The Doorstep

He stood on the sidewalk at the bottom of the porch steps. Far enough away to give me just enough time to get inside, but close enough to make me think twice about making any sudden movements. I knew he was with the Naked Faces from the alley, but I didn't remember seeing him there.

His eyes were electric. They were a brilliant azure that I had never seen before. There was a lazy, confident grin playing at the corners of his mouth. The slightest of dimples peeked from his cheeks as he smoothed a hand over his tawny hair. It was long and slicked back on top while the sides were buzzed.

"Who are you?" I said. My voice came out low and threatening.

"You don't know?" he taunted, taking a slow step forward.

My fingers wrapped around the door handle. "No, I don't but I would like to know who is calling my name from my doorstep at this time in the morning."

He hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his black slacks. He wore an interesting combination of clothing. Slacks, dress shoes, a white dress shirt unbuttoned at the top to reveal a triangle of gold skin, no tie, and a leather jacket.

"Would you now? I think I'll let you figure that out." His grin grew wider. "After all, I had to do little bit of work to find out who you are."

I backed up against the door. "What—"

He lifted one hand to his lips and whistled. A black car started down the street and pulled up in front of the house.

"I have something that you would probably like returned." He opened the door to the backseat. A flurry of turquoise and yellow flew out of the car.

My feet ran halfway down the steps before I could even think. "Melody!"

The man grabbed her arm before she could get too far. "Ah ah ah," he scolded, leaning close to her ear. "I still have business to discuss with your friend here."

Melody looked up at me. Her eyeliner streaked down her cheeks and her perfectly straight hair was matted in clumps. Her lips wobbled through the glass in her Visor. My stomach lurched up into my throat.

"What do you want?" I hissed.

"That is an excellent question, Miss Williams."

There was a glint in his eyes that made me grip the wood railing that went up either side of the stairs. It creaked when you used it but was still sturdy.

"I'm afraid you owe me a debt." His hand tightened on Mel's arm.

She whimpered and tried to twist away from him. The car's passenger side door opened and one of the men from the alley stepped out. He propped an elbow on the top of the door and didn't move forward, but Melody cast him a shifty glance and stilled.

I swallowed. "I don't owe you anything. I don't even know who you are."

"You owe me quite a bit actually." The man in the leather jacket looked me up and down, his head tilted slightly to one side. "You caused my informant to escape earlier this morning."

"That woman was threatening to kill him! How could I just stand there and say nothing?"

"Most people would have turned the other way, which is the behavior that I expect."

"I am not your servant that you can expect to do things!" My voice carried down the street. An old man looked our way before skittering back inside his house with his mail in one hand.

A muscle in his jaw twitched. "Clearly," he said through clenched teeth. "We will have to change that."

He shoved Melody forward. She stumbled to the bottom of the stairs, her ankle rolling in the ridiculous heels she still wore. I grasped her shoulders and pulled her onto the porch with me. She hissed when she put weight on her foot.

"I hate to involve people of the medical profession, but in this case, I have no choice." The man pulled a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and slipped them onto his thin nose. "Your friend now has a tracking device imbedded in her wristwatch. If you do not cooperate, Miss Williams, then you will never see her again."

I hugged Melody close and backed toward the door. "Cooperate with what?"

He smiled, his teeth pure white and dangerous. "I will be in touch," he said before ducking into the car and cruising away down the street.

My heart hammered in my ears. I slammed my hand against the scanner again. When the locks opened for the second time, I fell through the door and thrust it shut behind us. Soft snores issued from the room to the right. Lena, our landlady, was still asleep. I bustled Melody up the stairs and into our rooms. As soon as I closed the door to our apartment, she collapsed. Sobs shuddered through her body.

"Mel, breathe!"

I knelt on the floor in front of her. Her arms folded up tight against her chest. Air rasped down her throat and hiccupped back out. I slipped my fingers underneath the lip of her visor at the corner of her jaw to break the silicone's seal. The Visor popped away from her face, the glass and plastic turning pale gray.

I wrapped my arms around her and whispered, "I am so sorry. This is all my fault."

Her head fell on my shoulder. I rocked her back and forth until the sobs subsided and the strain lining her body relaxed. We were both silent for a long time. Long enough that my eyelids started drooping and Melody's breathing came in even puffs that made me think she was asleep.

"Calyx," she said, her voice a squeak that jolted me out of my half-slumber.

"Hmm?"

"It isn't your fault," Mel mumbled into my shoulder. She sniffled and lifted her head. Her eyes were red and raw as she sat back and looked down at me. "Please do not blame yourself for the stupid, freakshow of a night we have had."

