Tonx insisted they split up onto different flights. They argued at length about whether to bring Marcus, but the big man had pointed out that he was under contract, and folded his arms and set his jaw, and that was that. It meant buying another ticket, but Tonx had found a line of credit from somewhere so Fede figured that wasn't the main problem. The other issue was what to do with Poulpe. When they'd finally found him, sleeping in the sun with a face smeared blue with zinc oxide, he'd just smiled and nodded.
"I would suggest you take me with you. I am the only one who can readily determine the veracity of whatever data we obtain. You may need me on short notice" he said, pinching off the end of each word.
Tonx hadn't moved. He ground his jaw as he thought it over.
"You'll go with Cessus. And Fed" said Tonx. "Cass and I'll go first."
"What about Pharoe's friends?" asked Cessus.
Tonx looked down the beach to two the tiny specs that were Baby and Esco.
"Last" he said. "If at all."
Fede looked at Cessus, caught his eye. The bigger man shook his head slightly, slowly.
"Pharoe?" asked Poulpe.
"Never mind" said Tonx. "Just get your things together. We're leaving in an hour."
An hour later everyone's stuff was piled into the truck or the station wagon, respectively. Tonx had had to bribe the German woman to keep their shorts and shirts.
"Fucking robbery" muttered Tonx, coming back to where the two cars were turned and lined up on the road. "Okay, here's the drill. We drive to Mexico city. It's about seven hours. When we get there Esco, Cass and I get dropped off at the airport and Bay will circle around with the car."
"Why is Baby driving?" asked Esco.
"Because I want one of the both of you with some of us at all times, in case Disney catches up. The more communication channels we have the better" said Tonx.
"Baby will meet you at a Denny's that's about a half hour off from the airport. An hour after they join up with you everybody except Marcus will catch a cab into the airport and get on the next flight after ours. An hour after that Marcus will drive into the airport, park the car, scrub it, leave the keys in it, and get the last flight of the day."
He looked at the faces surrounding his. "Got it?"
Everybody nodded.
"I don't like getting moved around so much" said Baby. "Why doesn't Esco stick with your hackers here, and I'll catch the first flight?"
"No" said Tonx. "We're going to need all the smooth we can get when we land. Esco stays with me."
"What the fuck am I going to smooth in China?" asked Esco.
"The people I have to secure us with are going to want to see business professionals" said Tonx. "Baby's not it, and you know it. We have one hour from the time we land until they arrive to make sure everything's kosher, and you're the only one here besides myself that can make that happen."
He glared at Esco, reached up a hand to pull back a lock of hair. "You got my back, or what?"
Esco pursed his lips. He nodded.
"Once we arrive in Beijing we'll take separate cabs to the Hotel Paris. Meet in the lobby there. Marcus, you go into the restaurant. We're going to have enough trouble with you as is."
"What do you mean?" asked Fed.
"Marcus is a popular man" said Tonx. "Damn fool did a commercial there and now he thinks he's going to stealth mode it."
"That was two years ago" said Marcus. "And it was in Japan."
"For a Chinese product" yelled Tonx. He slumped back in his chair. "Whatever. Look, we have a lot to do. I've secured tickets and faked identity checksums, so make sure you sync your comms to Cessus here before we split up. Pull out all your munitions or anything else illegal by the time we hit Mexico city. We can store whatever we need in a locker on the way to the airport, but don't forget they're not deregulated. They're going to have armed security crawling all over that place. Don't do anything stupid."
Everybody split up. Fede followed Cessus back to the truck. Marcus had spit-shined the whole thing, and everything that wasn't fastened down was stacked neatly in the back.
"Pack what you need and put the rest in these bags" said Marcus, handing Fede a fistful of big black plastic.
"What the fuck am I going to pack?" Fede asked. "I'm lucky I have pants."
He scrambled up into the back of the freight container and collapsed on a futon. Cessus dumped out a thin plastic bag of components and wires and began sorting.
"Going to be fucking awesome hitting the markets there" he said. "No idea how easy it'll be to get shit, but if it's anything like Japan there's going to be some slick motherfucking tech to be had."
"Idiot" said Fede conversationally. "China's not Japan, you know."
"That so?" asked Cessus. "Since when did you get to be the big expert, Feed?"
Fede smiled. "Hey, I just ownzored over 67% of the country's computers. Looks like I know something."
