Canvas Skies (Reliance on Citizens Makes Us Great!) (10 page)

Brody moved back. “Of course not!”

I found Keira lying in a fetal position on
top of the covers. She had exchanged her top for one of Brody's
t-shirts. I sat on the edge of the bed and began to rub her back.
That's when she started to cry. When she had cried herself out, she
uncurled and lay face down. I continued to rub her back.

“It was him.” Her voice wavered.

“Who?”

She rolled over. “The one I told you about.”
She reached for her shoulder, where there had once been a scar. “He
changed me.”

The first man who'd ever hurt her. He'd
branded her and told her she belonged to him, and she'd cut off a
few of his fingers and told him they belonged to her.

“I didn't kill him.”

“I didn't ask.”

“But you were wondering. I know you were
wondering.”

She was right, but I would never ask. It was
a miracle she hadn't killed tonight.

Keira continued, “I took his sight and his
voice. He can't hurt me now.”

I lay down next to her, and she curled
against me. We stayed like that for a long time. I thought she'd
drifted off to sleep, but eventually, she stirred and sat up. I
climbed out of bed and helped her stand. In less than an hour, the
healing process appeared to be complete.

“Does it hurt?” I indicated her
midsection.

She shook her head, and I wrapped my arms
about her, wanting nothing more than to keep her safe.

“Thank you for coming to check on me. I'm
okay now,” Keira said.

“Do you need anything?”

“No. I'm going to finish this.”

I kissed her gently, then backed away. “Be
careful.”

I secured the door behind Guy and reset the
alarm. When I turned around, I noticed Brody coming down the hall
from the bathroom. He had washed up and changed into a fresh pair
of pajamas.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I'm fine, just thirsty and hungry.”

“Sit.” Brody indicated the sofa and went to
the kitchen. He returned with a glass of water and a box of
crackers.

“I think I'm gonna need more than a few
crackers.”

Brody gave me a strange look, walked out and
returned with a plate of cheese and sliced sausage. He set the
plate of food on the end table next to me and said, “Are you sure
you should be eating right now?”

“Well, I've never been shot before. It
really hurt! And it seems to have taken a lot out of me.”

“Yes...a lot of energy...for you to,
regenerate. That is what happened, right?”

I avoided his gaze.

“Would you like anything else?”

“No, this is fine. I'm glad you had safe
meat on hand. I don't think anything lighter would have helped
much, and the tainted stuff would have been more difficult on the
system.” I patted my belly.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I was really hungry.”

“No. I mean, why would I have tainted
meat?”

Does he really not know? “You wouldn't.
You're Elite.”

“I don't understand.”

“You do know that grocers sell cheaper cuts,
right?”

Brody shook his head.

“Well they do, to the Working Class.
Sometimes people get sick. Some even die.”

“The grocers sell bad meat on purpose? Why
would they do that?”

“To make money, of course! They buy it in
bulk for little to nothing and make a huge profit.”

“Why doesn't the Gov do something?”

“They do. They encourage it.”

He sat in stunned silence for a few minutes.
“Are there others like you?”

“Like me, the Freelancer?” I shrugged.
“Some. The downtrodden? Far too many.” I paused. “But you mean what
you saw tonight, when I got shot.”

He nodded.

“Not many, but yes.”

“Guy?”

“No.”

“How? Were you born like that?”

I looked at him sadly. “No, it was done
without my permission and without my knowledge. Do you remember
last year's Palamara report? The one about genetic
engineering?”

“Yes, we talked about it at the club,
remember? Genetic engineering and cloning, but I never saw the
newsvid.” He hesitated. “That's what happened to you? You're a
clone?”

“No. Clones are more fragile than most. They
rarely survive. But a doctor from Ramsey Corps gave me something.
Look, I know exactly what some people are capable of. I'm well
aware of the tests they do. The experiments they try.”

“Worse than death?”

“Much worse.”

We were quiet for a few minutes before Brody
spoke again. “Do you think someone else will try for the
bounty?”

