25 – Poor Communication
At first, Addie thought she was reacting to Zane’s expression—the sudden racing heart, her stomach roiling, threatening an upheaval of dates, chorizo, and margarita, and the weird flush of hot sweat that had brought a sheen to her forehead and cheeks. So, when Zane looked at her with wide eyes and a nervous, guilty glance at the Dust containment device and reached out to press the back of his hand to her forehead, chuckling a little, she shied away. “Hold still now, I’m just checking something.”
“What? I’m not feeling well, Zane. I’m so sorry, but I think I should—”
“Holy shit!” he hissed, pulling his hand back. “I think you actually pulled a particle of Dust out of the containment.”
“Huh?” Addie’s head felt foggy, and she’d just realized her ears were ringing.
“Check your Dust levels.”
“JJ,” Addie whispered hoarsely, leaning her hands on the table. “Dust levels.” She stared at the display, dismayed by what she saw:
Dust Purity: Impure +
Dust Capacity: MAX/30
“I-I’m at max. I’ve never seen that before. It usually just says thirty out of thirty.”
“What? Your reactor’s max is thirty units? Well, shit, that’s why you’re not feeling well. The Dust is overflowing your matrix. It’s in your body.” Addie coughed and shook her head, scooting toward the edge of the booth. “Hold on! Where are you going?” Zane caught her wrist. “You’re going to be okay; it’ll take a few hours for your matrix to process that bit of refined Dust, that’s all. Someone with your talent isn’t going to be harmed by a little Dust exposure—I mean not clean Dust.”
Addie shook her wrist. “I need to go, Zane. Please let me go.”
He released her and nodded. “Shoot! I’m sorry about this, Addie. I was trying to do something fun; I didn’t think you’d pull any dust out of the containment. That shouldn’t really happen, as far as I know. I mean, granted, I’m not an expert, but—”
“I’m sorry, Zane!” Addie nearly cried the words as she slid out of the booth. “I need to go to the restroom. Message me!”
As Addie started across the dining room, she heard him call, “I’ll order you an AutoCab, okay?” She didn’t respond; she was too focused on keeping the contents of her stomach from becoming contents outside her stomach.
She rushed past the perfect, beautiful synthetic hostess and then hurried down the hallway toward the lobby and the public restrooms. A part of her mind wondered if there had been closer restrooms in the restaurant, but she didn’t care. As soon as she rounded the first corner, she broke into a run. Fifteen seconds later, she crashed into the bathroom and fell to her knees in the first stall, heaving her guts out.
Her stomach’s contents were extremely acidic, and she gagged as her throat burned. After several dry heaves, she finally stopped retching and stood, stumbling to the sinks, where she rinsed her mouth again and again, staring into her own eyes reflected at her in the mirror. They were bloodshot and watery, and her face still looked flushed. She blinked away unshed tears and then shakily pushed herself upright, carefully smoothing her sweater, ensuring she hadn’t gotten anything on it.
Still shaky and still not feeling right, she walked to the restroom door, thankful that at least her nausea had passed with her vomiting. To her relief, Zane hadn’t followed after her. Or, she supposed, if he had, he’d missed her turning off to the restroom in the lobby.
Walking toward the exit, she skirted the people talking in little clusters and hugged the wall with her head down. She held up her right hand, saw it was still shaking, and stuffed it into her jeans pocket. She’d just stepped out onto the busy sidewalk, shivering a little with the night chill, when a message popped up on her AUI.
> Zane K: Addie, I’m so sorry about tonight. I’m an idiot—I don’t typically work with these things, and I didn’t know that could happen to you. I know you feel rotten right now, but you’ll probably feel fine by morning. I know what you feel like; in my training, they did this to me regularly—gave me too much Dust, I mean. It’s a good way to build up your tolerance. I swear I didn’t intend that, though. I hope we can get together again soon. Anyway, an AutoCab is coming for you. I gave it your ping info.
Addie stared at the message for several long seconds, trying to decide if she should be upset with Zane. With a resigned sigh, she mentally typed out a reply:
> Addie: Thanks for trying to show me a nice evening. Sorry, I ruined it. Message me in a day or two, and we can try again.
“JJ, turn on do not disturb.”
“Done.”
“Shoot, leave a port open for an AutoCab.” Addie wasn’t in any shape to walk back home, and if Zane was going to give her a fifty-bit cab ride, she wouldn’t argue. She watched the curb, leaning against the building to the left of the automated doors, and when an AutoCab pulled up and JJ told her it was hers, she hurriedly slipped inside.
