Chapter 15
Surface Ripples
The Skene Care Centre lay – as the name suggested – not inside Aberdeen even though it seemed to have the same management as the hospital there. This building was in one of the remotest places Adam had ever visited, never mind Francis, who had probably never left Detroit before running off to Scotland.
The Care Centre was a few minutes' drive north of Peterculter. Officially, it belonged to a forgotten village called Kirkton of Skene. Perched right beside the Loch of Skene, it was an idyllic place, undisturbed by the busyness and noise of civilisation. Not quite within the Highlands, the landscape was already dominated by large hills all around. They would be a marvel in the summer.
According to the plaque at the entrance, the Westhill Care Centre had been built immediately after the Incident. It offered a convalescent home for those that had been injured during it. And true to the spirit of the country, it had united the people in a way most others failed. They had all come, the natches that had been hurt and needed physical therapy. Those that had chosen to have their augments removed because they couldn't deal with the guilt. And of course the normal residents you got in a rehabilitation facilities: addicts, stroke patients, people recovering after injuries. The entire place radiated peace and it was hard to resist that aura.
Right now, it also radiated Christmas. The trees were decorated with fairy lights, there was a ridiculous snowman whose nose-carrot had been pulled out of the face and stuck into its middle instead, and a holographic Father Christmas was flickering next to the entrance.
Francis had got a call from Marcus on Boxing Day, asking them to visit soon. He refused to say why, but he'd agreed to meet the next day. And now … now they were waiting in the entrance hall while a nurse checked if the man actually wanted to see his visitors.
It took only a few minutes before Marcus came. He froze in the door, a warm coat thrown over a shoulder, and his eyes locked on Francis. Adam saw at once that he remembered him now. Marcus approached, looking somewhere between happy and wary. 'Thanks,' he said when he reached them. 'Can we take a walk?' He didn't wait for an answer but moved on outside.
They walked in silence, away from the building to the edge of the Loch, until Francis's patience reached its end. 'Marcus, talk to us. Is something wrong?'
'No. Yes.' Marcus halted. He looked at them both, sizing Adam up in the process. 'I remember you, Frank, and I know about Adam Jensen … I mean, who doesn't? But I don't know him except from earlier at the hospital. Are you sure we can trust him?'
Francis nodded. 'I trust Adam with my life.'
'Okay.' Marcus licked his lips. 'I still don't recall everything, but the thing is … I know a bit. Doctor Soutar's a great guy, a bit strange at first, but he's coming around, it seems.'
'The place looks like it could have that effect,' Adam offered.
'Totally true.' Marcus resumed his walk along the lake, the other two in his wake a step behind him. Adam took a moment to watch Francis and their eyes met. A small smile tugged at the hacker's lips and he extended one hand a little. An invitation, obvious enough to be taken as such, small enough to pretend not to notice. Adam took Francis's hand into his and was rewarded by that small smile becoming a lot more noticeable. They hadn't discussed if what was between them was official. Adam had no problem with changing that. He knew what he felt, and he didn't think that he had to hide it. 'Soutar says,' Marcus continued, 'that the biochip they put in my head is blocking the memories. Part of the therapy feels like he's tasering my head. It's … exquisitely painful, but it seems to help.'
'It doesn't just feel like it,' Francis said. 'Well dosed electric shocks can help with a glitch in the biochip.'
'Yeah. It does help. I'm also getting painkillers because some memories still hurt like hell. The thing is, what I do remember, it's wrong, too. At least in part.'
'Why?'
'Because I remember being abducted by a monster.' Adam and Francis exchanged a glance. 'At least you're not laughing.'
'This isn't the first time we hear this,' Adam said. 'We have another victim. He also claimed he was taken by a monster, but he was a drunkard. We didn't really take him seriously.'
'Well, you shouldn't.' Marcus stopped again and turned to face them again. 'I know this is nonsense, but what I remember is a huge bird-thing, feathers and all, knocking me out and dragging me away.'
'Do you believe someone dressed up as a monster?' Francis asked. 'Or did someone manipulate the memory with the biochip?'
'Not sure, but I tend to think it's the latter.' Marcus lowered his voice. 'That's why you should take the next bit with a grain of salt. I think I knew where I was. But I can't tell if that memory is real or a fake like my monster. There is a warehouse, just outside Aberdeen. It's been abandoned for a while. It used to belong to N-Pro Tech, then to Tai Yong Medical. They took everything that was there and have left the building to the vultures.'
'And someone took you there to augment you?' Adam asked. 'A warehouse is hardly a cleanroom.'
'I don't know. I remember stumbling out of it, but I don't know what it's like in there. Then I was in Aberdeen and taken to the hospital because I was bleeding … must have fallen and hit my head. I … I can't remember that bit. Not at all. Sorry.'
