Crossways (43 page)

Benjamin picked up Carlinni's fallen dart rifle with one hand and fired it directly into the middle of Crowder's chest.

He felt the jab. His last thought was that he didn't even have time to be afraid.

“Cara, hold on. Hold on!” Ben cradled her head. “Fucking kill switch! Hold on. You've survived without an implant before. We'll get you back to Crossways—get you a new implant.”

She moaned in his arms and tried to claw at her face.

“Archie, get the devices.”

“Crowder?”

“Leave him, he'll be dead in minutes. Got to get Cara back to Crossways, to Civility Jamieson.”

*Ronan, everyone on board
Solar Wind
, now.*
He flashed what had happened.

He would normally have been able to carry Cara, no problem, but he was so out of condition that Bronsen scooped her up instead and they ran back to
Solar Wind
, through the gap that Toni Horta had blown in the wall.

Ronan was close behind with Nan and Ricky.

*All accounted for?*
he broadcast.

*Except for Fowler and your nephew,*
Tengue said.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! In his panic to get Cara back to Crossways, he'd forgotten the hospital pickup. He couldn't leave Kai, and Tengue wouldn't want to leave Fowler.

“Gen, get us back to Arkhad City.”

“Right away, Boss.”

“Reska!” Nan's voice cut across the chaos.

“Nan, find a cabin and strap in; it's going to be a bumpy ride. Ricky, stay with Nan.”

“Cara?” Nan asked.

“Not good.”

Ben turned to find Bronsen and Ronan had already taken her to sick bay. He wanted to go straight after her, but everyone was shouting at once. He took a deep breath.

“Essential crew only on the flight deck. Everyone else, find a cabin. Archie, show Nan and Ricky where my cabin is. If Rion comes to from the goodnight drops, better that he sees them first. Nan, Rion's going to be as mad as blazes with me. Tell him he can have a piece of me later, but to stay clear of the flight deck and sick bay.”

“Has he got a right to be mad at you?”

“He certainly has. Tell him Bunty's boys are farm-sitting and the dogs are in a crate in the hold for the duration of the flight. They're fine. That might help.”

Archie led Nan and Ricky up a level, chatting normally to Ricky, trying to defuse the tension.

Ben turned. “Tengue, Gwala, are you in touch with Fowler?”

“Hilde is. She's the better Telepath.”

“Hilde, is Kai with Fowler?”

“Yes.”

“Tell her to tell Kai to get a float chair and take her down to the west side of the hospital building. They're to wait where they can see the autopark. That's where we're putting down.”

“What about the hoverpods in there?”

“What about them?”

Hilde grinned.

“As soon as the ramp goes down, you three are responsible for getting Kai and Fowler on board safely. Any questions?”

They all shook their heads.

“Max, you're making the place look untidy. Get strapped in.”

“Only essential crew to the flight deck?”

“Hell, what a time to start listening to what I say. Get yourself up there with Gen.”

Max flashed him a grin and turned just as the drives began to power up with an urgent hum.

Ben turned the other way and headed for sick bay.

“Ronan, how's she doing?” He'd expected Cara to be flat out, but instead she was sitting up in a chair, wrapped in a blanket.

“I'm still here,” she said, and reached out a hand.

He took it.

“Has Ronan given you anything for the pain?”

She shook her head and winced. “He can't.”

“Why not?”

“Because she has to be fully conscious when you hit the Folds so that she can get the dead implant out of her head.” Jussaro's voice came from behind.

Ben turned. If a man with purple skin could look pale, Jussaro was pale. Bloodless might be a more accurate description. “I heard the fuss, asked a nice old lady in antigrav leggings what had happened.” Jussaro stepped forward unsteadily. “The moment an implant is killed it begins to shrivel. It doesn't take long for the pathways to shrivel with it. Sometimes that makes it impossible to replace. I was lucky the first time. But if the implant can be removed, it leaves the pathways open. Reimplantation should be simple.”

“So you want me to what? Think this ruined thing out of my head?” Cara said.

“Well, you might need some help,” Jussaro said. “From a void dragon.”

Ben squeezed her hand. “You had your implant switched off when I met you, trying to hide from Alphacorp. Once, when I asked you how you'd coped, you said it was because you wanted to live more than you wanted to be a Telepath. How about now?” He kissed her fingers. “I want you to live. I need you to live.”

“Go drive the bus. Get me home.”

He squeezed her fingers one more time and left.

The comm gave a small whoop and then crackled into life. “Arkhad City ATC to unknown craft, identify. You are in controlled airspace. Repeat, you are in controlled airspace in the lanes reserved for emergency services.”

Ben slid into the pilot's seat and left Gen to monitor comms. “Stall them,” he said.