AutoCab was a brand name for fully autonomous cabs, and the interior contained a single bench seat that encircled the entire space, save for the area where the door opened. Addie hadn’t ever been inside one all by herself, and it felt strange in there, sitting in the back with so much space, but she was grateful for it. “Destination?” the cab’s AI asked.
Addie had JJ forward her address, and then the vehicle started moving. Another wave of nausea washed over her, and her forehead broke out in a cold sheen of sweat. She groaned and leaned back, honestly feeling like she had a bad flu. Suddenly feeling very hot, she groaned, “Open a window, please.”
“Madam, the outside temperature is twelve-point-eight Celsius. Are you certain?”
“Yes!”
The window beside her slid down, and cold air blew into Addie’s face, bringing instant relief. She leaned her head against the window bracket, letting the breeze hit her more fully, and it felt amazing—like it was wicking away the heat that wanted to boil her inside her own skin. “Cab, is there a limit on my fare?”
“No, madam, this cab was ordered using the Boxer corporate account and has an open-ended authorization. You may travel as far as you like.”
“Okay, then, don’t take me directly to my destination. Drive for a while, but don’t go outside the district.”
“Yes, madam. Initiating pleasure cruise mode. Is there music you’d like me to play?”
“Something relaxing,” Addie replied, yawning. “You can put the window up halfway.”
“Yes, madam.” The window slid smoothly upward, letting in just enough of the cool breeze to keep Addie comfortable. Soft, soothing instrumental music filled the cabin, blending with the gentle hum of the electric motor as the cab began its leisurely route through the district.
***
Tony looked up from his study of the PAI chips he’d pulled from the bangers when a knock sounded on the door to the storeroom. It was coming from the door leading up to Bert’s apartment. He gathered the chips and stuffed them into the bunched blankets beside him. “Yo, I’m decent.” He was still wearing his clothes, not ready to turn in for the night despite the lack of things to do.
The door opened, and Bert stepped through, wearing a mismatched pair of gray and blue sweats. “Hey, Tony, have you heard from Addie?”
Tony narrowed his eyes and tilted his head in confusion. “Thought she was up there with you.”
“I thought she was up there when I turned in, too. When I saw she wasn’t, I figured she’d come home any minute, but it’s after nine, and I can’t get ahold of her. I’m getting her ‘do not disturb’ message from her PAI.”
“Is it unusual for her to be out after nine?”
“Not terribly, but she told me she was just going for a bite, and if she changed her plans, it’s not like her not to send a message.”
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Tony sat up on the side of his cot and rubbed his chin. “I know a dad doesn’t want to think about stuff like this, but maybe she’s, like, with someone. You know what I mean?”
“I don’t think so.” Bert shook his head, scratching at his stubble as though Tony’s chin-scratching had triggered a sympathetic itch. “She’s not with anyone like that, and if she met someone, again, it’s not like her not to at least tell me she’ll be out late.”
“All right.” Tony reached for his sneakers, pulling them close. “She say where she went to eat?”
“Oh, hey, I wasn’t asking you to go looking—”
“I’m bored, and I’m not tired. It’s not a big deal.” On the off chance that Addie was just blocking her dad for some reason, he sent her a quick message:
> Tony: Yo, where are you?
>
> Addie: I’m sorry, but Adelaide Jones isn’t receiving messages at the moment. This message will be delivered when she is available.
Tony snorted at the canned response. She hadn’t customized the note at all. Meanwhile, Bert was answering his question: “…and also sometimes she likes to get noodles, but she didn’t say exactly where she was going. She offered to get me something, but I said I had leftovers. That’s another reason I thought she was coming right home.”
Tony stood, pushing his heels into his shoes, then stepped over to Bert, firmly grasping his shoulder. “Hey, it’s probably nothing, Bert. I’m sure she’s fine, but I’ll see if I can find her. You happen to see which way she walked?”
Bert frowned, squinting into nothing, then nodded. “She crossed in front of the window, so left.”
“I’ll go ask around—poke my head into a few shops. Everyone knows her.” He snapped his fingers. “Did you check her news page?”
Bert nodded morosely. “Sure did, buddy. Nothing new.”
Tony gave his shoulder another reassuring squeeze. “All right. I’ll lock the door behind me. You got my contact info, right?” Tony had given Bert his new messaging ID earlier in the evening.
