The Fate of Shin-Osaka – Chapter 11

We crowd around the tablet and watch the footage streaming on the Aoi Uma News Network. As usual, I don’t expect to get the whole truth, just a sliver of what’s really going on. But what I see is enough.

The hospital’s east wing is in shambles, and a fire has broken out among all the rubble. Several floors have collapsed, debris rains through the air, and smoke billows from the blown-out windows of what’s left. People stand on the sidewalks across the street, their mouths open in horror. Aoi Uma military-grade vehicles drive up, and soldiers pour out.

The woman holding the tablet is crying, her fingers pressed against her lips.

“My boyfriend works in the east wing.” Her shoulders start to shake.

“It’s going to be okay, Tracy,” he says, squeezing her. “Don’t worry just yet.”

I don’t know what to say. As I scan through the communications feed in my head, it’s nothing but chaos. Reports are coming in from everywhere, even from the building across the street, the sidewalks, and the food and beverage carts parked right outside. I shut them off quickly. It’s too much death, and I have seen a lot in the last few years.

“Let’s all just sit for a while and wait,” I suggest, lowering myself to the opposite wall. They both nod and sit opposite me. But after twenty minutes, the man pops back up and starts pacing.

“Do you think anyone will come down to talk with us?” the man asks.

I take a moment to answer because I didn’t realize he was talking to me.

“I’m sorry. What’s your name?” I stand up to shake out my body. Sitting around with this much energy is unnerving.

“Dan. Dan Ochinama. We’re just interns, and usually, we only do a few hours in the UPN room, loading and unloading. I can’t imagine that we’ll be stuck down here for long. They’ll want us upstairs in the emergency room.”

I close my eyes for a second and call up the hospital map. The emergency room is in the west wing, so it’s above us. But the stairwells are in the central corridor, and the bomb may have affected them.

Without answering, I glance down at the dead man I’m supposed to be freezing right now. I don’t think he’s going to stay this way for long. The foam is cold, but not forever. He has maybe another hour before he warms up and starts to decay. That’s not what he paid for. I shouldn’t really care since, technically, this isn’t my actual job. But I do. I care about him and my body, too.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen next. I’m as clueless as you. Possibly more. I only work for Inochi.” I shrug. Forced innocence and incompetence are always the way to go in these situations. “Speaking of, um…” I wave to the dead man on the floor. “I know there’s a crisis going on up there.” I point upward. “But I still have a job to do. Maybe you should evacuate, and I’ll take care of this.”

I stand over the container with my hands on my hips, wondering how I’ll get it to the other room. If it hadn’t gotten stuck, I would have loaded it straight from the UPN onto the gurney.

“We can help you lift this,” Dan says, looking around. “I saw a hovercart in the back yesterday. I wish I had a flashlight.”

Tracy takes a small pen light out of her white coat and hands it to him. He laughs.

“You’re always prepared.”

“That’s why I’m the one up for promotion.” She smiles at him, but it’s weak, and she returns to her frown.

I check the news feeds, and there’s nothing new to report. Damage, fire, chaos. I ping Rin, and he’s quiet too. Worry grows in my chest. Where did he go?

After some searching and moving other containers around, Dan finds a hovercart and a dolly.

“Have you been on shift for a while?” I ask Dan and Tracy as we bring the hovercart and the dolly to the dead man.

“I started twelve hours ago. Tracy has been here for over a day.”

Tracy yawns. “I’m exhausted and dying to go home to my dog and cat.” Her eyes water again. “My boyfriend usually takes care of them when I’m on a long shift.”

“I hope he’s okay.” I’m reminded of Ninjin, and I wonder what he’s up to. Many people have pets instead of kids, and I can understand that. I miss my furry companions every day.

We maneuver the head of the dead man’s container onto the dolly, lever it onto the hovercart, and do the same with the other end.

“Mission accomplished!” Dan throws his arms up.

The UPN whines, shuts off, and the doors slam closed. Tracy squeaks and jumps backwards into me.

“It’s okay,” I say, squeezing her upper arms.

The door to the room bursts open. Men in Aoi Uma tactical gear with guns at the ready flow into the room. Oh shit.

“Everyone, put your hands in the air!”

—-

Our hands shoot up as the soldiers surround us with their guns drawn.

Okay, deep breaths, Yumi. Remember, I am not who I used to be, and none of these people will know I’m an android unless they cut me open or shoot me. So let’s not provoke them, right?

“What are you doing here?” A man steps out from the group, and my eyes train on him, blocking everyone else out.

“Um, our job?” Tracy shrugs. “We had the morning UPN shift.”

“Did anyone else come through here?” He looks at each of us, his eyes pausing briefly on the Inochi pin on my shirt.

“No, sir,” Dan says, shaking his head. “It’s just been us all morning.”

“Wrists,” the man demands, pulling a mini-tablet from his pocket. He scans each of our wrists and examines the data displayed. When it’s my turn, he takes a long time studying my profile before looking at me. “What do you do for…” He rechecks his tablet. “Inochi?”

“I freeze dead people.”

“Freeze dead people?” The tone of his voice is skeptical and tired.

