“Negative for now,” she said, “but it’s a little early for the antibodies to build up. I need you to come back in a few days.”
“More tests?”
“Just to make sure. Okay?”
“Okay,” Sonny replied. “What about the stuff Matt Paiz brought in?”
“We’re sure it’s Ebola virus. Potent stuff, extremely dangerous. We sealed everything, sent it to Atlanta for confirmation. Do you know where it came from?”
The doctor was inquisitive, and obviously Paiz and his boys had given no information. Sonny shook his head.
“Well, we know Iraq used chemicals during the Persian Gulf War, and we know the superpowers have anthrax and nerve-destroying chemicals aimed at each other, but now someone has the Ebola virus in our own backyard. I mean, what kind of an insane person would do this? Why here? We’re not a threat to anyone, are we?” She shrugged in exasperation.
“Maybe we are,” Sonny replied. He thanked the doctor and they went out. “South Broadway library,” he said to Lorenza as they boarded the van.
“More books?”
“No, I need a computer expert.”
He dialed Rita and told her the good news. He could hear her sigh of relief turn to a sob of thanks.
“Cuidao,” she said. “I love you.”
“Y yo te amo a tí,” Sonny replied.
Clicking off the phone, he looked at Lorenza watching him in the rearview mirror. He blushed and picked up the book on the counter. Interpreting Your Dreams in Five Easy Steps. He laughed. “What will they think of next?”
“What?” Lorenza asked.
“How simple some people want to make the world.”
“Some people just want to sell books, and those who don’t want to go any deeper than a fast analysis buy them. Anyway, how come you don’t trust Eric?” she asked as she turned from Lead onto Broadway.
“He knows I have the bowl. Claims Paiz told him. Bullshit. And I don’t buy the story about the cop near Raton intercepting the plutonium shipment. What if the core was already inside the labs—”
“You mean they manufactured it there?”
“Or someone brought it in,” Sonny suggested.
“Eric?”
“Or one of his boys.”
“Not possible, is it?”
“Anything is possible,” he replied. “You think I’m paranoid?”
“No, but wouldn’t it be very difficult for someone to sneak something like that into the labs?”
“Maybe. But what if there’s a small group inside Los Alamos? What if they can buy the plutonium and bring it in? And they don’t have to go to Ukraine, they get it from Pantex, where all the cores are being stored. Or they get it from Kirtland, where some are being dismantled.”
“Wait a minute. You’re talking big conspiracy.”
“I smell it.”
“But as far as I know, nobody’s ever bribed a U.S. scientist of that caliber before. I mean the guys who can actually put bombs together.”
“They bought the guy that was selling CIA secrets, what’s his name?”
“So you believe Paiz’s theory?”
“Given the course of events, it makes sense. The more I think of it, the more I believe the Avengers exist.”
“Can it happen here?”
“There are signs in the air,” Sonny said. “They’ve created a race war in this country. Whites are afraid of dark-skinned people, and the Blacks don’t trust the whites. Now it’s a population war, fed by fear of a mass migration from Latin America. In twenty years the majority population of this country is going to be colored, not white. But there’s a check on the people promoting race war. The system they despise so much still works. They want to bring down the government, but democracy still works. People are smart enough to know they don’t want white supremacists running the country. The Avengers tried using drugs to destroy this country, turning people into addicts. That fed into the class war they created. Now it’s the bomb, viruses.”
“Sounds like the Apocalypse,” Lorenza said.
“If Raven can get into my dreams, he can get into other people’s dreams. You bring the downfall by making people doubt themselves, doubt their dreams. Once we doubt ourselves, we turn on each other.”
“That’s an old controlling tactic, the us versus them.”
“Yeah, but it’s working too slowly for their purposes. They want control now. Howard has a theory like that. Speaking of Howard,” he said, and pushed Howard’s number. Howard answered.
“Howie.”
“Hey, compadre, como ’stás? How are you feeling? Got word you’re cruising around the country.”
“I’m getting there,” Sonny replied. “You heard about last night?”
