When the rains may come (Science Fiction)

52. No more lies

For a second, Marie was convinced she didn't hear it right. "What do you mean you aren't Arthur's real mother?" she said, frowning.

"No no no. Back off." Daisy groaned. "That's not the right place to start!" She paced up and down the room, her fingers combing through her hair. Then she came to a halt. "Okay, let's start over." She turned to Marie. "The truth is, Arthur is not a boy. He is actually a girl."

Marie gave an even more incredulous look. "What?!"

"Listen, I know all this sounds crazy so just hear me out. Okay?" Daisy said.

Marie frowned. "Okay."

Daisy took a deep breath before she began. "So her real name is Aaria. I met her on the port of the city of Bayren. She was incredibly frail and seemed scared. When I first asked her if she was lost, the girl barely even spoke. I offered her a sandwich. A bottle of water. She was still very scared, still very silent for about an hour or so before she got more comfortable. She told me she snuck on a cargo ship coming from Arkan city. She was on a run."

Marie's frown deepened. "Run from whom?"

"The steel heads."

"Why were the steel heads chasing a child?"

Daisy bit her lip before settling down on the sofa. "She told me they'd been holding her hostage."

#

By the time Clint returned to the v.i.p room Warren Astor had already left. Eli Hodges lay alone in his bed.

"I assume you were done telling everything you had to tell Astor?" Clint said.

Eli shrugged. "Pretty much. Even gave him my personal cell number, just in case. You know what, you should take it too." The old man grabbed a card from his silver plated wallet from the side table and handed one to Clint.

"Um, what am I supposed to do with this?" Clint said, eyeing the card rather nervously.

"Who knows? Your kid might need admission in a prestigious university some day. Ringing me up might do wonders." Eli smirked.

"My son is just twelve. He has got a fair bit of schooling to do before college." Clint raised an eyebrow. "But still, why the generosity?"

Eli shrugged again. "I don't know. Maybe I like your eyes. Just take it, you doofus. It's always a benefit to have powerful friends."

Still rather reluctant, Clint took the card. "Friends huh?" he said as he pocketed it.

"Yeah, friends. I don't have many people whom I can call by that word anymore." Eli stared down at his wrinkled hands after passing the card to Clint. "You have a son, eh?" he said. "I presume you have a wife too."

"Yes."

Eli smiled a surprisingly genuine smile. "A rebel spy living with a family? How did that crook Astor even get you on board for this thing?"

"It wasn't him in particular who did it," Clint said. "I was given an offer. To let my kid breathe clean air, not be in a threat of getting attacked by the infected, go to school and make friends, have a normal life. Back in the sector, it was like getting a chance to enter heaven."

Eli nodded. "So you come from the sectors, huh? How is it working then? Your family having fun?"

Clint winced. He didn't really want to talk about it. "You are very chatty today, aren't you?"

Eli shook his head and looked out the window. "Nah, was just curious as to why a guy like you is getting dirty in the mud with the rest of us."

"I'm not too much of a saint," Clint said. "If you had woken up a second later I would've shot all that EpiFreeze into you."