The Immortality Game

Then he realized his anger at Bunny was making him careless. He turned back to his men and pointed at the skinny one in the blue track suit. “Boris, find the Web link for this building and install a trace in case she calls. Vugar, take my car and park it somewhere she won’t see it. Don’t do anything if you see her except give me a call.”

The two men nodded. Tavik turned back to the entrance, squeezed past Bunny, and entered the foyer. The tiles were grimy and the air reeked of vomit and urine and stale alcohol. A shadow blocked out the sunlight and Tavik knew that Bunny had followed him inside.

Fuck your mother you fucking psycho bastard.

Tavik turned to Bunny and shrugged his shoulders. “There’s nothing dangerous about Uncle Vasya. Wait outside…‌please!”

He turned and headed for the stairwell. At least Uncle Vasya lived on just the second floor. A crunch of broken tile told Tavik that Bunny was still following. Tavik sighed and decided there was little he could do other than try to keep Zoya’s uncle alive as long as possible. He wondered who else Zoya might turn to for help. There was Oksana, her best friend from school, and he seemed to recall there was another friend—Irina perhaps?—but he didn’t know enough about her to do anything. He’d sent Nikolai to Oksana’s apartment to try to capture Zoya if she headed that way. If Zoya headed somewhere else, well…‌she’d be worried about Uncle Vasya and Oksana, so she’d have to turn up eventually.

Problem is, the general wants his chips now, today, so Lev wants them now, too.

There was a large grove of birch trees on a deserted dacha out beyond the Lenin Hills. This was Tavik’s favorite place to bury all the fucks who got in his way or disrespected him. He smiled and promised himself he’d throw the first shovelful of dirt onto Bunny’s clammy dead face before too much longer.

Two bums crouched against a wall on the second floor landing. They slumped further and mumbled something apologetic as Tavik and Bunny strode by. Vasya’s door was the last one on the right. There was little sign that any of the other apartments were inhabited.

Tavik reached for the buzzer before remembering that it never worked. He rapped on the padded metal door and glanced over at Bunny, who stood as implacable as a statue.

He knocked again, harder. “Uncle Vasya! It’s me, Tavik! Georgy’s friend, remember?”

He’d just about decided the old man wasn’t home when the lock clicked and the door swung open a crack. A rheumy eye peered out.

“Who’s that? Ah, I remember you, always running around with Georgy.” Vasya flung the door wide and held a bony hand out for Tavik to shake. Vasya was probably in his mid-fifties, but he looked older. He must have skipped some of the nanobot injections, because he actually had some gray hair on his head and stubbled cheeks. The bulbous red nose indicated a man who loved his vodka. Vasya peered with his weak eyes over Tavik’s shoulder and his head jerked up. “Oi! Who’s that with you there?”

“A friend,” Tavik said. “We’d love some tea. May we come in?”

“Where’s Georgy?”

“We’ll talk about it. Let us in, all right?”

Vasya peered at Bunny again with a doubtful expression on his face.

Tavik pointed a thumb at Bunny. “He’s harmless. Raises rabbits for a hobby. Just looks scary is all.”

The old man turned and shuffled toward a small wooden table in the living room. Tavik followed and pointed Bunny to a sofa across the room. He breathed a small sigh of relief when the big prick actually obeyed this time.

Vasya stood near the table, a confused look on his face. The room stank of alcohol and cat.

“Make some tea,” Tavik said. “Georgy told us to wait for him here.”

Vasya scratched his scalp. “Georgy said that?”

“Sure. We’ve got a job to do nearby. He said why not meet here.”

Vasya nodded. “Okay, just be a few minutes then.” He vanished into the kitchen.

Tavik sat on a wooden chair at the table and looked over at Bunny. The man had discovered Vasya’s cat, a scrawny thing, gray fur dappled with white. Bunny scooped up the cat and cradled it in his arms. The smile on his face looked genuine for the first time Tavik could recall.

Is there some way I can kill the fucker without Lev finding out it was me?

“Play with the cat, Bunny,” Tavik said. “We might be here a while.”

Moscow

Sunday, June 8, 2138

5:23 p.m. MSK

The air car flew lower than Tyoma had ever gone before in his life. As a scientist he’d always believed the work he did was for the betterment of humanity, so he was horrified at the revulsion he felt as the car drew closer to what the sky-dwellers often called The Muck.