“A couple of our boys were on the perimeter when the bust came down. What they heard is unbelievable. Does the man actually have the stuff to build a—you know?”
“That’s what the big boys say.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah. Lorenza’s driving me around.”
“Lucky dude,” Howard said. “Anyway, Paiz called Garcia. I figure he told Garcia only the skim off the top. Just what the hell is going on?”
“The end of the world, my friend,” Sonny said, and told him about the virus.
“Garcia didn’t tell us that.”
“They don’t want a leak to the media. Anyway, do you have files on militia groups?”
“I’m in forensics, not the library. But I hear you. Anything specific?”
“Have any of the big guns at Sandia or Los Alamos been linked to any of the militia groups in the state?”
“Hey, bro, you’re not suggesting—” Howard caught himself. “Yes, you are. I know a chicanita in the computer room who can run a computer check.”
“Thanks.”
“De nada. Anything else?”
“Keep your gunpowder dry.”
Howard laughed. “Ten-four.”
Sonny called his mother. He couldn’t remember when he talked to her last, and the irritation in her voice told him she couldn’t either. “Hi, Mamacita—”
She stopped him short. “Don’t ‘mamacita’ me! Sinvergüenza, malcriado, vagabundo. I just talked to Rita. Why are you running around all over the place? Que no sabes que tienes que descansar? I was going to come over this afternoon, bring some ungüento to sobar your legs. And why are you not home? It’s cold outside. Not good for your legs. Have you lost your mind?”
“I love you, Mom,” Sonny said with a smile.
“Ay, Sonny Francisco Elfego Baca, you always did know how to twist me around your little finger. I love you, too, but please stay warm. Where are you?”
“With Lorenza. South Broadway.”
“Ay, hijo, please be careful.”
“I will, jefa. How’s Max?”
Max was the first man his mother had taken as a friend since Sonny’s father died twelve years ago. Nice solid man. Sonny liked him, although he hadn’t had a chance to really get to know him.
“He’s fine, except for the flu. I made some chicken caldo for him, with plenty of cilantro. And lots of hot chile. I finally convinced him to stay over here—”
“Stay with you?” Sonny asked. Max was staying at his mother’s house?
“Well, only till he gets over the flu. And don’t worry, he’s sleeping in your and Mando’s room. Poor man, he’s all alone. His family is like my family—they’re too busy to visit us. So we have to take care of each other.”
Sonny gulped. She spoke the truth. So now Max was staying over and she was doctoring him, and Sonny knew he needed to get back in touch with her, with his brother, take care of familia again.
“Come for Christmas Eve,” she said. “I want you and Mando here. Bring Rita, don Eliseo, Lorenza. We need to have the familia together.”
“Have you seen Mando?”
“No, that brother of yours is worse than you. You have an excuse mi’jito, you’re sick. But Mando is as healthy as a horse. He called last night
. Has a new office, he said. He meant a new bar. And a new lady friend.”
“You mean Marlene?”
“Yes. Pobrecita, she’s a tejana. He picks them because they have big—you know what. This woman is better fixed than Dolly Parton. And does her hair like Dolly.”
“He always had a passion for chichi,” Sonny joked.
“I spoiled you two,” his mother replied. “I used to hold you, one to each breast. Armando would hurry up and finish to get yours. Ay, que mi hijo. I swear, I don’t know where he finds these women. Yes, I do. He went down to El Paso. A used-car dealers’ convention, he said. He gets a little money together and he goes to Sunland to bet on the horses. I swear, they should never have legalized gambling in this state. The poor gamble, and they can’t afford it. Armando likes to show off. Wants to prove he can compete with his buddies, used-car salesmen. Pendejos. Will he ever learn?”
“He enjoys life, jefa,” was all Sonny could say.
“Then he shows up with Marlene. Broke. Wants to borrow a hundred till payday. He’s not working, how can there be a payday? Get a job, Mando, I tell him. Find a nice woman. You’re thirty-one and not getting younger. He keeps winding up with these broken-down Texan women that look like those women in bad movies. They wear their hair in beehive hairdos. Pobrecitas, they’re so nice. They really like Armando. Now it’s Marlene, and she’s got two kids. Nice-looking mocositos.”
