Neon Dust [Progression Cyberpunk] 1.31 A Late Wake-Up

31 – A Late Wake-Up

“Mmph.” Addie stretched, arching her back and accidentally knocking her pillow off the bed. “What ti is it, JJ?” Her AUI was in snooze mode.

“It’s nearly eleven.”

“Seriously?” Addie threw her covers off and sat on the side of the bed. “Any ssages?”

“Several, though they’re all from Tony in response to my queries about his safety.” JJ’s faintly robotic tone as he ntioned checking up on Tony was too much for Addie; she giggled.

“Was he irritated?”

“I’m unable to make an accurate assessnt of his emotional state based on text ssages. However, he didn’t explicitly indicate displeasure.”

Addie nodded absently as she activated her AUI and ran through the conversation herself. Tony had responded to all of JJ’s ssages and, as the PAI indicated, hadn’t seed bothered. He’d apparently stopped at Doc Fox’s, which was fine, though Addie preferred giving Doc Peters her business; he gave a lot more back to the community. “JJ, you shouldn’t tell people my personal business. What if I didn’t want Tony to know I’d visited Fox for a tech phage?”

“I’m sorry, Addie, but I thought you wanted to be more of a ‘self-starter.’ You seed concerned about Tony’s welfare, and I didn’t want to wake you up with his question. I thought—”

“No—no, it’s fine, JJ. You’re right.”

Addie stumbled out of her room, unsurprised that her dad wasn’t in the apartnt. He’d probably been down in the shop since eight or so. She grabbed a “glazed-donut-flavored” food bar, poured herself so berry-flavored electrolytes, and then sat at the little table eating her breakfast while she read Tony’s most recent ssage.

08:34 - Tony: Hey, Addie, I got a new PAI, but I transferred the communications ID from my comm chip. You shouldn’t notice a difference. I’m on my way back to the shop, so I’ll see you soon.

“That’s good,” she muttered, taking another bite of her too-sweet bar. “JJ, have you t Tony’s PAI yet?”

“No. The ssage wasn’t delivered via a live connection, and I didn’t have your permission to reach out.”

“Right. No worries. Did you process the vid file from last night?” Addie had uploaded the footage from her drone before falling asleep.

“Yes. Would you like to view it?”

“No, not yet.” The idea sent a shudder through Addie. She needed to put a little distance between herself and those events before she watched them unfold from her drone’s perspective. She was just about to look at her news page, hoping to see another big bump in followers, when a new ssage appeared on her AUI:

11:04 – Randal: You all good, Ads?

Addie couldn’t help smiling. Was Beef checking in on her?

11:05 – Addie: I’m just fine, Beef. Thank you so much for helping us out last night. You’re not in any trouble, are you?

11:05 – Randal: Nah. I guess we wiped out so of the Jades’ top muscle. Didn’t seem like it to . Buncha scrubs! Anyway, my boss gave another star when I delivered that van full of goods, so I’m good.

Addie wasn’t sure what that ant, but she supposed a “star” had to be a good thing. Banger gangs were unique in how they structured their leadership and handed out rits and rewards. She’d tried doing a story on it once, but it was hard to get bangers to talk about “gang business.” Still smiling, trying to imagine Beef sitting at his own breakfast table as he sent her these ssages, she ntally typed sothing she knew she’d probably regret:

11:06 – Addie: I owe you one, Beef. Thanks again.

A few seconds later, a reply ca through that made Addie’s stomach do a little sorsault:

11:06 – Randal: Yeah, so how about you let buy you dinner?

“Oh, jeez.” Addie pressed her forehead into her palms, her elbows braced on the table. He’d been bugging her to go out with him for years, and she’d always flat-out refused. Why, though? Was it because he was a banger? Was it his looks? Was it because he said things like “doll” and made sexist jokes to get laughs out of his boys?

Addie had always viewed him as mostly harmless; he was still a middle-school boy in a giant’s body. Were those good enough reasons to rebuff him? She thought so, but now she also felt like she owed him sothing. If she agreed to a al and got him alone, maybe she could get him to see that they wouldn’t work.

11:08 – Addie: We can go to lunch, but we’re just friends. Don’t get any ideas.

11:08 – Randal: Lunch? Fine. City Barbeque in the NGE building at 1.

Addie groaned again, shaking her head.

11:09 – Addie: Tomorrow, Randal. I’m way behind today already.

11:09 – Randal: It’s Beef, doll. Tomorrow’s fine.

