She steps inside, feeling the cool, dry air caress her face. Another heavy door greets her, forcing her to wait as disinfectant is sprayed out. She shuts her eyes, glad her bag is waterproof. When the hissing spray stops, she shakes her head, trying to get the stuff off her face, as the inner door open, warmer air brushing against her.

A female voice spoke. ‘Don’t worry, I switched it for water. He hasn’t noticed yet, and it’s less unpleasant. Would you like a towel?’

Alice blinks away the liquid. There was a young woman looking at her, comfortably dressed, and holding a thick, fluffy towel, which Alice gratefully takes.

‘He’s warned me about you, but he warns me about everyone. He thinks that the old lady on the floor below is a tool of the Illuminati and keeping an eye on this place. She’s actually an informant for the Homeheath crew, and mostly spaced out on drugs though.’

Alice dries herself off as best she could, hating the way her clothes were now clinging and wet, the lumps of her harness visible. ‘Can I see him?’

‘If you want.’ She leans in close. ‘He’s faded. Fast, unfortunately. And getting cranky. Just smile and nod and try not to look like a lizard person. That’s his current obsession. He thinks they’re everywhere. From what he’s said of you, you have enough spirit not to be taken by “them”, which I suppose is a compliment.’

They move out of the entrance hall, nearby cameras whining, tracking their movements. He always had been a paranoid nutjob, but it sounded as though he’d degenerated recently, and fast. Still, his place was secure, and if he’d gone crazy, then he probably wouldn’t let anyone else in.

Sommerby was in his room, a cave-shrine of technology, surrounded by wires and monitors. Except now, some of the wires and screens were medical ones, thin green lines bleeping as his life was measured. Never fat, now he was little more than skin stretched over bone, gaunt and pallid, spiked with catheters and injection marks. He doesn’t look up from the screen he is monitoring, flicking between drone-feeds, scratchy images of various corners around the tower.

‘You dosed?’

‘Yeah, but not as much as you.’ She poked an IV bag. ‘Hanging in there?’

‘Keeping myself pure. There’s nanomachines in the food, you know. Anything from the big corps, it’s all contaminated.’

Alice smiles and nods. ‘Of course. So, you seen anything odd tonight?’

‘Yeah, looked serious.’ He glances up at her, just for a moment before returning back to his screen. ‘What shit are you bringing down on me this time? Want me to blow the lights?’ Without waiting for a response, he reaches out and flicks a switch. The lights in the room flicker, but the rest of the tower – the entire tower – was probably suffering a blackout. But it would distract her pursuers, unless they wanted to search room-to-room of a blacked-out tower.

The cameras flick over to low-light and darkness modes, continuing their vigilance – the few people they showed were looked pissed off. Striding through, somewhere on the lower levels, was another of the trio from the market. They has some enhancement, as they weren’t walking into things in the darkness, but they must be able to hear other people moving around, from the twitchy, nervous way they moved. Sommerby was good enough at staying off-grid that she was probably safe, at least for tonight.

‘Thanks.’

‘You owe me.’

‘No, we’re even. This is you paying me back for that load of gear I shipped you last year, before you locked yourself in here, remember?’

He was lost in his screens again. ‘Don’t recognise them, but if they start any shit, then I’m throwing you to them. And if you start acting crazy, then I’m kicking you out.’

‘Don’t worry, I’m good. Although some food would be nice.’

‘I’m not your fucking cook. Sally can make you food. But I need to keep on watch.’

That seemed a convenient point to leave him alone, before enduring whatever paranoid delusions he was having now. He was cycling through cameras at a rapid rate, saving images of the people still out and about, logging their movements. Alice leaves him to it and retreats out of the cave with the woman. She’s clearly been here a while, at least if the place being less of a tech-festooned shithole was any sign – although there was still ample amounts of circuitry and bits of computers around, it was piled up in corners, rather than spread around everywhere.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

‘He’s told me a bit about you. I thought you’d be a lot angrier.’

‘We met a while ago. Back when he used to leave this place.’ Alice tries to modulate her tone, attempting to inject some warmth into her voice. From the look on the woman’s face, she wasn’t very successful.

She lowered her voice, while pouring some powder into a bowl, and adding hot water, then adding in some spices. ‘He’s not left here for months. Sits in his room and rants about stuff. But it’s better here than outside.’ She passes the bowl over. ‘It tastes like shit, but it’ll keep you alive. And no-one’s going to be getting in the door. But whatever you crap you’ve bought with you, please don’t bring it here. I like it here, it’s safe, and I know how to use most of the gear now.’

‘Going to take over?’

