Shadowfox 06
#6 of Shadowfox
Shadowfox 06
06 Shadowfox -- Null
When Shadowfox came out of the bathroom, David was using his chair. It was a small apartment, and he only had the one. Shadowfox shared a three-bedroom with three others, and even so David's apartment was small. Not cramped or messy; more like one of the smaller cabins on a cruise ship.
She had changed her pants for a miniskirt. She wondered how long it would be before he realized she wasn't wearing underwear.
There were four tidy plastic boxes stacked on David's desk, the sort usually used for storing food. He tapped them in sequence, top to bottom, even though they were neatly labeled. "San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, and San Diego."
He popped the lid of the one on top, marked SF. Shadowfox took a pen and delicately poked at the passports, revealing the quarter which had dropped to the bottom of the box.
Shadowfox took a breath. This next would have to be done carefully. If she didn't do it just right, it would come across like the scenes in movies where the evil mastermind casually asks the blackmailing subordinate if they had told anyone else, which would be followed a negative and then by the bland assurance they would "get what was coming to them."
So, she rested her breast on his upper arm. I can't wait until you're inside me again. "Did you take a look at these?"
He blinked, "Oh, the coins? No, I don't have an opening tool."
"Can you come to Boston sometime soon?" She smiled gently. "Technofox can fill you in." And you can fill me up. They'd have to come up with some sort of story, but the moment David was involved that was inevitable.
She lifted his face and lowered her lips to his. She kissed lightly, let her lips part. He responded eagerly, giving her too much tongue. She responded with the tip of hers, barely slipping it into his mouth.
"Did I overdo that?" he asked. "Sorry."
She chuckled. How silly and sweet! "You need a confidence booster."
"Well," he started and stopped.
She waited expectantly. I am rapt with attention.
"It's that I look at you and I look at me, and we look like a poster for a film about how looks don't matter." He laughed at his own joke. "And it's always a girl who's smoking hot and some loser guy."Shadowfox wondered if he was suspicious. In principle, she never let a target suspect she was less turned on than he was. She would moan and beg for more, harder, and faster.
At the same time, there was something endearing in his question, and part of her was nagging to give him an honest answer. David was introverted, but he wasn't lover-free either. Maybe she had a sisterly duty to his future (female) dates. More importantly, it might make him less suspicious if she dropped the occasional hint that everything wasn't perfect.
"Maybe just a bit," she admitted. "Let's try again. Try something more quick and darting."
The second time was better. She responded with a delighted noise and sniffed and licked his ear. That was always a bit risky. It was something chimerae liked to do, but humans sometimes felt uncomfortable if you went feral on them.
He disengaged and Shadowfox prepared to tone it down. "What are you doing with this information?" David asked. He knew that Foxforce had smuggled a wanted criminal across the border, and that the fruit was tainted. Still, he didn't expect Foxforce to sit on it.
"I'm glad you brought that up," she lied. "You know that our prisoner pointed us to a website. We're going to tell Doctor Clayton that the Free French slipped us the URL."
"There's a problem," David pointed out. "Remember that I ran all over California. Now, I told ICON that I was chasing one of my own cases."
"Good. We can stick to that," she nibbled his ear. "We'll just say that we discussed the website with you because you're a virtual investigator, and that you happened to be in the right cities for us. Fire said she'd authorize some of the travel on Foxforce's budget."
"It's a bit of a coincidence."
"Is it really?" she shrugged. "Those are about the biggest US cities on the West Coast."
"I suppose that's true." He took her hand and kissed it. David and Firefox were both senior operatives, able to authorize travel with a minimum of oversight. An operative spending a week bouncing around California probably would not raise eyebrows the way a few days in Las Vegas would.
Shadowfox put a hand on his chest and kissed his brow. Shadowfox stood next to him and started to unbutton her blouse, keeping her eyes on his. He stood and embraced her, kissing her ear, cheek and neck. Look at me.
Shadowfox took his hand and slipped it into her blouse. He held her and lay down on the carpet. She lay down next to him and undid the rest of her buttons. Look what I've got for you.
Shadowfox rolled him onto his back, straddled his hips, and pushed the blouse off her shoulders. She could feel him getting hard, and he raised his hands to her breasts. I like it when you look at me like that.
He tried to raise himself up to them, but she put her hands on his shoulders. He took her breasts in her hands. For a moment, she was reminded of Bill and braced for him to get rough, but he kept his touch light. She moved her hips, rubbing herself against the bulge in his pants. David didn't go for more explicit dominance, at least not with her, but the naked woman / clothed man scenario worked well on him.
She shifted her weight back, and started to undo his pants. I want this right now. He moved up, helping her push his pants down. He wore boxers. She pushed them down and took him into her hand.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
In reply, she moved his penis between her folds and slowly lowered herself onto him.
She moaned softly as he penetrated her, and smiled. "I know what I want," she assured him. She licked her lips.
"Don't you want to kiss more?"
"The night's young," she said. She enjoyed it more than she expected to, which was a pleasant surprise.
The next day, Shadowfox did her last-minute check through David's apartment.
David's tables were cluttered, but he reserved one for her stuff, conveniently next to an outlet for her chargers. Her satchel now sat on it, along with her clothes for the day. The dishes from breakfast were in the dishwasher, the leftovers in the fridge.
David had bookcases arranged back-to-back to form an alcove for his bed. Shadowfox was on the other side. She listened intently; he had not slipped back to sleep. In forty-five minutes, she would have to leave for the train. She considered a shower and decided against it; he might be up for another quick session.
He was lying on the covers, awake, his penis flaccid. His arms were behind his head and he looked at her with a smile. "You're beautiful."
"So are you," she lied. He wasn't beautiful, but he was nice. She wondered if she should tell him he needed to lose weight and walk more.
He got up on the edge of his bed, and she sat on his lap. She put her arms around him and he hugged her back. She nestled her chin on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
Bill the Marine Diesel Mechanic could almost be an underwear model, but David was affectionate.
She had started sleeping with David in Atlanta. She had two reasons: first, to get an emotional lever on him, and next to keep him from a relationship with Technofox. The little engineer felt too strongly about her lovers, and she should never be in a position where she had to weigh what was good for David against what was good for Foxforce.
As it happened, that decision had not been necessary. David had handled his role well, and the entire operation had been successful, with plenty of credit to go around and no blame.
Or so she had thought. With those hollow quarters in her satchel, they were considerably safer, but there might be any number of other copies floating around.
She squeezed him and licked his neck. She wished she could focus on his irritating man-child characteristics, the wall of bound comic book collections, his awkwardness in bed. That would help her feel better about using him.
But some of those collections were really quite good. She kept thinking of his sharp intelligence, his mental museum of useless but intriguing facts about the world. She was reluctant to leave and that was a problem. There was a sharp line between business and friendship, and he was beginning to blur that line.
"I have trouble imagining you young," he said.
She blinked and looked at him. "You think of me as old?"
"I mean, as a child. What you said yesterday," he explained. "You said you read Phoenix: Sun when you were young. The way you said it was the same way I'd say it -- that it happened at a time you would react differently from now."
Shadowfox disengaged, resting her hands on his shoulders. She decided she could be honest. It was an unsettling thought.
"I don't know if I had a childhood or not," Shadowfox admitted. "So much of what you would call childhood wasn't there."
"What was there?" Still holding her, he lay down on the bed.
She was on top of him, and for a moment of panic she wasn't sure if he wanted sex or conversation. It seemed so strange to lie down with him and talk. Talking in bed was something she did with friends.
Shadowfox hesitated. "It's hard to say."
"Do you remember it?"
She couldn't see his face; she was nestled up against him. "I remember a lot of things, but I don't know how much of it was real and how much was simulation. I think ... we were raised in small groups, the crèche, in my case a group of four."
"Foxforce?"
"Yes. I only saw Foxforce and the instructors. I remember being in bigger groups, but I'm pretty sure those were simulated. You can sort of tell the difference because the simulations give you less agency. Like a video game, where you run into invisible walls. Like when you have a dream and you can't do something you want to do. They raise chimerae in a controlled environment."
"That sounds awful."
"Compared to what?" She shrugged.
"So they keep the groups small, to make the environment simpler? Then they use VR so you can handle groups?"
She looked at him, suspicious of how he cut to the chase. "Do you know all this?"
He shook his head. "No, not at all. Biotech firms are very reticent about how chimerae are raised. The speculation is that young chimerae look too much like children, and they don't want people to think about the failures or the failure rate. It's much better if people think of chimera popping out of an assembly line, like cars."
