And the list went on. By the time the segment was over, Steve had stopped exercising altogether. He went to sit next to Rigel, and they watched the rest of the news.
The official explanation of the entire incident, as corroborated by Richard Tanner himself in a hasty voice-only interview, was that it had been a terrorist attack by a disgruntled youth. Rigel had been sort of expecting it, but he was still surprised when he saw his own picture in the news along with the tagline:
Extremely dangerous. Notify the police immediately if sighted.
It was obvious that reporters had grabbed on to Rigel’s scapegoat potential gleefully, digging up every bit of dirt on him they could find. They interviewed former colleagues, some of his friends from the university, and even the staff of the hospital where he had gone to treat his gunshot wound just days ago. They strongly suggested he had been directly responsible for what had happened to his flatmate, Misha, and they even managed to give a sinister turn to the tragic accident that had killed both of Rigel’s parents. They briefly touched on Steve Barrow as a probable accomplice, but for some reason, they did not emphasize his role half as much as they did Rigel’s.
“Those fucking bastards,” Steve growled after a particularly vicious assessment of Rigel as a psychotic killer. “This is wrong. They’re lying!”
“I can’t believe it,” Rigel said quietly.
Steve turned to look at him. “They have no definite proof, Rigel. They’re just making it seem like you’re the bad guy because it’s the easiest way to explain it. I’ll bet you anything that Richard Tanner is behind this. He’s probably bribed half of those ‘experts’ we just heard so he has someone to blame.”
“But everyone believes it.”
Steve nodded. Rigel could see that he was angry. “I know. We’ll get the truth out, though. Tanner can’t lie forever.”
“But how?”
Steve didn’t have an answer to that, and on TV the merciless barrage of accusations continued.
Nobody doubted that Rigel had set off a bomb in CradleCorp. Public outrage at Rigel’s perceived destruction of the lifeline of the city was already in full swing. Video was shown of demonstrations, vigilante campaigns, and even a petition, swiftly granted, to revoke his Auroran citizenship, effectively making him a homeless refugee.
“That’s bullshit!” Steve exploded.
Rigel couldn’t even think of something to say. With that simple act, he had been stripped of everything his parents had left him. He supposed he could appeal the ruling, but what lawyer would take his case?
It was official now. He had nowhere to go.
By the time night had fallen, he had heard he was a monster so often and in so many different ways he was starting to doubt himself. It was awful. He was the most wanted man in the city.
“I can’t believe it,” Steve said at last. He turned the TV off with disgust. “This is not right. Are you okay, Rigel?”
He shrugged. It was all too much.
“There’s nothing I can do,” Rigel said.
Steve grimaced. Then he spoke in what Rigel thought was a deliberately cheerful tone. “Hey. Don’t let them get you down. Maybe Atlas can help you, once you bring it back online. The part of the machine that sleeps in the desert is supposed to be even more powerful than the original, right? Maybe it can access the true records of what happened and make them public. Exonerate you.”
“Yeah. Maybe.”
“And at least you’re not in the city anymore. Here in the slums, nobody cares about the law, so we’ve got that going for us. And… well, it may not count for much, but I’m here.”
Rigel looked at Steve sitting so close nearby and felt a surge of emotion.
“Thanks, Steve. But you don’t have to stay with me. If they see that you’re helping me, it’s going to be even worse for you.”
“Right. As if Tanner was going to let me walk free if they ever catch me. They didn’t talk about me that much, but I’ll bet you anything that before long the entire city is going to be looking for both of us. I’m also tied up in this mess, same as you. Besides, I promised I’d help.”
Rigel smiled, but the crushing feeling of hopelessness was still there. His entire life was gone, and now it was official. If this thing with Atlas didn’t work out… he didn’t even want to know.
They were quiet for a bit while Rigel was lost in his own thoughts. Suddenly, though, Steve broke the silence.
“Hey, I got an idea. Something to take your mind off all of this.”
“Huh?”
“Remember that bar I told you about the other day? We should go there. You need to forget your troubles for a little bit.”
That actually sounded good. Rigel could use the distraction.
“Okay,” he said. “Let’s go.”
Steve grinned. “Let me go change. I’ll call Zoe. She made me promise to bring her along.”
