Revolution World (16 page)

"People will suspect quite a lot of other things about me with these ridiculous creatures following me around," Seth said sadly. He would tell no one about these dogs.

The dogs did not move as they got out of the car.

"So how exactly are we going to recapture them?" It finally occurred to Seth to ask this.

"Oh no problems. Actually, it's good you are here. I've been using a modification of the Ludovico conditioning technique to make them pathologically love you." Clio unwrapped a large bag of drippy, strange-smelling cheeseburgers and walked towards the dogs.

This did not make Seth feel safe. After all, dogs pathologically love bacon, too.

Within thirty minutes the truck was bouncing down dirt roads towards the dim lights of town with eight vicious Pomeranians yapping away joyfully in the back.

"So, they don't want to go back to the lab and that's fine. It's time for them to start protecting you anyway." Clio was telling him. "They just love these liver burgers I've been feeding them. They understand that no one but you will ever give them liver burgers and if anything happens to you, they'll never see another liver burger again. Neat, huh? So just be sure to toss liver burgers on your back porch every few days and you'll be set. They like a lot of cheese. I'll teach you the word commands and hand signals they know later."

Seth had been eyeing the dogs in the rearview mirror. They did not look smart at all, but they really could talk if you knew to listen for it. He tapped a reminder to himself on his handheld to reprogram the security scans around the compound. If the little guys got fried in the defense perimeter, there would be awkward questions.

"So you have vampire friends?" Clio asked after a few minutes.

"What? Oh." He'd forgotten about that. His uncle was going to kill him. Gloria would vivisect him. All those lectures about never revealing his true identity on the first date and he blurts it out to his girlfriend the first chance he gets.

"Well, yes," he cleared his throat. "Remember, I told you about that?"

Clio shot him a look. "I thought you were kidding."

Seth just shrugged.

"Seriously?"

He nodded.

She thought about that for a while. Was he crazy? She'd been around him a while now and he seemed strange and aloof, but not crazy. Was it some sort of kinky thing? Code for that medical condition he had? It was true she never saw him during the day, but nobody from Omerta came out during the day. They all worked crazy long hours.

Then she remembered she had some friends in college that talked about playing a game on the weekends where they dressed up like Robin Hood and hit each other with foam 'swords.' They called it Live Action Role Playing or LARPing, for short. They had talked about a vampire version. She remembered they said it was like acting and most of the people who played were tech geeks. Maybe that was it?

The more she thought about it, the likelier this seemed. Last week they didn't go out because he wanted to meet with his gaming group and she got the impression it wasn't an online game.

Well, fine. So he had a nerdy hobby. That wasn't a big deal. Though she could see how he might be embarrassed about that. She was president of the local bridge club. That was kind of embarrassing. But no big deal.

So Clio nodded, playing it cool. "Oh yeah, you did mention that. I guess you've got to be yourself. That's all right with me. Does it take up much time, meeting with other vampires and all?"

"Oh. Well. Not too much time." He looked at her in disbelief. "Are you really fine with this?"

"Sure," she shrugged. "It's Texas. We've got all sorts of weirdoes out here. I'm fine with having a weirdo boyfriend." She grinned at him, teasing. She decided not to inquire further, fearing that she'd have to confess to being queen of the bridge club if she did.

He couldn't believe she was accepting this so calmly. His heart swelled. He'd been right to tell her. This really was the girl of his dreams. As they pulled into his yard, he pulled her close.

They discovered that the dogs howled whenever he tried to kiss her. This became a real problem for them in the following weeks.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"I
don't care how perky her curves are, you cannot trust that girl," Gloria snapped. The slight Eastern European cadence of her speech became more pronounced when she was angry. "Which one?" Max asked, idly peeling a lime.

"Any of them. All of them," she threw up a hand dismissively. In the wall screen, Seth's father and Gloria's mother smiled indulgently while they lounged in armchairs. Through the wallscreen, you could see a few other people in the room. Most of them had glasses of wine and were dressed for a much colder place than Texas.

"Darling, I think it is good for you to be out among normal people, at least for a while. Omerta is a wonderful place, a safe place for us, but you need variety," her mother said. She was beautiful and exotic like Gloria, but her expression was more tranquil.

"They cannot trust us," Seth pointed out as he finished his dinner. "Why should we expect to trust them?"

He tried to time it so that he could eat during these Omerta Board meetings. That way the two hours would not be completely wasted.

"That's different," Gloria replied. "We keep quiet for noble and true reasons. They are just sneaky. They are probably working with their foul government. They probably have the same fanatical need to imprison strangers. Americans." She spat the word as though it were a curse, looking at Seth.

"Yes my dear," Seth's father said, looking tired, "We obviously agree that the current US policy of aggression is wrong and must be stopped. However, your reports indicate that the US is engaging in the same acts of belligerence towards its own citizens. We did not realize this."

"Yes, it's quite depressing," said Max, wiping some crumbs off his shirt. "I was statistically mapping people taken by the Texas terrorist groups and it soon became evident that the number of people taken by the so-called terrorists was small compared to the number of people taken by the military. They seem to arrest people as rebels simply so they can take their money or land and call it terrorist support funds."

"Really? How barbaric," muttered Seth's father, toying with his wine glass.

"It's true," said Seth. "Others are arrested as dissidents for political reasons. They criticized the American war efforts or questioned US policy and found themselves locked in a jail cell. Half the time, they just disappear and no one can find what happened to them. We don't know if that's the terrorists or the government."

"Actually, it looks as though the Texas terrorists are snatching people just before the government gets to them. That might make them allies," Max chimed in.

"That's supposing they aren't just shooting these people and leaving them in a ditch somewhere," Gloria pointed out.

Several people nodded thoughtfully. Seth thought it was a bit rich that they were all discussing the problem like they planned to do anything about it.

