The flyer started to descend.
‘Make your peace with your parents, Jack.’ Her voice was softer, now. ‘Not all of us get the chance to say goodbye, before the end comes. And being out of the game – well, sometimes it’s a privilege. It means the terms of loss are fixed. No one can force them to change.’
The flyer touched down with a gentle bump. Lestak turned to the passenger seat and smiled. ‘Issie, honey, playtime’s over.’ It took a couple of minutes to persuade her to hand Fist back to Jack. Jack imagined security systems unmeshing and ports undocking while the skull-faced girl refused to give up her new friend. In private she would be a near perfect representation of a living child. Out here, the skull revealed the truth of her post-mortal status.
Andrea had refused to show Jack what that looked like, but Issie was too young to worry about such things. Jack wasn’t sure whether he felt happy or sad for her. He wondered how Lestak remembered her daughter – whether white, empty bone had overwritten the soft liveliness of her living face.
Issie waved from the window as the flyer lifted off, her hand a little pink flutter behind the glass. Lestak’s last words, spoken as she’d lifted Jack’s hood off and unlocked the handcuffs, were simple and direct. ‘Walk away, Jack. Don’t look back.’
[Of course, you’ll ignore her,] said Fist.
[Of course,] replied Jack.
[Cute kid. Lestak’s kept her locked at four years old, but she’s still pretty sharp. She worked out that I was uncaged.]
[ Hell. She’ll tell Lestak.]
[ I swore her to silence. She told me some of her secrets too. Fetch secrets.]
Fist sounded very pleased with himself.
[ What were they?]
Fist pretended outrage.
[ I can’t tell you! I promised!]
[ If I didn’t know you better, I’d swear you were softening.]
[ Not really. Now I can kill fetches too.]
Chapter 28
Harry was sprawled across the sofa, smoking a cigarette. Andrea wasn’t around. Jack hadn’t asked where she was.
‘So you saw her skullchild? Makes me glad I got to build myself. Missed all the bone code out. I’d hate going round like that. Apart from anything else, my hat would slip. And the smoke from these’ – Harry waved the cigarette at Jack – ‘would come out through my eye sockets. That’s really not dignified, is it? Not that it’s a problem you’re going to have, thanks to that little sod.’ He gestured towards Fist, who pointedly ignored him. ‘Anyway,’ he continued, ‘what are we going to do about Yamata? Can’t let her get away with it, but I’ve had no luck tracking her down. Now if we could break through Fist’s cage so I can use what he’s got, I might be able to dig a bit deeper. If I can’t find her, we’ve got nothing.’
‘We got all we needed from Akhmatov. Fist?’
‘Oh yes,’ said Fist. ‘I know exactly where she’s based.’
‘Come on then,’ drawled Harry. ‘Let’s have it.’
‘But I’m only going to tell you what I know if I get … certain assurances from Jack.’
‘What?’ replied Jack. ‘For gods’ sake, Fist.’ Privately, he wasn’t too surprised. Since their encounter with East, Fist had been relatively easy to deal with. He’d been expecting the puppet’s obstinacy to reassert itself at some point.
‘What the hell’s he talking about?’ asked Harry. ‘Little shit.’ He swung a large, fat hand towards the side of Fist’s head. The blow didn’t connect – Harry’s fingers passed harmlessly through the puppet. Fist tittered as static shook his face.
‘Still just a ghost, old man!’ he chortled. ‘Can’t touch me, can’t touch me – only if Jack says so, and he won’t.’
Fist turned to Jack.
‘I don’t want you to let Harry mesh with any of my systems, under any circumstances. If you promise that, I’ll tell you how to find Yamata.’
‘You little bastard,’ said Harry.
‘With what I know,’ Fist told Harry, ‘you won’t need any part of me to track her down. So why are you so upset?’
‘Because you should do what Jack tells you. And because this isn’t over yet.’
‘Bullshit. You just want to control me like you do Andrea. You want another slave.’
‘She’s not a slave, she’s a fetch, and that’s what you do with fucking fetches. I do what venues do, I just bring out the best in her. And I’d bring out the best in you too. I’d use you to find things, break into them, then destroy them. That’s what you’re for.’
Jack struggled to hide his anger. ‘Harry’s not going to do anything like that to you,’ he told Fist.
‘What?’ said Harry.
Fist bounced up and down gleefully. ‘You promise?’ he chirped.
‘I promise.’
‘Cross your heart and hope to die?’
‘For gods’ sake. I’ve said no, that’s that. Harry will never get any access to any of your systems.’
‘Hurrah!’ shouted Fist. ‘You’re not the boss of me, Harry!’
‘If I could get my hands on you, you little shit …’
‘You never will now.’
‘Stop bickering, you two,’ snapped Jack. ‘We’re after Yamata, not each other.’ The hard command in his voice took both Harry and Fist by surprise. They fell silent. ‘Now,’ he said to Fist. ‘Tell us where she is.’
‘Akhmatov told us that Yamata works with a security firm in Sheltie. I think I’ve found it. Harry, you’ll need to check it out – here are the details.’
Harry’s eyes fluttered as he read the file.
‘Got it. I’ll scope ’em out, test their defences. Once we’ve found a way of getting you and the little fuck into their servers we can solve all our problems.’
‘You’re very confident. You won’t get caught?’ said Jack.
‘I’ve been hiding in the weave for two years. Travel in the pipes, disappear in doorways, lose myself in shadow. You don’t need to worry about me. But we’ve got to find a way of getting you into Homelands without InSec spotting you.’
‘It’s not going to matter whether or not they can see me.’
‘You’re bolder than you used to be, Jack Forster.’
‘Not bold, Harry, just well connected. The Totality can help me.’
‘Those useless bastards. Would be nice if they turned out to be good for something.’
‘They will be. How long before we move?’
‘I’m going to have to tread carefully. It’ll take a day or so.’
‘It would take me half an hour,’ said Fist.
‘Then you should fucking help me,’ said Harry. He turned back to Jack. ‘Think you can be in Homelands the day after tomorrow?’
‘I’m sure I can.’
‘Good. I’ll be in touch.’
Then Harry was gone. He left the last of his cigarette smoke behind him. It uncurled in the empty room, shaping itself around invisible air currents, then fell away to nothing. Jack felt himself relaxing.
‘What was all that about just now?’ said Jack.
‘I don’t want Harry using me. I don’t want him inside me. I don’t like being controlled.’
‘He just wants to mesh with some of your subsystems.’
‘He’ll do more than that. Count on it.’
‘He can’t hurt you. That’s just bluster.’
‘Fuck’s sake Jack, you really haven’t thought through what it means to be software. Remember how Grey nudged me? Once someone gets into me, they can start playing around.’
‘I wouldn’t give him permission.’
‘Do you think that’d stop him? East could have fried me if she’d wanted to. She didn’t because she won’t break the terms of the software licence that binds you to me. It’s a legal agreement, and that’s what the Pantheon’s built on. Harry doesn’t give a damn about any of that. Once you let him in, he’ll do whatever he wants.’
‘He’s a fetch. They can’t do that.’
‘No he’s not. He’s rebuilt himself. When I was close to Issie, I saw how fetches work. It was one of the secrets she shared with me. He’s structured differently and his lag times are all wrong. He’s not hosted on the Coffin Drives.’