BOHEMIA IN BINARY
(© 1999) by KAIN MASSIN
"Quicker this way," she said, grabbing his arm and spinning him around. Without waiting, she sprinted further down the alley. She reached the end, and turned into another alley before Alex caught up. "Why this way?" he asked, running alongside.
"Too many people on the main drags," she replied. "Pain in the arse bystanders. They’ll choke the street as we get closer."
He grunted acknowledgment and they ran on in silence. Three more turnings, and they rounded into the back of Shangri Lane.
Kirstin immediately sensed a wrongness. At the other end, hundreds of metres away, she saw lights and the silhouettes of a crowd. In between was shadow – as it should be – but something was not right.
"Watcher," she said, not breaking her stride, "light up Shangri Lane. All of it."
"Can do," said the voice in her head. "Do you concur, Alex?"
Before Alex could reply, Kirstin snapped: "Just do it, you stupid bastard! We’re running in the dark here!"
There was no verbal response from Watcher, but the shadows in the alley began disappearing, entire regions replaced by a clear view of the walls and the paving. Within seconds, as Kirstin and Alex ran a few paces, the whole alley turned to day.
Except for the dark in a recessed doorway. It was a total umbra, roughly in the shape of a human.
Alex swore softly and pulled out his scrammer.
"Watcher," he said, "there’s something near the Parlour Street end of the alley. A – an area of blackness. Shaped like a man."
Watcher was silent.
"Come on!" Alex whispered.
"Yeah," Watcher came back. "I’ve found the spot, but I can’t make out what it is."
The shadow turned.
Kirstin gasped at the sudden movement and slowed her charge. Alex stopped completely. Peripherally, Kirstin saw him grab the scrammer with both hands and take aim. She came to a stop, never taking her eyes off the shadow. With growing alarm, she realised that they were only about 30 metres from the shadow, and wondered at how her concern for Desiree had dulled her sense of caution.
"Whoever you are," Alex called, his voice rough from his exertions, "stay where you are. This is BabylonGardens Security. You are ordered to stay still."
The shadow paused for a moment, then started to move: a strange, rhythmic movement, up and down.
"Watcher," Alex said, his voice tense, "I need back-up here. This thing’s strange." He glanced at Kirstin. "What’s it doing?" he whispered.
"A jig," she replied, her own voice tense.
"What?"
She swallowed. "You told it to stay still, and it’s doing a jig. I think it’s saying: Stop me if you can!"
"Yeah. Right." He licked his lips and took a steadying breath. "Jesus." Carefully, he moved forward, scrammer gripped between his fists. "Watcher, I would really appreciate some help at this time."
"On its way," said the voice in Kirstin’s head. "Be there in one min. There’s a lot of curious people around the mouth of Shangri Lane. Er, Alex -," Watcher hesitated, "- I think Phillip is down. I can’t get any readings from him."
Kirstin’s heart gave a jump. "What about Desiree?" she asked, her tension like a rope twisted in her gut. Phillip had been assigned to Desiree, like Alex was to her.
"I’ve got something from her," came the voice in her head, "But it’s weak. Scattered."
Kirstin looked quickly at Alex, then snapped her eyes back on the shadow. Somewhere in there, under that black screen, was a man, and he had done – she tried not to remember the other victims – he had done things to Desiree. She looked to the end of the alley, hoping that the back-up would arrive soon. People milled around there, looking at something on the ground. A feeling crept onto Kirstin, a dread certainty of what that pathetic bundle on the ground was.
"Yes, now you know." The voice was taunting, rich with suppressed glee. It was unambiguously a male’s voice. "My, my; aren’t you the clever ones?"
Kirstin started, whipping her gaze back at the shadow. It was the first view that anyone, other than a victim, had ever had of their target. Alex stopped moving.
"Stay where you are, " Alex repeated. "You are in the custody of BabylonGardens Security. No-one will harm you, as long as you stay still."
"B-o-ring."
Alex took another deep breath. "Shit," he muttered, but resumed his advance, scrammer at the ready.
A ball of blackness detached itself from the shadow and floated straight at Alex. It was both more and less than blackness, Kirstin decided; it was a nothing, a non-existence. Something which swallowed anything it touched. It was eerily quiet as it floated forward. When it had covered half the distance, the black ball accelerated with astonishing force. Alex barely managed to dodge as it went past. The ball slammed into a wall with a silent impact, and disappeared. A large section of the wall ceased to exist.
"Shit!" Alex shouted. He turned back and fired his scrammer.
A blue globe sped out of the barrel and slammed into the shadow. The force should have knocked it flat, but there was no reaction. The webs of blue, electric traceries which arced around the shadow, and should have incapacitated the man inside, were barely visible. Instead of bringing the man to his knees, they faded away.
"Ooh, was that the best you can do?" The voice was openly taunting.
Alex fired twice in rapid succession. The results were the same.
The shadow giggled, its control gone, the wild laugh echoing from the walls.
Alex emptied his clip into the shadow, firing all seventeen shots rapidly. Kirstin had the satisfaction of watching the darkness stagger back a step as it bore the onslaught.
"Watcher!" Alex screamed as he ejected the empty magazine and tried to jam in a new one.
"My turn." The shadow’s voice was controlled and even. It took a step forward and thrust out its arms. A shower of black balls shot out and Kirstin dived to the ground, feeling a coldness sear her as the balls flew over. "Now, cutie," the voice continued, "how about you and me having some fun?" The voice had grown in intensity and dropped in its tone. It sounded like a demon’s voice from a cheap B-movie.
"No!" Kirstin screamed as she scrambled on her knees towards a wall.
"Oh, goody. A screamer." The voice lost some of its control, and an edge of hysteria crept into it. "Two in one night. This will be good."
Kirstin cowered against the wall and felt it – him – lean over her. "How shall we start?" it asked, close enough to whisper into her ear. "Do you want to start screaming at the top of your voice and work up? Or do you want a slow build up?"
Footsteps from the mouth of the alley, and the shadow whirled away from Kirstin. She dared to look up and saw a group of security uniforms running towards them.
"Shoot it!" She screamed at the top of her voice, so loud that the sound distorted.
They came to a stop, their scrammers drawn but held down. "Identify yourself," the one in the lead said to the shadow.
"Who am I?" the shadow calmly replied to the question, the deep voice resonating off the walls. "Why, I’m the last thing you’ll ever see."
"Watcher," Kirstin hissed, "get them to do what I say!"
Both the security squad and the shadow acted simultaneously. Black balls passed blue globes in mid-air, and the scene went wild. Some members of the security squad went down, but the rate of fire gradually forced the shadow back. Within a few seconds, he was no longer attacking, but moving back, step by step.
"You buggers can sure ruin a perfectly good day." The shadow paused. "But, I’ll be back."
It disappeared suddenly, but Kirstin heard a whisper float to her: "I’ll be back for you, sweetie." She jerked back, as if it might touch her, but there was nothing there. Slowly, using the wall for support, Kirstin stood up. Alex was lying on his back, some distance away. He seemed to be intact, so she staggered towards the mouth of the alley.
"Please do not leave the scene, mizz," she heard from behind. "Your evidence may be needed to-."
"Watcher, tell your goons to piss off. I want to see Desiree."
But she didn’t, not really. Not after she saw how Desiree’s body had been cut up.
(story continues)