by Greg Dragon
Peter Paul Whatever was going to town on a rather sloppy Reuben sandwich. It was only when he noticed Tau sitting in front of him that he finally came up for air. “Dude, are you kidding me? D-don’t sit with me. The last thing you and I need is them associating us t-together.”
Tau was taken aback, but then he understood – Peter was a regular on Jovan’s criminal excursions. They all were, actually, but Tau never considered himself a part. Even the name they coined themselves, “The Wolf Pack” made absolutely no sense to him. Peter, like the rest of them, assumed that one day they would be caught. He wanted deniability if he was made to take a stand, and eating lunch with a fellow thief would only make things complicated.
“What’s with the constant paranoia?” Tau said, “I swear, every one of you are scared shitless of hunters—”
“DUDE,” Peter Paul Whatever announced, his eyes wide. It was hard not to laugh at him with the long piece of cheese hanging from his beard. “You should be more careful. You will suffer the most.”
“Wait, what the hell do you mean I will suffer the most?” Tau said.
“I mean that you’re like ninety pounds, and those big guys will turn you out inside of a prison. You do know that’s what we’ll get if you keep on being this reckless? I see you in there moving the elevators at lunch. Hello, dumb ass, if I can see you that means that anybody else can see you. HELLO?” When he said the “hello,” his voice took on a high-pitched noise.
“You’re a shitty Siren, Peter. I don’t even know why Jovan risks his neck for you. What’s your power again? Oh, yeah, you can slow down vehicles by a few MPH.” Tau put up his hands as if he was being arrested, then shook his head to show that he wasn’t impressed. “Lame power, lame dude. Plus you’re fat and soft, so if anyone’s the prison bitch, I’m looking at you, PETE.”
“Who the fuck is Peter? My name is David!” He screamed and threw down his napkin in frustration.
Every day after work, Tau would take a walk over to Heinz Field to watch the reconstruction of the stadium. He was a big fan of the Steelers, although the pennies that he made prevented him from ever going to see them play live. For Tau, the closest thing to being in the stands was to watch them being built. He would mill around the parking lot, help out where he could, then catch the T train home when it got dark.
This day was no different from the rest, so he walked a mile to Heinz and trolled the parking lot before getting on the T train to head back home.
“Christ, they’re here,” he said as he stepped off of the T to see TRUST maintenance trucks parked in the triangular lot between the three Henna buildings. E.Henna was routinely serviced, and F would see attention here and there, but there was a reason they nicknamed G.Henna the G.Hetto.
G.Henna was the last building developed in a major development project made to help the homeless situation in Pittsburgh. The reality of the buildings, however, was that they were experimental structures, built to test the newest developments that would eventually be transferred to commercial buildings.
As a trade-off for being guinea pigs in a set of thirty-story projects, the tenants of the Hennas were only required to keep up with a menial rent. Lights, utilities, and sewage were taken care of, but as Tau and Jovan knew, maintenance was not a priority. TRUST serviced them sparingly, and would always start with building E.
Pulling the short stick in being dwellers of G meant that they had the lowest rent and a broken slum to live in. It was paradise for any criminal that wanted to remain hidden, and for Sirens who wanted to stay under the radar.
He glanced at his watch and then scanned the parking lot, still finding it surreal that he lived in the Henna complex. “Mom and Dad would be proud,” he muttered sarcastically, and slid open the double-glass doors, whose controls had been busted for the better part of the year. People had begun to “decorate” the walls with graffiti, which only made sense being that you couldn’t have your poverty and human suffering without the art to back it up.
Tau paused to examine the newest addition, which was well drawn, unlike the former scribbling that were either bitter haikus about ex-girlfriends or rough sketches of genitalia. This one had taken some time, though it took Tau longer than he would have liked to decipher its meaning. The image was of a blob resplendent in a wig, wearing a mini skirt that did nothing to cover its enormous penis. Along the shaft were the letters ICT, and she seemed to be pissing on the Henna complex.
The message became clear, that the Hennas and all of its residents were getting screwed by ICT. But how upset could they really be? They paid pennies for the rent and occasional maintenance.
People will find anything to complain about, I swear, he thought, then kept his head down as he walked past the teenage delinquents hanging out in the lobby.
“Yo, you live here?” asked a tall teenager who barred his way to the elevator.
Tau looked up from his phone to observe the kid, a skinny, leggy creature with a blonde Mohawk and what he assumed was a designer t-shirt.
“Do YOU live here? You fucking caricature,” Tau barked, pushing past him with a brief glance back to see if he or his buddies would retaliate. The congregation laughed as they exited the building, with the tall kid giving him the finger.
“What a bunch of punks,” he muttered. “Pittsburgh’s future.” Then he froze in his tracks when he turned towards the elevator. Standing in the doorway and holding it open was the same dark-haired girl from a few days before. Today she was in a black pencil skirt and heels, a professional contrast to the rocker he saw that first day.
“Hey, thanks,” he said as he slid into the elevator, and punched in his floor before slipping back into a corner. The small box rose, and his mind began the countdown … this time of day, we should get to the twenties quickly, but if there’s a stop it will be on five—since so many people seemed to inhabit that floor—then six would lead to seven and—
“Cool shirt,” the woman said, breaking his count, but Tau could have sworn that she hadn’t looked at him the entire time.
