The Law and the Codas

Chapter Thirty-Two

I stop under a lamppost as the breeze whips my hair into my face. My fingers tighten along the strap of my bag.

"One-zero?" Keran turns to look at me, and the others, much like dominoes, fall in line.

"It's been a while," I say, watching as a wisp of digitized cloud floats in front of the moon.

Keran slaps my back, not forceful enough to make me tumble, but hard enough to knock the thoughts from my head. "We need to make the drop."

I shake my head. "I know. No dawdling." I scoff. "Really. Some day, I'm going to buy you that dictionary so you can add some new words to your mental lexicon." Glancing at Marava as she struts about in a red, form-fitting dress that falls to mid-calf and feels unnecessarily fancy for our outing, I add, "Think they have an expression store?" Keran sighs. "If so, I could pick up another expression to add to Mars' collection. You know, so she has something to do besides scowl, grimace and--"

"Fuck you, Ten," Marava says.

"Snarl," I finish.

"Remember," Keran says slowly. "We do the fighting so no one else has to."

I blink. I couldn't tell if she was talking to me or to herself. Then, Keran swung her head and gave me a long, expectant stare. I swallow. "So, you become what others need you to be."

She nods and tries to smile, though her lips don't quite turn up enough.

"I know you'll hate me for this," I take a step toward the city, where Alexios waited for our arrival. The bags seemed heavier now, unseen weight bogging them down and taking my shoulders with them. "But the Collective and the Law are a lot alike."

Keran shrugs. "Where two groups of people are passionate enough, there's bound to be similarities." She motions toward the others to keep moving. I do the same, taking one step at a time down over the hill, toward the city.

"Let's go." Keran tugs my arm, a little too hard, and I stumble a few feet before my shoulder clips her in the back. "We're almost there," she adds, pointing at the hazy, neon distance. "Third building on the right."

The building Keran speaks of is as classy as any other Tech bar I've seen advertised on the Network - it looks like a crystal palace smothered between twin smokestacks of steel and opaque glass. Three stories high, all curves and etched glass, a dim rose light pulsating from inside.

My fingers tighten around the straps of my Elysium bags. Almost there. Almost done.

As we turn the corner, an e-billboard, assaulting us with the latest aviary weather conditions and local news, blinks, its feed interrupted, before beginning to strobe a violent red. One by one, other billboards follow suit. The few neon signs gracing the sky go dark. We all freeze. It's not until I hear the metallic voice drone over the speakers that I realize what's happening.

People of the Sect: You have been summoned to an emergency meeting. All Sector residents and temporary visitors are required to attend. Failure to comply will result in detention by Sector Police and lead to further action being taken. Please proceed to the Community Hall in Homestead Four with caution.

"Dammit," Keran spits. She slaps her thighs and turns around to follow the crowd of people ambling in the direction of the Hall.

"Are you serious?" I say, eyeing the tech bar in the distance. "We're going?"

Keran throws me a quick nod while she continues to march away from the Viper's Nest.

I sigh. " That's a surefire way to get caught."