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Marianella opened her mouth to protest, that it was a ridiculous story, but Alejo held up one hand.
“I know how these people work, Marianella. The idea is to get the story out there and see how Cabrera reacts. I’ll get some of my associates to put their ears to the ground. You know what I mean? Maybe he’ll buy it, and then you won’t have to worry. But if he doesn’t, then I can help arrange a meeting to tackle the financial angle. And he’s not going to go straight to the city with this. He’s fucking Ignacio Cabrera. He’d probably see if he could program you do to his bidding first.”
“Oh, that’s reassuring,” Marianella said.
Alejo shrugged. “My point is that it buys us time. We’re controlling the situation. That’s the whole idea.”
Marianella leaned back in her chair and considered what Alejo had told her. Controlling the situation. It didn’t feel like control. It felt as though she were flailing in open water, trying not to drown.
But it was more of a plan than she’d had before.
* * * *
Marianella came back to the park in the late afternoon, just as the city was starting to rouse itself out of the workday. She let herself in through the front gates, and when they latched behind her, she leaned up against the cold, twisting metal and sighed with relief. It had been a risk to go to Alejo, but she’d made it back safely. One small thing to be grateful for, at a time when she didn’t think she had anything to feel grateful for.
She pulled the scarf away from her hair. Closed her eyes. Breathed in the scent of the park.
She heard footsteps.
Marianella opened her eyes and tensed, afraid that Ignacio had found her after all. But it was only Luciano. Her shoulders sagged, anxiety slipping out of her body.
“Luciano,” she said. “How do you feel?”
He stopped and looked at her. In the bright dome light she could see the scar from his repairs, a thin line that cut diagonally across his face.
“I feel quite well,” he said. “Things have been changing for me.”
Marianella smiled. He was evolving, she knew. An organic word to describe an oddly inorganic process, as it was happening to robots. In the midst of all this turmoil Luciano was still becoming something new.
“Why were you outside the park?” he asked.
Marianella hesitated. “I needed to speak with Alejo,” she said. “About the cull—about Inéz’s death. I was afraid Alejo might have been involved.”
“Was he?”
She shook her head.
They stood in silence for a moment. Then Luciano said, “It was dangerous for you to leave the park. Ignacio Cabrera could have found you.”
Marianella’s chest tightened at the sound of Ignacio’s name. “I disguised myself. And he didn’t, anyway, so—” She forced a smile at Luciano. “I made it back without trouble.”
Luciano studied her. He seemed to be considering something, although Marianella did not know what. She wanted to go back to the Ice Palace and throw herself onto her bed and try to sort out what Alejo had told her, but she thought it would be rude to walk away from Luciano, particularly after everything that had happened.
“We could have protected you,” he said suddenly.
“What?” Her mind was on the cullings, on Inéz, and she almost said, No you couldn’t.
“From Cabrera,” he said.
She blinked. “Cabrera? What are you talking about?”
Luciano frowned. “I wasn’t supposed to say anything,” he said carefully, “but I’ve grown more comfortable making my own decisions since the night at your house.”
Marianella blinked. Her house? What had happened at her house?
“I feel this is an extenuating circumstance,” he said. “You needing to leave the park to meet with Alejo Ortiz, I mean. We could have protected you from Ignacio Cabrera.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.” Marianella’s question about her house disappeared, replaced by a cold panic rising up in her throat. “How could you protect me from Ignacio?”
Luciano’s expression went blank. His eyes flicked back and forth.
“Luciano?” Marianella said, her voice shaking. “Is there something I should know?”
“I shouldn’t have told you,” he said flatly. “I just wanted to help you stay safe.”
Marianella pressed her hand against his cheek, an expression of solidarity. His eyes focused on her.
“You can tell me,” she said softly.
There was a long pause. Marianella waited, her heart pounding, afraid of what she was going to hear.
“Sofia has entered into an arrangement with Ignacio Cabrera,” Luciano finally said. “It’s only a means to an end—to help her with her goals—but she could find a way to protect you—”
Marianella dropped her hand to her side. She felt numb.
“I’m sorry,” Luciano said. “I shouldn’t have—”
“You didn’t do anything wrong.” Marianella stared past him, into the tangle of the park. No, he hadn’t done anything wrong. Only Sofia.
First Alejo, now Sofia—she didn’t know who she could trust anymore. Her world was made of glass.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
SOFIA
Sofia waited on the dock, the wind cold against her bare arms. More parts had arrived, although still not all of them. Sofia cursed the incompetence of humans.
A low dark car crawled over the damp asphalt, white steam pouring out of its exhaust pipe and curling over the choppy water slapping up against the pier. Sofia watched it, waiting. It stopped. She couldn’t see through the glass in the windows, but she knew who was inside. She hated that she had to be here alone, after the encounter with the record player, but Inéz was gone, and Luciano had refused to accompany her, for reasons he wouldn’t reveal. And she did not have the equipment to reactivate any of the broken androids locked away in the park. Yet.
The back door of the car opened and Cabrera stepped out, dressed in a long dark trench coat. Sebastian followed, a gun shining in one hand. She waited for Diego, but he never emerged.
“Sofia,” Cabrera said. “Why would you want to meet out here? It’s so much warmer in my office.”
“I don’t care about warmth.” Sofia walked toward him, her senses alert.
“I can see that.” Cabrera nodded at her bare arms, her bare legs. “This isn’t about our little lesson last time?”
“Lesson?” Sofia stopped. “That wasn’t a lesson.”
“Music, my dear. I was trying to teach you about music—”
“I know what you were trying to do. Don’t pretend with me.”
Cabrera’s mocking smile faded away. “You think you’re such a clever robot.”
Sofia began to walk again, heading toward the trunk of the car. But when she passed Cabrera, he grabbed her by the arm. She stopped and glared at him.
“My payment,” she said. “I want to see it.”
“You will.” Something in his expression unsettled her.
“What is it?” She yanked her arm away. “You’re that upset that you couldn’t force me to dance again?”
“I’ll force you to dance when I want to.”
Sofia felt hollow. She didn’t dare take her eyes off Cabrera. “Excuse me?”
Cabrera smiled at her again, a lazy serpentine smile that activated the programming in charge of self-preservation. Sofia took a step back.
“What are you going to do?” Sofia kept her voice hard. Steely. Cabrera seemed unaffected.
“You’ll notice that one of our usual number is missing this evening.” Cabrera gestured at Sebastian, who shifted his gaze off to the side but didn’t react otherwise. “Mr. Amitrano has elected to stay home.”
“Did you kill him?”
Cabrera tilted his head. “I don’t kill people, Sofia.”
“Yes, you do.”
“I hire others to do it for me. But no, Diego is not dead. He’s injured.”
Antarctic wind swirled over the water. Sofia could taste the ice on it, like shards of broken glass. Cabrera seemed to be waiting for her to respond. She would not play into his game. She said nothing.