The Credulity Nexus (20 page)

The gun went
off with a roar. Just one shot. She flinched away as the flash
blinded her and burnt her face, and so didn't see her target spin
around, a hole blown right through his shoulder, and flop to the
ground.

The wrestler
had a grip on her. His big fingers pressed into her throat and
yanked her back. She let go of his gun-hand and reached back to
find his eyes. But he didn't let her get near them. He pushed her
down, almost breaking her neck, and pressed the hot barrel of the
.45 against the top of her skull.

“
Stop fucking struggling, or I'll blow your
fucking head off.”

Shoved into
the carpet, choking, her neck bent painfully forward and her hands
unable to reach the vulnerable spots on her massive assailant,
Fariba gave a strangled cry of frustration and let her arms fall.
The other man was squirming in pain on the floor. At least if one
of them was wounded, she might still stand a chance of
escaping.

“
Who the hell are you people?” She could
barely speak, but it didn't really matter. The wrestler wasn't in
the mood for answering questions, it seemed.

He dragged her
to her feet, keeping the barrel of his gun firmly against her
skull. So firmly, it was hurting more than the hand round her neck.
She tried to guess who her attackers were, but she drew a blank.
The upload's people, whom she still assumed were the Chicago Mob,
already had Rik. Fariba was no use to them at all.

It could be
another government agency after the package, in which case it could
be almost anyone – except the Brits and the Americans, who both
knew she had nothing more to tell them. Or it could be Rik's
employer, Newton Cordell, trying to get his property back. But, and
she kept coming back to this, why would Cordell, or anyone, think
she knew anything?

“
Can you walk, mate?” The wrestler actually
seemed concerned about his fallen comrade.

“
That fucking cunt!”

It was the
first coherent thing the wounded man had said since she'd shot him.
He was soaked in his own blood, but the hole his friend's cannon
had made in him didn't seem to have opened an artery. Fariba
couldn't help thinking what a shame that was, especially when he
managed to grab the sofa and pull himself into a sitting position.
He stared at her with wavering eyes, his face grey with pain and
blood loss. He grabbed the stunner from where it lay beside
him.

“
Hey, now, hang on a minute, mate!” The
wrestler said, shifting Fariba so that she became a shield for him.
“Don't be fucking stupid.”

Fariba could
see his point. The wounded man was barely conscious and the stunner
was weaving about in front of his face unsteadily as he tried to
aim. The big man holding her was a much easier target than she was.
So, to help matters along, she tried turning herself sideways, to
present a smaller profile.

“
Bastard!” the wounded man shouted, and
fired.

The twin
ionising lasers struck Fariba on the left buttock and unleashed
fifty thousand volts into her body. She felt the pain slash through
her like hot, whirling blades. Every muscle tensed. The wrestler
took a jolt too and released her as she bucked and jerked in his
grasp. By the time she hit the floor, she was unconscious.

After two more hours of punishing
deceleration, Rik was glad to be back, however briefly, in zero
G.
The
Phenomenon of Man
was
coasting in to dock at an orbiting transfer station, and Rik was
waiting in an acceleration couch for the manoeuvres to be over and
done with. He threw a couple more pain relief pills into his mouth
and crunched them down, hoping this lot would have a better effect
on his headache than the others he'd taken. The medic had shrugged
and said nothing would really help till he had his cogplus seen
to.

Well, there
was no time for that yet. He had to get downside and get on Maria's
trail before anybody else found her.

When the pilot
gave the 'manoeuvres complete' announcement, Rik hurried to the
airlock. He'd had enough of being cooped up and needed some action
– even if it was just changing ships. A woman joined him at the
door.

“
In a hurry, partner?”

Rik stared at
the stranger until it dawned on him who it was. Rivers had changed
again, and was now a tanned flesh colour. What had thrown him was
that she was wearing a ship's jumpsuit, boots, sunglasses and a
hat. She'd even used a little lipstick so that her mouth looked
almost normal.