“Let me.” Max leaned low over her shoulder, kissed her ear, and reached for the vox. “Hey, hi, Mr. ACT . . . er . . . Mrs. ATC lady. You in charge up there?”

“Identify yourself.”

“Hi . . . err . . . yes . . . This is the good ship . . . err . . . Lollipop.”

“Lollipop?” Ben said quietly.

Max turned and grinned, his eyes alight. “You don't watch old movies? Got to do something when the girlfriend dumps you and even the cat goes out on the town.”

Ben shook his head.

“When this is all over I need to educate you, my friend. Beer and old movies.” Max turned back to the comm.

“Lollipop, state your ident code and your destination.”

“Ident code? Heading for the hospital. This is an emergency. Got a pregnant lady on board. Keep everything out of our way.”

“Ident code, please, Lollipop.”

“Ident code . . . ident code . . . I had one of those somewhere. Is it in this pocket? No. In this one? Uh-huh—”

“Lollipop, you are in controlled airspace. Ascend to one thousand meters.”

“Now how am I supposed to get my lady to the hospital from one thousand meters?”

“Lollipop, who's in charge there? Do you have an emergency medical situation?”

“Sure do.”

Ben blocked Max's performance out of his mind as they approached the hospital.
*Tengue?*

*In position.*

Like an overeager horse, Ben reined in
Solar Wind
above the hospital. The auto park below them was a sea of small hoverpods jostling for space on automatics. It was the largest space without people, and as a bonus was close to the west side of the building. He didn't even let down the stabilizers, just crunched down onto the roofs of close to a
hundred shiny pods, opened the hatch and dropped the ramp.

On the forward screen he saw Tengue, Gwala, and Hilde run forward. Tengue scooped Fowler from the float chair. Hilde grabbed Kai's hand and urged him to run while Gwala covered them all with a smart-dart rifle. Though there were people huddling in the lee of the building, no one tried to stop them.

“Hey, Boss, you might want to see this . . .” Gen flicked a local news broadcast onto the screen.

There was
Solar Wind
nestling on top of what had become a scrapyard, filmed from above. One of the hospital's security cams, he thought.

“In breaking news, an unidentified craft has landed outside the Centenary Wing of Arkhad City Hospital, crushing private vehicles. Emergency services are rushing to the scene. Bystanders are urged not to get involved. It's not known yet whether there are any casualties.”

“They're on board. Ramp retracted. Hatch secured,” Kitty said from Systems.

“You want me to fly the bus, Boss?” Gen asked.

The quickest way to get Cara back to Civility Jamieson was to flash into foldspace from low orbit and emerge less than fifty klicks from Crossways itself. Gen would balk at that. He should do it himself. He could do it. Couldn't he?

One mistake and none of them would make it. Better to arrive safe and slow than not at all.

“Do it, Gen.” He took his trembling hands off the control pad.

“Warn them we're coming. Tell them to clear a path. Have Jamieson standing by to do two implants.”

Gen boosted
Solar Wind
's antigravs just as ground vehicles were screaming into the hospital precinct. They shot steeply upward on extended wings. One thousand meters, two thousand meters, three thousand.

The comm sounded again. “
Solar Wind
, this is the Monitor ship MS
Lomax
. You are impounded by law. Please stand down and prepare to be boarded.”

Four thousand meters. They were still well below the altitude of commercial liners.
Lomax
must be above them.

“Get her position, Kitty,” Ben said.

“Right there.” Kitty put
Lomax
on screen.

She was, indeed, between them and escape.

Ben left Gen to take the pilot's seat and activated his vox. “Alexandrov, is that you again?”

“Benjamin, stand down.”

“Like hell I will.” He muted his vox and turned to Gen. “Now Gen, into foldspace.”

“We're still in Chenon's atmosphere.”

“Do it.”

Alexandrov didn't waste time on a warning.
Lomax
released a missile. Gen gave a strangled squeak and plunged
Solar Wind
into blackness.

The void dragon comes at him, just the big one this time. Ben's fairly sure it's the same one. It's come looking for him. Why him? Why can't it leave him alone?

It wants to talk. How can it? They don't even share a language.

*No. Not me. Cara. Find Cara, please.*
He wraps his arms around his head. It seems to be telling him that he can't avoid a conversation sooner or later. He's on the riverbank again, his dad's in the water. The chasm of darkness swirling at his feet. Jump, his dad says.

*
Talk,*
the void dragon says.

“No,” he replies and steps back.

His dad floats effortlessly away into midstream. The void dragon dips its head in acknowledgment and vanishes, leaving the flight deck empty of hallucinations. But there's an echo of
soon
.

