Chapter Twelve
“The dead are getting smarter, Harry.”
“Then we’ve gotta get meaner. Only way we’re gettin’ through this is if we kill every single one of those Thinkers on sight. It’s either us or them.”
–Harold “Harry” Pfeifer. San Jose, California. 4 Months After.
* * *
Oh, how Leah could not have felt more low than now.
She yanked off her scarf and puked onto the sidewalk. What a night. She’d had every intention of leaving Elysium the moment she had finished with Hades, but somehow, some way, she’d wandered into a room filled with rookie Hunters, and then there was a cap of Gluttony in her stomach. Next thing she knew, Leah was raging with a group of construction hulks until the sun was up, punching and laughing at all in sight, her mind caught in some nebula between Pride and Envy.
Now the comedown was hitting her hard, and Leah would never put a single thing into her mouth ever again, unless it was perhaps a bullet. Physical pain wasn’t a sensation she could experience, but discomfort was no stranger to a rezzer. Whether it was the pang of the Hunger in their chests, the slow but steady rot of their flesh, or the perpetual albatross of hollowing, no one could go a day without feeling the effects of one ailment or other.
So it wasn’t unfair to claim that the malaise she was feeling now was worlds worse than any of those daily torments combined.
Why had Leah done this to herself? It had been years since she had been seduced by Elysium. Why now? She clutched her stomach and retched up another wave of black bile. The answer was obvious. Leah had allowed herself to succumb to the snare of solipsism, and had made a decision she preferred not to think about. There was still work to do, and more misery to endure, and she suspected that when she came out the other end of this mess, there would be many more nights like that one.
Nothing was ever easy, was it?
Leah stumbled down the street. Her vision blurred and then focused, and she realized that Kurt was standing in front.
She marched over. “What are you doing here?”
“The human got away,” he said.
Her hangover evaporated in a wave of hot rage. “What!?”
“Kept my eye on the door like you said. Didn’t let anyone in. Even had a close call with Hades when he came knocking, but I wasn’t about to give him up without a fight.”
Shit. She’d forgotten to give Kurt the head’s up. Too busy basking in a sea of Gluttony. She rubbed her forehead. “It’s okay, Kurt. Just tell me what happened.”
“The human had split before Hades got there. Best way I can figure it is that Mother pulled a fast one on us. Gave us a room where she knew he could slip out.”
“And you didn’t think to check for that?”
“Didn’t know she wasn’t on our side.”
“Our side.” You poor, naive idiot. Of course Leah had only picked Kurt from a crowd because he could carry more than a truck and could hit like one too. What the hell did he know about having to take sides!?
“Get the others,” she ordered. “And so help me, Kurt. If we don’t get to the human before someone else, you’re out! You hear me? You can go back to wall repairs for all I fucking care.”
His crimson eye narrowed on hers. A tear grew. “Come on, boss. You don’t mean that…”
Was he really trying to guilt her now? Leah grit her teeth. “You had one fucking job last night. That was it! What? You want to mope now? I told you when we started that Hunting wasn’t all fun and games. Sometimes you have to use the fucking brain that I spent all those pics building for you!”
He frowned. “I’m sorry.”
She should have stopped there, but Pride was still fresh in her veins. “Sorry isn’t good enough, Kurt. I want results. Now find Buttercup and Mastermind. Maybe they’ll be less useless than a hollowed-out sack of shit like you. Go!”
He scurried off in silence, and for a moment, Leah almost regretted going off on him.
Almost, anyway.
* * *
“You know the deal,” Leah said. “Sweep Tartarus. Top to bottom. Throw pics into holes and see what comes crawling out. We’ve got thousands to burn, and he’s gained less than eight hours on us. That’s nowhere near enough time to disappear in a city this small.”
“What about me, mum?” Mastermind asked. “I won’t bear much success intimidating the ruffians of Tartarus with my frame.”
“You go check with Charon. See if anyone tried to cross the Styx.” She wouldn’t put it past him.
