The Bloodlight Chronicles: Reconciliation (22 page)

Zakariah took a deep breath to calm himself. “Thanks for hanging around. I know it wasn't in your contract.”

“Hey, I was never here.” Jimmy winked playfully. “I'll just park your dad in a hospital waiting room and disappear into the woodwork. I imagine his colleagues will find him soon enough.”

Zakariah nodded and took one last look at his drooling father. He tossed a two-finger salute to the pilot and ducked away under whirling blades.

“And good luck with the girl,” Jimmy shouted after him.

Zakariah turned. “Which one?” he yelled into the gusting air.

Jimmy laughed and cupped his hands around his mouth. “You young sliders are all the same!”

Z
akariah arrived at the Director's office to find Silus Mundazo wringing his hands in front of his holodesk, a grimace of disbelief carving deep worry lines on his face.

“Silus. Have you seen Helena?”

Mundazo looked up. “Where the hell have you been?”

“I've been handling crowd control. There's been a security breach. Where's Helena?”

“She's on emergency intravenous up in her penthouse suite. Some kind of V-net power surge fried her wetware. We're running diagnostics.”

“Brain-dead?”

“No, not brain-dead. She's comatose, but her prognosis is good. Never mind her right now. Look at these test results.” He wheeled his chair back and gestured with his palm to the charts on display.

Zakariah stepped close and bent forward. The data seemed incomprehensible, but the red lights were plain.

“The activated virus is not taking hold,” Silus said. “Thirty-seven reports so far have all come back negative.”

A shiver of dread gripped Zakariah. “No way. How can you be certain so quickly?”

“I think I know the signature of an active viral culture by now. We're getting good cellular rejuve but no regeneration. None at all.” Silus Mundazo held his hands up and quickly rubbed his forehead back and forth across his fingertips as though shaking off grim notions of truth. “The entire experiment is a failure. The years of planning. The investment. Madame Shakura has already dissolved the World Council. She wants Helena's head on a silver platter. Chairman Tao went into cardiac arrhythmia and is now on life-support.”

He glared at Zakariah. “Did I mention that a government team just drove an army truck up to our front door and commandeered our police force? A brigadier-general, no less, yelled in my ear about Prime Level Seven security protocols. I can't believe Helena could be involved in some arcane conspiracy. She mentioned your name just before her V-net plug exploded in my face!”

“She was under the wire?”

He pointed to her empty launch couch. “She was sitting right there when it happened. To my knowledge she was no deeper than Prime Three. She was checking messages and catching up on correspondence, not hacking the Antichrist.”

Zakariah spread his arms in surrender. “Silus, I honestly don't know what happened. I thought she was in the Cromeus colonies. All reports said she'd been permanently uploaded into Soul Savers Incorporated and her body sent into stasis. I never thought I would see her again.”

Dr. Mundazo slapped his palms down on the armrests of his chair and leaned forward. “She said she loved you. That hardly sounds like a long-distance relationship.”

“She said that?”

“Loud and clear. Her eyes popped open out of a V-net trance and she yelled, ‘I love you, Zak' just as the power surge hit. She went into convulsions. I clipped her cable as soon as I could, but it was too late.” He collapsed back into his chair, overcome by the memory.

Zakariah sucked a cleansing breath down deep into his solar plexus. “This is a filtered conduit,” he said, more to himself than to the doctor. “Helena would have been spared the brunt of trauma from the Beast. She'll probably be fine in a few days. We'll pop in new wetware and she'll be as good as new.”

Silus Mundazo looked up at him, aghast. “You were there,” he said. “I knew you were behind this whole mess. You're a criminal. You delivered a fake virus so you could use our V-net access for some foul treachery! You could have killed her. You've ruined a lifetime of work. You've sold out your blood brothers for a bowl of pottage!”

“Settle down, Silus. You're raving. Get a grip.”

“I'll do no such thing. You're a menace. I'll have you arrested.” He reached for his wristband, but Zakariah stilled his hand.

“Don't put yourself in danger. Let's just try to figure this out.”

“You can't be trusted.”

“Helena trusted me. She brought me into this, remember?”

“Well, she paid a high price for that.”

“I'll check on her. I'll make sure she's okay. Don't worry.”

Silus Mundazo glared at him, paralyzed by indecision.