“I got it. Thanks, Tony. I’m going to call around to some of our friends and see if anyone saw her. I’ll message you if I find out anything.”
“Perfect.” Tony flashed another smile, then walked out of the storage room, through the shop, and out the door. He rearmed the locks and alarm before turning to scan the street, left and right, hoping to catch Addie strolling happily back to the shop—no such luck.
The truth was that Tony was worried about her. Not so much because she was out after nine—no big deal in his book—but because of how she’d acted after the ambush in the alley. She’d been a little traumatized, and now she was out with her PAI set to refuse connections and no word to her dad. He hoped she hadn’t had some kind of breakdown.
He opened his chat window with her again and scrolled up, reviewing what she’d said to him earlier that evening:
> Addie: Thanks so much, Tony, but I’m going to meet a friend. Catch up with you later?
“A friend…” So, she hadn’t been just going out for a bite by herself. What friend, though? As far as Tony knew, she didn’t have any friends.
Nobody on the sidewalk made eye contact with him, and though pedestrian traffic was light, the street was busy with cabs, cars, and trucks—more than he usually saw during the day. He supposed it made sense. Boxer probably ran twenty-four hours of shifts, but he’d bet more people in the district were off work in the evening than in the daytime.
With no other ideas, he opened up his calling app, selecting Maisie’s uncle, Troy, from his very limited contact list. It beeped three times before a window flickered into existence in Tony’s upper left-hand field of view, depicting Troy’s grizzled beard, hard eyes, and thick neck. “Ah, Tony. I wondered who had the balls to reach out with an unverified ID. What’s up? Looking for work?”
“Hey, Troy, I’m sorry to bug you out of the blue like this, but I was hoping I could get Maisie’s contact info from you. I’m working on something, and I was hoping she might be able to help.”
“Nothing dangerous?”
“Nah, not at all. I just wanted to ask her a question.”
“You wouldn’t be calling me so you could hook up with my niece, would you?” Troy’s heavy gray brows narrowed dangerously.
Tony groaned and shot his fingers through his hair, shaking his head. “Nah, man, seriously. I just don’t know anyone in the damn district, and I was hoping she could tell me the names of some of the people Addie hangs out with.”
“Oh, right, right. Tell you what, I’ll call her, and if she wants to talk to you, she’ll contact you. Cool?”
“Yeah, like ice, man. Thanks.”
“No worries. Talk to you soon.” The call window flickered and disappeared, and Tony kept walking, panning his eyes left and right, hoping to catch a glimpse of Addie or someone he’d seen her talking to in the last few days.
He wished he had a decent PAI installed so he could run a facial recognition routine. Back in the storeroom, he had the three chips he’d taken from the bangers, but there was no way he was gonna stick some random street thug’s PAI into his head. If one of them turned out to be a decent model, he’d have to have a pro clean it and do a factory reset. He’d rather just sell or trade them, in any case.
He kept walking, kind of meandering toward the street where Golden’s was. On Boxer Day, Addie had given him a little tour, pointing out shops and restaurants she liked. He’d even met some of the owners, and they seemed friendly to her. He supposed it was as good a place to start as any. He’d gone another block when an incoming call flashed, and he stared at it until the window expanded, revealing Maisie’s face.
She sniffed and rubbed at her eye, and Tony thought she looked a little flushed. In fact, when she lowered her hand and smiled, it seemed forced, and he swore he saw tears in her eyes. “Hey, Tony. My uncle called—said you were looking for me?”
“Um, yeah, but if it’s a bad time…”
“No, uh-uh. I just had a fight with my cousin, that’s all. Sorry.” She wiped her nose again, sniffing. “Anyway, what’s up? Did you want to get together?"
“Yeah, sure, I’d like that, but right now isn’t great. I know she’s not exactly your friend anymore, but Addie’s kind of missing.”
“Kind of?”
“Yeah, I mean, I think we’re overreacting, well, Bert is. She went out for dinner a few hours ago, and now we can’t get ahold of her. She said she was meeting a friend. Any idea who that could be?”
“Oh boy!” Maisie blew out a pent-up breath, shaking her head with a rueful smile. “Calling me about another girl, huh?”
“It’s not like—”
“I know. I’m just teasing. I know how Bert is. Let me think…”
Tony moved to the left, pressing his shoulder against a nearby building to avoid blocking the pedestrian flow. He watched Maisie “thinking,” staring at the side of her face where he swore he saw some blurry artifacts. Was she using a filter? He supposed it wouldn’t be that unusual to do when forced to talk face-to-face with someone at an inopportune time.