She found herself intrigued with the notion. "I suppose it is. I wonder how high the failure rate is. I'm in touch with a chimera girl who was supposed to be a tank driver. She's albino, which isn't a big deal."
"I guess not," he agreed. "Not when you're covered in fur and can buy sunglasses."
"She also has osteoporosis which is."
"Yes, I guess it would be." He looked thoughtful. "Aren't there genetic markers for that? I wonder why they didn't just abort her."
It was an odd thought that hadn't occurred to her before. "I don't know."
"Are they experimenting with her? Is she a research model or something?"
"They didn't grow her as an experiment -- she was trained as a tank driver. And believe it or not, she works for a newsnet in Alaska." Shadowfox squinted. It was strange, now that she thought of it.
"Huh. Well, at least her pelt blends in."
Shadowfox snerked. She wished she knew Jazz well enough to use it in front of her. But it made a weird kind of sense, the albino staying far north to keep out of intense sunlight.
"Was it hard growing up?"
"No. I don't have a lot of bad memories, to be honest. There was pressure to achieve goals, but honestly, it was... fun, mostly. You know how you work hard and get recognition, and it feels great? It was more like that." She smiled and her tail swished.
"I don't remember being bored in school -- not often anyway. And there wasn't any bullying. We had time to play. Firefox and Silverfox ..." Should I mention this? "... got intimate before we left the training facilities."
"So they were the first to lose their virginity?" he asked.
"No."
He walked her to Penn Station and stayed with her until boarding. She didn't want to risk a public kiss, but gave him a friendly hug. She was sorry to see him go, and she found herself wondering if she could wrangle another trip down soon. The Tezuka exhibit had been fun.
She thumped her head with a fist, frustrated. No, that was thinking of him as a friend, which was a bad thing. She had to be careful with that.
Why was it a bad thing? Could she turn this into a friendship?
The train back wasn't crowded: the fewer people who rode the less the ticket cost. She tossed her netbook onto her seat and stowed her satchel. Her power cord was packed away but the battery would be good enough for the trip.
Shadowfox spent the train ride responding to specific queries from the Mounties. Some of the questions were virtual repeats of ones she had been asked before. She wondered if it was inefficiency, or if they were looking for a specific answer and they were hoping they'd get it if they kept asking her.
Or they were doing some sort of psychological test.
It was a disturbing thought. Did 4094 have side effects? Should she be aware of something?
She closed the window, leaving the half composed message in her draft folder. She didn't want to think about that right now. Instead, she turned her netbook sideways and brought up a digital copy of Phoenix: Sun.
She sent a routine text to the team so they knew she was back in Boston. Boston South Station was about two kilometers from their apartment. It was a nice day, so she decided to walk it. Did she want something for lunch? No, breakfast had been a bit heavy...
Firefox was waiting for her. Shadowfox stopped, and her ears flattened. Firefox smiled and waved. She was holding a grilled cheese sandwich in one hand.
"Afternoon, Shadow. You hungry?" The sandwich came in two halves, one untouched.
"Famished," Shadowfox replied promptly.
Firefox handed her the fresh half, and Shadowfox took a bite. "Thanks." I'm half starved, and this really hits the spot.
"No problem. You have the quarters?"
It was a rhetorical question."Of course."
"Good. Tech will want to look through them, but I doubt they'll tell us anything new... did he make copies?"
"I can't be sure, but I don't think so."
"I wish we could confirm somehow that he didn't open them, but I guess that's the best we can do."
Shadowfox nodded. "I wish we knew how many copies of that key are floating around out there."
"There's got to be more," Firefox said firmly. "Fischer wouldn't give every copy to a diesel engineer."
"I'm not sure if that's true. Fischer might have his own keys, but Technofox never touched those."
Firefox looked thoughtful and nodded. "I'm sorry I got angry at you." The big vixen started to walk out of the station. Shadowfox followed her.
"You have every right to be," Shadowfox said. "How can you run the team if I'm working without your knowledge?"
Firefox glanced down at her and pushed her braid back. "Not appropriate to praise you for showing initiative." She shook her head. "Still, I should not have sent you off on a bad note like that. Not the right thing to do."
Firefox had apologized for getting angry; she hadn't said it was all right. Shadowfox ruminated on that.
They hadn't broached the subject of whether killing Doctor Walton was the right thing to do. It was unnecessary. "What got you angry? Did you want to be the one to do it?" Shadowfox asked.
Firefox didn't look at her. Her jaw clenched and she didn't answer until they were crossing the Commons. On the pond, tourists and locals were riding shallow-draft boats made to look like swans, a carryover from the bizarre aesthetics of the Gilded Age. Shadowfox had never ridden one. A stint patrolling the Florida Keys had pretty much burned all the fun of small boats out of her.
"I wanted it done," Firefox said finally. "I wanted it done in a way there would be no blowback."
"I did the best I could."
Firefox patted her shoulder reassuringly. "I guess that's one thing this job teaches you. There's always something you didn't expect."
"Unfortunately."
"But to answer your question, I didn't want his head on my wall, as long as it was on somebody's. Why did you do it?"
Shadowfox looked away. "It's a funny place to talk about this. Did you know Boston's gallows used to be somewhere around here? They tore them down and planted a tree --"
Firefox's ears shifted. Her lip curled. "Did Walton touch you?"
"Not after I was born."
Firefox nodded. The blending of species which had produced chimerae was first accomplished long before Doctor Walton entered the scene. What he had done was to smooth over the rough edges, made chimerae products.
"There's so much I need to understand better. He made us what we are. But what did he want?" Shadowfox asked.
"That's the complicated thing," Firefox sat down on a bench. Idly, she watched the children at the playground. "Humans, the end result of random evolution guided by natural selection. How much of what we're seeing comes from chimps? But we're not like that, are we? Tech's obsessive because it makes her a good technician. Silver's ambidextrous so she can engage two targets at once."
Shadowfox sat next to her.
"I can tell you what he did to me," Firefox said. "Cheshire would work me over and he'd watch." She sniffed, and Shadowfox watched her closely. "He really liked that. She would do all these flourishes and spins. Really flashy and showy. I remember once watching her twirl her cane while walking towards me, and thinking, Hey, she really was a stunt actress right before she landed it. She'd work on my breasts so it would hurt when he played with them. Cheshire wasn't like Tigre. Cheshire made me scream but didn't want me to beg. It was a show and it was for him."
"I'm sorry," Shadowfox whispered. She closed her eyes and tears came out.
Firefox grimaced. "What have you got to be sorry for?"
"Because it should have been me," Shadowfox said. "I'm supposed to take that on myself."
"That's impossible."
Shadowfox blinked and looked at her, confused. Shadow had expected Firefox to utter some trite platitude. It wasn't your fault.
"It's not impossible," Shadowfox said. "I could be any woman he wanted. I would have done it, too."
"That's my point."
Her voice was flat, and Shadowfox realized this was something she had thought about for a long time.
"It was hard... for me to say that," Firefox shook her head. "I don't know how they'd decide it was time for him to put it in. I don't know if Cheshire would decide I was about to crack, or if he just didn't want to wait any more." Her voice lowered. "I was covered in bruises. He didn't hit me, but he pinched and squeezed and bit and pulled my fur. And I'd be wet and loving every second of it."
"It's the way he designed us," Shadowfox said. "Heightened response. A rapist feels just like a lover. And I don't know if I can tell the difference anymore."
Firefox put an arm around Shadow's shoulders and pulled her close. She kissed her once on the cheek. Shadowfox was amused to note a jogger doing a double-take.
"That was from a lover," Firefox whispered. "When I came, he'd look at me and smile. And that's what he wanted. Not a lover, not even submission. Me, fighting and hating him and coming for him." Firefox touched Shadowfox's face. "I know that you would have done anything to keep me out of his hands. But he wanted a bitch who didn't consent." She looked away. "We were made for a role. Maybe my defiance was part of that. Wouldn't that be hilarious?"
"That's very logical," Shadowfox said bitterly. "But it doesn't change things. I do the necessary things so you can keep clean. And I failed. In Blue Diamond, I failed."
"Blue Diamond was a slave brothel. Did you really think you could do the work of four women?"
"That's not an excuse."
"You have to realize there are things in your head that were put there to make you a better agent." Firefox tapped Shadow's forehead sternly. "Not because they're right, not because they're just. There was nothing you could do to protect me from him."
Shadowfox smiled to herself. "Yes, there was, Fire. And I did it in Atlanta."
