2.29 The Star of the Show

29 – The Star of the Show “Holy shit,” Tony said, glancing over at her from the driver’s seat. Addie raised her eyebrows in question. “Check the account.” Addie knew what account he meant, of course. She focused on her AUI, selecting the elements that would pull up her bit-vault app, then selected their business account. Sure enough, a fresh deposit from Torque was sitting there—80,000 sol-bits. “He really paid us already?” They’d only finished the job the night before. “Guess Takumi was happy with our work, but yeah, I’m surprised Torque didn’t drag his feet for a few days.” He engaged the van’s AI and turned to face her. “What do you want to spend it on?” Addie regarded him, running her eyes over his metal-lined eye socket and then down to the scratched-up black paint of the industrial cybernetic arm her dad had hooked him up with. “How about a new eye or arm?” Tony reached across the space between them and took her hand in his, lifting her arm, turning it left and right. “But your arm seems fine, and I love your eyes.” Addie laughed, pulling her hand free. “Don’t tease me. You know what I mean.” Tony shrugged, twisting his mechanical arm left and right, flexing the fingers. “It works fine. Same with my eye. Let’s save upgrades like that for when we’re rolling in bits.” Addie ran her fingertips along the hard plasteel casing of his arm, starting at his elbow and tracing them down to his wrist. “Wouldn’t you like to feel it when I do this?” “Sure.” He winked his good eye at her. “That’s why I’ve got my other arm.” He cleared his throat and sat back, shaking his head. “You’re always trying to distract me. On a more serious note, I was thinking we ought to get you a big-time reactor upgrade.” “Me again? Tony, you can’t even fire your reflex job.” “Ads, my wirejob is tier-two hardware. To really use it, I’d need a tier-three reactor and more Dust than I could soak up from the air in the Blast in a month. In other words, I’d have to buy Dust, and you know it’s not cheap. If we got you a tier-five reactor, though? Do you know how big a difference that would be? That reactor you’re sporting isn’t even really ranked—maybe you could call it tier-nine. You’ve got what, two hundred Dust capacity?” Addie nodded. “Yes.” “So, imagine if we upgraded your matrix and reactor so it was more like two thousand. I’ve been thinking about this a lot. In that job last night, you were the star of the show—” “Because we were facing a spark! That’s not very—” Tony took her hand again, this time with his human hand. “Let me finish, Ads.” When she nodded, he said, “No, let me start over. Forget last night; let’s talk about you and me. I’m a good fighter. I’m a good shot, too. I know what I’m doing in lots of dangerous situations—I’ve got experience. Those three factors, plus some good guns and equipment, mean I’m more than capable of handling just about anything the Blast is going to throw at me. I think chasing the ghost of my old potential, at least at this point, is a fool’s game. It would cost millions of bits to get me back to where I was, and the payoff for the investment, around this district or most of the neighboring ones, wouldn’t be worth it. I can already perform, you know?” “So...” “So, I can think of a much smarter investment for our little duo. You’ve got incredible potential. Don’t you see that? If you can learn to do half the stuff that crazy spark was pulling off last night—” “She didn’t ask to be crazy, Tony.” Addie felt sorry for Mary. Worse, she saw herself in that poor lost soul; how close had she come to being a fade? How close had she come to being experimented on by amoral corpo squints? “Yeah, I’m sorry. But think about it. Forget her. Think about the guy Beef put down...” He trailed off, seeing Addie’s expression sour further. She didn’t want to think about Zane! “I’m saying this shit all wrong, but don’t you see my point? There are things you can learn to do that would cost me a million bits and a team of operators to pull off!” Addie didn’t respond immediately, mostly because she wasn’t sure what to say. Tony stared at her for a minute, then relented, leaning back in his seat, apparently fine with letting her mull over his words now that he’d said his piece. Addie couldn’t argue with his logic, but that didn’t take away the sense of pressure and, honestly, guilt at having him so invested in her. She was supposed to be the sidekick, the