White light, gentle heat.
Heaven or Hell?
Smooth softness and the smell of antiseptics. The sound of someone nearby and the beeping of machines. All of it came to me disjointed, but as the fog began to lift I felt things clear up and make sense.
I slowly opened my eyes to a stark white landscape and had to squint to focus. There was something in my nose and my chest was tightly wrapped with padding. My entire body felt tired and aching and my arms felt like they were wrapped in lead.
If I wasn’t dead, where in Hell was I?
"Michael, can you here me?" A woman’s voice. Familiar, but I couldn’t place it. The fog in my mind still needed to clear.
"Of course he can hear you. He just woke up." A man’s voice that I didn’t recognize.
Maab leaned over me to look at my face. She was different now, clean with neat hair. She was no longer dressed like a bagger but more like something else. There was something on her jacket, a plastic tag with a picture.
A Slop. She was a fucking Slop.
"Michael. Don’t try to move, you need to rest. The medtechs say you’ll be fine in another week or so. You're lucky to be alive."
"Where…" I tried to speak but my mouth and throat only allowed me to choke out a single word. I needed water and tried to sit up without success.
"Safe. You’re in a hospital." Maab said and gently pushed me back down.
When I tried to choke out another word, she carefully gave me a sip of water. It took a few small drinks before I could speak, but it still took a lot of effort.
"Why?"
"Very simple Mr. Mason," the man’s voice said, "You are a commodity."
The man walked into my field of vision and stood at me feet. He wore a dark tailored suit, had hard eyes and black hair. Another damn Slop.
"Mason, Michael K. age 24. Citizen ID # Delta 5 niner -605-4321-Igloo Zebra. Last known address Apt 304 Palisade Housing Block Bravo 14 Tango. No criminal record, no further housing assignment, yadda, yadda, yadda. " He closed the folder he had been reading with disgust and dropped it onto my legs. I didn’t feel anything except a tingling from my toes.
I looked at Maab, or whoever she was and focused on the badge. The name said 'Madeline something' with a number and Cloak Division emblem. I looked at her eyes and she just smiled and straightened my hair. I noticed that she was holding my left hand, but I could barely feel it.
"Despite all this ambiguity in your record, you are a rising star in the Skin Trade, an organization that you dramatically refer to as 'The Trade' as if it was some sort of elite fraternity. You’ve personally detected and arranged for the termination of no less than a dozen undercover Cloak Operatives. Also, you were involved with the termination of over twenty-three other operatives on related investigations. Quite impressive."
"What do you want and why am I still alive?" I managed to croak out. He smiled and watched me for a moment before responding.
"Like I said Mason, you are a commodity. My commodity to use as I see fit."
"I won’t tell you anything." It was weak, but it was the only thing I could say. I couldn't resist torture and the smirk on his face showed that he knew that too.
"You are intelligent, have a remarkable amount of innate talent, and a ‘knack’ for getting people to trust you. All of this was developed on your own within the confines of normal downtown life without professional training. It would be a pity to simply terminate you, although your kind deserves it."
"Fuck Y-" I started to say, but Maab or ‘Madeline’ pushed on the needle in the back of my hand and stopped me with the pain. I looked at her and saw a "shutup" in her eyes.
"What I want, is for you to work for us. We can offer you far more benefits than you had before and you still get to do the same job. Trust me when I say that the other option is far less pleasant."
"What about my crews?"
"What about them? All of your new recruits are my people, others will be replaced as time goes on. What’s your choice?" Both he and ‘Maab’ watched me as I thought about my options.
I remember watching a mob beat the living hell out of a Shiver Riot squad and thinking how I’d hate to be caught up in Slayer's little furball. Somehow I had managed to stumble onto the front lines. No matter what he offered or threatened, my loyalty was to myself and that will never change. My soul was not for sale.
"Ok. What do I get out of this?"
"Good to have you aboard," he said as he picked up the folder from my legs. "You’ll be paid a stipend and registered under Cloak immunity against the charges I have on file. That way if you were detained by Shivers, you’d be released immediately. If however, you go native and are found to be a ‘subversive’ you will be terminated with extreme prejudice."
"What do you want me to do?"
"First, you’re going to heal up and do what the doctors tell you. After you are on your feet again, we’ll put you back on the street and you can go back to life as normal. An account will be established for you and you’ll begin drawing a paycheck from us starting now. If specific instructions are needed, they will be relayed to you through your associate". He nodded to indicate Maab.
"You not going to have me sneak a squad in to shut them down?"
He seemed amused by the question and paused on his way out to answer. A man in dark raingear and armor flanked him and seemed annoyed by the delay.
"Now why would I want to do that? Good day."
I looked around the room then back at Maab. She seemed to be studying me and I broke the silence.
"So do I call you ‘Operative Maab’ or ‘Operative Madeline'?"
"Stick with Maab. It’s been a nickname of mine since I was a kid and I kinda like it." She smiled and tried to kiss me, but I turned my head. At least I tried to, but my neck was too stiff.
"Think of it this way Michael, we’ve had other people planted for years, but none of them have the talent that you do. Most of them get killed by Ops or the people they’re trying to grab. It’s luck that I got put on your crew before someone took you down. You would have made a great Cloak operative and they would have flagged you when you went through Meny." She gently pushed the hair out of my eyes and leaned her elbow onto the bed next to me.
"Where do we go from here?"
"Like the bossman said, heal up then go back. I’ll be at your side and we keep on doing the job, but you make a lot more money."
"They don’t want to shut down the Trade?"
"That’s not your concern or mine, but no. They just want a little control. Go figure."
I thought about it and decided to ask. "You told me once that you owed somebody, is that him?"
"Yeah, well sort of", she said with something less than enthusiasm. "I owe my life to someone and I’m paying it back, just like I said. But for now, I’m just a girl doing a job and look’n out for number one. Just like you."
She slid her arm under my neck and rested her head on my shoulder. When her lips moved, I felt them gently brush my cheek. “I’m glad that you’re ok. You really had me scared back there.”
I forced a smile and felt a sinking feeling coming after the storm had passed. I shuddered with a sudden chill despite the blankets, bandages, and her closeness. A hollow had opened up in my soul and it could never be closed.
"Yeah I guess so."
Sooner or later you have to choose sides and I always put the choice off as long as possible. Today was my judgement day and I made my choice.
I chose to live.
At least for now.
End
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