"Yes, I guess you did," Firefox agreed. "And you need to promise me you'll never do anything like that again on your own. I am responsible for what you do. Even if I don't know about it."
Firefox got up and turned away, knowing Shadowfox would follow. "The sin doesn't go away because you do it. Let's go home."
Silverfox smelled faintly of gunpowder. The Korth Australia Shooting Star was disassembled in front of her. It had been fired that day, but was so clean Shadowfox didn't smell the spent rounds.
Shadowfox liked to watch Silverfox work on her guns. Silverfox was dexterous and confident, and even working with one hand in a cast, her motion was smooth and intent, with none of the frustration and irritation she had been radiating for the last few days. The gray fox was absorbed in what she was doing and Shadowfox didn't want to interrupt. It was good to see her get her focus back. Firefox was smiling slightly and Shadowfox knew she was thinking the same thing.
Silverfox looked up and gave her a smile that warmed her. The gray fox tightened the last screw on the Shooting Star, opened the bolt to show an empty chamber, and took the grip in her hand. The butt was designed for Silverfox's fingers; a brace rested on her forearm.
The weapon was a present from Jerry, a twenty-thousand dollar single-shot pistol with an electronic eye that talked to the implant in Silver's brain. The 5.56 barrel was attached, allowing it to use rifle ammunition.
"I got some practice in with this today," Silverfox rested the gun in its case. "Jerry took me to Epping."
"In New Hampshire? Is there a rifle range up there?" Their usual pistol range didn't let Silverfox use 5.56 ammunition.
"Yes, but we went to use their traps." Silverfox's grin was feral.
Shadowfox didn't have to fake amazement. "They let you shoot clay pigeons with a solid slug from a pistol?" Skeet shooting establishments were notoriously snooty.
"Jerry is not without influence, m'dear." Silverfox smirked.
"Actually, he's their landlord," Firefox reminded her. "How did you do?"
Shadowfox remembered now -- Jerry had mentioned the place. It had once been a drag strip, and the long straightaway had been converted to a shooting range. They had never gone there because the rifle range in Worcester was a lot closer, and there were pistol ranges in Boston.
"Eight for ten," Silverfox shrugged. "I got my eye in pretty quick -- the last seven were all hits."
That was pretty astonishing, even though the Korth had a computerized gunsight that talked directly to Silver's brain. Hitting a motorcycle helmet in the dark was pretty plausible with that sort of equipment.
"I found that special ammo," Technofox walked by and set six 5.56 rifle rounds on their ends. The casings were brass, but the bullets were a flat gray. "You left them in your jacket pocket," she told Firefox.
The resin slugs wouldn't physically knock Tawny over -- even a rifle bullet didn't have that much momentum -- but it would cause her to jump or flinch and that might cause a crash.
"Sorry, hon. I'll be more careful," Firefox apologized. "I told Mack that you wanted a frangible round so you could shoot five fifty-six at the pistol range."
Mack LeBlanc was one of Firefox's old boyfriends, a lawyer who played with exotic rounds as a hobby. Firefox had stayed on good terms with him.
"You didn't bribe him with for old time's sake sex, did you?" Silverfox asked. Technofox rolled her eyes.
"No," Firefox said firmly. "Actually, they're a get-well present."
"Nice," Silverfox lifted one to admire it. "That's a resin?"
"Yes." Technofox hunched down closer to them. "It should shatter on anything hard. It's the same shape as 5.56 ball, but it's lighter." She shrugged helplessly. "So the aerodynamics won't be quite the same at range."
"Shouldn't matter up close," Silverfox said.
"No, it shouldn't," Technofox agreed. "But you can use the other five to get your eye in."
"Sounds perfect," Silverfox nodded.
"It would be a nice gesture if you let him shoot that bad boy," Shadowfox patted the Shooting Star's box.
Silverfox hesitated just a moment. "All right," she agreed reluctantly. Silverfox was more jealous of her guns than her lovers.
"We can make it a barbecue party near the rifle range," Shadowfox suggested.
Silverfox's ears twitched merrily. "Sounds great."
"We need to make sure those won't penetrate a motorcycle helmet," Firefox drummed her fingers on the table.
"We can use my old one," Shadowfox suggested.
"Good," Firefox nodded. "Do you think we can sneak some target practice at Jerry's place in Epping? Ideally at night?"
Technofox actually clapped her hands with glee. "We can attach the helmet to the end of a cantilever strapped to the luggage rack of the car. You see, the range used to be a drag strip!"
Technofox giggled until Firefox raised an eyebrow. Tech sobered. "I'm sorry," the little fox explained. "It's just that I feel like Adam and Jamie."
Shadowfox tried to un-see it, but she couldn't. Once Technofox said that, it was impossible to push that genie back in the bottle, no matter how hard she tried.
The next night, Foxforce went up to New Hampshire. They went in two cars: Jerry's Porsche only had two seats and Silverfox got to ride shotgun. The rest came in Foxforce's car, which had more room but couldn't hit 160 kph.
Silverfox stood on the side of the old drag strip, and the others stood close enough to watch but far enough away so they wouldn't distract her. Jerry's Porsche had one headlight covered. He was accelerating towards them flat out, and Shadowfox could hear the soft hum of the powerful electric motors in each hub and the roar as it cut through the air. Most of the noise was from the open passenger's side window, which was open so Technofox could clamp a triangular, multi-sectioned pole to the door. The pole thrust forward like a jouster's lance, and at the end was Shadowfox's old motorcycle helmet. It wobbled slightly in the wind.
Shadowfox could see it clearly enough, so she knew Silverfox would have no trouble watching it through the machine eye of her Shooting Star.
Almost simultaneously, the Porsche snapped by them and Silver's Shooting Star cracked. The sound of the sports car Dopplered down and the helmet bounced at the end of the lance. Silverfox's lips parted and her teeth showed as she smiled. Jerry was still braking but she already knew she had hit the target. She turned and trotted after the car.
Jerry stopped and his lights glowed as he backed towards them, stopping when they met. He took off his helmet as he climbed awkwardly out of his vehicle.
"Did you hear it?" Firefox asked.
He nodded. "I heard it and I saw the muzzle flash. But then again, I was listening for it and knew where to look."
Firefox frowned and nodded.
Technofox came back, holding the helmet out mutely. The fiberglass was cracked and the paint scraped off, but it was basically intact.
"Looks good to me," she said. "That's the same sort of damage you'd expect if she fell off."
Firefox nodded wordlessly. "Shadow, do you think that would make you spill if you were riding?"
Shadowfox held the end of the lance and pulled until the deflection matched what she had seen, to judge the impact. "I think so. Especially if I weren't expecting it."
"And if she doesn't fall down," Firefox added, "I'm three blocks down and she's running right into my sights."
"I don't think you should do that," Shadowfox said. "No need to rush things."
"The noise is the biggest problem," Silverfox looked thoughtful. "Firefox, what if you fired a round into a closed liquor store or something? Even if someone reports hearing two shots the police might figure it's an echo."
"Hmm. Maybe." Firefox looked directly at Technofox. "I'd call it Plausible," she said seriously. "What do you think, Adam?"
"Why don't I get to be Jamie?"
Technofox mounted their car's GPS logger onto Shadow's motorcycle, and Shadowfox rode it out to Waltham. She was carrying five cell phones; four belonged to Foxforce, and the fifth used a prepaid SIM card.
Shadowfox parked her motorcycle outside of a Chinese takeout place. The food was unremarkable but they had ordered from here before. "I dunno," she said into the phone that couldn't be traced. "What do you want to eat?"
"Pizza," Technofox replied.
"I'm good with pizza," Silverfox replied.
"Then let's have pizza," Firefox ordered.
"Pizza" was a code word, of course. From here, it would all happen very fast.
Their order was ready. Shadowfox paid with her credit card.
"You want hot sauce?" asked the woman behind the counter.
"Yes, please." I'm not providing an alibi! Shadowfox fought to remain relaxed, to keep a smile in her voice. If things went hideously pear-shaped, she was too far away to do anything at this point.
"Pizza's ordered," Silverfox announced. That was the success phrase. There wasn't a trace of emotion in her voice. "Can you pick me up?"
"Be right there," Firefox replied.
Some fifteen kilometers away, Firefox was driving to pick up Silverfox and then Technofox. The tracker and the cell phones in Shadowfox's jacket would show they had come here to pick up takeout at this exact minute. The cartons would be found in their trash. It wasn't the best alibi, but Foxforce had hunted more than one criminal because his alibi was too good.
