1.
Gagé sat in the corner of his vast apartment, huddling against the wall of his cage. The hunger was gone now. He remembered a distant time with snow on the ground and weeks without food. The worst was the first week and then everything was numbed after that. He would not go to the window.
Sorcier still returned every week to see if he was dead. The elevator had a new set of DNA now and Gage was trapped on the sixtieth story. He lifted his hands to his head and groaned, feeling more present and less dizzy when he felt the sharp points of his shaved hair beneath his fingers. He wondered if his hair would grow back before he starved. He would not go to the window.
He hadn’t convinced himself yet that Sorcier had not drugged him. He was not parallelized, but he was hallucinating. He had been alone for days now, even Panya who used to sit on her balcony and call up to him and talk with him had vanished the day after Alik fell. He would not go to the window. Occasionally Gagé would open his eyes and one of the girls would be there. Iris looking gaunt and destroyed, worried and nervous as she’d been when he questioned her about Jack’s involvement in the computer breech in the Cunningham estate. Jack came too, still despising him, though now when she spoke she accused him of crimes that were really too obscure for Jack, misuse of the English language, a blatant disregard of masculinity, something about hair too long. He reached again for the flowing hair that was no longer there.
Sarah was nice when she came. She didn’t tirade about Christianity; she sat beside him and spoke of God with a calm intelligence, the way Alik spoke of Islam. She may have converted him if she stayed long enough, but the image of Panya always drove her away, in spite of his best attempts to keep her there.
Panya was cruel, because Panya was kind. She looked at him sadly but rarely spoke. Gagé was never able to expect what Panya would say, and when she was a hallucination she was mute. That didn’t mean much. Panya never needed words before; she did not need them now. She was the only one that ever made him crawl towards the window. He had always been afraid of heights and when they had talked from their balconies, she had never known that he was lying on his belly with his hands over his eyes.
The room was terribly cold because the broken window let the chill in. A breeze slipped through the quiet now carrying with it a loud humming sound like a volex. Gagé had heard many at this altitude, usually patrons of La Masque leaving.
This hum grew louder and louder until it was hovering nearby. Gagé opened his eyes, seeing the egg shaped thing hanging outside one of the balconies. It was a police volex. This was an unusual hallucination.
Gagé had no doubts it was a hallucination when Alik appeared on the deck of the volex and skated down until he could jump onto the balcony. He was not wearing his glasses, but the skin around his eyes was red and swollen. Gagé smiled, because Alik’s eyes were as he had always wanted them to be, a dark dark brown. They scanned over the apartment and then fell on him. Gagé smiled and Alik stood stunned and looked at him. “What has he done to you?”
With the girls he could never speak. He could never answer their accusations, or defend himself against their questions. Only sit in silence. With Alik he discovered, he could speak. He decided to be warm. “Oh, it’s nothing as traumatic as all that, Alik. He cut my hair. He left me here to die.”
Alik looked at him without understanding. “You have to speak in English, Gagé.”
Gagé blinked, trying to negotiate the request. “You have beautiful eyes, Alik.”
“Morgan insisted I get the surgery before I went back to work.” Alik came to him extending his hand. “Come on. We have to leave. We all thought he would kill you.”
“Too easy.” Gagé waved him away. “Now, you. You are supposed to be dead.”
“That’s right. How could you know? Sorcier sent all the girls in the Preferential Lounge away and that must mean Panya too.” Alik crouched besides him. “Panya heard you and Sorcier arguing that day. She heard the fight and she caught me when I fell.”
“No.” Gagé shook his head, without lifting it from the wall. “Panya doesn’t like you.”
Alik touched his shoulder. “Gagé, you have to come with me.”
Gagé jolted at the touch. He laughed slyly as if he had just discovered a secret joke. “Oh, you’ve got a lot more real. And you have such beautiful eyes. But really you must go away. Bring Panya back. I don’t want to talk to you.”
Alik squinted with confusion. “Are you drugged?”
“Panya is so sad. I really ruined her. She was so happy. I wonder if it comes from swimming all the time. I gave her back her fins and her gills. Did she escape?” Gagé mumbled and rolled his palms over his eyes. “No, of course not. She still comes here. Don’t send Panya. Send Jack. Jack despises me. I can deal with that.”
