breasts I’ll make sure you permanently lose your sex
drive, okay?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “It’s time I retired
Claire.”

Junior sat, careful not
to move his head. He’d lapsed into sullen silence.

“
And
Jennifer’s going to take her place?” Adrian asked
dolefully.

“
Yep.” Esteban
was still chewing and another fleck of food made the journey from
his masticating mouth to the bar. “But she likes to be called
‘Jen’.”

“
Well,
whatever she wants you to call her, she doesn’t strike me as the
sort of person who’ll sit idly by while you use her as a
pincushion.” Adrian nudged his glasses back onto the bridge of his
nose. “I think we should stick to the original plan: wait for Dan,
let him watch, we all get some fun.” Esteban wasn’t the only one
attracted to Jen. But Adrian had secretly been attracted to her on
a deeper level than the others. He didn’t want to see her raped,
disfigured and killed. He couldn’t understand the change in himself
and he was too lazy to analyse it, but given his way, he’d set Jen
free. How his security slotted into that daydream he had no idea.
But he didn’t want to see any more women murdered. He’d seen enough
bloodshed to fill two lifetimes. Getting Esteban to wait for Dan
was the only way he could save Claire from immediate termination.
But that put Jen in peril. How long she’d live would depend on how
good Dan was at tracking. It was a pickle of a situation and he
hadn’t properly thought his way through it. And Adrian simply
wasn’t a fast enough thinker to hatch a solution on the
spot.

Esteban’s temper was
starting to flare. “How many times do I have to say it before it
gets through?”

“
Okay, okay.”
Adrian held up his hands submissively. “Just thought you might like
another opinion.”

“
Well I’ve
heard it.” Esteban stuffed the last croissant into his mouth and
left the room. He didn’t notice the look Adrian and Junior shared.
It knelled of a time when they might have to turn against their
protector. Not now. Not anytime soon. Definitely not until they
were thoroughly established in the Guild, but at some point, they
might have to bite back.

Esteban
meandered toward Claire’s room. She looked almost peaceful, lying
on her bed. She was still wearing her white halter and he ogled her
breasts, paying particular attention to her tense nipples, which he
could see through the thin material.
Good
girl.
He felt nothing akin to affection for
her. She was his slave, and he treated her accordingly. Blood
rushed to his groin when he thought of his new slave.
She’ll be good… she just doesn’t know it
yet.
He pensively pursed his lips.
I just need to break her.
He acknowledged that Adrian and Junior had a point, but he
wasn’t accustomed to listening to their advice and he never let
logic interrupt his fantasies.

Then his
attention snapped back to the present, to Claire’s room. She wasn’t
the one he wanted, not anymore.
Okay,
let’s get this over with.
It wasn’t
something he would enjoy; it was a chore. He couldn’t have loose
ends – Guild rules.

Still, it is a
pity… she was good while she lasted.

She woke when he inserted
the needle into her calf and flinched as he pumped the toxin into
her system. It acted slowly compared with the Raven’s nanotoxin,
but it was just as deadly. As far as Esteban was concerned, the
main deficiency with the Raven’s formula was the mess, so he used a
toxin that wouldn’t rot Claire’s flesh to a pile of
puss.

“
What’s that?”
she asked woozily.

“
Something to
help you sleep,” he replied, his voice silky. A minuscule part of
him vibrated in tune with humanity and he didn’t want to sound
gruff as she died.

But for all her faults,
Claire wasn’t stupid. She understood the true meaning behind his
innocent-sounding words. “You’re finally releasing me?”

She had the most unusual
smile on her lips, though Esteban couldn’t fathom the meaning
behind it. It put him on edge. “Yes.”

“
No kiss
goodbye?” Her eyes danced with mirth. “No ‘thanks for your
services’?”

Esteban
scowled.
She’s delusional. The drugs are
acting faster than I thought.
He attributed
it to her poor physical constitution.

“
You know…
there’s something I’ve wanted… to say to you… for a long time.”
Claire was struggling to breathe, gasping and she snatched air with
an exaggerated snapping of her mouth.

“
What’s that?”
He couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“
You’re a…
moron.” She chocked on a laugh before convulsing once and lying
limp.

Esteban stood back, not
enjoying being alone with a victim’s ghost. He consoled himself
with the thought that she would’ve died long ago if he’d sent her
to prison – a cesspool of disease and gang rape. Inmates could
expect to live for mere months. Governments around the world had
slashed their penal budgets and penal clinics were the first things
to suffer. Often inmates had to share medication, which meant
prisons tended to brew super-strains of the world’s deadliest
viruses and bacteria. Half an antibiotic course only weakened the
microbes and upon recovering from the shock, they returned stronger
than before. The World Health Organisation had been lobbying
governments to address the problem for decades, but it was already
too late. The diseases had spread to the wider community and modern
treatment methodology had aggressively evolved to cope with the
influx of medication-resistant strains. Some social scientists
pointed accusing fingers at Xantex for charging extortionary prices
for their drugs. Others blamed governments for ignoring the
plethora of warnings.