Noir, City Shrouded By Darkness Read online

  "A novel?" The boy wrinkled his brow. "What kind of book is that?"

  "A novel tells a story. They are very rare. This one is an antique. The Corporate Senate banned the making of entertainment books long ago. Today you have to have a license to carry a novel and many other forms of books."

  The boy eyed the novel curiously. "I still don’t know what it is. What’s a story?"

  Nikolai glanced at the boy’s mother, who was sleeping. He thought, "Did his mamma not tell him tales of knights and dragons even in the privacy of their home? This is a sad, sad world."

  The boy’s mother woke and saw her son talking with the stranger. She noticed Nikolai reading a novel and looked at him with disgust as if he was smoking dope. She changed seats with her child, forcing the boy to sit by the window.

  Nikolai returned to his reading. Hours went by. A female attendant walked up to them, leaned over his sister, and touched his shoulder.

  "Sir, we are coming up to the Curtain."

  "Thank you." Nikolai raked his hand over his face and through his buzz cut.

  A male passenger, in the seat in front of him, said to a woman, "I hear the barriercumulus spreads almost an inch every week. If the Corporate Senate doesn’t find a way to stop the Dry Clouds, the whole world will be covered."

  "Is that right?" the woman asked.

  "As right as anything you hear," the male passenger replied.

  "If this is true," Nikolai thought. "Our homeland will be consumed by these barriercumulus." He opened the window shutter. It was still day. He looked across the wing at about 2 o’clock. In the distance, a charcoal-gray wall of clouds spread across the horizon and consumed the sky. The dark barrier raged with movement as if two creatures fought for dominance.

  Nikolai cleared his throat and said, "Excuse me."

  The female attendant turned. "Yes, sir."

  "Do, what you call Dry Clouds, do they always look that way?" He motioned outside.

  She glanced out the window. "No. Only the outer area known as the Curtain acts this way. Once inside, they look like normal storm clouds."

  "Thank you." Nikolai watched the barriercumulus as streaks of purple lightning lit up the mass.

  He wondered, "Normal storm clouds? What is normal about them?"

  The seat belt sign blinked on with a ding as the V.T.O. ascended, flying above the Dry Clouds of the Earth’s Dark Half into the high Troposphere.

  The female attendant walked the aisle, making sure everyone had their belt buckled.

  "Excuse me," Nikolai said.

  The attendant turned to him. "Yes."

  "Why are we flying above the clouds and not through them?"

  "As you can see, the Curtain is very turbulent. We fly above the Dry Clouds until we have past the Curtain. So we will be flying about five miles in." She glanced over her shoulder, hearing another attendant call button. The attendant turned back to Nikolai. "It's safer to fly above them, then descend, once we reach our destination." She started down the aisle to the other passenger. "We’ll be over Noir in about five minutes."

  Nikolai thought, "Not much longer then." He turned to his sister. "It will be over soon."

  Within twenty minutes, the pilot slowed the plane. The copilot pushed the V.T.O. Lever up, turning the aircraft’s nozzles to their vertical position, and the plane hovered. The pilot closed the air intake valves to the engines with a flick of his finger and switched to a stored clean air source. If the plane used outside air while moving through the barriercumulus, the pollutants would cause the engines to clog and die.

  "Perhaps my sister is right," Nikolai thought as the aircraft started a vertical descent to one of Noir's Airports. "This place is a wicked place."

  The plane hit heavy turbulence, entering the Dry Clouds. He feared his sister would wake and panic, but she continued to sleep soundly. A few minutes passed, and the shaking subsided.

  "If I could have everyone’s attention," a male attendant announced over the intercom. "We will be landing shortly. At this time, please pull out the kits that were issued to you when you boarded. Our staff will be walking around to assist you." The male Attendant paused as he helped an elderly lady remove a kit from underneath her seat.

  Nikolai closed the shutter and gently shook his sister. "Tasha, wake. We are landing in the Rising Sun Sector of Noir. Soon, we will be on a Hover Train to the Hellenistic Sector."

  "Hmm..." She stretched and yawned. "Already? I did dream as you said. I dreamed of a sky full of stars."

