Authors: Jeffrey Thomas
Red Cells (11 page)
“And we still suffer great rage. It is all we can do to contain it. Even at this moment.”
“Thanks for your restraint, then.”
“We will finish our business here. This unit I occupy will be the last to leave. Will that satisfy your investigation?”
“If you agree to do that, I agree to keep my mouth shut. Like I say, I’m only doing a job to protect this plant and its products. Whatever conflict remains between you and my government…well, that’s a bit beyond my scope.”
The naked young girl, looking as fresh as the new-made being she was, started backing away from him. “Then I will go now.”
“I hope you’ve got the cameras offline so my client doesn’t watch us, later, having this friendly chat. And doesn’t watch you strut out the front door while I just stand here doing nothing.”
Receding into the shadows, still walking backward, the girl said, “The cameras are not operating. Don’t worry…you will get your money, human. We have quickly learned its value to your kind.”
“I like to believe there are other things more important to me.”
“Such as?”
“Doing a good job.”
“For your client?” Almost swallowed in the shadows now…the
kawaii
voice dwindling like that mind-scream in the rec yard.
“Sometimes the job kind of turns out to be as much for myself. Don’t ask me to explain.”
“We have much to learn yet,” the faint voice echoed.
And then she was gone.
Stake stood alone. He lowered the gun to his side.
“Enjoy your freedom,” he said, more to himself than to the entity.
Maybe he meant it for himself, anyway.
About the Author
Jeffrey Thomas has written about Jeremy Stake previously, in the acclaimed novels
Deadstock
(finalist for the John W. Campbell Award) and
Blue War
, and in the short story
In His Sights
(from
The Solaris Book of New Science Fiction
, volume 1), which James Sallis called, “a brilliantly written parable of war and human guilt.” A guidebook for a Punktown role-playing game from Miskatonic River Press contains yet another Jeremy Stake tale,
Seeds of Corruption
. Thomas’s other books include
Punktown
and
Letters from Hades
.
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