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"Took you long enough to find me." No longer in uniform, he could've passed for a handsome freighter pilot in his drab khakis, tight black shirt and frayed cargo vest.
"Despite certain disruptive circumstances, which included having to investigate the deaths of no less than three colleagues, I'd say I made it here just in time." He nudged Junichiro with the toe of his boot. When he moaned slightly, but didn't move, Kei slipped the psyche scrambler back into his belt pouch. Oblivious to the mini-beam launchers that dogged him like second shadows, he sauntered to the table. The phial earned a regretful sigh before disappearing into his vest pocket. "Lieutenant Hana was one of our best field operatives. Doctor Mazawa is not pleased."
"Then he shouldn't have murdered my brother!"
His head shot up. "Murdered?"
I had to hand it to him, he looked genuinely stunned or maybe that was just the laser sights of the MBLs trained on his pecs. "I know what I saw, Kei: black spot. Right there." I indicated the GPS unit with one of the minis. "Mazawa promised he'd spare Satoshi's life in return for the Idoron, but he lied. How's that rate on your list of disruptive circumstances?"
"If that's true, I'm terribly sorry for your loss, Renata, and I will deal with responsible party personally, I assure you. Killing Satoshi was never part of the plan."
But there was a plan. "Guess he put up too much of a fight."
"If he's anything like you, I'm sure he did," Kei said, examining one of my knives.
"Put it back in the bag and keep your hands where I can see them. I'd hate to have to burn a hole in that pretty face of yours."
Hands raised, he shifted his gaze from the pile of equipment to my pack, then back to me. "There's so little here to trade, Renata. I imagine the Shinu demand more than trinkets for identity erasure."
I could almost taste the bitterness their name left on his tongue, but I knew what he meant. One of Japan's largest vagabond clans, the Shinu could use my information about Mazawa's latest adventures in ethnic cleansing to their advantage. "If Mazawa sent you to kill me, I seem to have you at a disadvantage."
"Renata, my orders are to ensure your compliance going forward, nothing more. If I wanted to kill you, I could have done it at any time after your Seeding without ever leaving the holodome," he said, as simply as if he were noting a cloud in the sky.
Junichiro's comment, a low moan, blew bubbles in the bloody pool around his face. When he finally came to, he'd have two black eyes to go with his broken nose.
My stomach knotted. "Seeding? You mean the lump in my neck?"
He nodded. "Seeds, one of the Doctor's latest inventions, are an integral component of his Silent Directive. Every visitor to New Edo gets Seeded during their decontamination. Everyone: no exceptions."
"Without their knowledge or consent. How very convenient," I bristled.
"Resistant Doctors and rebel factions—the clans—have been a thorn in Mazawa's side since his ascension to power. Mandates and the military can only do so much to quell the opposition. That's where Seeding comes in. Each tracer implant is controlled by a remote detonator, which allows one person to track the activities of hundreds at once. When a monitor witnesses any kind of questionable activity..." He mimed pushing an imaginary button and made a hollow pop with his lips. "The Doctor thinks it's rather elegant."
Horrific was more like it. The knot in my stomach rose to my throat. There was no escaping Mazawa: no matter where I went, I'd be a blip on his screen and if I didn't stick to the plan, he'd blow me to smithereens. "If Mazawa can kill his enemies at the touch of a button, why does he need the Idoron?"
"For reasons he chose not to share with me," Kei said, then began refilling my pack. "You look like you could use a bath and a hot meal."
"A poisoned one? No thanks."
"I have a ship waiting at the other side of this Shokohin tenement"—Kei waved dismissively, then resumed packing—"stocked with everything we'll need for the rest of the week."
"We?" I nearly dropped the MBLs.
"I'm going with you."
"Fuck that!"
"The Doctor doesn't want you making any more unscheduled stops and I don't want to clean up any more of your—"
"I don't play well with others, and you strike me as more of an office jockey. Seriously, Kei, have you ever killed anyone—I mean, really killed someone, up close and personal, without poison or detonators or any of your other high-tech, bet-hedging bullshit?"
"This is not negotiable, Renata, no matter how many daggers you shoot at me with your eyes."
"What if I just shoot you, instead?" To show him I meant business, I ripped off two blasts, one on either side of him. Bottles shattered, filling the shanty's close air with multi-colored clouds of pungent spice.
"Funny, you don't strike me as the suicidal type." He tapped a spot on his neck.
As he shouldered my pack, Junichiro's moans became discernible mumbles and his movements more purposeful. "He'll be awake soon and we've wasted enough time in this shithole. Come on, partner." Stepping nimbly over the semi-conscious man, Kei headed to the door.
My fireballs should've drawn a great deal of attention. As luck would have it though, it seemed I'd arrived on a new Sawagian holiday: 'See Nothing, Say Nothing Day.' When Kei threw open the door, people passed the jerky shed without a glance or pause in their stride. Even the potheads across the walkway held their tongues.
Until I found a way to de-seed my neck, disobedience was a luxury I could no longer afford. Now, more than ever, I needed to find the Shinu.