His fingers ran along the short stubble at the top of his head, his fingers still groping for a texture other than prickling flesh.
“Jack is in the volex.” Alik took his hands and tried to pull the man to his feet. “Come on. We’ll go and see her and take you to a hospital.”
“No!” Gagé pulled his hands back, wrapping them around his knees and holding his body violently. “I’ve told you before! I won’t go to the window. I will not die that way. I want to sit here and starve and when he comes to see what happened to me, he will know and my hair will keep growing and growing after I’m dead and it will fill the room and when he comes in the shine of it will blind him and then he will fall out the window.”
Alik knelt close to Gagé, his strong arms bowing around the small body. “I’m going to take you away from here. To Walter Morgan. You can help us find Sorcier and stop him.”
“I wish I could kill you.” Gagé whispered, not seeming to notice the man was lifting him off the floor. “If he found your dead body here. He would let me out of this damned tower.”
Gagé curled his arms around Alik’s neck when Alik carried him towards the window. He whimpered in a language Alik didn’t understand. “I won’t move a muscle then I won’t wake up on the balcony looking down. I know I won’t.”
Alik did not reply climbing out of the balcony and into the volex with Gagé. Jack gasped in shock, her mouth falling open. “Holy shit. Is he dead?”
“No. When Sorcier closed down La Masque, he left him in that room.” Alik moved through the center of the volex and brought him to the back room before Gagé began speaking again. Gagé wouldn’t want anyone to hear his ramblings. “Bring us to the police hospital in the Victorian Sector. I pretty certain he’s drugged.”
“Morgan’s gonna love this.” Jack chuckled.
Alik said nothing, kneeling with Gagé on the floor of the volex, and covering Gagé’s eyes as the vehicle shot into the open sky.
2.
Alik stood behind Gagé in the interrogation room. Three days had passed and the intersectoral refugee station had given Gagé a good dinner and a better place to sleep. Morgan was probably regretting their decision to give Gagé the rest now; there was never a time when Gagé was more himself.
“Monsieur Morgan, I don’t know what else I can tell you.” Gagé folded his hands casually behind his neck and he spoke smoothly. “I don’t know him by any other name. I don’t know the way to his house in the German Territories or if he still lives there. I don’t have any way to communicate with him. I can tell you nothing, except what he looks like and what he has ordered me to do.”
Alik had at first been mildly interested in watching Morgan’s interrogation skills fail. Now he was just worried by it. Morgan slammed his hands against the fake grains of the table and scowled at Gagé. “Listen, boy. I don’t like liars.”
“It is a good thing then, that I am not lying.” Gagé replied, then tipped his head back. His hands shifted forward wringing around his bare neck, missing his scarf. “What else can I tell you… Sorcier speaks fluent German, but with a poor accent. He speaks French like he was born in the Parisian Sector and English like a Victorian. Though I have heard him speak like some from the Anglo-isles. He does that pretty good, too.”
Before Morgan could resist the statement, Alik suggested. “If one of his parents came from the Parisian sector and the other-”
Morgan didn’t want to hear, interrupting with his mocking assessment. “If he was a twenty-two year old from the German Territories, more likely.”
Alik groaned. Morgan hadn’t made much a secret that he thought Gagé was Sorcier, which seemed both impossible and highly plausible at the same time. “Morgan, I think we need to take a break.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Morgan puffed bigger, taking it as in insult. “I’m perfectly fine.”
“I wasn’t saying-” Alik couldn’t place what was wrong with Morgan’s temper. This was not a good time to slip. “Can I see you outside?”
Before Morgan could grumble out the door, Gagé said. “Monsieur Morgan, how is Iris?”
Morgan turned to face the man sitting at the table, his hands balled ready to strike. Gagé seemed not to notice. “I would have asked Jack, but I wasn’t thinking clearly at the time.”
“She’s in hiding.” Morgan answered bitterly. “Edward Cunningham is looking to kill her, on account of you, I’m sure. Thank you kindly for asking.”
Morgan exhaled angrily and reached for his communicator. “Please escort Refugee 839:501 to his cell.”
Alik noticed Gagé stiffen and look at the floor. “He’s a refugee, Morgan. You have no legal right to hold him here.”
“I have enough evidence from your police reports, Alik.” Morgan replied, coolly. “To hold him here for an indefinite period of time.”
