Easing the minor down, Blue propped him up, and made it look like he was resting. He put the dropped the laser knife back into his hand and curled his fingers around it, to keep the curious from approaching until he woke.
Blue transferred the credits the minor had wanted as a thank you. He would usually go deep into the OutRim and offer money in exchange for blood anyway. Most desperate people obliged him; after all, it was just blood for an oddball, and the donation was given in a vial he provided.
Blue had been too distracted, forgotten to replenish.
Foolish.
He discarded the used needle and ripped open a hermetically sealed packet to fit a new one. He injected the blood and the light-headedness receded. The streaks of darkness across his vision eased, and his breath came easy. His body felt revitalized, his muscles able to flex without pain. His lungs could draw their fill of air rather than burn for the lack.
Contemplative, Blue went to pick up the next delivery.
Dod was on a break, reading his TalkMe. He snorted laughter and his huge bulk jiggled with the amused chortle.
The delivery board was empty.
“Nothing outstanding?” Blue asked hesitantly, not wanting to draw too much attention.
“Last order’s cooking. It’ll be ready to go soon. Quiet night.”
Dod flicked him a glance then did a double take. It was rare Blue took off his helmet, and the man was once again taken aback by how Blue looked. He remembered how confused he was by the kid when hiring him for such a menial job when he could be some HiCaste woman’s plaything and earn triple the credits he did. Dod knew Blue was smart, no matter how much he tried to hide it. Whatever the kid’s reason for his lifestyle choice, strange enhancements, and odd aura, Dod never had any problems with him. He was a solid delivery boy, hard to find past Quadrant8.
“Take a seat, might as well enjoy the peace as long as we can.” The older man kicked a crate over and scowled when Blue hesitated. “Pop a squat boy, creeps me out when you hover.”
Lowering himself onto the crate, Blue nodded in thanks. He placed his helmet on his knee, his back stiff, expression stoic.
Dod scrubbed a hand through greying hair. “Had any more enhancements to that face of yours?”
“No,” Blue replied.
He’d never had an enhancement in his life but was thankful for their existence. They gave him a way to seamlessly blend. He thought of the unconscious minor in the alleyway. Well, perhaps not seamlessly, he thought in amusement.
“Not much of a talker?”
Blue shrugged.
Dod lifted his battered TalkMe, a model so old tape held it together. He had no inclination to get a newer model. His worked standard, even if the HoloVids he got through were sometimes in black and white. He had better things to spend his hard earned credit on, like pumping high quality O2 into his domicile to make sure his beloved life partner remained healthy, rounded as she as with their fifth illegal child. Who the hell had the money to buy a birthing license for every kid anyway? “You read the news feed today?”
Blue shook his head.
“It’s been leaked the Alliance issued a Quarantine on Quadrant21. People are going mad.”
Blue cocked his head, his fingers already tugging his TalkMe from his breast pocket. The fact he wasn’t aware of this major incident was a tribute to how messed up he’d been before he’d replenished. His oxygen-deprived brain was functioning at full capacity again. Unease crept up his spine as he considered the reasons the Alliance would have for sanctioning something as drastic as Quarantine when there had been no reports of infectious disease in over a decade.
Keeping half his attention on Dod, Blue flicked through the news feeds, absorbing information. There was inconsistency and lack of conclusive evidence in the reports. “The whole quadrant? With no news of any isolated outbreaks before the Quarantine was put in place. Why?”
As he spoke, Dod caught a flash of the teeth in Blue’s mouth and tensed. The older man shook it off. Blue’s fangs were genetic enhancements, nothing but cosmetic reshaping to satisfy whatever twisted whim the boy had.
Why anybody would want to look like that Dod would never know.
“It doesn’t say. It says–”
“I know what it says,” Blue interjected quietly.
Dod watched as Blue’s eyes deepened in colour and reminded him of blood, glowing faintly.
Sensing something was amiss, Blue’s lips pressed into a thin line, and he looked down. “It’s wrong,” he muttered.