“Guess I’ll start with the Lust maidens,” Buttercup said with a laugh. “Those girls love me.”
“Don’t fuck around,” Leah snapped. “I don’t want to hear that you got juiced on Greed an hour from now, and didn’t find shit because of it.”
He straightened himself. “Of course, boss. Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Good.” She turned back to Kurt. “If Buttercup’s searching the east, you’re coming in from the west. Start at Municipal and head to Elysium. Leave no stone unturned.”
“I won’t let you down.”
“I mean it. No mistakes and no pussy-footing this. Can I count on you?”
He gripped the hilt of his sledgehammer and bowed. “I won’t stop until I find him. I’ll smash half of Tartarus into the pavement if I have to!”
“Don’t just say it then. Do it. Or else.”
Leah was sober now, and after a fresh meal, her Rez was back to full strength, but still she wouldn’t allow herself to go easy on Kurt. This fuck-up hadn’t just put him in jeopardy. If Leah had allowed the one survivor of humanity to have slipped free on her watch, and the bubble of information kept growing, then this was a huge fucking crisis, and she could kiss her deal with Hades goodbye.
And all Leah had to keep from facing his wrath was this motley crew. How the hell had she let herself become so vulnerable?
“I’m off to the Lodge. It’s the only other landmark he knows.” She pointed to Kurt and Buttercup. “You two don’t report back until sundown. We’ll figure out the next move from there if he’s still missing.” She nodded to Mastermind. “You get back to me as soon as you talk to Charon. If he turns up nothing, then I guess it’s combing through Asphodel next. Maybe even Municipal.” She furrowed her brow. “Do I need to repeat myself?”
All shook their heads in unison.
“Remember what’s at stake here. You have to find him, but you can’t let anyone know he’s alive. It’s a tighter job than we’ve dealt with before, but it’s one I can’t have any of you fuck up.”
“Don’t worry,” Mastermind said. “This is the break we’ve been looking for. We won’t let you down!”
“Yes.” Leah swallowed the lump in her throat to bury the lie. “This is for us.”
* * *
The fine-trimmed hedges of the Lodge glistened in the morning sun. A troupe of vets at a nearby table regaled a story of a hollow herd they’d once managed to trap in an underpass before detonating the bridge above. A boss was negotiating a contract with a fresh crew. Cleaners were sweeping the lobby of dust and leaves.
And Leah brooded alone, drinking a mug of thinned goat’s blood through a straw as she thought of how to climb out of this pit. At least the infused honey was giving her a boost.
The human hadn’t shown his face around the Lodge either. She had kicked down the appropriate doors and interrogated everyone in sight, but no one had seen anything to match his description, rezzer garb or not. He could’ve swapped clothes. Shit. Leah was truly flying blind on this. She hadn’t had a Hunt this delicate since the Beverly Butcher was clearing whole Hunter crews. Or perhaps it was more appropriate to consider how she’d dealt with the Tartarus Five. That had been a real nightmare and ended up pissing off half the unions. But this was different. Where Hades had given her his full support, she was doing everything she could to avoid his wrath. And unlike before, her manpower was a fraction of what it had once been. Downsizing has its detriments. They might as well have been searching for a needle in an ever-shifting pile of needles.
Why wouldn’t the living just die already?
A shadow passed over her seat. It was dressed in the most exaggerated caricatures of how ancient hunters used to look. Starting from the reinforced leather boots with iron plating that ran up the knee, and going into the silk tunic above that, and the long, black cloak above that. The arms had been bolstered with cured leather, and bandoleers had been strung over the shoulders, stopping only at the cutlass on the waist. Between the raised neckwarmer and the oversized leather cap with an eagle’s feather sticking out, only his dark red eyes could be seen.
Leah sighed. “What do you want, Xander?”
“Heard about Spike? Got wasted with his crew, only a few miles from here.”
“News to me.”