“Yeah.” I point to the container on the hovercart. “This one needs to go into his chamber soon, or it’s going to be a problem. And I have another person I need to transfer via the UPN. Are you closing it for good?”

He steps forward, trying to intimidate me with his size and height. I keep my chin lifted and look him in the eyes. “Are you trying to smuggle out weapons?”

“What?” I keep my tone mystified. I know why he’s asking, but if I’m just a regular employee, I wouldn’t know anything more than what we’ve seen on the news from down here.

He stares at his tablet again, then looks at me. Time stretches out, thinner and thinner. He could haul me upstairs and interrogate me. I’m confident I would pass any checks they’d do, but it would mean leaving my body here for good. Because after today, I doubt I’ll ever be able to come back. And Inochi may move people from here anyway after this bombing. Who knows when I’d be able to access it again?

I suddenly hate Yoshi and his ability to delete my emotional governor because my eyes fill with tears. Sure, I’m strong and capable, but this is literally the most unforeseen of circumstances. How do I get past this? Do I bullshit my way through? Do I fake anger and ask for this man’s boss? Shedding tears now may be a good option, too.

“Excuse me?”

I freeze up at the sound of the voice. Rin steps out of the shadows wearing Aoi Uma tactical gear. He’s in disguise, with swooping chestnut brown hair and a pair of glasses obscuring the shape of his face. I didn’t see him earlier because I didn’t expect him here.

Turning my surprise into deference, I drop my head and step back.

“What?” the lead man bites out at Rin.

“It seems everything is in order here. I can stay behind and help get these people upstairs and this man to the, uh, freeze room or whatever it is.” He points at the container before clipping his gun at his side. “It shouldn’t take long.”

The lead soldier looks at his tablet again, and I wonder how thoroughly he does his job normally. Is he just being extra cautious here because of the situation? Or is he always an overachiever?

“Fine. You stay and help them. Join us when you’re done.” He waves to the others, and they file out of the room.

Rin sighs, and it’s music to my ears. “You two can come with me. The stairwells in this section are a little dusty, but they’re stable. All the elevators are closed for now.” He turns to me as Tracy and Dan follow his lead. “I’ll be right back. Two minutes.”

I nod to him and watch them leave. Not running after them is the hardest thing I have ever done.

I blow out a long, shaky breath. Rin is here. I didn’t realize I needed him until he showed up. Closing my eyes, I steady my internal systems. Everything is going to be okay.

While I’m alone, I crouch down next to the dead man and make it look like I’m doing my job for the cameras. The foam is still cool to the touch, and he doesn’t seem to be any worse for wear. The hovercart awaits its instructions to move, and the battery is at seventy-one percent.

I check my battery reserves, and I’m at fifty percent. Down over ten percent in the last hour while I’ve been conserving energy? I won’t last another three hours at this rate. Yoshi wasn’t kidding when he said my battery health was poor. I need to get to a charge point after this, or Rin will have to carry me out of here, and that won’t look suspicious at all.

Rin returns quickly, and my first instinct is to run to him and hug him. He shakes his head, enough of a warning to keep up appearances.

“We saw the footage of you three in here clustered around the UPN, and my boss thought something nefarious might be happening.” Hint, Aoi Uma is watching us.

I wave at the container. “It got stuck in the window. We had to pry it free.”

“I see. Let me help you get this to the other room, then.”

“I’d love to, but we can’t. The door to the cryo-freeze room is locked, and my access can’t open it. I don’t know why.” We each take an end of the hovercart.

“The hospital is on lockdown, but I can open the door.” He pats his pants pocket, where I assume he has a mini-tablet. “Let’s go.”

Out into the hall, we push the cart down to the door, and Rin opens it with his access. Once we’re inside, he relaxes.

“Hospital security doesn’t monitor this room. Inochi has their own access, and Ryoko is handling it.”

I sidestep the container and hug Rin, wrapping my arms around his neck. He hesitates before he hugs me back. It’s the most contact we’ve had in months, and it’s so very welcome. This body I’m using differs from my own, but Rin feels the same in my arms. Gods, I have missed him. So much. I pull back enough to plant a kiss on his cheek and step away before he can protest my familiarity.

His crooked smile is a treat. “You’re welcome.” He looks down at himself. “I had this ready just in case, but I didn’t think I’d have to use it.”

I tilt my head to the side. “You’re more prepared than I am. I never thought someone would blow up the hospital.” My smile sinks into a frown. “How bad is it?”

“Bad,” he says, returning the frown. “Hundreds killed or wounded. They’ll be sorting through the rubble for weeks.”

I press my fingers to my lips. “Do they know why?”

Rin shrugs. “He was a Matsubara resident who lost everything in the recent invasion. His entire family and then his corporation defaulted.”

I close my eyes and hold back the tears. It didn’t have to be like this. I could have saved so many with Kazenoho Corporation if only Gen hadn’t killed me.

And that’s what I have to do. I have to figure out how to save these people, what they want and need, and provide them with it so they’ll prefer us over Aoi Uma. The will of the people will mean something if I can only get them on my side.

I sniff up and square my shoulders. Fuck Aoi Uma. Fuck Gen and fuck Narumi, too. I can’t let them get away with this.

“Let’s get to work.”