“Sure,” Rigel answered, although he was not too thrilled about that.
A few minutes later, Steve and Rigel were standing outside the hotel, all ready to go. Zoe came right on time.
“Hey, guys!” she said brightly. She shook Rigel’s hand in greeting but kissed and hugged Steve.
Rigel couldn’t suppress the flash of annoyance he felt.
They set off, but they hadn’t gone more than a few blocks when a boy came dashing toward them, nearly colliding with Rigel in his haste.
“I’m looking for Steve,” the kid panted, eyes darting between the two men. People milled about them on the street.
“That’s me.”
“I got a message. From Streaker.”
“So?” Steve said. “Spit it out.”
The kid thrust out his hand, palm up. “Pay first. Two dollars.”
Rigel watched as Steve merely looked at the kid, staring him down. Not saying anything.
“Okay, one dollar,” the kid said after the silence had become uncomfortable.
Zoe snickered.
“Bert, you better tell us the message, or I’m telling your mother,” she told the kid.
Steve grinned and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a bill and gave it to the boy. “Here. Even though I know Streaker already paid you. What’s the message?”
The boy scrunched up his face for a second as if remembering at the same time that he stuffed the bill in his pocket. “He said…. Meet me at Jared’s refinery warehouse tonight. After eleven. He’s got your package.”
“Was that all he said?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Thanks.”
The boy nodded once, then turned around and dashed away. Steve looked at them.
“We still got some time before eleven.”
“Plenty of time to have a couple of drinks!” Zoe said enthusiastically.
“Fine,” Steve said.” Rigel, you in?”
“Uh, sure.”
“Great. Let’s go.”
The bar turned out to be a very popular karaoke place that was almost full when they got there, despite the early hour. They managed to find an empty table and sat down after ordering their drinks. Zoe was charming and funny, and after half an hour in there, Rigel sincerely regretted that Steve had invited her along. The two of them were basically ignoring him at this point, reminiscing about some anecdote or another from when they were younger.
Rigel finished his drink somewhat angrily. He liked Zoe, but he couldn’t help feeling jealous. For maybe the millionth time, he wondered if the thing he had felt starting between Steve and himself had only been in his imagination. Rigel liked Steve, but he had only known him a few days. Maybe Steve didn’t even like guys. He was sitting very close to Zoe, after all. And she kept tossing her hair around, laughing at everything he said. Rigel knew full-on flirting when he saw it. Misha had excelled at it.
After an eternal two hours had gone by, Rigel had had enough of listening to increasingly bad singers at the karaoke. He had contributed maybe a couple of words to the entire evening’s conversation, mostly just nodding along when Steve remembered he was also sitting there. Rigel sipped the last of his beer and then simply stood up.
“Heading outside,” he said to the other two. He got a vague nod in return.
With a sigh, Rigel stepped out onto the street. He checked the time and found it was almost eleven. Time to head out and meet Streaker.
He would not go back in to get the other two, however, and it took Zoe and Steve almost twenty minutes to come out of the bar.
“Rigel!” Steve said, smiling. “Where were you?”
Rigel pointed at the time. “We got to go, or we’ll be late,” he snapped.
“Oh. Right. Zoe, I guess I’ll see you later.”
“What?” she protested. “No way. I’m coming along.”
“But…,” Steve began.
“No buts. I know the way. Come on!”
“Fine,” Steve said. “Just let me go back to the hotel to pick up my things.”
“Yeah. Great,” Rigel added, rolling his eyes when they couldn’t see him. “Let’s all go.”
BARROW WENT
quickly back into his room to get the few things he had left there. Once again, he bemoaned the loss of his little bag of supplements and synthetic steroid injections. He was not in the middle of a cycle at the moment, but the loss of the bag meant he would have to reschedule his entire recovery calendar, and there was nothing he could do about it. Well, maybe it was good for him. Easier on his kidneys. Besides, he did find that going off the stuff improved his mood after a few days. Other guys said they felt no difference, but Barrow did feel the change. He was less aggressive and didn’t get into quite as many fights. It also improved his libido, which was always nice. The only thing he didn’t like about the whole situation was that he hadn’t gotten the chance to work out properly in a week. The hotel had no gym, and Barrow had been forced to improvise with the things in his room. Doing push-ups and sit-ups with no additional weight was still exercise, but to Barrow it counted more as cardio than anything else.