For the second time, shaking off his unease at the boy’s grotesque enhancements, Dod frowned at the bold statement. “Scientist are you? Last I checked you were a delivery boy on five hundred credit an hour.” Dod’s voice wobbled. Now he was in the boy’s presence, he remembered why Blue was such a loner. He felt wrong. When he was around you it was easier to remember, but the nanosecond he left you forgot how he made you feel.
Blue’s eyelid twitched, and he shifted on the crate. Dod was becoming uncomfortable, his slumberous mind more alert. “I’m not a scientist. I just know … what is written is wrong. Illogical.”
“How?”
Blue hesitated, torn between speaking his mind and making the man even more afraid if him.
Dod crossed hairy arms over his chest. He looked sickly, so Blue ended the encounter as smoothly as he could. “New order’s up.” Blue pointed to the fresh dumplings the industrial-sized FeedMe pushed out.
Dod cleared his throat. “You’re a delivery boy,” he said, reaffirming it.
“Yes,” Blue agreed.
In the street, Blue glanced at the address he had to deliver to and was rooted to the spot. His heart pounded in excitement that he tried and failed to control. He knew the name on the order form. Max Vox. He worked at Pluto’s too, and was the best friend to Kali Loklear; the most intriguing female Blue had ever laid eyes on.
A female he had developed an unusual fixation on.
The order was fourteen quadrants in the wrong direction of home, annoying so late in the evening, but if it meant he got to see Kali he’d make the journey willingly.
Blue had shared his body before, when he got his license, to know what it was like. The experience was to record first hand the sensations and emotional side effects not because he had a fondness for the HiCaste woman who’d dragged him into a RecRom. He’d found it curious that because the female was passably attractive, he just closed his eyes, and didn’t have to do much.
The emotional entanglement because of the experiment had been a surprise, but as with everything, Blue dealt with that.
Kali made the concept of rec less daunting to consider revisiting. She made the idea of getting close, of kissing, and touching seem entirely agreeable.
One evening, Blue had done the math, using all possible scenarios to determine whether he and Kali Loklear, near a RecRom, alone, would happen. The chances were poor not only because their lives were polar opposites, but also because Kali avoided RecRoms. That and the moment Blue took off his helmet and she got a look at his face she’d probably run the other way.
Each time he saw her all he could do was silently stand on her stoop and hold out Pluto’s CredMac, waiting for her to sign acceptance of delivery, and transfer order payment.
How many times had he been determined to take off his helmet and introduce himself, only to be frozen on the spot when an opening in her friendly chatter came? His hands got sweaty and his heart rate accelerated. His chest constricted as if he needed to replenish, but that wasn’t it.
He’d been ashamed, but he had spoken to Caesar and Hypatia about his reaction to Kali. They had suggested a hormonal imbalance that she triggered with her specific blend of pheromones.
Blue would have accepted this logical explanation had there not been commonplace things he’d come to like about her.
The scent of fresh soap infused the air around her not the harsh chemical perfume others wore. The radiance of her skin, a vivid golden tone, made her seem
unearthly. The brightness of her smile was uncontrived, even if her maxillary lateral incisors were overly smooth and a bit crooked. Even that he found charming. The joyful way she answered her door; her high ponytail bouncing she moved with such animation. The way she would start chattering on about non-consequential things whilst swinging her hands from side to side, her whole body drawn into the act of expressing herself. The way she always wore clothes that accentuated her body but in a subtle, modest way, suggesting she either didn’t understand how attractive she was, or didn’t care.
The thing that ensnared his interest most was the respectful tone she always took with him even though to her the delivery boy at the door was the lowest of the low and no one would bat an eyelid at her being rude and standoffish.
Her presence made him feel as if they were equals.
Max spoke about Kali all the time at Pluto’s. Blue was never invited in on those conversations – he’d gone to great pains to be cordial but never friendly with his co workers – but when conversation did turn to her Blue would burn to know every scrap of information. He never learned much, Max would only refer to what she said or did in passing, but Blue found himself smiling and envisioning her face when she was mentioned.