Cessus stared at him for a second, and then broke into a loud baying laugh.
"Boy, you're coming along nicely" he said.
Fede just smiled.
Everything went according to Tonx's plan. They cruised into Mexico sometime late evening and found the Denny's no problem. There wasn't much room to park the truck in the lot, so Marcus ended up bribing a policeman to issue them a temporary working permit so they could park on the road. Once they got inside Cessus made them move seats twice. Eventually they wound up with their backs to the bathrooms, facing the door.
"Are you always this careful?" asked Poulpe.
"Try to be" said Cessus.
They ordered dinner, Marcus ordering two, and dug in. It was good stuff, better than what Fede was used to at home.
"Denny's is different down here" he said around mouthfuls of bacon burger.
"Not as greasy" said Marcus. "They add too damn much up in the U.S."
"This is less grease?" asked Poulpe.
"Hell yeah" laughed Cessus. "After all this is over we've got to take you to a Fat Burger joint, man."
"Fat Burger?" asked Poulpe "Are you for serious? There is a place called 'Fat Burger'?"
Fede almost shot coke out his nose, he laughed so hard.
"It is a strange country I've come to" said Poulpe.
"Yeah, the irony's heavy" said Cessus.
"Besides, you're not in the U.S., you're in Mexico. And you're about to be in China" said Marcus. He raised a finger to signal their waiter.
"Indeed. We are jet-setting, no?" asked Poulpe. "Like rock stars."
"Except for the people trying to kill us, yeah" said Fed.
"Come on now" said Cessus. "Man's got a point. Didn't you ever want to go to China?"
Fede raised his eyebrows and shoveled more fries into his mouth.
"Uno more Sunrise Special" said Marcus to their waiter.
"Yes sir, right away" he replied.
"Fucking English all over the world" said Marcus.
"This is your global economy" said Poulpe. "Are you not pleased?"
Marcus grunted. "I like the prices, but the deculturization is crap. I want to live a quality life as much as the next guy, and can understand the mechanisms that get people to sell out their heritage for it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."
Baby came in the front door, caught sight of them. His tan had faded somewhat and he looked less like a raccoon; Esco had insisted he rub in some tanning lotion before they left the beach. His eyes shifted nervously back and forth across the restaurant, and when the waiter approached he almost jumped through the window.
"How was your drive?" asked Cessus as he skittered over to their table. "Everything go okay?"
"Yeah, yeah" said Baby. "I just don't like it down here. Mexicans don't go much for Puerto Ricans, you know?"
"Why?" asked Poulpe.
"Puerto Rican's get U.S. citizenship automatically" said Cessus. "The Mexican's just get shipped around as labor. Unequal opportunity."
"Why is this?" asked Poulpe. "You are such charming people."
"Puerto Rico is part of the U.S., officially. Means we got U.S. passports real easy" said Baby. "Mexicans don't, even though they're right next door and always getting used for labor. We competed for a lot of the same jobs, except we had the obvious advantage. After the deregulation of the border it got worse. Listen, it's a long story. It doesn't matter" He pushed his bag under the table. "I'm going to take a piss. Order me a burger, okay? No onions."
After Baby had had his dinner they sat, waiting. Baby kept ducking under the table to pull on his oversized headset, waiting for messages. Poulpe ordered an ice cream but announced that it was disgustingly sweet as soon as it arrived, and left it on the table to melt.
Fede was stuffed. He leaned back and pulled on his soda, waiting. He didn't know what was coming next, kept telling himself it was out of his hands. He thought about what Cessus had said, tried to think of it as an adventure, but it wasn't working.
"China's not known for its human rights, is it?" he asked.
"Not known for their human rights violations, either" said Marcus. "Not anymore, anyway. They're still gunning to get their currency established as the international standard."
"Where the fuck are they?" asked Baby. "Esco's supposed to comm me as soon as they get on the flight."
"Probably got delayed" said Cessus. "This is Mexico, after all."
"That's not protocol" fretted Baby. "He's not responding, either."
"Don't worry about it" said Marcus, his voice heavy. He glanced up at the clock. "Cessus?"
Cessus smiled wide, big white teeth glimmering. He stood, shouldered his bag.
"Yep. I reckon it's time to go. Poulpe, Fed, if you'll follow me?"
