Spanners - The Fountain of Youth (7 page)

“But I love
…
you,
Mal-kai …,” she said before placing her head on the table.

“I know,” he said with a smile.

Mayfly gave her a kiss on the cheek and then looked around the club. There was a commotion at the entrance; the large, hairy man was trying to get past the bouncer, but the bouncer wouldn’t let him in. The blond guy tried to speak calmly, but the guard wouldn’t have any of it until a girl with strikingly pink hair stepped in front and flashed a smile. After a few moments of talking, the bouncer let the group in.

Why are they after me
? thought Mayfly.
They don’t look like they’d be a part of Juan Ponce’s crew.

Mayfly kissed his drunk girl once more and looked at her group.

“Get her home safe and give her plenty of water, okay?”

They agreed and Mayfly went down to the main floor of
the Atrium. The bartender was a former girlfriend of his and gave him a double of his favorite drink, Red Bull−Everclear with a dash of lime. When Mayfly turned around, he thought he had run into a wall, but looked up to see that it was the massive, hairy man who had followed him in the RV. Mayfly spilled the drink over the man’s shirt, but the big man didn’t seem to notice.

“Hey, I’m sorry
, bro,” said Mayfly.

“
We drink you
,” said the man. He spoke in an odd, crude dialect, like he was still getting used to the concept of language.

“What?” asked Mayfly.

“
Drink you
,” said the man.

“My large friend is trying to say he’d like you to join us for a drink,” said his blond friend, stepping in. “My name
’s Trey.”

Trey pointed at a secluded VIP corner at the back of the club. The pink
-haired girl winked at Mayfly and beckoned him forward.

Trey
smiled at Mayfly, and his straight blond hair dangled gently over his lightly tanned, angular face. He was dressed stylishly, with a soft-shouldered jacket complementing his tall, thin frame. Though he had the features of a young model, Trey didn’t put on the airs of someone who would take pride in such things. It was as if ‘being recognized’ was the last thing he wanted, and he continued to stare down at Mayfly, not in an intimidating fashion, but as if he could see right through Mayfly’s charm.

“Want to have a drink with us?” asked Trey.

“Sure,” said Mayfly. “My name’s Malachai.”

“Please
d to meet you,
Mayfly
,” said Trey. “We look forward to partying with you.”

/***/

“My name’s Cattaga,” said the girl. “I’m from Alaska.”

Mayfly noticed that the roots of her hair were
completely white; he hadn’t noticed that the first time he saw her. He also saw that Trey had two identical twin brothers, dressed in matching outfits and standing around the table, looking in different directions.

“You’ve met Trey,” said Cattaga, pointing at Trey and his two brothers. “
This is Trey Two and Trey Three.”

“Please
d to meet you,” said Mayfly.

“Please
d to meet
you
,” said Trey 3, still looking out at the club.

The big, hairy man came to the table with a large bottle of
Belvedere
vodka in one hand and six shot glasses in another. He slammed the bottle on the table and let the shot glasses fall and roll around.

“Hope like it,” said the hairy man.

“This,” said Cattaga, “is
Brogg
.”

Brogg seemed to be twice Mayfly’s height, and perhaps three times as broad. He was built like a boulder and his large belly nearly pushed the table over as he crammed himself into his seat, but he had an underlying look of health and strength to him, as if his large frame could run for three days without stopping. His hair was long on top and his beard was almost as long, and though he was clearly a grown man, Mayfly sensed a subtle innocence in him, as if Brogg wasn’t aware of the modern arts of deceit and betrayal.

Mayfly still eyed the group warily though, because they were clearly on to him. They weren’t unaware like the girl who had passed out on the bed, and they weren’t lonely like Paul had been. They knew him well, and they had sought him out for a reason.

Keep your guard up, this could be dangerous
, thought Mayfly,
but stay, because it could also be a lot of fun
.

