CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
Chaz:
They dressed her in harlequin diamonds of black and white, painted her face and curled her hair. She drank somethinga€”some kiddie cocktail laced with drugsa€”and then she posed on a carousel horse amidst colored lights and calliope music. With a laugh and a giggle, her eyes half closed, she sang a song to a hidden camera.
And the bidding began.
I got the call one minute before Angelique and I went on the news.
a€?Yur little darlin, she gonna brings in a good price. She somethina€? special, oh yeah. Wish ya could sees her right now, the way she flirts with those bidders when they asks their questions.a€?
I put one hand over my ear, turned away from the makeup girl that was trying to take the shine off my nose. a€?You better end your auction,a€? I said. a€?Right now, Neville, or all deals are off.a€?
a€?What deals? You and me, we gots no deals.a€?
a€?Turn on the news, you monster, and if anybody touches my niece, Ia€?ll send you to hell myself.a€? A light flashed and I switched off my Verse, then turned back toward the camera. The newscaster watched me with a puzzled expression, but as soon as the cameras came on, she was all liquid silver and sparkling teeth.
a€?Mr. Domingue,a€? she began. I think her name was Judy. Or Jane. Or Janet.
a€?Chaz, call me Chaz.a€? I flashed a smile of my own.
a€?Yes, Chaz, I understand you have some information about that miraculous dog we saw earlier today.a€? She gave a subtle cue and the City of the Dead video ran while we talked. I watched Omega on the monitor, saw him die and then get back up. a€?Is this some sort of experimental prototype? Some new form of resurrection?a€?
I laughed. a€?Not exactly. Ms. Baptiste, why dona€?t you explain, in laymana€?s terms, what we see here?a€?
Angelique nodded. a€?Of course. My team and I were working on a breakthrough medical discoverya€”similar to the technological resurrection wea€?re all familiar witha€”but actuallya€”a€?
Judy-Jane interrupted. a€?You were trying to find an answer to the Nine-Timer dilemma, werena€?t you?a€?
a€?Well, ita€?s like Chaz said, not exactly. We werena€?t working with clones, so as you can see the dog didna€?t need anyone to download him into a new body when he died. So ita€?s not exactly resurrectiona€”a€?
It was my turn to deliver the punch line. a€?Ita€?s immortality.a€?
The newscaster stared at both of us. Dead air.
I grinned at the camera, knew that Neville was watching.
a€?Immortalitya€|a€? Judy-Jane finally found her voice again. a€?So that dog? Hea€?sa€”hea€?s immortal?a€?
Angelique and I nodded.
a€?Therea€?s just one problem,a€? Angelique said apologetically. a€?We had an accident in the lab and all of our research was destroyed. And of course, we never did get a chance to try it out on a human, so we dona€?t know for sure if it would have worked on people.a€?
a€?Buta€|buta€|if you created this once, surely you can do it again.a€?
a€?I wish it were that simple.a€? I was really enjoying the tormented look on the newscastera€?s face. Wished I could see Nevillea€?s. a€?You see, we based everything on the research done by my grandfather. If we hadna€?t had his research to begin with, we never would have gotten as far as we did. Unfortunately, his work was destroyed as well.a€?
a€?But whoever worked on this project should be able to remember some of it.a€?
a€?That would be my brother.a€? I stared into the camera, a level gaze. a€?But he just died, a few hours ago.a€?
Our interviewer glanced down at her notes, tried to figure out what to say next.
a€?There is one bright spot in all of this,a€? Angelique offered.
a€?Whata€?s that?a€? Judy-Jane asked without lifting her head.
a€?We have one dose of the serum left.a€?
She was looking at us now, open-mouthed. a€?Just one?a€?
Again we both nodded.
a€?Do you mind if I ask, whata€”what do you plan to do with it?a€?
a€?Wea€?re going to put it up for auction,a€? I said. a€?And sell it to the highest bidder.a€?
?
The offers started coming in before we even left the studio. We had a site set up on the Grid for a silent auction, any bid was allowed, and we made it clear that we would consider barter as an option. After all, we werena€?t looking for money. I put a block on my Verse to shut out interruptions, and I saved the number from my most recent caller. Neville.
His gravel-edged voice had carved runes in my brain, like an ancient alphabet, spelling words I didna€?t dare speak out loud.
Memories of sleepless nights. My father, dead on the ground.
The fear within me turning to something cold and hard over the years.
A part of me was dead because of that man. He didna€?t know it yet, but I was the hunter now and he was the prey. Like a jackal, he ran over open fields, my niece in his iron jaws. But soon he would tire, his grip would loosen.
And that was when I would strike.