Zero-G Read Free

going to need these for?”
    He gives me an evil grin. “Use your imagination.”
    I shake my head, but I know he’s not going to take them back. I put the box in my left jumpsuit pocket, and the putty in my right, as far away from each other as possible. The gunk has left a little residue on my hand, and I wipe it on my leg, which does nothing more than add a thin layer of lint to my skin.
    Carver nods at the pipe. “Ladies first.”
    I lean away from the smell, taking a last breath of cold air. Then I slip down into the darkness of the tunnel.

4
Prakesh
    Prakesh Kumar takes the stairs two at a time, his arms pumping.
    Suki is screaming at him to hurry. He can see the intense lights from the Air Lab ceiling through the open door at the top, and he raises a hand to his face, shielding his eyes.
    He takes the last step and explodes out onto the roof of the control room complex, jogging behind Suki. Her hair – green this month – flares out behind her. Prakesh still has his heavy lab coat on, and he rips it from his shoulders as he runs, letting it fall to the ground behind him. They’re running down a narrow canyon, bulky air-conditioning units on either side humming quietly.
    “This way,” Suki says over her shoulder. He can see the tear tracks down her face, gleaming under the lights. He nods, trying to control his breathing.
    They sprint out of the mouth of the canyon. There’s an open area on the roof, and Prakesh sees that there are other techs there, huddled in a small group off to one side. Prakesh doesn’t know all of them, but he recognises Julian Novak from genomics, and the new guy, Iko, from maintenance. Prakesh isn’t particularly fond of Julian. The man’s lazy, prone to taking shortcuts in his work. He gives Prakesh a guarded nod. His dark hair hangs down over his face, and he’s chewing something, his mouth moving mechanically.
    Suki comes to a clumsy stop, pointing to the other side of the roof, beyond another bank of aircon units. “He’s over there. We found him when we…” she trails off, doubling over and clutching her side.
    “It’s OK,” Prakesh says. But it doesn’t feel OK. Not by a long shot. He can feel his heart pounding, the sweat soaking into his shirt. “Do we have a name? Do we know who it is?”
    “It’s Benson,” says Julian, talking around whatever he’s chewing.
    Prakesh’s eyes widen. James Benson. Quiet, cheerful, hard worker. He’s been at the Air Lab forever – Prakesh remembers working with him on some project years ago.
    “Did he say why he’s doing this? Did you talk to him?”
    Julian shrugs.
    Prakesh’s anger flares. How can the man be so calm? He has a sudden desire to tell him to handle it, see if he keeps that smug look on his face then.
    But he can’t. He’s in charge of the Air Lab now, and that means this is his show.
    “How long’s he been up here?” he asks Suki.
    She takes a moment to answer. “Twenty minutes,” she says. “I think.”
    Prakesh grabs her shoulder “I want you to get a Mark Six and jack it all the way up. Make sure he doesn’t see you doing it.”
    “It’ll never work!”
    “Just do it, Suki. And do not put it in place before I tell you.”
    He strides off without waiting for her to reply. The aircon units run right up to the edge of the building. The control room complex is in the corner of the hangar, six storeys high, and Prakesh can see the Air Lab stretching out below him. He can see the enormous man-made forest dotted with algae pools. From up here, it seems like every square foot of extra space has been given over to growing food. Prakesh sees dark soil, brown climbing frames, the emerald green of the plants, the blinking lights of the hydroponic systems.
    He looks down at the edge of the roof. There’s less than a foot of space between the aircon units and thin air.
    Prakesh takes a deep breath, holds it, then lets it out through his nose. He puts one foot on the edge, slipping his body around the aircon