Perdido Street Station - China Mieville [146]
“Ben, listen to me.” Derkhan realized she had to calm him down. “Stop moving. You’re seeing me through a communicatrix who’s harmonized with you. She’s shut herself down into a totally passive recipient state so I can talk straight to you. D’you understand?”
Umma Balsum, who was Ben, nodded quickly. S/he stopped moving, and sank again to her/his knees. “Where are you?” s/he whispered.
“In Brock Marsh, down by the Coil. Ben, we don’t have much time. Where are you? What happened? Have they . . . have they . . . hurt you?” Derkhan exhaled tremulously, her tension and despair sweeping through her.
Two miles away Ben shook his head miserably, and Derkhan saw it in front of her.
“Not yet,” whispered Ben. “They’ve left me alone . . . for a while . . .”
“How did they know where you were?” hissed Derkhan again.
“Jabber, Dee, they’ve always known, haven’t they? I had fucking Rudgutter in here earlier, and he . . . and he was laughing at me. Telling me they’d always known where RR was, just couldn’t be bothered to pick us up.”
“It was the strike . . .” said Derkhan miserably. “They decided we’d gone too far . . .”
“No.”
Derkhan looked up sharply. Ben’s voice, or the approximation that emerged from Umma Balsum’s mouth, was hard and clear. The eyes that gazed at her were steady and urgent.
“No, Dee, it ain’t the strike. Dammit, I only wish we had the kind of impact on the strike that worried them. No, that’s a fucking cover story . . .”
“So what . . . ?” began Derkhan hesitantly. Ben interrupted her.
“I’ll tell you what I know. After I got here, Rudgutter comes in and he’s waving Double-R at me. And you know what he’s pointing at? That really fucking tentative story we had in the second section. ‘Rumours of Fat Sun Deal With Top Mobster.’ You know, the one from that contact I had that was saying the government sold some shit or other, some failed science project, to some crim. Nothing! We had nothing! It was just shit-stirring we were doing! And Rudgutter’s waving it around, and he . . . he’s shoving it in my face . . .” Umma Balsum’s eyes slid away into reverie for a moment as Ben remembered. “He’s on and on at me. ‘What d’ye know about this, Mr. Flex? Who’s your source? What do you know about the moths?’ Seriously! Moths, as in butterflies! ‘;What do you know about Mr. M.’s recent problems?’ “
Ben shook Umma Balsum’s head slowly. “Did you get all that? Dee, I dunno what the fuck we’re onto here, but we’ve opened up some story which . . . Jabber! . . . which’s got Rudgutter crapping himself. That’s why he took me! He kept saying ‘If you know where the moths are, it’d be best to tell me.’ Dee . . .” Ben staggered carefully to his feet. Derkhan opened her mouth to warn him about moving away, but her words died as he moved carefully towards her on Umma Balsum’s legs. “Dee, you have to chase this. They’re scared, Dee. They’re really scared. We’ve got to use this. I didn’t have a fucking clue what he was on about, but I think he thought I was acting, and I started milking it, ’cause it was making him uncomfortable.”
Tentatively, carefully, nervously, Ben reached out with Umma Balsum’s hands towards Derkhan. Derkhan’s throat caught as she saw that Ben was crying. Tears rolled down his face without him making a sound. She bit her lip.
“What’s that whirring noise, Dee?” asked Ben.
“It’s the motor to the communicating engine. It has to keep going,” she said.
Umma Balsum’s head nodded.
Her hands touched Derkhan’s. Derkhan trembled at the touch. She felt Ben clutch her free hand, kneeling before her.
“I can feel you . . .” Ben smiled. “You’re only half visible, like a fucking spook . . . but I can feel you.” He stopped smiling and groped for words. “Dee . . . I . . . they’re going to kill me. Oh Jabber . . .” he breathed out. “I’m scared. I know these . . . scum . . . will use pain on me . . .” His shoulders shuddered up and down as he lost control of his sobs. He was silent for a minute, looking down, weeping silently for fear. When he looked up, his voice was solid.
“Fuck ’em!