Cat and Company (3 page)

Charlton Space City, New Cathay (Ji Xiu Prime), Ji Xiu System, Perseus Arm. FY 10.187

Lilly was deep into the latest city immigration requests when Yennifer buzzed her desk.

“May I come in?” Yennifer’s voice was a sweet soprano, which matched Yennifer completely.

Lilly put the board down and let the door open. “Of course you can. Who else can I talk to if you don’t?”

Yennifer looked around the big room as she moved past the piano, crossed over the numerous rugs and rounded the sofa that was placed to take full advantage of the lead-lighted and high peaked windows and the view they offered. Beyond the windows was the edges of the city, then nothing but stars. Ji Xiu itself was on the far side of the city at the moment and New Cathay was far below. The planet that provided anchorage for the city never hove into view.

“Yesterday, I saw pictures of houses that looked like this room,” Yennifer said, moving over to the desk Lilly sat behind. “They were from centuries and centuries ago. I didn’t realize you had been inspired by history when you created it.”

Lilly smiled. “I borrowed. The style has been repeated many times, far back into history. It’s out of fashion at the moment but I like how cozy it makes things feel. Is there a problem?”

Yennifer smiled. She was a petite woman, with a heart-shaped face and masses of rich brown hair. “I thought I would tell you in person that Connell just docked.”

“He did?” Lilly breathed deeply, calming herself. “Six weeks…and now they turn up again.”

Yennifer shook her head with a tiny movement. “It’s just Connell.”

Lilly swallowed, fear blooming in her chest. “Do you know where they went?”

Yennifer looked sad. “I do, only because I am the citymind. If I told you, I would be giving you privileged information.” She looked over her shoulder as Connell pushed open the big, heavy door to the suite and stepped inside.

Lilly had long ago got used to how much Connell looked like Fareed. He kept his hair shorter and was a clothes horse, always parading in something new and colorful, while Fareed went for basic black. The difference just seemed to draw attention to how much like each other they were. As they were essentially each other’s clone, that was understandable but Lilly still had moments when she sometimes treated Connell just as she would Fareed, before she remembered.

Connell was holding his arm up against his chest, favoring it. There was a rip in the fur-lined and edged jacket he was wearing. The edges of the tear were blackened and beneath, Lilly could see blood.

“What happened?” she asked, alarm nudging her fear even higher. She and Yennifer met him halfway across the big room, just in front of the sofa. Connell hugged Lilly with his free arm. For once he didn’t let his hand slide over her back, down toward her ass as he sometimes did, just to tease her.

“It’s all right. Everything is fine,” he said quickly. “Well, sort of fine.”

“Where have you been?” Lilly demanded. “Not a single word from either of you. I’ll kill him when I see him.”

“I’m pretty sure you can see him now,” Connell told her.

“Where is he?”

“He should be emerging by now.”

“Emerging?” Lilly brought her hand to her throat. “He…died?”

“It’s a long story,” Connell assured her. “Lilly, we found Bedivere. He’s back, too.”

Lilly couldn’t help it. Her gaze moved toward the door on the far left. The one that hadn’t been opened for years.

“Is Bedivere fine, too?” Yennifer asked softly.

“You can probably tell that better than I can,” Connell told her. “I don’t have access to the therapy center datacore.”

Yennifer gave him a small smile. “I was asking as me.”

“Why don’t you come and find out?” he suggesting, looking at Lilly. “I have to have this seen to, anyway.” He lifted the injured arm. “I think Bedivere might like to see some friendly faces when he comes around.”

Lilly frowned. “If I can manage a friendly expression, I will, but I’m not making any promises. Nine years, he’s been gone, almost to the day.” Yet she found her feet were moving to the door all by themselves, as if she was eager to see him. “And you two have been gone for weeks, too. What hole did you pull him out of, anyway?”

All Connell’s good cheer faded. His eyes shadowed. “Wait until you hear the full story, Lilly,” he said gently. “Then, maybe, you might want to hug both of them after all.”

* * * * *

Like all such awakenings, this one was sluggish and confusing. His vision was slow to adjust—he’d never used these eyes before and they would need to settle into his old brain patterns.

