'Of course, you've lost this job now,' Manni says as he finishes his chocolate and starts palming through the loose pockets in his overall.
'Yeah,' I say with a wince as I nurse myself with one of the chaplain's analgesic blocks, 'and the rest.' Again, I take in the scene of devastation: blood, two bodies, and random hunks of meat strewn across the floor. 'Shouldn't we be getting out of here?'
'What's the point?' Manni asks, cracking open a can of lime soda. 'Where would we run to? Control surveys every inch of space, even in the timeslip. Everything we do is already recorded.'
The realisation washes over me like a bucket of cold sick. 'Manni, we're going to get arrested!'
'Chill, Robin.' He bears his platinum caps. 'You forget I've got form for this. Sure, we might get thrown into custody tomorrow, maybe. But I have bail money for both of us standing by.'
'You do?'
'Always,' Manni says. 'One word to Hal and Juan, and it's in the account.'
Reserve stashes for bail. And then the golden Amberlite. Certainly, Manni appears well-connected.
'OK, if you insist.'
'Hey, relax, man. I doubt they'll even detain you. Me, possibly. But you? I doubt it. I was the one who took it to another level. Besides...' He gestures outward, implying the city walls and all the surveillance equipment within. 'Where would you run to? With your ID tags, they always know your location.'
He pauses, then adds with a smirk, 'You might try to rig up a cheap mask on the black market. But after last time, I think you've learned your lesson.'
Sure enough, as he continues speaking, I receive a message on my headface. Details of an impending hearing at the Ironforge Control House of Justice to make a defence for my affray. The language is strangled and legalistic. From what I can tell, the court date is five days away. Considering what I still have to do, though, it might be years away. Or never.
'You've lost your job,' says Manni, sounding almost bored by the prospect. 'I have as well.'
'I never saw you work here,' I shoot back.
'Ha!' Manni looks at me amused. 'I already told you. I have a very fluid brief.'
I smile.
'What's the matter, man?'
'Oh,' I say, trying to brush him away, 'no, it's nothing.'
'Doesn't look like nothing.'
I sigh. 'I just can't believe that was all part of the plan. Getting me sacked like that. And a double murder! Manni, good grief. We're meant to be working undercover. How does this help anything?'
'Listen, Rene,' Manni says, pulling me close. I can smell the chocolate on his breath. 'The plan has always been to keep you alive. One way or another. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but that Varis guy nearly used your head to mop the dome floor. And don't get me started on his weird-looking sidekick. Besides, it's me who committed the murder, not you. The worst they'll do to you is charge you with affray.'
'And aren't you bothered? About the court case? About going down?'
Manni laughs, slapping the side of the lift door. 'Let me ask you this, Rene. Do you think I'll turn up? Or do you think you will, for that matter?'
'I...' My head hurts. 'Why? What? How can you fight Control?'
Again, he laughs.
'I mean, how connected are you?' I look around the elevator lobby. The walls feel like they're closing in. 'Manni, we need to get out of here.'
'I've told you. Kapo only turn up for operations. Quelling riots. Seizing contraband. That kind of thing. Fights among citizens? That's Control's remit. And we've already been charged and served our court dates.'
There's a ping. The doors to the lift draw open.
'I can't believe you're not bothered,' I say, instructing the lift to drop to ground level. Seconds later, our capsule starts its epic descent.
'Rene, by the time this comes to trial, we'll be long gone. You'll be with Onya, doing your thing. And I'll be in a nice brothel somewhere deep and underground.' He grins again. But I'm no longer finding his brazen attitude reassuring as I pick more blood from my hair. 'By the way, there was another reason I came over...'
Aha. At that moment, I remember my conversation with Elise back in the cafeteria before the killing started.
Keep your friend at home.
'What?' I say, now on the defensive. 'My contacts? Are we ready?'
Manni shakes his head.
'But you said we'd have details of the meet with Onya by this time today...'
'I know, I know,' he says. He actually looks sorry. 'But Hal and Juan have hit a few unforeseen problems. Some details haven't been easy to verify. But we're nearly there. A couple more hours should do it. Here, look...'
He sends a short list of key contacts through to my headface. Despite my anger and suspicion, all their fields are fully populated. All the links work fine.
'Renard Bray,' I whisper, looking at his personal home information and official photo. He looks older than usual. Near my age, in fact. Beneath that, there's a street address so long and full, I feel voyeuristic reading it. Then there's his full bio. It's much longer than the thumbnail written by Janine and the agents in charge of this whole strange affair.
I sigh. Uneasy to be shown confidential information by someone else when it was meant for my eyes only.
'Don't worry,' says Manni, like he's reading my mind. 'No one's going to reveal their cover, Rene. You can take that to the bank.'
'Good,' I say. 'So when can I meet Onya? Time is getting on. The quantum window closes in--'
'Yeah, eighteen days. I know.'
'Yeah. And now I don't have a job.'
'Look, Rene, soon. And don't worry about your job. I'll take care of it. Listen, you might want to go home and get the blood off you first. I can pick you up later and take you over.' He waits for a pause. 'But only if you'd like.'
I must look unconvinced, because then he adds, 'Come on, Rene. You are covered in synthetic blood. You stink.'
I look at Manni and his outstretched palm. He's smiling in that way that says I shouldn't argue. Anything like that feels well beyond me now.
He pulls me to my feet. We laugh at the mess we've created as we pass down the ramp toward the dome's lift shaft. We open the door and descend into the lift's cool aluminium shell.
Every time I close my eyes, I can picture Vlad's figure lying on the ground. That awkward shape he was left in. The simple way Manni disconnected his head. I abhor violence, but Syrix and Varis are now out of the equation. Things look like they could finally be turning in my direction.
But there's just one small snag.
'Manni?'
'Yes, Rene?'
'You remember that girl? From the party in Yvak? You know, the gene-hack?'
'Yes...' For a moment, his body clenches. 'What about her?'
'Oh, nothing.' I look up and think better of it. Everything is finally working out. Don't rock it. I push Elise to the back of my mind. 'Just saw another like her earlier,' I say, trying not to hate myself for lying.
'Really.' He tuts and shakes his head. 'Those damn gene-hacks get all over the place.' He gives a small laugh. 'They're like vermin.'
I laugh and nod. But the mood between us has shifted a little now. The small talk feels more forced and guarded.
'Yeah,' I say, keeping my tone level. I can't help myself. 'She told me she was in the movement, too.' I watch him closely. 'Did you ever run with anyone like that? A gene-hack, I mean. When you were in the IDA?'
Manni turns and looks at me with a straight expression.
'You mean in Vipers?'
'Yes,' I say. But now I feel awkward.
'Hmm.' He rubs his chin.
The lift opens at the base of the dome. We have to fight our way through the crowds to reach open space. All the while, Manni's face is crumpled up in deep thought like he's consulting some secret manifesto hidden deep inside his brain.
'No,' he says eventually, as we arrive at the entrance to the maglev station and get ready to go our separate ways. 'Never came across anyone like that.'
'Ah, I see,' I say.
Manni stares at me for a second too long, then smiles. It's genuine. His heavy palm rests on my shoulder.
'See you later, Rene.'
Thanks for checking out Hard Lines. To track the whole story so far, please visit the Serials page on Beyond Colossus. New scenes drop each Wednesday.