Shadowfox had parked some distance from the restaurant. The food went into the carrier, and her helmet came out. It was very unlikely that someone would notice she had driven away on a motorcycle instead of a car. She took the prepaid SIM card out of her phone, and flicked it into a storm drain.
There was a knot of worry in her stomach as she drove back to Boston. Silverfox sent a message to Jerry. Jerry sent Shadowfox a text message about laundry. The knot dissolved. The takeout would be their victory feast.
Their car was in the garage when she returned. Technofox opened the apartment door for her; they had already laid out plates.
"The gunsight says she was going about ninety clicks." Silverfox spooned out a ration of shrimp fried rice and fried dumplings.
Technofox's face shifted to a bland concern. They had hoped she would be going faster.
Silverfox bit into a dumpling. "She got clear of the bike. I don't know if she fell or if she did a reflex jump. At any rate, her hip hit the trunk of a parked car and she went into the rear window." Silverfox held her plate with one hand and mimed Tawny's trajectory with the other. "The window crazed but held and the angle threw her up into the air. By then I was turned around and I didn't see how she landed."
"Ninety kilometers an hour," Technofox bit into her egg roll. "Twenty-five meters per second. That's enough kinetic energy to throw her thirty meters into the air." She reflected. "Not that she'd actually go that high."
"So she might survive," Firefox mused.
"It's possible, yes. Part of the tradeoff. Certainty and deniability." Technofox swallowed the last bit of her egg roll. "I'm betting her pelvis is in at least two pieces. The rest depends on how she lands. Hopefully on her head."
Silverfox nodded thoughtfully. Shadowfox wondered if she'd be satisfied, what it would take to satisfy her.
Silverfox's phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and turned on the speakerphone.
"Silverfox. Hey, Jerry. Why are you calling this late?"
"Hi, Silver." His voice was strained. "I've got some bad news."
"...What?" Silverfox feigned surprise.
"Dawnstar had an accident. She fell off her motorcycle. She's at General. They're calling it serious."
Technofox heaved a sigh of relief.
"Oh, damnit," Silverfox moaned. She closed her eyes and shook her head to get some emotion into it. "Were you involved? Are you okay?"
Shadowfox nodded to herself. That would be a natural question.
"No, I'm fine. The police found me in her phone's history. She was going to meet me in Salem."
"Ah."
Tawny had been circling Jerry like a vulture.
"They're looking for family," Jerry explained. "Do you know if she has any?"
Cell phones didn't have the privacy of land lines. Even if a recording didn't show up in court, the right words might spark an investigation. Shadowfox had to fight the reflex to get involved, even though Silver and Jerry were handling it well.
"Uhm, let me think," Silverfox said. "Shit, we were in Blue Diamond with her. I didn't know all her friends. She knew Janet. I'll call her in the morning."
"It, uh, I think you need to call her now."
Silverfox grinned and gave the world a thumbs-up with her good hand. "That bad? Okay. Is she seeing visitors?"
"They told me to check tomorrow. I'll talk to you then. I'm going to a hotel in Salem -- I'm a bit shaken up."
Jerry might get remorseful over this. Shadowfox hoped he wouldn't.
"Okay, honey. Take care. Love you."
"Love you too."
Silverfox closed the connection and pumped her fist in the air. "Awesome!"
"You feel better?" Firefox smiled.
"Hell, yes," Silverfox picked up her phone. "I want you all to go down on me to celebrate."
"Not yet," Technofox shook her head. "She's not dead."
"Good point," Shadowfox nodded. "What do we tell Cheshire?"
"Cheshire doesn't need to know anything," Firefox said sharply.
"I mean we need to drop her a line," Shadowfox pointed out. "She's Blue Diamond too. Let me send her an email."
"Not call?" Silverfox mumbled around a mouthful of something.
"She's not in the know," Shadowfox explained. "What if she's suspicious and asks how we did it?"
"Good point," Silverfox agreed.
"I'll call Doctor Clayton," Firefox said.
"Be sure to ask if he has any advice," Shadowfox frowned. "Remember that we're terribly worried about Tawny."
"I don't want to go too far," the big fox shook her head. "I think it's better we keep it real. We don't like her much, but there's a bond."
"I'd better call Janet and tell her the wise shamanic cougar spirit fell off her motorcycle," Silverfox said.
"Can you do it without laughing?" Firefox asked.
"She's been doing good so far," Shadowfox observed. "But Silver, Tawny might have told Janet that you're dead."
Silverfox scrunched up her face in disgust and took out her phone. "Then Janet would have called you guys." Shadowfox thought Silverfox was over-estimating Janet but she kept her peace. The grey fox selected a number on the phone. That meant Silverfox no longer used an implant speed-dial slot for Janet. "Hello, Janet?..."
The blinds in Silverfox's bedroom were a thin plastic. They weren't up to keeping the sun out, and at this time of year the morning made them glow brightly. It didn't seem to bother Silverfox, but for Shadowfox it made sleeping in impossible.
Silverfox was asleep and Shadowfox was nestled against her from behind, her chin on the top of Silver's head. They were atop the covers. Shadow's arm was over Silverfox, possessively, and Silver's arm was parallel to hers. Their elbows were bent at just the right angle, black fur and grey fur forming a chevron.
Silverfox was asleep with her lips barely parted, her breathing shallow but regular, and right now she was the prettiest thing Shadowfox had ever seen.
Shadowfox couldn't resist. She blew gently into Silver's pointed ear, making the hairs dance. There was something beautiful in the moment that caught at her. Shadowfox watched, and wondered if anyone had written poetry about the movement of hairs inside a lover's ear.
The grey fox's ear twitched, she yawned, her cast came up, and she punched herself in the head.
Silverfox awoke with a violent curse. Once Shadowfox was sure Silverfox hadn't hurt herself, she fought to keep from laughing. The arc of the swing and soft clonking noise had been too perfect.
Silverfox shook her head in disgust and narrowed her eyes against the glowing blinds while Shadowfox kept the mirth out of her face. Silverfox glanced at her and grinned sheepishly.
"I am going to be so glad once I'm rid of this damn thing." Silverfox sat up, and Shadowfox embraced her from behind, both to express affection and to conceal her own giggles.
"Me too. Then we get to go on vacation," Shadowfox felt guilty about laughing, so she nibbled at Silver's shoulder, and kneaded her breast to make up for it. Silverfox's nipple hardened.
"You're not usually in this mood in the mornings," Silverfox took Shadow's hand and kissed it.
"I guess this isn't every morning." Shadowfox checked her clock. 0629. It was a bit late for Silverfox, but Shadowfox believed they would have time for a quickie before the day started in earnest. She listened for Fire or Tech but they weren't up and about.
"Let me just use the bathroom," Silverfox kissed Shadowfox lightly, and then slipped her some tongue.
"I'll race you," Shadowfox sprang out of bed and made for the bedroom door. The apartment had two bathrooms, one with a bath and the other with a small shower. The bigger of the two was preferred because it had the newer tablet computer. Silverfox was on the right side of the bed and beat her out the door.
Shadowfox wasn't disappointed; she wanted to take the opportunity to check her email.
It was routine, except for a reply to the email to Cheshire. The jaguar said that she would be coming to their apartment early, before 0700. Shadowfox grimaced; she had expected Cheshire to respond with polite concern at most. Shadowfox hoped that Cheshire's concern wasn't sincere. This would put the kibosh on Silver's morning quickie; the jaguar was probably halfway up the stairs.
Doctor Clayton had promised to send a report on Tawny's condition this morning; it hadn't arrived yet. Shadowfox wasn't sure how Clayton intended to collect that information: Foxforce didn't have any official relationship with Tawny, but the black fox imagined that doctors had their ways.
Shadowfox sniffed; Silverfox had turned the coffee maker on. She rushed her morning routine and left the bathroom in time to open the door for Cheshire.
"I hope I didn't wake you guys up." The jaguar came in, her cane tapping lightly on the carpet. She had a new leg brace, Shadowfox noticed. Silverfox gave her a hug and a kiss.
"No," Shadowfox assured her. "I'll get the coffee."
"Thanks. Did you get any news?" The jaguar sat down and leaned forward on her cane. Shadowfox wondered again why Cheshire was reacting this way. She'd have to come up with some delicate way to broach the subject. As far as Shadowfox knew, Cheshire and Tawny couldn't stand one another. Had she completely misread their relationship -- for that matter, had they intentionally misled her? Why should they do that?
