Finn's Golem (8 page)

When we got to the office she was all business. I don
’
t know what I was expecting, but it probably wasn
’
t this. The room wasn
’
t the bordello you
’
d expect to find her in, all satin and pillows. If she did use it for recreational activities, she
’
d have had to clear space on the crowded desk first.

She pointed me into a hard-backed chair and slid into a comfortable-looking swivel model on the other side of the desk. She picked up the phone and dialed. It was a replica of an old rotary model and it made me like her a little better. I looked around the office as she made her calls. It was tasteful, but simple. Tidy, but clearly in heavy use. It was the back office of someone trying to keep a business above water. I watched her work the phones, mixing gentle persuasion with unsubtle threats until she had wha
t she needed from each contact.

I thought about ho
w far this ran against what she’
d been built for. Running a bar, even a Synthtown dive like this, acting as an information broker to keep the credits coming in. It was all a pretty big leap for someone designed to be soft and yielding and say
Yes
as if the answer had ever been in doubt.

At last she hung up the phone and rubbed her eyes a little. She leaned her head on the fingertips of her left hand, her elbow propped on the desk and looked at me in silence.

“Glamorous business, ain
’
t it?” she smiled when she spoke at last.

I nodded.

“You see how it works? How many calls did I just make?”

“I wasn
’
t counting.”

“What were you doing?”

“Maybe I was undressing you with my eyes
,
” I lied.

“No you weren
’
t
.
You don
’
t have the brains for it. Stay right there
,
” she said in response to a shift I
’
d made in my seat. “You have busy hands and I need to focus just now.”

I sat where I was and tried to look chastised, since I knew it was what she wanted. I could tell by the way that she shook her head that she wasn
’
t fooled.

“How many calls did I just make?” she said like she wanted an answer.

“Six
,
” I replied.

“Right. And now there are at least six people out there who know that I was asking questions about Locust and his business. Six people who also sell information for a living.”

“That
’
s six too many
,
” I said simply
.

“You make it difficult for me to lecture you when you make my thesis for me
,
” she said, slightly annoyed
.

“Yeah, well, that was kind of the point.”

She shook her head again
.
“You almost had me on that one. I was almost sure that was empathy, just for a second.”

“Thanks.”

“You
’
re the original horse
’
s ass, aren
’
t you?”

I didn
’
t have anything to say to that so I didn
’
t. She seemed to be waiting for a reply.

“What if I wouldn
’
t tell you anything?” she asked at last.

“You think anyone who saw us leave the bar would come back here to check if they heard screaming?” I said
,
with my most charming smile.

“I don
’
t know who you are
,
” she said simply
.
“Usually I can tell just by looking. Sometimes it takes me a few minutes. But you, Mister Finn, are an enigma.”

“Look, lady
,
” I said
,
“those six people know what they know and I
’
m sorry for that. If it
’
s in my power to see that no trouble is made for you, I
’
ll do it. If there
’
s trouble and I can help, I
’
ll help. I can
’
t promise more than that and I won
’
t deliver less. But not telling me what you know won
’
t help a damn thing now, will it?”

She smiled. She looked a little tired. “I don
’
t imagine there
’
s much I need to give you in the way of background. Cyrus Carter is big. He
’
s bigger than big. He owns most of the North Coast. He owns half the major media outlets in this hemisphere. He has twice as much money as God and three times as much power and if he came by any of it honestly, no one knows about it.”

“I know who Cyrus Carter is
,
” I said, and it was true. The Locust seemed to be one of the essential facts of the cosmos that had e
scaped my brain-bashing intact.

“That
’
s nice
,
” she smiled
.
“Did you also know that he
’
s here in Bountiful?”

“You mean he
’
s got operations here?”

“I mean he
’
s here. Carter. The man. Is in Bountiful City.”

I gave a low whistle in spite of myself. She seemed pleased.

“I don
’
t know what you
’
re in the middle of, but anything Cyrus the Locust can
’
t bear to have his Shades handle for him has got to be something you want no part of.”

“His Shades?”

“Sure. The Locust uses Shades for all his big-money jobs. Anything too far outside the law to be swept under the carpet with a bribe or a threat. That
’
s why his hands are so clean.”

“I don
’
t think I understand
,
” I said.

She looked at me as if I were an idiot, which just might have been the case
.
“Henchmen can be turned. They can be bought or brought in for... I don
’
t know, for murder, or black market trafficking or whatever the cops can scare them with, and then make a deal to put their bosses away and get off scott free. This is what passes for police work.”

