argument going with that gun. Only, the SIG’s back at Death’s Head HQ. There are good reasons. At least, that is what the general says.
Paper Osamu thinks the gun encourages my tendencies.
Since, presumably, she is employing me for my tendencies , I cannot see the problem. Kicking the elevator on my way out makes it blink. All the lights go out, come back on, go out and come back on again. It occurs to me that maybe no one else kicks machinery round here.
‘Violence never—’ It starts to say.
So I kick it again. ‘Go,’ I tell it. ‘While your fuses still function.’
It drops away in silence.
All the buildings in Letogratz follow the same pattern. They are hollow, three-sided, and built around a courtyard that is open to the sky. The courtyards need no roof, because a force field holds back the rain. This begins at 3.28 every afternoon and finishes exactly forty minutes later.
Ten minutes before the rain starts, the sky goes dark. Thunder comes first, then lightning, then rain so heavy it glazes the walls of every building before it runs to the ground and disappears into storm drains. Ten minutes after the rain stops, the sky turns blue again.
———
The party begins at dusk. A messenger arrives to say we are required. He says invited , but that is not what he means. He talks to my sergeant, because Rachel is busy stitching my good hand. I put it through a window.
How was I to know Paper lied about their glass being unbreakable? It has been a long day, and I’ve wasted most of it trying to find out why she will not return my calls. It should be simple: I tap a wall and ask it to connect me.
Works anywhere the U/Free are.
Technically, this is impossible.
According to Haze, the galaxy is x light years across by x light years thick. So messages take whole lifetimes and longer to go anywhere. But the U/Free have ships that tear holes in space and post themselves through the rips.
That is impossible as well.
I’ve been tapping walls all day. Until tapping turns into punching. None of the walls bothers to tell me why a connection to Paper Osamu isn’t possible. My temper is not helped by a conversation I hear on returning to our living room, fist bandaged.
‘It’s obvious,’ says Shil.
‘No way.’ Neen sounds certain.
‘Neen,’ says Shil, ‘grow up.’ She shouldn’t say that, even if he is her brother. ‘And now she’s dumped him.’
My sergeant shakes his head.
‘Serves Sven right.’
‘I thought you liked him?’
‘ Neen . . . ‘
‘Just saying.’
‘ Well don’t .’ Shil stamps over to a window and stares out at the rain. When she turns back, she sees me in the doorway. She is wondering how much I heard.
‘Where’s Franc?’
‘Still resting, sir.’
I haven’t seen her yet. Although we’d expected her this morning, it’s early afternoon before she is released for tests. What tests no one tells us. She will be good as new is all they’ll say.
‘It’s complicated,’ says Morgan, when I ask for more information.
Perhaps threatening to break his neck again was a bad move. I mean, how was I to know he and Paper are married . . . And while I’m thinking this, a patch of living-room wall goes fuzzy and Paper finally returns my call. She’s naked and Morgan stands behind her. He’s naked too.
They’re smiling.
‘You were trying to get hold of me?’
‘Yeah,’ I say. ‘We won’t be making that party.’
Morgan’s gaze flicks past me. When he speaks, it’s to whisper something in his wife’s ear. She nods.
‘It starts in five minutes.’
‘Paper,’ I say, ‘we’re not—’
Irritation flicks across her face. Maybe this is not a discussion she wants to have in front of the Aux. Or perhaps it’s Morgan. He has his hands on her hips, and he is standing close behind her. I don’t want to know what he is doing. Except I already do.
We all do.
‘ Get a room ,’ mutters Neen.
Morgan laughs. The U/Free are different to us. How different we
Paper Osamu thinks the gun encourages my tendencies.
Since, presumably, she is employing me for my tendencies , I cannot see the problem. Kicking the elevator on my way out makes it blink. All the lights go out, come back on, go out and come back on again. It occurs to me that maybe no one else kicks machinery round here.
‘Violence never—’ It starts to say.
So I kick it again. ‘Go,’ I tell it. ‘While your fuses still function.’
It drops away in silence.
All the buildings in Letogratz follow the same pattern. They are hollow, three-sided, and built around a courtyard that is open to the sky. The courtyards need no roof, because a force field holds back the rain. This begins at 3.28 every afternoon and finishes exactly forty minutes later.
Ten minutes before the rain starts, the sky goes dark. Thunder comes first, then lightning, then rain so heavy it glazes the walls of every building before it runs to the ground and disappears into storm drains. Ten minutes after the rain stops, the sky turns blue again.
———
The party begins at dusk. A messenger arrives to say we are required. He says invited , but that is not what he means. He talks to my sergeant, because Rachel is busy stitching my good hand. I put it through a window.
How was I to know Paper lied about their glass being unbreakable? It has been a long day, and I’ve wasted most of it trying to find out why she will not return my calls. It should be simple: I tap a wall and ask it to connect me.
Works anywhere the U/Free are.
Technically, this is impossible.
According to Haze, the galaxy is x light years across by x light years thick. So messages take whole lifetimes and longer to go anywhere. But the U/Free have ships that tear holes in space and post themselves through the rips.
That is impossible as well.
I’ve been tapping walls all day. Until tapping turns into punching. None of the walls bothers to tell me why a connection to Paper Osamu isn’t possible. My temper is not helped by a conversation I hear on returning to our living room, fist bandaged.
‘It’s obvious,’ says Shil.
‘No way.’ Neen sounds certain.
‘Neen,’ says Shil, ‘grow up.’ She shouldn’t say that, even if he is her brother. ‘And now she’s dumped him.’
My sergeant shakes his head.
‘Serves Sven right.’
‘I thought you liked him?’
‘ Neen . . . ‘
‘Just saying.’
‘ Well don’t .’ Shil stamps over to a window and stares out at the rain. When she turns back, she sees me in the doorway. She is wondering how much I heard.
‘Where’s Franc?’
‘Still resting, sir.’
I haven’t seen her yet. Although we’d expected her this morning, it’s early afternoon before she is released for tests. What tests no one tells us. She will be good as new is all they’ll say.
‘It’s complicated,’ says Morgan, when I ask for more information.
Perhaps threatening to break his neck again was a bad move. I mean, how was I to know he and Paper are married . . . And while I’m thinking this, a patch of living-room wall goes fuzzy and Paper finally returns my call. She’s naked and Morgan stands behind her. He’s naked too.
They’re smiling.
‘You were trying to get hold of me?’
‘Yeah,’ I say. ‘We won’t be making that party.’
Morgan’s gaze flicks past me. When he speaks, it’s to whisper something in his wife’s ear. She nods.
‘It starts in five minutes.’
‘Paper,’ I say, ‘we’re not—’
Irritation flicks across her face. Maybe this is not a discussion she wants to have in front of the Aux. Or perhaps it’s Morgan. He has his hands on her hips, and he is standing close behind her. I don’t want to know what he is doing. Except I already do.
We all do.
‘ Get a room ,’ mutters Neen.
Morgan laughs. The U/Free are different to us. How different we
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