30

The sounds of battle dwindled. Light shone down on the terminal before me. X-37 nagged me to get this over with. With fewer explosions to cover the sounds of local wildlife, I heard the tentacle beast screeching in the wrong direction from my location. It was either as stupid as it looked or having a grenade tossed into its mouth had ruined its sense of direction. The victory felt thin and abstract. I wanted out of this place and off this planet. The sooner I poured myself a glass of whisky and fired up one of Henshaw’s cigars, the better.

I powered down the stealth armor and reached for the mask.

A soft voice interrupted me, a voice that instantly commanded my attention because I recognized it as the most important woman I’d ever had in my life. “You’ll need to leave the mask on.”

Nothing could make this moment more serious, more momentous, more…

“Is that your mom?” X-37 asked. “Because I’ve never actually heard her. You don’t exactly talk about her much.”

“X, I’m going to kill you,” I said. “Now is the time you mimic my shit talking? Really? Nice timing, X. I’m trading you in for a new model the first chance I get.”

“Touchy, touchy,” X-37 shot back. “And you can’t trade me in, Reaper Cain.”

I ignored my LAI and listened again for the voice, stepping closer to the terminal and trying not to succumb to needless emotion. I needed to stay sharp and make good decisions. This was probably a trick.

“Your limited artificial intelligence will make this easier. I see you brought the key to the data storage but not the actual unit. That will make things a bit slower,” the voice said.

I could almost touch the terminal now, but didn’t see a reason. “Bringing the data drive on a dangerous reconnaissance mission didn’t seem like a good idea.”

“Of course not,” said the voice of my mother.

“Are you a recording? A mockup?” I asked, referring to advanced messaging devices that had been popular in the Union ten or twelve years ago. They’d gained some traction with the military, then proved to be too expensive and fell out of favor.

“Something like that, but don’t turn away. I have information you need,” she said.

These types of devices did more than just replay words. They could maintain a conversation within certain parameters. In short, it was going to tell me something and answer my questions if I asked the right ones.

“I’m contacting your limited artificial intelligence and requesting assistance in linking with the data device you left on your ship, which fortunately is within range of this procedure,” the voice said.

I walked around the terminal, studying the area for lack of something better to do. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to see her. Would an image of what she had looked like when this was made comfort me or upset me?

I didn’t know.

“You’ll need to dock the mask with the terminal,” she said.

I was too tired to argue, so I stepped near the terminal, bowed my head, and waited until the mask linked up.

A dreamlike image of my mother appeared and she began to tell me a story.

* * *

“Your father and I were proud of you when you graduated from basic training and amazed at how well you did in spec ops,” she said.

“I don’t want to hear this,” I muttered.

X-37 kept silent for once, and my mother’s voice hesitated only slightly.

“You must, Halek,” she said.

I let out a long breath and waited.

“We followed every mission you ever went on, staying out of your career and your life as you had told us to when you left,” she said.

I really didn’t want to think about that day. There had been shouting and harsh promises that I’d never return to Night City.

“Your father and I had our own careers. Things took a dark turn. Threats were made. They took your sister first, keeping her from us for almost six months before we found her and got her back,” my mother’s voice said. The emotion seemed real, but I knew it wasn’t.

“Your father and I made a pact. We took precautions. We made plans. We secured alliances, and then we had to make hard decisions,” she said. “All three of us would’ve been captured if he hadn’t fought them. The promise they made when the bargaining broke down was that they would always torture two for the compliance of one.”

I wanted to throw up. I’d heard of the tactic. During one of our rare team parties, several of the Reapers swore never to use that tactic. I learned later that only three of us had stuck to the agreement. There were plenty of other ways to gain compliance or force a confession. Why take hostages when the pain could be applied directly to the target? Few people could resist torture, despite what the action-holos depicted.

Thinking of what had been happening to my mother and sister made me want to scream in rage and charge headlong toward the Union soldiers still hunting Elise and Path.

“But we got away, for a time. They caught me next, then your sister. Before long, we escaped again, and again, and again. That seems to be our life. Escape and evasion. If you’re listening to this message, however, it means that I failed to contact you and that we are likely dead or in their custody.”

My knees went weak. I nearly fell away and broke the connection between the mask and the tech shrine terminal.

“I found this place and hid tools you might use to help us—and failing that, get revenge,” she said. “By now, the data device is opening up to your limited artificial intelligence and your ship computer. You will find significant upgrades to all of your Reaper hardware and technology that can be fabricated if you find the right materials and tools. You’ll need a talented crew, someone who can build anything, and an army. It seems like an impossible task, but it is the only way left to do it.”

My blood iced. This was what she was going to leave me with?

“I love you, Halek. So did your father. As long as I live, I will seek you and your sister. I will do anything to make this galaxy safe for you. If I have already failed, then please forgive me.”

I could barely hear the last words with the blood roaring in my ears.

“Jelly is sending us a message, Reaper Cain,” X-37 said. “She sends her compliments and requests your presence on the ship—like yesterday if not sooner. Elise and Path are in serious trouble.”

I stared at the ancient terminal as its power went off. I heard X but couldn’t bring myself to respond.

“She’s gone,” X-37 said. “And she wasn’t really there in the first place, if you want to get technical.”

“I don’t want to get technical, X. I want you to shut the hell up.” I stepped back and removed the Reaper mask. The moment it came off, I knew I had all the answers I was going to get there. Sure I could seek more of the residual images that had led me there, but my gut told me they would be wiped once the message box finished installing Reaper upgrades and data packs. That was where I would need to look for answers and it would take a while. “All right, X. Going after Elise and Path. Try to keep up.”

“I go where you go, Reaper Cain. But I think I take your meaning,” X-37 said.

OceanofPDF.com