Danger’s Vice

by Amanda Carlson

  “I know.”

  My expression shot to perplexed, followed by stark irritation. “You know what?”

  “There’s been talk.”

  Case could be as nonverbal as Darby when he wanted to be. “Talk about what, exactly? Quit with the runaround. Be specific.”

  One of his lips attempted a quirk, but it was gone just as quickly. He was enjoying stringing me along. “I’ll tell you more when we get to where we’re going.” His arms were still firmly locked in front of his broad chest, and they weren’t going anywhere.

  Fuck.

  “You’re like a needle inserted directly into the eye, Case. Fine. We go, but if you get blown up, it’s not my fault. And I will take Seven after your untimely death. Your traps don’t scare me.” They kind of did, but he didn’t need to know that. I was pretty sure if I tripped on one of his wires, I wasn’t going to get tasespray in the eye. I’d probably end up with a fist-sized laser hole running through my temple. “Where is she parked?”

  Without another word, he turned, heading back the way he’d come. I swore under my breath. I had no choice but to follow along like a lackey, ringing with vengeful irritation the entire way.

  Thankfully, we didn’t encounter anyone over the next few blocks. I was curious to see where Case had parked. The only times I’d ever taken Luce into this neighborhood, before I’d set up my residence, I’d parked outside and walked in. I wasn’t willing to risk any damage to my craft.

  Surprisingly, Case headed into a building I knew housed residents. He walked into the main staircase like he owned the place. I was tempted to grab him by the elbow and demand an explanation, but that would’ve taken too much time, and I was fairly curious at this point.

  This building wasn’t very tall, and as we rounded the sixth story, we came to the top, an exposed roof that had been sheared off fairly cleanly. Seven was sitting a few feet away, not a scratch on her. “How in the hell—”

  I was cut off by a sound to my left as a man emerged from what looked to be a lean-to in the corner. He was old, but not Cozzi old. Maybe fifty. He was also incredibly mean-looking, with haggard features, overly bushy eyebrows that had jets of hair shooting every which way, and perhaps a glass eye, since it didn’t move or blink as he addressed us.

  “Pay up!” His voice came out as a high-pitched squeak with some spittle at the end. He held out a gloved hand that was missing at least three fingertips, the rest on the verge of unraveling.

  I watched as Case dipped his hand into the pocket of his trench and brought out a few coins. The man greedily shoved the funds into drooping pockets, then turned and shuffled back into the lean-to.

  Like nothing had just happened, Case made his way to Seven, lifting the pilot’s-side door to get in.

  “Oh, no, you don’t,” I demanded before he could fold his body inside. “I’m flying.” He gave me a look, but it was my turn to shake my head. Without further argument, he made his way around to the passenger side, and I took the pilot’s side. The way the world intended. I closed the door and gave him a look. It had some wonder in it. “How did you know you could pay for parking here? I thought you were from down South.” I narrowed my gaze. “And an outskirt like you shouldn’t be as comfortable as you are in The North. They like outskirts here, to be sure, but they’re always leery of outsiders. That old man didn’t even blink at you. And maybe he couldn’t, because of his crazy glass eye, but still. He acted like you were best friends.”

  Case’s expression didn’t even pretend to shift. “All he wanted was his coin. And I’m a quick learner.”

  “Bullshit,” I muttered as I punched the craft on, giving Case a huge side-eye that he probably didn’t see because he was looking out his window. “And I better not get any tasespray in the face after I take off.” Seven’s controls felt comfortable in my grasp. The levers were slightly larger than Luce’s and moved with zero resistance. It made flying tricky if you didn’t have any finesse.

  I engaged the propulsion, and we rose a meter off the roof.

  “Tasespray is for rookies,” Case replied. Before I could comment, he added, “And don’t even think about it. I’m not wearing a blindfold.”

