Soulwalker (17 page)

She turned her attention to the corner of the room and her hidden stash. “Safe.” The word revealed the hidden compartment in the wall. Tarris opened the box and looked inside but hesitated when she reached for the contents. Had they found it? Was everything in the box contaminated? This presented another addition to her already growing list of problems.

Asher came up behind her. “What’s up?”

“I don’t know.” Tarris walked into the bathroom to activate the secret switch for the hidden platform in the roof. When the lift had lowered the square of ceiling to the bathroom floor, she searched around in a metallic locker that housed all the bits and pieces she had accumulated over the years from friends and foes. She extracted a small box and slipped it into her pocket. She took out a pair of transparent gloves and slipped them on.

She passed Asher and went back to the wall. The gloves fit like second skin, as they were supposed to, and gave the appearance that she wasn’t wearing anything at all. She reached into the box and extracted each piece one at a time, placing them on the floor after she inspected them. “Asher?”

“Hmmm?” Asher leaned out of the bathroom doorway to answer Tarris’s call.

“Have you got something like a dye or some sort of infrared light?” It was an old-fashioned method, one that she had no problem using.

Asher disappeared for a moment and emerged with the sterilization unit. “Will this help?”

Tarris looked at the box. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt.” She stepped back and allowed Asher to set up the unit. The UV light pulsed over the items on the floor, but nothing happened. “Well, that did nothing. Wait.” Tarris stopped when she saw a tinge of purple touch the money on the floor. The color spread over the spare scanner and the false barcode ID she had kept for an emergency. On each of the items there was a small black spot, and Tarris knew immediately that they had been tagged. “Damn it.”

“What’s wrong?” Asher watched as Tarris switched off the unit.

“They got to my emergency funds.”

Asher reached for the scanner on the floor. “What’s wrong with—”

“Don’t touch that! Look.” Tarris held up her hand and turned on the UV unit. Her fingers glistened with the purple stain. “My guess is that if I had touched it without protection, my fingers would leave an invisible mark wherever I went.” When she switched off the unit, the color faded and her fingers returned to normal.

“And why would they do that? Just who the hell are you?” Asher took a step backwards. After a hesitation, she stepped forward again.

“Someone they are making damned sure doesn’t disappear from their sight.” Tarris gathered up the tainted items and put them back in the box.

“But isn’t that what the box in your back was for? To keep track of you? This is sort of overkill.”

Asher had a point. “Unless they wanted to see who I came into contact with.” With difficulty, Tarris straightened up and locked her legs in the upright position. A shard of white-hot pain shot through her legs, and she drew a harsh breath.

“Something wrong?” Asher stepped forward and touched Tarris’s arm. “You look like you’re in pain.”

Tarris held herself in check when Asher grabbed her. “Nothing I can’t handle.” She refused to touch the medipatch in her wrist, because she didn’t want to appear vulnerable. When the pain had passed, she reached for the box and put it in her sack.

“What’s the point in taking that? Won’t they be able to follow you?”

“Will you stop worrying? I have plans for these items.” Tarris waited until Asher’s back was turned, and she punched her thigh. She wasn’t sure what to expect. She knew in her heart what she hoped to find, but it wasn’t to be. She felt nothing. The same lack of sensation she had known for the last sixteen years.

She reached for her bag and gave her apartment one last look. It made her angry that they were driving her from her home and she could do nothing to stop them.

“Let’s get out of here before they come back.” Tarris grabbed Asher’s hand. Asher barely had time to pick up her belongings as Tarris pulled her toward the door. Fifteen feet down the corridor in the opposite direction to the exit was a small alcove. Tarris detoured to the niche and pulled out the box. She removed the scanner and the ID barcode and threw them toward the small receptacle there. The items disappeared in a hail of sparks, atomized in the incinerator beam, as did the glove Tarris had been wearing. But she kept the money, at least for now.

“I thought you said the money was useless.”

“Come on.” Tarris steered Asher back toward the exit. “Not if we spend it.” She had considered trying to give her pursuers the slip from her building, but the money she kept would be sending signals of her whereabouts. Instead, she walked out the front door and onto the sidewalk with Asher at her side.

