And how involved was Artyom?
The flexiscreens above me began replaying the terrorist attack from a few days ago. They had more intel now, about where the terrorist had sourced the bombs, how he’d gained access into the building, and as the piece unfolded I noticed people were staring at us. At me. Not directly, of course, just side glances and quick looks. Wasn’t like I wasn’t used to it. But there were more of them now. And where before there’d been curiosity, now there was a quiet anger. Fear. Trepidation. As if I’d snap off the leash at the slightest provocation.
I felt my fingers tighten around the glass, suddenly feeling vulnerable without my armour.
I glanced up to see Kowalski. ‘You got my message,’ I said. I’d invited her when we’d left the second bar. I’d only half expected her to join us. Not sure why I did it. Maybe I’d enjoyed our little chat in the French restaurant more than I’d realised.
But I knew I was glad she was here.
She stood awkwardly in front of the table. Her hair was wet from a recent shower, her trademark scarf around her neck. ‘You still got room for one more?’
‘I don’t know,’ I said, leaning back in my seat. Grim stirred and gave a loud snort but didn’t wake up. ‘That alpha-male quip cut me deep. Fragile masculinity and all.’
Katherine rolled her eyes. There was a vacant chair, but I moved sideways so she could sit next to me in the booth. She did. ‘Reapers don’t hold grudges,’ I said, ‘not worth it. Except for when we do.’
‘Yeah.’ The cloudy residue of her vaper clung to her clothes with a vague peppery smell. ‘Well, I’m no stranger to that department.’
‘What’s your poison?’ I asked, gesturing at the menus bobbing in the air, held out by drones designed as various aquatic creatures. Katherine placed her order with the drone built like a stingray. Vodka, triple-filtered through porous asteroid rocks. I guess you’d need something strong if you worked under Kindosh’s belt.
‘Today’s been a kick in the gut for everyone,’ she said as her drink came. She plonked the entire bottle on the table between us, poured herself a decent measure and knocked it back. Poured herself another. ‘Kindosh knew you didn’t like us and locked you into a deal you couldn’t refuse. It’s hard to stay angry with you when you do exactly what she expected.’
‘So I’m off the hook?’
‘Nice try, Vak. But Harmony understands you had your reasons.’
She twirled the glass in her hands. ‘Remember Andrezj? That nephew of mine who dabbled in stormtech?’ She didn’t look up, as if she didn’t have the willpower to raise her head. ‘That was him today. The one who brought down that building.’
My throat went tight. Her behaviour in my apartment now made sense. ‘I’m afraid to call my sister.’ Her gaze was still fixed down, searching for answers in the clear liquid. ‘I keep trying to come up with things to say. Playing them in my head over and over and over. None of them end well. He won’t be the last, Vakov. Not by a long shot. And it scares me. It scares me that so many people are going to die before we stop this.’
‘There’s not much that hurts more than losing family,’ I said.
Only now did Katherine look at me. ‘Is that what happened to your sister?’
I opened my mouth, closed it again. I’ve very rarely let people see me, really see me. It’s not that I care what they might think; it’s that some things should be private. Especially from Harmony. Us Reapers spend so long wrapped in our armour, in our fireteams, in the sensations of our bodies, that the concept of opening up to anyone outside of our comfort zone is an alien one. It’s why so many folks with stormtech suffer from depression and suicidal tendencies: we’ve been biochemically altered to feed on our own hyper-stimulated mentalities, to block support and logic off from third parties. Most therapists give up on us out of frustration.
But sometimes, against all logic and reason, you take a leap of faith. If I couldn’t trust Katherine with this, how could I trust her with my life?
More than that: I wanted to trust her. Wanted her to trust me.
I let the words spill out of me. ‘Rent isn’t cheap on New Vladi. My sister was planning to leave home and take me and Artyom with her. My father was … difficult to live with. We wanted out. Kasia knew a few guys who were in gangs, controlling the local drug trade. Spacefaring traders had just brought grimwire and synthsilver to New Vladi. Most of it was seized by the local forces, but not all of it. They issued a public warning to stay away from the stuff. And guess what happens when you tell people they can’t have something?’
‘You’ve sold them for life,’ Katherine confirmed.
‘It spread through the main city, reaching across to towns and remote settlements. Shipping it became a high demand, rewarding business. All Kasia needed was a few deliveries and she’d be set. There was this one guy called Joon. Joon Szymanski.’ We looked down simultaneously as the stormtech burned an enraged blue up my arms, twisting in furious knots. I worked some saliva into my throat. ‘My sister did about half a dozen shipments for him. But there’d been raids and people were on high alert. When Kasia
