Josie had come home far too late for someone without a spare set of keys. Remy stumbled from bed to the door, bleary eyed and grasping at the fleeting remnants of a good dream. Somehow, he knew that Stefanie wouldn’t be sitting on that table in her negligee when he came back. A skiff sped off into the distance and Josie giggled after it.
“Hey, stud.” She licked her lips and winked. One eye lagged behind the other and her lopsided grin was accented by a smear of cherry-red lip stick.
“Fuck, Josie, do you know what time it is? Where were you?” He was surprised he cared.
Hiccup.
“I went with Dominic and them to a few other places nearby then they brought me home. I got you something!”
She tried to step through the door and missed the raised step. She stumbled, falling into his arms. Cherry gum, sweat, and spilled drinks masked whatever remnants of perfume she still wore. He pulled her inside and shut the door.
“Mmmm, you smell like sleep. Did I wake you up? Why’d you leave?”
“Well, you noticed I left, at least.” Every step was a trial. His couch seemed so far away but step by step, they progressed.
“Yeah, I saw you. But you seemed to have things in hand. You, you, got out.” He dropped her onto his couch and a key card clattered from her waist band to the floor. The throw blanket she had been using was piled up on the floor nearby and he retrieved the card while tossing the blanket on her. Dominic Doherty, Staff, Sapphire Lounge.
He shook his head and tossed the card to the table nearby. Maybe the night hadn’t been a total waste after all.
“You did good, Jose. We’ve got a lot more to do tomorrow so you should sleep this off. Good night.”
“Kiss me,” she muttered. He sighed, rubbing his temples. This was what he was trying to avoid. Josie was just drunk, she didn’t really want this, and he definitely didn’t want to get mixed up with crazy again. He was still trying to work the angle on Stefanie and she wouldn’t appreciate him kissing every girl that ended up on his couch. Besides, he would still have Stefanie in her underwear on a table when he closed his eyes again.
“I should go -”
She reached up, quicker than he’d thought she could move in her state, and grabbed the collar of his sleeping shirt to pull him down. Her lips tasted cherry, and too-sweet cocktails. He remembered those lips. Familiar, soft, and hungry. A man could get lost in lips like that. Remy didn’t pull away and after a moment Josie released him.
“Okay, sleep now.” She rolled over, pulling the blanket tight around her. Remy staggered back to bed and closed his eyes hoping to find a different girl on the table in her negligee.
***
“You sure? I can do this by myself with the Keymaker’s plan.” Remy had spent most of the afternoon trying to convince her not to come but Josie was unwavering despite her hangover. The girl had grit, no arguing that. They stood a few blocks from the Sapphire Lounge near a flickering street lamp and a boarded up food stand. Josie took a deep drag from a cigarette and passed it back to Remy.
“Just let me be a distraction then.” She always came back to that argument. “If they’re looking at me, that’s fewer boys looking over their vaults.”
Remy couldn’t refute that but he didn’t like it one bit. He didn’t even know where the Sapphire Lounge’s vault was let alone where the cameras were or who would be watching them. Having Josie as a distraction seemed like one of those ideas that would just create a bigger mess in the end. She smiled as he chewed his lip in defeat.
“Alright, give it to me one more time. Talk through it; you know where you need to be.” As her hangover faded, Josie played the cheerleader. Her memory, clogged though it was with sugar and rum, remembered where each camera was and her boy for the night - Dominic, a second-year student at the academy, he’d learned - also worked at the Sapphire Lounge on the weekends. His loose lips helped plot out their night.
“I’m going to pick the lock in the back alley off the street near the lake wall. I’ll have my Volt active in the Vasc.” They decided that a Pheromone wouldn’t do much good with any meat-heads that JD hired to guard the back rooms of Sapphire Lounge. Frank was cautious and recommended a Vasc that wouldn’t be noticeable by the Redcaps if he encountered resistance. It had been a good idea, just one that he could cross off upon review.
“Once inside, I look for stairs down using the key card you lifted from that bartender.” The buildings around the Sapphire Lounge were owned by rival businesses and it seemed unlikely that they would agree to store sensitive material for JD’s business. That really only left one direction. Hopefully, Dominic’s stolen card would still work too.
“Once I find a room that looks like it could be storage, I’ll look for the right number and enter the code from the picture. If it works, I’ll take it, if not, I switch to Reverb and force my way in.”
The streets of the undercity were empty on a Sunday evening. The Sapphire Lounge did a great amount of business on Friday and Saturday nights but, like everywhere else, Sunday’s could be a bit desolate. Their plan depended on their staff to be similarly lacking.
“And I’ll keep them busy up top.” Josie was proud of her contributions. Simple though they were. She’d go onto the dance floor again and start requesting songs. Bouncers and workers were quick to chat on slow nights and if she noticed a rush to the back, a well-placed Volt could help even the playing field. She’d loaded Pheromone to help persuade folks into keeping the attention on her. Given the grinning idiots she’d interact with, no one was likely to suspect it.
