The inside of the truck was kept dry like the inside of a freezer, keeping audio equipment safe from the elements. The wet socks Lusso had taken off and laid flat on the ground thirty minutes ago were completely dry, courtesy of the humidity controls. Lusso’s phone had told him the rain was going to end an hour before they arrived back in Felicity for Ria’s last concert of the tour. Lusso paced back and forth in front of Micky and Ding, who sat cross-legged on the floor.

Lusso whispered, “This is the last concert of the tour. Everything has to happen at the end of the concert. When all the guards think their jobs are done and are packing up their gear. I bet he included himself in the team that escorts Ria home. That’s what I would have done.”

Lusso tapped his right temple with his index finger.

Lusso said, “If David hasn’t been removed from the security team for questioning already, that’s what’ll happen. Or… maybe not. In the middle of the concert, when nobody expects it?”

Micky said, “We get it. Sit down.”

Lusso said, “Trying to get the hangover out of my system.”

Micky scowled. “A hangover? From that?”

Lusso said, “Well not a hangover. Just a headache. Calm down.”

Micky said “I am fucking calm. You, aren’t.”

Micky said, “Ding. Ding!”

Ding stared at the ground, sucking in shallow, quick breaths, muttering imperceptible prayers while clutching his cross necklace. Micky slapped the back of his head. Ding caught himself before he fell over. Lusso winced. It sounded like bone on bone. Ding barely seemed to register the pain, slowly raising his gaze to Micky’s face with watery eyes.

Micky said, “Look me in the eyes.”

Micky extended an arm towards Ding, flicking his forehead with her index finger in one fluid motion. Ding flinched. Micky grabbed his chin, and pulled him in close. They were almost kissing. Ding’s eyes were glazing over, like a dead fish.

Micky said, “Get yourself together. We have to haul ass tonight, and if you get in the way, I’ll fucking snap your neck.”

Micky roared, “KAPICE?”

Lusso stopped pacing for a second. A light of recognition flashed in Ding’s eyes, and he nodded. Ding fell back as Micky released him. Lusso began to pace again, and Ding’s head drooped down again, like a wilted sunflower. Ding’s lips opened to form another prayer. Micky groaned, and laid herself out on the floor.

———————————-

Lusso pressed the light switch and the lights flickered on. An LED panel dangled at an off an off angle from the ceiling so that one side of the room was lit too brightly, and the other was tinged with shadow. Dead flies littered the ground, their legs curled up in rigor mortis. Warm, damp sewer air rose from an open drain on the ground. Lusso frantically jabbed his index finger into the ventilation control panel, but it stayed black. Lusso heard the sound of heavy breathing, like someone was panting with a mask on, and looked in Ding’s direction. Ding stared back through a beat up respirator visor. Ding had brought his A-grade respirator from JGE HQ. He strapped it on as soon as he came into the room. Lusso imagined tackling Ding, mounting him, repeatedly driving his fist into his stupid respirator until the visor broke, and his bloodied fist, embedded with jagged pieces of visor plastic reached Ding’s face. Lusso snapped out of his fantasy when he saw Micky gesturing towards his phone.

Lusso said, “I’m gone.”

Lusso set his back up against the wall, careful to ease himself into a comfortable position. His lower back still ached from the hours he stayed connected to Ria’s consciousness yesterday. Lusso connected.

Ria skipped down a hallway.

She murmured, “We’re in the clear. David’s gone. The drugs are doing a wonderful job keeping me on.”

Ria reached a four way crossroads in the halls, and took a left. Lusso glimpsed a sign indicating the women’s restroom before a square steel panel came down from the ceiling, just a couple centimeters from Ria’s face. It hit the floor with a vicious thud, like a butcher’s knife coming down hard on cutting board. Ria stumbled backwards. Lusso felt the sudden onset of sweat from Ria’s hands and feet. At least she still had her toes. Two thuds in close succession from behind. Three hallways sealed. Three men appeared from the unsealed hallway opposite from Ria, heads sealed in beat up motorcycle helmets, t-shirts and jeans crusted with grime. They looked like they were in no hurry, sauntering towards Ria. Ria gasped. Lusso could feel the blood draining from her face.

