The Big Sheep (35 page)

Roy moved toward Mag-Lev.

“Easy, Roy,” I said, eyeing Mag-Lev's armed thugs, who had us surrounded.

But Roy brushed Mag-Lev aside and knelt down in front of the Bryn-sheep. “I'm sorry, Priya,” he said. “I didn't know.”

“It's okay,” said the Bryn-sheep, looking into Roy's eyes. “I'm a little confused by it myself.”

“Priya?” said Mag-Lev. “Hang on, are you saying…?”

“The sheep has all of Priya Mistry's memories and thought patterns,” said Keane, “and therefore her personality. For all intents and purposes, that sheep is Priya.”

“No,” said Mag-Lev, taking a step away from the Bryn-sheep. He no longer seemed amused. “It's a trick. That device just translates a few basic animal thoughts into human speech. Stock phrases that don't really mean anything.”

“Priya,” Keane said, and the Bryn-sheep turned her head to face him. “Can you tell me who Noogus is?”

“Noogus?” the sheep asked in a puzzled tone. “Well … he was my teddy bear. When I was very little. Why do you want to know about Noogus?”

Mag-Lev continued to back away. “That doesn't mean anything,” he said. “Noogus is probably some kind of trigger word, like when you tell a dog to fetch or play dead.”

The sheep turned to Mag-Lev. “Why are you talking like that, Giles?” she said. “I thought we had something together. Why are you trying to hurt me? I didn't ask to be made this way.”

“H-how…” Mag-Lev stammered. He turned to Keane. “You told the sheep about me?”

“Afraid not,” said Keane. “Congratulations, Priya actually remembers you. You should feel honored.”

“But … she's a sheep!” Mag-Lev said.

“I'm still me, Giles,” said the Bryn-sheep. “I just look different. I'm the same inside.”

“No,” said Mag-Lev. “You're not her. You're an animal. You're not Priya!”

“It's me!” the Bryn-sheep pleaded. “Please, you have to believe me. It's me, Bryn. You still love me, don't you, Giles?”

Mag-Lev shook his head, backing away from the Bryn-sheep. “Stop it,” he said. “You're not her! Stop talking!”

“Giles, please!” cried the Bryn-sheep, walking toward Mag-Lev. “You're all I have. I thought you would be happy to see me. Now we can finally be together!”

“Get that thing away from me!” Mag-Lev howled, drawing his gun. “Get it out of here before I shoot it!”

The Bryn-sheep backed away, frightened. Roy stepped in between her and Mag-Lev. “Don't you dare!” Roy growled.

Mag-Lev backed off. “Just get it away from me! Get it out of here!” he screamed.

The Bryn-sheep trotted out the door, followed closely by Roy.

“Get out of here,” Mag-Lev growled. “All of you!”

The rest of us made for the door, Keane bringing up the rear. As he reached the door, he stopped and turned to face Mag-Lev. “We're square,” he said. “I met the terms of our deal.”

“Just get out!” Mag-Lev screamed. “Get out!”

I walked outside and Keane followed, closing the door behind him. I looked back to see Mag-Lev crouched next to the chair in which Bryn's corpse reclined. He was holding the dead woman's hand and staring at her face, as if to erase the thought of the Bryn-sheep.

Roy and the Bryn-sheep were already almost to Pavel's Suburban, parked just down the street. I walked as fast as I could without jarring my arm.

“Hurry up,” said Keane. “I can't guarantee Mag-Lev isn't going to realize he's been had.”

It took me a moment to figure out what he meant. “You coached her,” I said.

“Bryn deserves most of the credit,” said Keane. “She's actually a hell of an actress.”

“I wondered how she'd recognized him,” I said. “So all that stuff about them finally being able to be together…”

“She didn't even remember Giles Marbury,” he said. “I told her the only way Mag-Lev would let her go was if she pretended to be in love with him.”

“How the hell did you settle on that strategy?” I asked.

Keane shrugged. “Mag-Lev is all surface. Appearances are the only thing that matter to him. He was never in love with Priya. He was in love with the idea of being the guy with Priya. So you give him Priya without the image of Priya, and he loses his mind. He couldn't process it.”

“What if he'd shot her?”

“It was a calculated risk,” said Keane. “I guessed that his need to delude himself about his love for Priya would outweigh his revulsion toward her.”

