The Baba Yaga (21 page)

Maria nodded.

“It sounds like you’ve had a hell of a time, and I’m not surprised you’re not ready to trust us. But we’re passing through, and we don’t want anything from you. All we want to do is help you, or find someone who can help you. Do you know anyone here? Is there anywhere that we can take you?”

Maria shook her head. “We only just arrived. Kit brought us here. Found us a safe place. But it wasn’t safe. We had to go, without Kit. And then, and then...”

“Who’s Kit?” asked Walker.

“My husband...”

Walker studied her closely, her eyes narrowing as if appraising Maria’s situation. After a moment or two, she sighed. “I see. So you’re alone now. I’m sorry. But we’re not staying, I’m afraid—not for much longer. We’re going back to our ship and leaving soon.”

“Is that right, missus? Where we going now?” asked the Vetch child. He talked to Walker as if she were his superior. No, that wasn’t quite right, Maria thought. He talked to Walker almost as if she was his owner and he was her dog. She eyed the Vetch child cautiously. Her father had been in the Vetch war and had nothing good to say about them. But this little one hadn’t been born then, had he? And he had saved her life. The world was turned utterly upside-down, Maria thought. Very little of what happened to her now made much sense.

“There’s nothing for us here, Failt,” Walker said. She sounded unhappy about that, Maria thought, and wondered why. Who wouldn’t want to leave this place if they could? Perhaps if Maria asked, Walker might take them with her. Take them somewhere safe... She shook herself. She had trusted Amber too easily. She wasn’t going to make that mistake again. She had to look out for herself now, for Jenny’s sake, rather than always being on the look-out for a new protector. Even Kit hadn’t been able to protect her entirely, in the end.

“We may as well go onwards,” Walker went on. “But we don’t have to go at once, and we should make sure that these two are safe.” She stood up and looked around, as if thinking of a plan.

“They could come with us,” said Failt. “The mama and her little one both.”

Yershov looked like he might be persuaded, but Walker shook her head, and she was definitely the one in charge here.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Walker said, “not least because Jenny needs to see a doctor. Anyway, I’ve had an idea. Maria—if it’s okay with you, we’re going to take you to someone that we know who lives here. She’s kind, and she’s got a history of looking after people who are in trouble—really looking after them, I mean, not exploiting them. I think she’ll be able to help you, or be able to send you to someone who can.”

The Vetch child chuckled. “Not sure Heyes’ll be glad to see us again!”

“We won’t stay long.” Walker glanced at Yershov. “You might even get a drink in at the Crossed Keys.”

Turning to Maria, Walker offered her hand, but Maria shook her head, wrapping her arms more tightly around Jenny. “I’m not going anywhere with you. Not unless you tell me where and how you know this person. Amber said she was going to help me. And look what she’s done.”

Walker looked distinctly uncomfortable. She patted Maria on the arm. “Yes, of course, that’s very sensible. All right, this person is a priest—”

“A
priest?
”

“Well, she
was
a priest. She used to help people get away from trouble to a safe place. I don’t think she does that any longer, but she might be able to get you away from here. And if it needs money...” Walker sighed. “I have money. I’ll help.”

The Vetch child, Failt, muttered, “Won’t be much left, soon, the way we’re spending.”

“Why would you do this?” said Maria. “What’s in it for you?”

“There’s nothing in this for me,” said Walker. She was looking at Jenny. “Except that one day I might need a friend, and I hope that if that day comes, then there’ll be someone willing to do the same for me.” She shrugged. “Call it karma.”

“I don’t believe in karma,” said Maria. “I don’t believe in God either, Catholic or otherwise.”

“Nor do I,” said Walker. “But we live in hope.” Again she offered Maria her hand. “Will you let me help you?”

She looked so tired and sad—so far away from the confidence and glamour that Amber had exuded—that Maria found herself saying ‘yes’ just to make the woman feel better. And indeed Walker did give a small smile, and said, almost to herself, “Well, at least I’ll have managed to help
someone
...”

