Tales of the Symbiont Safety Patrol (SYMBIOSIS) Read online

  "You're crazy. Everybody over there knows me."

  "Not when we're finished with you."

  "Your stupid disguise again?"

  Joel nodded.

  "So, I'm supposed to bat my eyes at this creep and he'll help us rob the store? Is that your plan?"

  "Not quite. You can do a lot more than bat your eyes at him."

  Kate sprang from the sofa. "You bastard! What kind of a whore do ya think I am?"

  "I think you're a member of the team who's going to do what needs to be done, just like the rest of us," he said, reaching for her.

  Realizing that her robe had fallen open, she pulled it together again. "Don't touch me."

  Joel rose from the sofa. "It's just a job, Kate. It doesn't mean anything."

  "How can you say that? Don't I mean anything to ya? Even after last night?"

  "That was a mistake. We were both drunk."

  "Mistake. That's all I am? A mistake? You're one cold son-of-a-bitch, Joel."

  "I didn't mean it that way. I only meant that…" He hesitated, scratching his head. "I only meant… shit, I don't know what the hell I meant. You were a good friend of Claire's, and you've been a good friend to me. You've taken care of me for the past two weeks, but I don't love you. I'm not even sure I love Helen. Not anymore."

  She stared at him for the better part of a minute until the pain of the past two weeks overwhelmed her, and her eyes filled with tears. She grieved for her lost friend, for her own loneliness and for Joel, the grumbling but sweet system demonstrator she once knew. He had obviously died that night, along with Claire, and all that remained in his place was a shell—empty, cold and hard.

  "You win, Joel," she said, finally. "I'll help ya with your Helen, but not for you and not for some fantasy quest ya think Claire was on. I'll do it for Helen. She deserves the same chance at freedom that you got. Hopefully, she'll put it to better use."

  ***

  Several days later, Kate sat on a bench several stores away from the General Holographic store in the Northside Mall. She had no fear that anyone would recognize her, though many had looked—stared even. It wasn't often that a working street hustler frequented the mall, and several men had already propositioned her.

  If only my mother could see me now. Her long red trusses had been cropped and dyed a cheap, bleached blonde. One of Freeman's many acquaintances had injected her lips and cheeks to make them fuller, assuring her the effect was only temporary. She was gaudily made up and sported a tawdry, revealing outfit, including a skirt so short, it was only nominally legal. Mothers covered the faces of their children as they passed. Mall security would surely run her off at any minute.

  She trembled when the mark ambled out of the General Holographic store. He was short and pudgy, and she felt sorry for him almost immediately. As he passed, their eyes met, and his widened. God forgive me.

  She swallowed hard and said, "You must be Tommy."

  "Me?" he asked, looking to either side.

  "Yes you, tiger. Who else?"

  "Who are you?"

  "I'm your gift."

  "A gift? Who from?"

  "That's a secret."

  Appearing confused, Tommy scratched his head and scanned the immediate area. For just a moment, it appeared as though he might walk away, and Kate fought the impulse to do likewise. She stood instead, towering over him by several inches. "What's the matter? Don't you like your gift?"

  Tommy stared at her, his eyes coming to rest on the impossibly short skirt. "Of course I like it. I just don't get it."

  Instinctively Kate began to tug at the skirt, stopping only with an enormous effort as Tommy continued to ogle her. She batted her eyes and extended her hand. He grasped it at once. "Take me home, Tommy," she said with a note of resignation. "I need to get out of here."

  ***

  After arriving at Tommy's apartment the couple sat on a sofa in his living room, exchanging nervous glances. Tommy looked away whenever their eyes met, and after fifteen minutes Kate realized nothing was going to happen unless she started it. So, it was with a sense of dread laced with shame that she got to her feet and began a slow, rhythmic dance. Tommy immediately closed his eyes.

  "What's the matter?" she asked.

  He didn't answer at first, only biting his lip. Finally, he opened his eyes and blinked several times. "I don't know," he answered before hanging his head.

  Kate stopped her dance in mid gyration and moved back to the sofa where she took a seat beside him. The terrified look on the boy's face distressed her, and she wondered for the first time, how old he was. "Don't ya like me?" she asked.