I had the thread now
.
“But you can
’
t arrest a Shade, because they
’
ve been erased from Omniframe.”

“And you can
’
t arrest something that doesn
’
t exist
,
” she said
.
“Everyone knows about Shades. Everyone but the Omniframe, which says such a thing is impossible. So the cops can
’
t even file a report that mentions Shades. When they do bring someone in they can
’
t pull up a sheet on, all they can do is use them for target practice.”

“So if one of Cyrus the Locust
’
s boys is taken, they can
’
t testify against him, because they
’
re a figme
nt of the law
’
s imagination.”

She nodded. “Something like that. Locust touched down at a private Pad across the river two days ago and came into Bountiful in the biggest stretch Hov my guy had ever seen. Had six of his boys with him, including his fixer.”

“A Lieutenant?” I asked
.

“A king among the dead
,
” she replied
.
“The Shade that runs his crews for him. My guy didn
’
t even want to talk about him. Very, very scary son of a bitch. They call him the Monarch.”

“An un-person named Monarch
,
” I said
.
“Mister Carter has a sense of irony.”

“Yeah, and I hear he
’
s a terrific dancer and I hope the two of you will be very happy together. Any idea how long he
’
s gonna be in town?”

“I didn
’
t even know he was here
,
” I protested
.

“Yeah, but my guess is you know why he is.”

I looked deep in those violet eyes. I was almost sure that she wasn't going to pick up that phone after I left and sell me out to one of the six people who knew that she was in this. Almost. She looked serious, and she looked scared.

“My best guess?” I said
.
“Couple of days. Then it
’
ll al
l be over, one way or another.”

She nodded
.
“Then I'm getting out of town for a couple of days. Maybe a week. If you live through this Flyboy, you should look me up sometime.”

“I might do that.” I stood and reached into my coat pocket
.
“Can I leave you anything for your trouble?”

She closed her eyes and arched an eyebrow, as if recalling a less-than-pleasant memory. “Like an envelope on the dresser? Don't bother. Whatever you
’
ve got, it isn
’
t enough to compensate me for tilting at this particular windmill.”

“Then why did you?”

She looked up at me like she wasn
’
t sure she wanted to say what came next, but was more afraid of not saying it. “Vince
’
s boys are some pretty tough customers for the most part. They
’
re about as jaded as they come. But they just might make a folk hero out of the human that shot two of his own to save one of us.”

“They shouldn
’
t do that
,
” I said
.
“I don
’
t deserve it.”

“I
’
m sure you don
’
t
,
” she smiled
.
“My guess is you didn
’
t know you were saving a Synthetic until it was too late. But when you realized what you
’
d done, you know what the easiest thing to do would have been? The smartest, easiest thing to do?”

“Blow Joey
’
s head off and walk away fast
,
” I said
,
because it was true.

“So why didn
’
t you?” she asked
.

“I don
’
t know. Because he didn
’
t deserve it.”

She nodded again
.
“It ain
’
t much, Flyboy. But down here, it
’
s a lot.”

I didn
’
t have to say a thing. We both understood. She held out her hand from across the desk. I took it. It was small and soft and perfect and still too pink to be real.

“Someone once told me
,
” she began
,
“that the girls that men remember the sweetest and the longest are the ones you never even kiss. Is that true?”

“It is.”

“Then a handshake it is.”
S
he shook my hand
.
“Be careful, Mister Finn.”

“What do I call you?” I asked, realizing at last that I didn
’
t know
.

“Sixteen
,
” she almost whispered.

“Why Sixteen?” I asked
.

“Because Sixteen Alpha One One Series M Two Beta Five is kind of a mouthful of marbles
,
” she grinned.

“Someone once told me that it was an act of intimacy for you to reveal your designation.”

“They wouldn
’
t know an act of intimacy if it bit them on the leg
,
” she said, still holding my hand across the desk
.
“It
’
s not their fault. Some fool forgot to give them the right parts.”

It had taken me most of the night and I’d traveled halfway across the downtown core in the process, but I had what I’d been after
–
confirmation of just how deep Claire Marsland was in, and me with her. My confidence in hotel security had faded somewhat with the knowledge of Locust’s direct involvement. He didn’t seem like the kind for an all-out assault, but he didn’t strike me as the patient sort either.

The rain had mostly let up, and it was late. I decided to take my chances on the QuikSwipe with a local hack.

