The Toll (Arc of a Scythe) - Neal Shusterman Page 0,158
life in seconds.
Kurosawa’s favorite spot was the Shibuya scramble – the notorious intersection that hadn’t changed since the mortal age. At any hour of any day, when all the lights turned red, a mob of hundreds would cross the six-road intersection, moving in every direction yet never bumping into one another.
Kurosawa would glean someone in the crowd and then retire to the same ramen shop each day, celebrating his kill and drowning any remorse he might have felt in rich tonkatsu broth.
On this day, Rowan got there first, taking a seat in a far corner. The place was fairly empty – only one brave customer remained in the corner sipping tea – perhaps there to catch a glimpse of the infamous scythe, or maybe just there for a meal. Rowan paid him little mind until he spoke.
“He knows you’ve been following him,” the customer said. “He knows and he intends to glean you before you even see him coming. But we have about four minutes until he arrives.”
The man’s bemused expression never changed. He took another sip of tea. “Come closer; we have lots to discuss.” His lips didn’t move when he spoke.
Rowan stood and reflexively put his hand on the blade concealed in his jacket.
“It’s a Thunderhead observation bot,” the voice said. “It has no vocal cords, but there’s a speaker in its left shoulder.”
Still Rowan kept his hand on his blade. “Who are you?”
Whoever it was, they didn’t even feign an attempt to answer the question. “Are you seriously considering gleaning a bot? Isn’t that beneath you, Rowan?”
“The Thunderhead hasn’t spoken to me since before my apprenticeship, so I know you’re not the Thunderhead.”
“No,” said the voice. “I am not. Now, if you lift up the bot’s shirt, you will find that within its chest cavity is a thermal jacket. I want you to take it and follow my instructions to the letter.”
“Why should I do anything you say?”
“Because,” the voice said, “if you choose to ignore me, there’s a 91% chance that things will not end well for you. But if you follow my instructions, there’s a 56% chance that things will. So your choice should be obvious.”
“I still don’t know who you are.”
“You may call me Cirrus,” the voice said.
The harbormaster of the port of Guam watched the ships sail in and watched them sail out. It was a busy port, the Thunderhead having transformed it years ago into a shipping hub.
The harbormaster’s job had become much more rigorous these days. Used to be he would do little more than watch the ships come and go, shuffle paperwork that wasn’t actually on paper, and reconfirm manifests that the Thunderhead had already confirmed. He would, on occasion, inspect shipments that the Thunderhead informed him had been compromised or carried contraband from unsavories. But now that everyone was unsavory, the Thunderhead no longer warned him of issues, which meant he had to ferret out irregularities himself. That required unannounced inspections and keeping a keen eye out for suspicious behavior on the docks. It made the job a bit more interesting, but he longed to be reassigned to a mainland port.
Today was no different than any other day. Ships were arriving and off-loading their cargo, which was then reloaded on any number of vessels going in different directions. Nothing stayed in Guam – it was just a stop between points A and B.
Today’s object of interest was an unremarkable cargo ship being loaded with biologic perishable containers from all over the world. This was not unusual. The category included all nature of foodstuffs, livestock in induced hibernation, and species being relocated for their own protection.
What raised a red flag for this particular ship was that its manifest lacked any and all details.
Although the harbormaster didn’t know it, this was a product of the Thunderhead’s inability to lie. Better to have nothing going nowhere, than to have dead Tonists going to a place that didn’t exist.
He approached the ship as the last of the containers were being lifted into place, with a few peace officers in tow in case he needed backup brawn. He boarded by the stern ramp and made his way to the bridge, stopping as soon as he heard voices. He motioned to the peace officers to stay back – he would call for them if needed – and he ventured forward, peering around a corner, eavesdropping on the conversation.
There were five of them, all dressed in ordinary enough clothes, but there was something awkward about them.