  He said, "I told you you would."

  The male attendant announced over an intercom, "Inside your kits you'll find an instruction booklet." He raised the handbook. "A Winnow Mask type A." The attendant lifted a small triangular devise with a rubber rim which fit over the nose and connected to a filter. "And the Liquid Oxygen Spray known as L-O." He raised what looked like a fat ball-point pen. "Please wear the WM-A anytime you go outside. This will keep you from feeling the ill effects of the pollutants caused by the petroleum based clouds. They can be dangerous for those not used to living below Dry Clouds." He paused. "The triangular filter fits over your nose. Breathe in through this filter and out through your mouth. This basic design has to be held to the face. If you find that you are outside a lot, you can purchase an upgraded version of the Winnow Mask that is handsfree." The attendant demonstrated and removed the mask. "If you should feel queasy or light headed, inject yourself with the L-O Spray. This will give your blood stream a burst of oxygen."

  The attendant paused for a moment. "Place the spray’s head on your bare wrist or neck, press the red button on the top, and the solution absorbs right through your skin. Your body will take some time to get used to the air, so please keep your kits with you at all times. These items can be replaced at any drug store. If you have any questions, an attendant will help you."

  Natasha looked at the mask. "They are not very fashionable, are they?" She whined, "I wish to be done with this Closing."

  Nikolai turned to her. "Patience, sister. We will return to Mother Russia in time."

  Chapter Twelve

  Nexus Apartments

  4:35 P.M...

  Hellenistic Sector, Residential Vicinage...

  The red VX Corvette pulled into the parking garage of the Nexus Apartments. Kim had stopped earlier at a gas station and changed out of her black clothes into a blue pant suit and made sure to wash the splattered blood from her face. She made her way to Apartment H, went in, and threw her knapsack on the couch in the living room. Kim continued to the hall, to her bedroom, and went into her bathroom. She leaned on the sink and stared at herself in the mirror.

  "Idiot! How could you let yourself be seen?" She turned on the faucet, watching the water run down the drain. "You should have gone after her and killed that woman. But no." Kim stared at herself again. "You panicked. Ran." She cursed at herself, "Hades!"

  In the bedroom, a screen saver of the flaming phoenix flew across the laptop. The glow lit up the dark room, casting shadows across the floor and walls. Kim splashed her face, dried it with a towel, then went and sat at the desk. She pressed the space bar to pull up her desktop and sent an instant message. Within minutes, a reply came back.

  "Topa’s Closing is complete then," Voice typed. "The payment will be placed into your account. Did you run into any trouble?"

  Kim started to type No, but backspaced, and responded, "About a dozen robot like men showed up and killed everyone in sight."

  "Must be some sort of bio-mecha. Perhaps the next generation of assassins," Voice typed. "Most likely someone there was their target, but was it Topa? We’ll probably never know. At least, you got out safely."

  Kim raked her hand through her blonde hair, knowing the grave mistake she made. She moved her hands toward the keyboard to write, and they shook with dread. Kim forced herself to type, "Someone saw my face." She hit the send button and stared at the screen. Five grueling minutes passed with no reply. "What should I do?" She hit the send button again, hoping for a r
eply, some guidance, and some solace.

  "Find them and kill them. This is very dangerous Phoenix. Even I don’t know who you are or what you look like. If your identity gets out, you will become the target." The statement ended and another followed. "And you don’t want me to rectify the problem. You know my means."

  She thought, "Yes, I know. There's no reprimand for a Closer." Kim grabbed the sides of her desk, gripped them tightly, and hoped for some relief from the anxiety she felt. "Only the sanction of their Closing."

  "Don’t contact me again until this matter is taken care of. Voice signing off."

  "Great! Just great!" She rolled her chair away from the desk and glanced at the dark afternoon through the bedroom’s window. "Where do I look? I don’t know her name. Only that she was there to kill Topa because he hired an Illicit Closer to murder someone named Preacher. I don't even know what he was a preacher of. Hades... This is going to be impossible."

  * * *

  Two days later...

  October 15...

  Friday...