newbie, the one hanging back in his shadow. She was content to run her drones and chat up the subs; she didn’t want to be the star of their little two-person operation. She had a feeling that Tony’s desire for her to grow had more to do with his past than with his hopes for their career together, but she couldn’t very well say that, could she? She couldn’t say, “Tony, are you eager for me to learn to fade and manipulate gravity and all those other crazy things so that I can help you deal with the people who betrayed you?” The instant she thought it, she regretted it. Tony wasn’t like that. He didn’t want to use her. No, the more likely scenario was that he was worried about her. She wasn’t dumb enough to think the people who’d stripped and dumped him would ever let him be happy. He knew they’d check up on him eventually. Despite her caution and fear of upsetting him, her mouth began vocalizing some of her thoughts before her brain had a chance to apply a filter. “Do you want me to get stronger because you think the people who betrayed you are going to come after you? Are you afraid they’ll try to use me to hurt you?” He jerked his gaze at her, his eyebrows drawing together in a scowl. He didn’t say anything, though, just looked back to the windshield, watching as the van navigated a turn and continued its plodding way toward Addie’s old neighborhood; they were on their way to meet Glitchwitch. After a few awkward seconds, Tony shrugged. “I guess that thought crossed my mind.” “I mean, I live in this messed-up world, too, Tony. I’ve seen terrible things happen to all sorts of people. I know about hate and revenge, and I know, from your own words, that the people who hurt you aren’t going to be happy if they know you’re happy.” She grabbed his hand—his mechanical one, because it was the only one she could reach—and pulled it toward her, squeezing the rubber pads on his palm and fingertips so he’d feel her touch. “I know that’s why you’re holding back, why you won’t let yourself be happy with me.” He shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut tight as he replied, his voice husky with emotion. “I am, though. I’m damn happy with you, but it's only because I’m so good at locking things away; it’s like a bill I know is going to come due. It hangs over me like a damn axe.” Addie squeezed his mechanical hand harder. “I'm happy with you, too,” she whispered. “But we have to deal with this eventually. We have to, not you. So, yeah, if you think it will help if I learn to be a proper spark, then let’s do it. Let’s buy me a decent reactor and matrix, and I’ll keep practicing what Pyroshi gave me. When he returns, I’m going to be the best student he could hope for. Okay?” Tony nodded, his metal knuckles clicking as he gripped her hand tightly. “Thanks, Ads.” His tone, the clipped nature of the words, told her there was a lot more he had to say, but he wasn’t going there, and she wasn’t going to push him. It was enough to know that she’d been right, that he was still worried about the people at Cross Corp and his old friend, Eric. There was more to the story, but she’d get there eventually. Tony was the kind of source—if she let herself think about him that way—you had to build trust with, coaxing the details out over time. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. As they rode in silence, she let her mind wander down different, happier paths. She thought about the exercises Pyroshi had sent her and how she’d thoroughly enjoyed the brief practice she put into them before she and Tony got caught up in the Takumi job. It was hard, but also fun. The best thing about those exercises was that she felt, for the first time, like she had some direction and an actual person who understood what she was going through. Well, she corrected herself, maybe not the first person like that, but the first one she didn’t think was trying to use her. She hoped she was right about that, but she couldn’t find it in her to feel worried about the spark’s motives. Pyroshi had just felt too genuine to her. He was the polar opposite of Zane in the vibes department. Before she could dwell on the topic further, the van pulled up alongside the curb outside Glitch’s apartment, and Tony unbuckled and opened his door. “Let’s let the van park itself. I’ll have Nora keep track of it.” “Right.” Addie followed suit, sliding out of her seat and down to the curb. Tony walked around the vehicle, and