Velvet Dogma

chapter 3



"Andy Hoke! That's you, isn't it?" Her wide eyes appraised him as he stood a full head taller than her.

"As I live and breathe."

Six feet tall, slim muscular build, brown hair and brown eyes, Andy had been David's best friend since her brother's twelfth birthday. Inseparable like conjoined twins, they'd played, watched TV, read comics, and gotten into trouble together. And boy had they been entrepreneurs of trouble. Even in the least likely places, they'd find a way to do something requiring a quick and powerful response from their parents. For a while they'd blamed Andy, believing that there was no way their son could get into trouble. But one fine evening when the boys were sixteen and in police custody, David had admitted his guilt, as well as his culpability in a hundred other past events. He'd never been in so much trouble and was terrified that the police would lock him up and throw away the key. Rebecca remembered him shivering on a stool as the policeman explained to their grandmother who'd raised them that it was David who'd chained 173 shopping carts to the back of a semi whose driver failed to discover what he'd been dragging until he'd traveled a mile through city streets, around corners and onto the interstate. The devastation was legendary.

She put her hand to her throat. "What are you doing here?"

"I just heard." His gaze dropped to the floor. "I can't believe it."

"Me neither. Are you...were you still friends?"

"Oh, yeah. We're partners, of sorts." Looking up, he saw Kumi for the first time. He stepped smartly across the room and offered his hand. "Andy Hoke."

She accepted it. "Kumi Rasangawan. I'm Rebecca's reintroduction specialist."

Andy nodded like he knew what that meant, then turned to Rebecca. He wore jeans and a t-shirt, as if he'd just stepped out of 2020. "You look good, Rebecca."

She studied him. His large brown eyes. His lopsided grin. The last time she'd seen him, he'd been as much a punk kid as her brother, but she couldn't detect any of that in his demeanor now. "Thanks Andy. So do you." She hadn't meant to say the last part, but as soon as it came out of her mouth she knew she meant it.

"How did it happen? Does anyone know?"

"They say a stroke."

Andy frowned in disbelief and shook his head. "Stroke? Ridiculous."

Rebecca's eyebrows rose as she nodded. "That's what I said." She picked through the pictures on the table, noticing one of Andy and David as boys. Never did a more guilty pair of fifteen-year-old scoundrels grin into a camera. "Was he in good health? Was he okay? You know, they wouldn't let me contact anyone from prison. He knew that, didn't he?"

Andy walked to the table and pushed several piles aside, looking for something. He jerked free a square piece of electronics roughly the size and shape of a palm pilot. A stack of computer parts cascaded to the floor.

"Here. This is his vid album. Nothing special, just some of the things he liked remembering."

Rebecca reached out for it, but found herself pushed backwards as Kumi interposed her body between Rebecca and Andy.

"Sorry, Rebecca, but this is a violation of your parole. Only class one automations, remember?"

A fury rose in Rebecca stronger than anything she'd ever felt. How dare this woman deny her access to video of her brother. Her dead brother, she reminded herself bitterly. She balled her fists and, even though her nails were cut to the quick, dug them into her skin. "Get out of my way, Kumi."

"I'm really sorry. A violation, any violation of your parole will result in return to San Berdoo Max. I'm trying to help you. I'm your friend." Turning to Andy, "Let me have that."

Some friend. What could Rebecca possibly do with these videos? As if she even cared about changing the world anymore.

"It's just a video. What's the big deal?" Andy jerked the miniVid over his head and out of Kumi's reach.

"You know what Rebecca's capable of. Regardless of her current intent, part of her agreement—"

"Are you crazy? Who cares about agreements? Her brother died and she wants to see what kind of man he grew to be. Jesus, lady!" Andy held the miniVid beside his face and pressed a button. The screen came to life with David waving from a place near the beach. The sound of sea gulls and the wind momentarily filled the apartment. At forty, David's face had rounded a little. His hair had thinned. Crow's feet crouched at the corners of his eyes, but that same guilty grin beamed from his tanned face. "See? The world didn't come to an end." Andy turned the miniVid off and shoved it into his pocket. He paced away from Kumi shaking his head. "What is the big deal?"

Suddenly the lights went off.

"What the hell?" Rebecca reached out and grasped the edge of the table.

"Don't move. Let me call and see why they cut the power." She heard Kumi take a few steps towards the windows. The smaller woman flipped open a vidScreen not unlike the one Andy had taken, the wan light illuminating Kumi's frown.

"There's no reason for this," Kumi said.

"Maybe they got notified of his death." Rebecca strained to make out objects as her night vision solidified.

"Doesn't matter." Kumi snapped the vid closed and disappeared in the darkness of the room.

"Power's on all the time now, Bec." Andy used the pet name that David had always used. "People don't pay for it like they used to. No reason, really. Power is free."

"Then what's the problem?"

No sooner had the question passed her lips when the windows exploded inwards. Rebecca screamed and propelled herself backwards, tripping and falling to the floor. Against the backdrop of an L.A. night, five figures vaulted over the window sills, landing in the room at a crouch. Black against the lighter darkness of the room, their features were indistinguishable.

"Stay back!"

Kumi's command was followed by another voice, this one low and laced with static. "Gei wo ni'de xin." Kumi sucked in air at the words. She flipped open her vidScreen again, but before she could utter a command, a kick flashed out, sending the device clattering into the darkness.

"Get up, Bec." Andy hauled Rebecca to her feet. Finding her balance, she reached out for something to use to defend herself with. She grasped something long and solid.

The figures began to move towards Kumi, who blocked them from where Rebecca and Andy stood. With their cat-like movements and constantly moving arms as they wind-milled from one defense to another, Rebecca couldn't help but worry for Kumi's safety. How could one woman take on five of these...these...assassins was the only word she could think of to use.

"Kumi look out!"

"Stay back. Don't come near me." Kumi shot forward, her right foot smashing against the side of the closest assassin's head. He went down, but was replaced by another. This one didn't wait. He attacked with a flurry of punches that Kumi somehow managed to block, her arms moving at odd angles to intersect the blows before they did damage.

"Come on," Andy whispered urgently. "We gotta go!"

He'd grabbed Rebecca's wrist, but she jerked free. "No—we need to help Kumi. She can't take them by herself."

"And you can?" He grabbed her wrist again and jerked her close. "Listen, we need to get away so we can figure out what's going on."

She could just make out his face, lines of worry and concern masking any fear. He was right. Like her brother's death, this couldn't be coincidence. She needed to figure out what the hell was happening.

Kumi screamed in pain then redoubled her attack sending another of the assassins to the ground.

Rebecca couldn't leave this woman to fight alone. "Kumi!"

"Get out of here." Kumi groaned as two of the assassins attacked at once, a kick getting past her defense. "Run, Rebecca, run!"

That was all Rebecca needed. She let Andy pull her out the door. They crashed into someone in the dark hallway, but their momentum carried them through and down the stairs before the man could recover. When they hit the street, they headed south. They didn't stop running until they were bathed in the busy lights of Olympic Boulevard.

But they had another problem. Her parole collar began to emit a whine. People turned and stared. A policeman talking to a cabbie across the street looked towards the sound. When he saw them he spoke into his PODcom and headed their way.