I looked down at my lap and bit my lip. "If I hadn't spoken up—"

"If you hadn't said anything, then then the man they assaulted in the alley would probably be dead right now." She slipped her hands into mine.

"Not even going to the club in the first place?" I glanced up at her tear stained, mascara streaked cheeks.

She paused. "Well…maybe we should have stayed home for once, but it was worth it to see you let loose on the dance floor again." The ghost of a smile played at the droopy corners of her mouth.

A sad smile tickled my own lips, then disappeared. "Wait, did you say that man 'would probably be dead'?"

"Yeah, he got away when the Immune decided go after us."

"That makes me feel a little better at least." I blew out a long breath. "What else happened? How did they find out where we live? What do they want from me and why?"

"Slow down, speedy." Mel held up a hand. "You may have been able to outrun that Naked Face, which is pretty impressive, but I can't answer your questions when your lips move that fast."

"Sorry."

Mel squeezed her gray eyes shut for a few moments, letting the sting subside. She opened them again slowly and squinted through puffy lids at me. "I have something to be sorry about as well."

I held her stare and waited for her to elaborate.

"They wanted me to tell them your name, but I couldn't betray you like that. They threatened me when I didn't talk. I had to tell them something, so I gave them my name." She took a shuddering breath. "They had some kind of high-tech database on a tablet. It showed them everything about me, even pictures. There was a picture with you in it. They used that image to look you up too. They know everything about the both of us now. Everything!"

"They can't know everything." I reached up and grasped her shoulder lightly. "They don't know us. They don't know our personalities and morals. All they have are facts."

"Facts are pretty fool proof."

"That is true, and I don't like knowing that my entire life history is just a word search away for the Immune."

"Yeah, what happened to personal space and privacy?" Mel rubbed her arm. Bruises were already forming where the man had grabbed her.

"Hey, how's your ankle?"

She shifted, pulling her knee up between us. Her ankle was a little puffy "Sore and throbbing," she said.

I jumped up from the floor, my own stiff muscles protesting. When I came back, I handed her a pink gel ice bag with a cartoon cat face on it.

"Aww thanks! You know Whiskers always cheers me up." She wrapped it around her ankle and held it there, sucking in a sharp breath from the cold.

"Do you have any idea who they were, Mel? That might give us a clue to what they want."

"Mmm… The two identical goons were named Kane and Erik. They called their boss Leon sometimes." Mel paused and squished the ice bag around. "When Leon pulled up our profiles, he liked to read them off, but he got really quiet when he saw your employment info."

"You mean Dreyfus Tech?"

She nodded. "Something about it piqued his interest for sure."

"Oh, great! I better not get fired for some obscure reason."

"I don't think that's gonna happen."

"Why not?"

Mel rolled her eyes at me. "Think about it, Cal. If Leon had the power to get you fired, then he wouldn't need to threaten me to get what he wants. I'm the only leverage he has over you. I don't think he has any influence with Dreyfus."

"They're all Immune, though. Don't they usually band together?" I snorted. "Seems like all they do is pick on the rest of us."

"All the big corporations in Genesis are founded and run by old Immune families, but that doesn't mean they like each other."

"I guess." I propped my chin on my fist. "Most Immune are associated with the Big Three also, which means this Leon has to be employed by one of them."

"Now you're using that gorgeous brain." Mel clapped her hands lightly. The ice bag fell off her leg. "Oops," she said and put it back on.

"The Naked Faces are also like celebrities, so we have to have heard of a Leon somewhere."

"Okay, so the Big Three are Dreyfus Technologies & Manufacturing, Campbell Health Solutions, and Ambross Construction. They all have collaborative contracts with each other to maintain and improve the infrastructure of the city, but that doesn't mean they always agree."

My jaw went limp. "How do you know so much about the Big Three?"

"Nurses hear everything. We still abide by the patient confidentiality law though! Mostly I just hear stuff that trickles down through management." She held up a defensive hand, palm out.

"Huh. All I hear at work is grinding gears and sparking welders," I grumbled. "Not to mention Claude's nagging."

"You love his nagging. Don't even try pretending you don't." Mel raised an eyebrow.

I huffed a sigh. "Guilty as charged, but you know he's dreamy."

"He's only dreamy because he's the only man who understands you as well as I do." She poked me in the rib.

"Hey, there's something to be said for that!" I rubbed the sore spot she had given me.

Mel's laughter bubbled through the apartment. "Alright, maybe you can ask him if he's heard of an Immune named Leon."

"That's a good idea. He does work for Campbell Health and is a bit higher up the ladder than you are." I winked at her.

"Whatever," she said. "Help me up so I can take a shower and pass out for the rest of the weekend."