“Do I have a phone call?” Gagé asked.
Before Morgan could reply, Alik handed him his own communicator. He thought it was suspicious the moment the device had passed into Gagé’s hand. “Who are you going to call?”
Gagé dialed a number and then handed the communicator to Morgan. “Iris will have something to say to you, Monsieur Morgan.”
Morgan’s tight frown slipped into a nervous worry and he snatched the communicator in time to see his daughter’s coquettish face flash on the screen. “Daddy, are you being a stubborn ass again?”
Alik gripped the back of the chair Gagé was leaning casually in. “What are you doing?”
“Iris?” Morgan spoke loudly into the communicator, holding it arms length away so he could get a clear picture of her. “What’s the meaning of this? Where are you?”
Gagé leaned back in his chair and said quietly. “I know you have good intentions, Alik. But I like to have a back up, just in case.”
Alik looked up at Morgan and listened to the sweet honest voice on the other end. “Well, I’ll tell you simply, Daddy. I’m sitting outside in a boat with a very tall dark woman, and a certain exiled Anglo and his lover have set up a series of explosive around the base.”
“You found Andrew and Phillip?” Alik demanded.
Gagé nodded. “Sure. Phillip’s a good friend. We were better friends before Sorcier put a price on his head.”
Iris continued on the communicator. “The explosives will go off taking down one of the walls of this outpost, and then the tall dark woman will come inside with poor little me in tow. I’ll be a hostage, daddy, and since you will follow all the proper hostage procedures, you will have to negotiate a civilian’s life for a refugee’s freedom. Now of course, you could be an ass and reveal this little prank of ours, but then you’re really doing a great deal of harm to your family’s good name. And your poor wife will be furious with you.”
“Iris, I do not approve of this line of behavior.” Morgan’s face was red and blustering.
His daughter went on. “The other option, of course, is for you to be a reasonable man and to release Gagé into the care and custody of two most trusted undercover officers, Jack and Alik. I do hope you don’t make us blow up the base, daddy. It would be a very terrible and embarrassing thing to have to live with.”
“I… I… damn it.” Morgan snapped the communicator shut and then thrust it at Alik. He glared at the two men. “You’ve totally corrupted my daughter.”
“It was her plan.” Gagé shrugged. “I wouldn’t dream of pushing you into a situation as sensitive as this. I’ve always admired your work with both Sorcier and Cunningham. I think you would get a lot more done if you abandoned the paperwork, but… that’s just my opinion.”
Alik smirked. “Perhaps we should bend our principles for the greater good.”
Morgan glared harder, but picked up his communicator and spoke into it. “Cancel that order about the refugee. He has representation and shall be released.”
Gagé pushed out his chair and stood. He did not look at Morgan as he left the room, waving his hand in command. “We will be stopping in the New Orleans Sector, Alik. I need a new scarf.”
3.
In the Quineten Sector, some faceless place in the middle of the American Continent, it was still mid-day. Iris walked from the kitchen of her bland house, carrying a pitcher of tea and a glass full of ice. Gagé stared out her living room window, watching the tall rows of corn quivering in the wind. She came to stand behind him and he said casually. “This is a lovely house, Iris. But there’s nothing out here but corn.”
“Oh, it’s a terrible place.” She gasped and laughed. “Not as bad as the Victorian Sector, mind you. But still rather awful. I like to walk around naked during the day and see if anyone notices me. Do have some iced tea?”
Iris was masking her nerves with a shoddy attempt at humor and when she offered Gagé a glass of ice tea, Iris knew that he saw through her bravado. He smiled and said. “Of course, Iris. How could I resist such a charming hostess?”
Gagé sipped the tea like a fine wine and stroked his fingers over the white and blue silk scarf twining around his neck. He was thinking.
Iris was quivering. “So… who shall I expect at this little luncheon today?”
“This is good iced tea. Actual tea poured over ice. Most people still use powders.” Gagé took another sip. Then sighed. “Alik and Panya, of course. He should be back any moment with her. It will be good to see Panya. Phillip Froggs, you remember him, the accompanist.”
Iris smiled and tugged at her hair, pulling aggressively at a knot. “Of course, no one can play an omni like Phil.”
Gagé nodded agreeing. “He will be bringing Andrew Cunningham.”