“The contract’s gonna be big. Half the Lodge will be throwing in to oust the traitor.”
She crossed her arms. “What makes you think it’s one of us?”
“Who else would it be? Hollows didn’t do it, and bandits don’t come this close. We’re talking someone with skills.” He stared deep. “Someone who’s mastered the Hunt.”
Leah didn’t like the way Xander was watching her. “Who posted the contract? Might just be some bored worker trolling us.”
He shook his head. “Not this time. You can thank Hades himself for this one.”
Figures. He was ramping up pressure on Leah to get this mess cleaned up. No doubt that someone else would find their way under the bus the moment she had her hands on Liam Fenix, but until then, she might as well feel the heat of an army of bloodthirsty Hunters on her back.
Leah raised an eyebrow. “This some roundabout way of asking that we team up?”
“Nope. Spike was one of mine, so I’m doing this myself. Just giving you the head’s up. Hunters’ honor and all that bullshit. Don’t worry though, I’ll find the killer, and bring him in myself.” He turned to leave. “Or her.”
Xander marched off, leaving Leah alone. She gave her morning blood a long, hard swallow. This was going to get a whole lot messier before it got cleaner.
Xander was to Hunting what Kurt was to fighting. A blunt instrument sent to crush everything in his path, no matter the collateral damage. Most of his contracts involved clearing hollow herds, but he wasn’t above exterminating Enclaves if given the task. His motto was simple. ‘Less Rez spent means more Rez gained.’ If some of his grunts got killed in the process, then the payout would be higher for the survivors. Not that any of his people ever complained. Most were regular workers who’d fallen into debt and needed an easy payout, and Xander was all too willing to accommodate their desperation into his next crew. He had a hard-on for proving that he was the most effective Hunter above all else, and wanted to run the Lodge for himself.
It all made Leah sick. To Hunt was to leave the sanctuary of Pandemonium and brave the wastes of the old world. Everything was a threat out there, even other Hunters, and to ignore that reality by bringing in a couple rookies still trying to relearn how to use their vocal cords was to invite disaster. And for what? A better pay-day? A lower risk for oneself? That wasn’t the point for why they Hunted. It was for the benefit of those who couldn’t. It was an exercise in altruism.
But then again, who was Leah to judge? If she was willing to kill off her own crew just to get in big with Hades, was she really any better than him? Less Rez spent means more Rez gained, she supposed. A fistful of Sloth would be a godsend right now.
Mastermind marched back, brimming with confidence. “We have an update to our dilemma, mum! It would appear that Charon had contact with our missing human.”
Thank goodness. “Where’d Charon hole him up?”
Mastermind raised a finger. “Unfortunately, this development has a regrettable twist. Charon chose not to detain the human, and he is now somewhere past the Styx, wandering the old city alone.”
“What!? Why the hell didn’t he stop him?” Charon never just let anyone waltz in and out of the Styx.
“It would appear that your initial bribery has boomeranged against us. ‘Didn’t need papers going in, so didn’t think he needed any going out.’ I believe that is how he phrased the sentiment.”
Leah exhaled her grief. “Great. So now we’re a step back from square one. The last living human on the planet is out of our hands, unarmed, and trekking through the most hostile environment for his kind, alone and aimless.”
“Perhaps he is not as aimless as you suspect, mum.” He rubbed his thumb on his lips. “I would surmise that this escape was more than some impulsive spell. Based off the timing, he had gone straight from Mother’s Grace to Asphodel’s gate, and not wasted a second in between. That is deliberate. The important question is what would prompt such a calculated route, and where does it end?”
Where, indeed? Leah needed to think, now more than ever. There was hardly a refuge for him. The nearest outpost was hundreds of miles away, and he would know no one at any. Pandemonium had its share of satellites closer, from the Solar Farm up north to the Fisheries southwest to Watchtower downtown, but the same issues arose. Liam Fenix would find no quarter if he showed up unannounced, and that was assuming that he could find them at all.