“Sorry, pal
,
” I said to the first cabby that stopped, trying to sound a little too soused for my own good, but not drunk enough to be taken for a ride
.
“Can you check the balance on this for me?”

The cabby had sworn a little under his breath for no good reason. “Forty-one
,
” he reported back curtly.

“Will that get me to the Ironwood Arms?”

He shrugged
.
“Just about.”

I climbed all the way in. “As far as you can, then
,
” I said and seconds later was whipping along the empty streets. The meter hit forty-one credits ten blocks from the hotel and the driver shut it off and kept rolling. I muttered my thanks and he waved his hand as if to dismiss me
.
“You get back to where you come from, you say nice things about Bountiful City, okay?” It was nice to find a civic-minded cabbie at this hour. I assured him that I would and stepped out of the cab, my now-empty QuikSwipe in hand.

I had to keep the slightly inebriated traveler pose up just a little longer for the benefit of hotel security. I had left my key upstairs, and they were less than eager to phone up to clear me.

“Sure, buddy, I understand. I’ll just kip out here in the lobby until morning.”

“I can’t really let you sleep down here, sir.”

“No, it’s fine. The couches look nice and comfortable, and you don’t want to disturb my lady-friend, I understand...”

I staggered towards the tastefully appointed lobby area, only to be called back after fewer than five steps. I would have bet that I’d have had to drool a little on the upholstery first. The night concierge was summoned and he phoned up to Claire’s room. It clearly took a few rings, but at last he began speaking and I was able to swallow my heart again.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, Miss Marsland, but there is a gentleman here who claims to be your traveling companion and says that he has lost his key.” There was a pause while he looked at me. His brows knit in confusion as he regarded me
.
“About six
-
three, perhaps six
-
four... two-thirty.... grey coat... hat that has seen better days.”

One of the security men found this amusing. I let it go.

“Yes, ma’am, he is alone
…
Of course.” He handed me the receiver.

“Hello?” I said
.

“How do I know it’s you?” the voice asked. It didn’t sound like she had slept.

“I know I should have called, sweetheart, but I just lost track of time.”

The guards were having a great time with this.

“Are you putting on an act for the staff?” she asked.

“Something like that.”

“Is there anyone else with you?”

“No
,
” I said
.

“Did you learn anything?”

“Oh, say... I found out an old friend of your father
’s
is in town.” The concierge was getting impatient. He hadn’t expected us to chat.

“In town... himself?” she asked quietly.

“That’s right. Look, I think this fellow here has things to do, I’m going to hand you back to him, all right?” I did so. The concierge nodded and smiled into the telephone
.
“Of course, ma’am. Sorry again to have disturbed you.” He hung up the phone and motioned to the guards who were standing around sniggering. Two of them accompanied me up the elevator and as far as the door. They didn’t leave my side until Claire had opened the door and thanked them, and they didn’t walk away until the door was closed.

“They’re very thorough
,
”
s
he said, not displeased.

“Like I said.” I flopped into the desk chair. The bedclothes were disturbed, as if she had been trying to sleep at least. I couldn’t tell, but she didn’t seem to have much on under her robe but a shift
–
I was almost too tired to take much of an interest. Almost.

“I’m glad you’re back
,
”
s
he said
,
smiling a little shyly, her arms wrapped around herself as if the robe weren’t quite enough protection. “What did you find out?”

“What I said on the phone.” I put my feet up on the desk, mostly out of exhaustion
.
“By all accounts, Cyrus the Locust and a crew of heavies rolled into town a couple of days ago. They’ve had time to establish themselves, but so far we’ve either been very lucky or they’re taking kind of a relaxed approach to this project thus far.”

“Why would they do that?” she asked, her brows knit. Her hand went back to the necklace again. The neckline of her robe was low enough that I could see the bauble that she pl
ayed with. It looked like a man’
s s
ignet ring. Probably her father’
s. I tried
not
to look like I’
d noticed.

“Maybe they don’t think Viktor Marsland’s little girl is going to put up that much of a fight. Maybe they’d rather not risk a murder charge, even if they do only lose a Shade in the process.”

“Lose a Shade?”

“Yeah, apparently Carter’s crew is mostly Shades. Run by someone called the Monarch. He’s here too, for whatever that’s worth.”

“Is that serious?” she asked.

“He seems to think so, unless he didn’t pick his own nickname. Would it offend you if I took my shoes off?”

Her eyes danced
.
“Would it offend you if I put some slightly more substantial clothes
on
?”