"Not yet," Silverfox said. "Cheshire, I thought you hated Tawny's guts."
Good old Silverfox.
"Sure," Cheshire agreed with surprise. She considered. "Well... sort of. I know she hates me, but she's got every reason to. That doesn't mean I want to see her dead."
"I don't think she's likely to die," Shadowfox poured the coffee. "Not after making it through the first six hours."
"That might be true for humans," Cheshire shook her head, and looked sharply at Shadowfox. "Ever see a chimera in a wheelchair?"
"I know an albino chimera with osteoporosis."
"Sure," Silverfox said. "Me. Tall Felicia wouldn't let me try going over a ramp, but--"
Cheshire rolled her eyes. "I mean paralyzed and forced to stay in one. I was a stunt actor. I've seen gags go bad. The humans go through months of rehab and bounce back; the chimerae just die. We can be fragile in a weird way."
Shadowfox hesitated and glanced at Silverfox. She hadn't heard that one either.
"Well, I dunno," Silverfox said dubiously. "I kind of doubt chimerae get the same standard of care."
"There's that," Cheshire shrugged. It was probably just an urban legend.
A bedroom door opened and Technofox came out with Firefox. The little vixen was wearing an earpiece and a bathrobe. Technofox nodded politely to Cheshire; Firefox went into the kitchen for coffee.
"I was just talking to the nurse," Technofox said. "Tawny's conscious and she can have visitors. Hours start at eight. Firefox has a shift at the airport and I've got to go to Cambridge, so we can't make it this morning."
"Cheshire, I don't know if you should go," Firefox said from the kitchen.
Cheshire stiffened and lifted her head.
Firefox stepped out, and raised a cup of black coffee to her lips. "Tawny had a good laugh about you being our maid. I don't think she'd appreciate a visit."
"Point noted," Cheshire nodded. "But I was a slave in Blue Diamond. Like you."
"Not like us," Firefox's voice was steady as she took more coffee. Silverfox looked away uncomfortably. Shadowfox felt the hairs on the back of her neck lift.
"Even so, being a free housekeeper is moving up in the world," Cheshire said quietly.
Firefox looked at Cheshire for a long moment, and turned her eyes down to her coffee.
"Cheshire," Firefox said, "every time I see you I can hear your cane cutting the air and I'm tied up on the floor."
Cheshire looked away.
"And it's something I'm trying to deal with, because it's not right," the big fox added.
Technofox's ears perked and she was about to say something. Firefox interrupted her interruption.
"Because Tigre wanted me to be a Tamer," Firefox said. "And maybe that was starting to look good to me."
Technofox closed her mouth.
Firefox scratched the back of her neck. "What I'm saying is that the moment you had a choice, you put down the whip--"
"And picked up a toilet brush," Cheshire laughed.
Firefox laughed and shrugged theatrically. "Making the world a little cleaner two different ways."
Cheshire chuckled, just a little too long.
Firefox got serious. "My point is that Tawny doesn't see it that way. If she were a Tamer, she'd be a bad one. If you come to visit her, she's going to think you're there to laugh."
"I could see that," Cheshire agreed. She brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Yes, you're right. When you guys see her, could you let her know I'm sorry?"
"For what?" Firefox asked.
"You're going to make me say it, aren't you?" Cheshire growled.
Firefox nodded.
Cheshire sighed. "Tell her I was a slave and I did things I shouldn't have, because I was afraid someone else would do them to me. I wanted to avoid it, but I became part of it. I'm sorry I was a Tamer. I wish I could make it right, but I can't. And if she doesn't want to see me again, I understand."
Firefox put her coffee down. "That's ... all she needs to hear."
Cheshire nodded. "Thanks. I owe you."
"Damn straight." Firefox almost smiled. "See you for dinner tonight?"
"I wonder if chimerae hate hospitals more than humans," Silverfox said.
"Why so?" Shadowfox asked.
Silverfox was resting her cast on the edge of the information station. "Well, humans might associate a hospital with their kid's birth."
"And they wouldn't be able to pick out the smells as well."
Silverfox looked interesting. "Really?"
"Really," Shadowfox said firmly. "I remember Jack looking to see if there was corn in my chowder. He couldn't smell it cooking."
"That sounds like a euphemism," Silverfox observed. "'Corn in my chowder.' Heh."
"Only if you say it kind of leering, like that," Shadowfox objected.
"You're here to see ... Dawnstar, was it?" asked the middle-aged woman behind the desk. Hospital volunteers, at least the ones who you saw daily, were almost always older women. Shadowfox wondered why that was. There had been some confusion at the start because they weren't sure which name she had been admitted under. "Are you her friends?"
Shadowfox nodded immediately; Silverfox hesitated a moment.
The volunteer nodded. She looked at her screen and suppressed a smile. "Do you know if she has any family?"
"I don't think so," Shadowfox answered, wondering what the joke was.
"Sorry -- I don't know why they have us ask that," the volunteer explained.
"She could be married," Silverfox snapped.
"But I'm sure she isn't," Shadowfox smiled pleasantly. We like you very much!
"Oh, I didn't think of that," the volunteer told Silverfox. The grey fox nodded, slightly mollified. "Do you know of anyone who might have power of attorney?"
"Uhm. She never told me." Shadowfox looked at Silverfox enquiringly.
"Me either." Silverfox looked thoughtful. "Proxy, secured party?"
"I can't think of one," Shadowfox shook her head.
"What?" the volunteer asked, nonplussed.
"A proxy is a human who holds a chimera's title in jurisdictions where chimerae can't own themselves," Shadowfox explained. "A secured party is a human who holds a lien on a chimera and so gets ownership in case of a bankruptcy."
"Dawnstar isn't big on formalizing things," Silverfox added. "You must have scanned her ICR chip -- that might cross-reference to someone she trusts, shouldn't it?"
"Not if she's a runaway," Shadowfox pointed out. "In some jurisdictions her owner can access records that cross-reference her ICR code."
The volunteer was shifting her eyes from one to the other, getting a deer-in-the-headlights look. Proxy? Secured party? ICR? The procedures for humans were complex enough. For a chimera they were hellish, and she was pretty obviously over her head.
"Her phone, then," Silverfox suggested. "Did she set up her ICE?"
The volunteer hesitated. Shadowfox could understand; even without medical privacy issues, a volunteer who staffed the info desk could hardly be expected to keep track of every patient in the hospital.
"I think we should stop off at the nurse's station before we see her," Shadowfox said diplomatically.
Silverfox sighed. "Right."
The elevators were all designed to lift a patient in a bed. They were as vast as service elevators. Shadowfox almost felt guilty using them for something smaller than a forklift palette. Silverfox was tapping her cast against the sterile metal wall.
"You can still back out," Shadowfox said. "Just stay in the corridor, or go home."
"I'm good," Silverfox grinned, nastily. "I can't wait to see her expression when she sees I'm alive."
"Can you maintain?" Shadowfox asked anxiously. "Remember, you don't know she sold you out."
Her tone sobered the grey fox. Silver looked at her and nodded seriously.
Nursing was one of the few professions that had a reputation for being open to chimerae, and they passed a few furs in scrubs. The nurse at the station was a human, which wasn't surprising, and male, which was.
Boston General was probably one of the best chimera hospitals on the planet. Massachusetts had a lot of chimerae, refugees from jurisdictions which classed them with assistance animals. At any rate, the nurse seemed a bit more savvy than the volunteer, which was comforting.
"She's very badly bruised. She broke her hip, collarbone, and one arm," he said. "Most seriously, there's some spinal damage and she'll be in a wheelchair for at least the next few months. So don't move her." He looked up. Shadowfox had the impression he was gauging the effects of his words.
My friend might not walk again? That's so sad. Shadowfox teared up and clutched at Silverfox's good arm for support. _Be strong for me,_she thought. Hopefully the nurse would mistake Silverfox's indifference for stoicism. This might not change anything legally, but it would be good if he thought Shadowfox wanted Tawny to live.
"Right now, she's not on pain medication. She's coherent, but that might change if we decide to put her on something or if she goes into a -- a slump."
Shadowfox wondered what he was going to say originally. Probably medical slang.
"Her records show she wasn't raised in a crèche, and she didn't have any proxies or secured parties listed," the nurse said. "Her phone didn't list anyone to contact in case of emergency, and as far as we can tell, she doesn't have a bank account."
"Bank account?" Silverfox asked curiously.
"We're looking for a designated heir," he explained.