‘Hell, it’s not like anyone knows his face anymore. Just a sound in the wire. And there’s worse gigs.’

Alice nodded. ‘Sensible. What’s wrong with him?’

‘Something inside broke. Blood comes out, he hurts a lot. He spends most of his time dosed, but he’s still sharp, at least outside of when he’s a whackjob. Hopefully he won’t shit his guts out first though, be messy. So, do I have to worry about any shit landing here?’

‘Don’t think so. I’ll be out of here as soon as possible.’

‘Good.’ Despite her smile, her tone is strong. And with good reason – no-one wants to deal with someone else’s shit. Alice catches herself being looked at and assessed. ‘No blood on you. From the stories I’ve heard, that’s rare. How many of the stories are true?’

‘Enough. Although the one in the pits, if you’ve heard that, is mostly true.’

‘Wait, with the boars?’

‘Yeah, that was a fucked-up day.’ She took a mouthful of the broth. ‘What have you done to this, it’s actually palatable?’

‘Sommerby might be a nutter, but he insists on actual ingredients to add in. Managed to find a decent mix.’

Hot food is a rarity. Hot food that’s at least partially unprocessed is even rarer. Alice wolfs it down, filling her belly. ‘This is decent. Sure you don’t mind me crashing out?’

‘I’ll set the defences on high.’ She smiles, but Alice is pretty sure it’s not a joke. Whatever defences Sommerby has are probably decent, if not overkill. But it’ll be somewhere safe for the night. ‘You wanna clean up as well? You go up-city like that, you’re going to stand out.’

Alice looked down at herself. There were smears of grease and dirt on her top, which hadn’t been particularly clean before. No blood, but even in the decent parts of down-city, she’d get more attention than she wanted. ‘Shit. Yeah. Mind if I shower?’

‘Sure. Way I heard it, you’ve done Sommerby good in the past. And he’s crazy, but he likes to be clean, so the water’s clean and hot. Although I have to remind him these days, wheel him in and scrub him down. Makes him happy. Anyway, it’s through there.’ She points through an open doorway into a tiled room. ‘No door, sorry. He gets twitchy if there’s places he can’t see, and likes to watch me shower sometimes.’

‘If he watches me, tell him I’ll rip his eyes out. At least unless he’s paying enough, and he won’t be paying that much.’

‘He’s lost in the cameras again, it’ll be hours before he cares about anything else. I’ll be sure to distract him if he pulls himself out.’

Alice stands up and heads to the shower – it’s the cleanest place she’s seen in a long time, white tiles sparkling, a faint scent of bleach. It would also be a really good place to kill someone; dismember the body and then tidy the stains up. She turns, keeping an eye on Sally, just in case this is a setup.

Undressing is a pain – her top and trousers are simple enough, but the harness is always a nuisance. She unbuckles it, keeping one hand on it to stop it dropping suddenly, watching Sally look away, although still glancing at her from the corner of her eye.

With the harness removed, she feels vulnerable and exposed, making an effort not to cross an arm over her body protectively. She flicks the shower on, water drumming down, as she turns back to watch the entrance, in case it’s a trap. The water is as hot and clean as promised, tapping and bouncing off the tiles, sloughing sweat and dirt off her body, her muscles relaxing despite herself. It’s been a long time since she’s had someone looking at her naked, but actual hot water is worth it.

It’s too short, but she cleans herself off, then towels herself down. For a deranged paranoiac, he at least had decent standards for plumbing. Her choker beeped at her, needing topping up soon, as she pulled her harness back on, tightening the straps, the tightness around her waist, stomach and chest reassuring, hooking up the stent, a dose immediately pushing into her veins.

‘Guess those stories are true, huh? That’s a lot of scars you’ve got there. Interesting life?’

‘Painful, mostly.’

‘Looks it. What the hell happened to your shoulder?’

She gestures at Alice, at her shoulder, where she knows there’s a mess of an old wound, a mangled mass of silvery scars and raised lumps. ‘A bad day. Although worse for everyone else.’

‘Christ, I’m surprised you didn’t get it replaced. Looks like you damn nearly had it ripped off. Impressed it even healed back.’

‘I prefer meat to metal. And I heal fast.’

Sally looks at her other scars. ‘Damn, you must do. You’re all meat still, aren’t you? Impressive, I guess. Must’ve hurt.’

‘Not as much as I hurt them.’

‘Well, there’s a spare mattress through there. Rest up. You wear that thing all the time?’

‘Yes.’

‘Looks tough, but a little frail for armour. Anything that keeps you alive though, right?’

Alice nods, before settling herself on the mattress, the woman reading her intent and leaving her alone to sleep.