“On you? Not after tomorrow.”

“Why not? What's happening tomorrow?”

“Your would be assassin...I know where he
gets his information, and although it's been a while, I think the
people there like me better than him. I'll swing by and see what I
can do.”

Ominous grey clouds darkened the sky, and
rain poured down. Thunder rumbling in the distance matched my mood,
and the buildings across the street rippled like images in the
painting I'd just hung. Behind me, footsteps sounded on the wooden
floor. I turned.

Aimee grinned. “It looks great!”

The newest branch of Art Fantastique would
be ready for the grand opening on Thursday. Aimee had been in
contact with all sorts of artists, and she had plans to meet with
three more this afternoon.

“What's wrong? You don't like it?”

I forced a smile. “I'm just tired.” I
hesitated.

“What is it?”

I pointed to the painting in front of us.
“What do you see? I mean, what do you like about it?”

“About this painting in particular?”

“Not exactly. About all of them. About art
in general.”

“Ah, I like the feeling that different
pieces portray. It's like each artist has left a portion of his
soul embedded within the artwork. I like how color, lighting and
design all come together to project a feeling, a mood.”

“This one looks a lot like today.”

She nodded, and together we turned to look
out the window.

A few hours later, the rain had faded to a
drizzle though the sky remained dark. I pulled up the hood of my
black raincoat to ward off the chill. Eberhardt just hunched his
shoulders against the damp. Guy's car would have stuck out in this
neighborhood, so we walked at a quick pace,
shoulder-to-shoulder.

Candles in the windows welcomed cold and wet
patrons to Tony's. Eberhardt immediately took up position at the
bar and became one with the crowd, while Tony, dressed all in black
except for a white apron, hurried over to greet me. I removed my
raincoat and threw it over my arm.

“Keira, it's been a while.” Tony's dark eyes
sparkled in the candlelight as he looked me up and down. “I like
the new look.”

“Thank you, Tony.” I leaned over and kissed
him lightly on the cheek. “May I have a cup of vegetable soup and a
cheese sandwich please?” I handed him 40 gats, more than enough for
the meal I'd just ordered.

“So polite!”

I smiled. “I'm practicing a new role.”

He gave a low whistle. “It works for you!
I'm guessing you don't want change for this?”

“No. I'm looking for information, trying to
find out who ordered a hit on Brody Delaney. Do you know anything
about that?”

“Be careful. They're not after him.”

They were after us. “Who's looking?”

“Jenna's the one to ask.”

“Jenna. I should have known.”

He tilted his head toward the back. “I'll
bring your food to her table.”

I turned around, leaned against the bar and
surveyed the room. There she sat, at the large square corner booth,
by herself for the moment but clearly set up for business. The tall
wooden backs of the booths created an ideal “office” space for her
business dealings.

I walked over and sat across from her. Jenna
smiled through her long brown bangs. I reached into my purse,
withdrew my silver hair clip and handed it to her, opening
negotiations.

She accepted it, studied the intricately
woven design and clipped back her hair. Now I could see her dark
brown eyes. Jenna's trade was the collection, concealment and
dispersal of information.

“Hello, Keira. So tell me, are you Elite
now, or are you still one of us?”

I shrugged. “Somewhere in the middle, I
guess.”

“There's no such thing.”

“Maybe there should be. You know why I'm
here.”

“And why is that?”

“I want the bounty on Brody Delaney
dropped.”

“Really? That's not what I was expecting. I
would think you'd want the bounty on your head dropped.”

“Let's discuss Brody.”

“Alright. I'll cut you a deal.” A smile
toyed at the corners of her mouth.

I didn't smile in return. “Name your
price.”

“Your friendship.”

I shook my head in confusion. “You want to
be my friend?”

“No. You break off your friendship with him.
No more Tuesday drinks, no more dancing, no more free passes
through the airlines for you and your friends.”

My heart sank. How did she even know about
all that?

“Who else knows?” I whispered.

She didn't answer.