They began to make their way back across the station. They had not been travelling for long when Maria realised that something in her pocket was vibrating. She put her hand inside her pocket and found—

The datapin. Kit’s last gift, the reason she and Jenny were here, alone, the reason Kit had died. Its owner had come to collect.

Suddenly, someone stepped forwards from a nearby access corridor. A woman in her forties, who looked like she had been on a long, tiring journey. “Walker,” she said.

At the sight of her, Walker was transformed. Gone was the unhappy woman who a moment ago had been pleading to Maria to allow her to save her life. Here once again was the fighter; who had shot someone in the back as they tried to run away, and then dragged a man into a corridor and killed him in cold blood. “
You!
” she said, reaching for her weapon.

The woman had her hands up. “Delia,” she said, “please, listen to me. I know you think you’ve got no reason to trust me, but you’ve not got the whole story.”

Maria saw Walker’s hand clench, ready to fire. But this was who she had been waiting for. This was the person Kit had said would come find them... “Don’t shoot her!” Maria cried. “I know her! At least, I think I do!”

Walker turned to her. “You
know
her? How the hell do you know her? Larsen, is this true?”

“I hesitate to say this,” said Kay Larsen, “but I’ve never set eyes on you in my life.”

“You saved our lives,” Maria said. “I’m Kit’s wife. It was you, wasn’t it?”

Walker lowered her weapon and looked between them. “What’s going on here? Larsen?”

Maria walked past her towards Larsen. “Kit was in contact with you from the start. You got us the ship. You gave us the codes. You helped us get away.”

Walker’s weapon lay uneasily in her hands. “Helped you get away from where?” She glanced over at Larsen. “I’m not sure I like what I’m hearing here.”

Maria turned to her. “My husband, Kit, was a junior officer in the Fleet. We were stationed on Braun’s World—”

Walker’s weapon came up. She pushed Failt behind her and stared at Maria in horror.

“We ran away,” said Maria. “And I think that this woman—Larsen?—I think that she helped us escape.” She turned to Larsen. “It was you, wasn’t it? We spoke to each other.”

Larsen looked uncomfortable.

“There’s no point in denying it,” said Maria. “I have the datapin. Kit said it would activate when the person who should get it was nearby. And it did, just now. I’d almost forgotten about it. Isn’t that crazy? The whole reason I’m in this mess, and I’d almost forgotten about it. Then it began to buzz, and you turned up. I’m supposed to hand it over to you, aren’t I? That’s what Kit wanted.” She made a move towards Larsen.

Walker pointed the weapon at her. “If you were on Braun’s World, you could be infected.”

“I don’t think I am,” said Maria. “Kit said we couldn’t be, and I believe him.” She looked at Larsen. “Although I would never have thought that Kit would go AWOL, and he did.”

“How can you be sure you’re not infected?” said Walker. She looked at Larsen. “You should have known better than to have helped someone leave. For Christ’s sake, Kay, they wiped out everyone there!”

“She can’t be infected,” said Larsen, flatly. “This is what I’m trying to tell you. She
can’t
be.”

Walker looked at her narrowly. “What do you mean?”

Larsen sighed. “I assume you have a ship, Delia?”

“I do, but you can go to Hell if you think you’re getting anywhere near it.”

“I’m done with all this,” said Larsen, simply. “I’ve come too far and there’s too much at stake. I betrayed you, yes—but there were good reasons, and you need to hear them. The datapin Maria is carrying can substantiate what I say—at least, I hope it can. But you need to back off, Delia. Gung ho doesn’t suit you, you know. You’re not the kind to go in all guns blazing. You have people for that.” She nodded at the weapon irritably. “For heaven’s sake, will you put the damn thing away?”

Slowly, Walker tucked the weapon away under her jacket. “All right,” she said. “Truce. I’ll listen—for a little while. Get talking.”

Larsen shook her head. “Not here,” she said. “We need to get away from here. What I’m going to tell you—we should be in private.” She turned to Maria. “You should come too,” she said, looking at her with compassion. “You should hear this. The reason why your husband went AWOL. The reason he died.”

