Freedom

Chapter 15

"Aren't you taking this a little easy?"

The Biker looked tired. "It isn't my decision to make. He can kill us for the bounty on Velvet, but he has to know he wouldn't have long to spend it. She's the only the chance the Zone has. Everyone else is too scared to try." The big man shrugged. "She bought his story. Good enough for me."

"Can I ask something?" My eyes lingered on Velvet as she listened to something Sagaris was saying.

"Why not."

"What's wrong with her?"

He frowned. "A friend of mine brought her out of the underground just before Railgun went to hell. She was in bad shape. I don't know what went on down there, but we know Duty was hunting her. My guess? They caught her and interrogated her, tried to get the locations of other Freedom remnants."

This was not, in fact, what had happened – but neither the Biker nor I would learn about that for some time.

"Think she gave them up?"

"Nothing to give up. She's one of the last officers, maybe the only one left. But even if she had something they wanted, I doubt she'd have parted with it. What does it look like to you?"

I saw what he meant. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"She isn't counting you as part of Freedom."

"I'm a loner. That won't ever change."

"But you're in for the long haul."

"Maybe. What about you, rookie?"

"Going to make me the same offer as him? Join or die?"

"No. You've been straight with us. You know the location of this farmstead, but we're leaving in the morning. You know Velvet's alive, but so does Duty. It wouldn't do us any favors if you went around talking, but it's a chance she's willing to take. You can take your money and go."

I turned to look out the window, unsure what to say. It was getting dark.

"I agree with what you're doing," I said finally. "But a handful of stalkers against Duty – even weakened Duty – I didn't come here to die. No hard feelings."

"What did you come here for?"

I didn't answer. Instead, I pulled down my mask. None of these three people were going to recognize me, and I didn't care if they did. I wanted to breathe. "Can I stay here tonight?"

"Of course. You can set up shop. We're gone tomorrow and we aren't coming back."

I knew better than to ask where they were going.

A light rain was falling, but I wanted air. I went outside and sat down on the edge of the crumbling porch. Water ran from the corners of the roof, splashing down to the sickly grass. I pulled off my gloves and held out my hands, doing my best to rinse them. Three days without a shower. A small problem when compared to other things, like mortal peril – but it wore on me. It was bad enough that there was a long, dangerous road ahead of me. It was a long, dangerous road without showers. That didn't do much for my morale.

But the cool air felt good, and the sound of the rain on the metal roof of the porch was soothing. I slipped into meditation as effortlessly as I might slip into a heated pool. At that moment I wanted a shower so badly it almost hurt – but it wasn't going to happen. I couldn't change reality. I could only change the way I looked at it.

Time must have passed, because it was pitch black before I knew it. Flickering firelight was visible inside the house. Wooden boards creaked, and I turned to see Velvet closing the rotting door behind her. The rain was heavier now, and she avoided a hole in the roof, joining me at the edge of the porch. She didn't sit close to me, and even at rest I could tell she was tense and ready to move.

From an interior pocket she took out a wad of currency and offered it to me. I understand the idea of hazard pay, but this had to be pretty generous. I peeled off a few notes and pocketed them, then handed back the rest.

"You don't have to bribe me to stay quiet. I won't tell anyone about you."

She accepted the money, looking taken aback. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

It was true. I was. I hadn't even gotten started really surprising people yet.

"Are you mad we weren't straight with you?"

"No, I get it."

"We could use a guy like you."

"Freedom went out easily when it was big. How long do you think a little startup like this will last against Duty?"

Her eyes narrowed. "I wasn't in charge back then."

"You wouldn't have let it happen?"

"No, I wouldn't."

Big talk. I stared out at the dark. "I hope you pull it off."

"One year."

I looked over at her. "What did you say?"

"One year. In a year it will be too late. So I'm going to build Freedom up as much as I can." She brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Then I'm leaving, if I'm able."

"Where will you go?"

She gave me a sidelong glance, then leaned forward, reaching back to pull a battered old postcard from her back pocket. She held it out to me, and I took it. It showed a beach, and a glittering skyline. VISIT SUNNY SILVER BAY was printed across the blue sky in big, friendly letters.

I frowned. "Really?"

"I had one of those postcards when I was a girl. I don't know what happened to it." Velvet rested her chin on her hands. "While I was on the run, I got a reading from my detector. There was an anomaly, and when I got close, it vanished – but that was lying there in the grass."

"You're telling me this is some kind of artifact?"

"I don't know what it is. But if I make it through this, that's where I'm going."

I let out a low whistle and handed the postcard back. "As if I didn't doubt your sanity enough. One year, huh?"

"One year."

"I said the same thing."

"What?"

"It's one year for me, too."

Velvet slipped the postcard into a pocket, nodding. "I thought it might be something like that. I couldn't figure why someone like you would be here."

"Someone like me?"

She shrugged. "Someone from money. That paints a picture. The easily-bored, over privileged adrenaline junky. I guess skydiving isn't enough for you anymore. Either that, or you have something to prove."

"It's just an exercise."

"So you bet yourself you could survive the Zone for a year? Why so long?"

"Maybe it wasn't the best idea," I said. That was an understatement. "But think if I make it – think how strong I'll be."

"I think you're strong enough."

"If we both make it, we'll be leaving at the same time." I turned to Velvet. "Are you superstitious?"

"You heard my postcard story. What do you think?"

I laughed.

"You hide your face," she said. "I suppose you're enough of a somebody that it's necessary."

"I don't think the odds of anyone in this part of the world recognizing me are very high," I said honestly. "But I'm worth enough of a ransom – and there are enough people here looking to make a fortune – that it doesn't seem worth the risk."

"Where are you from?"

"Hong Kong."

"Talking like that? Please."

"Born in Hong Kong." I hesitated. "Raised in Toronto."

Velvet snorted. "A Canadian stalker."

"I'm not Canadian, damn it."

"Sure you are. Can you speak Chinese?"

"Well – no."

"If you can't speak Chinese, you aren't Chinese."

"I never said I was Chinese."

"It's the Zone and I'm the boss. I say what I want. And I've actually got a man under my command now."

"One man." I shook my head. "Under duress."

"Freedom started with one man the first time, too."

"What do you actually know about Silver Bay?"

"Huh? Well – nothing, I guess. But it must be very pretty and sunny."

I sighed. I'd been about to tell her about what that city was really like – but why kill her dream? Maybe that was what was keeping her going. "It is," I lied. I supposed she'd learn about the riots and such in her own time.

"I've never seen the Pacific," Velvet said. Wow, we were really hitting it off. For the first time, she actually seemed sort of relaxed. She was still sitting too far away, and if there had been enough light to see her eyes, they'd probably still look pretty crazy – but I wasn't complaining.

"You know why I came to the Zone. Why did you?"

Velvet opened her mouth, but didn't say anything. When she smiled at me, I knew I'd screwed up. "I ran into some bad luck," she said. "That's all." She got to her feet and brushed herself off. I groaned inwardly. I should have known better than to ask that. She was heading for the door, and I quickly got up.

"I wouldn't do something like pledging until I was convinced you meant business," I told her.

Velvet paused and looked back. "I wouldn't be above hiring a loner until he could make up his mind," she said, then disappeared inside.

So there you go. Now you know why I did it. I wasn't the first man to do something indescribably stupid because of a great set of… eyes. But I thought I was above that. I guess not.

Author note: Coming right along. 15 already. How's everyone liking it?