T
HE SICK BAY SHUDDERS AND THOUGH THE lights don't dim, darkness swirls in, tangible. They are in the Folds. Cara hardly feels the jump; she's far too preoccupied with what's in her head, or rather what's not in her head.

It's just like it was before
, she tells herself.
I survived nearly a year with my implant turned off. I can do it again.

But she'd needed an array of tranqs to help her through it and she'd always known that with one flick of her tongue against a back tooth she could power it up again.

She pulls the blanket around herself, shivering, though it isn't cold.

“Breathe,” Ronan says. “You've got to get rid of that thing. Jamieson can replace it when we get back to Crossways.”

“You don't know that for sure, Ronan. Stop bullshitting me.”

“Look at me, Carlinni.” Jussaro cups her cheek and turns her face toward him. “You have one chance. Imagine . . . no, not just imagine . . . You have to know that your implant is not you. It's a thing apart. You have to believe it. Really believe it.”

“That's all it takes?”

“Uh, not really, but it's a start.”

“You got rid of yours.”

He nodded. “With some help.”

“You look like shit, Jussaro.”

“Welcome to the club.”

Something swirls into sick bay, a formless shadow. It bumps Jussaro, nose to forehead.

“Here,” she hears him tell it. “Another one for you.”

He pulls her upright. She shrinks back.

“It's all right Carlinni. It wants your implant. I'm not sure why.”

“Talk.” There's an audible rumble that she can feel all the way down to her toes. Is the thing speaking?

“Learn.”

“Holy shit!” Jussaro chokes on his own words.

Ronan is looking around in amazement. He hears something, but obviously can't see the source.

“Mind,” the thing growls.

Is this Ben's void dragon?

“It's learning from the implants.” Jussaro's voice is filled with wonder. “Give it yours. Imagine you want it gone.”

She can't. She knows she can't. Getting rid of her implant is the last thing she wants to do. She wants to reactivate it, restore it, retain it. She tongues her tooth, but nothing happens.

“It's mine. It's me.”

“Not anymore,” Ronan says. “It's dead. Diseased and dead. Let it go before it kills you.”

She wraps her arms around herself and tries to act small.

Ronan kneels at her feet and pulls her hands into his. “Trust me, Cara.”

Ronan helped her when she was mind-blocked on Olyanda, when she knew there was something in her head that she'd been prevented from sharing by McLellan. He helped her to break the conditioning. She trusts him more than anyone except Ben. She sees his expression. He's scared for her.

“Trust me. Let it go.”

Diseased. If she thinks of it as diseased, she might want to get rid of it.

“Yes, you can do it,” Ronan says, his voice urgent. He transfers both her hands into one of his and with his thumb
rubs her forehead where the slight bump of her implant scar still hides beneath her skin.

“It's not you anymore,” he says gently, squeezing her fingers.

She nods and squeezes back.

“All right. I'm ready.”

“Stay very still, Carlinni,” Jussaro says.

Something ripples through her head with butterfly softness.

She relaxes. Then sharp pain stabs through her skull.

Ronan catches her as she falls forward. “It's over,” he whispers. “It's out. Gone. Sucked away into nothingness.”

“It's his now,” Jussaro says. “The void dragon has it.”

She bursts into tears.

“Shit, Benjamin, you really know how to make an entrance. Don't make a habit of this.” Mother Ramona was waiting for them on the dockside by the time the air pressure had returned to normal.

Cara and Jussaro were both in float chairs, one from the
Solar Wind
's med bay and the other requisitioned from Fowler, who would follow at a more sedate pace.

“I love you, too,” Ben said, not stopping as he pushed Cara's chair toward the entrance. “Got the clearance we asked for?”

“The tub lanes are all clear,” Mother Ramona said. “You'll have a straight run. Now can we get this station running normally again?”

“Thanks. I'm sorry.” He left her behind.

“No, you're not.”

“You're right. Not sorry, but I am grateful.” He turned his head to shout back. “Please introduce yourself to my family. My grandmother's looking forward to meeting you. My brother may not be quite so civilized. Go easy on him.”

“Not so civilized. That's one way of putting it.” Ronan, pushing Jussaro's float chair, kept pace with Ben to the entrance and they loaded both patients, still in their chairs, into the waiting tub. Syke and three guards shot ahead of them and a second tub of guards followed behind.

“Do we still need a guard?” Ronan asked. “Now that Crowder's dead.”

Crowder dead. Ben hadn't let himself think about the third dart he'd pumped into Crowder. The tub careened around a corner and he reached over to steady Cara. No time for Crowder right now. “Are you still with me?”

“Still with . . .” she said. “Not getting any easier.”

“I guess it's not.” He clasped her hand, small and frail, like a bag of bird bones, with no answering squeeze.