Iris felt a wave of weakness pass through her and set the iced tea down. “Who?”
“Andrew Cunningham.” Gagé repeated.
“When you said he had set up explosives at my father’s base I thought you were joking.” Iris said, moving to a chair and sitting down.
Gagé shrugged. “Well, he did not set up any explosives, but he will be here today.”
“His father has been trying to kill me, you know.” Iris’ voice cracked and she gripped the arms of the over-stuffed chair hard. “I hope you know that. And I hope he isn’t planning on…”
“He’s no danger to you.” Gagé filled in the gap when she faded. “Andrew hasn’t been able to step into a civilized sector for months because his father and Sorcier have hired men to kill them. Phillip too. It’s very risky for them to come here.”
“That’s so funny. How those two work together. Sorcier and Edward Cunningham, I mean.” Iris laughed, but not with humor. “Sorcier has a hit out on Jack, but it’s really Cunningham that wants her dead. She’s still doing work for Cunningham. Can you believe it? The man asked Sorcier to kill her so he could keep her working until she was killed.”
Gagé nodded quietly. “They do that often, actually.”
Iris sighed when he spoke, dropping her head into her hands and accidentally allowing a tiny squeak of despair escape. “This is not what I wanted, Gagé. Not what I expected at all when I left the Victorian Sector to work for you. God, I hope there’s a way out of this.”
The man did not turn to face her, staring out the window. He said something, perhaps a quiet apology, but Iris did not hear him and she did not ask him to repeat what he had said.
The front door of the house suddenly banged open and Jack called into the house. “Guess what, Sweetheart. We’ve got some interesting company. Looks like a Cunningham. Do you want me to shoot him or are we expecting Anglo-trash?”
“We’re expecting him.” Iris replied, and stood to soothe her dress. “Just brandish the gun a bit more to let them know that they are welcome.
4.
Jack sat next to Alik tipping back in a chair and picking her teeth with her nail. She looked around Iris’ kitchen at the strange assortment of people and decided that Alik was probably the only one she could trust. She loved Iris, but the girl was a little shady at times.
Gagé was standing looking over something he had just written. “So then what we have is simply this. Alik and I return to the tower early Tuesday and wait for Sorcier to return. Panya will be stationed below in the volex decks to give us warning and keep in contact with us, since it’s too easy to see us in a computer if we use actual communicators. Jack will be using a computer to find Edward Cunningham and track his movements, while Phillip and Andrew follow at a distance. Iris sitting safely beside Jack, of course.”
Iris huffed angrily, not pleased by her role. Jack was mostly to blame for her exclusion and Jack said to her kindly. “You already done your part by gettin’ Ice here.”
She seemed appeased by that and didn’t argue.
Gagé went on, ignoring Iris’ protest. “The most important moment is just after Sorcier is captured. Edward Cunningham must also be captured. If it doesn’t happen quickly, Cunningham will learn something is wrong.”
“I’m not worried about the timing.” Andrew stated. “But I want to know why we’re capturing and not killing. Giving them to Morgan won’t help anyone. They can both escape.”
Gagé didn’t lift his voice. “You do what you like, Andrew. I’d prefer not to kill him.”
“I believe I have a different preference.” Andrew stated and pushed out his chair and stood ending their meeting. “We have a plan.”
Jack scoffed and looked over to Iris. “I’ll betcha money Andrew screws this up.”
Iris said nothing, noticing that Gagé had heard and was watching Jack with narrowed eyes. Jack noticed too and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Come with me, Andy, and we’ll work out the details of this computer stalking.”
5.
Gagé leaned against the counter staring out the tall windows of La Masque’s sixtieth floor. He only felt comfortable watching the clouds swirling around when he felt that counter rooted firmly beneath his elbows. He heard the elevator doors open and listened for any sound from Alik. Gagé heard nothing until Sorcier stepped out of the elevator. He did not lift himself away from the counter until the man stood in front of him, blocking the light of the setting sun.
“My goodness, Gagé. Are you still here?” Sorcier smiled to mock him.
Gagé stood casually. “Of course.”
“Getting awfully thin.” Sorcier remarked, coldly looking over his body. “I would have thought you would try to float away by now.”
“I’m afraid of falling.” Gagé replied.
“It’s not the fall that kills you.” Sorcier grinned. “It’s the sudden stop at the end.”
