Chapter 13: The Numbers Game
Slave to Memory [14 of 44] - In a city of neon and shadows, Murph faces his haunted past. As old enemies close in, can he protect those he loves or will his secrets destroy them all?
They fell back into the dream, and the cityscape materialized in shades of midnight blue and scars of neon, skyscrapers piercing the clouds like jagged knives. Murph turned to Omni and said, "This feels more sim than memory. I remember what Zeke said to me, but not this."
<Indeed, this is a highly probable simulation created by analyzing every available shred of data, including your own memories,> Syn stated, her voice ever so slightly offended. <By combining this data, I was able to construct a comprehensive and accurate memory reconstruction.>
Murph rolled his eyes. "Fine, highly probable sim." He and Omni stood like spirits on their front patio, unseen by the calculated past.
As Murph and Omni surveyed their surroundings, they noticed a distinct lack of detail that differentiated the dream from reality. In the Verse, they wouldn't be able to tell, but here Syn was sipping on Compute, trying not to draw attention.
Even looking at this supposition gave him goosebumps. The little hairs on his arms stood on end at the sight of his old friend. Echoes of emotion floated up - betrayal, regret, and guilt. Memories without explanation, formless and haunting.
<This will feel a little different, what with us not riding in your head and all.>
Zeke sat outside in the humid night air, the organic smell of the sea mingled with burning plastic in the distance. The city blared unmuted with reflected light pollution. He leaned back in his seat and wiped his forehead, listening to the constant hum of traffic.
"You keeping watch, Zeke?" said Vin. She appeared at his side like an apparition. The child couldn't decide if she was a teenage girl or a spook haunting this house.
Murph, watching like the ghost of futures to come, chuckled as even he didn't see where she came from. It seemed Syn couldn't figure that one out either.
"Hmm? No, just watching the sky waiting for stars to come out," said Zeke, grinning at the lurid cloudscape, orange and red and nipple pink. He took a quick sip from his hip flask when Vin looked up.
"Stars? Ha, good luck." She said and laughed, but a moment later she stiffened. Then she leaned forward and squinted into the dark streets.
Zeke peered into the shadows with Vin and asked, "You see something?"
"Someone I used to know," she said, vaulting over the low wall and walking into the street, her back straight and confident.
Zeke leaned forward in his seat and loosened the gun in its holster, his eyes narrowed as Vin made a small movement. Then she crept into the shadows of the abandoned fire-blackened house with the collapsed roof.
<She palmed a knife,> said Syn to Omni and Murph.
The seconds stretched into long minutes until Vin crept out of the building, a crease in her face and her eyes on the ground. She put the knife absently back in its hiding place and walked up the stairs to Zeke.
"Who was it?"
"Just a kid from the street, but his message matters."
Vin sat down next to Zeke and looked up at the sky that roiled with polluted clouds, covered from horizon to horizon. They trapped the heat that came off the concrete below until it built like a pressure cooker, leaching the sweat right out of your skin until you were slick with it.
"Vin?" said Zeke, his patience frayed at the teenager's flair for the dramatic.
"He said he had a message from a street boss, Mayor of the Sky Bridge, who passed it on from the Mayor of the Strand Tent and… Anyway, the message has traveled far, by word of mouth so it's a little strange," she said.
<Those are small-time Barnie gangs within the city, Omni, not much of a threat unless you're alone and drunk in the dark,> Syn added for context.
Vin's eyes narrowed as she scanned the dark streets. "I don't like this," she said. "The fact that they're keeping this off the Net means they're being careful. They must think it's important."
"The Barnies don't usually use the Net," Zeke said, but Vin interrupted, "They're being careful. They knew this was important."
"Well, spit it out."
"Jamal, this Dust-high chomper for The Numbers—"
"Murph's old gang. Dammit," said Zeke.
"Yeah, this guy, Jamal, is shooting his mouth off at the Fireman's Arms. Said he was a scout on a mission. Been trusted with something big. Something that was gonna get him higher in the ranks. Prove his worth. All he had to do was plant a seed. He said this a lot, plant a seed." Her voice caught, before she continued, "And it would grow into the death of a summoner."
Zeke chewed on this for a moment, "Could be anyone, could be the Dust talking, people on that crap say a lot of stuff."
"They said he was leaning on the bar and looking in this direction."
Zeke knew of all the gangs scratching for bits of turf, and the absolute worst that could set their eyes on their group would be The Numbers. Murders and rapists, when they were just a prison gang, now that they had overrun Pollsmoor they'd become so much worse. He suppressed a shiver and turned back to Vin. She was staring at him.
"I'll take this to Murph, he'll know what to do," Zeke said and stood, "You get to bed, it's late." Vin nodded, worry plain on her face before it broke into shards of polygons and pixels that fell away like greying dust.
<Hold onto your knickers, we're dropping back into Murph's recorded memory>
The dream spun and settled back into Murph's point of view, as their shared perspective looked out from his eyes again. Murph felt Omni dry heave.
