Tears blurred Lusso’s vision as Ria picked up Samantha’s phone. Ria wiped them away with the back of her palm and took a shuddering, deep breath. She fooled the fingerprint scan with a clear film she pulled out of pocket. Lusso saw the purple outlines of Samantha’s index finger on it. Lusso grinned. He hadn’t expected her to be this daring, but he welcomed the surprise.

Ria said, “They should be back in about two minutes. Pay attention. This has to be quick.”

The phone unlocked. The home screen’s background photo was a photo of a young boy and girl on a beach. The steel blue surf and the snow white sand shone in the golden sun. Lusso thought the boy looked like Samantha. Ria’s hands didn’t move, but scrutinized every pixel of the picture.

Ria said in a voice that sounded far away, “She sent me this picture a long time ago.”

Ria pointed to a spot a couple centimeters away from the young girl.

“I was here. I’m sure I was. But why…”

Lusso was growing increasingly aware of the seconds ticking away. He didn’t know whether the security check was really just two minutes, but he had already counted 30 seconds since Samantha had left the room.

Ria opened up Macao Chat, a popular messaging application. Neat rows of chatrooms lined themselves up for Ria. Lusso scanned the names. Daughter. Son. Mars. Stella. Ria’s thumb hovered up and down the list, and eventually settled for Mars.

Ria muttered, “Husband.”

Mars: Mallory’s birthday was great. Missing u tho.

Samantha replied with an animated emoticon of a panda bear crying, its tears rapidly filling the small box the emoticon was contained in.

Samantha: This is it. She thinks I’m her mother or something. I hate her.

Samantha: Years of abuse. Sacrificing my kids for this job. I’m requesting a department change.

Mars: You’ll do great wherever you go. Forget her. You’re too good for her.

Samantha: Thanks honey. Is Mal asleep?

Mars: No. She’s been waiting for you to call.

Lusso read to the end of the screen by observing the peripherals of Ria’s vision. Ria’s eyes hadn’t moved from the line, “She thinks I’m her mother or something.” Ria held her breath. Ria inched her eyes downwards to read the rest of the messages, then scrolled upwards to older messages. Her thumb moved slowly, as if it dreaded what it would find next. Lusso counted 60 seconds. He yelled at her internally to move on.

Mars: How’s the concert going? Is the plan going well?

Samantha: I still haven’t talked to her 1 on 1.

Mars: Sometimes, when I think of everything she’s done to us and our kids

Samantha: I wish she would disappear.

Mars: What I was going to say.

Lusso felt Ria’s pulse slow down, as if her body were undergoing cryogenic sleep. 95 seconds. Lusso heard the faint murmurs of conversation outside the door. Lusso tried to scream a warning at Ria, but he could do nothing but watch as the door’s magnetic lock clicked, and opened to reveal Dan and Samantha at the door, talking.

Dan said, “And it’s going well with your kids?”

Samantha said, “Yes. Thank you for asking.”

Ria tried to put the phone down on the makeup desk, but she wasn’t fast enough. When she’d just put the phone on the makeup desk, she locked eyes with Samantha. She withdrew her outstretched arm back onto her lap and sat there, looking back at Samantha. Lusso felt Ria’s heart pump twice as fast as it did before. Lusso wished she would say something, anything. A careless laugh, a bad excuse, anything to remedy the silent staredown. He guessed the inside of her head was all white, like a flashbang had exploded inside it. Samantha’s face contorted first into a mask of wild anger, then simmered down into normalcy. The corners of her lips drew back into an uncomfortable smile.

Dan said, “Miss Jun. You’re up next.”

Samantha said, “Dan. Could you give us a moment?”

Dan closed the door. Samantha approached Ria as if Ria were a dangerous, wounded animal.

Samantha said, “What were you doing with my phone?”

“I was…”

Samantha sat down beside Ria and unlocked her phone. Samantha saw the contents inside, and swallowed. Lusso watched her Adam’s apple move up, then down back into place.

