Halfskin (14 page)

"Yeah." He tapped the Bluetooth in his ear.

The voice on the other end was coming from his office in Washington. No funny business in those rooms.

"I'll be here another two-three days, I imagine,” Marcus said.

He'd been on the phone with Janine, explained the urgency in Chicago. He texted, but she called. He told her the boy's sister had him in a corner; he was taking care of that. He needed to stay. She complained about missing a parent-teacher conference. In fact, he'd missed all of them so far. But what was he going to do? Let the country fall apart so he could make sure William got a seat near the front?

He was staying in Chicago. He was cleaning up.

"Not acceptable." He loosened his tie, unbuttoned. "It needs to be done by tomorrow."

He sipped the bottom of the glass.

"I don't want any excuses, Chad. Tell the boys it needs to be done tomorrow by 9:00 AM or they're looking for work, understand? I’ll make sure they never find a job that even remotely deals with computers, trust me. Text me when it's uploaded."

Marcus pulled the drawer out, sorted through neatly folded clothes. A small leather pouch was beneath a layer of t-shirts. He unzipped it, digging through razors and small tubes of toothpaste, finding the small silver cube about the size of a billiards chalk.

Chad was still relaying details about his assignment; Marcus half listened to the excuses. People, he'd learned, needed pushed. They could tolerate much, much, MUCH more discomfort than they believed. People needed a leader, they needed someone to give direction and incentive, to put a boot in their ass when they slowed down, otherwise they'd toil in mediocrity and where would they be then? Where would the human species be if they sat around fires playing bongos all day long?

"Pull some of the techs off their other assignments, get everyone working on this. It has to be done by morning, Chad. And that's final. Do you have anymore questions?"

Silence hung in the Bluetooth. Then, "When will you be back, sir?"

"If all goes well, I'll be back in three days. It could be longer. Peterson will monitor the halfskin program while I'm gone. He'll attend any shutdowns, in the meantime, and he will report to the Secretary."

Marcus pulled the bedspread onto the floor. He rolled the cube into the middle of the linen sheets.

"9:00 AM."

"Yes, sir."

Marcus pulled the phone from his ear, tossed it on the dresser along with his wallet and watch.

He gazed at the lights while he undid the cuffs, pulling his shirt from his pants, sliding the belt from the loops. He undid the buttons, exposing his smooth chest. He pulled the heavy drapes closed.

Marcus folded his clothes.

Completely undressed.

Only when everything was put away did he turn off all the lights and go to the shower. He soaked in hot water until he was soft and supple all over, then soaped up his arms and chest, cleaned every part of his body. Even between his toes. When he was finished, he powdered and clipped his nails, stood in front of the mirror as God intended.

All man.

All flesh.

Clean and ready to do work.

Marcus turned the lights out and stepped out of the bathroom. He went about his nightcap without saying another word.

26

Nix's friends went to a doctor's office when they were sick where there were magazines in the waiting room and they got a sucker when they were done. Their doctors were in a clinic or next to the hospital where they had to wait their turn.

Nix didn't have to wait. He went to Technology Park.

The buildings were made of glass. The pond out front was clear with a large fountain. Three flag poles soared near the front doors, flags whipping on top.

When Nix got sick, he didn't feel like other people felt. He didn't get sluggish or throw up. He buzzed. It wasn't anything someone could hear, just an intense humming that sizzled all over. His sister couldn't hear it, but she could tell just by looking at him.

The buzzies are back.

The man in the glass building fixed the buzzies; Nix remembered that day well. He followed his sister up the wide steps. Avery held onto her hand, a pacifier plugged in her mouth. Cali wore a pin-stripped skirt and jacket, the white lapel of her silk shirt flipped in the breeze. Her office was in the same complex, different glass building. She took Nix out of school.

He had a special box attacked to his hip. It looked like a phone but it didn't make calls. It emitted harmonizing sonar that equalized the buzzing biomites. It was experimental. Everything they did was experimental when it came to Nix.

Nix was only eight, but he knew what experimental meant. He knew he was different than everyone else. Cali explained that his biomites sometimes didn't get along with the blood cells and there was a fight. When things got bad, he got shaky and the sonar box would hum loudly. Sometimes he felt better, instantly.

Sometimes it took awhile.

And, sometimes, there was war.

They stopped at the receptionist desk, this metal, curving wall in the giant foyer. Five people could sit behind it but there was only one: a guy with short hair and always a phone in his ear. He pushed a button to let them through the door, said hello as they approached. Cali's heels echoed off the hard floor. Above them – three stories up – was the ceiling where large bird sculptures hung and twisted.

In Search of Knowledge, Harmony and Freedom.

That was carved behind the desk, engraved on a gold plate in cursive. Nix didn't know what that meant. He just knew that whenever he was there, something was going to hurt.

Always.

But, afterwards, it felt better.

He had nowhere else to go.

They went to a small room with five chairs. There were no magazines, no TV. Just chairs and a clock. Nix watched the second hand tick around the face while the sonar box hummed.

The doorknob turned.

Doctor Merrick didn't wear a stethoscope or a white coat like most doctors. He always wore tan pants and a wrinkle-free shirt. He kept his hair cut really short.

"Dr. Cali." He crossed the room in three steps and hugged Nix's sister. "How are things on your side of corporate?"

