Dead Water Zone - Kenneth Oppel [21]
“Damn it,” she said darkly, “you build a gate and you figure you can keep people out, keep them from screwing up your life! I made a promise after Mom disappeared. Everything under control. No craziness. Just perfect order.”
Paul wanted to say he was sorry, wanted to repeat it a hundred times. But she was right: words wouldn’t undo what had happened. He’d been so consumed with finding Sam that he hadn’t given much thought to the risks she was taking for him. She kept her pain so hidden away—all that strength in such a frail-looking body.
She sat up. “Armitage is back.”
Paul listened and a few moments later heard the motorboat pulling under the stilt house. He pushed the diskette back into his pocket. The door creaked as Armitage entered. Paul heard him swear softly under his breath before he came into view around the corner, a look of blank amazement on his face.
“It turns out there’s some people looking for his brother,” Monica said.
“Yeah,” Armitage replied softly, “I know. I was picking up rumors all around the docklands. I think it’s Cityweb.”
“Who?” Paul asked, nervous.
“They don’t have badges or uniforms; they don’t even have names half the time. They do the stuff that even the police would rather not know about.”
“Sked and some of his nice friends attacked us on the way back from Decks’s place. They’d been paid off. Wanted to know where Paul’s brother was.”
“So,” began Armitage, looking at Paul, “why all this special treatment for your brother?”
“He’s not a runaway,” Paul answered. “He came down here to do some tests on the dead water zone. He told me he’d found something weird.”
Armitage looked at his sister for a long time before turning back to face Paul. “This is all you know, huh?”
“Yes.”
“You stupid bastard!” Armitage exploded, grabbing him by the shirt. “Look at this place!”
“Leave him alone, Armitage,” said Monica.
“Don’t stick up for him!”
“The helicopters aren’t anything to worry about.’ Who said that? Remind me! Who invited him to move in?”
“I didn’t know about any of this other stuff!”
“Did you get the computer?” she asked.
Armitage looked at her in confusion. “In the boat, why?”
“Bring it up. Let’s see what’s on this diskette.”
Paul thought the last thing she’d want to do was help him.
“Forget it,” said Armitage. “We wash our hands right now.”
“Come on, Armitage. They already know we’re involved. Best thing we can do is find his brother and clear them both out of here.”
“Maybe we should just hand over the diskette,” Armitage suggested.
“What?” Paul was incredulous.
“It’s like this, Paul. Some of my docklands partners are getting edgy—they think these Cityweb goons are trying to shut me down. I will not have someone screwing up my business, know what I’m saying?”
“Look what they did to this place!” Monica shouted. “They’re paying morons like Sked to hunt people down! Let him read the diskette.”
She paused, looking hard into her brother’s eyes. “Cityweb can’t get that diskette, Armitage. You know that.”
Armitage nodded slowly, reluctantly. “Grab the computer and take it out on the cabin cruiser, then. Tie up off Ganymede Reach. I’ll come out later when I have a better idea what’s going on. Hope you know what you’re doing, Monica.”
7
THE BOAT’S ANCIENT engine gushed heat and noise into the cabin. He glanced out one of the portholes. Monica was steering them away from the pier, heading for the farthest reaches of Watertown. It was safest there, she’d said.
He hit the computer’s power switch and the screen glowed amber. He had to concentrate to remember the right commands. He wasn’t particularly talented with computers, nothing like Sam, but he knew enough to get by at school. He booted up a word-processing program and gently shoved his brother’s diskette into the drive.
There were only two files on the diskette. He tried to call up the first, and an error message flashed at the bottom of the screen. Sam had locked his files.
Paul