Perhaps the move was tactical. He could find some more food in a grocery market, seek higher ground, and barricade the entrance so he’d have a place to sleep. Those were all typical human things to do. Of course, that expanded the grid to just about anywhere, and made the chances of finding him even more slim than if he was laying low in Pandemonium.
But that would still be aimless. Food, shelter, and security were all available at Mother’s Grace. He wouldn’t abandon it so flippantly without a more valuable locale. But where? The sad truth was that there was no place in rezzer world where he would have gone.
No place in rezzer world. She buried her face in her palm. “Oh, fuck. I’m an idiot.”
* * *
Armed guards marched on the rooftop of the whitestone ring that surrounded the main road into the Municipal District. The street had long since been cleared, the trees removed, and the windows reinforced with rebar beams. With the way that traffic was funneled into the entrance, there wasn’t a single place one could stand without being the target of three or more snipers.
There was nowhere in the world more secure than Pandemonium’s central bank.
“I am still unsure what your goal is here,” Mastermind said. “What book will help to overcome our current impasse?”
Leah smiled below her scarf. “You’ll see.” It wasn’t everyday that she beat Mastermind to a solution and got to enjoy the smugness that came with it. I could get used to this.
“At least let us recover our fellow compatriots before proceeding.”
“I sent Runners to find them. We’ve wasted enough time as is.”
He rolled his eyes. “If you insist, mum.”
A fusion of Gothic arches and modern design rose above a giant enclosure inside, pristine white like the walls around, with millions of books lining the shelves between the main room and the many adjacent storage cells. Most areas were off limits, save the entrance, and had been cordoned off with a chain-link fence, capped with barbed wire. Guards patrolled the top of the aisles, reminding anyone that they were ready to execute those who attempted to steal a book. All patrons were channeled straight to the main desks, where they would try in vain to haggle their way out of getting robbed blind.
Leah ignored the normal fray and went straight for the intranet stations nearby. Few places in Pandemonium had working computer networks given the high electric cost, but the bank was the exception that proved the rule. If it wasn’t for the ability to search their inventory quickly, the city would collapse overnight.
The routine of finding the copy she needed was all too familiar, and so she quickly navigated the site.
“Hah! We’re in luck.” Leah scribbled down the ISBN number and title. Mastermind tried to catch a glimpse of what she’d been searching, but his efforts failed as she blocked him out. This self-satisfaction was just too much fun.
More than twenty minutes came and went as the pair waited in line. The usual discord of pleading, yelling, and crying grew and waned as each teller imposed the cost of exchange. There was nothing to prevent anyone from trading their book for another on the street, but because all books were different and they changed hands so frequently, it was nigh impossible to find the right one conventionally. That left most at the mercy of the central bank, which imposed exorbitant taxation to cover the exchange. ‘Funding Municipal projects’ was the cover story they fed to the masses, but Leah was convinced that they were just sadists.
It couldn’t be helped. What if someone finished a story and wanted the sequel? Only the bank was guaranteed to have it in stock. A new business opened, and the owner needed technical information? That was in the bank. A freshie looking to swap their fantasy novel for a romance? A Hunter in need of a wilderness guide? A collector trying to expand? Bank, bank, bank.
“Next!” Fran shouted.
Figures I get her. Someone kill me! Of all the dreads that could be faced in this world, there was none more objectionable than going toe-to-toe with Fran, the Head Librarian. Rumor had it that she’d hollowed in this very library after losing both her legs, then rebuilt her Rez soon after, all without ever leaving that chair. Wouldn’t have surprised Leah. If there was anyone with a perpetual log up their ass, it was that miserable cunt.
Leah handed over the notation she had written and went into her backpack for the books she’d brought to trade. Exchange rates were based on word count, with the standard “Book” having one hundred thousand words, or the value equivalent of one hundred pics. Since books had many different sizes and shapes, different brackets were created to better organize the exchange. Leah had guesstimated the copy she needed would be in the “Huge” bracket for a city the size of Lakewood. Huges were the most steep.