They turned right and walked briskly toward the open-air market. The market was highly illegal, but no one seemed to mind. The vendors bartered openly, and the prices were usually high. Any sort of fresh food from the outside was worth its weight in oil.

They continued along the streets toward the seedier part of the metropolis. The market was forced by necessity into the less-patrolled areas. It wouldn’t seem right for the Council to have something so illegal right under their noses in the main square. Tarris wondered who the sellers were paying for the privilege of conducting their illegal businesses. No wonder the goods were costly.

“Where are we going?” Asher panted as she tried to keep up with Tarris’s brisk pace. “You know, for someone who can’t walk, you sure can move when you want to.”

Tarris gave her a dark look before she turned her attention to the surrounding area. “You don’t have to remind me,” she said, her voice harsh.

“I… I didn’t mean to—”

“Sorry,” Tarris said. “I don’t like being reminded of it.”

“Where are we going in such a hurry?”

“Hurry?” Tarris kept up her steady, even pace. “I’ve had to slow down so you can keep up.” Her gaze swept the area to find those who watched her. “We’re getting rid of the credits.”

“Why didn’t you just throw them in the incinerator with the other things?”

“You’ll see.”

“But—”

Tarris held her hand up to stop any further conversation. She trotted over to a nearby alcove and dragged Asher with her. Before Asher could complain, Tarris grabbed her arm and ran her barcode over the portal. A slot opened below it to dispense a small earpiece and microphone. Tarris placed it over her ear and spoke clearly, “Two seven two three two omega delta five nine nine.”

The connection was made, and she heard the familiar voice. “Yeah?”

“It’s Tarris.”

“Errr… yeah.” Tarris smiled as she heard the nervousness in the man’s voice. “What do you want?” he asked.

“I need new ID.”

“What happened to the other one I gave you?” His anxiety was replaced for a moment by mild annoyance.

“They got to it. I can’t be sure.”

“How long?”

“One hour.” Tarris would have liked it sooner, but even one hour was probably asking too much.

“One hour? Are you crazy?” The voice rose in intensity before it calmed down. “I can’t do it in that time.”

“You know who I am, P. You really don’t want to meet her, do you?” Tarris didn’t like solving her problems with Rya, but sometimes a little incentive was needed. “And you have thirty minutes. Stall 27, Jacksters. This time make it a male in his early thirties. And I need some spare credits.”

“This is gonna cost me a fortune.”

“And you’ll pay, buddy, or the Council just might find out about you,” Tarris whispered harshly. “Twenty-nine minutes and counting.” She ripped the earpiece from her ear, found a nearby incineration bank, and made sure the phone was completely disintegrated and unable to be resurrected.

“What was that all about?” Asher asked.

“Just arranging a new ID barcode and some credits.” Tarris walked toward the warzone that was Jacksters.

“Hey!” Asher called after her. When Tarris refused to stop, Asher ran the few extra feet to catch up and slowed down to walk next to her. “Why a new barcode?”

Tarris stopped and looked at Asher. “Are you that stupid?” She took a deep breath and ran her hand over her brow. “Sorry. I’m a bit tense.”

“I can feel it,” Asher said.

“You can?” Tarris was surprised.

“A little,” Asher replied, “in here.” She rubbed her chest.

“Huh.” Tarris shook her head. “Anyway, the Council can trace the barcodes on our wrists. If we’re trying to disappear, we need a new identity to move around.”

“Why this place? What did you call it—Jacksters?”

“You can buy anything illegal there, as long as you’ve got the credits.” Tarris had barely finished the explanation when four young men stepped out and stood in their way. Instinctively, Tarris pushed Asher behind her.

“We don’t want trouble, boys,” Tarris said.

“Good. Then give us what we want, and there won’t be any.” The leader of the group looked barely out of his teens.

“And what would that be?” Tarris knew what they wanted.

“Whatever we can sell.” The second-in-charge looked at Tarris thoroughly, his gaze starting at her head and finishing at her feet.

“You’re not my type,” Tarris said.

“Come on, hand it over.” The leader pulled out an aging stunner.

