Bobby Lindsay threw the girl to the floor. She squirmed a bit, but remained in place, and that was good because the Giver didn't have the tolerance for disorder. The Giver better appreciate this gift, Bobby thought. It had really been a nuisance getting her here, the pain in his shoulders still smarting from the dead weight of her body.
Snatching her from the apartment hadn't been so difficult, heck, the doors were open. And with the early morning hours still providing cover, he carried her mostly unseen from the building all the way to the courtyard by the taped-off alley where the Giver had burrowed a tunnel some time ago. Only one person spotted him carrying her into the alley—a homeless guy that had been following him since he slipped from the subway tunnel a few hours back.
An appendage slithered up from the bowels of the tunnel, lending him support as he slid to the bottom. It then cleared the way for him, providing guidance for the two-plus hours it took him to drag the girl to one of the Giver's blue rooms, closing up the tunnels behind him to conceal his path.
He waited here with the girl for another length of time until the pulse finally emerged, its colors swirling upon the walls like a giant kaleidoscope display. The Giver spoke, its voice the usual electronic monotone, echoing throughout the room. "Harbinger, do you have the unit?"
A great fear suddenly consumed Bobby, a feeling of dread pitting his stomach. The unit, the glorious Atmosphere. It...it was gone. Fuck! What did I do with it? The apartment! I placed it on the floor in the cop's apartment when I took the girl!
Bobby stood before the swirling lights on the wall, chest out in attempt to cover up his error. "I brought you something else, Giver."
From beneath the lights a small doorway materialized in the black wall, and the appendage appeared, slithering forth, its segmented chitinous exterior clicking upon the smooth floor. It stopped at Bobby's feet, seemingly in wait for its prize, but there was none.
Bobby ran over to where Jaimie lay and dragged her across the smooth floor to where the appendage flittered. He pushed her down and she groaned incoherently. "Here Giver, a prize for you."
The appendage poked over Jaimie's body, across her chest then into her crotch where it hesitated momentarily, prodded, then pulled away. The voice returned. Subject insufficient for harvesting. Harbinger, do you have the unit?"
Bobby hesitated, then solemnly spoke. "No."
"Recognize failure." The appendage whipped back to its place in the wall.
Bobby strangely felt no love lost for the missing Atmosphere, not like he had when he first obtained it, not even so much as when he toyed with it in the tunnel just prior to abducting Jaimie. He felt only the need for revenge now, revenge against the one who intervened and disrupted his relationship with the Giver. As a result, it seemed the Giver held no respect for him as a Harbinger, had called him a failure. It seemed to be cutting its ties with him, not opting to accept the girl.
"Harbinger, what is your purpose?"
Bobby felt a familiar clicking sensation in his head. An answer to the question sprang forth. "To seek out Suppliers."
"Harbinger, what will you do if an Outsider discovers you?"
"Kill them." He knew, unequivocally.
"Harbinger, what will you do if an Outsider overcomes you, or escapes?"
"Kill myself."
"Harbinger, find the unit. Seek out new Suppliers." A door appeared at the opposite end of the room, granting him exit.
Bobby felt a sudden need to obey the Giver's command, but as well felt compelled to act otherwise. Perhaps it was the fact that he knew he could not return to the Ballaro apartment and successfully retrieve the Atmosphere. The Outsiders might be there.
As he fathomed his next move, something unforeseen happened.
The girl abruptly arose from her slumber and darted across the room to the exit. Bobby pursued, but she had him by at least ten strides and disappeared through the door the Giver provided. By the time Bobby reached the exit and moved down the hall, she had vanished, escaping through one of many break-offs that intersected the hall near its end. He cursed inside, knowing that the Giver would never approve of this.
But then again, now he had a new purpose: to find the girl. She was his only link to the cop who brought him down.
His only link for revenge.