A few months ago, Seth had written a program that periodically hacked into the US defense databases to find people the US government had taken. It pulled out lists of any foreign nationals held in detention or killed. It then anonymously forwarded that information to the appropriate government.

So every time US soldiers snatched a German businessman off the streets, the German government received a message from "A Friend" that detailed when and where the German citizen had been taken. It had really cut down on the number of foreign kidnappings. He occasionally had to go in and tweak the program when the military changed up their encryption package, but otherwise he felt it worked quite well.

When he let Omerta and his parents know what he had done, the resulting tidal wave of commotion was not at all what he had been expecting. It was practically forty days and forty nights of discussion and debate. Many felt that Omerta had enough problems without becoming a target for the US and their fanatical crusade against terrorists. However, they were all convinced that it was only a matter of time before they became a target anyway.

He was very glad he had not brought it up before he had released the program or they'd never have let him do it. Especially since the program was doing exactly what was needed. The governments now knew when their people were taken and could respond appropriately. The result was that the US dramatically reduced the number of foreign nationals they kidnapped.

But he still couldn't believe the furor over one little act of perfectly justified rebellion. It was one of the reasons he jumped at the chance to come to Texas and get away from the insular community on Omerta's island.

Seth decided now would not be a good time to mention all the extracurricular work he had been doing on Floracopia's security. He had hacked into several US government systems to install software that would track any interest in Floracopia or Omerta. He had set up other programs to erase their signatures on satellites and tracking software. He didn't think his family was ready for that kind of thing just now.

"All the more reason that I think we should make contact with these terrorist people and find out what they are up to. Texas has been particularly hard hit by this rising tide of US attacks in the name of their national defense. Maybe it is because Texas has so many natural resources to begin with. Also, Texas was a hotbed of new technology before The Troubles. It makes sense that they would have some sort of underground resistance group." Max continued.

"Now that it appears this DARPA group may cause us trouble, we must seek allies. This is true. But we must not make ourselves a target for the US and their war machine. So, if you must ask questions, ask them quietly," Gloria's mother spoke with easy authority. "You must be subtle, Max. It would not do to give DARPA or anyone else something they could use against us."

"And you must stop becoming involved with those Floracopia women," Gloria said severely.

"Oh come now," Seth protested. "You must admit that having them work on the ZFD problem could be a huge success for us." This made everyone in the room intensely uncomfortable. One of the traits the Omerta family shared was a distinct loathing for all things medical.

"Telling an outsider about the Z-Factor Deficiency is not an option right now," Seth's father replied, his voice heavy with disapproval. "We have been over this."

"We wouldn't have to tell them everything, just enough to work on a cure. Or even figure out what the problem is," Seth objected. "Even if it is illegal, I am sure they would help us."

"How do you know that they won't roll over and give every word you say to their government?" Gloria snapped.

"The fact that they have things they need to hide from the government like escaped mutant lab animals." Max replied. "It means they won't ask too many awkward questions about our family's health problems."

"Bah. You would risk us all for practically nothing," Gloria said scathingly.

"We give up a few secrets and we can gain an understanding of the problem," Seth shot back. "We cannot hoard information like a dragon sitting on a pile of gold. That is stagnation. If we want to increase our wealth, we invest it and watch it grow. We don't bury it under a rock. If we want to solve our problems, we must give some information away to people who can help us."

"Information is power, Seth," his father reminded him. This was Omerta's motto.

"Information is nothing if you do not use it," Seth countered.

"If you do not use it
correctly
," Max amended. He smiled gently at Seth, wondering how someone so close to him in age could still seem so very young. He was beginning to doubt that anyone ever really grew up. But he also did not think that was a bad thing.

"Well, this has been fun, boys and girls," Max said briskly as he stood up. "But now we must go. We have an engagement to go view the local blood sport."

Gloria's mother raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Gloria rolled her eyes. "Football," she explained. "We are to watch their celebrated Friday night football games. I believe afterwards they slaughter a fatted calf for the victors."

"Only if we're lucky," said Max cheerfully as he ushered Seth and Gloria out the door.

"Max, keep our babies safe," called Gloria's mother.

Gloria and Seth were still bickering when they arrived at the football stadium.

Gloria sighed. "Seth, I'm tired of fighting. I just worry, you know? You grew up so sheltered on Queen Charlotte's. I don't want to see you trust the wrong person and get hurt."

She took his arm. "Come on, let's get this over with. I assume there is a beer stand? Texas seems to have one every fifty feet. I will buy you some of that pathetic excuse for alcohol that you boys like so much."

"Would you hurry up?" Seth asked Max. Max seemed to be laboring even longer than usual over his appearance.

"Like it or not, people make assumptions based on your appearance and then act upon them. So why not use that to your advantage? For a change." Max said dryly, running a critical eye over Seth's worn jeans and faded shirt.

Seth didn't care. He was sure he would meet up with Clio tonight and she was too wonderful and intelligent to care how he looked. He craned his neck to search for her, almost dragging Gloria along. Gloria was dressed in all black, but would not fail to attract attention in her skintight cat suit and dramatic make-up. She towered over him in high-heeled boots.

The roar of the crowd and the pounding drumbeat from the band made the small arena seem vast. Seth searched the crowd but couldn't find her. Max tugged him into an open seat while Gloria went in search of drinks.

Seth tried to follow the game, but found he couldn't make sense of the action. It did not help to have Max enthusiastically explaining every move to him and getting it all wrong. Seth began to wonder if his uncle had read up on rugby or something by accident. Not that it seemed to matter.

Max cheered happily when everyone else cheered and had a fantastic time. Fortunately, the people sitting next to them explained that the game was won by whoever had the most points. After that, all they had to do was watch the scoreboard.