“Are you sure that still works?” Tarris taunted him.

“Works well enough for you, lady.” He shifted nervously. “Now, come on. Empty your pockets.”

Tarris took out the box and handed it over. The second snatched it away greedily and opened the lid.

“Hey! There must be a thousand credits here,” he said.

“Just who the fuck are you?” the leader asked.

“Your worst enemy.” Tarris raised her hand to the back of her neck. She watched their faces change from menacing smugness to outright fear. She tapped her temple, and her eyes slowly changed from dark brown to the palest hue of blue.

“Crap. Let’s get out of here!” The four men ran off as if the Devil was on their tails which, in a way, she was.

Tarris chuckled as she watched them dash away into the shadows and out of sight. She quickly tapped her skin to restore her disguise.

“Why did you do that?”

“I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. They were about to jump us, Asher.”

“You don’t know that!”

“Calm down.” Tarris put her hands on Asher’s shoulders. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Damn my curiosity,” Asher said.

“You wanted to know, so I’m telling you.” Tarris’s gaze scanned the area for any further threats as she talked to Asher.

“No, I mean I should have left you alone in the first place, then I wouldn’t be in this mess. It’s all because of my stupid medical curiosity.” Asher pulled herself out of Tarris’s grasp.

“Oh.” Tarris stepped away. “Fine. We’ll get the credits and ID, and I’ll find a safe house for you.”

“But—”

“Come.” Tarris walked off in the direction they had been heading before the attack.

See? That’s what you get for giving a piece of yourself to someone,
Tarris snapped in her mind.

But sister, she’s our friend.

No, Rya, she’s not our friend. She wishes to be free of us. Then so be it.

But we need her.

We didn’t need her before, and we don’t need her now. She’s a liability.

But it’s because of you she’s in trouble.

Damn…
Tarris knew Rya had presented the primary argument for protecting Asher. Tarris had made her a target for the Council by association.

Tarris ignored Asher as they walked deeper and deeper into the forbidden area of the city. The area was a law unto itself, because the peacekeepers refused to enter it. The homeless, thieves, murderers, and all others deemed unworthy by the Council lived here.

The silence had been eerie as they walked the streets to their ultimate destination. Asher moved closer to Tarris’s side when their footsteps echoed in the chasms of narrow streets.

At the end of one long, lonely street, a noise built in intensity as they approached it. Around the corner, the street opened up to a large intersection, shadowed by a low bridge nearby. The stalls backed up to the walls of the bridge, and this afforded the vendors safety behind their backs.

The noise dropped for a moment as they were both scrutinized to see if they were friend or foe. No one approached, and Tarris found a shadowed alcove across the road to stand in unobserved. From her vantage point, she studied the terrain in front of her.

“Now what?” Asher asked.

Tarris looked at her timepiece. “Now we wait.”

Tarris watched the area carefully, and all seemed normal. The market bustled with business, but there was an uneasy tension in the air. She couldn’t see anything out of place, but she knew she wasn’t the only one who watched the market. Had the Council tracked the credits that quickly, or was it an intuitive guess on their part? In either case, their representatives were present, and it made her predicament difficult.

“Hey! Kid!” she whispered at a child, perhaps twelve years old, who passed by. “Want to earn five credits?”

He looked at her skeptically. Tarris could read in his eyes what he was thinking. Was she luring him into a trap?

“Well? Five credits or I ask that girl over there.” She pointed to a young girl who stood next to her father while he sifted through second-hand clothing. “I’m sure she could use the credits.”

“What do you want?” The boy didn’t move any closer.

“Go to stall 27 and retrieve a parcel for me.”

He eyed her suspiciously. “Why don’t you get it yourself?”

“Because someone is watching me,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Oh.” He looked Tarris up and down and finally made a decision. “Okay.”

He was about to run off when Tarris called him back. “Hey! Don’t you want to know my name?”

“Why? Is he delivering a package to anyone else?” the kid cheekily replied.

The kid was a smart-ass. “Do it slowly. Don’t draw attention to yourself,” Tarris said.

“What do you think I am? Some sort of idiot?” He ran off into the crowd and disappeared from sight.