State of Decay

Yeah?

Where is the revivor?

The words hovered there. I tried to think of a good response, but I was still reeling. A dark spot swam in front of my eyes that wouldn’t go away.

Never mind how I know, Wachalowski. Where is it?

Squatting back on my heels, I ran a regimen of stims, painkillers, and anti-inflammatory serum, but the stims got overruled by the system because of drug conflict detection. Running down the list, it looked as though the emergency systems had delivered a massive dose of clotting agent to the wound site, along with a bunch of other stuff. No wonder I was dizzy.

I don’t know where it is.

You don’t know.

No, but I think I know where it’s going.

What do you mean?

The revivor was a police detective involved in a series of murders that turned out to be directly related to my investigation. I had reason to believe it had information about the man responsible for the prison- truck hijack and also the shooting outside headquarters.

Go on.

The killer is one of the revivors Tai smuggled in for his special client, the one we’re looking for. However many revivors this person has gotten his hands on, he’s commanding them remotely over their communications system. A list of names has been distributed to them, and they’re eliminating the people on that list. The revivor that was with me ended up receiving a copy of that database when it came online.

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

Why are the people on the list being targeted?

I don’t know yet.

Who is commanding the revivors?

I believe it’s a former Heinlein employee named Samuel Fawkes. Look, someone who is helping me with the case appeared on that list. I’m heading there now, but I need some units over at her place right away. I gave him Zoe’s name and address.

Done. What about you?

I’m fine.

Your heart stopped. Your vitals were flat long enough for the implant to report you KIA.

Peeling my shirt back, I could see there had been a lot of blood, at least initially. A dark crevice sat in the middle of my chest, hardened over with black.

I’ll live.

Even as I said it, though, that dark blotch still floated there in front of my eyes. It was like a blind spot that even the implant couldn’t write to. If the implant sent a KIA beacon, then I was technically dead for at least ninety seconds.

Looking around, everything around the dark patch had a sharpness to it that seemed strange. Everything felt very clear and focused, but almost to the point where it felt like a drug trip. Was it a side effect of all the chemicals, or was it something worse?

Wachalowski?

I said, I’ll make it.

The drugs coursed through my system, and the pain and stiffness retreated. Joints cracking, I managed to get to my feet and take a look around. The corner of the bedroll was stained through with blood where a pool of it had formed, and three footsteps in that same blood led from the spot toward the exit. It looked like she had stood up and immediately left, like she was moving with a purpose.

You shouldn’t be out there alone in your condition.

I’m not alone.

Fine. Go. Someone is going to answer for that revivor, though, Agent.

Understood.

That’s going to be you. Find it.

The connection closed. Calliope continued to watch me.

“What?”

“There’s this orange light,” she said, “behind your eyes.”

“It’s reflection from the internal display.”

“It’s cool.”

“Thanks.”

The results of my decisions were less cool. Faye was gone, Zoe was in trouble, and I was in it up to my neck. The only thing that might pull it out was the connection I monitored right before the remote override code came in. A quick check of my internal buffer showed the link was still there.

Sean?

Yeah.

I need you to run a trace on this connection.

You got it.

I need to know where it originated from, the physical location. Is there enough?

I think so. Give me some time.

Let me know as soon as you have it.

“How are you still standing?” Calliope asked.

“There’s a piece of armor plating behind my breastbone.”

“What the hell for?”

“In case something like this ever happened. I had it installed during my tour. The blade went through the bone but never reached my heart.”

That didn’t stop it from impacting it, though. The plate itself got pushed back and shocked my heart so hard it had stopped. If the emergency system hadn’t jolted it, it would have stopped for good.

“Come on,” I said. “I have to move. Someone’s in trouble.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“I’ll take you there.”

“I’ve got a vehicle.”

“I’ve got a bike,” she said, “and I know how to ride it. How fast you want to get there?”

My chest was still aching despite the drugs. Dragging her into this would probably be a mistake, but the streets would be jammed with patrols and people trying to beat the curfew; a motorcycle would skirt around a lot of it. Zoe needed help now, not later. I could commandeer the bike, but honestly, with the wound in my chest, I didn’t think I’d be able to control it.

I checked for my gun and found that Faye had left it behind. Breaking out the magazine, I saw it was still fully loaded. I never even got off a shot.

Header mismatch: Ott, Zoe. Experimentation.

Experimentation …Whatever that meant, I didn’t like the sound of it. I was the one who brought her into the whole mess. There wasn’t time to argue.

“Alright,” I said. “Let’s go.”

Zoe Ott—The Holding Pens

“Can you hear me?”