Fran spent a moment typing into her work station as she made the calculation, her wrinkled face locked in a perpetual scowl. “Eight-hundred-and-twenty-five pics.”
Leah’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding me? More than eight Books for a single copy of a Huge!?”
“Huge and Rare,” she declared without remorse.
Leah wanted to puke. Leave it to her to miscalculate the added rarity surcharge. The thugs also tabulated copies they’d received to regulate how many went back into circulation, ranging from “Abundant” to “Exotic”. “Rare” was on the higher end.
Now her six measly Books weren’t near enough, even with the extra pics on hand. Leah snatched her note with clenched teeth. “I’ll be back.”
“Next!” Fran shouted.
Another hour passed before Leah could run back to the Lodge, comb her own bookshelves for something she was willing to part with, and return to Municipal. In the end, she was back to where she started, facing Fran yet again. How could fate be so cruel?
Leah handed over the note, the eight Books she needed, and the added twenty-five pics, with more of both in reserve. Fran went through the same routine, typing into her computer yet again.
Her face tightened an inch further. “Fifteen-hundred pics.”
“What!? You told me this was eight-twenty-five!”
“That was then. It’s Exotic now.”
Leah couldn’t believe it. This was the ultimate scam. The injustice of a century. “Fran, are you seriously trying to tell me that, in the span of an hour, someone else waltzed in here, traded for the exact same book – which, for the record, nobody in existence would care about, other than me – and now there’s a single copy left? Do you honestly expect me to believe that?”
Fran shrugged. “Could’ve happened last night for all I know. The system just updated. Oh well. The cost is the cost.”
“I only need it for five fucking minutes. There’s a single line in there that matters!”
“Don’t care. Trade or leave.”
Mastermind tugged at her leg. “Let’s just get more b–”
But Leah wasn’t having it. “So help me, Fran. One of these days, I’m going to drag you into the desert, slice you open from waist to neck, and feast on your entrails! I won’t let you drain either. You don’t get to be that fucking lucky! I’m going to transfuse blood and grey matter directly to your brain, a year’s worth for every pic you’ve ever made me waste, just to make sure you can’t get a moment of peace as I fuck you to death, over and over for fifteen-hundred-fucking-years!”
“So no deal?” the bitch asked, uncaring.
“Fuck you!”
She grinned. “Next!”
When Leah returned later, a box filled with books in her arms, and another on Mastermind’s shoulders behind, she was about ready to burn Pandemonium down and everyone in it. The increased line did little to placate her fury.
A Runner darted by, a delivery in arm. “Package for Leah!”
Great. What now? “That’s me.”
Leah presented her identification, filled out the contract form, and tossed the Runner some pics. There was a single long-range radio inside the parcel, with an attached note.
‘Stay in touch,’ it read. Signed by Mother.
I’ll deal with this later. Whatever bullshit machinations Mother had going on, there were more pressing concerns, the primary one being to get this one fucking book without purging everyone else here.
“Next!” Fran shouted.
Just one good hit, Leah fantasized. That’s all it would take, and we’d be free of her forever. She marched to the counter, threw the note in Fran’s face, and poured a box filled with books, mags, and pics onto the counter.
There was only the final appraisal of her own stock left. In their infinite malevolence, the bank imposed an exchange penalty for books they had in surplus, and though they offered better rates for rarer books, they seemed to always be overstocked whenever Leah traded in, and never when she traded out. It was funny how the house didn’t lose in that way, if “funny” had red skin and horns, anyway.
The exchange was made, and Leah brooded at the sight of two empty boxes. A guard made the long walk into the library proper. When the treasured prize finally came her way, it couldn’t have been soon enough. Leah stomped straight for the door.
Mastermind trailed behind. “I give up! What have you discovered? Where has our human ally gone?”
Leah chucked the White Pages address book at his chest.
“He went home, genius.”
