Addie looked at Tony as they walked. He wore faded jeans with holes in the knees and thighs; some black, grungy work boots she hadn’t seen before; a blue track jacket with white stripes on the sleeves, and, of course, his sunglasses. He had a spring in his step, and it looked to her like he’d freshly shampooed his wavy black hair. She bumped him with her elbow. “Why are you so bright-eyed?”
“Hmm?” He turned his head, tugging his shades down a little to peer over the top at her with his silvery eye.
“You look like you just had a week off. Where’d you get those boots?”
“These?” He held up one of his boots mid-step. “Picked ’em up at that second-hand store after the gym yesterday.” He shrugged. “Anyway, I think it’s the cool weather. The air is easier to breathe.”
Addie continued to stare, nearly bumping into an older woman with a two-wheeled leg prosthetic. She waved apologetically, then glared at Tony. Sometimes, he seemed so breezy, so ready to go with the flow. When she tried to get into a serious conversation, though, he was quick to hide his feelings and avoid giving any real answers. “You sure about moving out? It’s not too late to tell Mrs. Lane that you changed your—”
He waved her off. “Nah, I’m sure. You gonna help me move in when we get back?”
“Move in? You don’t own anything, Tony!”
He laughed. “Well, in that case, wanna come over for dinner?”
“You’re just scared to be in there all alone,” she teased.
“Maybe. How about it? I’ll buy the beer.”
“Then I’m getting takeout!” Addie laughed. “No way I’m letting you put together some kind of canned-meat casserole.”
“Hey, careful. You’re making me hungry.”
Addie changed the subject. “You know why sparks are called sparks?”
He looked at her again, a corner of his mouth quirking into a smile. “This a joke?”
“No! I’m serious. You know how they got the nickname?”
“Um, I mean, I’ve seen comic vids where sparks blast people with lightning. Is that it?”
“Sort of.” Addie held out her hand, palm up. “Let me see your hand.” Tony moved to put his plasteel hand in hers, and she waved it off. “Your other hand.” Again, he didn’t say anything but obliged, putting his hand in hers. His fingers were long and extended over her palm, so he clutched her hand, squeezing it gently. Despite herself, Addie couldn’t stop thinking about how warm his skin was and how rough—were those callouses from weights? Working? Fighting, somehow?
“Are we just, like, holding hands?”
“Quiet!” Addie pulled his hand, moving out of the flow of pedestrians to the side of a building. “I’m trying to show you something.” She pushed other thoughts out of her mind and focused on where her thumb pressed into his palm. Then she did what she’d learned the night before; she moved her attention back to herself, where her Dust reactor silently churned away at the center of her chest.
Like she always did when she fired up her drone, she let her consciousness drift into the channels of Dust in her body, but this time, she didn’t send it out into her drone; she gathered the stuff, bright and warm in her mind’s eye, and, with a flex of a weird, unseen muscle or impulse, she pushed it toward her thumb.
An audible crackle sounded, and Tony yanked his hand out of hers. “Jesus! What the fuck?”
Addie laughed. “It’s supposed to be the easiest way to manifest Dust—as electricity. Well,” she amended, “according to a text that’s going on thirty-five years old.”
Tony was shaking his head, grimacing, as he rubbed his palm. “Remind me not to get handsy with you.”
A twinge of worry tickled Addie’s stomach. “It didn’t really hurt, did it? I tried it on myself, but maybe that’s different…” She trailed off, peering at Tony’s hand. It wasn’t burned as far as she could tell.
“Nah, it’s fine. It just startled me. It was a hell of a zap, though—felt it in my damn chest.”
“Really?” Addie grasped his arm, gently squeezing. “I’m sorry, Tony! When I did it to myself, it was more like a tickle that made my fingers spasm.”
“No worries. That’s pretty cool, though.” He threw an arm over her shoulder, steering her back onto the sidewalk and into the flow of traffic. “Knew I was right about you—gonna be throwing lightning bolts in no time.”
“No,” Addie laughed, “I’m not!” She shrugged, leaning into him as they walked. “I might be able to short-circuit something or other, though. Besides, this is just one way to manifest Dust energy. I told you Zane made a, um, anti-gravity field, right?”