"Oh, you know. Grants are still in limbo so our hands are a little tied with the development of the last biomite generation."

"What about this one?" Dr. Merrick squatted. Avery hid behind Cali, making pacifier noises. He tried to tickle her but she stayed on the move.

"Young man."

Dr. Merrick held out his fist. Nix gently punched it.

"You feeling all right?"

Shrug.

"What's this?" Dr. Merrick shrugged back. "Yes? No?"

Nix didn't feel like smiling. His guts felt like they were on an elevator.

"Let's take a look at you." Dr. Merrick held the door open. Nix followed Cali into his lair, an office in the back where there were no good memories.

"I'll be right back. Stay with Uncle Nix."

Cali peeled Avery's hands off her leg and plopped her in the seat next to Nix. She held out her arms and started crying around the pacifier. It was just as loud as if nothing was plugging her up. Cali tried a few more bribes. Nothing worked until Dr. Merrick pulled a purple lollipop from his pocket.

He does have suckers.

"I was ready today," he said.

Cali peeled off the wrapper.

Avery was transfixed by the color. Cali made her escape. It wasn't far. They were on the other side of the door, their voices muffled. Avery opened her mouth and let the pacifier drop on the floor to make room for the sucker.

Nix pulled the sonar box off his belt. Sometimes it worked better if he pressed it against his stomach. He picked up Avery's pacifier. There was no sink to wash it off. There wasn't much besides a couple of chairs and an office desk with computers and microscopes and things that caused pain.

Nix sat back down, held the dirty pacifier and stared at the only picture on the wall. It was a big green mountain with a long granite cliff. Water fell from a hole in the stone wall, drifting hundreds of feet to a blue sea below. He'd been in the office before, staring at that scene while Dr. Merrick prepared one of his special injections. Sometimes he'd stick it in his leg, sometimes the hip or arm. Once he got one in the back of the head. He always numbed it so he didn't feel the sting, but there was nothing he could do about the pressure.

That would last for hours.

Nix cried every time. Grown men would, too.

He didn't like this place. He wanted to be somewhere fun. Somewhere nice. Somewhere normal people went, do things that normal families did. That was impossible. At eight, he knew normal was gone.

Avery began exploring the office with the white stick poking between her lips. She opened a drawer and found a pad of paper. There was a pen attached to a clipboard on the back of the door. He thought maybe he could untie it and give it to her. Avery loved to draw.

"I know it hurts," he heard the doctor say. "But the results look good."

"I've got another generation that will be ready for testing in a couple weeks," Cali said. "I'd like to inoculate Nix, starting with a spinal tap—"

"Let's be patient. I expect..."

Nix couldn't understand what he said.

He pushed his ear against the door.

"I got to be honest," Cali said, "I'm little worried. He says his body tingles..."

The sonar box—

Heavy.

His insides stepped off the elevator, dropped to the center of the earth. The box—pressed against his stomach—was the only thing holding Nix on the ground and when it left his hand, when it tumbled from his fingers, he zoomed like a helium balloon cut loose.

His stomach fell out.

The room spun.

And the buzzies went electric.

His bones vibrated like over-modulated components, emitting heat waves that elevated his temperature. He was being electrocuted from the inside.

Black edge—

Floor—

Door opening and a deep breath and a hand on his arm—

A salty warm rush into his throat—

And the room—

He smelled green, like when he cut the grass.

He was on the ground with trees overhead. Vines strangling the trunks. Sunlight filtering through the leaves.

A bird called.

Something jumped in the branches.

"Cali?" Nix sat up.

This was weird. This was... he was just in Dr. Merrick's office and now they were...
camping
?

He stood up. He felt a little numb, but it wasn't the bad kind. It wasn't anything like a buzzy. It was just... dull. Couldn’t really feel stuff, could hardly smell it. There was a path that wandered between the trees. It was narrow and weedy. Nix didn't feel scared or alone. Not like he should. He felt good. Felt solid. No buzzies.

He just wanted to know where his sister had gone.

So he took the path. He followed it to the end. He heard something roaring. It sounded like a big truck. He saw an opening and a blue sky. The roar was deafening. He felt it in his chest, vibrating all over him. He slowed and carefully stepped to the edge of a cliff. He looked down hundreds of feet to see...

The waterfall in the picture.

The lagoon was born when Nix was eight.

All he had to do was close his eyes.

27

"Momma?"

Avery's voice was tiny. So far away.

Cali's eyes hurt. She'd been squeezing them closed for... how long?

She didn't hear Avery return.

Didn't hear the machines beeping.

Only heard the words shooting into her mind. Over and over. Over and—

"Momma?" Avery tapped the back of Cali's hand.

She opened her eyes.

It was so bright.

Her daughter was kneeling on the other side of the bed, leaning on the railing. She could see all of Avery's silver braces that lined her teeth. She was smiling. And pointing down at the bed. Something smacked.

Nix's lips were moving.

Cali leaped to her feet. She stopped from grabbing his cheeks. She didn't know what to do with her hands. They ran up and down her sides and over the bed railing. She leaned over, felt his rotten breath on her cheek. It felt wonderful.

"Nix," she whispered.

His eyelids batted back the light, rapidly fluttering. His blue eyes peered through the slits. It took a few moments to process the big face hovering over him. His lips cracked when he smiled.

"Hey." He squeezed weakly.

Cali squeezed back. "How are you?" she asked.