  I swore under my breath. Sparring with Case was a full-time job—one I didn’t have energy for at the moment. “You can at least give me the courtesy of closing your eyes.” Not that that would help, as he would likely recognize the building since we’d been standing in front of it five minutes ago. This meant I would have to come back and set new traps, which would be exhausting.

  Instead of closing his eyes, he turned to me, his voice matter-of-fact. “Up ahead, turn right, three buildings down, land in the hidey-hole on the twelfth floor.”

  I gritted my teeth.

  Case knew where my residence was.

  Exactly where it was.

  I shot Seven up into the air at full throttle, causing the know-it-all to launch backward in his seat, bang his head, and shout an expletive.

  “How do you like that?” I muttered. “You’re not winning this round, you bastard. I am.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  I landed Seven smoothly on her rubber landing pads in a space less than two meters bigger than she was. Turning her off, I sat back in my seat. “I wasn’t kidding before about blowing yourself up,” I told my unwelcome passenger. “If you don’t follow my movements until we get inside, you will perish. I promise, though, I’ll only take the adequate amount of pleasure in your demise, nothing more.”

  “Good to know.”

  We opened our doors and squeezed out. It was easier for me to maneuver around in the small space than the guy who was almost a half a meter taller and had double the body mass. The craft sat inside what used to be an apartment unit that had since been obliterated. My residence was next door. I skirted a few piles of debris, partially hoping Case didn’t catch up. It would be nice if he tumbled off the building and I could finally be done. I wasn’t used to having a shadow, and everything about it bugged me. Other than interacting with my crew a few times a month, I worked alone. Daze was going to be an adjustment, but I was resigned to that fact. After all, I’d offered that deal up to him without a laser pressed to my temple. The fact that I had was still confusing.

  But having an adult trailing after me was irritating.

  At the back wall, farthest from the opening where the rain poured in thin sheets, I tugged a laser key out of my pocket. It was the size of my thumb, and I palmed it, hoping Case didn’t see what I was using. I depressed the button, aiming it into the hole. This laser was a particular frequency and color, amethyst. There weren’t a ton of laser keys around, but it was a good way to lock stuff up if you could find one. The door popped. I scowled rather than smiled, thinking again of how Case’s presence meant I’d have to reinforce this place later.

  I scooted through the gap, not leaving it open for Case. If the door closed, he’d have to wait outside. Not my fault. If he didn’t move around the area, he’d survive.

  His arm managed to sneak in and brace it before it fully shut. He followed me, grunting in the process. The door was heavy. The short hallway ended in what appeared to be a solid wall made of graphene. I snapped on a shoulder light while ordering, “Turn around and face the other way.” I dug around in my pockets, making a lot of extra noise so Case had no idea what I was grabbing. I withdrew the steel tubes I’d just used at my last place while Case gazed behind us. I tapped one of the tubes against the door to make a clicking sound that camouflaged my other, more stealthlike movements as my hand slid onto the quadrant that held the heat sensor, just like the one I’d used at seventeen to get Cozzi inside.

  The beauty of a heat sensor was that almost no one had access to them. I’d been lucky enough to salvage a bunch when I was in my early teens, and I’d put them to good use over the years, with a little—okay, a fairly hefty amount—of help from Bender to get them operational. It was older technology that had been replaced by voice and retinal activation long ago. All our ancestors had ha
d to do to operate almost anything was give it a command or place an eye to a sensor. VoiceRec had been highly accurate, based on a complicated system that monitored your timbre, cadence, tone, and a number of other things that were uniquely your own.

  It was a convenience everyone had taken for granted. Must’ve been nice.

  The wall in front of me gave a groan as it creaked open no more than five centimeters.

  This was where things got trickier.

  The door was tethered from the inside, and if I didn’t unhook it just right, there would be an explosion. Not big enough to kill an intruder, but enough to make somebody think twice before entering.

  Poking my arm through the slit, I felt around the shallow doorjamb. My hand curled around a meter-long stick with a small catch on the end. I angled it up toward a rubber binder attached to the hinge, carefully extracting it, my head jammed into the opening as far as the space would allow me to go.

