Insider X (18 page)

29

Duty Building, Facility 67096

DRESSED SMARTLY IN her uniform, Na showed up for duty at zero three hundred.  She was actually ten minutes early—so technically it was “zero two fifty”.  She tried out the military jargon in her head.  0300.  0250. 
Subtract those numbers and that makes fifty!  Which is “zero zero fifty”.  No no.  0050 should be “donut hole, donut hole, crooked number, donut hole”.  Y3S!  That sounds waaay better.  :P

Kitty Kat was making a big silly joke of it, and none of it was funny.  Or accurate.  The difference between 0300 and 0250 was ten minutes.  Not fifty.  And 0050 was quite different than 0250.

Not that Na cared to correct Kitty Kat.  Kitty Kat was definitely not a math whiz.  In her world, monkey math ruled.  2 plus 2 equaled 22.  And 3 was the same as an E.

Dats right!
Kitty Kat said, sticking out her tongue again.  :P

Shhh, Kitty Kat.  Behave,
Na said inside her head.

Na walked up the big steps that led into the building.  She wasn’t the only one who was early.  About thirty or forty others were walking up the steps.

They were all dressed in the same tan uniforms as Na was wearing.  A wide red band was on each of their jackets, high up on their sleeves.  The girls were wearing pleated tan skirts with white knee socks and the guys were all wearing tan pants.

Na looked through the crowd to see if she recognized anyone.  She had met so many people last night that she realized she might.  But none of the faces around her looked familiar.

She followed where the people in front of her were going.  As they crested the stairs, everyone headed towards the big open door in the center that was between two enormous columns.  Lights were on inside the building.  In fact, lights were on everywhere.  The five minute walk from her apartment had been illuminated all the way.  It was very pretty.  Landscaping lights and pole lights had almost made it seem like day, instead of the darkest part of the night.

The girl in front of Na waved her card in front of a reader.  A green light lit up and the girl walked through an open turnstile.  Na mimicked the same motion, waving her card in front of the same reader.  A red light lit up.

A young man that was behind a counter stood up from his chair.  He was wearing a soldier’s uniform.  Grey camouflage—the kind only worn by the PLA.

A grey man!

“Na Zhou?” the young man said with a smile.

Na looked at him.  He knew her name.  Her fake name, at least.  The real Na Zhou was dead.  She’d died two years ago.

Sad story.  Na Zhou was a girl that Na had never met.  The real Na Zhou had been pregnant and had gone to a place to get fixed.  The real Na Zhou apparently was not married.  The place that fixed such things for single girls who got pregnant was in the same building that Na was living at the time.

It was a horrible place.  That building.  Na had seen some things that she would have preferred never to remember ever again.  Na Zhou was one of those memories.

Na had discovered the girl’s body in the subterranean parking deck.  The girl was dead.  There must have been complications during the girl’s surgery.  It was not a pretty sight.  Na had come across the grisly scene one night.  The men that were moving the girl had dumped her there in a bloody pile of sheets, and had gone back inside the building.  Presumably to get something else.

Na was horrified.  But it wasn’t the first time she’d seen a dead body.  She’d seen others before.  But this one was particularly bad.

Na quickly figured out who the girl was.  Wasn’t hard.  At the time, she had been holding the dead girl’s purse and shoes.  Na had found the girl’s purse and shoes in a small pile of clothes that was in a trash alley behind the building.  Such small piles of clothes appeared sometimes.  Usually at night.  Na had never known why.

Until that night.

That night the dead body had explained some things.  It had explained those piles.  They weren’t eviction piles, like she’d thought.  Like she’d seen when she lived elsewhere.  No, these piles were the belongings of departed souls.

There had been no money in the purse—it was picked clean—but there had been two cards with the girl’s identification.  One of the cards had a picture of the girl.  She had been pretty.  The girl was only two years older than Na, and they had the same first name.

Same first name.
  Was that a coincidence, she’d thought at the time?  Or was it a sign?  Na didn’t know.  But she wasn’t one to tempt fate.

Two days later, Na had left that building for good.  She’d packed and left.  Started fresh; gone someplace new.  Na Zhou was dead, long live Na Zhou.

Na looked at the grey man who had just used that name.

“Yes, that’s me,” Na said.

The young man nodded.  “Welcome, Na.  Please follow me.”

30

NA FOLLOWED THE grey man.  This didn’t seem propitious.  Why was she being singled out?

Kitty Kat started to meow.  Shhh.  Quiet.  They will hear you, Na whispered in her head.

That only made things worse. 
Meooowwww!!!
 
Kitty Kat said.

Na had to do something.  She picked up Kitty Kat and put her in the closet with all the uglies. 
Noooooo!
  Kitty Kat yowled, as Na shut the closet door.

A few minutes with the uglies was enough to get anyone to behave.  Na didn’t like treating Kitty Kat like that, but enough was enough.  She needed her head, and Kitty Kat was just making it crazy.

Na put on her best face.  Her blissful innocent face.  The grey man glanced at her.  He smiled; he almost seemed shy or embarrassed for some reason.

They went down a wide corridor, walked a ways, and stopped at an open door.  Inside she could see a spacious office.  There was another grey man sitting behind a large desk looking at some papers.  He was older, also in uniform, and appeared to be in his mid-fifties or so.  It was the first older person she’d seen so far in this place.

The young grey man bowed his head.

“Colonel?” the young man said.

The man behind the desk lifted his head.

“Ah,” the colonel said.  “This must be Na.  Thank you, Aiguo.”

The young man that was named Aiguo bowed his head again and indicated with his hand for Na to step through the doorway.  Na hesitated.  Aiguo smiled, reassuringly, and motioned with his hand again.  Na took a tentative step into the office.

“Na, please take a seat,” the colonel said.