Mayfly took the vodka with one hand and unscrewed the cap, and then placed the shot glasses upward with
his other hand. He flipped the bottle in the air and poured six shots in one motion without spilling a drop.

“To new friends,” said Mayfly, holding up his shot.

Trey 1 smiled.

“I’m a bit of a lightweight, and Brogg is hard to control when drunk, so we’ll limit ourselves to one shot, if that’s ok
ay,” said Trey 1.

“Fine by me,” said Mayfly with a smile.

Trey 1 and Cattaga clinked the shots with Mayfly. Brogg’s hands were so big that he missed and ended up spilling most of his vodka.

Mayfly downed his drink with Cattaga, Brogg drank what remained in his glass, and Trey 1 paused to steel himself. Trey 1 finally took the shot, and soon after he did
, his two brothers shuddered simultaneously with him, even though neither of them drank.

“Can I split the rest of the bottle with you
, Mayfly?” asked Cattaga. “Just you and me.”

“If you give me a kiss,” said Mayfly.

“Sorry, I’m taken,” said Cattaga, motioning towards the Treys.

“Lucky guy,” said Mayfly. “Which one?”

“All of him,” said Cattaga, before pouring two shots and downing one.

Mayfly downed his shot and smiled.

“Now,” he said. “Care to tell me what this is about?”

“We need you
, Mayfly,” said Cattaga. “Adam sent us.”

“It’s been fun, guys,” said Mayfly, before putting his shot glass on the table and getting up. Brogg wouldn’t let him leave though.

“Just hear us out,” said Trey 1.

“I don’t know who you guys are,” said Mayfly, “but you’re not recruiting me to do whatever it is that you’re doing. I got to go.”

Mayfly struggled to get past Brogg, but he couldn’t; the man was just too big. After a few moments, Cattaga spoke up.

“Would you like to make a bet?” she asked.

Mayfly struggled for a moment more, and then turned around and smiled.

“What kind of bet?” he asked.

“In your short time on earth, you’ve seen a lot,” said Cattaga. “Nothing surprises you anymore. Is it safe to say that?”

“Yeah,” said Mayfly.

“If I do something that shocks you,” said Cattaga, “will you hear us out? You don’t have to agree to anything; we just want you to hear us out.”

“All right, I agree,” said Mayfly. “But I gotta warn you, nothing shocks me anymore—”

Trey 2 and Trey 3 sidled up next to him in a flash. Trey 1 started talking to him, and Mayfly felt a bit of jostling from both sides. The Treys then jumped away and Trey 3 procured a small prescription bottle that Mayfly kept in his shirt.
I’ve seen pickpockets work in groups before
, thought Mayfly,
but not like that.

“I don’t know what you’re doing,” said Mayfly, “
but I think you should stop—”

Cattaga opened the prescription bottle and procured the oversized pill inside.

“We know precisely what we’re doing, and precisely what this is,” said Cattaga. “You’ve built quite a reputation in your brief time here, Mayfly. And word on the street has it you’re saving this pill for your last day on earth. Is that true?”

“It’s none of your business,” said Mayfly.

He tried to rush at Cattaga and get the pill, but Brogg held him back.

“It is my business, considering I’m about to take this pill,” said Cattaga.

“You’ll die,” said Mayfly.

“This pill has a bit of every single illegal drug known to man,” said Cattaga. “It kills you, but takes you on a ride first—”

“Please,” said Mayfly. “I don’t want to hurt anyone; just put the pill down.”

“Agreed,” said Cattaga.

Cattaga put the pill in her mouth and held it there for a moment, as if thinking. She then swallowed it with her head back, and when she looked forward, her eyes were glowing and a thin strip of green hair had started to grow underneath her white roots. She waited a few moments, time enough for the drug to start acting, and then spoke with a clear voice, unaffected.

“I think we’ve shocked you enough to win the bet,” she said. “It’s time for you to hear us out.”