  6:49 A.M...

  Hundreds of street lights lit up twilight as a horde of bats flew across the ever dark horizon. The sidewalk went on forever in both directions as Kat made her way down West 1000 Avenue and paused, looking at the tall Nexus Apartments. "So this is your nest, Phoenix." She had walked all night and morning to reach this part of the Hellenistic Sector. Her shoes felt heavy, and her feet were sore. Kat adjusted the strap of the backpack that crossed her chest. She studied the sensors lining the apartments’ perimeter on an eight foot concrete wall. A black sphere, the size of a volley ball, was spaced about every ten feet along the top. She followed the sidewalk to a gate. On the gate's metal bars was a gold shield.

  "The Sphinx Corporation Emblem." Kat ran her hand over the shield and over a winged creature in its center with a woman’s head and a lion’s body. The creature’s right paw was lifted, and its claws were extended. "This emblem seems to plague every place I go. I know the Council and the Factory are departments within the Corporation, but what does Sphinx want with me?"

  She studied the perimeter and let her mind drift to other questions. "Do these sensors provide more than security for the building?" Kat put her hand up toward a black sphere. "I wonder." She felt and heard a hum coming from the device. "Do they act as a barrier?"

  A white van pulled up, a man got out, and walked up beside her. He was dressed in a white uniform.

  "Excuse me," he said.

  Kat moved out of his way.

  The man tipped a white cap. "Thanks." He pressed the button to an intercom positioned beside the gate and released it.

  "Welcome to Nexus Apartments," a man's voice said over the intercom. "I’m the manager. How may I help you?"

  The delivery man pressed the button again and spoke, "Delivery for Kimberly Griffin. Security Code 10 Alpha."

  After a few seconds, the manager replied, "Code verified. Proceed to the gate that faces Knot Street, and I'll let you in."

  The delivery man went back to his van, started up the engine, turned down Knot Street, and parked. Kat followed the sidewalk around the corner, walked by the vehicle’s passenger seat, and noticed it was empty. The delivery man got out, strolled to the back of the van, whistling, and started on a crate.

  She watched as the man struggled to load a rectangular box on a flat cart. "Where’s your partner?"

  "What?" He paused, wiping his brow with the back of his hand.

  She leaned on the back of the van. "Usually at least two men do this kind of job. So where's your partner?"

  The delivery man pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "He’s out sick."

  "Would you like some help?" She motioned to the apartments. "I was on my way up."

  He looked her over. "I’m not supposed to cause of business policy, but..." He grinned. "You aren’t some murdering psycho are you?"

  "No. Definitely not."

  "Well then..." He placed the wooden crate on the cart. "If you could push from behind. This thing weighs a ton."

  Kat went to the back of the cart and pushed on the crate. The apartment manager and a security guard met them at the gate.

  The old white haired manager looked at a H.H.C. he held. "Kimberly Griffin isn’t home right now, so I’ll show you in." He examined the delivery man’s employee badge and typed the ID number on the Hand Held Computer with a pen stylus. "Follow me please."

  The delivery man pulled the cart as Kat pushed. They walked to the glass front doors, and another security guard buzzed them in. The manager led them to a service elevator, and they, along with the guard, went up to the thirty-first floor. Security cameras monitored the hallways.

  The manager stopped in front of Kim’s apartment and commanded, "Apartment H, unlock. Manager code 12 Beta."

  "Voice recognized as Nexus’ Manager," the Apartment Computer System stated. "Opening door."

  "Wow," the delivery man uttered. "Automated apartments. I bet you can tell the lights to come on."

  The manager said, "Our apartments are equipped with voice commands and manual utilities, giving our tenants the best in security and luxury.”

  "I’ll have to look into getting one of these places," the delivery man said.

  He pulled the cart down a small entryway as Kat pushed. Once in the living room, the delivery man started uncrating a cedar chest. She looked around. Kim’s huge apartment covered more than 3000 square feet. The entryway emptied into an open kitchen with four barstools at the counter, a large living room was off to the left, and beyond it down a hall were two bedrooms and two baths. Off to the right of the entryway, a small round table sat next to a window.

