A soft, muted wave of pain rolled through him, while the reconstructed tissues absorbed the impact. Alex straightened, looked at the girl.
Kim stood in a fighting pose, a strange one impossible for any natural, a stance from the yu-dao martial art. Legs forward, as though they had been broken and twisted at the knee, torso leaning backward, left hand, palm open toward Alex, at her face, and right arm thrust forward.
A sixth-level defensive stance.
“I’m not attacking,” said Alex quickly. “Friend-spesh, this is not an attack. I was simply trying out my body.”
Kim straightened up smoothly. It seemed to Alex that he could hear the light rustle of her joints coming out of fighting mode.
“Who are you, spesh Alex?”
“A master-pilot.”
With a glance, the girl assessed the height of his recent jump.
“Thirty-two point two feet. My impact velocity was…”
“You’ve been modified for gravity overloads?”
“Exactly. I retain mobility at six Gs and consciousness at twelve.”
“And measure distances like a radar.”
“Both distance and velocity.”
Alex stretched his hand toward her.
“Friend-spesh, I have the money to buy dinner for two. Would you accept my offer, no strings attached, no payback expected?”
At this, the girl relaxed. Alex only hoped she would not catch a glimpse of the Demon, would not notice its mischievous smirk. He had addressed Kim with deliberate courtesy, according to all the rules of etiquette, as if addressing a lady and not the girl that she was, despite all her abilities as a spesh, after all.
“I accept your offer, friend-spesh,” she said quickly. “I don’t see any harm in it.”
Dinner for two was quite a bit of an exaggeration. A light snack for two would be more like it, and at one of the cheapest fast-food joints at that. But Alex had not wasted his last opportunity for a square meal, back when he was still in the full care of the hospital.
And Kim, it seemed, had long been enduring financial difficulties.
The menu choices at McRobbins were few and well known to every child. Still, Alex handed the girl a menu.
Kim ordered heavy whipped cream, a protein shake, some vitaminized ice cream, and two glasses of mineral water. Without a second’s hesitation over her choices, she traced her finger along the menu, touched the picture of the “enter” button. Threw Alex a questioning glance.
“Coffee for me,” he said. “Just coffee.”
“I spent all your money?” Kim asked bluntly.
“Yes. But that isn’t a problem. I am fully formed, and you…” Alex lowered his voice, “are a nymph.” The girl’s face blazed red.
“Take it easy,” continued Alex quietly, “please relax. Everyone goes through this. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“How did you know?”
“The food. You ordered a very typical meal. Fat, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, water. Nothing else. How long do you have till pupation?”
“I don’t know.”
“Kim, I’m not your enemy.”
“I have no idea!” she shouted. A family at a nearby table—two naturals and their son, a boy-spesh—stared at them. The boy’s eyes, narrow and too wide-set, were unnaturally bright. It occurred to Alex in passing that he could not even begin to guess the direction of the boy’s transformation.
“Kim…”
“I really don’t know,” the girl said a little more calmly. “My metamorphosis is off track. According to the schedule, the chrysalis stage should have happened a month ago.”
Alex shook his head. Awful. Really awful. An off-track metamorphosis was no joke. He ought to keep away from the girl, but… he might have already made one step too close.
“You have medical insurance?”
“No.”
“I won’t even ask about money, but parents? Friends?”
Kim was silent, her lips tight. Mad, it seemed, at the stupid questions.
“I see.”
Alex reached for his cigarettes, lit up. Glanced sideways at the Demon.
The little devil held its head in its hands, its little face looking lost and scared.
“I’ll be going,” Kim said quietly. “Sorry.”
“Stay where you are,” said Alex curtly. “Your order is on its way.” A young fellow in bright orange shorts, a white T-shirt with the McRobbins logo, and a smile on his face, unloaded all the cups and glasses one by one upon the table. Obviously a natural, he took the girl for a sweet tooth, and the strange selection of food told him nothing.
“Where is the nearest place to stay, friend? Something cheap?” Alex stretched out his arm, holding a credit card by its activation center. The waiter moved his wrist over the card, and his electronic bracelet beeped softly, reading off the payment.
“Hilton, of course,” he answered. “The closest is a five-minute walk down the boulevard toward the center.”
No surprise, no contempt. McRobbins did not get any other kind of customer. Only those who stayed in the cheapest chain hotels and preferred municipal transport.
“Thanks, friend.”
The fellow left, obviously not hoping for a tip. And he was right. They simply had no money for it.
Alex took a sip of coffee—surprisingly tolerable—and watched the girl.
Kim was eating.
She started off with ice cream, and that was bad. Everything was bad, of course, but especially the carbohydrate craving. It was a sign that pupation was close; otherwise, the nymph would have picked the protein shake first. Time was running out.
At this point, Alex did not even want to look at the Demon.
Kim shook her head, as though the soft, slightly melted ice cream was hard to swallow. Her dark hair spilled over her shoulders. She gulped down half a glass of water, scraped out the ice cream cup, and without a pause, with the same spoon, moved on to the whipped cream.
Really awful. Her body had already stored up enough protein for the metamorphosis. Well, actually, it only seemed like there was enough. Skin and bones… Breasts were barely noticeable under the sweater. What was going on here? The creation of a fighter-spesh was one of the most expensive genetic procedures, affecting the whole body. To disrupt this kind of metamorphosis with bad nutrition, sleep deprivation, and stress was like having an unusually large diamond and then failing to cut it properly.
“Thanks very much, Alex.” Kim was finally done with the food. She had looked as if she was forcing herself to finish the protein shake. Her eyes were now glazed over, drowsy. “I guess I… needed that…”
Alex nodded. He had not decided anything yet, or maybe was afraid to admit to himself what he had decided.
“Why is your Demon looking away?”
The tattoo on his shoulder had changed dramatically. The Demon was crouching and looking away, the tip of its ear twitching nervously.
“It’s like a cartoon,” said Kim, not waiting for an answer. “Was it a part of your transformation, or can it be added afterwards?”
“Afterwards.”
“I’ll also… get one… just like it.” She was getting really sleepy.
“Let’s go.” Alex got up. Grabbed her by the arm. A fighter-spesh should have reacted to the sudden movement, but Kim did not even twitch. “Let’s go. Quickly now.”
The girl followed him as if hypnotized. The transparent doors of the eatery opened, letting both of them out into the street, where the cold wind revived the girl a little.
“Not so cozy out here, is it?” she said with a laugh. “Why are you holding me like that?”