  Once the binder popped, the door swung wide and I walked into my residence. Case followed. The place had a musty smell, as most shut-up spaces did in our wet climate. I stepped to the side, allowing Case to get in front of me.

  As soon as I closed the door behind us, I reached for my Gem, tugging it out of my waistband as I simultaneously hit a button on the wall.

  The door to my wardrobe sprang open, smashing Case in the face as my foot snaked around his ankle. I brought him down effortlessly. He landed on his stomach with a grunt.

  The wardrobe was a small distraction, but it was all I needed.

  He rolled over, rubbing his face as my boot stomped on his abdomen. I had both hands around my Gem as I aimed it downward. He was about to respond, his face angry, when I cut him off. “How did you know where to find me on the street back there?” I wasn’t playing anymore. “Don’t fuck with me, Case. I want answers, and you’re either going to give them, or you’re going to die.”

  I’d played along with his crap, using him for the ride up. If he thought for even a second I’d fallen for his explanation that he’d stumbled onto me by accident, he was dumber than I thought. Then, when he confirmed the location of my residence, I’d been certain. It was a good thing I was a gifted actress, but acting was a talent that was rarely needed in this town.

  I wanted answers, and he was going to give them to me.

  By the surprised expression that had quickly replaced the anger, it was clear he hadn’t been expecting this particular turn of events. Good. “I wasn’t following you.” He closed his eyes.

  “Yeah, right. People don’t just run into each other in this city. There’s always a catch, a rhyme and a reason, a plan of some kind. How’d you find me? Did you inject me with a tracker again?” If he had, it would be the last thing he ever did.

  “No.”

  “Not good enough, Case. I’m getting antsy.” My voice conveyed my agitation. With one hand steady on my Gem, I withdrew the taser from my waist. If he didn’t comply, I would use it, and then get hold of Lockland and Bender and see what they wanted to do.

  Case sensed my seriousness, judging by the tension in his body, which was smart of him. My finger was itchy. “I figured you’d come north eventually, so I waited.”

  “And how did you figure such a thing?” I hadn’t made any mention of my plans this morning when he’d flown me to Port Station to get Luce and then back to The Middle when we couldn’t find my craft.

  “Because your residence in the canals was compromised.”

  I shook my head. “Not nearly good enough. You knew exactly where this place was. You shouldn’t have that information. Where’d you get it?” When he didn’t answer, I pressed the taser against his flesh, making an indent between the cords of his neck, while shoving the Gem into his forehead. Leaning over as far as I could, my lips almost touching his ear, I whispered, “If you don’t tell me the truth, I’m gonna make you hurt.”

  “I paid for it.”

  “Paid who?” I leaned back. That was a mildly surprising answer. When he didn’t respond, I ran my thumb over the taser trigger, exerting a teensy bit of pressure. It was enough to garner a spark—enough to make Case’s muscles jump and seize for a quick second. That should be enough.

  “Some guy named Goliath at a skell a few blocks away,” he panted.

  I knew Goliath.

  He owned that particular skell and was as big as a house, his face so adorned with carbon piercings and other markings that his natural skin tone was barely visible. It was meant to be intimidating, which worked in his favor.

  He was no friend of mine.

  It was unsurprising that Goliath knew I had a place somewhere around here—there would be talk. But I was a little perturbed he knew the exact location. I didn’t buy it. “Goliath might have had a roundabout location, but you told me in the craft exactly where I should park. So either you’re lying, or you spent time this morning scouring the buildings searching for my residence. Which is it?” Things didn’t add up.

  He cleared his throat, which was hard to do with my taser still pressed up snug against his thorax. “I thought you might be in danger, so I went looking for your place. Goliath knew close enough, but you’re right, he didn’t have the exact location. I saw you on the street before I could investigate further.”