The sound of metal rushing through air. Ria looked back. The panel opened, just halfway, enough for an adult to get through if they ducked. Ria blinked at the panel for half a second, then dashed under it. As she reached the other side, she heard a bark of alarm from behind, and metallic clicking. The panel thudded back down again, and Ria could hear the sound of bullets pelting the panel, like the pitter pattering of metallic rain drops. Ria leaned on a wall to steady herself. The sign above the women’s bathroom flashed red before words appeared on the sign: “Meet me where we planned to. Follow the lights.”

Ria breathed, “Maru.”

Ria sprinted down the hallway, following the trail of light panels that were still on. The other hallways were empty and blacked out. Lusso disconnected.

Lusso shook his head in an attempt to get his senses back more quickly. He slammed a fist into the wall. The wall rang like a gong.

“She’s getting kidnapped. We go. Now!”

Lusso threw open the door, and stood still, visualizing the blueprint of the concert hall Ria had given him in his mind, searching for the nearest exit. Micky brushed him aside, dashing into the left hallway.

“Follow me!”

Lusso took off, noting the hurried footsteps behind him. At least Ding was close. As soon as he broke out of the concert hall, Lusso pulled out his phone.

“Dial Ph-1!”

“That line is unavailable at the mom—”

“Dial Unknown!”

“Dialing.”

“You see ‘em?”

“Yeah.”

“Where to?”

“ I dunno.”

“Why the fuck’d you call—”

“Chasing, track me.”

Lusso ended the call as he reached the taxi Micky had hailed. She was already in the driver’s seat. Lusso threw himself into the backseat and closed the door. Ding came barrelling through right behind Lusso, slamming into the taxi door. Lusso opened the door, whisked Ding in, and closed it. Ding groaned, writhing with pain in his seat.

Most of the computer core between the driver’s seat and passenger’s seat was hidden behind a screen and the speakers lined up on both sides of the screen. The screen lit up with the head shot of a pale-faced woman with black hair over a sky blue background. Her large eyes sparkled with life, giving her the impression of being real, alive, except just contained within the screen. She didn’t have the same stunning effect Ria did on people. A common face. A face that felt safe. Lusso guessed she was the newest average of all the faces that the general public associated with comfortability and pleasantness. The last time he’d taken one, he remembered her looking different.

The inside of the taxi filled with her voice, “I’m Janice, your chauffeur for today. Please try to watch the door next time.”

Micky said, “Where to?”

Lusso connected. Ria was in the driver’s seat of a car, gripping the handle with white knuckles. Out of the corner of her vision, Lusso could see that the car was missing a computer core, speaker and all. There was an empty void between the driver’s seat and the passenger’s seat, save for a couple stray wires, all that was left of the car’s computer. The car was fully manual. Ria was accelerating through a narrow alley. The back mirror showed shuttered down shops, signs made indecipherable by graffiti and chemical rain. But no signs of people, and no car. Her phone was on the passenger’s seat, giving her directions. Lusso guessed it was Maru.

“Left. Right after passing that. Then forward.”

Ria turned the corner. A pasty white shape yelped as it jumped out of the way. An emaciated skinhead, with a patchwork of trodes stuck to his skull, stared blankly at the car with artificially enlarged, green-purple irises as it passed by. Wires extended from the trodes like vines down the back of his shirt, where they would most likely be connected to a small battery pack stuck to the base of his spine. Lakesies, they called themselves. Lusso disconnected.

“Felicity East. Sector… 9.5!”

Janice replied, “Taking you to Felicity East. Sector 9.5.”

The car glided out into traffic, taking a left at the nearest intersection.

Lusso said, “Wrong. That’s north.”