“Thanks,” he said. “Do you know what it is?”
She removed her buds and turned around to face him. “Well,” she said, her violet eyes dancing. “That is Ava,” she added, and jabbed a finger into the center of his chest. “The quote below it is from Nathan, her creator. It’s an Ex-Machina shirt. Classic Sci-Fi. You can stop looking surprised now.”
Tau had to admit that he was impressed. It wasn’t often that he met people who watched the older Science Fiction films from the age of CGI, but this woman knew names, and seemed genuinely annoyed at his surprise.
“What’s your favorite Sci-Fi from back then?” he asked, noticing that her purple lipstick and dark eye shadow made her eyes stand out like beacons.
The door chimed and slid open before she could answer, and Tau realized that it was his floor. The tiny woman moved out of his way, but he stood his ground and waited. “I’ll take it back down. Come on, I’m curious,” he said.
She put a foot in the door to keep it open and slipped her buds back into her ears. “I like Interstellar, with Matthew McConaughey. Now, get out of here. I have to go.”
Tau couldn’t mask his grin as he forced himself past her, then spun to watch her as the door closed. Was that a smile or was it his imagination? Did it matter? He hadn’t felt that excited over a woman in—well, if he was being honest—forever.
3 | One Last Thing
Aniya. The name was exotic, just like she was, but easy to mispronounce from the spelling alone. When he gave her his name, she had repeated it and he had never imagined that it could ever sound so sweet. Aniya on the other hand was a name he butchered immediately. “How about you just call me Ann,” she said, but he kept on trying until he could say “An-yah,” the way that she had said it.
He couldn’t stop thinking about her and those cool purple eyes set against the flawless skin of a face so smooth… Tau stopped himself. He was obsessing again, and he worried tha
t he liked her too much. Was it like, or was it love? He rubbed his face and sat up on the twin bed, annoyed at the light spilling in from the gaps beneath the windows.
He was excited and hard, having dreamed about her and waking up prematurely. He glanced over at the lotion that sat on his counter and strongly considered reaching for it. No, he thought. You do that, and you will have crossed the line. Plus, it’ll be weird the next time you see her, just like Mindy at work.
He touched the remote for his personal computer, then opened up a folder filled with his favorite adult stars. Mona Sighs, she was up next, and what a spectacular choice for this venture.
“Don’t you do it,” said a loud voice through his door, and he felt his heart jump up into his throat.
“Damn it, Jo,” he mumbled softly, then powered the computer off.
Jovan’s pranks used to be funny but now he could sense when a computer was on? Tau thought of this and it wasn’t funny. I should just punch him in the throat. “Are you spying on me now, you fucking weirdo?” he shouted, and in response he could hear Jovan laughing through the door.
“Calm down, Tee, it’s just jokes man. Get dressed. We got company and we need you out here to hear this.”
Several deep breaths and an attempt at meditation quelled Tau’s anger and embarrassment. He made his bed and evened out the creases, then went to his closet to grab the next set of folded jeans. He was through with Jovan and life in G.Henna. Maybe Aniya was in need of a roommate. After several dates—after she finally says yes—he would need to find out if she was living alone.
“War Boy, get that nut and hurry up,” Jovan joked. “The guests are trying to roast me out here,”
Tau cursed under his breath and swung the door open to find three familiar faces and two masked strangers in their living room. Look at those dirty boots all over our carpet, he thought, then marched over to the refrigerator to grab a breakfast bar.
The familiar faces were members of The Wolf Pack, which was the team of Sirens Jovan had created and drafted him into. David (codename: Duo) was in front of the television, gesturing wildly to control a space marine as he took on an army of alien invaders. Aiko Tan (codename: Widget) was seated at Jovan’s desk, surfing the internet—like she always did—barely aware of his existence. The masked menaces hovered by the door, and Tau could tell that they were growing impatient.
“What is all this?” Tau asked suddenly, “Jo-Blackout, why are their ninjas in our house?”
While he was upset enough to reveal Jovan’s name, he didn’t trust the masks enough to go through with it. Wolf Pack knew one another, but to protect themselves they had each adopted a codename. Jovan gave himself the name “Blackout” due to the nature of his power. He named Tau, “Lich” for being tall and pale, but Tau didn’t care enough to change it.
Jovan slid over and leaned in close, whispering to him in desperation. “Come on, Lich, chill out a little bit. I didn’t mean to call you out or nothing earlier, my dude. Just jokes man, but now I really need your help. We all can make a good amount of money if you just come open some doors for us.”
Tau looked over at the masks. Hackers for hire, he thought. He shot Jovan the most venomous look. He thought of all the trouble he had been in since moving in with Mr. Blackout. They had robbed a few buildings and relieved wealthy people of Unified Credit Links (UCL)—the encrypted API which allowed people to access the Unified Credit System—yet they were still in the Hennas and barely getting by.