That was the thought anyway. All plans had merit until they didn’t.
Remy crushed the remains of the cigarette under his boot and sighed a wispy cloud of smoke.
“Sounds as good as anything else. I’ll head right then. Be safe. I don’t want you taking any risks that will mess this up.”
“You know me, Rem. See you on the other side.” She pinched his ass and walked toward the Sapphire Lounge with a wink.
Remy shook his head, pulled up the collar on his coat and moved into the darkness of an alley.
***
The door opened with the barest amount of lock picking. It was an old style lock that gave way to a few straight rods and a hook. Remy didn’t know whether to be relieved or concerned that it gave way so easy.
No going back now, he thought. Josie was up there.
The back room was a squat dark square filled with shelves. Two other doors lurked in the deep shadows of each opposite corner. Feeling his way along the wall, Remy flipped a switch and a crackling light filled the room. The shelves were partially empty, holding assorted bottles of booze lining steel shelving units and little else. Remy was happy to find the room itself empty of any serving staff trying to restock for the night.
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He dropped into a crouch to inspect the floor around the two doors. One of them featured dozens of scuffs and scores from regular use. Remy chose the other one to proceed. He turned the handle slowly, but it remained firmly in place.
Locked. He didn’t see a card scanner or a place to try to pick a lock, either.
“So much for Dominic’s key card,” he grumbled to himself. He sighed and reached into his pouch, fumbling through a stack of Vascs.
“Fuck.” Remy flexed his arm, preparing for the swap. This was going to hurt.
It was pretty early in the night to be going off script but there wouldn’t be a way through the door without swapping to Reverb. Once he did though, it would be a short trip before someone came searching for the sound of the door literally shaking itself apart. He’d have to try a Shusher first. The Shusher’s dampening field would last a few moments after he stopped actively using it. Hopefully, it would be enough to make a swap. He swapped in the Shusher for the Volt and waited a moment for it to load. The seconds took days to pass.
He breathed deeply and focused on silence. Unlike many other Vascs, a Shusher was activated through thought instead of a gesture and many folk never quite got the hang of it. He thought hard about how quiet it would be. No one would be able to hear the door open. If he could load Reverb quick enough. No, he could. He had to. There really wasn’t another choice.
He felt a ripple through his body and was sure that the Shusher activated. Remy flexed his arm again, and counted down from three. At zero, he slapped the Vasc’s release and swapped out the cards without waiting for the Vasculator to deactivate. His arm went numb and the number on his Vasculator quickly raced to zero.
Remy couldn’t feel his fingers touching the door, and his stomach sank with dread. His system was shot. It had been too much for one swap. A tingle jolted through his forefingers and he pulled back his hand. A thousand pins felt like they pressed upon it, but he could feel it!
The door soon shook under its own weight. Faster and faster, it vibrated while Remy glanced back and forth with the Vasc’s countdown.
“Come on, you bastard, go!” Remy whispered. The Shusher was nearly expired when the door shook off its hinges and clattered to the floor. He cringed at the sound hoping the unnatural silence had lasted long enough.
The stairway down was lit with a pale blue light emitted by utility light bulbs near a hundred years old. The stairs didn’t creak under his step but Remy was certain that he was entering a part of pre-war Madison that only a certain level of wealth or felony would give you access to. He’d have to act quick. The cameras would be on and it wouldn’t be long before someone showed up, even with Josie as a distraction upstairs.
Remy swapped out the Reverb for the Volt again and crept down the stairs. He felt sluggish already and his arm tingled relentlessly. Reverb and Shusher were demanding programs and each muscle flexed a bit slower than it had previously. He’d have to be careful. If he had to switch back to Reverb to get into a particular vault, there wouldn’t be enough energy left to swap into anything else for escape.
The room below was surprisingly spartan, empty except for lock boxes along each wall, three high and five wide. A serial number was scratched neatly into each. Remy pulled out the photograph and flipped it over.
“3122, 3122, 3122…” he murmured scanning the line of lock boxes. “Hello, there…”
The lock box was on the bottom right, so he squatted down to reach it. Remy bit his lip and entered the code. He hoped it didn’t have fingerprint recognition. After a few beeps, the lock flashed green and swung open. Remy sighed, and adjusted his hat. This clue had had cost him far too much money and time. It better be worth it.
He reached inside and pulled out a bundle of papers, some faded and yellow, obviously pre-war, wrapped in a cracked rubber band. Remy frowned, and couldn’t help but feeling disappointed. No passports, no cash, no questionably legal Vascs, just a pile of papers. He stuffed the papers into a coat pocket. Either way, it was the best clue that he’d managed to find in the four weeks since Stefanie put him on the case. There must be something in there. Had to be.
Remy heard footsteps on the stairs behind him.