Lusso said, “Map!”

With a buzz of static, a holographic map of Felicity rose from a circular projector in the middle of the car. Highlighted roads showed the route the car’s navigation was taking them.

Lusso said, “No fucking way traffic’s so bad it’s taking us through Felicity North to get us west. Micky, get this shit on manual.”

Micky said, “Manual mode.”

Janice’s face split into a cheerful grin, and replied in a sing-songy voice, “Manual mode not supported at this time.”

Lusso said, “No! Turn the fucking computer off. We’re getting hacked!”

Micky kicked at the holographic projector until one of the panels loosened. She kicked it loose with a clang, drew a wire from it, and bit off a piece of the wiring. Micky glanced at the other cars on the road, rolled down the window, and stuck her torso out of the car with the wire in hand.

Lusso said, “I can trust you, right?”

Micky said, “Shut up.”

Janice said, “Please don’t leave the car while it’s moving.”

The front of the car was painted a milky white. It was completely smooth, with no hood to lift up. Micky kept drawing wire until it stopped coming with a jerk. Cars honked manically as they drove by.

Micky said, “It’s a hitch, get it loose!”

As Lusso took a hold of the wire, the window began to roll up.

Janice said, “The smog levels today are concerning. I’d like to close the window for you.”

Micky’s eyes widened, and Ding stretched an arm forward towards the driver’s seat, desperately tapping the button for rolling down the window. The window kept rolling upwards.

“Lusso, quick!”

“Fuck, fuck.”

Lusso planted his feet sideways on the projector and jerked backwards. It didn’t budge.

“Ding! Help!”

Ding gave up on the window button. Lusso and Ding gave another frenzied tug on the wire. Lusso glanced back. The window was lifting Micky’s torso upwards. Micky arched her back upwards to dodge a car that whooshed past.

“It’s caught! Caught! Don’t just pull, you fuckwad!”

Lusso shoved Ding aside and dove next to the projector. The wire was caught on a jagged piece of plastic, courtesy of the panel Micky had broken. Lusso freed the wire.

“Clear!”

Janice said, “The weather looks clear tonight, but actually is full of smog. You should keep the windows closed.”

Micky pulled more wire out, now with enough wire to reach the hood of the car. The window continued its steady march upwards. Micky’s torso was centimeters away from the top of the windowsill.

Micky smashed the live piece of wire onto the smooth front of the car. A black electrical burn grew on the white paint. The hood of the car emerged, contours forming seemingly from nothing. Micky flipped it up with one hand, and yanked a wire out. The screen in the front of the car went dark. Lusso thought he saw Janice wave at them right before she disappeared. The window stopped rolling up. Micky was as good as stuck.

Micky said, “Ding, roll it down now.”

Ding rolled the window down with the button.

“Never driving autopilot again in my life.”

Micky collapsed back into her seat. The car continued forward on its momentum, getting closer to the car in front as they neared a red light.

“Micky—”

Micky stomped down on the break and the car skidded to a stop, almost colliding with the car in front of them. A middle finger peeked out from the window, and Micky replied likewise.

Lusso said, “We turn left here. Then keep going until we see—”

Micky said, “Shut the fuck up! You almost killed me!”

Lusso blinked. Lusso said, “We’ve gotta get there fast.”

Micky sighed, and said, “My bad, my bad, continue.”

The lights turned green, and Micky stepped on the accelerator. Micky weaved in and out of traffic, taking every inch she could with precise, controlled steering.

Lusso said, “I could work a year and not have enough to pay for this car. Couldn’t you have chosen a cheaper taxi?”

Micky glared through the mirror.

Micky said, “Did anyone ever tell you your voice is annoying?”

Lusso said, “Just a suggestion for next time. I’m sure Ria will pay for us.”

Micky rifled through her pockets. Lusso knew she was looking for something to throw at him.

Lusso yelped, “Sorry!”

Lusso connected.