There was a downside to crime in 2040 that Jovan hadn’t found a resolution to. UCLs were tied to a person’s internal implant, so if a theft was reported, the cops would simply have to monitor who was the source and where it was being spent. Digitally they each had enough to live in a Haysville or Bell Acres home, but it would be a short life of luxury that would end with a sentence in a maximum security prison.
His buttocks itched at the thought; he was frightened of prison. Something told him that it would be the worst kind of hell that he could ever imagine. No women, no real food, and bored guys with boundary issues. No, if it ever came down to it, he would force them to shoot him. There would be no prison life for Tau Fabian.
Widget was a Siren with wealthy roots—since her parents worked downtown—but to Tau she was a rich brat acting out. Duo on the other hand was just another loser who was willing to wait for Jovan to make him rich. Considering what they had to gain, Tau could see the allure, but Jovan was sloppy and there were people in masks. Why did the hackers always have to wear masks?
One was male and the other female; he could see this plainly from their clothes. He looked at Jovan and settled on tomorrow as the day when he’d start his plans on making an exit.
“Last time, Blackout, the absolute last, then you have to find another monkey to open your doors,” he said.
“The money’s coming, Lich. I found a way to make it untraceable. I can short out connections, remember?” he said, smiling widely while patting Tau on his back.
“Whatever, dude. Like I said, this is my last time. Now come on. Let’s just get this over with so that I can move on with my life.”
They made their way down the dark hallway, and Jovan donned a mask, as if his large frame and dark skin wouldn’t give him away immediately.
He was a brilliant coder, borderline genius, and had the charm and work ethic to grab a larger slice of life than his present reality. But Jovan was a Siren, and a paranoid one. Like most of the gifted, he feared the hunters and did what he could to stay off of the grid as much as humanly possible.
He was also sloppy, and his ego blinded him. Crime wasn’t something that a man could read about to master; neither were espionage or covert operations. Jovan watched a lot of movies, and was out of shape; he thought too much of himself.
Tau pulled the hood on his trench forward as they passed below the cameras. His eyes found Jovan, who was saying that he already shorted the power. We look like clowns, he thought to himself as he glanced at Widget in her pink bomber jacket, and then there was Duo, who seemed to think that a black hockey mask would make people miss his spinning silver “ears”.
When they got to the door at the end of the hall, Jovan pushed it open to reveal a metal railing with stairs leading down. Looking off the edge sent a shock through Tau’s heart, as the climbing sun put a spotlight on their crew. All around them was the city, and the sense that a strong wind would tear the metal from the wall and send them tumbling to their deaths.
There was a broken access elevator to their right, a busted throwback to when the building was first erected. As ruled by the Fire Department and Safety Committee, Henna buildings needed two points of access. The external elevator was erected to grant TRUST quick access to the floors, but G.Henna was a dump, and the elevators, like the lights, had been offline for over a year.
Jovan led them to it and they huddled around the door. Widget looked up at Tau expectantly, and he reached forward to touch the grate. Almost instantly the “broken” elevator squeaked and came back to life. The cab was on the third floor where they had left it on their last excursion and Tau pulled it up as fast as he could.
Jovan’s smile could be seen through the gaps in his ridiculous mask. It was the top portion of an old costume from Frank Miller’s Fury Road. He always loved it when Tau used his powers, mainly because he knew how much he hated the attention.
He pulled open the gate and they all stepped in. Below, Tau could see people hustling about in the Henna’s parking lot. The elevators were busted, and no one used the external stairs, so while it was easy for someone to spot them from the ground, it wouldn’t be easy to identify them. Only someone climbing the stairs could get a glimpse at the elevators inhabitants, but the chances of running into someone out there was well worth the risk.
They did their business in the morning based on Widget’s research. She had informed Jovan that the building’s network underwent maintenance on the third Wednesday of the month. The time when t
he system rebooted was after 8:00 AM, and would come back online around 10:30 AM. Though the system was never down, its admins would be busy, so a group of weirdos shorting out systems could slip under the radar to do their thing.
When they were all inside, the male ninja slammed the gate shut. Tau touched the panel and they began their descent slowly but surely to the bottom floor. Nineteen … eighteen … seventeen. Tau counted as he manipulated the counterweight to keep them moving.
Thirteen … Twelve—his head began to burn; it let him know immediately that something was off. The burning intensified, and he reached up and grabbed his ears. Then a shock, like someone kicking him square in the teeth, landed him face down on the elevator floor.
They had stopped moving and he was drooling uncontrollably, with spit bubbles forming as he fought for his sanity. He kicked his legs and grabbed at the grate, his vision blurring and refocusing. Then the ninja girl was holding him and stroking his hair and everything seemed to return to normal.
“What’re you doing, dude? We’re on a time limit,” the male ninja yelled before glancing at Jovan for help.
“It’s cool. Lich, bruh, you alright? See people, you all think it’s easy, but sometimes the magic sells you out, right Lich?” he joked. Tau stood up with the help of the ninja girl, who he thanked with a nod of his head.
“Lich? Heh, more like Glitch,” Duo muttered under his breath.
“Screw you, Peter,” Tau fired back.
“My name ain’t Peter, you piece of shit!”
