It was on the forty-fifth floor of a building in Brackett colony, one of the older colonies. I hadn’t ever been there as Simon Blake, so everything was fresh and new to me. Also, no one knew me there. I was simply Drake, a private investigator.
“I’m staying,” I told her.
The office contained a desk and a few chairs, no views of anything. It was a quiet and dark place where people could come and discuss their troubles. I knew I wouldn’t get any wealthy clients, but I didn’t need money and Rachel Beckmann sent me work from time to time. I just needed something to do.
“Why?” Mara sat in one of the client seats in front of my desk.
I sat on the other side. “I can start over new here. I can find a life of my own, be someone I want to be.”
“Do you know who that is yet?”
“I’m working on it,” I said. “You remember Miranda from Haas-Bioroid?”
“I do.”
“I’m working with her.”
Mara showed me a tentative smile. “She’s good at what she does.”
“I know.”
“You’re looking better than the last time I saw you.”
I’d required a lot of custom work done, but I’d found the right people to do it. Hayim’s friend Reena had helped me get in touch with them, and it had taken most of the credits I’d earned as a mercenary to pay for the repairs. My right knee still had a hitch that caused occasional distress, but when things got better, I’d get that fixed too. Or I’d learn to fix it myself. I had time.
“Thank you. So are you.”
During the month that had passed, Mara had received medical treatment and had put back on a few of the pounds she’d lost. “It’s kind of you to say that. Is Haas-Bioroid going to leave you alone?”
“They are. I have files Director Haas doesn’t want made public.”
“Blackmail?”
“I like to think of it as insurance.”
She laughed a little, and I think that surprised her. I had not expected that reaction.
I waited because I knew she had more to ask. During the last month, the relationships between Earth and Mars, between the pro-Earthers and Martians and rebels, had healed some. Things weren’t quite back to where they had been, but I felt certain they would get back there. Mars was necessary to everyone, and Earth wasn’t going to let it go. And no matter how much the rebels wanted independence, presence of the Earth corps predicated a certain amount of structure that was needed.
I think that no one wanted to truly be alone.
“Is he still with you?” Mara asked.
I knew she was talking about Simon. “Less and less every day.” I didn’t know if that was because my memory had been damaged, or because new memories were overwriting the old ones, or if it was simply that the neural channeling—now that it had served its purpose and saved Mara—was simply fading away.
Mara smiled, but I knew that her heart wasn’t in it. “That’s good, I suppose.”
There was nothing I could say to that and I didn’t try.
“I don’t mean to be a bother,” Mara said.
“You will never be a bother.” I didn’t know if that was Simon or me who said that, but we both meant it.
“I just wanted to see you again. Before I left.”
“I understand. You’re going back to Earth?”
Mara’s mouth tightened. “I am. There’s a lot Haas-Bioroid has to answer for. Maybe they can convince the nosies that the warroids were all John Rath’s doing, but I know the truth. That’s not going to happen again.”
“Good.”
After a while, after a little more small talk that didn’t go anywhere, Mara got up and I walked her to the door. She hesitated there for a moment, then kissed my cheek. It was a new face and I hadn’t quite gotten used to it, but I felt the heat of her, and the softness, and memories stirred a little, like a reflex that just hadn’t quite gone away.
“Take care of yourself, Drake.”
“I will. But if you ever need me, you just have to call.” I watched her walk to the elevator and enter, then the doors closed and took her away from me.
I returned to my office and sat down at my desk. I had an appointment scheduled for later that afternoon, someone Rachel had referred to me.
“You need to do something with this place, Drake.” Shelly suddenly stood in front of my desk.
“What’s wrong with it?”
“It looks like a closet. You need to bring some color in here. Hang a picture on the wall. Something that says, ‘I’m Drake. I detect.’”
“I don’t exactly have a diploma or license to hang there.”
“Then make one up. You’re building the rest of your life. Get something in here.” She smiled at me.
I was comforted to see her. Shelly had all but disappeared as well and I had missed her. Miranda felt that was because I was becoming more and more my own individual self. Shelly held me back to the old life, and I needed to forge the new one.
I hoped that she would never completely disappear.
“Come on,” she said.
“Where?”
Shelly waved. “Out there, Drake. This world—this life—is yours. Do something with it.”
I got up only because she told me to, which was illogical because she was me to a degree and I was telling myself to get out when all I wanted to do was stay put.
“Let’s go explore this new world of yours,” she insisted.
“I can pull down everything I need to know about Brackett colony from the Net.”
“What about the things you need to know that you don’t think you need to know?”
That argument almost made sense. I reached into my desk drawer, pulled out the black beanie that was so like the one she had made me, slipped it on, and went out to explore.
Shelly took my arm and walked with me. She wouldn’t be there forever, but she was there now.
About the Author
Mel Odom is the author of over 140 books in science fiction, fantasy, and tie-ins, including the award-winning series The Rover, as well as tie-in fiction for such names as Forgotten Realms, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Shadowrun. He is also the author of bestselling cyberpunk thrillers Stalker Analog and Lethal Interface.
He writes all the time. In addition to writing, he also teaches at the University of Oklahoma in the Professional Writing program.
You can catch up with him at www.melodom.blogspot.com.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Epilogue
About the Author