Only Human (Themis Files, #3)(12)
This is a shitty thing to say right now, but I wish you were here with us.
Stay out of trouble.
Love,
Vincent
FILE NO. 2109
COVERT RUSSIAN RECORDING—DR. ROSE FRANKLIN AND VINCENT COUTURE
Location: Private quarters, GRU building, Saint Petersburg, Russia —She’s telling the truth, Vincent.
—Who is? About what?
—That Russian major, Katherine. And about everything as far as I can tell.
—How could you possibly know that?
—She said—Katherine said I needed some new clothes.
—Oh, did she? Rose! Is she your friend now? Are you doing each other’s hair?
—You’re missing the point. I went shopping. I went out.
—Where?
—A place called TsUM. It’s a…big department store. Fancy, like Saks.
—You went shopping. With what money?
—Hers. Theirs. I don’t know. Will you let me finish? I didn’t go there for clothes though I’m happy I’m not wearing those sweats anymore. There’s an Apple store inside there, one that doesn’t have anything from Apple anymore, just some Russian rip-offs. My escort was looking at fake iPhones, so I used one of the laptops and went online. I’m telling you, what Katherine said is true. Canada, Mexico, the whole thing.
—It doesn’t make sense. Why would the US invade its allies?
—I don’t think there’s such a thing anymore. My guess? Corn, tomatoes, whatever else they grow in Mexico. Factories, perhaps. I’m not entirely sure, but from what I gathered, there seems to be very little foreign trade going on anymore. Borders are closed. Everyone has to be somewhat self-sufficient to survive.
—And the robot?
—Also true. It’s everywhere online. They call it Lapetus.
—Is it the one you knocked out?
—Seems to be. It’s missing part of the leg I sprayed bacteria on. They’ve attached a huge metal structure in its place. It’s ugly, scary as hell.
—How? Themis wouldn’t work at all without all the pieces. And who pilots it? I thought we were— —I don’t know, Vincent. I think Alyssa has something to do with that.
—Alyssa?
—That’s what she said.
—Who?
—Katherine.
—Rose! You do realize she probably planned all this, your going to the store where there happens to be a bunch of computers. She’s manipulating you, me, all of us!
—Are you saying she’s created a whole new Internet for my benefit? I went on local newspaper sites, small ones. I can see the government making a fake CNN, but not all of this.
—Don’t tell her anything, Rose. Don’t tell her what we did.
—I won’t tell her, Vincent. And I know she has an agenda. I have absolutely no doubt she’d lie to us every step of the way if she thought for a second that it served her interests. I think for now she’s using the truth because most of it seems to be on her side. I’m not saying I trust her. But there is a giant robot running around scaring foreign governments into submission. There are internment camps at home, Vincent. Here too.
—For whom? People with too much Ekt blood?
—Yes. Foreigners too, I think. Something about Muslims. I don’t know what happened while we were away, Vincent, but it hasn’t gone well.
—If you’re telling me I should pilot Themis for them, you’ve completely lost your mind.
—Of course not. But I wouldn’t send her back to the US either. Remember how scared we were at the beginning about what they’d end up using Themis for? We were right to be scared. This is it. Our friend knew. That’s why he wouldn’t let just one nation control Themis.
—People died, Rose. Lots of people. Things would be bad without that robot, I’m sure.
—You don’t feel the least bit responsible?
—My God, Rose! When does it stop? No! I don’t feel like I owe anyone anything. Neither should you. They did this to themselves. You weren’t even here! You saved this planet, Rose. The whole planet. You did that. Just you. Whatever debt you feel you had for falling into that hole, I’d say it’s been paid, with interest. How about we just find a way out of here? Get as far away from this place as we can. They’ve been playing nice with us, but how long do you think it will take before we’re strapped to a chair and pumped full of sodium thipental…thiopental?
—I don’t know, Vincent. I don’t think they can.
—What’s there to stop them?
—Well, you, for starters. They might want to know more about what happened on Esat Ekt, but they want you to pilot Themis more than anything else. They could coerce you, but that wouldn’t be my first choice if I were about to hand over control of the most powerful weapon in the world to someone.
—What about you? What do they need you for?
—I’m not sure they really need me for anything. I think the only reason I’m not strapped to that chair right now is you. If they think there’s a chance they’ll convince you to help, they’re not gonna jeopardize that by roughing me up. Besides, the US has to know Themis is here. I’m an American citizen. Sooner or later, they know they might have to turn us over. That’s easier to do if we’re still in one piece. My point is we can’t just leave. That’s not good enough.