Nexus

21 WILD AT HEART

Shu studied Kade as the glossy black Opal pulled up in front of the Wild at Heart bar where the neuroscience students' mixer was to be held.

"Here you go," Feng said as he opened the door for the boy to exit. "Door to door service!"

"That was very stimulating, Kade," Shu told him. "Let's talk soon."

"It was, Dr Shu. Thank you for dinner. I'll be in touch on the dates for the Shanghai visit." He shook her hand and turned. "And it was good to meet you, Feng. I'm glad we talked." Kade nodded, held up his hand in salutation, and was gone.

Feng got back into the driver's seat.

Thoughts? Shu asked him.

Feng put the car in gear, looked both ways, cautiously eased back into the riotous traffic of Bangkok. Shu knew he was taking the time to collect himself, to be sure he knew his own mind before he answered her. Always so careful, after all this time.

I made them that way, she reminded herself.

The boy is dangerous, Feng sent to her. He poses a great risk.

He could be a great asset, Shu replied. He's done impressive work to have come so far so fast.

Not as impressive as your accomplishments, Feng told her.

Feng, the humans outnumber us by orders of magnitude, she sent back. No matter how capable I am, I can't do it alone. I can't do it with just the team in Shanghai. If we're going to prevail, we need more on our side. More who can move the frontiers forward. Those individuals are rare. Kade is one of them.

Is that the only reason? Feng asked.

He knew her too well. The old anger rose up. The painful memories. Yang Wei, her mentor, burning to death in that limo, a victim of the CIA. Along with…

Nausea struck her. Her hand went unbidden to her belly. She forced herself to pull it away. This body was a traitor. Anger was better than sorrow.

I hate them, Feng. The CIA, the ERD, they are the same. I despise them for the beautiful minds they've destroyed. I hate them for the pain they've inflicted. And yes, I resent the ERD for using him as a weapon against me. How dare they? The ignorant, venomous fools. I'm not a machine, Feng. I feel emotions as strongly as ever. And what I feel towards the Americans is rage.

Feng was silent for a moment, then spoke into her mind. You could compel him.

Shu chuckled. Was Feng testing her?

You know my view on that, she replied. If I took control of him, what would that say to anyone else? Would I need to control them all? How much would they accomplish as my puppets? I would become no better than our masters, and no more effective. No. We're most capable as autonomous beings who choose to come together. Our as sociations must be voluntary.

She felt Feng's satisfaction with her answer. If it was a test, she'd passed. The line between loyalty and compulsion remained clear.

I remain concerned, Feng sent. The Americans respect you. They will not settle for surface answers. They may burrow deep, even destructively so. The memories and block you implanted may not hold.

They won't harm him, Shu insisted. They want to use him to spy on me. And short of quite destructive methods, what I've done will hold.

Perhaps, Feng replied.

The Americans can't hurt me, at any rate.

Perhaps.

Feng refused to accept just how unassailable she'd become.

They can inconvenience you, he sent. Greatly.

Yes, she replied. That they can.

They can perhaps goad our masters into hurting you, Feng went on. Or worse.

It was a possibility. One that bore more safeguards against it.

So what do you recommend? she asked.

Feng was silent for a moment, threading the Opal through wet Bangkok traffic.

I think the Americans should not get the chance to deeply interrogate Kaden Lane.

You mean that we should liberate him? she asked. Or that we should kill him?

Feng was silent again.

I mean that the Americans should not get the chance to interrogate Kaden Lane.

I doubt our masters would agree to either silencing him or whisking him away to China on such short notice, she sent.

Feng took his time replying.

What they do not know of, they need not agree to, he sent. Accidents happen. Bangkok is a dangerous place.

You've become so hard, Feng, she sent him. You would kill this boy? An innocent?

Your safety is my priority. He threatens it.

What about the woman, the agent he's with?

Feng considered. Challenging. Not impossible.

I would rather have him alive, and on our side, than dead.

You may not have that choice, Feng replied. We must all act within the choices we are given.

Su-Yong Shu leaned back into the plush seat of the Opal, and contemplated.

