S Huang - Zero Sum Game

“I’m sorry, Russell,” Arthur tried again pleadingly, once the guards had left us. One of them had taken up a post at the door, as before. The dead bodies were gone.

“The hell you are,” I bit out. I had been the one to insist he come with us. Rio and I might have made our escape if he hadn’t interfered. Or maybe Dawna just would have brought the building down on top of us. I pushed that thought away. “What did she offer you? Did she promise you money? A place in her new world order?”

He choked. “It ain’t like that. She just—she explained. They needed you, but they promised not to hurt you, I swear.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know if Pithica’s right, or if it—I don’t know any more than you do,” he said, anguished. “Could be they ain’t right or wrong. But some things ain’t gray in this world, Russell—some things ain’t.”

He wasn’t making sense. “Yeah, she brainwashed you,” I said sarcastically. “Seeing it now.” It didn’t make me any less angry.

“No, I’m telling you, that ain’t what—” Tresting implored me.

“When did she even talk to you?” I snapped.

He looked even more stricken.

The question had been offhand, irritated, but then realization hit me like a pile driver.

They needed you, but they promised not to hurt you, I swear. And: Nothing here. Searched the place top to bottom. How did an extremely observant private investigator miss Dawna’s paramilitary army?

“Son of a bitch,” I whispered. Dawna had gotten to Tresting back in the town, and he had led us both into her hands in the first place, voluntarily. Because… Some things ain’t gray in this world, Russell—some things ain’t.

“You son of a bitch,” I growled. “You were trying to help her get Rio.”

“Russell,” he begged. “I had to help—the man is—”

I did hit him then, so hard his head whipped around and his body smashed against the bars on the far side of the cell. Then I turned and gripped the iron bars in front of me as hard as I could so I wouldn’t turn back and kill him.

They left us in the cell for days. I couldn’t help but wonder what Dawna still wanted with us; after all, we’d only been her bait to entrap Rio. Maybe she’d kill us when she got around to it, or maybe she did want to recruit us for real, but was prioritizing Rio.

I thought a lot about what she’d said about Pithica working for the greater good. I still didn’t know what to believe, but it didn’t much matter to me right now. She had Rio, and that decided me; I’d be damned if I would let my doubts about whether Pithica was all right as an organization keep me from backing him up and getting us out of here.

Unfortunately, every idea I thought of to break out came up short computationally. With the guard at the end of the cellblock, anything I tried would have to be fast enough to avoid being shot, and in order to neutralize the guard first I’d need something both of sufficient mass and small enough to throw. Every option I thought of I had already considered, calculated, and discarded during our first round in here. Too bad I hadn’t known about Arthur’s secret mobile phone before, I thought sarcastically. A phone would have made a perfect projectile.

Whatever. Eventually there would come some change, some break. Dawna would bring me to talk to her again, or one of the guards would have a bout of laziness, or something else would happen, and when the window of opportunity hit, I would be ready.

Three days after Rio’s abortive rescue attempt, Dawna Polk came to see us. She stood in front of our cell and spoke to me as courteously as she always did. I’d slammed my walls of mathematical white noise back up, although at this point I wasn’t sure they were doing any good; she never seemed bothered.

This time was no exception. Her mind appeared to be concentrated wholly on whatever she was here about; she barely made eye contact. “Ms. Russell,” she said, very formally and with no hint of irony, “I want to apologize for what is about to happen here.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked. “Are you finally going to kill us?”

“I’m not a sadist,” said Dawna quietly, avoiding the question. “I want you to know I sincerely regret doing this to you.”

Arthur edged forward. I ignored him; we hadn’t exchanged three words in as many days. “What’s going on?” he asked. He had taken hold of the bars and gripped them like he planned to dent them. “You promised not to hurt her. You promised.”

Huh. Brainwashed-Arthur’s primary motive might be getting Rio offed, but he was still concerned about my welfare, such as it was. Who knew.

Dawna nodded to the PI. “I did say that. I’m afraid it cannot be helped. My apologies to you, as well.”

“You can’t—you swore to me—” Tresting’s eyes darted around like a cornered animal’s. “Take me instead,” he offered suddenly. I blinked at him in shock. I hadn’t realized he was that concerned. Or was this his “all life is valuable” schtick? Whatever the reason, Tresting was hyperventilating, tension cording his body. “Whatever you’re planning, whatever you need someone for, take me instead,” he implored Dawna. “I did this, my doing, I—leave her out of it. Please.”

“Unfortunately, that is not possible.” She turned back to me. “You, Ms. Russell, are the anomaly, so it is you we must use for our test. I do apologize, once again.”

The anomaly. She was talking about Rio—and my relationship with him was her anomaly. “You think you have him,” I whispered, suddenly cold. “You think you found a way.”

She inclined her head. “For which I must thank you. His belief in God was the key to our understanding. No one else might have known such a thing about him.”

“I never mentioned that,” I croaked.

She smiled pityingly. “Oh, Ms. Russell, you know who I am. You didn’t need to.” Of course. “Mr. Sonrio has indeed agreed to work for us,” she continued. “I did expect it would come to that, considering the vast overlap in our mutual goals, but it was you who put us on the right track, so again, thank you, Ms. Russell. I believe we shall be able to satisfy his…needs, and the good he will do with us will save so many lives.”

Tresting made a strangled sound. “Wait. You wanted him to work for you?”

I wanted to laugh in his face, even though I had never felt less amused. “What, she didn’t tell you? She doesn’t want to keep Rio from going around killing people, she wants to harness him for herself. Why did you think they wanted him alive?”

“I thought—” His face froze in horror. Oh, the irony. He’d been expecting Dawna to stop Rio, not recruit him. Well, wasn’t this funny, in a way that made me want to scream.

Dawna ignored him. “I hope you will be comforted, in the end,” she continued to me, “to think of the good your friend will be doing with us, and the part you have played in it. But I hope you understand—we do have to be sure.”

“You mean you still can’t read him,” I translated. “You’re trying to make sure you control him, but you can’t read him. And I’m the only person he’s had a predictable response to.”

“‘Control’ is such an ugly word,” said Dawna. “Instead let us say, we must be certain he is truly on our side. I am sorry.”

“And if he isn’t on your side?” I challenged her.

“Oh, I doubt that will be the case, Ms. Russell. But if he is not, then…well. In that case it would be time to cut our losses. So if it helps, you can also be comforted by your friend being spared by your sacrifice.”

“You twisted woman!” Tresting cried, finding his voice. “ Twisted —I can’t—I believed you!”