then it hummed off, merging back into traffic. “Did you let her know we were here?” He nodded. “Nora did.” Addie started down the concrete steps to the apartment, and before she reached the bottom, the door opened. Glitch stood there in a pink hoodie, her hair escaping from its confines in jet-black tangles; she’d apparently changed up her style. Somehow, the dark hair made her pale blue eyes even more striking as she squinted up into the light, smiling at Addie. “Come on in.” Addie and Tony followed her into her cluttered little den, and the environment brought back a flood of memories—fond ones, as far as Addie was concerned. She saw the couch where she’d cuddled with Tony when they’d all gotten drunk on overly strong margaritas, and instantly gravitated toward it. Glitch plopped into her desk chair and spun it to watch Addie and Tony sit. Addie gestured to Glitch’s hood-covered head. “I like your hair.” The netjacker smiled, pulling her hood back to reveal the thick tangles of dark hair. “It’s a total mess, but thanks. It’s synth-hair, if you’re wondering how I grew it out so quickly. Theoretically, I can change the color with the software, but it’s, uh, glitching.” She laughed as she used her nickname to describe the malfunctioning tech. “Can you fix it?” Addie asked, suddenly invested in the problem. Glitch waved a hand dismissively. “Easy as pie. I just haven’t spent the time to hack the code. I, uh, didn’t exactly get these lovely locks from a store.” Tony stretched his legs out, crossing them at the ankles, and Addie glanced at him, noting the disinterested expression on his face. She cleared her throat and forged ahead with the topic, “Well, anyway, I like the color on you. It makes your eyes pop.” Glitch’s smile broadened, and she leaned forward, resting an elbow on her knee, her chin in her palm. “You’re too sweet, Ember. So, um, what’s the big secret? You guys have a job for me?” Addie nodded. “We’re trying to find someone. You know him.” Glitch’s eyebrows lifted, and she looked from Addie to Tony. “Hmm, now I’m really intrigued!” Tony folded his arms over his chest, nodding. “You know that squint we all rescued? Victor Kwon?” Glitch sniffed, sitting up. “How could I forget?” Addie fished the ID bracelet they’d taken from Mary out of her pocket and passed it to her. “We think we might not have been working for the good guys when we broke him out.” “Huh?” Glitch looked at the bracelet, frowning. “What’s the story with this?” Tony looked at Addie, and she nodded; he wanted her to talk, which was something she was getting used to. Tony was eloquent when he needed to be, but he was the type who’d rather observe and listen. She pointed to the bracelet. “We ran into that woman last night—Mary Harper. We were working a murder case for Takumi Corp. I’ll spare you the details, but basically, Mary was, supposedly, becoming a fade a while back, and Boxer picked her up. Thing is, she was very much not a fade last night, and she was exhibiting all sorts of talents—things it would take a pretty strong spark to pull off.” Glitch slowly began to nod, and when Addie paused, she asked, “You think this has something to do with the work Boxer was having Kwon do? The lab with all the, um, Dust afflicted? I mean, even so, it’s not exactly Kwon’s fault if Boxer was making him do some shady stuff. He was trying to cure Dust afflictions, right? Maybe there were some side effects...” “Look at the tag again.” Addie leaned forward and pointed to the top line. “Kwon Bio. Nothing on there says anything about Boxer. You know how corps are; if Mary ‘belonged’ to them, they’d have their name all over this thing.” “So, she didn’t come from Boxer? But you said Boxer picked her up when she was becoming a fade.” Addie glanced at Tony, then refocused on Glitch. “We think originally, yeah, Boxer had her. But Kwon was using her in his research and, somehow, he got hold of her after we ‘rescued’ him.” “So you think he’s still at it—doing the work Boxer was forcing him to do?” Finally, Tony spoke, “I think Boxer was tying his hands. I think he’s doing more than he was when they had him in that lab.” Glitch nodded. “Like, unethical stuff.” Addie clenched her fists, an imagine of Mary’s bloody feet and filthy gown flashing through her mind. “Glitch, if you saw Mary—it was awful, the state she was in. Do you think you can find him?” “Kwon? You’re sure he’s still in the Blast?” Addie licked her lips