He’d often fantasized about driving up to her house, ringing on the doorbell and asking her out on a date.
He was too enamoured with the illusion there was a chance she’d say yes to have it shattered by reality.
Blue stalked into the shooting range frowning. He didn’t belong.
It was a popular hang out for young HiCaste who wanted to relax away from the prying eyes of chaperones and from friends of their families. The open floor space was filled with the popular predator feline FetchMe breeds, and a handful of the rare canine and primate breeds. The occasional bunny and ferret disgusted Blue. FetchMes were designed to be personal aids with enhanced intelligence and emotions, companions that should change once during a life cycle. These cute and cuddly FetchMes were produced for no functional purpose other than to look good on the arm of their master and had short life spans.
Blue wondered how the owners would feel if they were locked up, forced to breed and disposed of like chattel when because a being more powerful than them felt like it. Despite his wish to catch a glimpse of Kali, he had no desire to remain in this place for long, near these heartless people for long.
Blue knew he was cold, but at least he had principles.
“Is that order for Max?” A small hand touched his arm to get his attention.
Bolts of heat shot through Blue as he found himself helmet to face with a smiling Kali Loklear.
He nodded.
“Cosmic. I can take that for him. How much do we owe you?”
He opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. He thrust the screen that displayed the receipt in her face.
She signed it and transferred the credits.
Kali took the orange star shaped box from him with another smile. “He ordered this box? He’s going all out on this date, huh? Thanks for delivering this far inland so late. I added four hundred credits tip to the bill. Make sure you get it. I know Dod can be greedy. Max is always being cheated out of his tips. Oh, it’s my turn to shoot. I’ve got to go. I’m sure I’ll see you next time. Promise you’ll drive safely, okay? I know you have a FloBi,” she shook her head. “So dangerous. Bye then.”
She bounced off, leaving Blue staring after her with a feeling akin to being punched in the gut.
8.
“Pull the trigger, Bella. The trigger.” Jumping out of his seat, Max marched to his ditsy blonde date and helped her position herself.
Even with him guiding her, she missed the holographic target. Again. Giggling, Christabella fluttered her eyelashes and begged him to show her how the rifle worked. Again.
Kali was going to jump over the console and try to strangle her. Again.
Sitting cross-legged in her neon plastic seat, Kali munched on a dumpling too tasty to be served in a place like this, which is why it wasn’t. She inwardly cringed at the touch table’s menu of fresh LiquiNu cocktails, nasty artificial stuff that was somehow gourmet. Cheeks hollowing as she sucked her straw hard, she checked out the scoreboard. Icy pain bloomed across her forehead, and she rubbed it to ease the brain freeze.
Max, being the enhanced sportsman he was, was in the lead. She was second. Six consecutive hits dead centre couldn’t save Christabella.
A shadow fell on the console. Kali looked up as she took another bite of her dinner. The delivery boy stood over her, head cocked, his gloves held in fisted hands.
He really was built nicely; the lines of his shape appealing to her eyes. She’d always noticed him, and took delight in pondering the mystery of what was under all the dark rawhide. Wide shoulders cut an imposing figure. His brawny torso and long arms looked strong in the armoured leathers. Narrow hips had long, sturdy legs beneath.
Did he forget something? “Problem with the credit transfer?”
He took off his helmet.
Startled, Kali fought not to have a reaction. She failed. Mouth popping open, she gaped at him.
“I’m called Blue,” he said.
The rasp sent a frisson of pleasure across her flesh. A voice had never done that before, made her tingle inside.
Kali put down her cup, and rubbed her hand on her knee to get rid of the condensation from the cold drink. With an uncertain smile, she offered it to him. “An introduction between us is overdue. I’m Kali. You already know that, right? I would have pushed you for your name a long time ago, but you seemed unsure of me, and I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. I hate when people force themselves on me.”
