Orbital

Sixty-Five Decompression

“What the fuck?” says Warren as I shove Attwell’s body through the hatch.

Attwell’s face is bright purple with red spidery veins on his puffy cheeks. He’s wheezing, trying to get air into his damaged lungs.

“Better get him to your clinic.”

I take the hard-drive from his pocket and put it in my thigh pouch.

Eduard helped me take out the explosive plastic an hour ago. It was some new material that couldn’t be picked up by a normal sniffer. One more thing to worry about.

Warren grabs Attwell by the collar and pulls him down the corridor to his lab. I’d asked one of the other medical techs onboard to wait there for a potential incoming vacuum exposure victim.

There were lots of questions, I just ignored them all.

I flip on my comm. “Dixon here. I have some information from Attwell.”

“Roger that,” says Admiral Jessup

I’d told Admiral Jessup in a round-about way that I was going to talk to Attwell. I didn’t give him specifics. If Attwell gets to an attorney, it’ll just be my word against his.

My word is that I reached the distraught man barely in time before he tried to kill himself; like he killed Ling. I don’t know if will hold up, but by that time the forensic evidence will be gone.

“I got a notebook from Attwell’s lab. It’s looks like a simple cypher. He kept tabs on all the times he was contacted. I’ll take some photos and send them down. He also gave me a name of someone. Catherine Tidewell.”

“Shit.”

“You know her?”

“Yes. She’s a Deputy Director with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.”

“That’s the agency all the others answer to?”

“Yes. She heads Acquisition and Technology. And Attwell said she’s Silverback?”

“He said she’s the one he thought was running him.”

“Shit. That fits. Jesus Christ. I got to get on this. Send me everything. Then come home.”

“Will do.”

“Good work, Dixon. Exceptional work.”

After I transmit all the information back to Earth I take a pass by Warren’s zero-gravity clinic and look through the window.

Attwell is on oxygen as Warren tries to seal up the open sores on his arm. Warren sees me and glares.

I push on.

I put the spacesuit back and head down to the hotel. Samantha is in her room when I knock on the door.

“What happened?”

I’d told her to stay in here until I came to get her.

“It was Attwell.”

“Holy shit.”

She notices the expression on my face. I guess it’s my own state of shock.

“Where is he?”

“Warren.”

“Warren is keeping him prisoner?”

“Warren is treating him.”

“Oh, David, what did you do?” Samantha shakes her head. “Never mind. I don’t need to know.” She pushes open the door. “You look like you need to sit down.”

I lay down on her narrow bed. She takes the space behind me and our rolls are reversed. I just sit here, numb, as she strokes my hair.

After a while I say what’s in the back of my mind.

“I once met a man. A cruel man. He hurt people for a living.”

“You’re not that man.”

“But I look a lot more like him now.”

“Bullshit.”

“I just…”

She puts a hand over my mouth. “Bullshit. End of topic. I’ve known cruel men, David. There are things about…” Her voice fades off. “My point is that I know those kind of men. That’s not what you are. You’re different. I know a little about what you went through before and I don’t know what you just had to do. But I’m going to tell you what kind of man I know you are. You’re the man that has to be cruel — that has to do the horrible things in order to protect us from those men who it comes naturally to. You’re a good man, David. That will never change.”

I fall asleep in her arms, hoping she’s telling the truth.