Artificial Heart
40

It felt strange doing something so normal as climbing into a car with Alf. He sat down heavily beside her, awkward, oversized and completely out of his comfort zone. It was a white van. Alf was holding her hand tightly, watching closely as three others followed them inside.

The “men in black” seemed to have managed to keep the crowds away. There were police cars with whirring sirens. Multiple police officers. Prisha could hear the beating of chopper blades again just before the doors slammed shut.

Prisha felt better behind the tinted windows. The men were quiet. She kept her attention ahead or on Alf or on their combined hands. She could feel the men watching them. She could feel the intensity of the situation like a different kind of itch at the back of her neck. Alf’s hip was touching hers and it was warm and right and wonderful.

Prisha cleared her throat. ‘Do you have some water?’ The man in the passenger seat handed her over a bottle. ‘Where are you taking us?’

‘Back from where you left.’

‘And where exactly is that?’

‘That’s confidential.’

Prisha looked at Alf. His hood was pulled over his face but Prisha could see his gleaming red eye. She leaned in close to his ear. She felt the men in black stiffen.

‘How does this work, Alf? Can they understand me if I speak with you?’

Alf slowly shook his head. ‘Look into my artificial eye when you speak with me, that is all. It helps orientate your chip.’

Prisha was about to reach up and touch the back of her neck but stopped herself.

‘Aren’t you afraid?’ She glanced at Ralph, who was watching them closely, curiously, fascinated.

‘Remember what I said?’

‘I try to remember everything you say.’ She smiled. ‘What did you say?’

‘I told you that your kind could never catch me.’

Prisha frowned. ‘But you’re caught now.’

Alf’s red eye beamed into hers.

‘Can you take off your hood? I want to see you.’

He pushed his hood back. He was watching her as Prisha reached out to touch his cheek. His brown eye closed, then opened slowly. His eyelashes were thick and soft. She’d dragged her finger over them once, when they’d been lying intertwined on the floor of the ship.

‘I’m afraid,’ she said. ‘I don’t want to lose you. Not again. It was very hard when you left.’ She bit down on her trembling lip.

‘I am sorry.’

Prisha’s throat was thick as she swallowed. ‘But you’re here now. I thought you couldn’t …’

‘There are complications now.’ His eyes fell to her belly.

‘Is that all you came back for?’

‘No.’

‘You said you wouldn’t.’

‘You are in danger here.’

Prisha frowned. ‘How could you know that?’ She felt a rush of fear. Again, she wondered if the chip allowed him to somehow read her mind.

‘Your location. Your biochemistry.’

‘It can do all that?’

He nodded.

‘And when you got me, what were you going to do with me?’

‘Take you away.’

Prisha quickly looked down into her lap as she blinked rapidly. ‘That—that sounds good.’

‘Prisha,’ he said. Prisha raised her face. ‘You are going to be well.’

‘It’s not me I’m worried about. Haven’t you worked that out yet?’

Prisha tried to wriggle in closer to him so that every part of his side pressed against hers. She entwined their fingers. Before Prisha had a chance to kiss him, Alf pulled her into a half embrace, awkward though it was in such a tight space. Prisha gripped him tightly back, face pressed into the side of his neck.

‘I love your hugs,’ she said.

‘Speak into my eye. They can hear you.’

Prisha shrugged. ‘They can hear this. I don’t care.’ She pressed her lips to the nape of his neck. ‘You taste good. You feel good.’

They spent the remainder of the short trip holding each other. Prisha closed her eyes, blocking out the car, blocking out the men, pretending they were somewhere safe and far away. The urge to get intimate was sending fiery electric feelings between her hip bones.

Despite the traffic, travel was smooth, made easy by the police car and its whirring siren clearing a path. Prisha shut her eyes, shutting out the men, shutting out the world and her unknown future. Breathing Alf in.

They stopped.

A door slammed open. ‘We’re here.’

Prisha didn’t move. ‘I don’t want to let you go.’

Alf reached out to stroke the hair from her face. The men didn’t speak but she could feel them waiting. They released each other and Prisha followed Alf out into the darkness of an underground carpark.

She blinked against the gloom. There were several other cars. Black sedans. Vans. The men kept guard as Alf and Prisha stood together, hands clasped.

There were more men—probably a dozen—intimidating, armed, prepared, some in white cloaks, most in black clothes. They were waiting in front of a service elevator.

Prisha’s heart was racing as she and Alf stepped inside. Three men stood in front of them. Two more stood behind. Alf’s hand remained tight around hers. How could Alf be so confident that he was in control?

‘Do not be afraid,’ he told her.

‘I’ll try my best.’

They were taken down a corridor she hadn’t yet seen. It was rounded. Arched windows looked down onto what appeared to be a large hangar or empty factory floor.

‘They are looking for my ship,’ he told her.

Prisha jerked her face towards him. ‘What?’

‘I expect they think to bring it here.’ He gave a sardonic smile. ‘As though they ever could.’

‘Do they know where it is? Is it in the park?’ She couldn’t keep the panic out of her voice. He might underestimate them but Prisha didn’t. Hadn’t he analysed the data? Did he really not know what they were capable of?

’I am only seen …

’… when you want to be seen. I know. I know,’ she said. ‘Still … it’s worrying.’

‘They cannot hurt me.’

’They could hurt you through me, though. They could trap you.’

His brow furrowed. ‘Do not let go of my hand.’

‘I may not have a choice. You might be underestimating us. Our intelligence. Our cunning. Our violence.’

He seemed to hear but not listen. Instead, he eyed over the men walking ahead of them. There was a line of blue lights imbedded in the walls. They gleamed against his “superhero” cloak, as she called it. He looked rather large among his human counterparts.

They were taken to a room that looked very much like a cell. There were two narrow uncomfortable-looking beds. A table and a chair. There was an attached bathroom with a barely private partition. The walls were made of cool stone.

‘Just wait here,’ Ralph told them. ‘You will have company shortly.’

His eyes flickered over Alf before he and the others left. A heavy metal door banged shut behind them. There was an electronic beep as it locked. Prisha looked up at the cameras peering down at them from the corners of the room. Feeling shaky, she slumped down onto the edge of the nearest bed. Alf joined her.

‘What do we do now?’ Prisha said.

Alf pushed back his hood, then removed his cloak, tossing it onto the bed behind them. ‘We wait for the right time.’

‘The right time?’

‘To get you out of here.’

Prisha shook her head. ‘Oh, Alf, I don’t think we’re getting out of here.’

Alf looked down at their hands. ‘Are you well?’

‘I’m shocked.’

‘I am sorry. I did not know.’

Prisha nodded and looked away. His soft, intent gaze always made the emotion swell up her throat.

‘I will fix this,’ he said.

Prisha clapped a hand to her belly. ‘I want it.’

‘It is your choice.’

Prisha scanned Alf’s face. ‘What is the mask for? I want to see you.’

‘It helps me breathe. Your atmosphere is not conducive to my health.’

‘Oh-oh … But you took it off before. When we …’

‘I can remove it for a short period.’

‘Alf, don’t …’

But he let it swing open, letting it hang from his ear. His lips looked so incredibly soft. She leaned in, then jerked back at the sound of the door opening.