entered his body. “Yow. Is that ever a relief.”
“You sound like
a junkie. May I ask what it is?” inquired Billy. Dom shut and locked the box
again. “Wait until we’re in the car and Jenna has the other half of this.” He
patted his pocket. “She may as well hear it, too.”
Billy nodded,
and then Dom stood up and walked to the door. “Thank you, Sandra,” he said as
he walked to where Jenna was sitting. “I’ll see you next time.” The banker
stood and waved and then headed for the room where the safe deposit box still
sat, while Jenna stood and followed Dom out the door. “We’ll get in the car and
drive a little bit first,” he said, throwing her the keys. “Any direction, as
long as we get away before she starts to make a fuss about the smell, or the
smoke that’s soon gonna follow.”
“Smoke?” Jenna
climbed in and started the car, pulled out in a pause in the traffic.
“Our
friend, still trying to make life difficult for me,” said Dom. “Give me your
hand.” One hand still on the wheel, Jenna reached her right arm across. Dom
took the second piece of wire from his pocket, wrapped it around her wrist,
then poked her with its end. “Ow!” A tiny droplet of blood rose up, dark red bead
intermingling with the wire. “That smarts,” said Jenna, briefly looking down
before returning her eyes to the road. “Oh! I can see the numbers that surround
it. But why are they jumping away from me?”
“Son of a bitch!
That’s not supposed to happen.” Dom reached over and stroked the wire,
whispered to the numbers and convinced them to return. After a pause, they fell
back to Jenna’s arm, surrounded the wire and burrowed in under her skin,
pushing their way—reluctantly, it looked to Dom—into the tiny wound, little
bubbles of black and grey and orange moving aside minute pieces of skin. As
they did so, he experienced another momentary flash—as if he was looking at the
world, at the road they were driving on and down to the numbers burrowing into
her skin—through Jenna’s eyes. And then, just as suddenly, Dom was back in his
own body. He shook his head to clear it, worried but not wanting Jenna to see
it. Voice deliberately calm, he said, “That’s better. It’s okay. Just watch the
road and let it happen.”
“What
is it?” Jenna’s voice rose in panic, and Dom had to grab the wheel and steer
the car over to the side of the road, where she at least had the presence of
mind to put on the brakes.
Dom shifted the
car into Park and shut it off, taking the keys out. “Sorry,” he said, “I
should’ve thought about this before I let you drive.”
Now the numbers
had entered Jenna’s bloodstream, were flowing throughout her body, following
the rhythm of her heart. It was like watching an X-ray movie of the human
circulatory system, but with numbers instead of blood, and Dom knew Jenna could
see it as well. And already they were finding their way into her nervous
system, where they would do the most good. “It’s mojo,” he said. “Should go a
long way to protecting us from disaster until we can get our hands on more.”
“Where did it
come from?” asked Billy.
“Well, until I
tore it in half so that Jenna could use it as well, it was a necklace I’d made
out of wires salvaged from Apollo 13. That’s why the numbers have to find their
way inside. The wires were the nervous system of the spacecraft, and connected
to the craft’s circulatory system, so this is mojo that works best from the
inside-out.”
Jenna was
staring at her arms, face pale. “I saw that movie,” she responded after a
moment of trying to regain her composure. “They almost died.”
“But they
didn’t, and that, combined with its wonderful series of synchronicities is what
makes this little bit of metal—” he waved his wrist in the air “—so damned
valuable to us.” After saying this he finally noticed that Jenna wasn’t looking
any better. “Here,” he said, opening his door and
“You sound like
a junkie. May I ask what it is?” inquired Billy. Dom shut and locked the box
again. “Wait until we’re in the car and Jenna has the other half of this.” He
patted his pocket. “She may as well hear it, too.”
Billy nodded,
and then Dom stood up and walked to the door. “Thank you, Sandra,” he said as
he walked to where Jenna was sitting. “I’ll see you next time.” The banker
stood and waved and then headed for the room where the safe deposit box still
sat, while Jenna stood and followed Dom out the door. “We’ll get in the car and
drive a little bit first,” he said, throwing her the keys. “Any direction, as
long as we get away before she starts to make a fuss about the smell, or the
smoke that’s soon gonna follow.”
“Smoke?” Jenna
climbed in and started the car, pulled out in a pause in the traffic.
“Our
friend, still trying to make life difficult for me,” said Dom. “Give me your
hand.” One hand still on the wheel, Jenna reached her right arm across. Dom
took the second piece of wire from his pocket, wrapped it around her wrist,
then poked her with its end. “Ow!” A tiny droplet of blood rose up, dark red bead
intermingling with the wire. “That smarts,” said Jenna, briefly looking down
before returning her eyes to the road. “Oh! I can see the numbers that surround
it. But why are they jumping away from me?”
“Son of a bitch!
That’s not supposed to happen.” Dom reached over and stroked the wire,
whispered to the numbers and convinced them to return. After a pause, they fell
back to Jenna’s arm, surrounded the wire and burrowed in under her skin,
pushing their way—reluctantly, it looked to Dom—into the tiny wound, little
bubbles of black and grey and orange moving aside minute pieces of skin. As
they did so, he experienced another momentary flash—as if he was looking at the
world, at the road they were driving on and down to the numbers burrowing into
her skin—through Jenna’s eyes. And then, just as suddenly, Dom was back in his
own body. He shook his head to clear it, worried but not wanting Jenna to see
it. Voice deliberately calm, he said, “That’s better. It’s okay. Just watch the
road and let it happen.”
“What
is it?” Jenna’s voice rose in panic, and Dom had to grab the wheel and steer
the car over to the side of the road, where she at least had the presence of
mind to put on the brakes.
Dom shifted the
car into Park and shut it off, taking the keys out. “Sorry,” he said, “I
should’ve thought about this before I let you drive.”
Now the numbers
had entered Jenna’s bloodstream, were flowing throughout her body, following
the rhythm of her heart. It was like watching an X-ray movie of the human
circulatory system, but with numbers instead of blood, and Dom knew Jenna could
see it as well. And already they were finding their way into her nervous
system, where they would do the most good. “It’s mojo,” he said. “Should go a
long way to protecting us from disaster until we can get our hands on more.”
“Where did it
come from?” asked Billy.
“Well, until I
tore it in half so that Jenna could use it as well, it was a necklace I’d made
out of wires salvaged from Apollo 13. That’s why the numbers have to find their
way inside. The wires were the nervous system of the spacecraft, and connected
to the craft’s circulatory system, so this is mojo that works best from the
inside-out.”
Jenna was
staring at her arms, face pale. “I saw that movie,” she responded after a
moment of trying to regain her composure. “They almost died.”
“But they
didn’t, and that, combined with its wonderful series of synchronicities is what
makes this little bit of metal—” he waved his wrist in the air “—so damned
valuable to us.” After saying this he finally noticed that Jenna wasn’t looking
any better. “Here,” he said, opening his door and
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