  Tommy looked up at her briefly before lowering his head again. "What's not to like?"

  "Then what's wrong?"

  "Nothing's wrong. I just don't know—"

  "You don't know what, Tommy?"

  "Well, I never…" He stopped and looked up at her again, his face a study in fear and confusion.

  "Ohhh," she said, taking his hand. "Don't worry. There's a first time for everybody."

  "You're so beautiful," he whispered.

  "That's very nice of you, Tommy." She thought about leaving. At the very least, Joel had been wrong about the boy. He clearly wasn't the leering boor she had been led to believe—far from it.

  "I've always dreamed about having someone like you," he said. "I just don't understand how it could have come true. I just don't."

  "Don't worry about that, Tommy."

  She leaned forward and kissed him. When she withdrew, he seemed surprised. "I always heard that you girls don't like to kiss."

  Shit. Her mind raced. "Don't believe everything ya hear, Tommy," she replied.

  He seemed emboldened by her kiss and leaned toward her with his eyes firmly closed and his lips absurdly puckered. She grimaced, choking back a sob, yet rewarded his effort with another kiss. This time he responded with pent up passion, grinding his lips clumsily into hers while trying to embrace her.

  When their lips parted, she whispered into his ear, "Oooh, that's it, Tommy Boy. That's the way." Afterwards, she briefly covered her mouth then sighed and began to play her role in earnest.

  ***

  Kate wrinkled her nose as she paced the grimy one-room hideout that smelled of stale beer and worse. Fully aware that Joel and Freeman were staring at her, she angrily tugged at her skirt. "God, I hate this place," she said finally.

  "Well, it ain't the Ritz; that's for sure," Freeman offered.

  "What are you complaining about?" Joel asked. "You're hardly ever here. I'm the only one who actually lives here."

  Coming to an abrupt halt, Kate glared at him. "That's a laugh, Joel. You're never here, yaself. Always flittin' about, all over the world."

  "You're exaggerating, Kate. Sure I've done some traveling in the last three weeks. Can you blame me? You don't have any idea what it's like to be trapped in that tiny demo area twelve hours a day… to know there's a whole world out there that you'll never see."

  "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Still, I sure would love to be able to punch a few numbers into that holo-system over there and be somewhere else in the blink of an eye." She sighed and took a seat on the room's only chair, just a few feet from the small sofa on which her compatriots sat. Realizing they were still staring, she rolled her eyes and began to tug furiously at her skirt. "Assholes!"

  "My, my, my. How much did you say that was, girl?" Freeman asked, laughing.

  She watched as Joel covered his mouth, obviously trying to mask the half smirk that was as close to a smile as he had come since his escape. "It's not funny," she spat. "Not one goddamned bit. I feel dirty."

  "Come on, Kate," Joel said.

  "Come on? That's easy for you to say. I'm the only one doin' anything."

  "Our time will come," Joel replied. "You can be sure of it."

  "Pretty soon now, too," Freeman added. "You say you've got this fish hooked pretty good, right?"

  "Yeah he's hooked, and he's a kid not a fish."

  "What's wr
ong?" Joel asked. "You seem… Oh, God. Please don't tell me you're falling in love with him."

  "Don't be ridiculous. He's a chubby little nineteen year old."

  "Well what, then?"

  She met his eyes and answered, "He's not who ya think he is."

  "Oh, that."

  "Yes, that. He likes Helen. What guy wouldn't? But he doesn't bother her, not like ya said. Before I came along, he was a lonely virgin."

  "So who cares? It always looked like he was bothering her to me."

  "I care, Joel. He could get in a lot of trouble when we rob that store."

  Joel sprang to his feet and stood before her. "You're either willing to do whatever it takes to get Helen out of there, or you're not. Which is it?"

  "Hey, ease up, man," Freeman said. "She's obviously having a rough time with this."

  Joel turned on him next. "You too?"

  "No, not me too. I'm just saying go easy on her."