As his vision adjusted, he remembered his name. Bedivere. And he remembered what he was. Everything was there, including….

“Brant.” He groaned and closed his eyes.

“You’re welcome.” Brant’s voice. Dry and weak.

Bedivere tried to sit up and couldn’t. Of course, he’d have to train the muscles. He could turn his head, though. He opened his eyes again and fought to make them focus on the object in front of him.

Finally, the image joined up with memory and made sense. Brant was sitting in a floating chair—he wouldn’t be any stronger than Bedivere right now. His hair was short, again. His skin was pale. The white tunic was almost the same color.

“Why do I remember everything?” Bedivere demanded. “I stopped backing up weeks ago. Deliberately.”

“Your backups were becoming more and more sporadic, so we switched you over to live feed backup. That’s how Connell tracked you.” Brant shrugged.

Bedivere rolled his head back and stared up at the pristine white ceiling. “It didn’t occur to you that I might object to remembering everything?”

“It was the only way we were going to be able to find you.”

“I didn’t
want
to be found!”

“Too bad.”

“Hades take you…how
dare
you override my will?”

“If you really had not wanted to be found, you would have killed yourself, quick and clean.”

“And ended up right back here!” He pummeled at the cradle holding his useless body. The motion was weak, barely a movement at all.

“Here is where you should be,” Brant said firmly. “Not that…that
perdition
we pulled you out of.”

“I was exactly where I wanted to be.”

“So where everyone else wants you to be doesn’t count?”

Bedivere closed his eyes again. It was easier that way. “I wasn’t needed here,” he muttered.

“Catherine isn’t here anymore,” Brant said shortly.

Even the mention of her name hurt. Bedivere drew in a sharp breath in reaction.

“There are people here, many of them, who will be glad you’re back. Be grateful for that, Bedivere,” Brant told him, his voice still dry and didactic. “Hold onto the life you’ve got, no matter how it feels.
You
taught me that, remember?”

“Cat taught you that,” Bedivere whispered. He turned his face to the wall. “You should have left me there.”

* * * * *

Brant directed the chair to move him out of the therapy room. His arms were starting to respond more quickly and naturally. Already, the body felt like his once more, although exhaustion was already dragging at him. A few simple movements drained this body of energy, for it had never moved before. He would have to sleep and eat and exercise for weeks, now, to build the muscles up.

When Connell had first proposed the plan, Brant had considered the cost worth it. Right at this moment, though, he wasn’t so sure.

Connell caught up with the chair and walked alongside for a few paces.

“They let you in?” Brant growled. Therapy clients were supposed to be given complete privacy and protection in their weakened state.

“They let the city administrator and the citymind enter. The two of them are a potent combination.”

Brant sighed. “Lilly and Yennifer are here, too?”

“I asked them to wait at the front,” Connell told him. “I thought there might be…issues.” He glanced at Brant and lifted a brow.

“There is,” Brant said shortly. “How angry is she?”

“Pretty mad,” Connell confirmed. “I think most of it is fear, though. You died. She has a lot of questions now. Better go and see her. Get it over with.”

“Show me the way.”

Connell led him through the clinic, passed medics and therapists who started clucking about contamination and repressed immune systems. Brant assured them he would be back and followed Connell out to the waiting area at the front of the clinic. It was a small parkland, with trees and grass and running water. He could even hear birds cooing at the top of the trees.

Lilly and Yennifer were waiting on one of the benches. When Lilly saw him coming, she jumped to her feet and hurried over to him. Her face was working as she battled to hold back her emotions.

Brant drew in a shaky breath. Seeing her after an absence always made him feel this way. The wave of longing and gratitude that she was in his life would swamp him, making him tremble with the strength of it.

By the time she reached him, he had managed to get his arms up and she slid right onto his lap and wrapped herself around him. She kissed him. Hard. “I am so angry with you,” she breathed. “But later. We’ll deal with it later. I’m just so glad…oh, Fareed!” Her eyes were glistening suspiciously.

He had enough strength to hold her against him. It would do for now. She laid her head on his shoulder in the way she did and his heart swelled.