The Wild at Heart bar was a sprawling three-story club in the heart of Bangkok's tourist district. It was 9pm, halfway into the 8pm to 10pm mixer, and the place was packed with students attending the conference. Kade meandered through the throng, lost in thought. What had he expected of Shu? That she'd be completely innocent of what the ERD had accused her of? That she'd be a monster?

She was neither. The opportunity she was offering him was beyond his wildest dreams. Could he accept it? Could he fool the ERD? Could he live with himself if his work was weaponized, was used to harm innocents?

Could he become posthuman? A demigod? An immortal?

He got in line for a drink, peeled off two hundred-baht bills for something strong and alcoholic. The Nexus link on his phone came alive before the drink reached his lips.

[sam] Welcome back. Meet me on the roof.

Kade shrugged and made his way to the roof, downing his drink as he went. Show time. Again.

He found Sam with her back to the party, looking out onto the street and the chaotic, rain-soaked capital of Thailand.

"Hey."

"Hi there." She smiled at him, put her hand on his arm.

[sam] Put your arm around me.

[kade] What?

[sam] Just do it.

She turned back to the street, leaning against the banister. Kade grimaced, put his arm around her, joined her in leaning out for a view. Sam pressed her body closer. The rain made the night almost cool. Her body was distinctly warm, and firm, and curved under his hand… [sam] Give me your other hand.

[sam] I need a few drops of your blood. [kade] What?

[sam] I need to see if she's dosed you with anything.

[kade] I would have told you.

[sam] Maybe. If you knew. If you could. Hold out your hand.

Kade did as he was told. Sam took his free hand in hers. With her other hand she produced a small black rectangular device. She pressed it against the tip of his finger. He felt a brief sting, then a tiny bit of suction. Sam held it there for a few seconds, removed it, put it back in her pocket.

She snuggled against him, gave him a smile. "So, you had a good dinner?"

[sam] How'd it go?

[kade] Good. She invited me to come visit the lab, see if I was a good fit for the postdoc position.

[sam] Excellent. Now, walk me through the dinner. Let me see it and hear it from your perspective.

Show time indeed. Kade let himself sink into the alternate memories Shu had scripted in his mind. They fit like a mask, like a garment over his mind, like a role he was playing on a stage. He opened himself to Sam.

She roamed through his memories of the night. He watched her. She skimmed the early part of the conversation, focused on the work portion, absorbed the deliciousness of the meal, the sensuality Shu exuded as she savored the food.

Kade found himself becoming aroused. Sam's body felt good against his. She was snuggled against him, his hand on the swell of her hip. She felt firm, athletic, and still she had these curves… He could smell her hair. He liked her warmth, her touch.

Sam noticed his response. She moved fractionally further away, opening a tiny space between their bodies. His hand was still on her hip, but the message was clear: This is just an act, buddy.

Kade sighed. It wasn't like he wanted to be turned on by Samantha Cataranes.

Sam went back to sifting through his memories. She scanned the dinner and conversation from beginning to end. If she detected any flaw, if she was suspicious in any way, she didn't show it.

Sam and Kade's phones buzzed simultaneously. It was a message from Narong.

Meet me out front of mixer at 10.15 to head to the afterparty?

[kade] What's this afterparty about?

[sam] It's a chance to get closer to Narong, which means closer to Suk Prat-Nung and his uncle Ted. We're going.

[kade] You're the boss.

They went back into the mixer, mingled for another hour; 10pm came. The mixer was officially over. Some students elected to stay and continue their drinking at the Wild at Heart Bar. Oth ers filed out into the rainy night. Sam dragged Kade out to the front entrance. Narong met them there.

"So where's this afterparty?" Sam asked.

"It's in Sukhumvit," Narong answered. "You know the city?"

"A little," Sam replied.

"It's off of Soi Sama Han, just east of the Nana District." He looked out at the rain. "We can take a cab most of the way, then walk a few blocks."

Sam's interest was piqued. Soi Sama Han, eh?

"Is that near Sukchai Market?" she asked.

Narong looked surprised. "It's a few blocks from there. We don't have to go near it, really. There's a different way."

"I'd love to see it, actually. I've heard a lot of stories about it."