"Ah. I didn't think of that one. Did you contact her owner?" Silverfox asked blandly.
"It is not Boston General's policy to contact the owner of a legally-human runaway," the nurse said firmly.
Shadowfox already knew Tawny was legally human: she held title to a motorcycle. Shadowfox wondered if Tawny had gotten the certificate so she could get the motorcycle, or if there was more to it than that. Silverfox had killed Tawny's "friend" Treadwell and escaped legal difficulties because he wasn't legally human. Maybe that had put a scare into the puma. Good thing for her if it had; without that the hospital would have gone straight to the owner.
Or, rather, the owner of the chimera Tawny had stolen her ICR chip from.
"Unfortunately," the nurse said, "if we can't find anyone else, and if she's unable to communicate on her own behalf, power of attorney devolves on her owner."
Shadowfox didn't know that. Silverfox bristled visibly.
He looked grim, in the manner that lawyers and medical professionals had when delivering instructions That Must Be Followed. "We've told her that she needs to specify someone she trusts. We have a notary right in the hospital and we could have the paperwork finished in a few hours." Shadowfox guessed he had seen it done.
"One last thing," he said. "We've seen some old ... injuries which aren't consistent with her history."
Silverfox hesitated and looked at Shadowfox for guidance.
"She's a runaway," Shadowfox said. "I'm not sure how much you can rely on her dossier."
There was more to it than that, Shadowfox knew. Tawny's International Chimera Registry chip wasn't her own. As far as the hospital was concerned, Tawny hadn't been in Blue Diamond. They were probably wondering who had flogged her and why.
There were two beds in Tawny's room. The one by the door was unoccupied. Tawny was in the bed by the window. Her ear twitched an instant before she turned her head to the door. She had been wearing a helmet, but despite that her right eye was covered by a pressure bandage that wrapped around her head. She held a tablet computer in one hand. It looked brand new.
"...Silverfox?" she asked, more dubious than shocked. She composed herself. "I was told you were missing."
"I had to spend a month dead for tax purposes," Silverfox answered, straight-faced.
And that meant Tawny had spoken with Fischer after the kidnapping. Shadowfox kept a look of troubled concern on her face.
"We can't talk about it, Tawny," Shadowfox said firmly. Would Tawny wonder if Silver had something to do with her accident?
"It's good to see you're okay," Tawny laughed. Her face settled into something more serious. "Wish I could get up and give you a hug."
Silverfox walked over to the bed and leaned over Tawny. For a moment, Shadowfox was afraid she was going to grab her and start shaking, but instead she patted the cougar's arm. Tawny smiled and took her hand.
"How are you doing?" Shadowfox asked.
"Could be better," Tawny shrugged. Shadowfox wondered if that was courage, or feigned courage, and what the difference might be. "I'm trying to decide how to play this."
"You know, you're going to have to pick someone to represent your interests."
"That's what the humans always want," Tawny put her computer down. "Someone to look after you. Your proxy's there to look after you. Your owner's there to look out for you. All you have to do is keep the place clean and let the husband fuck you and pretend the bitch doesn't know, and they'll take care of you. Then they sell your ass to Blue Diamond. I'm not putting my head in that noose again."
Shadowfox blew dust off the top of a box, and withdrew a bar wrapped in Mylar.
On the wrapper was printed, in red, the words CHIMERA CHOW. The small print assured her that it was a balanced and delicious meal, and that it was possible to live on nothing but Chimera Chow and water.
During her period of medical incarceration, Silverfox had had few ways to amuse herself. One of them was eating. Shadowfox had taken the opportunity to experiment with meals and naturally she couldn't let Silverfox eat alone. So, they had been gaining weight.
Silverfox didn't care much about a kilo here or there, but Shadowfox monitored hers. Although her weight gain was only perceptible to her scale and the graphs it produced, she knew it was time to go back to her diet. Chimera Chow wasn't particularly low calorie, but one bar for lunch would remove her desire to eat anything for the rest of the day.
"Don't move," Silverfox said. "Put the Chimera Chow down, get your hands up, and back slowly away from the counter."
Shadowfox pursed her lips and turned to face her. The gray fox was wearing cargo pants and light, concealable armor on her torso. Her holsters were empty. She was obviously dressed to go out.
Silverfox mimed holding a phone to her head, the mute gesture that she was starting a call. "Hello, Jerry? Good time to talk? ... I'm staging an intervention, and I need your help. Can we make it five for lunch? ... Shadowfox... Thanks. Oh, she was about to eat Chimera Chow... No, we can't have that. Bye." She faced Shadowfox. "It's decided. We are taking you to the Legal Seafood down by the aquarium. Today we will eat the chowder served at Presidential inaugurations."
Shadowfox loved that restaurant. "I hate to intrude," she demurred, hoping Silver would talk her into it.
Silverfox lifted an eyebrow. "Did you miss the part when I said five? We're meeting Andrew and Tall Felicia."
It did sound like fun. "I don't know."
"We need you to keep us from doing something foolish and destructive. Suppose we go into the aquarium and jump into the tall tank? If you don't come with us, it'll be your fault."
Shadowfox looked at the bar in her hand. It felt like a bar of compacted spun fiberglass wrapped in foil. Silverfox's logic was persuasive.
"I'm just going to have a salad," Shadowfox said.
"Fine," Silverfox agreed.
They were the last to arrive. Jerry was sitting across from Felicia and Andrew was sitting next to her. Silver sat next to Jerry. Shadowfox considered. A network appeared in her brain. Jerry is fucking Silverfox, Andrew's fucking me and Silverfox, Felicia and I are fucking Silverfox. A star network, centered on Silverfox.
"Nice seeing you again, Felicia," Silverfox said. "I had Technofox shove a needle in my arm but it wasn't the same."
It would be best if Shadowfox focused on Andrew, she decided, so she sat across from him. They had ordered drinks, but no appetizers yet. Jerry and Silver smiled and bumped fists.
"Felicia, Andrew" Shadowfox said with a grin. "When did you get back from Alaska?"
Felicia would have to be managed carefully. The worst possible thing was making her feel like the Odd One Out.
Shadowfox revised that. She had seen Andrew's portfolio, and she suspected that he had been in a relationship with the same model chimera as Tall Felicia. She had never pried into that and Andrew had never brought it up.
Humans sometimes thought that clone sisters were the same person, that another individual of the same model was the first "returned." Of course, that was nonsense and Shadowfox had the impression that Andrew was more savvy than that, but she'd have to watch for it.
"I got back to Boston just last night," Andrew answered. "Don't worry, I didn't bring my pictures."
I'm so disappointed! "I was looking forward to seeing them," Shadowfox said. "I'll cook you dinner if you bring them over." Did that sound like flirting? She hoped not.
A waiter appeared from nowhere.
"I'll have a shrimp cocktail and the Surf-And-Turf," Jerry said. "Start with a cup of the chowder, please."
"The foxes will have the same," Silverfox said, smiling. Shadowfox was about to interrupt when Silverfox kicked her under the table. For an instant her operative reflexes kicked in and she lost the opportunity to correct her.
"Tilapia for me," Felicia said.
"Fish and Chips," Andrew finished.
"You can't come here and not have the chowder," Silverfox complained.
"She's right," Andrew agreed. "Bowl of chowder, please."
"Cup for me," the tiger said.
"So as I was saying earlier," Jerry said, "imagine fifty obese men, each weighing a good two hundred kilograms. Then, they all belch into your face in perfect unison just as you're inhaling."
"Why would I want to imagine that?" Shadowfox asked, bewildered.
"Jerry's describing a whale's breath," Andrew explained.
"That's why he's taking me on a whale watch this afternoon," Silverfox finished. "It sounds kind of awesome, don't you think?"
"Sounds great," Shadowfox nodded. "Really, I'm jealous. This is me, jealous."
The chowder arrived and crackers were added.
"I heard that Tawny had a motorcycle accident," Felicia said.
Shadowfox looked up from her clam chowder. Jerry looked uncomfortable. Not suspiciously so, at least.
"Yes, that's right." She hoped he wasn't going soft. It was hard to look at someone in a hospital bed and remember why they had put her there.
"She's a runaway, isn't she?" Felicia asked. "Sometimes they use another chimera's ICR chip, so their medical history's referencing the wrong chimera..." The tiger was obviously worried.
Tawny had, in fact, done that. Should Shadowfox mention that? If Felicia discovered that Shadowfox knew she'd wonder why Shadowfox hadn't brought it up...