Yennifer reached them. She wore a small smile. “It’s so good to have you back, Brant.”

“Is Bedivere going to be okay?” Connell asked.

Brant frowned. “He passed out or something….”

Yennifer looked up into the air. “The clinic AI tells me they sedated him. He was showing signs of stress.” She dropped her chin to look at him, her gaze troubled.

“That fits.”

“He didn’t want to come back, did he?” Connell said slowly.

Brant shook his head.

Lilly lifted hers and looked at him. There was a shadow in her eyes, too. “Of course he didn’t. Not with Catherine gone.”

“You didn’t see where he was,” Connell said. “You don’t know where he’s been. Even I couldn’t track all the places.”

Yennifer looked straight ahead, not focusing on any of them. “Intestinal cancer, advanced. Numerous brain tumors. Skin cancer. All of them untreated. Numerous broken bones, most of them fused, except for the fingers. Bruising, abrasions, lacerations, burns. All received rudimentary treatment.” She blinked and her gaze focused on them once more. “The clinic AI was able to draw these conclusions from the biometrics of Bedivere’s back-up data. As the data is raw, it admits there might be some medical conditions it overlooked as they did not present strong symptoms or the cessation of pain and suffering that indicates treatment.”

“Glave above,” Lilly whispered. She was pale. “Where
was
he?”

“Where he says he wanted to be,” Brant said.

Yennifer stared at him. Tears slid down her cheeks. “Then we must convince him that
here
is where he wants to be,” she said. Her voice wavered.

Lilly picked up her hand and squeezed it. “To start, we’ll give him time. Time to adjust, time to think. We’ll have to wait for our answers.” She got to her feet and cupped Brant’s cheek and gave him a small smile. “You should go and sleep, too. You have that slitty-eyed look of yours.”

“That look has nothing to do with you sitting in his lap, of course,” Connell pointed out. He tugged his coat back into place and pushed his hand through the long floppy locks that tended to fall around his face and straightened his shoulders. “Come on, I’ll buy you both a coffee and we can gossip.” He spread his arms, expecting Lilly and Yennifer to snuggle up against him.

Lilly gave Brant a smile and ducked under Connell’s arm. After a moment, so did Yennifer. Connell glanced over his shoulder at Brant. “Sleep well.” He winked and walked the two women away.

Brant relaxed. Connell would give them some of the answers they craved and he would spare them the last details for now. He was smart and under that sarcastic manner of his, he was empathetic. He’d picked up the clues and pulled them both out of here to give Brant time, too.

Time to sleep. Time to think. Time to come up with answers he didn’t think he was going to like. Not for the first time, he wished that Catherine was here. She had always been able to cope with anything life threw at her. She would know exactly what to do with Bedivere.

Tordis Stationary Station, Tordis, Magomed System, Outer Arm.
FY 10.187

There was no sunlight to wake her. Instead, there was a steady, deep metallic thumping close by her head that brought her to consciousness in slow stages. It was annoyance that finally roused her enough to move.

She sat up. Her head rammed into the solid bulkhead above the mattress she was on and she gripped her skull as pain flared. The bulkhead was too low for her to sit properly, so she slid down onto one elbow and waited for the pain to pass, while she looked around, fitting together her current location with the previous evening.

It didn’t bode well that she was naked. That reminded her of the foggy sex she’d had. She swallowed.

The quarters she was in were the standard cramped, fold-down, tucked-away living space any station anywhere offered the poorest workers. The quarters were usually far away in the bowels of the space station where the passing public could not accidentally trip over them and where sunlight or even artificial sunlight never reached.

That also fit with the vague memory she had of laughing and stumbling down corridors and clutching at…someone…as the drop shaft made her head spin.

She swallowed again. Disgust was leaving a very bad taste in her mouth. Also, her head was not recovering. The acute agony from connecting with the bulkhead was fading. Instead, a bone-deep ache was coming to the fore.

Her clothes were on the metal floor next to the bunk. Hers were the only garments there and she silently gave thanks to whatever was listening for that small reprieve. Carefully, she reached for her trousers, eased out over the edge of the bed and rested her butt on it while she put her pants on.