Grey Read Free Page B

now?"
    "Despite the official declarations," she said, "they exist. I doubt there are more than a hundred, but it's impossible to tell. They live off the system, completely beyond the laws. Forty years ago, though, they helped defeat the Pharmaceutical Warlords and allowed the families to take control of the cities. At that time they were admired. They were the artisans of anarchy." She stopped fiddling with my shirt, straightened, and faced me. "The slubbers and the warlords are the official enemy, but the freeboots are worst. And from all the information I've been able to gather, I believe your shooting was an act of retaliation."
    "What did I do?"
    "I don't think it was about you in particular—although RiverGroup's role in security and identity is fundamental to the families—you were just a high-level target in retribution for a series of fierce attacks on the freeboots last year." She exhaled and her eyes fell again. "I am sorry."
    "Well," I said, not quite sure what all of this meant besides a huge nuisance, "what happened to the freeboot?"
    "At first, the reports were that the freeboot was killed by family satins, but now it seems he escaped."
    "How?"
    She shook her head. "They're very elusive. And no one was prepared."
    Whipping a hand around the room—the awful images and the now black therapy screen, I said, "I want out of here. I want to see Nora."
    She didn't move.
    I waited several seconds for her to speak then began to panic. "She wasn't shot was she? Please don't tell me that!"
    "No! She's fine. She's perfectly fine . . . " Her voice trailed off. Joelene was not usually this reticent.
    "Is there something bad?"
    She took a breath, looked me in the eyes, and said, "The marriage is off."
    My marriage to Nora was to signify the merger between RiverGroup and her family's company, mkg. Father had invented the scheme a couple of months ago. Although RiverGroup was still number one, we were losing customers because we hadn't introduced anything new in years and our market share had slipped to just below fifty percent. Our biggest rival, mkg, had an innovative approach, and Father's idea was that together, RiverGroup and mkg would dominate the market. As for me: I didn't care for business, or code, or promotions, or money, or any of it. And in the beginning, I didn't want anything to do with his marriage-merger scheme, but when Joelene and I began to research Nora, I couldn't believe how intelligent, beautiful, and serene she was. And then we met and I learned that she was colorless, that she was the epicenter of grey, that she was my conclusion. "Well," I said, saddened, but not devastated, "that's not good, but when can I see her?"
    "The marriage-merger is off," she repeated.
    "I heard you! I just want to see her as soon as I can."
    She spoke slowly, as if reluctant. "You cannot."
    "I have to see her!" I laughed because I was so unused to Joelene not understanding. "Marriage or not. Nora and I are one. You saw what she did with her hand. We're grey. We're perfect together!"
    "Let's get you dressed," she said, with a sigh. "We're going to meet your father back at the company compound."
    "I demand to see her immediately!"
    "The merger is off!" She spoke louder than she ever had before. An instant later, I thought she was going to cry again. "Sorry," she said, dabbing her eyes, "I didn't mean to raise my voice. It's just very difficult. And please understand that we won't be able to monitor her on the channels, send messages, or communicate in any way. Her family's company is now RiverGroup's enemy."
    When what she said sunk in, I felt like I might weep. I had survived the bullets, only to find my world ruined. An old photo S7 from Pure H came to mind. It was of a man suspended in a vat of clear balls and his whole body was held in place and dimpled like a giant golf ball.
    "I'm very sorry, Michael," she said, softly. She started to reach toward my foot, as if to stroke it, but then pulled back, probably because I