“How old are you, Claude?” Gagé noticed the gray in the man’s neat beard. “You’re getting awfully old. Maybe you’ll die before me.”
“I doubt that.” Sorcier stepped forward and ran his fingers over the white and blue scarf wound around his neck. Sorcier’s tone was less mocking. “Where did you get this scarf, Gagé? I never saw it.”
“Maloup used to mail me scarves.” Gagé answered. “I remembered I had hidden this one under the floor. I thought it went well with my eyes.”
“It does.” Sorcier mused. “That’s why I love the German Territories so much. You all have such lovely blue eyes.”
“I like dark eyes.” Gagé shrugged and then sneered. “Not sickly green brown like yours. I like dark and Arabian eyes.”
“Maloup had no eyes.” Sorcier scowled.
“You’re right. He didn’t.” Gagé smiled, pleased that the man was jealous. He took a step closer to the man and glared close to his face. “But if he did, they would be beautiful eyes. They would be dark, and rich, and large.”
Sorcier didn’t notice that Gagé had taken the gun from his belt. But he reached for the empty spot when he felt the sting of a tranquilizer at the back of his neck. He probably turned quickly enough to see Alik standing up from his crouch behind the bed.
Gagé didn’t move when Sorcier grabbed his neck, folding his hands around his throat and squeezing as if he could kill him in that instant. He simply stood still, the gun behind his back waiting for the drugs to take their coarse. When Sorcier slipped away, Gagé took a deep breath and then dropped the gun into the near by wastebasket. “Call Panya, Alik. Have her dial Phillip with the good news.”
6.
Phillip lowered the communicator attached to his volex’s consol and turned to Andrew. “That’s it. Gage and Alik have Sorcier. Time to get Cunningham.”
Andrew nodded but said nothing. Phillip piloted the volex towards the fourth floor of the Cunningham family estate. “Jack says he’s been in his office for the last hour and a half.”
Andrew nodded again and took a deep breath. “I can’t believe I’m doing this. Attacking my own home.”
“Just go in and shoot him with the dart Alik gave you.” Phillip suggested, locking the volex into a hovering mode outside the fourth story windows. “Gagé is right. We don’t have to kill him.”
Andrew uncapped the safety on his laser gun, making a small clicking sound that seemed to fill the entire volex. “He didn’t have to try to kill us either.”
From the deck of the volex it was easy to shoot out two of the windows, while Andrew shattered a third by breaking into it. Phillip clearly saw the desk and the pile of papers fluttering in the sudden breeze. He saw the wheeled chair before the stately desk. He even saw an elaborate woodcarving of the family emblem hanging on the wall behind the desk.
What Phillip did not see was Andrew’s father. The office was empty. He took the volex out of its idle hover, the moment Andrew scrambled back on board. Before Andrew even had the door completely sealed, Phillip had led the volex away from the earth and the ancient family estate, pushing the machine to its highest speeds.
Andrew looked up at him. “This could be a problem.”
7.
Panya stood at the foot of La Masque’s private elevator and smiled when she saw Gagé. He dropped Sorcier’s hand which he had used to open the door and returned her smile and said to Alik. “Panya will carry him, Alik. You have to drive.”
Alik didn’t have the option of arguing before the woman grabbed the limp body and slung him over her shoulder. Gagé followed her when she turned and walked towards the docking bay where their volex waited. Gagé looked nervously at the man over her shoulder when he heard the communicator in the volex ring. Alik rushed towards the sound, but Panya continued plodding along evenly.
Gagé stopped her from bringing the man inside the volex, pausing to listen to Alik speaking into the communicator. “Andrew, do you have him?”
The man’s face wrung with fear. “What do you mean he wasn’t where Jack said he would be? It’s not possible-”
“Panya bring him to the backroom.” Gagé pretended to be listening to Alik and waved Panya towards the back of the volex. He watched her open the door to the engine room. She could not read well enough to understand the word ‘danger’.
Alik growled louder into the communicator. “Why would Jack lie to you. Andrew! You paranoid, bastard. Calm down and talk to me. We will find him. Just get out of there. Meet us in… yes. Quineten.”
Panya lowered Sorcier inside the room and looked over at Gagé, her face warm and friendly. “He be safe here?”
