Read Online Zero-G by Rob Boffard - Free Book Online Page A

go away. It doesn’t.
    “If you feel you need more motivation,” he says, “I could always perform the same procedure on one of your friends. Except in their case, I’d implant the charges directly into their brains. I haven’t done neurosurgery in a while, however, so I may not remember which parts are safe to cut into.”
    The thought of Carver, of Kevin, of Prakesh being subjected to this monster gets my legs trembling again, and I have to consciously force them to stop.
    “I need time,” I say.
    “You’ve got forty-eight hours,” he says over his shoulder.
    “It’s not enough.”
    “That’s your problem,” he says conversationally, as he turns and walks towards me. “You should be grateful I’m giving you even that.”
    He hands me a small tube of cream, the surface cold to the touch.
    “Of course, as your doctor,” he says, “I advise you to get plenty of rest and keep yourself hydrated. You need to be performing at full capacity.”
    He gestures to the cream. “Apply that three times a day, and keep taking your painkillers. I like to make sure my patients are comfortable after an operation.”
    It’s all I can do not to lash out at him. I have to contain my anger, my frustration, locking them away behind clenched teeth. “I run, OK?” I say. “I run, and roll, and knock into things. If I hit my knee too hard—”
    “And are there many situations where you take a blow to the back of your knee?”
    “You think I can run with these things inside me?”
    “Of course. I designed them that way. Or were you not listening when I explained about the popliteal fossae ?”
    He points. “Your clothes are under the table.”
    As if in a trance, I pull my jumpsuit out, then sit down again to put it on. Bending my knees all the way hurts, an electric sting shooting up through my legs.
    Knox tilts his head to one side, looking at me as I slip my arms into the sleeves. “Tell me – do you miss being a tracer?” he says. “Do you miss not being able to run where you like?”
    When I don’t respond, he says, “You couldn’t keep the Devil Dancers together, could you? After Amira died. You didn’t have her spirit. You had to go begging to the stompers.”
    “It wasn’t like that. They—”
    I lower my head. I’m not giving him anything more. He has way too much already.
    “Here,” he says. “I’ve charged it for you. You shouldn’t have to worry about running out of power.”
    I turn back to look at him. He’s holding out my SPOCS unit. It’s strange that in the time I’ve been awake I haven’t noticed its absence. I guess I still haven’t got used to it.
    “I need the wristband,” I say. Knox hands it to me, and I snap it on.
    “I’ll turn that back on for you after you leave,” he says. “I made a few changes to the basic design. I can listen into your conversations whenever I feel like it, and I will, so please keep it in your ear at all times. I’ve also added a small external microphone, so I’ll know what’s happening around you. I like to know that our little arrangement is just between us.”
    I stare at him. “How did you…”
    He ignores me. “Don’t take it out. Not ever. And don’t think you can switch channels to get rid of me. Whatever you hear, I hear.”
    “And if I have to talk to you?”
    “Just say my name. If I hear you and respond, it’ll lock out anybody else on the channel. They’ll think it’s a glitch, and we’ll be able to talk.”
    He gestures to the door. “Get going.”
    I don’t need an invitation. But as I walk towards the door, each step sending prickles of pain shooting through my legs, I get an idea.
    “You’re bluffing,” I say, turning back to face him.
    “Am I?”
    “I think it’ll take a lot for you to hit that button. You want Okwembu, and so you need me.”
    He nods, as if he expected me to say this. “I need you functional, that’s true. But go ahead. See what happens.”
    His smile is one of the most terrifying things