Cage Match (21 page)

The older man pointed at him. “Keep your mouth shut. Don‟t say a word to

anyone about what you just told me. Do you understand? Let me look into it and see if

there‟s any truth.”

Without waiting for a reply, he strode from behind the desk and toward the door

where he paused and looked back. “Andreas, do you understand me? For your own

safety, you should keep your mouth shut.”

The door closed behind him with a click rather than a bang. Andreas stared at it

and listened to his father‟s footsteps recede down the hallway.

“Shit.” He inhaled deeply as he waited for his rocketing heart to slow down. “That

was not what I intended to say. Not tonight. Not yet.”

“Well, you did. And I think your old man‟s right. You better keep your mouth

shut until you find out who knows what and how far they‟re willing to go to keep it a

secret.”

“But maybe keeping secrets is what‟s been the problem all these years. Maybe it‟s

time to shake things up and shine some light in dark corners.”

The feeling of peace and happiness from their perfect day together still lingered,

but it was tainted now by the uproar with his father. Andreas didn‟t want to get into an

argument with Jabez about what he should do next, so he changed the subject.

“Look, there‟s no reason to let my dad ruin our day. Let‟s set this aside for now

and have a nice soak in the spa. I don‟t know about you, but my muscles are burning

from that uphill climb.”

Jabez nodded.

They had a luxurious soak followed by a fine dinner, an evening of playing video

games on the media-player, and other kinds of games in bed.

Afterward, as Jabez slept, Andreas reclined against a pile of pillows and watched

a news report on the screen. There was famine in the Sudan, a coup in Paraguay, a

bombing in Istanbul, and a heated argument at the summit of the United Corporations

about allocation of national resources. Countries still existed, but corporations ruled the

globe.

Ads flashed on the sidebar, and after a moment, he started paying attention to

them instead of to the news. Almost every product, every service, every company,

promoted in the advertisements linked back to Fortias either directly or indirectly.
My

bread and butter, but is it healthy for the world?

Cage Match

99

He looked over at his lover, sleeping so peacefully, his face softened in repose.

Faint frown lines still etched his forehead and bracketed his mouth, but he looked much

younger. Andreas wondered how old he was. Jabez claimed he didn‟t know. He hadn‟t

measured the days or years of his life. He‟d simply survived them.

Why should anyone be condemned to go through life that way while the other

half of society had everything they needed? The corporations had helped create this

dichotomy with the way they‟d reinvented the global economy postplague. With so

many fewer people and the world in upheaval, it had been easy for a few to take control

and shape things to their liking. While there were definite benefits to the new world

order, there was also a downside that no one seemed to want to explore.

Andreas was tired of waiting. He wanted to make up for all the lost time when

he‟d been too selfish to be aware of the world around him. He wanted to make up for

all Jabez‟s years of suffering. Reaching out, he traced the scar that bisected the other

man‟s brow and dragged down the corner of his eye, then leaned to kiss where he‟d

touched.

Jabez grunted and shifted, but didn‟t wake, proving how safe he now felt here.

When he‟d first arrived, he would‟ve jerked upright and probably snapped Andreas‟s

neck if he‟d touched him while he slept.

Slipping out of bed, Andreas put on a robe and went downstairs. He sat at the

chair in his study, which his father had so boldly commandeered. The screen of his

terminal glowed a soft rose, and he tapped it awake. He checked his in-box and found it

ominously empty. Not one of the board members had weighed in on his proposal, not

even to tell him it was a stupid idea like his father had.

Andreas drummed his fingers against the desktop in a soothing rhythm for a few

moments and then began to compose a message.

“By now I hope at least some of you will have read through my three-tier plan to revitalize

the Brick Town district. I hope you’re considering my proposal seriously. I need to add one piece

of information that may influence your thinking on this matter. It has come to my attention…”

He outlined the rumors about Asclepius in the briefest manner, adding that the

accusations were as yet unproven, but the suggestion was damning.

“If this unethical treatment of the disenfranchised is something our corporation has

countenanced, it’s a crime. If we simply overlooked the activities of one of our companies, then

it’s time to review our entire corporate structure.”

Too much? Too bold?

His rash nature took over, and he pressed Send, then stared at the screen for a few

moments longer before rising and padding back upstairs to bed.

Jabez still slept and snored lightly. Andreas stretched out beside him but didn‟t

sleep for a long time.

* * * * *

100

Bonnie Dee

The next day, the two men went on an early-morning run that left Andreas

invigorated rather than gasping for breath.

“Hey, look at me. I‟m a runner now,” he informed Jabez. “Not even winded.”

“Then maybe we need to add on a few more miles.”

“No. I think a shower and breakfast sounds better.”

Jabez smiled and didn‟t argue, and Andreas thought he could quickly get used to

this kinder, gentler, less-scowly version of his friend.

They separated to go to their own bathrooms, because not every shower had to be

shared, no matter how fun that was. Just as Andreas finished and reached for a towel,

his phone rang. His heart rate spiked until he identified the caller as Timon.

“Hello,” he answered gruffly.

“Hey. I wanted to apologize again for everything. I hate the way that conversation

went. I was glib like I always am and not really apologetic, but I know I was wrong and

I don‟t want our friendship to end over this. It was a real friendship to me, despite my

snooping around for your father. I am your friend, Andreas.”

He‟d rarely heard Timon sound so sincere, but he had too much else on his mind

to want to deal with him and his apologies right now. “What do you want?”