“Did you tell Bryn about this ‘calculated risk'?” I asked.

“I didn't have a lot of time,” Keane replied.

“You're an asshole,” I said.

Just then my comm chirped. It was Dr. Takemago. I groaned. I had almost managed to forget that we'd also promised the sheep to Jason Banerjee at Esper. We may have escaped Selah Fiore and Mag-Lev, but we still needed to deal with Banerjee. Out of the frying pan, into the fire.

“Dr. Takemago,” I said. “We've got your sheep, but there have been some … complications.”

For a moment I heard nothing but a sort of rustling sound. Eventually I realized Takemago was crying.

“Dr. Takemago, what's wrong?”

“Mr. Fowler,” Takemago said, gasping. “They're dead. They're all dead.”

“Who?” I asked. “Who's dead?”

“The sheep,” Takemago said. “He's killed them. Said it was too dangerous, that someone would find out what had been done. Mr. Fowler, Mary cannot be brought back here. Please, promise me you will keep Mary safe from Mr. Banerjee.”

“I promise,” I said, without taking a moment to think about it. “I'm not letting that son of a bitch near Mary.”

“Thank you, Mr. Fowler,” Takemago said. The line went dead.

“I mean it, Keane,” I said. “We can't let Banerjee have the—have Bryn. He'll kill her.”

Keane regarded me silently for a moment. “Let's get you to a hospital,” he said.

 

THIRTY-ONE

Pavel drove the Suburban to the hospital, where I spent most of the next three hours waiting for a doctor to set my arm. I don't remember much after that.

I woke up in my own bed to the smell of freshly brewed coffee. April was standing over me, a mug in her hand.

“Time to get up, sleepyhead,” she said. “Keane's been bugging me for two hours, but I told him to let you sleep. I don't think I can hold him off much longer though.”

I groaned and slowly sat up, using my left arm. My right was in a cast. The arm ached a bit, but the excruciating pain from the previous night was gone. “What time is it?” I asked.

“Just after nine,” said April. “Keane says you have a meeting with Esper's vice president of research and development. What's that about?”

I took the mug from April and sipped the coffee. “The sheep,” I said. “Technically it belongs to Esper. Legally, we're obligated to deliver it to them.”

“You can't be serious,” said April. “She isn't just a sheep. She's a person. I've spent the past hour talking to her.”

“She's here?” I asked.

“She and Roy slept in the lobby. He's head over heels for her. It's kind of adorable.”

“How is Bryn doing?” I couldn't help thinking she was due for some kind of psychotic break once she became fully aware of what had been done to her.

“Surprisingly well,” said April. “Roy seems to be helping. I get the feeling this is the first time in quite a while anybody has treated her like a person.”

I couldn't think of anything to say to that. Had Bryn really been so thoroughly objectivized as Priya Mistry that taking the form of a farm animal really was preferable? Or was her quiescent demeanor simply the result of Allebach's memory implants? Allebach had given her the memory of having gradually adjusted to being a sheep, as a sort of cushion against the jarring nature of the transition. But if she figured out that memory was fake, would she be forced to come to grips with what Selah had done to her? Or would the power of the memory hold, even after it was revealed to be an illusion? I couldn't begin to guess.

“Whatever Bryn may look like,” said April, “she's a human being. You can't give her up to Esper. You don't know what they'll do to her.”

I sighed. Actually, I was pretty sure I did know. “That's what I told Keane,” I said. “But it's complicated.”

“How is it complicated?” asked April. “You agreed to retrieve a sheep, not a person. Circumstances have changed. Tell Banerjee you were unable to solve the case. Return his money. Problem solved.”

“It's not just the money,” I said.

“Then what is it?” she asked.

“Fowler!” I heard Keane yell through the door to my apartment. “Time to go!”

“I need to get dressed,” I said.

“What did Keane mean when he said Banerjee would blow the lid off Maelstrom? Jesus, Fowler. You need to stop protecting him. I heard what Selah said about—”

“I'm sorry, April,” I said. “I've got to go.”

Keane and I took a cab to the Esper building, leaving Roy and April to watch Bryn. Keane instructed Roy to keep the doors locked and shoot anybody who tried to get in. Keane said he didn't trust Banerjee not to send the cops to smash in our door and try to take the sheep by force. I didn't either, but then I wasn't sure I even trusted Keane at this point. We rode to Esper in silence, except for the sound of the rain.

