Towering skyscrapers loomed behind them as they headed back through the surface streets of Neo Francisco. Titama stared at the clone tank beside her. The skinny body sloshed in the liquid, the cylinder too big for the child-sized body. Titama's phone implant started buzzing. She tapped a spot behind her left ear and an image of Muturangi appeared, projected over her optic nerves.
"Girl, what the hell did you just do?" Muturangi said.
"What did I do? What the fuck did you do?" Titama said. "What did you try to make me part of?"
"Made you a part of-, you've delivered clones hundreds of times before!" Muturangi said.
"Not like this and you know it, or you wouldn't have tried to keep the whole thing secret," Titama said. "It's a kid and it's got full cognition, full sensory input, it's not the same!"
"It's still not a human being, it's a machine made of meat, no soul! No humanity! No parents!" Muturangi said, "It's a piece of meat just like the ones we send out to all the cannibal joints. Tell me how it's different?"
"There's a reason they don't make child bots," Titama said.
"Better that they go after some real kid?" Muturangi said.
"How'd you come into this? You wanted one for yourself?" Titama said.
"Girl, come on now, you've known me for years, I ever strike you as a kiddy fiddler?" Muturangi said. "There's a demand from these sickos, whoever makes the supply can name their price!
"No, no, you got to draw the line somewhere," Titama said. "Growing braindead food clones I got no problem with. Porno clones and meat for the fight pits, wetware, fine, but this-, this is growing a real person. A kid who's not going to know nothing but-, but-,"
"We need to talk about this." Muturangi said.
"Talk's over." Titama said.
Titama tapped the implant again, cutting him off. Muturangi's ghost disappeared in front of her eyes, replaced by the words 'Call Terminated' and a duration for the conversation that quickly faded. Titama looked over at the tank as Jojo pulled back into Little Kiwitown.
When they arrived at Muturangi's building, Jojo reversed down the alleyway and against the loading dock. Riotgrrrl and Skux were waiting for them. Titama knew why Muturangi would have sent them, she liked them better than Bash, Thrash or Jupiter, and he was hoping they could reason with her.
"What the hell did you do, sister?" Skux said.
"Boss man said you turn the van around now, salvage this deal, then all this can be forgot," Riotgrrrl said. "We'll come with you to make the drop."
"Not a chance," Titama said. "Do you know what he's doing? What he sent me to?"
Riotgrrrl shrugged. "Yeah, he told us," she said. "New part of the business, we all going to be handling it soon."
"What? And you're okay with it?" Titama said.
"Think it's fucking gross but they're just clones," Riotgrrrl said. "We chop 'em up and sell them for food elseways, and did you hear the money these fucks will pay?"
"Not these ones, shit, they're grown with full brains. They'll be able to think, to feel everything done to them," Titama said.
"They're grown in a fucking fish tank, they ain't going to know anything else," Skux said.
"Exactly," Titama said. "Now you can either help me or get out of my way."
Titama went to shoulder past the other two. Skux stopped her, throwing his weight in front of her and grabbing her arms. He was fat but he had a strong grip. Jojo had followed Titama up onto the dock but only watched.
"Give me the keys, sister!" Skux said. "We're making the delivery."
"Get your bloody hands off me!" Titama said.
"Give it!" Skux said.
Titama moved her head back, spine flexing like a spring. Before Skux could make a move to block her, Titama lunged forward and butted him in the face. Skux's nose imploded. Releasing his grip on Titama's arms, he stumbled back with blood spewing from his nostrils. Tears filled Skux's eyes and blinded him. Titama used the distraction to grab Skux by the shoulder and sweep one leg into the back of his right knee. She threw the fat young man to the ground. His head rebounded off the concrete with a noise like a melon being smacked against a wall. As soon as he was down, Titama kicked him in the side of the skull. The steel toe of her work boot hit Skux just above the right ear and whiplashed his face to the side, knocking him unconscious.
The one-sided fight had only lasted seconds and Riotgrrrl hadn't had time to react. Titama gave her a hard look and she backed away, raising her hands. Riotgrrrl's hair was still tortured and falling across her face, half-hiding the dark rings of makeup under her eyes. She was wearing a black jacket with sleeves that pooled around her wrists. Riotgrrrl looked like she was surrendering but Titama knew exactly what was coming next.
"Never liked you anyway, bitch," Riotgrrrl said.
Riotgrrrl's raised arms shot suddenly down to her sides. Two extendable batons slid out of hidden holsters that were strapped to her forearms, covered by her sleeves, and into her waiting hands. She unsnapped both batons in one brisk movement. Given California's extreme gun laws and enforcement methods, unlike the good old days all gang members had to be skilled in hand-to-hand combat and usually carried close quarter weapons like knives, knuckle dusters, or batons like these. The batons extended in three sections, black metal, with a bone-breaking round bulb on their ends. Yelling, Riotgrrrl spun toward Titama like a whirling dervish.
One of the batons cut through the air as Titama threw herself backward. Titama retreated as Riotgrrrl swung with both. She was seemingly wild but Titama knew there was a pattern to the movements. One baton bulb swept past Titama's head as she jerked back. Seconds later, another slashed by one of Titama's knees, missing by centimetres. Titama waited for an opening and then struck out, driving a fist into Riotgrrrl's collarbone. Riotgrrrl folded up and was knocked backward, gagging, and Titama caught one of her arms with the crook of her elbow.
"Get off of me!" Riotgrrrl said.
Riotgrrrl swung one of her batons into Titama's left arm and the limb instantly went numb. Titama cried out as the arm dropped to her side. One-handed, she shoved and almost spilled the skinnier woman off her feet. Riotgrrrl lost her grip on one of the batons and it rang off the concrete, rattling across the dock.
"Motherfucker, that hurt!" Titama said.
Darting back toward Titama, Riotgrrrl swung her remaining baton. This time, the swing was genuinely wild and angry. Titama swivelled out of its path, Riotgrrrl telegraphing her movements, and the weapon hissed through the air. Riotgrrrl overextended herself and stumbled right into Titama's fist as the bigger woman heaved around. There was a loud crunch and Riotgrrrl's head almost left her shoulders. The blow threw her across the dock, her remaining baton spinning away from her hand. She crashed to the concrete, rolling onto her face. Spasming for a few moments, she lay next to Skux and went still.
"Jojo, are you with me?" Titama said.
"With you? Y-yeah, yeah, yeah," Jojo said. "I mean, we're partners, you and me, I'm with you."
Titama flexed and rubbed the bicep of her left arm where Riotgrrrl had hit her. A siren howled from somewhere nearby but it wasn't coming toward them. There was no sign of Muturangi or any of the others.
"Come on then, Jojo," Titama said.
===
Titama is a standalone story but operates as a prequel to characters and events seen in Kill Switch: Serial Escalation by Sean E. Britten.
If you're enjoying Titama so far, please feel free to share, watch out for Part Five, and check out the Kill Switch series on Amazon, available in ebook and paperback:
Kill Switch
Kill Switch: Serial Escalation
Kill Switch: Final Season
Sean E. Britten is an author, radio presenter and podcast host from Sydney, Australia. His favourite book of all time is Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, so that might give you some idea of where he's coming from. Check out his website here, find him tweeting stuff here or sometimes posting things on the increasingly dead medium that is Facebook here.