“Meet me. Let me take you out for lunch again, just you and me like old times. I‟ll

prove to you I‟m serious about making amends.”

“How?”

“Hell, here it is up front. I know about your Brick Town proposal. Your dad

ranted about it for about an hour last time we talked. He wanted to know why I wasn‟t

aware of it so I could‟ve forewarned him. But I think it‟s a great plan.”

“You think it‟s a good idea? Now why don‟t I believe that?”

“All right, maybe not a great plan, but if it‟s important to you, I want to help make

it feasible so the board will listen. Meet me. We‟ll talk. You‟ll see.”

“Fine. Where?” Andreas jotted down the address of the restaurant and ended the

call.

When he told Jabez he‟d be going into the city again today, Jabez was less than

thrilled.

“You‟re having lunch with the guy who lied to you and ratted you out to your

dad?”

“He says he wants to make amends.”

“He‟s a prick. I‟d tell him to fuck off.” Jabez paused, then added, “Sorry. What the

hell do I know? He‟s been your friend a long time. If you want to make up with him,

you should.”

“I don‟t necessarily want to „make up‟ with him, but I‟m willing to hear him out.”

Andreas slipped his hands around Jabez‟s waist and pulled him close. He leaned in and

sampled his mouth, tasting mint on his warm, sinuous tongue. At last he pulled away.

Cage Match

101

“Won‟t be gone long. Tell Mrs. Gamble she can count on two of us for dinner. No

surprises.”

The drive into the city seemed to take longer than the jet-glider trip to the

mountains had the previous day. It was because Jabez had been with him. Watching the

other man‟s reaction to flying, his initial fear, then his interest, had been entertaining.

Driving to an appointment he didn‟t really want to keep was a pain, but at last he

neared the address Timon had given him.

Andreas frowned as he glided slowly down the street, searching for the number of

the building. None of the buildings looked like they‟d house a restaurant, but then

Timon was a master of finding the latest trendy culinary spot. His patronage was likely

to make a formerly nondescript eatery suddenly hip.

Up ahead, Andreas saw Timon and Rabi loitering on the sidewalk. Timon raised a

hand in greeting.

Andreas parked his land-glider at the curb and got out. He was annoyed to see

Rabi. With the two of them present, there was little chance of a heart-to-heart

conversation with Timon.

“Bruiser! Wait‟ll you see what we‟ve found for you.” Rabi gestured at the building

they stood in front of. “Space. Headquarters for your organization, People For People.

Can‟t have a foundation without office space, advertising, and slogans. You need an

image people can plaster all over their fundraisers. Maybe a little B-town street kid.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Andreas stopped a few feet away, staring

at the two men and the building‟s empty windows.

“You want contributions, you create a foundation so all the rich people can outdo

each other giving to it.”

Timon came over and linked arms with Andreas. “Don‟t listen to him. Just take a

look inside and see what you think.”

“You‟re crazy. The last thing I need is office space.” But he accompanied him

inside the building with Rabi following behind, chattering all the while.

“You see? It‟s perfect.” His voice bounced off the walls, echoing in the empty

chamber. “All you have to do is—”

Andreas heard Rabi‟s footsteps behind him at the same time that Timon grasped

his arm tighter. And then he felt a wasp sting the side of his neck. Pain radiated from

the sharp point of entry. His head buzzed and his vision blurred while his bones

seemed to liquefy.

His last clear thought as he fell to the floor and before he lost consciousness was

that he hadn‟t used one of the defensive moves Jabez had taught him. He‟d been set up

and blindsided.

* * * * *

102

Bonnie Dee

When Andreas surfaced into consciousness, his head throbbed and his limbs still

felt boneless. His cheek was pressed against moldy-smelling bedding, and he realized

he was lying facedown on a thin pallet through which he could feel the hardness of a

floor. He was cold, but his body was too numb to shiver.

He dragged his eyelids open and it was like lifting weights. He took in the soiled

ticking of the mattress, a cement floor, and a portion of the wall, also cement—the old-

fashioned kind, not the faux cement some artists liked to use in their lofts to create the

illusion of poverty. He was imprisoned someplace.

Before he tipped off some unseen watcher that he was awake, Andreas tried to

take stock of his situation. He guessed Rabi had stunned him with a neuron-gun. His

entire nervous system felt like it had been whipped in a blender, which was supposedly

how a shot from one of the weapons felt. The question was why?

The only possible answer he could come up with was Fortias. Timon spied for his

father. What else might he do for him? Father had threatened him about keeping his

mouth shut about Asclepius, and he‟d defied him and sent the information to the entire

board. Maybe this was some sort of punishment to teach him a lesson. He couldn‟t

wrap his mind around the idea that it might be something worse—that his own father

would conspire to hurt him or even kill him to keep a secret.

Maybe Timon worked for other members of the board as well. He clung to that

belief like a shipwreck survivor clinging to debris.

The room was quiet; not a hiss or hum of sound infiltrated the eerie silence.

Andreas had seen all he could see from his prone position. He struggled to push

himself upright and found he still had bones in his body after all—every one of them

throbbing with pain.

He sat up and looked around his cell, bare except for the pallet on the floor and a

toilet in one corner. There was a door with no handle and a small window, covered on

the outside. He searched for cameras but didn‟t see any sign he was being monitored.

His chest tightened and his breathing grew shallower as the horror of his situation

crashed over him. He was a prisoner, held by whom and for what purpose he had no

idea. Holding on to the wall, he hauled himself to his feet and shambled around the

edge of the room. The walls seemed to be moving closer together, crushing him as he