“Zane.” Tony clicked his tongue, shaking his head. “That guy.”
“What?”
“Oh, nothing.” Tony let his arm slide off her shoulder as they waited for a crosswalk. “We gotta get focused on today’s job. What’s the game plan?”
“I’ll get Humpty out, then we’ll approach the apartments. I figure we need more data in order to get some independent organizations interested in what’s going on here. Like Mr. Yang said, we need something more than rumors to get him to put his name on a report and present it to the Aurora Collective.”
“Yeah, but what’s the endgame in all that? You think some non-profit’s going to stop Boxer?”
“Nope, but I think if we get the word out, we can keep Boxer from securing a monopoly. If other corps get involved in…” Addie squinted, shaking her head as she tried to imagine what the corporations would do with the less-contaminated Dust coming up around the Royal Breeze Apartment Complex. “I mean, whatever they’re doing, if they have a monopoly on it, you can bet the people around here are going to suffer. If more corps get involved, there will be more eyes on the project and more competition and—”
“And when corpos compete, it usually means better deals for the people in the area.”
Addie snapped her fingers and smiled at him. “Right!”
“So what kind of evidence?”
“We can interview people. I’ll ask them to send me a Dust readout from their reactors. JJ can compile the data; if we get enough readings outside the norm, we can prove it’s not just a few anomalies from a funeral home.”
“Yeah, but I have a feeling that’s what Boxer’s trying to stop. That’s why there are more gangs working the place than just the usual…” He frowned and looked at her. “What gang used to run that turf before they all started cooperating?”
“Originally, the Red Thumbs, but I have witness statements that the Black Hand and Lobos are working with them to shake down the tenants for extra protection. I think they’re trying to get people to move out.”
“Black Hands, Black Jades. Bangers like that color, don’t they?” Tony smirked, shaking his head. “And after we went into that funeral home, we got jumped by Cold Boys.” He sighed. “Could’ve been after me for beating up what’s-his-name.”
“Malik. Right, but maybe not. Maybe Boxer’s using that Mr. Ross fellow to hire outside muscle to keep up the pressure around the apartments.”
“And, um, the fancy lady your contact saw coming out of the funeral home?”
“I’m sure she works for Boxer too.”
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Tony started walking as the light changed, and Addie hurried to match his pace. He looked down at her as they stepped onto the sidewalk, just a block from the last turn that would bring them in front of the apartments. “This might get ugly. They gave you hell last time, and I can only imagine things are heating up. If I tell you to run, you need to do it.”
Addie nodded. “Let’s try to get inside. If we can get up onto the housing floors of one of the stacks, there’s less chance we’ll get spotted by a gang.”
“Yeah. Good plan.” He paused and turned to face her. “Put your hair back in a ponytail and pull your collar up. Head-down. We’ll walk through the yard quickly. Don’t make eye contact with anyone.”
“Why my hair?”
“Because, as chilly as it is, the sun’s out. When your hair’s all loose like that, it kinda stands out.”
Addie frowned, running her hair through her fingers as she bunched it at the back of her head. “Does it look bad?”
“No, it’s pretty. That’s the problem; you don’t want every wannabe banger trying to get your number, do you?” Tony had sunglasses on, so he didn’t wink, but Addie had a feeling he would have. Something about the tone of his voice said he was teasing but in a nice way. She pulled a hair tie out of her coat pocket and bound her hair up behind her head. “Good.” Tony nodded, and then he reached an arm over her shoulders again. “Just pretend we’re together. Don’t look at anyone; that’s my job.”
“Okay.” Part of Addie wanted to argue, but she’d been the one who wanted Tony to come along this time. After the run-in with the Cold Boys in the alley, she knew things were dangerous on a level she wasn’t used to. Even so, she wanted to maintain some control. “Hang on.” She stepped out from under his arm and pulled off her pack, taking Humpty out. “I’ll keep him high, but it’ll be good to have a bird’s-eye view.”
Tony nodded. “Smart.”
Addie felt her awareness expand as she connected with Humpty, and then she sent him zooming up into the sky until he was just a black dot in her regular vision. Meanwhile, she’d gained a view of the street, the corner, and around it, the Royal Breeze apartment stacks and courtyard park. She leaned into Tony again, nudging his arm. He grinned and put it over her shoulders. “I’ll keep an eye out for bangers, so guide me; it’s like walking with my peripheral vision when I’m focused on Humpty’s feed.”