“Of fucking course,” he muttered. Nothing about this case was easy.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” Remy didn’t think it would matter if he answered or not so he spun and held out his left arm where an arc of lightning leapt from his Volt. The first man slammed into the row of lock boxes behind him and slumped to the ground convulsing. Remy charged at the second man as he pulled a comms unit from his belt. They crashed to the ground before he could activate it. The device skidded across the floor, coming to a rest far from them. Remy tried to scramble to the stairs and was pulled back down with a single meaty hand. JD only hired the strongest and dumbest looking men for his bar.
Remy’s Volt recharged just in time to slam the hulking man into the ceiling and Remy rolled away before he fell back into the ground. The man landed with a grunt and Remy scrambled to his feet.
So much for secrecy. He hoped Josie was having a better time. Remy made it halfway up the stairs before a burst of force hit him from behind and he crashed into the metal steps. He could hear the second guy he blasted regain his footing. The same meaty hand wrapped around his ankle and jerked him back, smacking his head on two steps as he slid down the stairs. Stars exploded before his eyes. Warm coppery blood filled his mouth.
Remy kicked and twisted, rolling onto his back and breaking the man’s grip. He pushed himself back up the steps, facing him.
“Come on, pal. You’re gonna need to do better than that, yeah?” JD’s man touched a thumb to a bloody spot on his lip and smiled.
Remy smacked his Vasculator.
Come on, charge damn it.
The other man pulled out a knife and jumped toward Remy. He was quick despite his size and pinned Remy to the stairway. It was all he could do to bring his arms up and block the man’s blow. The knife pressed closer to his throat each moment. Remy shifted underneath and deflected the knife to the side. It jabbed the stairs, metal screeching on metal, and he pulled the knife back to stab Remy once more.
He wouldn’t be able to hold it this time. He remembered all those New Year’s Eves he’d told himself and whatever damsel he had on his arm that this would be a year of betterment. A year of becoming stronger, maybe settling down and starting a family. They always believed it, but Remy never did. He regretted those lost promises. A family and an honest living looked a dream right now. The bright, industrial light of the stairway glinted off the knife’s tip and Remy knew his neck wouldn’t slow it much.
His Vasculator twinged on his arm. Minimal charge would be good enough. It had to be. Remy unclenched his left hand and crackling arcs of lightning dashed over the short distance and danced along the man’s face. Remy kicked back at the same time and the man fell down several stairs, scratching his face trying to pull the flickering electricity from his eyes. Remy ran, bleary-eyed and spitting blood.
It was dark outside, of course. It was always dark when the sky was another city’s sewers, but it was darker than usual. The lights in the alley were off and Remy could see the nearest street dimmed as well. Lights above the street still shined from shabby windows and behind curtains.
“Fuck.” He knew there was usually one reason a street, and only that one street, would blackout and it ended with him taking long, quiet vacation in the dirt.
He did a mental inventory of his Vascs. A Force could push him up onto one of these rooftops, but he wasn’t sure he could handle another swap. Volt would have to do. Laying unconscious in an alley from a bad swap wasn’t going to do him any favors either.
Remy ran. The boys he fought in the vault would be waking up or coming to their senses any minute and he would bet anything he owned that their first move would be to call for backup.
It really was a difficult task running down back alleys in the dark. Remy stumbled over a trash pile and nearly knocked over a tower of stacked cinder blocks. He made it back to the main street and ran on, ignoring a growing tightness in his chest. Maybe I should lose a few pounds.
A row of round lights flashed on at the end of the street, blinding him as he skidded to a stop. Remy brought his hand up to cover his eyes.
“Remy St. Claire. I wasn’t aware you had further business with the Sapphire Lounge.” He knew JD’s voice. Must be one of those black outlines in front of the light.
“Good seeing you here, JD.” Remy didn’t really know what else to say. He certainly wasn’t talking his way out of this one and fighting on a depleted Vasculator would go over like a lead balloon. He counted seven sets of lights. Could be anywhere from ten to twenty-eight fellas back there. Too many even on a good day. He hoped Josie had taken the chance to get out before they figured it out.
“Think you got something of mine. Now, be a good boy and give it -” JD never finished that thought as one of his Skiffs erupted into a fireball throwing the black figures and Remy himself onto the broken pavement.
Old style gun fire erupted from a side street that Remy couldn’t see. Most of the shots ricocheted off pavement or steel but a few screams told him that those shots found their mark.
“Ambush, move!” JD, Remy assumed he was the lead figure, crouched and ran for cover. Flashes from his gang’s return fire lit up the darkened street. Half were holding the same old style weaponry while others flashed Vascs.
A pair of hands landed on his back and he heard a familiar voice.
“Time to go,” Josie said.
“Josie! Where did you come from?”
He hadn’t heard her approach.
“Just trust me, come on!”
He realized that he did. She helped him to his feet and followed her down the street. He didn’t know where she came from or what was happening but a miracle was a miracle and Remy didn’t care who had granted it.