Samantha said, “It’s not what you think.”

Ria pulled her arm back, then swung her palm at the side of Samantha’s abdomen. Samantha squeezed her eyes closed on reflex, but didn’t attempt to block anything. She let out a muffled yelp as it connected. Lusso felt Ria’s hand light up with white-hot pain. Ria pulled her arm back again, but stopped herself, beginning to sob into her hands. Lusso saw her vision blur, like a windowpane in rain. Ria began to shake. Lusso found it disorienting.

Samantha set her hands on Ria’s thighs and said, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Please don’t tell Inka about this.”

Ria choked out a “Why? How could you?”

“Do you really not know why?”

“No, I don’t! I thought of you as my mother. The only real parent that I had. Unlike those two pieces of shit that see me as their goddamn savings account.”

Samantha wrapped her arms around Ria, pulling Ria’s face into her chest. Samantha patted Ria’s back. Ria’s nostrils filled with the scent of earthy cinnamon. Ria’s ragged, unsteady breath began to normalize a little.

“Mari. Just listen. I’ll tell you this now. This isn’t what real family, real love looks like. You’ve never seen it in your life, but you can’t lie to me and tell me that you think that normal daughters would hit their mothers, and take them away from their loved ones to have them all for themselves. For the past twenty years, I’ve barely seen my family. My kids didn’t recognize me for a couple years after they were born. Back then, I’d get to see them thrice a month if I was lucky, because you didn’t let me go. And you remember what happened at the beach?”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Ria didn’t respond.

“I’m sure you do. You forced me to tell my own damn daughter that I loved you more than her, and that I didn’t come by often because I didn’t even want to see her. You know how long it took me to sort that out?”

Samantha propped Ria back up into a sitting position. Samantha’s sweater was wet with tears.

Samantha said, “I told you. We need a break. Both of us.”

Ria said, “Then what about the plan, Sam? The plan to make me disappear?”

Lusso felt tears and mucus trickle down her face again.

Sam said, “That’s a misunderstanding. I swear. It was just the heat of the moment. I haven’t been with Mallory for a single birthday party of hers. You know that too. You’d always plan an important event around this time of year.”

Through teary eyes, Ria locked eyes with Samantha.

“Just tell me the truth.”

Samantha massaged her temples. She hesitated, then said, “I’ve been trying to change departments. Effective soon after this concert. I have all the documents. I just need your approval. I’m sure Inka would approve if you did.”

“Can I just ask you one thing?”

Samantha nodded.

“Sam, could we ever be family? Mom and daughter? Please. Just like…”

Ria’s voice trailed off. Samantha looked down at her palms, neatly clasped together, sandwiched in between her thighs.

“Yes.”

Ria held her head in between her hands, sobbing, letting loose for a good thirty seconds. Then, she stopped, as soon as she had started. She pulled a couple tissues from the box on the makeup desk, and mopped up her face. She rose from her seat and stumbled towards the door.

“I’ll… get myself checked.”

Ria fell out the doorway in a daze. David was waiting on the other side, a stone golem in a two-piece suit. His unmoving features, and eyes hidden behind black shades observed Ria, as if she were a troublesome specimen under a microscope. Lusso had seen the unreadable features in other security guards before - most of their facial muscles were surgically removed. He gestured towards the scanners with two arms like concrete pillars, an amalgam of surgically grafted condensed muscle and injected graphene nanoparticles, designed for strength and durability.

David said, “This way.”

He gestured to another security guard on standby to do a check on the room Ria and Samantha were in. The guard marched inside.

Ria followed him to the scanners, walking as if she were a toddler just beginning to use their legs. Two matte black panels on stands stood opposite from each other. Ria stepped in between them, and waited, looking straight forward, mouth slightly opened. Ria took shallow breaths, in long intervals. Ria was silent during the process. Lusso doubted Ria even remembered he was there. A high-pitched beep sounded thrice in a succinct staccato.