Hold it together kid.
Zeke found me in my quarters and relayed the details of the message.
"Can we trust that?" I asked.
"Vin seems to think so," he replied, "But more important is this has got Numbers written all over it and they don't just give up, Murph. They've never forgotten you and it looks like they've never forgiven you either for leaving them."
I nodded, my mind spinning, "Thank you for telling me," I said before stepping back inside.
"You're not going to do anything?" Zeke asked, grabbing hold of my door.
I put up a hand, "I don't know what to do. I'm asking Satya."
Satya, how credible do you think this threat is? I sent to my djinn.
<We know Miss Vin, grew up on the streets and learned the ways and methods of the city's gangs better than anyone. The Strand Tent, her old crew and little more than knife-wielding street kids, got wiped out when the Numbers took over.>
"What's he saying?" said Zeke.
"Hold on," I said to him. To Satya, I asked, I know the history, but what should I do?
<You, yourself were swept up in the Numbers expansion wave, barely escaped if I hadn't found you.>
Found each other, I replied.
<True. We both know how dangerous a foe they are, how determined and not to be underestimated. What Zeke says is correct. And I'd trust Vin's source, she has been wary of getting too involved with any one group, until us, and keeps her contacts and sources spread out. They're independent from each other and the various alliances,> Satya continued.
Zeke suggested, "We could reach out to other minor gangs or cells and see if they're sympathetic to our cause?"
<Probability of their alliance is exceedingly low.>
I shook my head slowly, knowing that most gangs only cared about drugs and territory. "Getting involved with them won't serve either of our purposes." He also couldn't hear Satya, and I knew it annoyed him.
Zeke's hands trembled as he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. "The Numbers… they're ruthless. You know that, Murph. People only leave by blood. And you… you became a summoner before breaking out. They won't let you go without a fight."
I nodded slowly, finally realizing how freaked out Zeke was.
"If they've found us, if they're zeroing in on us, then they mean to kill you and those around you. We have to take this seriously and come up with a plan."
<Murph, you need to act on this,> said Satya, for once clear and direct. A rarity which sent a river of adrenalin through my veins.
"Ok ok, I'll do something, I just don't know what yet, ok?" I said, "I need time to think about it. With a clear head and fresh eyes."
Zeke nodded and grunted his agreement.
"Get some sleep, we'll talk more in the morning," I said and turned back inside.
I found Gabe awake, standing by the window looking out at the city.
"There are rumors on the street. Not everyone's a fan of me like you are," I said.
"What do we have to worry about?" he asked.
"You? Nothing, me the same as always," I said, hugging him.
"I can't sleep, Murph. Every time I close my eyes, I see their faces," he said and moved out of my grasp, "This isn't gonna help. It's them isn't it?"
"Who?"
"The Numbers."
"Yes," I said, it was all I could say to him. No more bravado; this was serious.
Gabe's eyes narrowed, his voice low and urgent. "If we don't stop them, we'll have to run again. And this time, it might not be enough. They won't stop until they've taken everything from us."
He paced now and bit at a nail that started bleeding, "I can't take it anymore, Murph. They're everywhere. They're watching us. They're waiting for the right moment to strike. We have to do something. We have to stop them. Why won't you listen to me?"
His words sliced through me like a knife, leaving me reeling. His frustration was palpable, and I knew it was directed at me. I could feel a sort of emotional double-image, my face growing hot in the past and the present. Then I felt anger, now I felt shame knowing that I had let him down and put us all in danger.
"Please, come to bed," I pleaded.
Guilt swelled within me as I watched my own memory unfold, in the present my chest tightened and my palms grew clammy, and I knew for certain I played a part in the future that now haunted me.
The dream faded away, and they were back in Omni's lab, sitting on the floor cross-legged.
Murph stood to hide the tears on his cheeks, "The lesson here, kid, is listen to your crew when they remind you, that you're mortal," he said.
"The Numbers, Murph? Damn," said Omni to his back. He didn't respond or turn to her but kept his shaking hands busy on the Lamp before him, "What happens next?"
<Murder, suicide,> said Syn, <Give him space for a bit, you know,> she sounded wrung out as her voice faded from Omni's mind and their shared mental connection died.
A familiar sense of dread washed over Murph. He had spent so long trying to forget his past, but now it was coming back to haunt him.
Memories and emotions he had buried deep inside were now resurfacing, threatening to overwhelm him completely. But he couldn't let that happen. He had a responsibility to train Omni, to help her become the best she could be.
He left the lab and strode purposefully through the darkened hallway, his determination unwavering. For once, he felt like he was in control, like he had the power to shape his own destiny. And that was enough to keep him going, to face whatever challenges lay ahead.
But eyes and sensors fell on Murph then, and powerful hands twisted like claws in barely contained rage that sought nothing but his death.