Mayday: A Kaiju Thriller

Chapter Four

Yllia’s pit had been transformed in the last few hours. A huge, white tent had been set up over Yllia’s body, the plastic straining against the ropes that held it down in the wind. I strolled through the mud and the rain, Priya behind me. She was close enough that I could hear her breath catch when a flap of the tent billowed open and Yllia’s massive face came into view. Maybe it was my imagination, but the Mayday looked thinner than she had this morning, like she was rotting from the inside out. I glanced back at Priya, but her face betrayed nothing. She couldn’t fool me. War prisoner or not, she’d lived in this Mayday’s head for four years. There was something between them—not a friendship, maybe, but a connection. I filed that away for later consideration. I’d have to bring it up with Volkov. It could be dangerous if the people who controlled the Maydays were sympathetic towards them.

I flashed my ID at the security guards at the entrance to the tent. They let me past and I pushed open the tent flaps. The smell hit me first, harder than it had this morning. The earthy, meaty scent nearly made me gag. I found a rack of odour respirators by the entrance. Before I keeled over, I slipped one on and handed another to Priya. I had to wipe the tears from my eyes before I could see properly.

Yllia’s body stretched out in both directions, looking even more colossal in the confined space. The complement of scientists had thinned out, only thirty or so remaining. Most of them were gathered near the head, dressed up in thick plastic coats with long surgical gloves stretching to their elbows.

I turned to Priya, who hadn’t taken her eyes off the Mayday. “What do you reckon, burial or cremation?” I was nearly yelling to be heard through the mask and over the sound of the rain on the plastic tent. “I once had an aunt who demanded to be buried when she died. She weighed about two hundred kilograms. I was one of the pall bearers. I had to get physiotherapy afterwards.” I pointed at Yllia. “Could be worse, though, right?”

Priya said nothing. I was going to get a reaction out of her one way or another. I turned back to the group of scientists gathered around the head. Just off to the side, I spotted a large blond woman, the only person around not dressed like they worked in an abattoir. Lindsey seemed to be lacking her trademark good humour today. I squelched through the mud to her.

Her eyes met mine over her odour mask as I approached.

“Thank Christ you’re here,” she said. “I was about to start screaming. Goddamn scientists have been blocking me all morning. Won’t even tell me what they’ve found. Who’s that?” She nodded at Priya, who was wandering towards Yllia’s flank.

“The Mayday’s handler. She followed me home.”

Lindsey looked confused but she shrugged. “You’ve got to help me out here, Boss. Dr Russell’s got a bee up her arse about you, and—”

“Escobar!”

I turned around at the sound of my name and found Dr Russell storming towards me, her boots kicking up mud around her. I winked at Lindsey, spread my arms, and met Dr Russell halfway.

“Doctor, I love the new decor.”

She stopped a foot inside my comfort zone and got in my face. A hairnet covered most of her blond hair, except for a couple of strands that’d fought free. She tugged her odour mask down and snarled.

“What do you think you’re doing, sending your lackeys to interfere with my autopsy?”

I put my hands in my pockets and rocked back on my heels, which wasn’t easy in the mud. “Is that what this is? An autopsy? I figured you’d just been setting up a circus tent. You know, ‘Come one, come all, see the Great Dead Mayday.’ Makes sense that you’d be preparing for a new career seeing as how you and everyone else in this company will be out of a job if you keep stopping my investigators doing what they need to do.”