  Joel threw his hands up. "Alright, alright." Turning back to Kate, he said, "Look, what we're trying to do is important. Don't you agree?" His tone had turned soothing.

  "I just don't know where all this is going, Joel," Kate said. "I'm no prude, but I swear, this is God awful. And Tommy… what we're doin' to him is a sin. If he gets hurt—"

  "If he gets hurt, what?" Joel snapped. "Look, the simple fact is, once we start down this road, some people are bound to get hurt. It could be us for all we know."

  "I know that."

  "Good. Then let's do this next week and get you out of this ridiculous costume for good." He tried to smile before abruptly returning his attention to Freeman. "Get your boys ready," he ordered. "Find out everything you can about the store's alarms. We don't want any last minute surprises."

  Freeman nodded.

  "What do I tell Tommy?" she asked.

  "Tell him you need his help to rob the store. Tell him you owe some very bad people a lot of money, and it's the only way you can repay them. You tell him it's a matter of life or death."

  She stared at him for several seconds before nodding. "Okay, Joel. If that's how it has to be."

  He placed one hand on her shoulder and lifted her chin with the other. "Yes Kate, that's how it has to be."

  ***

  She remained less than convinced, even hours later as she waited for Tommy in his apartment. Surely, the boy had done nothing to deserve what was about to happen to him, and she came close, once again, to washing her hands of the endeavor. Only the memory of her friend Claire prevented it.

  Claire had died to free Joel, and he was now using his freedom to free Helen. There was a rough symmetry to the affair, and she felt compelled to see it through. Maybe then they could all put Claire to rest.

  Her musings were interrupted when the front door opened and a beaming Tommy entered the room. "Hey Trudy," he called.

  With her head down and her shoulders slumped, she answered, "Hello, Tommy."

  "What's the matter?"

  "I've got trouble, baby." Her eyes were filled with tears for the occasion, but her sorrow was genuine.

  "What trouble?" he asked, still smiling.

  "I owe money."

  The smile disappeared. "To who?"

  "Bad people, Tommy—very bad people."

  "How much?"

  "Too much. I'll never be able ta get it in time."

  Tommy sat down beside her on the sofa. "I'll help you."

  "Do you have forty thousand dollars?"

  "Forty thousand!"

  She nodded and began to cry, surprised at how easy it was. "If I don't come up with the money by next week they're goin' to hurt me, Tommy—bad." Observing the very real terror on the hapless youth's face, she began to hate Joel… and herself.

  ***

  It had been all too easy to recruit Tommy, and after a week of preparation, the operation to free Helen began with Freeman setting a rented van down on the Northside Mall's landing area. After guiding it to the rear of the General Holographic store, he backed it up to the door at precisely 9:59 AM. He and his associate, a frequent partner on many capers, exited the vehicle with calm detachment.

  Appearing to be two middle-age men, the two young men chatted casually, their true identities hidden beneath form-fitting, Hollywood-quality masks. They wore uniforms emblazoned with the name of a fictitious delivery company that also appeared on the van.

  His associate opened its rear doors and removed a box filled with the tools they would need including, a first for Freeman, two stun pistols. Their watches were perfectly synchronized, and several seconds later the store's rear door opened. A red-faced and obviously terrified Tommy waited for them.

  "Calm down, man," Freeman advised him. "Everything's going to be fine."

  "Please don't hurt anybody," Tommy pleaded.

  "Nobody's getting hurt today," Freeman answered. "Just do what you've been told, and everything will be fine."

  Tommy nodded and led the thieves down a narrow corridor and into a stock room off to the right. "The best stuff is over there," he said, pointing to a series of shelves along the far wall. They were filled with large boxes.

  "Are those complete systems?" Freeman asked.

  "Absolutely. I swear they're worth at least twenty thousand apiece."

  Smiling at one another, Freeman and his associate proceeded to the shelves and removed one of the boxes, carrying it to the van. After four more trips, Freeman addressed a nervous looking Tommy who had been standing watch. "Alright, we've got what we need. You get back out to the floor."

  "Are you sure?"

  "You just get out of here, fatso," Freeman's associate said. "Stay cool, and everything will be fine."