He took her hand, eager in his quickness then unsure of what to do. She tried to gauge if he was going to kiss it, or shake it, but he just held on. She sat patiently waiting for him to shorten up.
Kali used the time to enjoy his touch.
Blue’s fingers were long and dry. His palms were work roughened, calloused under his fingers and on the pad of his thumb. The skin on the back of his hand was smooth, dusted with bleach blonde hair. His nails were nice, filed and the palest pink. His wrist was solid, not spindly as she expected, and sliding towards his muscled forearm was a plait of red and gray string. On his thumb circled a silver band, an OmniLock, the small dots of black code printed on the surface that was tarnished from use.
Hands told Kali much about a person, and she liked the story of Blue’s.
He crouched, eyes roving across her features. He was owed that since she gawped at him when he revealed his face.
Recovered from the helmet removal, Kali turned her attention to his appearance. Avoiding the obvious, she focused on the normal parts. Good jaw, smooth, high forehead, and two normal shaped eyes with dense light-coloured eyelashes hidden behind black-rimmed opticals. His straight nose and full mouth were well balanced, and milky fair skin contrasted peculiarly with a shock of short white hair, the locks thick, and half curled. His eyebrows were white too. The effect was angelic. Kali focused on his mouth, looked past the unusually pale lips, and saw the pointed rows of teeth. Her gaze lifted to his and she watched as his irises morphed from icy blue to deep green.
The enhancements were odd, but nothing she couldn’t handle.
“Can I have my hand back, Blue?”
He released her hand as if she’d electrocuted him. Kali bit her lip to hide a smile as he jerked up onto his feet. “I wanted … my name … I apologize–”
“Would you sit with me?” She slapped a palm on the plastic beside her three times to signal him to take a load off, and got back to her meal.
The best way to deal with jittery people was to ignore the nerves until they went away. He needed a nanosecond to catch his breath, and she could give him that. He was nervous, but that was standard, she’d wait for him.
Kali heard snickering, and turned to glare at Christian who eyed her from across the range, surrounded by his bevy of HiCaste sycophants.
A
fter months of him bothering her, she’d gone on a date with him the year before. Kali explained the insanity of her decision by reminding herself Christian was her age and of a similar social standing. A match with him would have been advantageous for her family and expected. It was a shame he turned out to be a narcissistic genetic purist. She barely acknowledged his existence since that disastrous evening, yet he still acted like he owned her. Even when Max’s fist had declared otherwise after Christian said one too many things about her virtue within earshot.
He cocked his head at her in question and jerked his dimpled chin towards Blue.
She gave him her back, but couldn’t help the ugly glower contorting her face. Tension thinned her lips as she held back from screaming an insult across the range. That was not how a female of her Caste behaved, and it would go down as inappropriate on her part, no matter how steadfastly it was argued that he’d acted ungentlemanly and goaded her into rage. She’d learnt that after the first time when she threw LiquiNu in his face, hot on the heels of a slur about her ‘lack’ of genetic purity.
“You’re not happy,” Blue blurted. When he saw the knee-jerk smile, and the defensive set of her shoulders, he pulled back the intensity, but quietly urged, “Don’t lie.”
Kali didn’t know how to respond. She took another bite of dumpling. “That’s an interesting observation,” she replied finally.
“Answer, please.”
A simplistic charm Blue didn’t know he possessed had Kali relaxing. Since he asked so specifically, she gave the answer a fair bit of thought. “Why wouldn’t I be happy? Am I happy all the time? No, but I am for most of it. I have two wonderful fathers; a best friend while somewhat man-whorish would do anything for me. I’ve lived in a beautiful domicile my whole life, and I’ve had the best education available. Everything I want, I get, and what I get is always the best. Unless my uncle has an heir before he passes on, I’m set to inherit an unmentionable sum of credits through the Loklear name. The Cosmic Virgin blessed me.” She studied him, and was captivated. “I’m happy as can be, Blue. Thank you for caring.”