and nodded. “If you were looking for Dust-afflicted people to experiment on, where would you go?” Glitch folded a finger under her thumb, popping a knuckle, then she turned to pick up her pink-shaded visor. “The Blast, of course. I can try to find him. I might need to spend some time jacked in, though, and I’ve got bills. There was a job I was supposed to be working on over the next few days—” “We’ll pay you,” Tony said. “What’s your rate?” Glitch smiled and rotated her chair left and right lazily as she regarded Addie and Tony. After a few seconds, she said, “For friends? For a good cause? Let’s just call it five hundred a day. Hopefully it’ll only take a day or two.” Tony slapped his thigh, straightening up. “Fair enough.” Looking at Addie, he asked, “Ready?” “Wow, just like that?” Glitch chuckled, arching an eyebrow at Addie. “I smell bad or something?” Addie laughed. “No! Tony’s just anxious. I let him talk me into some shopping. You know, for the business.” “Oh, fun!” Glitch grinned. “Well, if you see any bargains, I’m looking for a new netjacking suit. I finally saved enough to order a temperature-regulating immersion pod.” She rubbed her hands together. “Expecting it the day after tomorrow.” “Really?” Addie asked as Tony stood. She leaned closer to Glitch. “I’ve only seen those on net serials. Do you think you could show me—” “Say no more! I’ll message you when it’s in.” Glitch stood, taking Addie’s hand to pull her to her feet. Meanwhile, Tony was already halfway to the door. He paused, though, and gave the basement apartment a skeptical look. “You gonna install that thing down here?” “Whoa, mister! Don’t say anything more!” Glitch laughed. “I know I need to get a little more organized.” Tony shook his head in that sort of infuriating way of his, then walked the rest of the way to the door. Addie didn’t move, however. She put a hand on Glitch’s shoulder. “Do you think you’ll find him?” She pursed her lips, narrowing one eye as she regarded Addie. “Do you think I’d let you hire me if I didn’t think so? If he’s operating in the Blast, there will be crumbs for me to follow. I’ll track him down.” Addie smiled and squeezed gently. “Thank you, Glitch. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.” “Okay, you’re welcome. You'd better stop being so sweet, though, or I’m going to feel guilty for charging you. Go on now, your man is brooding extra hard over there by the door.” Addie turned to regard Tony, where he leaned against the doorframe, his eyes kind of unfocused as he clearly contemplated thoughts that were a million kilometers away. “Don’t worry about him. He’s got a lot on his mind.” Glitch smiled good-naturedly and shrugged. “I get it. How’s the other one?” “Other one?” “Big boy—Beef! You think we’ll work together again?” “He’s good, and definitely, if I have anything to say about it. I think he’s going to get his SOA license, but keep that between us; he’s still got a lot of ties to the Helldogs, so it’s kind of a sensitive topic.” “Ember? You coming, or should I sit back down?” “Oh my gosh. Keep your shirt on!” Addie laughed, gave Glitch a quick hug, and then hurried around the tech-laden tables to the door. “Okay, okay, let’s go.” Tony opened the door, waving to Glitch. “See you in a day or two.” Once they were outside, and he pulled the door shut, Addie glared at him. “She’s going to think you don’t like her!” “What? I like her just fine.” “Well, you were acting kind of rude.” He sighed, climbing the steps, shaking his head. “Van should be here in a second. Anyway, I wasn’t trying to be rude. You want me to message her or something?” “No, Tony. It was pretty plain on your face that your mind was elsewhere.” Addie grabbed his arm, leaning into him. “Want to tell me where you went?” “Nowhere special. I was thinking about my old plasma forge and how great it would be to have something like that again.” Addie clicked her tongue, squeezing his arm. “That’s high-end tech, sir.” “Yeah, but they make some pretty brutal low-tech versions of—well, not exactly that kind of gear, but something similar. Integrated weapon and defense systems, I mean.” He held up his black, plasteel limb, clenching and unclenching his fist. “I was daydreaming about modding this arm with something.” Addie sighed. Of course, he was thinking about weapons and not about the talk they’d had earlier. “Well,” she said as the van pulled up in front of them, “let’s go shopping, then.”