S
O THIS IS
your ship?” Larsen ran her finger along the wall on the flight deck and examined her fingertip with some distaste. “I imagined you in something considerably sleeker, Delia. You always preferred the finer things in life.”

“Needs must when you find yourself betrayed by your friends,” said Walker. She found herself almost feeling defensive of the
Baba Yaga
, which had served her well so far. “Anyway, it’s done the job. It got me off Hennessy’s World, and it’s got me this far.” She settled back in her sling. “You said you had a story to tell, Kay. Or were you just trying to save your skin?”

Larsen leaned back wearily against the wall. “I’m tired of games. Really, I’m done.”

“Then
why did you betray me to Latimer?
” Walker’s voice almost shook as she remembered that day: the conversation with Kay, confirming the pregnancy, and her sudden and world-shattering dismissal. The sense of dislocation, of being at sea. She was not sure that she had quite recovered from the shock yet. “I came to you for help. I trusted you.”

Larsen nodded. “I know.”

“You were my
doctor
. But you must have been on the line to Latimer before I was back at my desk.”

“I was,” said Larsen, simply. Walker shook her head in disgust. “And I’m sorry,” Larsen went on. “But I had to make sure they kept their trust in me, and the best way to do that was to... Well, to sacrifice you. You were collateral damage, Delia. I’m sorry, but that’s the truth.”

“Collateral damage. Tell me again why I shouldn’t shoot you?”

Maria, who had been listening quietly, intervened. “I don’t know what has happened between you, but I do know that Ms Larsen has helped me and Jenny. We would have died on Braun’s World without her help.”

Larsen gave a small smile. “That’s generous of you. I told your husband to abandon you, you know.”

“I know,” said Maria. “But once you knew we were there, you didn’t abandon us. You tried to help. I’m sure that must have put you at risk.” She turned to Walker. “Yours isn’t the only story here, Ms Walker. I’m grateful to you—God knows I’m grateful—but I have a right to know why Kit brought me and Jenny here. I have a right to know why he died.”

“Will you let me explain, Delia?”

Suddenly Walker, too, felt tired of games. “All right,” she said. “But for your sake, Kay, you’d better make this good.”

“Oh, it’s a good story,” said Larsen grimly. She looked around. “Are you sure this is a safe space, though? Private?”

“Yes.”

“What about your pilot?”

“He’ll be asleep for a while yet.”

“And the Vetch child?”

“Will not betray me. You’re safe to speak, Kay,” Walker said, with the authority of twenty years’ service in the Bureau.

Larsen smiled. “If you say it, then I’m prepared to believe it.” She took a deep breath. “All right, here goes. You asked how I knew that Maria and Jenny couldn’t be infected by the Weird. It’s simple enough: there was no Weird portal on Braun’s World.”

Walker stared at her in confusion. “I don’t understand...”

“The Weird never opened a portal on Braun’s World,” said Larsen. “They were never there. The footage that we saw in the Bureau—it was faked. Correction,” said Larsen, seeing the question forming on Walker’s lips, “the footage was real; it was the attack on Cassandra, last year. The images you saw had been doctored to look like Braun’s World. Different sky, different buildings. I’ll give them their due,” Larsen said bitterly, “they did a bang-up job. Real attention to detail.”

At first, Walker couldn’t quite begin to put together all the pieces of this. “There was no Weird portal,” she said.

“That’s right.”

“And what we saw in the Bureau that night—”

“All faked.”

“So what about the bombardment of Braun’s World? Did that happen?”

“Oh, that happened,” said Maria, softly. “I saw it.”

“Dear God,” said Walker.

“I see you’re starting to understand,” said Larsen. “You had them on the run, Delia. The hawks, the fighters, the ones who want to tear a hole into the void and send all the firepower we’ve got in there to finish the Weird for good. You and Andrei were about to see them off. But they weren’t going to surrender power easily. So they changed the rules of the game. They needed people to be scared of the Weird. But the Weird don’t appear on demand. So they had to be conjured. They faked the news of the portal opening on Braun’s World—”