'You've helped us enormously, Marcus,' Francis said. 'Did you talk to Soutar about this?'
'Yes, about all of it.' Marcus shook his head. 'He believes me. Not the monster part, obviously, but the rest. He suggested I talk to you, and he wants a word with you, too.' He sighed. 'I wanted to go out here to talk because he insisted that I tell no-one else, and I thought it's safer here. Also I don't want the other patients to know just how fucked up this is.' He stared at his augmented hand with deep repulsion. 'I want to rip that thing out.'
'I've been there,' Adam said. 'It gets better. Trust me.'
'Soutar's been trying to find out if this is something more than what it looks like, but so far I don't think he had much success. Maybe I'll start shooting bullets out of my fingers tomorrow at breakfast. I just don't trust this thing.'
'Augs don't kill people, people do,' Francis said. 'The Incident notwithstanding.'
'But it did happen.'
'It did, but it won't ever again,' Adam said firmly. 'Listen, Marcus. You're still the same man. You have a chip in your head and a hand that might reveal a stiletto or a screwdriver or hell, a spoon, for all we know. Let them do their job. Maybe you'll be able to trigger whatever your aug can do, but it doesn't just happen by accident. That's not how this works.'
'Aren't you scared?' Marcus asked. He gestured at their clasped hands. 'I know what these can do, you and your augs have been on the news more times than I can count. Don't you fear that one of those blades of yours will shoot out by accident and cut Frank open? How would you feel about that?'
Adam stared at the other man. 'That … thought did occur to me.' He saw and felt Francis tense at his side. He hadn't said it, but the first night, he'd felt a flash of fear. It had passed quickly, however. 'I've had the augs long enough to just shrug it off as the irrational fear it is.' He looked at Francis. 'I'm not afraid of hurting him against my will, him or anyone. I am the only one who controls what weapons I have. I'm not a tool, not a bot that can be controlled with a computer, and neither are you. What happened during the Incident was unique, and I know I just said that but I'll repeat it: It's not happening again. You're not a hazard. Not any more than any other human being that can carry any kind of weapon.'
'Have you spoken to the people at the Care Centre about your fears, Marcus?' Francis asked.
'Not yet.' He swallowed. 'But I will. It's not going to go away by itself.' His lower lips trembled. 'I'd like to go back now. Please.'
Ϡ
The moment they stepped back into the entrance hall, they were cornered by a harassed-looking Doctor Soutar. 'Mr Dillinger, you know you're supposed to sign out if you leave the building,' he said.
'I'm sorry. I … forgot.'
'You didn't forget, you didn't want anyone to know. But we'd be rather negligent if we didn't notice our patients vanishing.' He huffed. 'Now please go and see Doctor Loss. She's waiting.' Marcus left hastily after hugging Francis briefly and shaking Adam's hand. 'Loss is his therapist,' Soutar explained. 'I need a coffee. What about you?'
'Is it any good?'
'This isn't a hospital with sub-par food designed to keep people miserable,' Soutar said. His fidgeting had decreased to a minimum, he seemed remarkably relaxed here. 'Come on, it's on me.' He led them to a cafeteria, ordered three coffees, and they found a table in a corner. 'Only a few words, I haven't got all that much time. Did he tell you about his abduction?'
'Yes,' Francis said. 'All he knows. Or … what he believes he knows.'
'Ah. The monster. I have no idea what to make of that, yet, but I do think I'm getting what his hand can do.' He looked around, checking if anyone was listening, but it didn't seem so. 'He has surgical instruments. A scalpel, a clamp, a goddamn retractor … only pretty basic stuff, but still. This is new.'
'Is it functional?' Adam asked. 'As far as I know, there were some augments for the medical sector in development, but they never made it to production. They were either too dangerous, I mean, imagine a scalpel for a finger, or simply not worth the effort. How is this different?'
Soutar slowly shook his head. 'Did I say this was sensible? I said it's there. Regarding functionality, I don't see the point putting them on a physicist of all people. But I suppose that whoever did this just wanted to try out if these augments could be controlled at all. I hope we'll find out if he can activate them. I'll see if I can work with one of the physiotherapists and him on that. If I had the equipment of a L.I.M.B. clinic … Well. We'll have to make do, no use bemoaning the difficulties.'
'Maybe,' Francis said quietly, 'we can find out if one of the major players was close to a breakthrough regarding surgical augments. I know that David did think loudly about such things, but he also said he wasn't quite there yet. Maybe someone else was.'
'And who?' Adam asked.
'Not Tai Yong, Jensen, or we'd be seeing them on the market rather than on the victim of a madman. No, there's something weird going on here. And I plan to find out what that is and why.'
'That makes that two of us,' Soutar said. He rose. 'I need to get back to work. Thank you for coming. I'll contact you if I learn anything. And I sincerely hope you'll do the same.'
