Y - Maternal Instinct

Transfer Complete

It wasn't until the massive, art-deco clock on Nathan's wall ticked over to six in the evening that he was ready to move.

He'd spent the better part of his afternoon preparing himself for the trip. Marlie had had to hide on three separate occasions during that time as various different aides and orderlies filed in to prepare him for his work. Even his insistence that he was fine to do it all himself was met with dozens of lackeys trying to help him in spite of it. In the little crawlspace, Marlie had found it hard to keep her laughter in check. Nathan was probably completely unused to having to lift a single damn finger in his life.

Marlie had spent her time instead preparing the files that she needed to send. A complete digital copy of the formula, the guide to the aerosolized version that Sarah had implemented — with an attached note pointing out that her betrayal might have made it non-viable — and some personal thoughts on the nature of her work and on the state of the world. What little time she'd spent outside the cramped confines of the crawlspace had been with Nathan, going over the details of the plan.

But as she stepped out of his closet one last time as his various minions scurried away with the cases of his belongings, Marlie felt her breath catch in her throat. Once Nathan was gone, her work would be done. She knew what would be coming for her once the formula left the tower. Only thoughts of her son kept her from trying to figure out a way out of her impending end. Death offered him protection. Her life was too much risk for something so precious.

The Nathan that she found in the living room was a far cry from the man who'd been there when she walked in. His outfit then had been simple but his demeanor energetic. Now, in a full suit of black and red and silver with a cape of brilliant crimson, his expression was sombre. He looked tired. Old. Sad. "Marlie."

"Nathan." Marlie looked him up and down and her eyes fixed on his cape with a thin smile. "That's what you're wearing?"

Nathan just rolled his eyes as he grabbed the edge of the cape. He flicked it up into the air and watched the silken thing flutter back into place again. "I'm a breeder, Marlie. You know I get to do whatever I want... so naturally I do what I'm told. Even wearing something so..." He glared at the cape and sighed. "So stupid."

Marlie smirked as she nodded. "Well, you look like a dashing character of lore who has no fashion sense, so I suppose that's definitely the breeder look." Her smile faded as she took a deep breath. "Have you got everything?"

"Not yet I don't." Nathan reached into his pocket and withdrew a small earbud. The silver thing slipped into his right year as he wriggled it in place, and a tap to the side saw it extend out and into a full-blown earpiece. Another tap saw a blue light start blinking. "Still need you to send me the data. Otherwise, yeah. Good to go."

With a nod, Marlie brought up her wristband and keyed in the right commands. A blue light began to blink on the device for a couple of seconds, before both it and the light of the earpiece solidified for a moment. They each flashed twice more, and then went dark again. The wristband blinked a momentary Low Power warning before it too went dark. "Transfer complete," Marlie said. Her voice was low as her shoulders slumped down. "It's all done."

Nathan nodded back. "And so are we." He took a step back and toward the door as he frowned at Marlie. "You don't have to just roll over and take it, you know. You're in an engineer's uniform. I might be able to get you onto the skyrail with me. You could-"

"Abandon my son? Please." Marlie shook her head as she nodded to the door. "You know I won't leave. Not now that this is being taken care of. You've got this now, Nathan. You just need to get that data to the Broker. You remember the bars I said you could contact his people?"

"Shafted in the inner city and McArthur's on the north-side are the best bets. I know." He rolled his eyes as he folded his arms across his chest. "You just... you worry about you. Or your son, I guess, since you're not worrying about you anymore."

Marlie smiled as she stepped forward again and wrapped her arms tight around Nathan's middle. She sighed as she felt him return the embrace. The two had never been close, but in light of what was about to happen, Marlie was glad for that brief moment of contact. "Thank you, Nathan."

He gave her a gentle squeeze as he disengaged from the hug and nodded once. "I'll get it out, Marlie. Just promise me you're not going to roll over and let yourself be killed now because the data's out."

That wasn't a promise Marlie could make and she knew it. There was still one last thing to do before her work was done, but after that... She took a deep breath and held the breeder's gaze for a moment before she nodded once. "I promise I won't just let them kill me, Nate."

Nathan's shoulders drooped slightly as his gaze dropped to the floor. "I guess I can't ask for more than that, can I?" he asked as he backed away again and headed for the door. "The room'll lock up when you leave. Not that I don't want you to make yourself comfortable, but I'd rather the Overseer not find you here."

Marlie chuckled quietly to herself as she nodded. "I promise at least to not let her find out you were helping me," she replied. "Now go on. You have to head out. Don't wanna be late for your train."

"Yeah. You take care of yourself, Marlie. Keep that son of yours safe." Nathan nodded once and flicked her a two-fingered salute with a smile before he turned and headed for the door. His cape fluttered in the air behind him as he moved, and Marlie couldn't keep from snorting quietly at the sight of that gaudy thing again.

Then he was out the door, and the door was closed, and Marlie was alone once more.

She took another deep breath as she closed her eyes and forced herself to calm. Almost done. Almost. There was one more matter to attend to before everything could be finished. One a whim, Marlie called up the small projection of the photo she'd shown Nathan earlier that day. In the image, she'd looked so happy. Rohan had been smiling, but there was a little strain there. He was trying to get away from the tightness of her arm around him, holding him close. It'd probably been embarrassing to have a family moment like that captured by his friend.

By the end of the day, those memories would be all he'd have left of her. Marlie closed down the projection as she felt tears begin to moisten her eyes. She couldn't afford to be emotional. Not yet. At the end, maybe, but there was still a job to do. As long as she still had steps to take to ensure his safety, she couldn't let her feelings get the better of her.

As she shut down the projector again, Marlie tilted her head up and marched for the door. If the engineer's outfit continued to work as a good enough disguise, then she might even be able to make it all the way down to Archives before everything was brought to its conclusion. She passed out into the hall, slipped between a couple of taller guards that didn't seem to recognize her, and made quickly for the elevator.

Behind her, the door to the safest place in the whole tower for her slid shut and locked. There was no going back now.