David, peering at the side of the scanner, said, “You’ve got Expie tech on you. What’s with that?”

Ria didn’t turn her head to meet his gaze. “It’s for the concert.”

David stepped in front of Ria, glaring down at her.

“Weird. Did your schedule change? It says you’re scheduled for Expie setup after this security check.”

Lusso felt a bead of sweat drip down Ria’s back. He almost disconnected, but he stopped himself. It would be too obvious of a tell if David were monitoring the activity of the Expie tech. There was no choice but to trust Ria. He cursed Ria for not thinking this through better. Ria stared forward at David's chest as she talked.

“Schedules always change. Maybe the Expie is just left over from the concert in Inch City.”

David stooped to meet Ria’s eyes. He said, “Security isn’t a joke.”

Ria said, “It isn’t. I know. But you should try not to harass me for something small, like this.”

A vein on the right side of David's nose twitched.

“You should take your drink.”

“Did you poison it?”

David's left lip twitched upwards and returned to its original position.

“Nonsense.”

David pulled a vial from his chest pocket and handed it to Ria. It was filled with a tomato-red fluid, with blue particles glittering in it. It was a preemptive antidote, a security measure for the concert. Ria shook it, unscrewed the cup, then downed it, sucking on the vial like it was a straw to get every last drop. Ria handed the cap and vial back to David. David stoppered it, then tucked it back into the same coat pocket it had come from.

David said, “You should watch out.”

Ria said, “Are you threatening me?”

David said, “No. It’s something I always say. Can never be too careful working here.”

Lusso recalled Ria telling him about David Asknow, the head of security for her concert tour. A messy internal lawsuit, kept secret from the public, about sexual harassment. In the aftermath, David's wife had divorced him, taking the kids. Ria claimed she’d caught him watching her change multiple times.

Lusso felt a tap on his shoulder. It wasn’t from the Expie tech he was connected to. He waited for Ria to step out of the scanners, and he disconnected. Micky was waiting for him.

“Results are out.”

“Early.”

“First off, the camera brought up nothing. The guy gave me some long tech explanation that boiled down to the tracks being covered so well he didn’t get anything. He says it was the work of an AI.”

Lusso’s blood ran cold. AI meant corporations or the government. It was possible that JGE already knew about this entire situation. Or maybe worse, behind it. He shook off the thought for now.

“Shit. Maybe he’s a joe.”

“Didn’t your friend refer him?”

“Yeah, I guess. Lino is smart. What about the DNA tests?”

“Negative. Nothing.”

“What?”

Lusso scowled at Ria.

“Look. I don’t fuckin’ know either. There’s some shit going on.”

Lusso mulled over the new information. The culprit was, or had an AI covering for them, and the DNA tests had come back entirely negative.

“There’s no way the guy came in a hazmat suit. That’s attention. He wiped it from the entire room, somehow.”

“The fumigators.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a hunch. There’s nothing else we saw that covered out into the entire room. The smoke might not have been for buying time.”

An old piece of gossip he’d heard about idols at JGE hurtled back from the past and hit him. Lusso gasped, his eyes opening wide.

“DNA. Idol DNA is copyright. That’s why we use the fumigators, and that’s why the fumigators wiped all his traces.”

“Shit. Is our guy after her DNA?”

“Maybe. But why would you even want corpo DNA on your hands? That’s worse than carrying a nuke in your back pocket.”

“Yeah, but if they wanted to kill her, she’d be dead already.”

“Money? Selling DNA on the black market? Who’d buy? There’s something we don’t know yet.”

Lusso’s brows furrowed. They were closer, but there were still pieces missing. He felt as if an invisible noose was being drawn around his neck, tightening slowly, but steadily. He couldn’t do anything about it now, but move faster. They were in too deep.

Lusso said, “Look I’m connecting again. Tell me if anything new comes up.”

“Okay.”

Lusso hit connect, and he was sucked back into Ria’s world.