Cameras in retinas already made up about half the image they presented to callers. Tony knew they’d do some infrared capturing using tiny emitters and detectors within the retina to map the contours of the wearer’s face, but most of the details were filled in from stored biometric data. He also knew that almost all retina software would scan the environment for reflections, compiling that data to build a more accurate, up-to-date image of the user for things like this video call. Was Maisie’s software trying to filter something out? Or maybe it was trying to add in a detail?
His musing was cut short when Maisie nodded and smiled. “I bet I know where she is.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, there’s a sandwich shop just outside the neighborhood. Luke’s. She didn’t really like the food all that much, but she has an old friend who’s always working the counter—Peanut, I think. Sometimes, she’d go there and chat with him for hours and hours, especially when she was bothered about one of her stories or something. I’d start there, Tony. I’ll send you a pin.”
“Eh, I don’t have a PAI yet, and this communication chip doesn’t have a map. Can you just give me directions?”
“Um, sure. You know how to get to Golden’s, right?”
“Yep, I’m close.”
“Okay go two blocks past Golden’s, walking toward the NGT tower. At the second block, turn left, go three blocks, and you’ll see Luke’s on the corner.”
“Golden’s, two blocks toward NGT, left for three blocks. Got it.” Tony stopped leaning on the building and stretched his legs into a ground-devouring pace. “Thanks, Maisie. Can I buy you lunch or a coffee or something tomorrow?”
“That would be nice, Tony. Um…” She trailed off for a moment, sniffing, then smiled and added, “Good luck.” With that, the call window closed, and Tony was left frowning, wishing he knew what was wrong with her. It didn’t seem like a spat between cousins. His concern was driven to the back of his mind when he saw a group of bangers hanging out on the corner near Golden’s. He stuck to the far side of the street, tucked his hands in his pockets again, and slouched, trying to blend in with the other pedestrians.
He'd only made it halfway down the block when a booming voice called out, “Yo! Corpo-rat!” It was Beef. Tony turned, still moving, taking backward steps, and waved at the group of bangers. Beef laughed and waved, more a shooing motion, really, and Tony just smiled and got moving, relieved that the Helldogs didn’t feel like messing with him at the moment.
He turned left when he was supposed to, hurrying his steps, not liking that the street was a lot less busy than the ones he'd just traversed. Almost no one was walking on the sidewalks, and the vehicle traffic was sparse. Ahead, he could see more lights, though, and he just motored on, keeping his head on a swivel, looking for trouble or Addie as he went.
He passed the first intersection, then the next, without any problem, and when he was halfway toward the next block, he thought he could see yellow neon letters spelling Luke’s, but the bottom half of the S was broken. It was a quieter, darker, rougher-seeming neighborhood, and he was awash with relief when he reached the brightly lit corner and crossed the street to the little restaurant.
A couple of guys who looked like they might be bangers stood outside, chatting, eating paper-wrapped sandwiches, but they didn’t even look at him. Tony paused by the door, peering through the glass, hoping to catch a glimpse of Addie. If he saw her, he figured he might just hang outside, waiting for her to leave. Then, he could “accidentally” bump into her and offer to walk her home. He didn’t want to interrupt if she was chatting with her friend in there.
All he saw were six booths, three on each side of the little hole-in-the-wall restaurant, and a counter for ordering. A few people, mostly wearing denim and leather, sat at the tables, but he didn’t think he could see Addie.
“Gonna stand there all night?”
Tony glanced over his shoulder to see a stocky guy with cheap, gray synth-flesh covering half his face. Tony cleared his throat and pulled the door open, ringing a bell attached to the top. “Nah, I’m going in.”
He stepped inside, and the big guy took the door, nodding and following him. Tony walked up to the counter and saw a young man, maybe early twenties, with sandy brown hair tucked into a hairnet. He was working alone, just as Maisie had said. Tony tapped his knuckles on the counter and asked, “Hey, are you Peanut?”
The kid smiled, revealing a missing pair of teeth on the right side of his jaw. “That’s me! We met?”
“Nah, I’m a friend of—”
The bell chimed violently as the door was shoved open, and a familiar gruff voice interrupted him, “Hey, funny meeting you here, Tony.” With a sinking sensation in his gut, Tony turned to see Troy standing there, a heavy pistol in his hand and a grim smile on his face. “Kinda outside your neighborhood, though. This is Black Jade territory.”