“So he might make you a grandma—”
“Don’t even think it! Ah, what’s a mother to do? They’re nice kids, I would do anything if it helped Armando get settled.”
“I’ll call him,” Sonny promised.
“Promise you’ll come for Christmas Eve.”
“I promise.”
Then in a whisper, “I think Max is going to propose.”
“Propose?” The word shocked Sonny.
“Yes. He’s been leading up to it. Then he caught the flu. But he keeps telling me he’s got a secret Christmas present for me. I think it’s a ring. Oh, he’s such a good man. And I want all of you here. So we can celebrate. You and Armando need to get to know him better.”
“Yes, yes we do,” Sonny agreed. “I’ll be there. And I’ll drag Mando if I have to. Adiós, mamá.”
“Bye, mi’jo. Cuidate. Don’t get cold.”
“I won’t. Un abrazo,” he said, and turned off the phone. “Propose, humph,” he said to himself, and dialed the library. He was going to have to get used to the fact that his mother had found a man she was interested in, a man who treated her with kindness and respect. Ah, she deserved some happiness. He and Mando hadn’t been exactly easy to raise after his father died. And now? They didn’t see her often enough. She was lonely; she had a life of her own. Yes, it was best for his mother, and he would have to get used to it.
“South Broadway Center Library. May I help you?” the voice on the phone said.
“Hi, Vangie, this is Sonny Baca.”
“Oh, hi, Sonny. How are you?”
“Vangie, I need some help.”
“Okay.”
“I need to get on the Internet. Do you have a computer?”
“We’ve got a doozy. Sandia Labs donated one to the library.”
“I don’t know how to use one. Do you have someone who can help me?”
“I’ve got one kid who sits at that computer all day long. I swear, I have to chase him to school. He’s a little, you know—”
“What?”
“Weird. Oh, I mean that in a nice way. A geek way. The other kids from Albuquerque High come here to use the computers to do their research. They look up the encyclopedias, but Cyber is into stuff I don’t even know.”
“Cyber?”
“That’s what the kids call him. Short for cyberspace. He’s in it, Sonny. He can surf anywhere with the Avenger.”
“The Avenger?” Sonny leaned forward to make sure he had heard correctly.
“That’s what he calls the software. A code name he found. I don’t know anything about it. Only that he is a genius, and it makes him happy. He hangs around all day, won’t go to school.”
“Just who I need.” Sonny smiled. “Is he there now?”
“Yup. He’s good, but I warn you, he makes up strange stories.”
“Like?”
“Yesterday he was sitting here saying there’s something fishy going on at Los Alamos. At the labs. So I said, ‘Cyber, how do you know?’”
“So what was fishy?” Sonny asked, feeling the hair rise along the back of his neck.
“Said there’s a bomb missing. Can you imagine that? I told him, ‘Cyber, they don’t make bombs at Los Alamos.’ ‘I know, I know,’ he said, ‘but that’s what the signals are saying.’”
Sonny gulped. “Hold on to him, Vangie. I’ll be right over.”
20
Vangie was there to greet Sonny and Lorenza as they entered the South Broadway library.
“Sawnee,” she said with a wide smile, taking his hand in hers. “It’s good to see you. Híjola, look at you. You’re looking well. You know what they say, you can’t keep a good man down. How’s Rita?” she asked.
“She’s fine, just fine. The restaurant keeps her busy. She said to say hello.”
“Hi, Lorenza, good to see you. So welcome. Come in, come in. Cyber’s dying to meet you. I told him you were a private investigator. You’re looking for the missing girls, aren’t you?” she whispered.
Sonny knew she loved mysteries, and more so if they had local color. She stocked Tony Hillerman novels for her patrons.
“Yes, that’s part of it,” Sonny acknowledged. The news media had carried the stories of the missing girls, and people in the city were very concerned about the disappearance of Carmen Abeyta from Barelas.
“That poor girl. It’s awful, and so near Christmas. I hope they find her.”