Na’s body tensed.  A colonel.  A leader of grey men.  Bad bad.  This wasn’t good.  She almost dropped the blissful look from her face.  She bowed her head, and took a seat in the chair that was in front of the desk.

The colonel looked down at the papers in front of him.  “Hmm… this is good.  I see you have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Software Engineering.”  He didn’t look up as he spoke.  “Good marks here.  Top ten percent of your class.  Variable experience.”

Na froze.  She realized what he must be looking at.  Her name:
Na Zhou
.  In front of him must be that girl’s transcripts.  The real Na Zhou had attended a university. 

Oh my gosh.  What if he started asking her questions?  He would see through her charade right away.  She hardly knew anything about the real Na Zhou.

If he discovered that she wasn’t Na Zhou what would happen?  Would she be imprisoned?  Or would they simply make her disappear?  She was already a non-person by posing as someone else, using an identification number that wasn’t hers.  She was invisible to The State and they could do anything to her they wanted.

Na could feel herself panicking inside.  She had to keep her wits here.  Try and bluff through this somehow.  What was the name of the university that Na Zhou had attended?  She tried to visualize the identification card she had at home.  The card that had been in Na Zhou’s purse.  She’d kept it.  It had been the girl’s university ID.  It had the name of a university on it.

Think, Na.  What was the name?

Was it Shanghai Jiao Tong University?  No, that wasn’t it.  Beijing Normal University?  No, that didn’t sound right, either.

“Mmm.  Good.  Not too bad.”  The colonel looked up.  “Well… I imagine things have changed there since I took classes.”  He smiled contritely, showing perfect straight teeth.  They were very white.  Alarmingly white.

“You…?” Na said, as a pit formed in her stomach.

“Yes,” the colonel said.  “Quite a coincidence, isn’t it?  We both attended the same university.  Funny.  I don’t remember you.”  His face became very serious.

Na felt herself shrivel.  Kitty Kat, help, Na whispered.

No answer.

Na didn’t know what she was supposed to say.  “There were so many students,” Na said.  “It is understandable.”

“Hah!” The colonel thumped his desk with the palm of his hand.  “You are funny.”  He smiled; this time warmly.  “I might have graduated a few years before you,” he said.

“Couldn’t have been more than one or two,” Na said, thinking quickly.

The colonel was practically beaming now.  Even his eyes were twinkling.  “Where did you reside?  Did you stay on grounds?” he said.

Oh no.  She was in trouble.  Reside?  Grounds?  He was asking where she lived while in school.

There were two answers she could give.  Yes or no, and both had their potential pitfalls.  If she said yes, he might ask what housing unit she had stayed in.  If she said no, he might inquire where she had lived.  And if she didn’t remember the name of the university, she wouldn’t even know what city she would have lived in, let alone any particular area of that city.

And… there was also the chance this was a trick question.  Maybe there was a third answer here.  Many universities didn’t allow living off grounds—students had to live in the provided housing.  Was that the case here?  Was he testing her?

The colonel was waiting for an answer.  His face expectant.

“No,” she said, realizing she had to say something.

The colonel’s left eyebrow arched.  “Really?  Where did you live?”

Run Na.  But she couldn’t run.  Why wasn’t Kitty Kat saying something?  Helping her here?

Oh, my goodness.  She remembered she had put Kitty Kat in the closet.  Na quickly opened the closet door in her head.  Kitty Kat, get out, I need your help, Na said.

Kitty Kat blinked. 
Who are you?
Kitty Kat said, yawning.

Not now, Kitty Kat.  Don’t play with me.  I need your help here, Na said.

Kitty Kat blinked again. 
You look a little familiar.  Are you that wicked Cat Lady?  Or are you that crazy booger eater I see around here sometimes?

Whatever you want me to be!  That’s me.  Now, help me here.  What university did Na Zhou attend? Na said.

Kitty Kat blinked twice. 
Hmm?  I think I know, but someone needs to get on her knees and ask really nicely.

I’m on my knees now, Kitty Kat.  I’m sorry sorry sorry!  Na said.  Ten thousand sorries.  Please, where?

Almost,
Kitty Kat said. 
But not enough.

Ten million sorries and add a hundred zillion, Na said.

Okay.  Good enough.  Beijing Jiaotong University
, Kitty Kat said
.

Thank you, Kitty Kat, Na said in her head.

Na looked at the colonel, who was looking at her peculiarly.

“Beijing…” Na said, “It is so expensive.  I stayed in a small place.  Was nothing special.”

“Ah,” the colonel said.  “You are very modest, Na.  I like that.”

Na processed what he said.  The real Na Zhou must be rich.  Or, at the very least, have come from a family with some means.  That suddenly helped explain why her nice clothes and the apartment she’d had weren’t prompting questions.  Least not yet.

“So… are you ready?” the colonel said.

“Ready?” Na said.

“Yes.” The colonel rose from his chair.  “Ready to serve our great country?”

“Of course,” Na said, nodding her head slightly.  She might just get through this, she realized.

“Wonderful,” the colonel said.  “Aiguo!”

Aiguo, who must have been standing outside, stepped into the room.

“Take Na to meet her trainer,” the colonel said.  “But first, feed this girl.  She is all legs and arms.”  He looked at Na and winked.  “We will fatten you and round out those curves of yours.  Lots of cute boys here.”

Na saw Aiguo’s face flush crimson.  She should be the one doing that.  Not him. 

The colonel laughed.  “Ha!  Here less than twelve hours and you already have two admirers, Miss Na Zhou!  I have a feeling you will fit in here very well.  Welcome to the Online Blue Army, Miss Zhou.”

“Thank you,” Na said.  “I am honored.”

Liar liar, pants on fire
,
Kitty Kat said in her head.

“Good,” the colonel said.  “We expect big things from you.”