Uh-oh -- you're right!"Yes, Tawny's ICR chip isn't hers," Shadowfox looked troubled. "Do you think we need to tell the hospital?"
"I'd think it's up to Tawny," Jerry said.
You're right, but..."What if she doesn't understand the risk?" Shadowfox asked.
"Tawny's chip was taken from one of her clone sisters," Silverfox pointed out. "It's not like they're going to give Tawny drugs she has allergies to or something. I think that's how it works."
Jerry brightened, seeming to think that was good news.
"For allergies and stuff, I'm pretty sure you're right." Shadowfox wondered how to change the subject. "Do we know any clone siblings? Offhand I can't remember any."
"Felicia Who Smells Like Apples and Modesty," Silverfox said.
"Really?" Jerry asked. "They don't look alike."
"Fur's a lot like fingerprints. They have the same colors but the pattern's different. You can really tell if you see them naked."
"Have you seen them naked?" Shadowfox asked, surprised.
Silverfox sighed. "No, but don't ruin it for him."
"There's a medical risk," Felicia said. "I think you're obligated to share that."
"It's ... complicated," Shadowfox said vaguely.
"Huh?" Felicia frowned.
"I mean we need to get Tawny's consent," Shadowfox said firmly.
"Which you'll get this afternoon," Felicia wielded a spoon threateningly. "Or I will."
"All right," Shadowfox agreed. "Promise." The main course arrived.
Jerry got a call while they were trying to decide if they wanted dessert.
"Sorry guys, it's the hospital," Jerry apologized. He hesitated. "Tawny just died."
The waitress hovered nearer to them, her pad ready to take down their order. She went off, not wanting to intrude.
Shadowfox listened intently for hints of genuine sorrow, and was gratified to hear only the feigned shock of the courteous.
"So I guess her body reverts to her owner," Jerry was saying into his cell phone. He hesitated, and looked over at Silverfox. He licked his lips. "I want to see that she gets a decent burial." He stared at Silverfox, as though daring her to disagree.
Silverfox gave him a thumbs-up.
"Thanks. Can you email that to me? You should have my address... thank you." He put his phone down and shrugged.
"I don't get it," Silverfox said. "She seemed fine this morning."
"Trauma's funny that way," Jerry shook his head.
Shadowfox remembered what Cheshire had said -- chimerae can be pretty fragile. It bothered her.
Jerry looked at his phone. "Chimerae and Mortuary Law," he read. "When Recycling is Not an Option."
Andrew stared. "You're kidding."
"I'm kidding," Jerry agreed.
Felicia sighed and looked away.
"Felicia," Silverfox said slowly, "we heard this rumor that dying suddenly after an accident happens a lot with chimerae."
Felicia sighed. "Who told you about that? We nurses call it the Chimera Crash. There've been some papers on it. It's hard to say if it's an urban legend or not. Not too many chimerae get hurt that badly. I worked at Saint Bernadette's in Tampa for about two years -- in all that time, I remember maybe less than ten chimerae getting admitted to intensive care."
It was hard, sometimes, to remember just how few chimerae there really were.
The tiger shook her head. "But I've talked with the staff at Boston General. It's... when a doctor gives a chimera an eighty percent chance, they'll always make it. If he gives them even odds, they never do. Eighty's a hundred and fifty's zero."
"So the chimerae who need the most expensive care die off?" Jerry asked.
"Look, I knew the doctors in Florida," Felicia had an edge to her voice. "And I made it my business to watch those patients. There was nothing funny going on."
"I didn't mean to imply that," Jerry apologized. "I just wonder why that would be."
"It's not quality of care," Felicia said. "We're not just homo sapiens with fur added. We're product made to a spec. Humans vary a lot in their response to trauma because they aren't grown in a factory. So it's natural that chimerae tend to be less... random."
"This conversation got depressing," Shadowfox said.
"Someone died," Jerry said.
"I think we need to get to our whale watch," Silverfox said.
"Oh, right," Jerry nodded. "Anyone want dessert? I can have them put it on my card."
Everyone demurred and Jerry settled. He left with Silverfox.
Felicia watched them go, and said her goodbyes.
"Something going on between Felicia and Jerry?" Andrew asked.
"No, Felicia and Silverfox," Shadowfox shook her head.
Andrew lowered his voice. "Let me guess. Felicia's looking for more than a fuckbuddy?"
Shadowfox nodded. "Walk to the Metro?"
Instead of heading to the subway station, Andrew turned right to the bay. Shadowfox walked with him silently. The smell of salt water and sealife got stronger.
"She reminds me of Saffron," Andrew said.
Shadowfox froze.
She was in Blue Diamond, the sun was setting, and Firefox was comforting her, telling her what Tigre was.
"She's been conditioned to think she's Tigre," Firefox said. "She's as close a match to Tigre as they can make with torture, drugs, and VR training. But she was someone else first. My regular says she used to work in a zoo, and her name was Saffron."
I wonder who that might be. "Saffron was your wife?" Shadowfox asked casually.
Andrew looked at her, and nodded.
Shadowfox was going to be sick, or faint. There was a bench. She sat down, a little heavily, and patted the vacant seat next to her as though she wanted a quiet chat.
"You were in Blue Diamond looking for Saffron?" Shadowfox asked.
He nodded. "She ... had a series of..." he patted his head. "Strokes. Blue Diamond bought her body from her indenture."
And do you know what they did with her corpse? Shadowfox wondered. She didn't dare ask; he might not know, and she didn't want to tell him.
So instead, she put an arm around him and rested her head on his shoulder, and stayed there for him, silent, as he wept.
Technofox and Jerry were sitting at the dining room table across from one another. Technofox was typing, and Jerry was on the phone. He was here so Tech could monitor.
"I just want to give her an open-casket ceremony. So you can have the proceeds from transplantable organs," he said. "What about 'pelt?' Is that for skin grafts? ... No, then I'm going to want to retain the pelt, skeleton, and 'miscellaneous biomass. No, just leave her pelt on... Oh, please -- why should I pay removal costs for the pelt when they're just going to leave it on? C'mon."
"See if you can keep her brain implant," Technofox interjected.
"The implant comes with the brain, right?" Jerry asked. "No, I guess it isn't biomass, but ... I want to keep her brain intact." He smiled at his own subterfuge. "Five hundred? I'll give you one hundred. They're a thousand new, but what's the market for used brain implants? ... One fifty? Deal." He rolled his eyes.
"Her personal effects are still being catalogued. She's got a very nice motorcycle, and some clothes. All we want are her phone and computer, and data media... I don't know. Photographs, letters, stuff like that. And she did write a book. To be honest, I don't know how much it sold. Maybe a couple of hundred." He looked over at Technofox enquiringly.
"Five hundred copies," she said.
"Five hundred copies made to date, retailing at $14.92 a pop." He looked at Technofox and shook his head. "All right, so you won't sell the computer and media."
Technofox stirred in her seat. That was a setback. Tawny was in contact with Fischer, at least up to the point where he vanished into the British Columbian wilderness. She might have left evidence on her machine, names of his confederates.
"I make it a total of $6,232. Right, send me the invoice and I'll transfer the money."
Silverfox whistled. "That's a lot of money for a dead chimera."
He hung up and looked directly at Firefox. "And most of it's the pelt."
"Thanks again," Firefox said. "We'll pay you back."
He shook his head. "Forget it. Now that we own most of a dead chimera, what do we do with it?"
Silverfox and Janet were ex-lovers. Once the "ex" part of that had been nailed to the wall, Silverfox had referred to Janet and her clique as "The She-Knights of Lesbos." It had been an offhand bit of snark, but Shadowfox found herself using it internally and unironically.
Tawny had created the Dawnstar Earthtreader persona to ingratiate herself with the She-Knights of Lesbos, or perhaps some similar group.
The She-Knights took the job of mourning Dawnstar seriously. Janet's book store, Womynfyre, was wrapped in black bunting. They had arranged for a church viewing (Unitarian, naturally) and funeral. Unusually, the viewing and funeral were taking place in the same building. Shadowfox wondered if there was some obscure significance to that, or if the scheduling had simply worked out that way.
The morticians had taken good care of Tawny. Even knowing that she was hollowed out and stuffed, and even though it was a cliché, she looked like she was sleeping. Except, oddly, she didn't look like Tawny.
Tawny was being buried as Dawnstar Earthtreader, a wise and honest teacher of spiritual truths. In life, Shadowfox wouldn't have trusted Tawny with a used match; in death, she was a plausible custodian of the secrets of your soul. Shadowfox had expected to feel contemptuous of Tawny's mourners. Instead, their sincerity was touching, although Shadowfox wished it had a more worthy object.
