Hindsight by A.A. Bell Read Free Book Online Page B

contaminants. You’ve been dosed with quite a cocktail over the years and some have suppressed the full effects of puberty, which means there’s going to come a time fairly soon when your hormones wake up and your body realises it now has to function for a young woman.’
    ‘Okay, I’m not that naïve.’ Mira wrinkled her nose at the idea. ‘I know how my own body is supposed to function by now. I’ve read a lot of Braille books in my time and they weren’t all mysteries, adventures or poetry.’
    ‘I’ve never accused you of being naïve,’ Sanchez replied. ‘I’ve always suspected you were much smarter than you let on, but that doesn’t change the need for weekly blood samples for a while, sorry. Ben can do it, if you still have a few trust issues with me.’
    ‘Can I check it first, make sure it’s empty?’ She heard a rustle, as if something was removed from a plastic sleeve.
    ‘I wouldn’t have it any other way,’ Ben said. He nudged the shape of a large cool syringe against her hand, then pulled it apart with a pop and let her smell the absence of any contents, and encouraged her to keep one hand on his as he opened her other elbow, swabbed the softest flesh with a little alcohol and then pierced her skin with the icy steel tip.
    ‘Bodily functions aren’t the only changes you’ll experience,’ Sanchez said as Ben drew the sample and finished with another swab. ‘You’ve never been shopping for yourself, at least not since you were a child with your parents, so teller machines, mobile phones and the internet are all virgin territory, not to mention sales-people who’ll treat you differently as soon as they realise you’re blind to any defects in their products or services.’
    ‘I know how mean people can be,’ Mira argued. ‘Better than you, probably. You’ve only got wall paintings, photos or reports to show what’s been going on around here, but I’ve seen everything .’
    Sanchez sighed. ‘If you’d said that six weeks ago —’
    ‘I know. You’d have a doc checking my dosage by now. Are we done here?’
    ‘Just about.’
    ‘Hang on,’ Ben said. ‘I expected a desk-load of extra paperwork, all things considering?’
    ‘I took care of it while you were in hospital, just the way I proposed it. The loophole that allows relatives to visit patients here, despite their criminal records, and take them away for brief home visits can be widened sufficiently for you both at my discretion but as her authorised escort you still have access to any of our resources — for as long as she’s living here voluntarily, I mean.’
    ‘Sounds too good to be true,’ Ben said, and again Mira heard subtle movements as if their hands were arguing, despite his crippled arm.
    ‘I was forced to drop you from the payroll, Ben. That little mishap with Freddie turned you into a political hot potato.’
    ‘ Little ? Maddy, he rang the cops pretending to be me and demanded a reward for kidnapping her! You should have known I’d only slipped out with her for a quick tour of the mainland. We spent the best part of an hour arguing about it. And then there’s that whole mess with his brother …’
    ‘Leave the past in the past until it bites you in the ass. Freddie only interfered to make sure she got home safely. Remember, his main worry is in keeping Colonel Kitching well away from me, and he’s been tearing himself apart with guilt over the things he’s done trying to avoid that particular premonition from coming true — for longer than you realise, probably, because he’s been foretelling doom for me for at least a fortnight before Mira even came onto the scene here.’
    ‘Freddie’s got issues,’ Ben agreed, ‘but if you’re suggesting what I think you’re suggesting, forget it. Mira and I discussed this already on the way here, and from now on, he’s history as far as we’re concerned.’
    ‘Bennet, he’s suffering !’
    Mira heard a final flurry of movements, then a bang as Ben