Genesis (The Legend of Glory Book 3) by Devin O'Branagan Page B

currency.”
    He thought about it for a whole two seconds. “Hell, I’m game.”
    She hauled out a half dozen bottles and put them on the table. Opening a fifth of whiskey, she handed it to him, then opened another one and filled a shot glass for herself. Raising it, she said, “To those we love.”
    She slammed back her shot, and he chugged his bottle.
    “That’s one fine, smooth whiskey,” Zane said, and then chugged some more. It only took half the bottle before he could feel the warmth begin to spread. Slowly, the giant knot in his stomach relaxed. “So, what’s this about a black market?”
    “Here in Wonderland there are four classes of people: the nerds, who are the scientists; the geeks—they’re the techies; the grunts are the laborers. The mercenaries hired to enforce the rules here are called mercs. Although I’m a nerd, I can’t stand them—bunch of superior sons of bitches. Of course, the mercs are to be avoided at all costs. The geeks can be fun. But the real delights are the grunts. They’re the ones with passion who know how to make the most out of a sterile environment.” Her arm gestured toward the walls. “They’re the artists. The fairs they hold in the parks feature live music, dance, street theater, games. Since money isn’t used here, they have a barter system. Booze will buy a lot.”
    Zane studied the artwork she had purchased. Vivid paintings of earth, sea, sky. “Your husband was an artist.”
    She nodded. “I love the artist soul.”
    He gestured toward the jar of drowned listening devices. “You have geek friends willing to defy the system?”
    “There are some renegades around. I’m lucky to have connected with them.”
    Zane thought those relationships might come in handy as they struggled to make sense of what was really going on here. “What worries you about this place?”
    Kate grew pensive. “So many little things all add up to the same bad feeling I had at Scorpio Pharmaceuticals before I found out they had engineered the pan-plague. There’s that same undercurrent of something dark here.”
    Zane knew that Kate had been an unwitting pawn in Scorpio’s gambit to use the pandemic as a mass depopulation strategy. He considered her work now. “But what kind of hidden agenda could they have with the vampire cure?”
    She shook her head. “They’ve been really interested in finding ways to adapt the genetic research I’m doing, ostensibly for things like a cure for AIDS . On the surface, everything seems copasetic. Like I said, it’s just a feeling.” Kate refilled her shot glass. “I’m no fool, Zane. I don’t buy the story of how Erica came to be here. It’s too far-fetched. Too much of a coincidence that she ended up here, of all places.”
    “I don’t believe it either.”
    “What do you think of Erica?”
    He chugged some more from his bottle. “I think deep down she’s a scared little girl. But the part that’s an ice queen is in charge, and I wouldn’t put anything past her.”
    Kate first nodded and then shook her head. “She doesn’t have much use for me. I don’t imagine that’s going to change.”
    “Well, Glory’s crazy about you. She’d die for you. She almost did. One out of two ain’t bad.”
    Kate smiled, raised her glass to him, then downed its contents. “What do you think of Dominic?”
    Zane looked at the bottle in his hand. “Well, he wouldn’t get drunk with you. He wouldn’t get drunk ... ever. After he got over his whole ‘humans aren’t worthy to live’ phase, he turned out to be a nice guy. A better person than I am. Correction, a better man than I am.” He took another slug from the bottle and thought about Dominic. “He wouldn’t rip the throats out of animals and drink their blood. I’m sure he doesn’t have to beat back crazy blood lust or constantly wrestle his passions. I doubt he finds thrill in a fight.”
    “Nice is in his genes,” Kate said. “Even as a human, I’m certain the essence of