“The activated virus was not a fake. You checked it out yourself.”

“I don't know. It appeared genuine to our limited measurements.”

Zakariah touched the flatscreen to scroll down the subject list. “Has Rix reported yet?”

“No. He's been moved to a dormitory in the East wing. Mia's at his bedside waiting for the data.”

“Rix was the only reason I went offplanet in the first place. Mia told me all about it. The virus was for him, Silus. I brought it back for him and couldn't remember who it was for. I know this sounds crazy, but what if each ampoule has only one target? What if the virus is
DNA
specific?”

Silus licked dry lips. “There has never been a mass contagion.”

“Exactly. Not even two at a time. Always just one person, one ampoule broken on the tongue.”

Silus shook his head. “It doesn't make scientific sense, and it doesn't bring us any closer to commercial production. How could a virus be so selective? How could it be manufactured to finite schematics at such a distance? You'd have to postulate grand designs and cosmic conspiracies. No way.”

He stood and stalked away in disgust. He wheeled and turned, his shoes stomping the ground. “It hardly matters what happens now. Our funding has dried up like ashes in an urn. We'll be selling blood on the black market by morning.”

Zakariah found Rix sequestered in what was once a supply closet in the East wing, sleeping on a portable hospital gurney. He felt no sense of recognition at the sight of him, no emotional attachment. The boy was a complete stranger, his own son, and the realization hit him like a blow. Rix was dressed in street clothes, a black sweater with ornate silver embroidery at the shoulders, and blue denim pants. Mia hovered on a chair at his bedside and jumped up to meet Zakariah as he entered the room.

“Zak, you did it. The virus has taken hold.” She hugged him fiercely, forcing the air from his lungs in a huff.

“You sure? There's been no report to Mundazo.”

“I've got the test results locked down for now. It's not safe. This place is a madhouse of frustration and bitter rivalry.” She clung to him like a strong vise, her muscles like iron. “None of the other subjects have reported positive,” she whispered. “Not a single one. Madame Shakura is intense with anger. Chairman Tao died just minutes ago. I'm afraid someone might try to kidnap Rix or worse. We've got to get him out of here.”

Zakariah stared over her shoulder at his son's sleeping form, feeling a cold vacancy, feeling robbed of any joy by the foul circumstance around him. “Mundazo's freaking out,” he declared to her neck.

Mia sniffed behind his ear at a charred stump of cable sticking out of his head. “You've been burned again.”

Zakariah pulled back and held her at arm's length. “The Beast took us out. Phillip's in a bad way. Somehow Helena got tangled up with us in V-space and got fried also. Something crazy happened. Something impossible. She came out of nowhere. She rescued me.”

Mia clutched him close again. “I'm so glad you're okay. Let's disappear, Zak. Back to Atlantis. Let's get free of all this.”

“We can't get out, Mia. We can't get away. This is bigger than both of us. There's no place to run from this kind of power, no place to hide. Someone's got a quantum connection in my head. I could be wired across time and space for all I know, straight back to Babylon.”

“You're being paranoid.”

“With good reason!”

“Whatever was in your brain has been cauterized now. You're tabula rasa again.”

“How do I know that?”

“We could take Rix to the north sanctuary. Just for a few weeks. Let the contagion get a good hold on him.”

Zakariah rubbed her back absently, revelling in the warmth from her body, the pressure of her heaving chest against him. He had been alone too long. His body ached for intimacy.

“You guys should get a room,” Rix said. “You're so obvious.”

His parents whirled apart to face him. Rix laughed at them.

“How do you feel?” Zakariah stepped close and put a hand on his son's forehead.

“I feel great. I'm not sick.” He brushed him away.

“Just a touch feverish.”

“That's good, right?”

Zakariah smiled. “It's a sign of contagion. Your metabolism is accelerating, starting to rebuild itself. Every flaw will be healed.”

Rix sat up and swivelled his shoulders back and forth, working stiffness from his muscles. “I used to wonder why no one could describe the experience. Now I know. The virus is like liquid joy. It emanates from inside like a river, a flood.”

Mia approached and took his hand. “The first few weeks are an amazing miracle. I'm so thankful.” Her lips began to tremble as though she might cry.

“It's a virus, Mom. It's just biology.” He pulled away from her show of affection.

