JACKAL
Mouse sperm is larger than elephant sperm.
Selfish is gone. And in her place is an almost militant-looking older woman, who is taller than me and does not have any humor, not even in her past—I’m sure of it.
“Where’s Selfice?” I ask.
“I’m Nordice.”
“Did you make up that name to sound like Selfice?”
She stares at me like I’m the biggest idiot she’s ever encountered in all of her seventy million years of living.
“Selfice has been relieved of her duties. I’ll need a full evaluation of your daily routines and a log of where you’ve been for the last three weeks. It appears you’ve failed to turn that in. Protocol—”
“No,” I say.
She looks at me sharply.
“Has she been assigned to someone else? I’d like to know where she is.”
“I’m not at liberty to—”
“Fuck liberty,” I growl. “If my schedule is being disrupted, I’d like to know why.”
“It’s time for your booster,” she says, and without further warning, she pokes me with the needle.
“Nordice, on whose orders are you here?” I ask, rubbing the spot where the needle poked my arm.
“The Society’s, sir.”
“And what did they tell you when they sent you here to take the job?”
“That I was to be your new handler because the old one had timed out.” She stands with her hands folded in front of her, staring straight ahead.
“Timed out?” I ask. “What does that mean?”
“You’ll have to check with the Society.”
Selfish was a pain in my ass. She was condescending and uptight, but we had our rhythm, and in between the barbs we threw at each other, we worked well together.
I go through the compound and it’s quiet. Everyone is either out or in their apartment; the common areas are empty. I step outside and the car is in place but no Yvonne. If they’ve gotten rid of Selfish, I’m concerned that they’ve gotten rid of Yvonne. I’m screwed if I can’t get to Phoenix.
Back inside, I stare Nordice down, arms crossed over my chest until she goes to “her” apartment. I’m tempted to put a call in to the Society, but they’re the last people I want to talk to right now. I never thought I’d be concerned about Selfish—who knew the little wench had grown on me somewhere along the way. I take a shower and as I uncork the liquor to pour the nightcap Selfish usually has sitting out for me before bed, I see something at the very top of the bottle. It’s a piece of paper folded until it’s tiny. My fingers are clumsy as I unfold and unfold and unfold. The writing is messy, but I can make out the words.
Watch your back with N.
Well, damn. I pull the lighter out of the drawer and burn the note. I could’ve done a lot more damage had I known Selfish actually had my back. Maybe she was smarter than I ever gave her credit for.
Regret is a bitch.
The next morning before appointments, I go outside in search of the driver, praying to every god under the sun that it’s easy-to-bribe Yvonne. It’s not. The new driver is standing by the car with a ready smile. She’s all arms and wears braces, even though she’s older. I didn’t know anyone still did braces. There are faster ways to straighten teeth, but some like to go old school. I want to cheer for her. Go you, working on yourself in your twilight years, but she might think I’m patronizing her. It’s hard not to smile when she looks like a grey-haired fifteen-year-old.
“Jackal Emerson,” I say, hand outstretched.
“Betsy Shoemake.”
Her accent is from the Orange, I recognize it immediately.
“I worked with your mother for years,” she says.
My smile drops and so does my hand.
She leans forward. “Never saw eye to eye, I’m afraid. I hope we’ll get along better.”
I nod. Yeah, I do too.
“Can I drive you anywhere this morning?”
“I need you to take me to Selfice.”
Her eyes skirt around, making sure we’re alone. “That won’t be possible. She’s gone…”
“Where? What does it mean to be timed out?”
Her coloring pales and her pupils dilate; it happens so quickly and then she regains her composure.
“Where did you hear that?”
“Nordice.”
“She shouldn’t have spoken those words to you...it isn’t anything you need to concern yourself with. It was time for your handler to take a break. She was reported for a long list of issues—failure to comply with procedure, substance abuse, badgering her employer…”
“Ridiculous. We did equal badgering.”
“It might be hard to adjust, but I assure you, Nordice is quite excellent. In the long run, I really think you’ll appreciate what she brings to the team.”
I grind my teeth, staring straight through her.