Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
That afternoon, Sin walked into the OutLink receiving room wearing his easily identifiable armor.
Daniel Briggs had refused to allow the Ingénue to be seen in anything but those hideous blue robes.
For branding, for uniformity, or whatever other reason he wanted to cite, it didn't matter.
Sin's job was going to be harder because of it.
While he waited, a girl walked out. She wasn't Rissa. Sin could tell even under the robe. Across the room, a man in an OutLink uniform stood to take custody of her.
"Too bad Dan didn't listen to me," Sin grumbled.
The handler glared at him. "About?" he asked.
"The robes," Sin explained. "We're getting shot at because OutLink doesn't want to dress them in anything else."
"Most of us have complained about it too," the man admitted. "But they say the robes are necessary. Seems these girls are so enhanced, their appearance is rather terrifying. Personally, I think it's because they're collecting the insurance on them."
"Wouldn't surprise me," Sin muttered. "Not sure about you, but we've been tailed on the last four deliveries. Got jumped by six last night."
The man looked at him again, taking note of his armor. "Guess it worked out for you?"
Sin chuckled. "Ever been shot in exo-armor? Trust me, it hurts just as much, but without the long-term effects."
The handler said nothing else, simply grabbed his Ingénue and left. Sin groaned, and slouched in the chair. He hurt today, in every inch of his body. A few seconds later, another handler entered, checked the screen, then sat across from him.
"Any special reason so many are going out?" he asked, gesturing to the door.
Sin shook his head. "Not that I know of."
The man closed his eyes and sighed. "Probably hoping it works like a herd. If there are too many Ingénue out at once, then each one is less of a target, you know? I just pray to God it works."
"We can only hope He listens," Sin agreed.
The guy grunted and let his head drop. "Oops. Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude," he said. "Legate, right?"
"Yeah, and it's ok. Pray to Him all you want. I promise it doesn't offend me in the least."
The door behind them opened again, and both men turned to look. Rissa glided out gracefully, somehow managing to appear both proud and demure at the same time.
"This one's mine," Sin said.
"Obviously not a clone," the handler said. "She any nicer?"
"No," he assured the corporate employee. "She acts like a bot."
"Mine too. Luck, Brother."
"God be with you," Sin replied, making his way to his charge. "Ingénue," he greeted her.
"Legate," she responded politely, without a single trace of emotion.
"Sir?" her technician asked timidly. "You're going to Dhatri Pharmaceuticals. I was informed you're taking your personal vehicle?"
"Well, one assigned by the Legion," Sin confirmed.
The man nodded, and looked up. He was the same guy Sin had talked to the night before. "Any way I can talk you into taking my tithe to the Legion? I'm a bit overdue, and never seem to get time off." He held up a thick envelope, but his eyes never left the priest's.
"Yep, I can do that. Heading there this evening anyway."
The technician nodded stiffly, then headed back through the door. Sin watched him go, wondering what the man was up to. He seemed to be trying to help, which was the only reason Sin refused to worry about it too much.
"You ready, Ingénue?" he asked.
"Yes, Legate," she said properly.
He carefully touched the back of her arm and led her through the door. When they were outside the building, she hesitated for a split second when he directed her toward his car. They kept their conversation minimal until he was on the road and well out of surveillance range.
"You can sit up," he told Zan in the back seat.
With a chuckle, Zan did. "Sin said you might want to dump that memory file in your mind, so he decided to bring me along."
"It would be good to have a copy," she agreed. "In case they refuse to allow me to be used."
"Doing so would undermine their claim that you're a free and autonomous person," Sin pointed out. "So, I have a feeling you'll still get to see the Legion. But just in case…"
Zan passed a cable through to Rissa. "So, you want me to plug in first, or last?" he asked.
"Last," she decided, guiding the end under the cowl of her robe. "This file is compressed to fit in your head. That means you won't be able to review it in your own mind, though. Not unless you can decompress it, and you do not have the storage for that."
"Just want to make sure Sin's cleared," Zan assured her. "Not really into watching a bunch of people die."
Sin pressed his lips closed and nodded. "Right. You two have your hook-up session then. ETA, seventeen minutes."
Rissa checked the cable, then nodded to Zan. He pushed the other end into his head while Sin watched in the mirror. Zan's hands twitched, and then he gasped.