Mia sniffed and dabbed tears from her eyes with her wrist, the warrior mother.

Rix looked at his father. “Is she always this emotional?”

Zakariah shrugged, wishing he could remember. “Pretty much, lately.”

“Does Mundazo have my test results yet?”

“He'll find out soon enough. We were thinking about getting you out of here for awhile. There's a place up north, a sanctuary your mother and I prepared for emergencies.”

“You guys go ahead. Mom needs a break. I've got a lot of work to do.”

“Where will you go?”

“I'll stay here for now. Silus needs all the help he can get. This place is falling apart around him.” He stood up. “The guy's a genius. I could learn a lot from him.” He tapped the side of his skull with a forefinger.

Zakariah winced his indecision. “The
ERI
is a sinking ship.”

“The
ERI
is all that's holding us back from anarchy, Dad. We've got to put our resources where they can make a difference.”

His burst of exuberance made Zak feel old and weary. He remembered the passion of his youth, his grandiose expectations. Somewhere along the journey, his courage had drained out of him, his faith had withered. He had nothing left to offer the world. He stared at his son and wondered for the future. Perhaps Rix was a new breed of Eternal, not just a survivor, but a soldier of fortune. Perhaps he would not cower from injustice, perhaps he would not cringe from the challenge of evil.

“Go, then,” he said. “Tell Silus to his face. He could use some good news right about now.”

Rix hesitated, sensing now that this might be goodbye again, that their paths had diverged.

“You'll head up north?”

“I don't know. A friend is in trouble.”

Rix patted the pockets of his jacket. “I have something for you,” he said and handed forward his photograph. “A keepsake, just in case.”

Zak recognized the image. He had seen it before, locked deep in his memory where mindwipe could never reach. He nodded at his son, feeling a maudlin weight in his lungs.

“Niko was cloned before she died,” Rix told him. “We've been working together. She uses the same name. It's kinda creepy, when you think about it.”

“Thanks.” Zak held the photo up. “Give her my love.”

Rix smiled. “Sure.”

“Phillip's been burned. He tried to hack the Beast and failed.”

A white horror ghosted Rix's face. So he knew about Phillip. He knew too much.

“This young girl,” Zak said, “she wouldn't happen to be a helicopter pilot, would she?”

Rix shrugged. “I dunno. She rides a mean motorbike and kites like a bat-woman.”

“I think I may have met her.”

“Nice, eh?”

Zak grinned. He glanced at his wife. “Well, she's not my type.”

“Of course.” Rix ducked his head and nodded. “Thanks, Dad. For everything, I mean.”

“It wasn't my doing. The virus is a free gift.”

“Yeah, I get it.” Rix turned to Mia and gave her a quick hug. “Thanks, Mom. Come back and see me when things quiet down. And have some fun for once, will ya?”

Rix moved to the door and peered cautiously into the hall. He glanced back briefly, working his mouth as though perhaps he had left something unsaid. He decided not and stepped through the doorway.

“Let me see that,” Mia said and took the photo from Zak's unresisting hand. “That's your sister when she was a baby?”

“Yep.”

“And that's you. How old? Six or seven?”

“I guess.”

“Oh, you were so cute.” She put her arm around his waist. “You're still cute.”

They left the East wing and took the main elevator up to Helena's penthouse suite in the
ERI
tower. The security guard recognized Zakariah, but checked Mia's laminate with a handheld scanner. She didn't have clearance on his clipboard monitor, so he called down for authorization. He nodded at first, but his brow furrowed over as he listened.

He offered his phone to Zakariah. “Doctor Mundazo,” he said.

Zakariah put it to his ear. “Hello?”

“Zak, there's been a new development. We ran some standard tests on Helena, and the results have come in. She's Eternal. No question about it.”

“Was she one of the subjects?”

“No. Her contagion is in full bloom. Three or four days at least. She must have got the virus offplanet, perhaps directly from the Source. We'll have to put her in testing.”

“That's great, Silus. She should regenerate quickly from the brain burn.”

“We can only hope. Look, Zak, do I owe you an apology?”

“Don't worry about it. The heat of the battle. Rix has tested positive. He's on his way to see you.”

“Rix is sitting right here already. It's great news, but there's a lot we don't know. Tell Helena I'm looking forward to handing her back the reigns of power.”