Nikair slides a shiny slab of chrome out of the satchel. His eyes all light up. Careful as you like he peels it open, big old clam. We both hold our breath as he keeps his finger on the power button. Then a sound. Then the screen comes to life. Beautiful thing. Never been this close to a working laptop.

He can’t read it anymore than I can. Well, the numbers we can. It’s three twenty seven in the morning. But we both know you need a password to get in. Shame. Be fun to muck about with it.

It’s worth a lot of favours in Riverside this. At the very least, we can get Ninja some medicine. Painkillers, and maybe a look over from a street nurse. See if he’s cracked any bones.

Nikair hums himself a little happy tune.

"I ever tell you I got an Uncle up Leytonstone?"

"No way."

"Yeah man. When I get enough sterling, I pay a guy to ship me up. Get a job with my uncle."

I'm a bit shocked. Don't really want to say goodbye so soon. But maybe we could all go up, with the sterling we get from this.

Still, ain’t worth much if we can’t sell it. That’s not so easy. Manleb is best at that.

We’re in the back of a busted old car, sitting in the parking lot of the Valley. All the scrap is long gone, and there’s holes in the roof, so nobody gonna come and fight us for this spot. Safe for a minute, out of sight of the panicky crowd.

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I watch them though, keep an eye as they slowly drift apart. The witches are gone, and they get back to feeling safe. Even so, everybody is looking for an opportunity.

I watch a fight break out. Can’t hear them but I guess the scene. Old boy trying to say a girl a witch so he can turn a crowd on her. Usually cause she got something he wants. Nobody is buying. Now she is hitting him. He goes down. Her and her friends, kicking and kicking. People watching.

“Easy now. You’re OK, be calm.”

I spin round so fast my neck hurts. The woman from the crowd, the victim. She’s got a big old knife. Holding Nikair, arm round his neck from behind, blade up to his eye. He’s frozen. Eyes like moons.

She’s leaned into the open driver side window, nabbed him. He was too busy with his head in the bag. I was staring into space like an idiot.

Her hand is all bleeding, nasty chunks out her fingers. But she sounds like a lovely mummy with a baby.

“You’re Ok, you’re Ok.” She whispers.

I take the computer off his lap and hold it up for her. But she doesn’t do nothing. Keeps staring at me.

“You’re sick.”

I guess the makeup must have come off. I nod like a moron before I even think.

“I can get you out of Riverside. I work for the Republic. I’m a civil servant.”

It goes very quiet. They both staring at me. The rain starts.

“Why ain’t you scared of getting sick?”

She shakes her head really slowly.

“There’s worse sickness out there than what you’ve got.”

And I think of all the stories, about people who pretend to save us and then they cut us up in their labs or use us as slaves or worse. People who round up the sick and take them to prisons for sick people. All the river rats who just disappear one night. Never seen again.

“Rather die a river rat than come with you.”

Her face turns hard. She grabs the computer and runs off. Left us all the other bits and bobs.

Nikair breathes in real deep and lets it out real slow. He’s clutching something in his paw, it’s a purse.

“I could kiss you.” I say to him. Dead serious.

And we both start laughing. We laugh for so long it starts to feel a bit weird. Then more silence. Lots of it.

Little crone? WTF?

I hardly notice the sleep creeping in.