He gestured towards the exit.
"What the fuck?" asked Baby. He reached for his pocket, started to stand.
Marcus's arm fell around his shoulders like a weight and he crashed back into his chair.
"Let's have a coffee, shall we?" Marcus asked Baby.
"Sorry, man" said Cessus. "That's business. Tonx's orders."
"But we got no comm from them" protested Baby.
"You got no comm from anybody" said Cessus. He jerked a thumb over Baby's head at the wall behind him. "Men's room, taped under the sink. Jammer, paired with a fake signal. Gave your comm something to talk to. But your messages aren't going anywhere. Tonx's girl worked it up in-between sets out at the beach."
Baby blinked widely, twice.
"You can keep it" said Cessus. "Some pretty neat wiring in there. The girl's got mad skills with a soldering iron."
"Just stay cool and you'll do okay" said Marcus. "We're going to sit here for a little while longer while they get on their flight, and then you're going to go on a sightseeing cab ride. Don't piss anyone off and I won't have to explain how a Puerto Rican is trying to rip off a Mexican Denny's. You follow?"
Baby just nodded, dumbly. Poulpe suddenly made that huffing sound that Fede recognized as laughter.
"Baby" said Cessus, leaning over towards the man. "You're a good guy, you know? Maybe next time we can work on the same side of a contract." Baby nodded again, took a deep breath. He shrugged.
"That's biz."
Cessus smiled a lopsided grin and turned, ushering Poulpe and Fede out ahead of him.
They made it to the airport in no time, the filthy cab Cessus hailed outside tearing through side streets and around traffic. Cessus gave the man a big tip and walked through the revolving gates, Fede and Poulpe right behind. He waved their IDs over the auto-teller and folded the paper receipts into his pocket. They moved on.
"We got an extra half hour before our flight. Let's use the time to get dressed for China, because this Hawaiian bullshit isn't going to fly, not to mention it'll be cold there. Poulpe, you can dress yourself, but Feed and I aren't going to pass for bizmen. Here's a cred card. We'll hit Nike town and meet you at the food court, okay? Be there in 45 minutes. No less. You got me?"
"Yes, Cessus. I have got you" replied Poulpe, his rosy cheeks puckering a little as he said the words. Cessus began to walk away, and as Fede turned to follow him he saw Poulpe pull out his little tin. He palmed the lid and gently laid a small red candy on his tongue. His pale gray eyes slowly raised to meet Fed's, and he reached the tin towards him. Fede discovered, suddenly, that he did want one. He wanted one very much.
Then Cessus was there, his long fingers wrapped tightly around Poulpe's hand, hissing something fierce at the smaller man. He pulled the tin away and casually lobbed it into the trash bin of a passing service cart. Fede could barely see Poulpe's face through the forest of dreadlocks as Cessus whispered in his ear. He was smiling, grinning like a naughty schoolboy who knew he wasn't really going to get into trouble, but who would bear the teacher's lecture anyway. Cessus threw Poulpe's hand down and spun around, wrapped his arm over Fed's shoulders, led him briskly away.
"Don't fucking pull that shit on me" he said, anger hissing under his quiet voice. "You want to play around on the beach, okay. But you take candy from that motherfucker piece of shit you going to be flat out when we need you most."
"It's okay" said Fed.
"No, dude, it is not okay. You know what you took the other day?"
"No."
"Me neither. That's means neither one of us knows what you got floating around in your blood right now, how addictive it is, what the long term affects are. Nothing. We don't know shit, which means we got to trust that slimy motherfucker."
Fede stumbled a little, Cessus's long arm propelling him down the arcade past tall thin mannequins wearing sequined skintights.
"You know what that fucker did for a living, Fed?"
Fede nodded, but Cessus continued anyway.
"That guy designed biological pharmaceuticals for Disney."
Cessus pulled him in-between two stores, in front of an unmarked metal door, spun him around to face him.
"That's not the kind of guy you want to take drugs from."
Fede felt a hot flash of anger.
"I fucking get it, Cessus" he said, pushing the larger man's hand off his shoulder. "I fucked up. Once. Don't worry, I'm not going to do it again."
"I got to trust you, Fed" said Cessus.
"Damn straight" said Fed. "You do. Now help me find something to wear in China."