“Gotcha.” Tony started moving, pulling her along, and Addie let him guide her around the corner.
“There’s a group of bangers on the street, near the fence, but they’re on the far side. They’re drinking and laughing.”
“No problem. Crossing behind this van. We’ll go through the near gate.”
Addie moved Humpty closer to the apartments, zooming in on the courtyard. “Some Red Thumbs are in the park, but they’re by the basketball court. Lots of people are out.” She saw a group of Charmed Foxes near the building where Tony was steering them, but she didn’t think they’d cause any trouble. “Charmed Foxes ahead, but they won’t shake us down. They mostly hang together to keep creeps at bay.”
“They don’t work with the other gangs?”
“Sure, but not for violent things.”
“Just keep your head down. They could be lookouts. I’d be surprised if they weren’t.” Tony pulled her in tighter, and Addie leaned against him, eyes down as they hurried past dirt-filled planters, cracked concrete sidewalks, overfull trashcans, and dozens and dozens of people who might be staring, but she didn’t know. It was a little unnerving, but having a clear view from Humpty helped.
She zoomed in on herself and Tony. He was smiling, looking around, nodding at people like he’d known them his entire life. She had a dreamy expression on her face—what she could see of it—as she leaned against him. It made her smile to see herself that way, which only improved her “disguise.” She looked utterly smitten. When they passed the Foxes, one of them whistled, and Tony reached up to pull his shades down, winking his silver eye at her. Several snickers and giggles followed.
Addie felt her cheeks getting hot, and she watched as Tony guided her under the awning outside the building’s side entrance. He pulled the door open—held ajar by a cinder block—and she recalled Humpty, guiding him through the opening ahead of them. Tony pulled the door shut, looked around the empty stairwell, and shrugged. “That was easy.”
“Come on! Don’t jinx us.” Addie started up the steps, Humpty low and tight behind her.
“Send him ahead,” Tony whispered.
“Oh! Right.” There could be bangers inside! She flicked her attention to Humpty’s feed and guided him up the center of the stairwell, slowly panning in a circle. She saw kids sitting on steps, playing games. She saw a woman nodding off in the corner, spent chem-sticks scattered by her listless hand. She saw a pair of old men sitting on folding chairs, passing an old-school pipe back and forth, coughing and laughing with red eyes. On the seventh-floor landing, she saw two bangers—Black Hands.
Before they caught a glimpse of him, Addie recalled Humpty. “Mostly residents, but two bangers on the seventh floor.”
“Moving?”
“Not yet. One was on a call; the other was leaning against the wall.”
“Let’s go to the second floor and start knocking on doors, then.”
Addie nodded and followed him up. She wanted to ask why the second floor instead of the first, but she didn’t want to sound dumb. Was there an obvious answer? After thinking it over, she finally broke down and asked, “Why the second floor?”
He shrugged. “I dunno. I figure if anyone saw us come in, they might look for us on the first floor…first.” They passed a pair of boys, one lying on his belly, the other leaning against the wall; they were playing a holo game, and Addie’s AUI displayed tiny, detailed robot models battling it out on the top step with blazing swords and missile packs. Tony stepped over the battle scene, and Addie followed suit, grunting as she hopped over them. The boys didn’t even look up.
When they reached the landing, Tony pushed the door open but didn’t step through. He looked at Humpty, and Addie nodded, sending him through. She zoomed down the hallway, up to the corner, and around it. She could see past the elevator bank, clear to the far end of the hall, where another stairwell waited. Nobody in the hallway looked like any sort of banger. “Clear,” she said, recalling Humpty.
She stepped through the door, and Tony followed, hanging behind her. When she looked at him, he shrugged. “Your show now. I’m just watching your back.”
“Right.” Addie walked past a maintenance closet and stopped at the door to apartment 250C. Tentatively, she touched the call button beside the security terminal. As it chimed, Tony moved to the side, leaning a shoulder against the wall, his eyes staring past her, down the long stretch of hallway.
