Pirska-2, Chapter 4 (interlude)

And so she walked through the dark snow of Vladok.

Having neglected to take one of the stupid coats, not out of principles, but they had developed their own aura.

Being cold was the better alternative.

But she was alone now, barely a car on the street much less a person to be seen.

In this solitude, the long tail of the Pirska began to rattle around, the thoughts were harder to block, but didn't seem to sting as deeply.

Something had almost made sense back there.

Hana tried desperately to untangle her problem, all while the counter-balancing force waned and the fissure beckoned.

Candy didn’t seem to live much of a life, it seemed to contain only sex, tragedy and helplessness.

Perhaps it was the right idea, wrong execution. Perhaps the ramblings of a drug addict.

Hana stopped by a parked car, not a bad looking one either.

Oh well, cars are warm. It’s a long way back to my hole too..

Hana kicked the window in. The alarm blared but she knew what to do next, this wasn’t new.

The first wave of nausea hit, the snow she saw began to shift to static, pulsing with the blare of the alarm.

Hana strained and shut the alarm off, barely able to see, operating from muscle memory.

She could just make out the controls, but she started the car, then cranked the heater and the auxiliary gas turbine.

She set off on a slow directionless cruise.

The nausea hit again, fortunately she was sitting down.

Feeling around in her pocket, Hana retrieved the practically worthless collection of Alpha.

It wasn’t worthless, in fact it was worth a good amount of money. But only to people who were complete.

Vaporising Alpha barely made a dent in the static, it was likely killing her too. Maybe less than worthless.

She wound down the window and threw the cassette of Alpha out. She’d never be able to find it, even if she wanted to.

Hana tried to establish a loop, think about driving, obstacles, and make it home.

But it wouldn’t stick.

She shifted uncomfortably in the seat, the nausea and static may have been bothering her, but something more concrete was poking into her hip.

She stopped the car and began fumbling around for whatever useless crap was poking into her. The things people leave in their cars…

But when her hands opened the hidden pocket, a familiar scent escaped. It smelled like Candy.

Her hands shaking, Hana removed the Pirska-2 vials and vaporiser from her secret pocket. In an instant she understood how they must have got there.

She screamed, but no-one heard.

“That… fool. Helpless fool” sobbed Hana

“She’s given me her secret supply. And the vaporizer. She’s… ”

Hana tried to clamp the thought down. The selfless actions of the doomed Candy.

Doomed to be an incoherent rambling mess, until that man ‘saved her’ once again.

Hana wasn’t done crying yet, but she loaded up the vaporiser.

She’d have one, then think. Maybe she’d find a way to go back.

Moments later, the scene came back into focus.

She saw the snowy ground, the haphazard way she’d “parked” the car.

Her thoughts slowed down to a pace she could deal with.

It just… was not acceptable to waste this act of kindness. It must be repaid.

Hana thought and thought. She WOULD go back.

A movement outside interrupted her, a lone figure in a long coat, walking to a car.

“The fucking coats…” she muttered to herself, the Pirska-2 controlling what may have otherwise been another episode.

It was undeniably one of the men from the alley. A Heavy. A Heavy from the club.

Like slipping back into a comfortable pair of shoes, Hana let her instincts take over.

She cut the lights and turbine, she slunk down in the seat.

“Let’s see where you’re off to”

—

It presented little challenge for Hana to follow a goon like this.

Even on the quiet streets of Vladok, it was no obstacle.

She hung back, even when the trip took her far beyond the city, beyond the port she’d called ‘home’.

By the time the Heavy reached his destination, her first vial was beginning to wane.

Hana parked in the darkness, some distance off, she would have to move quickly now.

But the direction was clear, the hulking mass of a wrecked container-ship was hard to miss, out here in the middle of nowhere.

It may have been waning, but Pirska-2 propelled Hana through the actions she’d performed so many times before.

She’d closed the distance and made her target in no-time.

The trunk of his car left ajar, he walked a strange, indirect path through a clearing, heading towards the gaping mouth of the ship.

Remaining hidden would pose a challenge without nanotech, but her instincts were there.

Silently taking her final vial, she understood this was a definitive moment.

Make something happen. In an hour you’re done for

The minefield would be no trouble, she had observed the safe path.

Hana felt the blade in her hand, silently retrieved from the Heavy’s trunk.

Make something happen…

—

It took a few hours, but the only two people inside the container-ship covered a lot of ground that night.

Uncovering of the huge Pirska-2 stash.

Threats, captivity. Violence.

Discovery and demonstrative use of an experimental anti-nanotech explosive.

Even explanation of motives and subsequent offer of absolution.

But Hana and J.Q left the ship with an understanding of each other and what lay ahead.