“Gentlemen,” said Banerjee as we walked into his office. “Any luck finding my sheep?”

“Oh yes,” said Keane. “It's been quite a productive couple of days. We've learned, for instance, why you're so concerned about getting Mary back. I had a nice conversation with her about it this morning, in fact.”

Banerjee regarded Keane coldly. “That sheep belongs to me,” he said. “I demand you return it.”

“So you can kill her like the others?” I said.

“Look,” said Banerjee. “Whatever you think you know about Mary, the fact is that she's just an animal. An animal that belongs to me, to do with as I see fit. Hand her over, Mr. Keane, or the truth comes out.”

Keane studied Banerjee for some time. “No,” he said at last. “I don't think I'll be doing that.”

“Why?” asked Banerjee. “What possible use do you have for a sheep?”

“None,” said Keane. “But as far as I can tell, Mary has never hurt anyone. You, on the other hand, are a murderous psychopath and, quite frankly, a huge asshole. I don't like you, and I don't like being blackmailed.” Banerjee glared at Keane but said nothing. I appreciated Keane standing up to Banerjee, but I sure hoped he had more up his sleeve than insults, because otherwise we were in serious trouble. “You know,” Keane went on, “I'd hoped that by the time I walked in here, I'd have figured out an angle to use on you, some way to outmaneuver you. I already outsmarted Selah Fiore and Mag-Lev, and I figured it couldn't be too difficult to find some leverage to use against you as well. But to be honest, I've got nothing. Maybe I'm slipping, I don't know. I'm not in a position to dictate terms to you. Right now the sheep is in the lobby of my building. Yours for the taking.”

I stared at Keane, not believing what I was hearing. After all we had gone though, he was going to cave to Banerjee?

“Good,” said Banerjee, with a smile. “I appreciate your willingness to be reasonable on this matter. I'll write you a check and send someone to fetch the sheep.”

Keane shook his head. “You misunderstand me,” he said. “I'm not taking your money, and I'm not giving you the sheep. Here's how this is going to play out, Banerjee. Mr. Fowler and I are going to walk out of here, and we're going to get that sheep somewhere safe. Somewhere you will never find her. Mary is going to live the rest of her life, however long that may be, out of the spotlight. The fact is, you and Mary want the same thing: to keep her out of the news. So if you're smart, you'll leave things be. If, on the other hand, you're more vengeful than smart, you'll break into my building and take her. If you do that, I'm going to make sure you and Esper get plenty of headlines. Everyone in the world will know Esper genetically engineered sheep with human brains—and then killed them to destroy the evidence.”

“You have no proof of any of that,” said Banerjee. “And you're forgetting about Maelstrom.”

“Listen to me, you moron,” said Keane, leaning over the desk. “I know full well you can destroy me. What I'm telling you is that
I don't care
. If I let you play that card once, you're going to get it in your head you can play it whenever you like. That isn't going to happen. So destroy me if you like, but understand this: there is no upside for you. If you take that sheep, you're going to spend the next five years doing damage control—if you manage to keep your job, which I seriously doubt. Release the Maelstrom information if it will make you feel better, but your threats aren't going to factor into my decision. You already got what you wanted: leave us alone, and nobody will ever find out about your illegal research. Fuck with us, and you're in for a world of trouble. We'll see ourselves out.”

Keane got up and made for the door. I followed.

“Nice doing business with you, Banerjee,” said Keane, turning to smile at Banerjee. “Try to be good.”

 

THIRTY-TWO

Keane and I grabbed a cab outside of the Esper headquarters. We rode in silence most of the way, the rain having subsided to a slight drizzle. Finally I spoke. “I appreciate your standing up to Banerjee,” I said. “I mean, Selah and Mag-Lev, too, but Banerjee had you over a barrel.”

Keane shrugged. “Threatening to expose Esper's illegal research seemed like the best strategy, given the circumstances.”

“No,” I said. “The best strategy would have been to turn Bryn over to Banerjee. When you played Selah, you needed the sheep to bargain with Mag-Lev, and when you played Mag-Lev, you needed the sheep to pay off Banerjee. But you don't need her anymore. You had no good play against Banerjee, and no reason to put yourself at risk like that other than concern for Bryn. You're still an asshole, but I wanted to let you know I appreciate your standing up for her.”