I grimaced
.
“Well
,
now
,
I’m not sure that I’m not giving up more than I’m gaining.”

“It would make me feel a little more comfortable. I’ve got some other pajamas in that blue bag.”

I handed it to her and she made her way into the bathroom as I untied my shoes and slipped them off to my great relief. I glanced at the clock and called out to her
,
“Would you mind if I turned the NewsNet on? Civic Events should just about be over, and there’s a story on the Police Beat I have a passing interest in.”

She called something in response but I couldn’t quite make it out, so I went ahead and switched on the report. The Vid NewsNet was less aggressive than its audio-only mandatory simulcast. The logic was that if you turned on the broadcast yourself, you didn’t need to be forced to pay attention. Besides, the girls they had to read it were pretty spectacular, even at this hour. This one was a redhead, which wasn’t my usual preference, but in this case I’d have been prepared to make a pretty big exception.

“And now, turning to the Police Beat, there is news at this hour of another brutal homicide in Downtown Bountiful, the second in less than twelve hours.”

It was always a “brutal” homicide with these people. How many gentle murders were comm
itted in the average year?

“Authorities would not speculate if this case
was
believed to be connected with the still-unidentified corpse found yesterday in an alley in Section 23. That case is still open and police spokesmen, having ended the search for relatives for the murdered man, plan to hold a press conference early this morning to discuss particulars of the crime and solicit assistance from concerned citizens...”

Claire Marsland came out of the bathroom wearing a light green tank top and a pair of loose-fitting plaid pajama pants. Her bare arms were strong and toned, and she was pulling her hair back into a ponytail as she entered. “Anything interesting?” she asked, not realizing how much she answered her own question.

“Nah
,
” I said
.
“Doesn’t look like there’ll be any news until tomorrow.”

“The most recent crime took place only hours ago, when a body was unceremoniously dumped from a passing Hov in the city’s waterfront.”

“Is this it?” Claire asked
.

“No
,
” I said
.

“Witnesses report that the man appeared to have been strangled, though police spokesmen would not confirm that report. Sky NewsNet has obtained amateur footage of the scene. I should warn you, the following images are graphic and may be disturbing to some viewers.”

Claire turned away. I turned the volume up.

I didn’t hear another word the redhead said. She could have taken her top off and failed to make much of an impression. My attention was held entirely by the grainy image of a small man with short and spiky hair and a suit cut almost like an old-school tuxedo. He was very dead, and the expression frozen on his face said that it hadn’t been easy, and it hadn’t been quick.

“Felco
,
” I said grimly. Claire almost jumped out of her skin and whipped her head back towards the screen. She gasped at the last instant of the image on the screen before it cut back to the redhead, who moved on
to
entertainment news. I flipped the screen to another feed.

“You knew that person?” Claire said. I could see that her arms were covered in goosebumps. I suspected mine were too.

“Yes
,
” I said.

“Was he in some way involved in.... in this?”

“Yes
,
” I said.

“Who was he?”
T
here was a note of panic in her voice.

“As far as I can tell he was a liar who told the truth at least once.”

The panic was replaced by irritation
.
“Could you possibly be any more cryptic?” she snapped.

“If I have to.”

There was a banging against the wall that
t
old us both that we had been steadily raising our voices. There was a moment of silence between us.

“Mister Finn, I am trying to do what is right
,
”
she
said quietly
.
“For my father, for myself and for... for forces so large that I hesitate to even mention them. But I am not suicidal. I cannot decide what is right when you treat me like a child.”

I looked at her. She was no child, that much was certain. Anyone who could command that much dignity in their pajamas was all right with me. I stood and carried the chair from the desk and jammed it under the doorknob, for all the good that would do. I turned off the light, leaving the room bathed in the blue glow of the NewsNet. I took off my coat and threw it on the desk, and dialed the NewsNet between feeds for some quiet static. She stood her ground and watched this entire display. I sat on the bed, my back to the headboard but with one foot on the floor, just like an old cinema. I pulled the Double-Z from its holster and turned my eyes to the door.

“The whole truth and nothing but the truth. From the beginning
,
” I said, not looking at her.

She paused a moment, then walked around to the other side of the bed and sat down. From the corner of my eye I could see her looking at me with quiet intensity. I took my hat off and tossed it lightly towards the end of the bed. Even in the dim light, it must have made an impression, as she gasped audibly.

“Ask me again what happened to my head.”