“Piss off!” a gruff, phlegmy voice said through the speaker. “Don’t want any of what you're selling.”
“Um, excuse me, sir, but I’m not selling anything. I was hoping I could ask you a few questions about—”
“Piss off!” the voice repeated, and then the speaker beeped, and the connection went dead.
Addie looked at Tony, and he shrugged. “Try telling him you’re here to assess corruption and bring rent prices down.”
Addie frowned. She wasn’t sure she liked the idea, but the problem was that she wasn’t sure why. Did she dislike lying, or did she dislike the fact that Tony thought of it first? Of course, it was always easy to justify a white lie; if her story worked out, she very well might bring some relief to the tenants of Royal Breeze. That was her goal, right? She technically was assessing corruption, wasn’t she? Growling softly, she pressed the button again.
“I’m calling the management!”
“Sir! I’m here to evaluate the corruption in these apart—”
“Piss off!” The connection closed again, and when Addie pressed it again, nothing happened other than a privacy light flashing. Growling more loudly this time, Addie stomped past the door to the next apartment and pushed the call button. Nobody said anything, but the green “connected” light flashed.
“Hello, I’m here to evaluate corruption with the management and assess for rent relief.” The door clicked, beeped, and opened to the extent a bar lock allowed. A small white-haired woman peered through the gap, her eye cloudy with cataracts.
“Rent relief?” The woman’s voice was soft, almost a whisper.
“That’s right. If we can prove corporate interference here, we might be able to secure some relief for the entire complex. Have you been dealing with gang extortion?”
“Yes. Three times this week. I can’t afford my meal delivery.”
“Ma’am, this is very important. I’m compiling a database that I can bring to authorities who might be able to help. Do you mind having your PAI complete a small survey regarding your Dust levels? My PAI will interface with yours. It will only take a second?”
“My Dust levels? Why?”
“It’s complicated, but we believe Dust levels and ratings are motivating this increased gang extortion.”
“We?”
“I’m an independent journo, but I’m trying to compile a report for the Aurora Collective.”
The woman sighed so heavily and with such a sad rattle at the end that Addie wanted to reach through the gap between the door and jamb to comfort her. She didn’t, but the urge was there. “I’ve never heard of it. It sounds like a lot of red tape.”
“I understand. I wish I could say we’ll have help tomorrow, but I’m working as quickly as possible. The more data I can get from residents like you, the sooner I can compile my report, and the faster we can get some help for you all.”
“Okay,” she sighed, her shoulders slumping. “Is that your PAI pinging me? Adelaide Jones?”
“Right!”
The woman took a deep breath and let it out in another long, slow sigh, like a leaky air mattress. Then she closed her eyes. The pause before she opened them again had Addie wondering if she’d fallen asleep—or passed away—on her feet. When she did open them, though, a small smile turned up the corners of her narrow, pale, cracked lips. “Sent.”
“Thank you so much, ma’am! I hope we can get you some relief soon!”
The woman just nodded and pushed the door shut with a heavy, final-sounding click of the latch. Addie looked at her AUI, saw the blinking tab for her new spreadsheet, and pulled it open:
Resident Dust Report – Royal Breeze Apartments
- Dorotea Redmond – Dust Level: 65/70 – Dust Purity (LIR): 3.1 – Third-party purified Dust Y/N? N
“Tony, this might take a while, but we’re definitely on the right track.”
“Yeah? Looks good?”
“Her LIR is 3.1! That’s higher than that funeral guy said!”
Tony nodded, rubbing his chin. “All right, boss. Following you.”
Addie smiled and moved to the next door. They might not get every resident to speak to them, and some might refuse to give her the information she wanted, but if she could get a decent sample, she was sure she could get someone to listen. This was a big deal, and it involved serious money. Natural Dust readings over three on the Luminal Index were basically uncontaminated—raw. If corps could harvest Dust in the Blast, it would mean a massive influx of investment money. “Unless Boxer keeps a lid on it…”
“Thinking out loud?” Tony asked.
“I am. Tony, we have to get this data.”
“Yep. Let’s just not get killed doing it. Maybe ask the next person if we can step inside.”
“Right.” Addie licked her lips, cleared her throat, and then pushed the call button.