“Yes.” Gagé nodded. “He’ll be safe there. Come out and sit inside with me, Panya.”
Alik was yelling now. “She wouldn’t lie to you, Andrew. And we’re meeting in Quineten. There’s no place else… Damnit, Andrew just be there.”
Panya flinched and moved closer to Gagé protectively when Alik slammed down the communicator. He growled. “Edward Cunningham wasn’t where he was supposed to be.”
“That was the only variable.” Gagé sighed. “This is not good.”
The engine fired angrily when Alik started the machine. “They can go into hiding again. We’ve got Sorcier. That’s all I care about.”
Gagé nodded, and said quietly. “Good.”
Panya giggled and pressed her face against the glass, watching the ocean flicker past them as Alik maneuvered away from the shore and out into deeper waters. On the ocean, he stayed in the water, conserving fuel and moving relatively slowly towards the Quineten Sector.
“Alik.” Gagé shifted in his seat. “Won’t we have to fly to the Quineten Sector?”
“We’ll have to get off the water eventually.” Alik replied, grumbling because his mind was on other matters. “But not just yet. Don’t worry.”
“Why not start now.” Gagé suggested. “Get us there sooner.”
Alik glanced around. “You hate flying.”
“I know.” Gagé stared at the carpeting. “But I think it’s a good idea to fly now and get there sooner.”
Gagé closed his eyes and pressed farther into the couch, when Alik fired all the engines. Gagé was unnerved by the choking sound the machine made as it began to rise. He heard a muffled clatter behind him and asked Alik. “What is that noise?”
“Sometimes driftwood gets pulled into the engine room when the pumps drag in water to cool the engines. It interferes with the thermal thrusters. But don’t worry.” Alik shrugged and pressed something on the consol. “The heat will destroy whatever it is.”
Gagé sighed with a great relief and dropped his head back against the wall. “Good.”
8.
The volex crushed a new pattern into the corn, but Gagé stayed in his seat. He listened as Andrew climbed onto the machine, chattering and swearing. “Where’s Sorcier. He may know something about my father. We can get the information out of him and capture my father before he ever finds out we have Sorcier.”
Alik pointed inside the volex. “He’s in the backroom. I’ll get the antidote for the tranq.”
Gagé still didn’t move when Andrew rushed in from the deck of the volex and dove into the small curtained off room at the back. Andrew returned to the main room of the volex after only a minute. “Where is he, Ice?”
“He’s not there?” Gagé glanced around. “I told Panya to bring him to the back room.”
“God damned women… Panya!” Andrew stormed onto the deck shouting. “Panya! Where is this damned Sorcier!”
Gagé closed his eyes, imagining the tall woman towering over the corn, looking up in shock, when he heard her speak in her deep vice. “Panya put Sorcier in room at back.”
Phillip had more patience than Andrew. “Panya, go on up and show us.”
Alik was getting nervous. “He’s not in the back room.”
“Damn it.” Andrew growled. “If he was in the back room, wouldn’t I have found him?”
Gagé glanced out the window, watching Panya climb into the volex. He stood to follow the others onto the deck, hesitating to let Iris and Jack follow directly after Panya.
Panya led them to the back of the volex and pointed. “Panya put man in there.”
“Panya.” Alik’s eyes grew wide. “That’s… the engine room.”
“Gagé said to put him in room at the back.” Panya stated.
“No, Panya.” Gagé stood in the doorway between the interior and the deck. “I told you to put him in the backroom. In here.”
The woman rolled her dark eyes and groaned. “What difference? Panya put him here.”
“What’s the difference?” Alik pulled open the door. “That’s the fucking difference.”
Iris’ scream was the most immediate reaction, but she muffled it by turning into Jack’s shoulder. Phillip dropped back against the railing and cried. “Jesus God Almighty!”
Gagé walked down the deck to them and stated coolly. “I guess it wasn’t driftwood.”
Panya stared into the room, her eyes dark and swirling. She opened her mouth, but only odd sounds emerged. Gagé didn’t look at the heap of burned flesh and bones, when he patted her arm. “It was an accident, Panya. You misunderstood.”
Jack rubbed Iris’ shoulders comfortingly. “The bastard deserved it anyway. But we can’t get to Cunningham now.”