  Kat thought, “That's odd. The table is so small, considering it's the only one in the apartment.”

  She asked the delivery man, "Do you need anymore help?"

  "No, I got it from here. Thanks."

  Kat left, noted the apartment was H, and headed for the regular elevator. She went up to the roof and waited. She watched what little traffic traveled West 1000 Avenue as she gripped the icy metal railing that surrounded the top. "Finally, I might have an answer," she said to herself.

  A cool breeze swept in, chilling the air and her thoughts. Kat zipped up her athletic jacket, and it did little to stay off the cold. "But will I like what I hear?" She clenched the jacket over her heart with her right fist as if in pain. "Will knowing be worse than this unbearable ignorance I have endured this past year?" Her lips trembled for the chill and her fears. "Who am I?" She raised her hands and looked at her palms. "What am I?"

  Back in Apartment H...

  The delivery man finished his work and set the cedar chest against the wall in the living room out of the way. He placed the crate pieces back on his cart, had the manager sign for the package, and headed back to his van. Once inside the vehicle, he made a cell phone call.

  "I would like to speak with R.G." He waited for a moment. "Hello, Delivery Man here. Yes, my work is finished. As per your instructions, I permitted Katharine to enter with me into the Nexus Apartments. She's still there." He paused for a moment, listening. "Yes, so far security doesn’t know she is still on the premise. Do you want me to monitor the situation?" He started up the engine. "Understood. Returning to base."

  The van pulled off.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Confrontation

  7:22 A.M...

  Hellenistic Sector, Residential Vicinage...

  Nexus Apartments...

  On the roof, Kat leaned on the metal railing and continued staring at the road below. At times of quiet stillness, she felt the barriercumulus. She felt them like an evil presence. The Dry Clouds softly rolled and unsettled her. They had done so ever since she first laid eyes on them. There was something else about them. It was a hint of familiarity. Kat couldn’t explain it.

  "Today the foreboding's stronger than the familiarity. Is it because they’re unnatural? Does everyone feel this way around them? Or is it just me?" She watched them go by and loo
ked for shapes within the clouds. Kat saw an old sailing ship being chased by a sea serpent. "You’ve been around for thirty-two years. You've been given the name the Great Specter of Noir. They also say you’re a mystery." She chuckled. "I guess in a way we’re the same."

  An hour went by, and Kat noticed the Corvette pull into the parking garage. She wanted to run back, but waited a few more minutes to give Kim time to arrive at her apartment. “I'm so excited. I've finally found the Phoenix. Maybe she'll have some answers for me.”

  A few minutes later...

  Kim heard a ding and the whoosh of the elevator opening. Someone approached her as she put her mail in the dark green purse that matched her pant suit. "That’s odd," she thought. "I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of the other tenants." Kim turned and her Closer training kicked in before she panicked as she spotted the woman she had been hunting. Her heart raced, but she didn't show her shock.

  For two days, she had scoured Noir. Kim turned the city on its head, but couldn’t find this mysterious woman, not even her name. She dropped some of the mail as she opened the purse to grab the PPK and remembered the floor’s security cameras. "I can’t kill her out here, not unless she threatens me." Kim waited on the woman's next move.

  Elated and full of expectation, Kat stopped about two yards from Kim. Finally, after a year of knowing nothing, she would have some answers. "Maybe find out who I am," she thought.

  Kat then questioned, "Kimberly Griffin?"

  "What?" Kim asked, keeping her cool.

  She then wondered, "Where’s her gun? Is she here to kill me? Does she know I’ve been hunting for her?"

  She looked confused, so Kat repeated, "Is your name Kimberly Griffin?"

  "Yes."

  Kim stepped back, sized up the woman, and wondered, "How does she know my name?" She examined her face. "She looks happy to see me. Is it an act? Is she also waiting to strike when there are no witnesses?"

  Kat said, "I had a contact in the Noir Civil Police Force look up your address from your license plate. It cost me two months worth of water rations." She started to ask something and looked over her shoulder at the cameras. She removed the two Phoenix business cards and showed her the blood speckled one. "Is this you?"