‘Shut up Forster.’
‘And how do you feel about her now she’s the queen and you’re just a pawn? She wanted us to find you, that’s why she let Corazon see you. She thought I’d torture you and probably kill you, and you’d know what she could do to your fetch, so you’d stay loyal and keep silent, and that would be it. But if you help me bring her down you won’t have to worry about that.’
‘I think we should kill him,’ said Fist. Then [Keep him talking. He’s anonymised all his contacts. I can’t tell which one’s Yamata. Make him slip up, give something away.]
[OK,] said Jack. Then he continued out loud, ‘No, Fist. We’re not going to hurt him at all. Because if we did, if we even killed him, then we’d be just as much a pawn as he’s been, all these years. And we don’t believe in that, do we, Fist? We don’t believe in being pawns, in just doing what we’re told. Nicely. Politely.’
‘Let me break him.’
Jack laughed. ‘I could be a far nastier cop than you, if I wanted to,’ he replied. ‘You’ve probably heard this morning what I did to those policemen.’ He knelt down next to Akhmatov, so he was almost face to face with him. ‘Last night I slept with East, and she opened herself up to me. Gave me everything. You know what that means, don’t you? She must be a regular, in a club like yours.’
For the first time, emotion flickered across Akhmatov’s face. Fear crept out of him. Jack sensed a sad, defeated rage behind it. He wondered if East had increased his sensitivity, too. ‘She gave me everything,’ he whispered.
‘If you’re going to show me,’ said Akhmatov, ‘do it now. Do it quickly.’
Jack sighed. ‘No. You’re not going to help me find Yamata because I’ve made you love me, barely able to scrabble around in your own memories for lust of me. You’re going to do it because you’ve understood just how you’ve been used, and you’re more angry than you are afraid. Aren’t you?’ He let a few seconds hang empty in the air, then nudged an East switch in his mind. He moved in even closer and whispered ‘Aren’t you, Akhmatov?’ as quietly as he could.
‘They should have let me fucking kill you when I had the chance!’
Akhmatov’s sudden movement knocked Jack backwards. The other man was on top of him, fingers scrabbling for his throat. ‘I told Yamata that you were a risk to me,’ he shouted, ‘to all of us, but she didn’t listen – and look where we are now! That bitch coming back from Sheltie, pretending it’s a job for her security firm, and we kill a man I’ve known for twenty years and some fucking policewoman, and you’re here, and look where we fucking are now!’
[ Bingo!] said Fist. [ That’s it.]
When Jack hit Akhmatov it was like punching a wet pillow. The club owner sagged and fell away, the burst of energy that had given him a brief advantage shattered. Fist was on him instantly, hands buried in his head. Akhmatov screamed. ‘No!’ snapped Jack. He rolled forwards and snatched the puppet away, tearing him out of Akhmatov’s mind. The club owner gaped in shock while Fist cackled madly.
[ What have you done to him?]
[ I haven’t hurt him. At least, not as much as you have. I’ve done him a favour.]
[ Fist …]
[ I’ve dropped deep sweathead tags into his weave presence. Unremovable. Everyone’s weaveware will just blank him out, blank him right out! He’s the invisible man now. He won’t be able to tell anyone what we know.]
[ For gods’ sake, Fist. We still need information from him.]
[ No we don’t. I know which of his contacts Aud Yamata is, and I know how to find her.]
[ You’re sure?]
[ It was much easier to fillet his business than I thought it would be. Almost like I was built for it.]
[Any clues on her boss?]
[ No mention of that at all. Just like the man said.]
As they spoke, Akhmatov crawled away and collapsed in a corner of the room. He was shaking.
‘One last question,’ said Jack, turning back to him. ‘Do you know who Yamata works for?’
[Don’t get your hopes up, Jack. He’s just a minion.]
‘I told you I don’t know,’ he choked out. ‘I’m better than that fucking bitch, and I’m still running this fucking club, and the Pantheon are still fucking playing with me. And I don’t even know who it’s all for.’
‘You’ve Easted him, haven’t you?’ said Fist. ‘He’ll be telling the truth. But we’ve got a more immediate problem. InSec’s coming. For you.’
‘Shit. Let’s go.’
‘Why? I can hide you from those wankers now.’
‘I don’t want them finding out you’ve been unlocked.’
‘Backing away from a fight? Boring!’
‘We’re running. Now.’
They got three hundred metres down the road before the InSec flyers caught them.
Chapter 27
‘I don’t know what I’m going to do with you, Jack.’
He was alone with Lestak. She’d flown her flyer up to hover between two spinelights. Nobody could disturb them. There was a black silk mask over his head. Its gauze eye patches gave him sight.
[ Not sure if your charm will work through this, old son. Heavy cageware.]
[ I won’t be using it on her.]
[ Wimp.]
‘I’m not impressed by what you did to my men back at the hotel.’
‘They’ll recover.’
‘Perhaps. I’ve petitioned East for her help. One of them keeps on asking for pictures of you. The other two don’t say much, but they smile a lot. We had to handcuff them to stop them playing with themselves.’
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t realise what she’d done to me.’
‘You’re touched by Pantheon and it doesn’t occur to you to see what you’ve been given?’ A tired exasperation filled her voice. ‘But then, that’s always been your excuse. Nothing’s your fault.’
‘What’s not his fault, Mummy?’
Jack jumped. The young girl’s voice came from the front passenger seat. It must be Issie, Lestak’s dead daughter. He was surprised that Lestak had let him hear her speak.
‘Grown-up talk, darling. Hush – here, play with your doll.’
‘But Mummy …’
‘Shush.’
‘You’ve brought her here?’ said Jack. ‘And you’re accusing me of irresponsibility?’
‘Issie’s often in the flyer. She likes it.’
‘I can see everywhere!’ chirped Issie.
[ I could infiltrate that fetch,] Fist whispered in Jack’s mind. [ It might help us.]
[ No,] replied Jack. [ I don’t want to risk damaging her.]
[ I can hear you!] interrupted Issie. [And I’m not “that fetch”, I’m Issie.]
[Shit!] said Fist. [She’s tapped into us.]
Issie giggled.
[ That’s really why she’s here,] replied Jack. [ Block her.]
‘They were talking about me, but I can’t hear them anymore,’ complained Issie.
‘It’s good that you told me about that. It’s very rude to talk about people behind their backs, isn’t it?’
‘Oh yes! And it’s even ruder to shut people out when they realise!’
‘I’m sure Jack won’t let Fist do that again – will you?’
[Let’s go with it,] said Jack. [ I want to find out what Lestak’s got to say.]
Fist shimmered into life on the seat next to him. ‘I’ll be good,’ he promised.
‘I’d forgotten how real you look,’ replied Lestak.
‘As real as Issie,’ said Jack, expecting a sharp response from Lestak. But she said nothing. There was a moment’s silence, then Issie stuck her head round the seat. But for her white skull face, she was a perfect simulacrum of a small child.
‘It is the funny puppet again! Can I play with him?’
Mist hung in her eye sockets with the soft density of cotton wool. When she spoke, wisps escaped from her hollow mouth. Jack worked hard not to shudder. ‘Fist won’t hurt her,’ he told Lestak. ‘That’s not how we work.’
[ Boring,] sang out Fist.
Lestak nodded. Issie squealed.