Andrew was surprisingly silent, staring at the charred body. He knelt besides the ashes and Phillip muttered with disgust. “For Christ’s sake, Andy, leave it alone.”
When Andrew picked something shining around the bones of the neck, Phillip leaned closer to look at it. “That looks just like…”
“I think it is.” Andrew stared at the gold in his hand and rolled up his sleeve. It fit neatly into the family crest branded in to his arm. “It can’t be though. This emblem is carried by the leader of the clan. He’d only pass it onto his heir or…”
“Have it taken from his dead body.” Gagé finished, glancing off into the sky. “You don’t look much like your father, Andrew. He had red hair.”
“I take after my mother.” Andrew stared at the corpse and tucked the crest into his vest pocket. “Sorcier was the same man as my father?”
“No wonder their businesses were so interrelated.” Jack crossed her arms. “He must’ve had a tunnel or a passage from his office into a volex bay and gone to La Masque from there.”
Alik kept his eyes fixed on Gagé. “This turn of events ought to interest Morgan. We’ll bring the DNA. See who got toasted in my volex.”
“I’ll call him.” Iris slipped away, holding her hand over her mouth as if it were the only thing keeping her from screaming again.
9.
Walter Morgan groaned into his hands and lifted his head only to glance through the glass at the man sitting calmly at the interrogation table. “How can he possibly be so calm?”
“Who knows? He probably sees this as an elaborate game. He’s waiting for us to make our next move and thinking about all his options.” Alik rubbed his forehead. It was his eyes that hurt, but he had discovered that rubbing them did not help. “He probably knows he’ll survive whatever we can throw at him.”
“We know that Cunningham is dead. We don’t know if Sorcier is. We know that Cunningham’s DNA was in the elevator to the sixtieth floor in La Masque. We don’t know if Cunningham is the one who put it there. We know that this man probably killed Cunningham. We don’t know if it was on purpose.” Morgan paced before the pane. “I don’t know if this man is a clever villain or a justified victim.”
“Is it possible to be both?” Alik wondered.
Morgan sighed heavily and sat down in a folding chair across from Alik. He stared at the man across from him for a long moment not really noticing him and then stated suddenly. “That surgery for your eyes… It went well.”
Alik looked up and said. “What?”
“Your eyes.” Morgan explained. “I never got the chance to tell you. One can hardly tell their mechanical. And it’s good to see your expressions for a change.”
“I don’t mind it.” Alik shrugged and looked back at the glass.
“Retributive justice caused that problem for you, didn’t it?” Morgan asked. “Something about seeing another man’s wife in a compromised state?”
“She was naked.” Alik replied. “But the law could never prove that I’d done anything more than look at her. They let her husband chose my punishment being the one most affected by my crime.”
“They gave you the benefit of the doubt?” Morgan rubbed his chin.
Alik scoffed. “They had no proof.”
“Well.” Morgan glanced at the man behind the pane and sighed. “Neither do we, really.”
When Morgan opened the door to the interrogation room, Gagé sat straighter and folded his hands on the table. The officer was calmer than Gagé had ever seen him and said as he sat down. “You really ought to be more nervous.”
“I am nervous.” Gagé replied, his expression undented by worry.
Morgan straightened the papers he had brought in. “Refugee 839:5…Damn those numbers… Do you acknowledge I am talking to you?”
“Sure.” Gagé shrugged. “I’m sure I’ve been called worse things that Refugee-8395-damn-those-numbers.”
“If you count the name Gagé among them, you’ll have to change it when you leave here.” Morgan tossed the papers down before him.
Gagé looked down at the papers and then up at Morgan. “You’re giving me an identification card?”
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “My last name is not Sorcier.”
“You can change that to.” Morgan was pleased to see the man’s surprise and uneasiness. “Though I would suggest you claim the titles under Sorcier’s name first. He owned La Masque and an unfinished building project in the German Territories. God knows what he was building, but since the man left no heirs and no one seems to know of his existence but you, they’re yours to claim.”
Gagé pressed back into the chair as if he’d been stabbed. “I don’t… you have a record on him that you want to pin on me. And if I sign this, you will have legal proof that I am who you think I am. That’s what this is about.”
“If you want to think of it that way, that’s your prerogative.” Morgan replied and waved to the door. “Sign that paper and you’re free.”
Gagé didn’t touch the pen.