Cessus got himself with a pair of nylon camo pants and a bunch of skater shirts. The pants had the Nike swoosh stitched through the fabric in reflective thread, multicolored bits of light reflecting off him as he moved. He topped it off with an enormously oversized red hoody, plastic fibers sewn in to poof it out. He wanted the bright white sneakers they had in the window but they didn't have them in his size, so he settled for the tanned leather hightops.
"Okay" he said after his unmarked cred card slid through. "Now we get to dress you up."
"Tell me I don't have to look like you" said Fed.
"No sir, you do not. You could not, in all fairness" said Cessus "I would have set you up like this, but it's my only choice and there's no way they're going to believe you're a U.S. rapper in China."
"That's crazy talk, Cessus. You couldn't rap your way out of a paper bag."
"Yeah, but you got to play to the stereotypes, you know? I'm a black man with dreadlocks and expensive implants; what do you want me to pass for when we get there?"
Fede shrugged. "Okay, but what about me?"
Cessus smiled. "You get to be a businessman's son. Think you can handle that?"
Something about the way he smiled put Fed's teeth on edge.
"What do you mean?"
It turned out Cessus meant for Fede to wear a pressed white polo shirt with the alligator logo on the cuffs, slightly tight wool pants cut a little bit short. Stiff black leather shoes matched a suit coat that forced Fed's shoulder's back. Fede was willing to put up with it until Cessus came back with a beige knit vest and a little plastic box of hair wax.
"Fuck you" said Fede as Cessus cornered him in the dressing room.
"Dude, we all have to do our part. Once we get out of there you can do whatever you want. But for now it's my call, and I want you looking as innocent as possible."
"Absolutely fuck you" said Fed. "I'm not wearing that vest and I'm not wearing that sick fucking wax."
Fifteen minutes later they were walking swiftly down the walkway, Fed's face pulled tight against his skull by the rapidly hardening shell of his waxed-down hair. He was carrying his jacket, and had stuffed his goggles and chord into its pockets. They didn't fit in his pants.
Poulpe was standing by a fountain, gently smoking a long white cigarette. He was wearing a neat black suit with miniscule grey stripes and had a long tan overcoat thrown over one arm. His hair was pulled back in gentle waves, and as he caught sight of them he cocked his head and waved.
"My my, you are looking very nicely, Fed" he said as they walked up.
"Don't fuck with me" said Fed.
"I'm not" said Poulpe. He seemed genuinely puzzled at Fed's reaction. Fede snorted and rolled his eyes, disgusted at this whole affair.
"Listen up, kids" said Cessus. "We can't go strolling on there together. You two go on ahead and I'll tail you. We're all sitting next to each other on the plane, but for gods sakes don't start chatting as soon as we get on. Poulpe, you get your headphones on as soon as sit down and space out for the rest of the trip. Fede here will play your useless son. Fed, I'll start up a conversation once we get going. Follow my lead."
Cessus looked them both up and down.
"Okay, we're good. One last thing. Poulpe, you offer Fede anything and I'll see to it you die good and slow. Fed, I find out you asked him and I'm going to tell your brother about this plus what happened on the beach. We clear, gentlemen?"
They both nodded.
"Good. Now move your ass and I'll see you two on the plane. Here are your tickets."
Cessus handed them their papers and strolled off towards a bookstore, waiting for them to get ahead of him.
Poulpe waited until they had strolled a ways down the arcade before he reached out one white hand and rested it on Fed's shoulder.
"You had a good time on the beach the other day, yes?" he asked.
"It was interesting" said Fed. He walked slightly apart from Poulpe, let his hand fall off his shoulder.
"I am very glad. I feel a kindred spirit in you, Feed. We are both… apart from the others. Not the same, you see?"
"They're my friends" said Fed.
"Of course. And Tonx, he is your brother. But you are not the same. This is difficult, yes?"
"Poulpe, I don't need this bullshit. I appreciate the hook up the other day but we're not bosom buddies, you got me?"
Poulpe stopped, reached over and slowly stubbed out the butt of his cigarette in an ashtray.
"Of course, Feed. I am not a bosom buddy."
He reached into his jacket pocket. Fede looked around, but he couldn't see Cessus anywhere.
Poulpe pulled out another cigarette. He lit it with a cream-colored wooden cube, exhaled slowly.
"But who is?" he asked.