Page 117 of Even Robots Die
It takes a bit longer for the fox to regain a semblance of composure, and even then, the purple has been replaced by an almost white face.
The man will definitely not hold a warm memory of his night.
“I’m just the messenger,” he says, and with that sentence I know he’s about to tell me exactly what I want, but that I’m going to hate every second of it. Maybe not as much as him, though.
I drop him to the ground, my hand still wrapped around his throat, but I’m not applying any pressure anymore and I press him to go on.
“TheTerriergave her father away to the birds. They told me she has three days to give herself to them in exchange for him or they’re going to send body parts.”
“Why do they want Florentine?”
“The weapons,” he blurts. “They know she’s the one who built them. They want to force her to make their own.”
Which means they don’t plan on letting her father free once they have her.
“Who do you work for?” I ask him.
It doesn’t make sense that a fox would bring a message for the birds.
“Myself!” he yells, and it sounds more like a cry.
“Talk,” I tell him, and he slumps against my hand.
“They have my little sister,” he says like he’s lost all hope. “They told me they would free her if I delivered the message.”
“You’re a fool if you believed them,” I tell him, and I want to think I would make a different choice if they had someone I love, but I’m not sure. I also want to pity him, but he’s here asking for Florentine to be delivered to the birds, and I can't have that.
I drop him to the ground.
I wish I could tell him to fuck off, but as soon as Florentine knows the birds have her father, she’s going to go save him. She won’t let him stay there any longer than necessary.
“Why would the birds have your sister?” I ask him.
Something doesn’t add up.
“We wanted to leavetheTerrier, and they didn’t want me to go,” he says wearily. Now that he’s started to talk, it seems like every answer comes easily.
“They sold your sister off to the birds to keep you under their thumb,” I say with certainty.
He knows it’s not a question, but still nods in agreement.
I don’t know what he does forthe Terrier,but it must be something important if they went to those kinds of lengths to keep him.
“They think the birds are going to win this war and want to be on the winners’ side of this when it’s over,” he adds without me even prodding this time.
“Why did you want to leave?” I ask him again.
“Blandine is twelve. Paris is at war. I was getting her out of here so she wouldn’t have to see the massacre it’s turning into. I was trying to protect her, and I failed.”
“Should you not get your sister back when you return to tell them you’ve delivered the ultimatum and you want to fight to free her, come back here. Whatever your job is with theTerrier,we’ll find a way for you to fight back,” I tell him.
I don’t think he’ll be back, but I had to offer. If I explain to Florentine what happened here tonight, I know she’ll see a bit of herself in that young man and that she will understand what he has to deal with, so for her, I have to offer him another option.
The fox looks at me with some new light in his eyes.
“I’m Simon, by the way,” he says before running away.
I guess we might see him again.