/***/

An hour later they were at a diner. Two of the Treys were looking out the window and Brogg was eating three rare steaks, grunting while he chewed.

“Brogg as you can tell is a
trog
-class spanner,” said Cattaga. “He ages backwards along the evolutionary scale. He can’t quite fit into normal society anymore, but his body gives him incredible strength and endurance.”

“I’m a
single-eye
-class spanner,” said Trey. “This is me and—”

“This is—” said Trey 2.

“Also me.” said Trey 3.

They talked as if they were one person, and if Mayfly had closed his eyes he would have thought
that only one of them had spoken.

“In my lifespan I was born with one consciousness split
between three bodies,” said Trey. “The world sees me as a triplet, but needless to say, I’m not.”

“And you?” said Mayfly to Cattaga. “Are you immune to poison or something?”

“Hardly,” said Cattaga. “I’m a
manipulator
-class spanner. I can control my lifespan on a molecular level, specifically my DNA.”

Cattaga closed her eyes and concentrated. A thin strip of red hair grew from her scalp.

“Before I took your pill, I turned the saliva in my mouth into a strong acid,” she said. “I denatured every last bit of the drugs before I took them down.”

“Good thing you
didn’t kiss me,” said Mayfly with a smile.

“Are you ready to hear us out?” asked Cattaga.

“I’m not on board, not even close,” said Mayfly, “but this is interesting at least. Tell me what you want from me.”

Trey 2 and Trey 3 continued to look out the window, but Trey 1 focused on Mayfly.

“Before we met Adam, we were just a street gang of spanners,” said Trey. “Adam took us in and taught us how to hide and defend ourselves against Juan Ponce de León’s crew.”

“Juan’s been on everyone’s mind lately,” said Mayfly. “He’s got a compound full of spanners, filled with crazy experiments.”

“He’s got the Fountain now,” said Trey. “Adam wants us to break into de León’s compound and free her. We can’t do it without you.”

“Why can’t you do it without me?” asked Mayfly, looking at Trey 1. “You could pick a few pockets, have Brogg bust a few walls—”

“We need
you
,” said Trey. “We have powers, but they’re not enough. Adam’s made it clear that it’ll take more than just strength and a few tricks to get the Fountain.”

“Then what can I do?”

“Juan’s compound relies mostly on secrecy, not modern technology, so the computer systems are a decade old,” said Cattaga. “Easy for you to hack, impossible for us.”

“You need more than hacking to open up a prison,” said Mayfly.

“Precisely,” said Trey. “After you open the locks and turn off the alarms, we’ll use our powers to extract the Fountain, but we still need you for the first step. Adam’s made it clear that one way or another you’ll help with all the other steps too.”

Mayfly sipped his coffee and then paused for a moment to think.

“What you’re asking is fair,” he said, “but I’ve got a few weeks left on this earth until my heart stops. I don’t want to run the risk of being captured by Juan Ponce de León and dying in one of his cages. They love mayflies and—”

“Look—” said Trey 2.

“Out!” said Trey 1.

Trey 3 ran in front of the table and pushed everyone’s head down. There was a crash as a metal
trashcan filled with burning paper shattered the diner’s window. It rolled towards them, but Brogg picked it up and threw it back into the street before anything else caught on fire.

Mayfly looked into the street and saw rioters, but they looked more like zombies than anything else. Their eyes glowed softly as they roved through the streets, destroying everything in their way.

“Juan’s minions,” said Trey 1. “I’ll go up on the roof, scout for another way out and hide in the back alley with you. We’ve got to go through the back; it’s never good to take
the
populous
head-on.”

/***/

The back alley was safe, but only for a few more minutes. At one end was the street where the rioters had massed, and the other way led to a dead end. It was only a matter of time before the mob traversed down and trapped them; the roving looters were already coming their way. Brogg found an empty dumpster, lifted it over his head and then put it over Cattaga, Trey and Mayfly. It was dark, but Cattaga made her arm glow and they had a little bit of light.