Morgan leaned on the table. “I’ll be frank. I don’t want to lose track of you. In a refugee sector, you’d be very easy to lose. With an identification card, I can track your movements. I’ll have your DNA on file. Giving you an identity makes it easier to capture and convict you if you commit another crime.”
“And if I don’t?” Gagé smirked.
“Then I have the satisfaction of having released an innocent man, don’t I?” Morgan answered and rubbed the back of his neck. “Now sign the paper.”
Gagé hesitantly reached forward and took the pen.
10.
Morgan stood just inside the doorway of the Intersectoral Police Base, watching the newest citizen of the Parisian Sector through the glass door. When he heard his communicator ring, he pressed a button and put it to his ear. “I’ll be back inside in a moment.”
“Daddy, it’s me.” Iris’ voice cooed in his ear.
Morgan pulled the communicator away from his ear and opened the small device to see a picture of his daughter. He recognized Jack’s apartment behind her and sighed from relief. “I thought you might be on the boat just off shore ready to create a hostage situation.”
“I hope that didn’t influence your decision.” Iris laughed.
“I sent him on his way.” Morgan looked through the glass door again. Gagé was waiting an escort to the Parisian Sector. “I imagine he’ll be making his way back to La Masque.”
“Oh me, too.” Iris stated. “He’s already called to ask if I wanted my job back. Can you believe it?”
“I believe it.” Morgan nodded. “I hope you’re right about this one.”
“I was right about Jack,” Iris replied.
“You were right about Jack.” Morgan nodded, and sighed. “And you were right about Andrew Cunningham becoming the leader of the Cunningham clan. And you were right about Phillip Froggs being his assistant. I hope they don’t make any business arrangements with this Gagé fellow. I had enough trouble with Sorcier and Cunningham when they were one man.”
“I don’t think you have to worry, Daddy.” Iris stated. “Gagé is really a sweetheart. I’m sure of it. Besides, I’ll still be at La Masque and I can find out anything you want to know.”
Morgan chuckled. “That’s my girl. I never had any doubts that silly Victorian sensibility would hold you down. I knew you’d end up in the law like me.”
Iris replied. “I didn’t end up in the law like you, Daddy. I’m a lounge singer.”
11.
Gagé returned to La Masque from an ingrained habit, though he nearly did not recognize the building when its lights were out and its windows were dark. The distance between walls seemed too long for one floor to connect them, yet the corners seemed too close for the number of people that usually swept the place. The bar was empty, the dressing rooms were uncluttered, and the Preferential Lounge was completely dark.
After fumbling with a lighting box hidden behind a mirror, Gagé found the lights for the stage. He was surprised to see Panya sitting at the edge of the stage. “Panya?”
“Oh, hello Gagé.” She smiled.
“How did you get in?” He asked, walking towards the stage.
Panya shrugged as if she did not understand the question. “Panya sleep on stage, then heard Gagé open doors. Panya want to see how things turn out for Gagé.”
He looked at her through narrowed eyes. “You’ve been looking for the gills and the flippers. They’re in my office. I’ll get them for you and you can go home.”
“Panya no looking for those. Panya want to see how things work for Gagé.” She smiled again, broader this time. “Besides Panya want to see other places before she goes home.”
Gagé nodded, still distrusting her. “You’ll need to speak better English for that.”
“Then Gagé teach better English.” Panya said with a roll of her eyes and an obvious smile.
“I suppose I could do that.” Gagé felt awkward in the normal moment.
“Panya will sing for you, because Panya’s singing melts Ice,” She leaned off the edge of the stage, closer to him and whispered. “And that’s better than burning in an engine room.”
“You knew exactly what you were doing when you put him back there,” Gagé stepped away from the stage.
“I knew what you were doing when you told me,” Panya replied.
Gagé waited for her next move, ready to run from the stronger woman. She surprised him by smiling and jumping off the stage. “Let’s get Panya’s shoes and vests. Panya will do deep swimming. Panya will teach Gagé to swim, maybe.”
Gagé watched her warily. “You’re… you want to stay here and work for me, still.”
Panya nodded. “Sure. Panya would like room closer to water. Maybe down hall from Gagé.”
He smiled faintly. “I can arrange that.”
“So,” She asked again. “Did things turn out good?”
He nodded. “I’m pretty certain things turned out well.”