“Professor Jamieson's in the implant suite.” Nine met them at the front door.

“He knows he's got two patients, right?” Ben asked.

“He knows. He says he'll take Jussaro first because he's already done the preliminary tests. While he's doing that I'll run Cara through the tests, so she's ready.”

Ben didn't ask what happened if the tests proved Cara wasn't suitable for reimplanting. She sat very quietly in her chair, eyes closed, but he was sure she was listening.

“Don't worry.” Nine put her hand on Cara's shoulder. “Professor Jamieson is the best.”

Cara nodded, but didn't reply.

“Professor Jamieson also said to ask whether you got either of the implants out whole.”

“Both of them,” Ben said. “But we didn't get to keep them. Would you believe me if I told you a void dragon sniffed them up like they were some drug?”

“I might, but Jamieson . . . not so much.”

“Make something up then, but don't tell him until after he's done the implantations. We might have a recording of the whole thing, but don't tell him that until afterward either.”

Nine flashed a grin at him. “I see you're beginning to understand what makes the professor tick.”

“I've met men like him before. Single-minded to a fault, but frankly, I don't care what makes him tick as long as he can do the job.”

“Do you understand me? I'm going to clamp your head so that you can't move.”

Cara heard Jamieson's brisk voice as if from a long way away, but she could see shadows cross her closed eyelids as figures moved between her and the light.

“I said do you understand?” His voice was up close now. She could smell him. Dry, clean, antiseptic.

“Yes.”

“You sat in on Benjamin's procedure, so you know how this works. I don't need to immobilize you completely. I've tweaked the head restraint since then. This isn't an experiment.”

“How's Jussaro?” she managed.

“Fine, recovering quietly. He screamed like a girl, but it all went according to plan.”

“Am I supposed to say girls don't scream and then try to prove it?”

“Scream all you want, just don't move. And for the record no one goes through this, awake, without screaming.”

Ben squeezed her hand and that was the first time she realized he was still there. She squeezed back. “Once for no, twice for yes?” she asked.

“You've got it. I'll be here.”

“I know you will.”

“Ronan's here, too.”

“Hey, let's have a party.”

“Ready for the head restraint?” Jamieson asked.

“Yes. No. Ben . . .”

“Here.”

“Kiss me.”

“For goodness sake we haven't time . . .” Jamieson protested.

“Out of the way, Professor. There's time for this,” Ben said.

She felt Ben's lips on hers, warm, tender, full of promise. There was no need to say the words, but she did anyway. “I love you.”

He kissed her again and breathed the words back to her.

“All right, Professor,” she said. “I'm ready now.”

The head restraint was a tight fit. She had a moment of claustrophobic panic, but Ben grasped her hand. The restraint shaped itself to her skull, covering crown, eyes, cheeks, and lower jaw, while leaving a cool open space in the center of her forehead and a triangular opening over her nostrils and mouth. She heard the robotic arm begin to move above her head and felt a slight pressure as it made contact. Then there was a blinding pain as the needle bored through her skull.

Surprisingly that part was over quickly and she felt the needle withdraw. The implant must be in place already.

“All right so far?” Ben asked.

She squeezed twice for yes, and then it began.

A million baby snakes frolicked through her brain, wriggling, tickling, fondling, jostling, and just plain thrusting through. Pain and pleasure followed in waves like good sex for all the wrong reasons or bad sex for all the right ones. She was losing her virginity all over again at the same time that her head was being sawed in two. She clutched Ben's hand and held on tight as her body spasmed from top to toe.

It could have been a minute, it could have been a lifetime.

*Cara. Cara! Are you back with us? Are you back?*

*Yes. Oh, gods, yes. Yes!*

She began to laugh.

“I'm fine, Nine. Don't fuss,” Cara said.

“Professor Jamieson wanted a full set of bloodwork six hours after implantation.”

“I've had so many sharps stuck in me I feel like a pincushion.”

“Sorry.”

“I'm not sick. In fact I feel better than I've felt for years.”

“Euphoria. When it drains you'll crash. Jussaro's already sleeping like a baby.”

“Well, I don't intend to stay in here another hour, let alone another night. Time I was gone.”

*And you called me a bad patient!*

Cara whirled around to find Ben in the doorway. “See, Nine, my transport awaits. My Knight in Shining Armor has come to whisk me off to his castle and make mad, passionate love to me.”

“Don't bother to wrap her, I'll take her just as she is!” Ben said. “That's the best offer I've had since . . .”

“Since Olyanda.” Cara ducked around Nine and grabbed Ben's outstretched hand.

“On the other hand, wrap her.” Ben grabbed Cara's hand and twirled her around, laughing. “Singlet and shorts are very fetching, but maybe a wee bit underdressed for Crossways.”