  Tommy winced but did what he was told.

  "Let's get one more," Freeman said. "Then you wait in the van. If I'm more than five minutes, you're out of here."

  "Are you sure, man?"

  "Five minutes."

  The associate nodded, and they carried the final box out to the van. Afterwards, Freeman returned to the stock room by himself and picked up the box they had carried in. He took a deep breath and sighed. Burglary was his profession; armed robbery was not.

  He strode onto the sales floor, carrying the box and headed straight to the sentient demo area. Helen was there alone. "Wow!" he said, upon catching sight of her.

  "Excuse me," she said.

  "You're as beautiful as he said you were."

  "Who?"

  "Joel. He's coming to get you, Helen."

  "What?"

  Freeman brought a finger to his lips. "Shhhhh! Any second now, he'll be here."

  "Remote link established," the system's female voice announced.

  Milling about a short distance away, Tommy started. "What's going on?" he asked, running up to Freeman.

  "Walk away, asshole," the thief muttered.

  "What's happening?" Tommy asked again as Joel "materialized" before his eyes. Helen gasped.

  "I said, get out of here. Are you crazy?" Having spoken louder than he had intended, Freeman winced. A well-dressed woman made eye contact and started towards him.

  "What's the problem?" Joel asked. His voice was calm and quiet.

  "This idiot is itching to give himself away."

  Joel reached into the box, retrieved one of the stun pistols and pointed it at Tommy. A nearby customer shrieked upon catching sight of it.

  "It's on!" Freeman said, retrieving the remaining pistol. He ran into the middle of the sales floor brandishing the weapon. "Be calm everyone. Stay where you are and we'll be out of here before you know it."

  A murmur arose from the small cluster of customers and store personnel as they backed away from him. Glancing toward the demo area, he noted Helen was already in suspension and nowhere to be seen. Joel was working at a furious pace, attaching the portable transport unit to her neural array. "Two minutes, man," Freeman called to him.

  "Wait!" Tommy cried. "This wasn't part of it!"

  He reached for Joel who promptly struck him in the mi
dsection before picking up his weapon. "Get out of here, boy, or I swear, next time I'll use this."

  He started to go back to work, but Tommy, apparently undeterred, reached for him again. "No, you can't do this," he said.

  Joel fired the weapon and returned to his task as Tommy crumpled to the floor. A collective gasp arose from the hostages. One of them yelled, "Murderer."

  "Easy," Freeman said. "He's okay. Just stunned." He trained the stun pistol on them, sweeping it back and forth in a wide arc.

  "All set here," Joel called out to him after placing Helen's neural array and Sentient Interface module into the box. He picked up his weapon once more and pointed it at the hostages. "Just stay where you are. I'd rather not have to use this again."

  Freeman breathed a sigh of relief and re-entered the demo area. He placed his weapon into the box that contained Helen's neural array. "See you back at the ranch, partner," he said, nodding to Joel. Then he took hold of the box and walked briskly toward the rear of the store and the van waiting outside.

  As he disappeared down the narrow corridor leading out of the store, Joel announced, "Just another few minutes, folks, and this will be over." While keeping his weapon pointed in their general direction, he paced back and forth within the demo area, remembering how a similar space had once been his own prison. "How things change," he muttered.

  Exactly three minutes after Freeman's departure, he turned his attention once more to his captive audience. Pointing to the sales woman, he said, "You, over here." When she hesitated, he pointed the stun pistol directly at her and yelled, "Get over here, or I'll drop you where you stand."

  Her face clouded, but she complied, walking right up to the demo area. "That's far enough," he said. "Recognize me?"

  "Yes. You're the demonstrator from Southside."

  "Wrong. I used to be the demonstrator from Southside. Now I'm just Joel and Helen is just Helen. You remember that, and give my regards to corporate security. Tell them they haven't seen the last of me. Tell them I said Claire's "blood" is on their hands."

  "But—"

  "You just tell them, lady." He glared at her for several seconds before issuing a command to the holo system. "Terminate remote link in ten seconds."

  "Remote link will be terminated in ten seconds," the system replied and began counting down.