Narong looked uncomfortable again. "Well, it's not the classiest area…"

Sam laughed. "I'm a big girl. I'm a scientist. I'm really curious."

Narong searched her eyes, as if trying to determine how much she could handle. Or how much he could trust her. He made a decision. "OK. Just stick with me and do what I say when we're there. Kade, that sound OK by you?"

Kade exuded mild befuddlement. "Sure, I'm down for whatever."

Narong shrugged again, picked out his umbrella from the basket by the door, and stepped out. He whistled to hail a tuk-tuk. The three of them climbed into its back, Sam squeezed between Kade and Narong. She could feel Kade studiously trying to ignore the way her body was pressed against his. And Narong? She didn't need a Nexus connection to read what was on his mind.

The tuk-tuk zipped through wet traffic. The streets were glossy black with streaks of supersaturated neon. Reds, blues, greens, yellows – a rainbow of reflected light. Rain got in through the open sides, spraying them gently. Sam stayed driest in the middle. With the rain and the wind from the open sides of the tuk-tuk, Bangkok was pleasantly cool for once.

The tuk-tuk dodged cheap Tata two-seater cars from India, knock-off Vespas from Vietnam, the occasional Hyundai four-seater taxi, pedestrians making their way across wet streets in the rain.

They passed down urban valleys of towering glass-and-steel office blocks, their neon-lit ground floors stuffed with noodle shops, massage parlors, boutiques, discount electronic stores, pharmacies, bars. Golden shrines and temples dotted the urban landscapes, some tiny, some sprawling, spires and Buddhas and fearsome temple guardian statues. At 10.30pm everything was open, restaurants, shops, bars, temples. People filed in through temple gates, incense sticks in hand, while across the street rock music blared out of red-lit bars.

They turned on to Sukhumvit 4, the infamous Soi Nana Tai, one of Bangkok's more popular sex districts. Open air bars with neon signs lined the narrow street. Foot traffic slowed their tuk-tuk to a crawl. Women in tiny miniskirts and short-shorts and improbably large breasts for their tiny frames were everywhere. The men were Indian, Chinese, or white. The women were uniformly Thai, young, and for hire. They sat on men's laps, draped themselves over them at the bars, danced lasciviously with each other, and waited for the customers to take them home, for a price.

Sam felt Kade tense next to her. His eyes were wide. So much sex on sale. Narong was looking down at his hands.

A raven haired girl – in tiny hot pants and a matching white bikini top – blew a kiss at their tuk-tuk. Sam doubted she was eighteen.

Such a strange country, Sam thought to herself. A quarter million monks who don't drink or smoke or swear. A quarter million prostitutes filling in all the spaces where the monks aren't.

Then again… She spotted a shaven-headed man, Thai, wear

ing normal clothes, with a black-miniskirted girl on his lap. Maybe the monks are here too.

The tuk-tuk slowly wound its way down the street. A neon sign advertised live orgy shows. The crude animation depicted a woman's body between that of two men, both of them thrusting into her in unison. Kade's head tracked it as they passed.

"Is this that market you were talking about? Sukchai?" he asked. Sam could feel his conflicting revulsion, arousal, and fascination.

"No," Sam answered.

"This is just sex," Narong elaborated. "Sukchai Market is more… exotic." He didn't sound comfortable.

They turned onto a side street. Soi Sama Han. They threaded through traffic, turned onto another, smaller side street. There was no street sign. They were close.

The tuk-tuk pulled up to a tiny alley between buildings. "We're here," Narong said. He paid the driver. "You still sure you want to see Sukchai?"

Sam nodded. Kade shrugged.

"Stay with me while we're in the market," Narong said, unfurling the umbrella above them. "Not everything here is strictly legal. You'll look less suspicious with me as your guide."

He led them into the maze of alleyways.

Wats paused on the street, near where the tuk-tuk had left Kade and his companions. The alley they'd gone down… there was little reason to head down that alley except to reach Sukchai. What were they doing there? He knew Sukchai well. It would be difficult to follow them without being conspicuous.

He looked up into the rain. The buildings were tightly spaced here. Yes, that would do. He slipped into the shadows, tightened the straps of the pack across his back, put his hands to the brick, and began to climb.