“
How do you like the new me?” she asked,
removing the sunglasses and smiling for him. The flesh-coloured
eyes and teeth immediately dispelled the illusion of
humanity.

“
You look like a robot in drag,” he said.
“Does it have to be monochrome all the time?”

She shrugged.
“There's probably a load of apps I can get from the Net. Maybe one
day I'll install a few and check them out. I haven't really had
time, you know, what with chasing your ass all over the solar
system.”

“
My heart bleeds for you. Just keep your
shades on, OK? We don't want to scare any kiddies.”

Rivers
laughed. She seemed to revel in the more creepy side of being an
upload. Something Rik was fine with – each to his own, he always
said – but he wished she could go somewhere else while she amused
herself.

They left the airlock, accompanied by two
of Rivers' heavies, and crossed the apron to the terminal building.
There they hooked onto a beltway that took them round to where the
scramjet was waiting. As they rolled along, Rik glanced back, and
got his first real look at
The Phenomenon of Man
through the station's clear plastic roof. It was
bigger than he’d expected. Like most deep space ships, it was a
flying saucer. Wide, round and shallow. It comprised a broad disc
in which the crew and passengers lived, with the fusion engines
beneath it, and the inflatable reaction-mass tanks hanging in a
thick sausage just below the rim. Little robot service craft
flitted around it, helping to prepare it for its next
trip.

The scramjet
had them in New York in less than an hour: embarkation, air traffic
control clearance, flight, landing, and disembarkation all
included.

They rented a
car and let it drive them to the town of Oakland, New Jersey. Rik
scowled at Rivers in silence for most of the way. She had made them
all wait at the airport while she went round the shops buying
herself clothes and makeup. By the time they set off again, she had
ditched the jumpsuit in favour of a short Spandex dress, tights,
heels and a couple of kilos of cheap jewellery. With her
fingernails painted, makeup applied, and a spiky white wig, Rik had
to concede she looked passably human, and disturbingly hot.

“
When we get there,” he said, “I go in
alone. You and the travelling circus stay in the car,
OK?”

“
Think again, partner. We're joined at the
hip.”

Rik thought
about arguing, but didn't bother. His only argument was that he
didn't trust her. Given how likely that was to persuade her, his
only other option was physical restraint. He had enough bruises, on
his body and his ego, to dismiss that option straight away.

“
All right, but I do all the
talking.”

Rivers
shrugged her cute little shrug again, the one he was getting sick
of the sight of, and smiled sweetly. She would do what the hell she
liked and he would just have to live with it.

He checked his weapons, the stunner and
the handgun he'd picked up from
The Phenomenon of Man
. A small cylinder he'd also collected
from the armoury was safely in his pocket. He didn't expect any
trouble, but there was no telling who might have discovered this
place.

They pulled up
outside a large two-storey house, surrounded by trees and with
views down to a small lake. The neighbourhood was a long way
upmarket from the LA apartment block Rik remembered. The old lady
had done all right for herself.

The front door
was heavy, panelled wood with smart-glass windows set in it – LCD
filters that let the occupant look out while the visitor got to
stare at their own, fuzzy reflection. Joanna Breezy opened her
front door at the second ring of the bell, having taken her time
inspecting her callers.

She looked at
Rik as if he had come holding a begging-bowl. “What do you want?”
she said. “I thought I'd seen the last of you.”

She was a
tall, gaunt woman in her seventies, a little stooped, a lot
wrinkled, but still looking as strong and fiercely independent as
Rik remembered her.

“
Hello, Joanna,” he said politely. “May we
come in?”

The old woman
took a long, up and down look at Rivers, and then turned back to
Rik. “Who's your friend?”

Rik had been
expecting the hostility. The last time he'd seen Joanna, she had
been living in the apartment next door to him in LA. He had come
home late after a long drinking session with some of the guys, and
had found her comforting Maria on their sofa. That was just a week
or so before Maria left him for good.