He put on the rest of his freshly laundered clothes and grinned briefly. He had a slight buzz from the bar, but he was also glad to be finally about to do something. He was going out with Rigel to get their vehicle, and then they would head out into the desert to awaken Atlas. Maybe they would even have to face that awful shadow thing that had come for him at night, in his apartment. But they wouldn’t be stuck waiting anymore. Still grinning, Barrow got the gun from the nightstand and stuffed it under his belt.
There was a knock on his door, and Zoe came in.
“Hey, Zoe,” Barrow said. “You sure you want to come with us?”
She tossed her hair a little to the side. “I don’t mind. It’s not that far away. You’re finally getting that deal you were waiting for?”
“Yeah, finally. Streaker must have got our, um, thing waiting in Jared’s warehouse. It’s over at the refinery sector, I think. Shouldn’t be too hard to find.”
“You’ve never been there before?” Zoe asked him.
“No, not that I remember, but it’s been so many years. Maybe I have been there, only now it’s called something else. Like our old hangout. I still can’t believe they turned it into an electronics recycling center.”
“Stevie, that’s Corporation territory where you’re going. Jared is the manager of a big shipping company that operates out of some warehouses in the refinery sector. You say Streaker got you the contact?”
“Yeah, according to him, his brother-in-law works with the kind of stuff we needed. Oswald, I think he said the brother is called.”
“I know him. He’s married to Alyssa.”
“Good. That’s reassuring. Now I probably need to get going.”
Zoe looked as if she were debating with herself for a second, and stepped between Barrow and the door just as he was about to open it.
“You could just send someone else to get it. This thing. Or have Jared deliver it right here so you don’t have to go to the warehouse. I could also go alone, if you want. You know I’m trustworthy.”
“There’s no need to do that, Zoe. You’ve already helped us enough, and I really don’t want you getting mixed up in this more than you have to. You’ve seen the news. The entire city of Aurora is ready to lynch Rigel if they so much as catch a glimpse of him because of what Tanner is saying that he did. If you are seen helping us, it could turn ugly for you pretty quickly.”
“But you are helping him.” She couldn’t quite keep the resentment from her tone.
“Yeah, I am. I—”
“Why?” she blurted. “You could stay here or over at my place. I told you it’s safe. You got friends here. There’s Alice and Graham and Alejandro from our old group, and they all want to see you again. You can hide out until it’s done, blown over….”
“We already talked about this, Zoe,” Barrow said calmly. “Rigel saved my life. He took me out of that fire in CradleCorp when he could have easily just saved himself. And besides, I….”
“You what?”
But Barrow only shook his head. “Nothing.”
Zoe stared hard at him, giving Barrow the same look of fierce determination that had so often been in her face when they had been younger, weaker, and scared. “Fine, Stevie. But I am showing you the way. It’s the least I can do.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I do. I would have starved ten times over if you hadn’t been with us, Stevie, and I don’t forget that. Neither do the others, and we will help you in a heartbeat, anytime. All you got to do is ask. Don’t forget that, okay?”
“I won’t. Thanks, Zoe.”
She stood on tiptoe to kiss him. It was aimed for his lips, but Barrow turned his head to the side so it landed on his cheek instead. The touch of Zoe’s lips was featherlight.
Zoe sighed and stepped back, smiling sadly. “I guess it’s time I gave up on you. He’s a lucky guy, this Rigel. I saw how you were looking at him in the bar.”
“What do you mean?” Barrow said, but he blushed.
“Clueless as always. Or pretending to be. Come on, Stevie. Let’s go.”
Rigel was already waiting for them at the entrance. Barrow thought the days of rest had been good for him in particular. Rigel had lost the haggard, haunted look about him that the near-constant stress and running away had given him. Even though he was wearing the same rumpled clothes he had been wearing all week, they were clean, and Rigel somehow managed to look good in them, as if he were heading out to a fancy dinner. The one thing that looked out of place on him was an unwavering scowl, which deepened when he learned Zoe had insisted on coming with them.