Cheshire came in. Using her cane, she walked up the central aisle to stand next to Shadowfox, by the coffin.
"One thing's for sure," Cheshire said. "I've got to set up a proxy and secured party."
"It's a good idea," Shadowfox agreed. "Looks like you were right about fragile chimerae."
Cheshire just nodded, looking down into the coffin. Her face was inscrutable.
_What are you thinking?_The question came to Shadow's mind, unbidden. She shuddered.
Cheshire looked back at her steadily. Shadowfox made her face a mask. Despite that, she could feel the jaguar's unspoken question in her head. Why is Tawny dead?
Cheshire looked away, bit her lower lip. "All her life, people treated her like a thing. I think she lied about everything because she never met anyone who was really on her side. But you're not a person until you take blame."
Shadowfox nodded. She didn't say anything because Janet was within earshot. She hoped Cheshire would be discrete.
Reluctantly, Janet took a step closer to Jerry.
"I'd like to thank you for bringing our sister back to us," she said.
"It was the least I could do." He shook her hand.
"She was so true," Janet's face crumpled and she leaned down to kiss her forehead.
Tawny's face was tranquil, and there was a small heap of flowers and small change resting on her breast. It was strange to think these were left in token of someone Tawny wasn't. She would be buried with her lies, as Dawnstar Earthtreader.
Tawny's coffin was in front of and below the pulpit, at a slight angle to improve the viewing. People had been filing in and out, but there seemed to be a lull right now. Apart from Foxforce and Jerry, there was only one other person there, an Asian human woman Shadowfox didn't recognize.
My sister's dead. I miss her so much! "If you don't mind," Shadowfox quavered, "I'd like to be alone with her."
"Of course," Firefox replied in a firm voice. She put an arm around Janet and turned her away. She caught the stranger's eye and she came to her feet.
When Shadowfox was sure she was alone, she took out a small multitool and snapped out the blade. She pulled on a pair of latex gloves and felt around the top of Tawny's skull.
Tawny's brain had been grown inside a delicate three-dimensional lattice of sensors and wires thinner than a hair. A small hole had been drilled through her skull to provide a line connection, and a slight indentation carved out of the top of her skull, about one centimeter by two and a few millimeters deep.
Keeping most of the electronics outside the skull but recessed into it provided some protection and made it easier to service. Shadowfox felt for the depression, rested the tip of the knife on one edge, took a deep breath and slipped the tip of the blade in.
Shadowfox sliced the blade down for the long cut, and then made two short cuts so she wouldn't tear the skin. She flipped the flap open with the tip of the blade and held it with one finger. The electronics were designed to be removed with a scalpel; she threw the catch with the tip and the implant popped up on a sprung hinge. She folded the blade on the multitool and pulled out the needle nose pliers. She gripped the wafer-thin computer and pulled gently. The implant came free, and she tucked it into a static-proof bag.
Odds were that Fischer's contact information was on the chip.
A touch of glue and styling mousse sealed and covered the incision. Shadowfox put her tools away and looked down at Tawny's body. Now she felt awkward, as though there was something she should be feeling.
Any fellowship from Blue Diamond was gone, wiped out by the motorcycle and how she had earned it. Shadowfox tried to work up tears, but she felt a curious revulsion that made it impossible.
The buffet was vegan. Shadowfox initially thought that was cluelessness on the part of the She-Knights; but as it turned out, Tawny affected a biochemically-implausible vegetarian diet when she was Dawnstar.
"The worst thing is that her book is going over to her owners," Janet said to Jerry, who nodded solemnly_._
Silverfox was standing next to Jerry. They had stayed together all evening. Silverfox didn't do affection in public, and Shadowfox would have guessed she was Jerry's bodyguard. Regardless, it probably wasn't a good idea for them to be so prominently connected to one another in front of Silver's ex-lover.
Unfortunately, they wanted Tawny's computer -- or, rather, the data on it -- and they had no idea where it was. Janet probably knew, or knew someone who knew. If Janet were a stranger Shadowfox would have established a relationship from scratch. Unfortunately, Janet knew Ebony and didn't approve. Foxforce had helped Womynfyre out when the bookstore was being vandalized, but that gave them an unsavory, thuggish color in Janet's eyes.
Silverfox was tainted by that and by being an ex-lover. Jerry had a couple of strikes against him for being a wealthy, white male. He had earned points by handing most of Tawny's body over, but the "most" might easily backfire on him.
"Janet's right," Shadowfox nodded. "The Path was the child of Dawnstar's soul and nobody should attach a dollar value to it. The people who owned her body have no claim to it." Shadowfox addressed the next question to Janet. "What do you think Dawnstar would want us to do?"
"If we had her digital copy, we could put it on the Net," Jerry suggested. "Let anyone download it for free. Of course, that wouldn't be legal..."
Janet immediately looked guarded. "I don't think she'd want that. She only sold hard copies to people who attended her talks."
"She must have had a soft copy somewhere," Silverfox said. "Something to send to the POD service."
That was wise of her, Shadowfox pretended to agree. "Of course, it is all that's left of her teaching now. I don't think she'd mind if a few copies were made and distributed by people who knew her and could explain what she meant..."
Janet's eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly. She smelled a chance to stick it to the Man _and_make some cash. It would be a violation of copyright, but the copyright was held by bad people, so that was okay.
"Of course, the _important_thing is to keep her book out of the hands of people who would just exploit it," Shadowfox said, addressing Jerry directly.
Jerry nodded seriously. "Unfortunately, her computer is the property of her owners."
"If they can find it," Janet smiled.
"Oh, I wouldn't conceal it," Shadowfox said seriously. "That would give a judge an excuse to issue search warrants."
"And we wouldn't want that," Silverfox agreed, with the air of a security professional.
"What I'd do is hand the computer to an expert who can back it up and then sanitize the hard drive." Shadowfox pointed her muzzle in the direction of Technofox.
Silverfox pointedly followed Shadowfox's muzzle and considered the matter. "Yes, sanitizing's the important part," she agreed. "Technofox always said that anyone can do a backup, but deleting data in a way that leaves no trace is the hard part."
Technofox sneezed and looked in their direction. They all ostentatiously pretended they hadn't been staring at her. The little fox looked worried.
"I'll ask around," Janet said craftily.
That evening, Technofox had her big red laptop on the dining room table. Tawny's brain implant was attached to it with a cable. Although Shadowfox had taken it out, there was still something a little unsettling about seeing it plugged into a computer, resting on a souvenir coaster from Battleground, Indiana. Of course it was well sealed; it had sat inside someone's scalp for years...
"The first thing I notice is that she's had an memory chip upgrade," Technofox pointed at the device with a small plastic stick. "This is a medical device and modifications like that are illegal. She might have set up a partition on the drive for her own data, which might be interesting. Or, when she had her ICR chip swapped, they might have taken the opportunity to add some of their own malware. That would be interesting to see."
"Did they do something like that to us in Blue Diamond?" Silverfox asked.
"Maybe," Technofox shrugged. "If they did, it's gone. Doctor Clayton wouldn't let us work for ICON with someone else's code in our heads. It'll take a few minutes for the intrusion tools to get in. Fortunately, the security when you're plugged in isn't too elaborate." She looked up. "My only worry is Tawny's phone, and her personal effects."
"Why?" Firefox asked.
"If I were Tawny, I'd have my most important files backed up to my phone," Technofox explained. "The phone and her personal effects are at the hospital. They'll go direct to her owners. That means her owners get a soft copy of her book."
Firefox looked at Technofox dubiously, as though wondering if she was making a joke. "We want Tawny's data," she finally said. "Janet wants the only soft copy of the book. I don't see a downside for us if Janet doesn't get what she wants."
Technofox brightened. "Oh, of course," she laughed. "I guess I got caught up in it when Janet was talking. Say, do you suppose L. Ron Hubbard started off this way?"
Firefox looked like she was about to reply when Technofox's attention suddenly went to the laptop. She frowned, and spent several minutes typing. Her ears started to flatten, and they slowly went flatter as she continued.
When her ears were tight against her head, she looked up at Shadowfox. "Did you force it out?" she asked.
"No, it came out smooth and easy. Why?"
"And it was in your pocket? All the time?" The little fox was almost accusing.
"Yes," Shadow assured her.
Technofox frowned, and her ears didn't relax. She spat out her next words. "Because the memory's been wiped."