“You’re busy,” Sonny said, glancing around. The library was full.
“It’s our busiest season. People come in to get out of the cold, to read Christmas stories,” Vangie explained. “The kids aren’t in school, so if they’re not hanging out in the streets, they come in here. Which is where I’d rather have them. Here instead of out spraying graffiti. Anyway, I told Cyber about you,” she continued, leading them past the main room toward the back.
“Good. I need a hacker, or a surfer, or whatever they call themselves.”
Vangie laughed. “Cyber’s the best.”
“Good,” Sonny repeated.
“We’re here to help. Just tell us what you need,” Vangie said, and led them into a space reserved for computers. In the back of the narrow cubbyhole Sonny spotted a teenager, fifteen or so, hunched over a keyboard, mouse in hand as if he were hunting lions in deep Africa. Cyber was hunting on the network.
Vangie paused, and in a soft voice she called his name, “Cyber.”
She had to call three times before the boy turned to look at them. His dark shining eyes looked as if he were just awakening.
“Hi,” he murmured.
The thin boy wore a scruffy pair of Adidas, holes in the knees of his baggy jeans, a tattered cotton shirt, and a Cowboys football cap backward. His likewise tattered backpack and parka lay on the floor by his chair. His round glasses fell down on his flat nose. Sonny guessed Cyber was Chinese. But his complexion was dark.
“Cyber, this is Mr. Baca,” Vangie said, approaching.
“Call me Sonny.” Sonny held out his hand.
Cyber smiled. “Sonny,” he said. “Wow. I’ve heard about you. I never met a PI. You kinda look like that detective I see on the late, late shows. Perry Mason.”
“Oh, the chair.” Sonny smiled.
“Yeah, but you’re not as fat as that dude.”
“And this is my friend, Lorenza,” Vangie introduced Lorenza.
“Hi,” Cyber said shyly.
“Mr. Baca needs help.”
“Sure,” Cyber nodded eagerly.
“I need a guide. I’ve never been on the Internet.”
“Never?” Cy
ber asked, incredulous. “Don’t you have a computer?”
“Yeah, a small one. For a while I couldn’t talk, so my friends bought me a computer with a large keyboard. I could type in messages.”
“You couldn’t talk—” Cyber’s expression grew worried.
Vangie cleared her throat. “Well, here he is. I’ll leave you to get acquainted. You help Mr. Baca, okay.” She smiled and turned to leave. “Call me if I can help. There’s coffee and cookies in my office. Help yourselves.”
“Thanks for everything,” Sonny called after her. He turned back to Cyber. “I’m better now. But I’m kind of computer illiterate. So I need help.”
“You’re a detective, so you look for people, right?”
“Right.”
“That’s where they are.” Cyber pointed at the computer in front of him.
“In there?”
“Well, the information on just about everyone is in there.”
“You can find people in there?”
“Yes.”
“You’re an investigator, too, huh?”
“Kind of. The Net is just a bunch of networks tied together with telephone lines, cables, fiber-optic lines. If you have a modem and a computer, you can access it, buy stuff, talk to people. It’s awesome. I go in there and I feel I’m going to another reality. Sometimes I fall asleep and dream. Right here.”
Lorenza had pulled up a chair next to Sonny. They both looked at Cyber like willing students.
“What do you dream?” Lorenza asked.
“Scary stuff. There are body snatchers in the Net.”
“Body snatchers in cyberland?”
“Oh, yes,” Cyber said seriously. “The teachers keep telling us we’re in a new age. The cyber age. Techo-knowledge. Plug in, be in touch, know everything. What they forget to tell us is that sooner or later the body snatchers get you.”
“How do they get you?” Lorenza asked.
“They erase your file,” Cyber replied. “I suppose if there were good cybercops, they could take care of the body snatchers. But all the cops in cyberspace want to do is censor stuff. See, being on the Internet is like an addiction. I don’t do drugs on the streets like some of the kids, but I’m addicted all right. To this. When cyberspace crashes, the whole world will crash. Be like Adam and Eve getting tossed out of the garden and starting all over again.”