The Burn Zone (43 page)

The phone clicked as the hold music stopped and someone picked up.

“
Sam?
”
a voice asked over the phone.

“
Yes,
”
I said.
“
Yes, I need help.
”

“
Your estimated hold time is twelve minutes,
”
the voice said.
“
You may as well spend it learning about a cheap,
noninvasive
procedure that can change your life.
”

“
I don
’
t need to talk to some A.I.
salesbot
,
”
I snapped.
“
I need help!
”

“
I can help you,
”
the A.I. said.
“
Believe me, substandard breast size is something a lot of young women live with, but the good news is that you don
’
t have to.
”

“
Damn it, I
—
”

“
Sam, he
’
s dead,
”
Vamp said.

I hung up.

He put a hand on my shoulder.
“
There
’
s no other kid here, Sam.
”

“
He
’
s got to be.
”

“
This place has four rooms. He
’
s not in any of them. He
’
s got to be somewhere else.
”

“
He brought him here.
”

“
Sam
—
”

I pushed past him and moved to the dresser. The top was covered with little pictures in frames, printed article snippets, and loose change. Lying on top of a cash card was a little remote with a single button on it. I picked it up.

“
What
’
s that?
”
Vamp asked.

I pushed the button. Nothing happened. I pushed it again, but I didn
’
t hear or see anything respond to it.

“
That could be to anything,
”
Vamp said.
“
We can
’
t stay here.
”

Right then, Alexei
’
s 3i icon lit up pink.

Sam?

“
Hold up, he
’
s back on,
”
I said.

I
’
m here. I
’
m at the place they took you. Where are you?

Metal room.

I thought for a minute, and then pushed the button on the remote again.

Did something happen just then?
I asked.

Bell went off.

I smiled.
What does the bell mean?

They
’
re coming. Move away from the wall.

“
He
’
s here,
”
I said.
“
He said the remote rings a bell, to signal they
’
re coming. He
’
s got to be somewhere close.
”

Alexei, when they moved you to the room where you are now, how did you get there?

Kitchen door.

I headed back out into the living room and crossed past the sofa where the flies were still swarming over the blanket. The girl was standing next to it, and I took her hand as I headed into the tiny kitchen to look around. There was a cupboard under the sink, and inside I could hear a buzzing sound.

The girl cringed as I opened it, and immediately caught a blast of rot stink that made me gag. There was a big plastic trash bucket under the sink, lines of blackish
red drying to the sides. Inside was what looked like a big, wrinkled mess of skin and blood that was covered in scaleflies. Some kind of papery material with a dangling, blood-soaked tie hung from the bucket
’
s edge.

With my face turned away, I kicked the door shut.

“
It
’
s okay,
”
I told her.
“
Never mind that.
”

Nix guided her away from the cupboard and I crossed the kitchen to a closet door next to the little half fridge. I pulled it open, but it was empty except for a big cardboard box on the floor.

Alexei, can you hear me?

No.

I banged on the inside walls of the closet with my fist.

Can you hear that?

No.

“
Damn it.
”

The box inside the closet was empty. I picked it up and tossed it behind me onto the floor but saw nothing else in there except wood backing and floor. No secret door or hatch.

“
Where could he be?
”
I hissed. There was nowhere else in the room he could have gone. There wasn
’
t even a window, just...

With the box out of the way, I noticed something hanging just on the inside wall from a thin loop of wire. It was a black twistkey.

“
Here.
”

I knelt down, snatching the key off the hook and then feeling around inside the pantry. The rear of it had a square metal frame, big enough to crawl through. It was just a frame, butted against the back wall, but there was a socket fixed to the bottom right corner of it.

I slotted the twistkey into the socket and turned it. A hum sounded, and my hair began to stand on end as a white point of light appeared in the middle of the frame, then expanded to fill it. The back wall of the pantry disappeared, and I was looking into another room with a metal floor and metal walls. Alexei hadn
’
t heard us because he wasn
’
t in the apartment. He was somewhere else, somewhere even the GPS couldn
’
t zero in on, completely isolated in some kind of storage tank.

“
A black hole,
”
Vamp said, looking down over my shoulder.

“
Huh?
”

“
Smugglers use them to hide contraband. The actual location is masked, usually somewhere outside the government
’
s jurisdiction, just in case.
”

The room was lit, and I could see an air canister leaned against one corner next to an electric lantern. The floor was littered with ration wrappers and empty water bottles. In the other corner was a bucket, the inside stained with brown specks.

“
Kid?
”
I called.

I poked my head in and saw him off to my left, huddled in the corner of the metal cube. His wide, teary eyes stared back at me from through thick, greasy black hair. It was definitely him, the kid from the recording. Why would Dragan put him in a place like this?

“
Alexei?
”
I called. The kid just stared.
“
That
’
s your name, right?
Alexei?
”

He couldn
’
t understand me, I don
’
t think, but he heard his name and nodded, quick, jerky movements. He sat with his knees hugged to his chest. Looped around his left arm was an elastic band, and hanging from it was a metallic blue twistkey.

“
It
’
s okay,
”
I told him, holding out one hand.
“
You
’
re okay. You
’
re safe.
”

He glanced at my hand, then back up at me. He scratched at a raw red patch on one forearm where tiny beads of blood had formed.

“
You can
’
t understand me,
”
I whispered.
“
That
’
s okay. You
’
re okay. Come on out.
”

“
Just grab him,
”
Vamp said from behind me.

“
Shut it,
”
I snapped back over my shoulder. Alexei cringed a little, and it took me a minute for him to calm down again.

“
You know Dragan?
”
I asked him. That got a response. His face changed, and he nodded.

“
Dragan?
”
he asked, scratching at his arm again. I pointed to my face with my index finger.

“
Sam,
”
I said.

He paused, and then nodded again.

“
Good. Okay.
”
I pointed at the twistkey around his arm.
“
Can I see that?
”

He glanced down at the key, then back at me.

Can I see that?
I sent over the 3i.

“
Careful,
”
Vamp said,
“
he could still have the weapon.
”

Alexei, where is the weapon?
I asked.

He shook his head, confused.
What weapon?

They gave you something, something dangerous.

He shook his head again.

“
He says he doesn
’
t have it.
”

“
Maybe he swallowed it,
”
Vamp said.
“
Or they implanted it, and he doesn
’
t know.
”

“
Maybe,
”
I said. That would explain why Dragan had put the kid himself in there, and not just the weapon.
“
Nix, your tablet, where does it lead to?
”

“
The storage area is inside a sealed cell located inside the
ship
’
s
—
”

“
So behind the force field?
”

“
Yes.
”

“
If we could drop the weapon in, would that contain it? The flies can
’
t hurt you guys and they couldn
’
t get out, right?
”

He thought for a minute.
“
Yes.
”

“
Okay,
”
I said to the kid.
“
Okay, come on out. Can I have the key?
”
I pointed at it again.

“
Dragan
govorit
chtoby
nepoterjaf
ego,
”
he said.

Please?
I sent over the 3i.

Dragan said don
’
t lose it.

I won
’
t lose it. I just want to see.