  “What kind of danger?” By the tone of his admission, this was the serious kind of danger—the kind that got you killed, not just bruised or bloodied.

  “If you back off, I’ll tell you the rest of it.” He ended on a grumble. I’d taken him completely off guard and gotten the best of him for the fourth time.

  “You’ve already had a number of chances to confess. You flew me to Port Station this morning, and we just saw each other on the street. Honestly, Case, if you would’ve told me from the get-go that you were planning to spend the rest of the day stalking me, we could’ve handled this situation a lot differently from the start. For example, I would’ve just taken you down then. I don’t bring people back to my residence. You’ve basically broken every single rule I have.” Without his help, Daze would’ve died. I had to remember that. It was the only thing staying my hand at this point. That had earned him a short respite. For the next few minutes anyway.

  Visibly gnashing his teeth, he snarled, “I wasn’t stalking you. And I didn’t have the information earlier, or else I would’ve warned you. I have no way to get a hold of you, since I don’t have a tech phone. Finding your place seemed like the most logical place to start.”

  “Why not tell me on the street? You could’ve saved yourself a tase to the neck.” I eased back a little bit, but not much.

  “Then you wouldn’t have brought me here.”

  True. “And what’s so important that you had to accompany me here? It’s not a safe practice to piss me off. I don’t trust you.” He had the nerve to grin. It wasn’t a full smile with teeth, but a grin just the same. “What the hell is so funny?” His happiness made me incensed. I almost pulled the trigger again, this time a little harder.

  “Goliath bet me I couldn’t get in, even if I found the place. He said you’d kill me first.”

  “He’s right,” I said, not feeling at all mollified. “The only reason you’re still breathing is it seems you have information to share—that may or may not save your life, depending on how stirring and informative it is.” I stood. “Start sharing, Case, and it better be good. What kind of danger are we talking about? And why me?”

  “It has to do with Tandor.” He leaned up on his elbows. I had both Gem and the taser still aimed at his smug face.

  “Tandor?” We’d eradicated him. Specifically, my Gem had seared a hole through his belly, and he’d gone over a cliff with zero chance of survival.

  Case began to rise, and I stepped back, allowing it. He got to his feet, rubbing his neck and making exaggerated motions with his chin. His neck muscles must be tight. Poor baby. “Remember when you asked me if any of Tandor’s men would be a problem, even if we eliminated Tandor?”

  “I do. We were in Seven and I had
n’t yet realized you’d been double-crossing me for the second time. And now you’re telling me there’s a problem.” I leaned a shoulder against the wall.

  “Not one, but two. I just found out this morning.” He brushed his jacket off. Shit fell off. The floor was dirty. I didn’t spend much time here, and cleaning wasn’t a priority. He glanced around. “This is a pretty big space.”

  I absentmindedly followed his gaze, mulling over what he’d just told me. I’d had this place going on ten years. I shoved off from the wall and walked over, turning on some lights as I went. I wanted to see him better when he spilled the rest of the story. There were no openings to the outside in here. “It looks that way because all the walls are down. It’s one room, with a small waste room over there.” I gestured to the right. “There’s a crude sleeping cot in the corner and a small cooling unit next to it. It’s bare bones. Enough small talk. What’s going on with Tandor’s men? And what does it have to do with the seeker I saw earlier?” I knew they were connected somehow.

  Case made his way over to one of two of my seats, and I headed to my cooling unit, passing a wall covered in batteries. That’s what kept everything here powered. “There were survivors,” he said once he sat, still massaging his neck. “One being Tandor’s second in charge, Hutch, and a lackey who goes by the name of Slim. Slim was responsible for gathering the main objective for the group.”

  “Which was?”

  “Procuring Plush.”

  Case had told me a little bit of Tandor’s plan before the zealot had met his untimely end, but we’d been on the go and I hadn’t internalized it, because I’d thought it wasn’t going to matter once he was gone. “What were they planning on doing with the Plush?”