Neon Grave

Chapter 22 Beelz 2/2

Back at the Guilty Crown, Beelz decided to order Jessica a "real drink," namely Scotch. The fact that Jessica refused was only proof that she needed to lower her inhibitions, as it were. The redhead then gave the raven-haired girl a full synopsis of their situation. Confirmed by Cairo, the current building was in the middle of megaplexes filled to the brim with gangers.

"Close your eyes and imagine several blocks of firewall surrounding us, right now," said Beelz. "Local networks are as tightly cranked as these armed hideouts. Physical bunkers in the real, encrypted in the digital playground."

"You may not have noticed, but it's the city of sin," Caster commented. "It's like a damned bog – stick your foot anywhere, it gets stuck. Just establishing a foothold in SIren was a drag. Insurance tools and drug shifters like to make a scene. But you know it's bad when half the population carries a rape kit ."

"I know it's bad, but really?" Jess blinked. "Every street feels like a black flea market." She started relaying everything she'd learned thus far, about Neon Grave, the gangs, and the Hall of Memories. It was very little. All the while, Dissent's leader sipped whiskey and blew cigar smoke. By the time Jessica had finished, the whiskey glass was empty of all but ice rocks. "Basically," Beelz recited, "there's no way to find Amon unless we interrogate an Azarean who was at the summit."

"Or by finding the shadow organization," said Jess.

"And how's that coming along?"

Jessica had a look of resignation. "I haven't had a chance to dig."

"Well, we haven't stuck fucken gold either." Beelz was irritated, to say the least. "Our runners have not been idle, but it's like these guys had never existed. We hacked into MedTac's records, drilled into the lives of all the envoys at the summit, even scoured the records of Spearhead evidence lockers. Nothing!"

Sun said something in Chinese.

"I think they'd smell bait from a mile away," Beelz replied.

"You think they'd make an attempt to infiltrate the Hall of Memories, again?" said Jessica.

"No, I don't. They missed their chance. The intricacy of the Azarean Triple-I would have been a complex study the first time around. To start the process all over again, now that the Azareans are on alert, would be next to impossible."

"Especially without Neon Grave..." I have the only piece of actionable data. "Maybe we can lure them out..."

Beelz blew a breath of smoke. "I'm listening."

"The shadow organization massacred the envoys because they wanted to travel down the Hall of Memories and retrieve Neon Grave's ROM. One variable, however. One. Considerable. Variable. They did not anticipate Xynocephles. None of us did."

Beelz checked her watch.

"It's 10:11," Jess told her.

The redhead doused her cigarette on the ashtray and stood up. "The target on your back just got bigger, Lynx. Welcome to my world."

Jessica was confused and slow to follow Beelz outside the bar, back into the arcology, which was a dump in the making. No one followed. Everyone else bided their time at the bar. 

By the precipice of the concrete ledge, looking down the square shaft, it was just the two of them. She started to think about Beelz's upbringing at Goliath. Then in the elevator, after the doors closed, Beelz mentioned her past again. "When Amon got his first pair of sunglasses, know what he told me? He said he felt like he was finally on the outside looking in. He would never be inside again."