“What about the others? The people we're
helping?”

“They and their escorts may continue
through, only in the traditional way. Make Ricky earn her keep,”
she said, referring to Raquelle's technological expertise.

“Why? Why is that your price?”

“I'm not as cold hearted as you think.” She
paused. “They want you, not Brody. If I can convince them that the
link has been severed, they'll stop pursuing him.”

I nodded. They wanted me. No surprise there.
“So I'll need to publicly end the friendship.”

“Nah, I'll know when it's done.”

“Irene,” I whispered.

Jenna's smile grew. “Anything else?”

“The bounty on me, is there a new one?”

“No.” She leaned back against the booth.
“They're just going through other channels now. The posters weren't
having the effect they'd hoped for.”

Had she recommended the high bounty? If so,
she was playing an incredibly dangerous game. “What about Scott and
April?”

“Oh, they'd still like to get their hands on
all three of you. You and Scott specifically.”

I didn't even bother to ask who “they” were.
I knew Jenna never revealed sources. “Can you do anything to change
that?”

“It'd be a huge risk. I have the feeling
that you may be more valuable to them than I am.” Then she
whispered, “I know who you are.”

“You know who I am?”

She nodded. “Yes, I was hoping you'd join. I
knew you'd be a tremendous asset to the cause.”

The last time we'd spoken had been over a
year ago when she'd told me that my target had another name, Guy
Bensen. At the time, I hadn't really understood what she'd meant by
that.

“Then why are you trying to bring us
down?”

She shook her head. “I'm not. But if I don't
make it look like I am, they'll have no use for me.”

I looked around. “Do they keep a close eye
on you?”

“No. The minute they start listening in, I
stop working for them, no matter the cost. They know that.”

“What about him?” I indicated a man in an
expensive business suit. He looked out of place in this
establishment. Then again, I supposed I did too in this outfit.

Jenna studied the man and said, “No, he's
too obvious.”

I returned to our previous conversation and
asked, “If I can explain why they want me so bad, will you divert
their attention?”

“Perhaps, if what you have to tell is worth
knowing.”

I looked toward the bar. The waitress
noticed a break in our conversation and hurried over with my food.
The waitstaff knew better than to disrupt Jenna's transactions.

“May I have an apple and a paring knife,
please?”

“Apples are expensive,” she said.

I opened my purse. “I'm willing to pay.”

“I'll bring you apple slices, Miss.”

“No, I'd rather cut it myself.”

She nodded, hurried away and returned in
under a minute. “Would you like anything else?”

“No, thank you.”

After she left, I turned so only Jenna could
see what I was about to do. Before I had time to reconsider, I
picked up the paring knife and sliced it across my palm. Blood
gushed as I pressed a napkin to the wound. Less than a minute
later, I wiped away all traces of blood and held out my hand. “They
did this to me. They want me back so they can test my limits. Don't
let them!”

I waited.

Finally, she nodded. “I'll see what I can
do.” Then she leaned forward and shared something at no cost.
“People are missing.”

“What do you mean? What people?”

“Just people. People whose disappearances
haven't attracted attention except...I notice everything.” She
paused. “If they did this to you, what's to stop them from doing it
to others?”

“Elaine Ramsey did this to me,” I clarified,
“and we stopped Ramsey Corps.”

“You also spread the word about what she'd
done by broadcasting that vid. That was you and Guy, right?”

I nodded.

“I think others may have jumped on the
bandwagon, and they're more dangerous than Ramsey Corps because
they hide behind policy.” She gathered her things. “Don't come to
me again. We shouldn't be seen together.”

After Jenna left, I shifted to her spot.
From this vantage I could see the entire room.

Eberhardt picked up his drink and joined me.
“You done with business?”

“Yes. What do you think of him?” I indicated
the man in the business suit. He had short smooth black hair and a
pale complexion. “He looks like he belongs in a conference room,
not here. Don't you think?”

“He's one of Guy's clients.”

We looked at each other, most certainly
wondering the same thing.