“
This is Rivers. She's a business
associate.”

“
Looks like a goddamn whore to me. Why
don't you take your damn business elsewhere? And your
whore.”

Rivers moved
forward with lightning speed and pushed the door wide. The old
woman staggered back and fetched up against the banister at the
foot of the stairs.

“
This is bullshit, that's what it is.”
Rivers barged in after the woman. “You think we're playing games
here, Rik?”

The old woman
was shaken and alarmed, but was rallying for another outburst.
Rivers took her by the lapels and dragged her into the lounge,
dumping her into an old Chesterfield sofa.

“
That's enough!”

Rik caught
Rivers by the shoulder and spun her round to face him. Her fist
shot out at him like a striking snake, and because he'd been
expecting it, he managed to move his head out of its way. Rivers
was so surprised, she didn't strike again. She just looked at him
and grinned.

“
All right, smartass,” she said, walking
past him. “Ask grandma some questions, and let’s get out of here.
This place stinks of old people.”

“
What are you?” the old woman asked her.
“You're not human. You're one of those zombie things.”

“
Joanna.” Rik placed himself between the
old woman and Rivers. “Joanna, listen to me. I just want to ask if
you know where Maria is. Tell me where to find her and we'll leave,
straight away. No-one will harm you.”

Joanna's
attention slowly drifted back to him.

“
You always were bad news,” she told him.
“I always said she was too good for you. That poor, sweet child.
She should have left you long before she did. All that love, and
you treated her like garbage.”

Rik couldn't
have agreed more, but now wasn't the time for contrition.

“
I'm trying to find her, Joanna. She's in
danger. I want to help her.”

“
What the hell kind of trouble have you
gone and brought down on her now, you sorry excuse for
a–”

“
Joanna. Just tell me how I can reach her.
I know she left a message with you. There's no-one else. It had to
be someone we both knew, someone she'd trust with her life,
somebody no-one else would know about. I've been through everybody,
and you're the only one. If she left a message anywhere, it was
with you.”

Rik felt
himself shoved aside as if he was nothing, and Rivers was back in
the old woman's face. She grabbed Joanna by her throat. “Or maybe
she's hiding out here, yeah? Or did she give you the package to
hide? Am I close, grandma? Maybe I should just wring your
disgusting chicken neck until you start talking.”

“
Rivers!”

The upload
slowly turned her head to find Rik pointing his stunner at her. Its
targeting laser painted a little green spot on her ribs.

“
You think that can hurt me?”

Rik shrugged.
“I don't know. Do you want me to try it?” Rivers released Joanna's
neck and turned to face Rik, half-crouched, ready to spring at him.
Rik felt his heartbeat quicken, feeling the menace in her posture.
But seconds ticked by, and he realised his volatile partner didn't
want to take the risk after all. His heartbeat slowed again.
Nevertheless, Rivers still faced him.

“
OK,” he said. “I'm sure your deranged boss
likes to see this kind of gung-ho stupidity. She probably thinks
you've got a real can-do attitude. But let me remind you, I'm in
charge here. We do it my way, and we might get what we're after. If
you fuck this up – yet again – that mental defective with the
double-D bra fixation is not going to offer you another
chance.”

Rivers glared
at him as he gave her a moment to think it through. “I can see you
love being a living doll,” he continued, “but you and I both know
that Madame Strange up there probably had your shiny new brainbox
fitted with a radio-controlled off switch. I bet she carries a
remote trigger tucked into her G-string, just so she can fry your
cute little ass if you ever piss her off.”

The upload
spun on her heel and strode away. One moment she was a lethal
machine, ready to tear him apart, the next she was a bored young
woman, slinking across the room to curl into a chair and wait for
the grown-ups to finish their business. She didn't actually say,
“Whatever!” and she didn't actually start filing her nails, but she
may as well have done.