"You good?" Rissa asked.
"I thought the JXTA was intense," Zan muttered. "Start slow for me?"
Evidently she did. Zan didn't have the same overwhelmed reaction he'd had when linking with her the night before. Thankfully, he also didn't act like it was some sort of intimate moment, either. They both simply fell silent for a long time.
Then Rissa spoke up. "That is a complete memory of our trip yesterday starting from the moment Sin noticed the man following us. In the envelope is something else you'll want."
"What is it?" Sin asked.
"He was talking about surveillance video clips," she said. "There's at least two Ingénue missing, presumed dead. From what I could hear from my bay, they were abducted."
"Do these show the attackers?" Zan asked
"My technician seemed to think so," she told him. "He's hoping something on those tapes will help the Legion get ahead of this."
Sin grabbed the envelope and offered it over the seat. "Open that up?"
The kid did, finding a pair of smaller neuro-drives. The kind that would be easy to plug into any of Rissa's ports—or Zan's. In other words, it didn't need to go all the way to the Legion. It just needed to be seen by the one priest who happened to care about these girls.
Examining the drive, Zan chuckled. "Well, at least I now have something to do back here while you two play in corporate heaven."
When they neared the area, Rissa passed Zan back the cable they'd used while Sin tried to find a parking spot.
The trick would be keeping far enough away so Zan's presence wouldn't be a problem.
Finally, he found a place, but it was almost a block away from their destination.
Hopefully, one block wouldn't give whoever these people were enough time to target Rissa.
"Zan, while you're back there," Sin asked, "can you keep an eye on the people using this bridge? If there are any groups moving together that look suspicious, call me."
"Can do," Zan agreed.
Then they got out. Sin made his way to the passenger side, intending to help Rissa up, but she hadn't waited for him.
The girl stood there in her brilliantly blue robe, gazing out at the terraces.
He knew it wasn't her first time on the upper levels of downtown New Cincinnati, but he had a feeling she'd never been able to appreciate it before.
"We're going across the Sky Walk," he said, cupping her elbow to turn her that way.
She glanced over at him with those beautiful silver eyes. "Can we look over the edge?" she begged.
"Yes, Princess."
He couldn't help but smile at her genuine enjoyment of the world.
Guiding her to a railing, he stood beside her as she looked down.
The second tier was easily visible below them.
It was almost like its own city. Multiple stories of buildings jutted upwards, built on the pillars of the tier below.
Here in downtown, the lowest level was obscured by the pollution that always drifted downward.
That was why the higher levels were more expensive. Each tier of New Cincinnati was less polluted than the ones below it. Also more prestigious. Sinclair had never been above the fourth tier. He couldn't even imagine the view from the fifth.
Rissa's hidden excitement was contagious, though. She pointed out details far below and touched his hand, the contact so casual for her. He laughed, loving how excited she became over the simplest things—and how easily she pulled him into it with her.
Each caress of her fingers on his arm or hand felt so amazingly personal.
When her eyes caught his, it was as if they were sharing secrets.
This woman might not be able to hold his hand or drag him around with her, and yet he still felt a pull to follow her with a stupid smile on his face like some besotted boy.
Then she turned her attention to a large garden area.
It was part of the cul-de-sac the businesses here faced, decorated to look both beautiful and natural.
To Sin, it looked surreal. They were on a massive platform.
One big enough to have not only buildings on it, but also trees and other plants, along with enough dirt to keep them growing.
Reaching out to caress the leaves while Sin hovered at her shoulder, she slowly turned to face him. "I'm sorry," she said softly.
"For what?" he asked.
"Making things complicated." She turned to glance at him. "Killing people. Becoming friends. Having to tell you that your Legion isn't perfect."
"I'm glad we're friends," he assured her, "and the rest is nothing new."
Those silver eyes of hers searched his. "But you're a priest."
Which was when he realized what she was really trying to say. She was sorry he'd wanted to kiss her. The strange thing was, he didn't regret it. Not in the slightest.
"I'm also a man," he said softly, moving closer so he wouldn't be overheard. "Riss, our friendship means a lot to me. I don't want to lose it, and my mistakes are not your fault."
"What about when I know better?" she asked timidly.