Outside Apple Mire Suites, everything passed in a surreal frame. Jess had become an adept runner, long ago, but turned frigid at every thought of being chased. Escaping New Sumer, the basic idea, had yet to register; it weakened her steps into the darker street corners. She had more hopes than people she could trust. Just like how they reached Eva, Goliath could reach anyone and everyone. She was lucky, though. Eva played the hero through a subtle warning. Another friend who kept her safe. By now there was a list of them, and it included the girls at her back.
"I'm confused," Shannon started again, after several minutes of stealth. Like her friends, she was nearly out of breath. "If they're after us, or you and Valerie, then why didn't they just break into your room? That seems obvious; doesn't it?"
Eyes to the street, Jessica pointed at one of the nearby nightlights. "Val," she panted. "Shoot that, will you?" Punctually, Homegirl took out her weapon and fired. It triggered sparks then complete darkness.
Through the blind spot, Jessica hopped to the nearby manhole. "Come on," she said, waving her friends over.
"Shit, she's serious," said Shannon.
They hustled under the shades, between terraces and invisible to prying eyes. Together, with heavy groans, they removed the manhole cover. Jessica would go in first.
Valerie clung to the latter as Shannon began squirming. "Can't believe we're going underground."
"You gotta get used to getting dirty, Shannon," Valerie remarked. "So dirty. You just gotta dig into the dirt, in the darkest recesses of sludge and dig deeper still until it's all over you, and you learn to love it. Then, you will be immune."
"I swear, you better be talking about sewers."
Once they were all nestled in the nook of the damp sewer corridor, Jessica returned to Shannon's earlier question. "I think they did knock on my door. Suite thirteen."
Shannon's brow furrowed. "Thirteen?"
"The only people who know about my real suite are you guys... and Beth."
"How did you get away with having a fake room?" said Val.
"It's there. It's not fake; there's just nothing in it."
"So, you own two rooms?" said Shannon.
"I do own two rooms. Did..."
"Tacquizza money gets you all that?"
"No, it just buys the coffee. While knowing mathematics, computers, and cryptography definitely pays better, Tacquizza is better for the soul. Can't say the same about the heart."
"I wondered where all that genius was going."
"Yep, she's still a fucking nerd," said Valerie.
"So then, yea," Shannon said soberly. "We're being chased now. By a corporation with unlimited resources, no less..."
With a moment to break, the three girls let their heads low at the flow of recycled water. The ambient drip and drop rubbed their recollection of events, and their fear, but they shared that fear. Fear was quickly overpowered by the bad smell.
"Hey!" Valerie jumped, pointing to her goggles. "I know where we can go."
"What kind of place could you have in mind?" said Jessica.
"That's what I want to know," Shannon added.
Valerie grinned. "You may or may not like it—I don't think we have a choice—but just remember what I said...." She lowered her voice, resorting to a raspy whisper. "I know how we can get off the grid."
Shannon's confusion and Jessica's skepticism came through in their squints.
"Let me warn you," Jessica slurred "that Goliath, if they're after us, has a sea of resources: cyberspace, transportation, complete access to Eden, media; and, as you saw, they can stage a terrorist attack. These are the people you evaluate when you suggest getting us 'off the grid.' That said, I don't have a better idea."
"You're going to have to trust me, Jess."
Jessica's reluctance fell under Valerie's smirk. She owed a debt for assuming the worst after years of friendship. "Okay. Okay."
Val cocked an eye at Shannon. "What about you, Xiao Long?"
Shannon looked up from somber meditation. "Any chance we can stop by my parents' place?"
"Not a good idea."
"Agreed." Jess warily eyed her friend. "I'm sorry, Shannon."
They could guess whenever Shannon's shell of optimism unraveled. Any moment of silence in which her eyes glistened, as they did now, held a diary. "Damn."
"Now that I think about it, you don't have to come with us!"
"That's true!" said Valerie, snapping her finger. "No one's after you, Shannon, so you don't have to worry."
"Yes, I do!" she snapped. "Cameras in Jess's apartment would've seen us!
"Those cameras don't work," Jessica snickered.
"Say what?"
"I made sure they never work. Only the scanner would have caught us leaving. But I fried it, remember?"
"You've got answers for everything!" Shannon fell into light tears and giggles, rubbing her own arms. "But I can't leave because—to leave you guys now, just as shit's hitting the fan—that would be like turning your back on family. And the things we know, it's too much. There's no way I'm leaving."
"No one's stopping you," said Valerie. "I'm not stopping you. I just hope you're on notice, chica. I really do. Cuz you're about to be going out of Eden!"
"I'm just as ready as you are, Valerie."
"Alright then." Valerie straightened upright, in anticipation of Jessica's next call. "You ready, jefa?"
Jessica chortled bitter-sweetly. Out of habit, her hands and eyes lowered to everything on her person: gravity board, backpack, goggles, and she checked her front pocket for the drive. Everything was where it needed to be. The last keepsake rested around her neck, laced between her fingers.
"Take me out of this place, Homegirl."