“Doll!” Addie growled, swiping away the window. It would be one thing if Beef were so kind of vintage black-and-white vid aficionado, but when he said “doll,” he and all his cronies were thinking “pleasure doll.” She threw her wrapper away, rinsed her glass, and then quickly showered. Twenty minutes later, she was dressed, her hair was mostly dry, and her sneakers were thumping down the steps to the shop.

When she walked out of the storeroom, she found Tony and her dad hanging around near the counter, busily chatting away. “…doubt she’d charge more than a couple thousand a month. It’s a small space, and you have to go through her shop to get to it. You’d be the only one up there, though.”

“She doesn’t live in the building?”

“Nope—has an apartnt in the Gordon Building. Her husband’s middle managent for Boxer. The flower shop’s kind of a hobby, I think.”

Addie brushed past her dad and reached for the coffee pot. It was nearly empty, and the coffee at the bottom looked thick and dark. “Are you talking about Mrs. Lane?”

“That’s right, hon. Good morning!” Her dad turned to smile at her, and Tony, looking much cleaner and sohow totally alert, watched her pour the coffee, nodding with a grin when she looked his way.

Addie frowned crookedly and looked at her dad. “Good morning, and why?”

“Why what, honey?”

“Why are you talking about Mrs. Lane’s flower shop?”

“She’s got that apartnt upstairs that she hasn’t rented out since that Thomas girl moved away. It’s been months. I was just telling Tony he ought to—”

Addie started spooning Ultra-Sweet into her coffee—she hated the stuff, but it was hard to get real sugar in the Blast—and interrupted her dad, “Are you kicking him out?”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not ant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“He’s not, Addie. I was just asking for when I move out. C’mon, you and I talked about this.”

Her dad nodded, folding his thick arms. “He’s worried the Black Jades might co looking for him here. He doesn’t want us to be—”

“I know, I know. Like he said, I heard the argunt.” Addie scowled at Tony, irritated that he’d brought it up with her dad. Of course he wouldn’t want any sort of extra danger aid her way. She sipped the coffee, making a face at the bitter, chemical tang in the aftertaste. “I hate Ultra-Sweet.”

“Why don’t you two go get a late breakfast? I doubt you found much to eat upstairs. Soplace with decent coffee.”

“I could go for—” Addie started, but Tony cleared his throat and shook his head.

“I can’t. eting soone for lunch.”

“Oh?” Addie’s dad asked, but as he looked from Tony to Addie, he must have seen sothing on her face because he cleared his throat and started for the door. “Tony, I’m going to talk to Mrs. Lane about that apartnt. I’ll fill you in. Can you two watch the shop a few minutes?”

“Yeah, sure.” Tony watched her dad leave, then looked at Addie. “I an, I’d like to get so food with you. I’m not exactly looking forward to this lunch.”

“Who—” Addie shook her head, cupping her warm mug of coffee and pressing it to her cheek. It was good for that if not drinking. “Never mind. None of my business.”

“It’s Maisie. She started ssaging when I was at the gym. Says she doesn’t know what’s going on, and the Jades aren’t telling her or her aunt what happened. I’m sure they will, but yeah, I feel like I have to own this.” He moved a little closer, filling the space her dad had vacated. “Did you think about what we talked about last night?”

Addie’s skin itched with irritation. She felt like walking sowhere or throwing sothing, and the most frustrating thing was that she didn’t know why. Was she upset about Tony talking to her dad about the looming threat of the Black Jades? Was it about him moving out? Or was it just Maisie? Pretty, pink-haired, fit, and—despite her gang connections—sweet Maisie? She looked down into her coffee cup and muttered, “Why?”

“Why?” Tony shifted, and without looking at him, Addie could tell he was frowning. “Well, ‘cause I’m curious about what you think.”

“Why, though? I’m just a girl with a cara drone. You’re the guy who used to be so sort of big-ti operator. You don’t need . Shoot, I bet Maisie would be a better partner than—”

“Don’t do that.” He nudged her shoulder, and Addie hated and loved it at the sa ti. She shifted away from his touch, glaring up at him.

“Do what?”

“I don’t know. Be petty? What do you want to do about Maisie? I don’t exactly trust her, but when I thought about blocking her, a voice in my head asked what if she’s not lying? What if she didn’t have a choice? What if she didn’t know how bad her uncle was? I an, if he forced her to lie to , maybe she still hoped he was only going to intimidate or sothing. So, if you were in my shoes, what would you do?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think I’d sit down with her at lunch and explain that I killed her uncle.”

“Yeah.” Tony sighed and sat on one of the tall stools her dad had gotten from a going-out-of-business auction. He put his elbow on the counter and rested his chin on his palm, looking utterly defeated. “I just couldn’t send that in a text, though. Maybe the old could have, but I’m trying to be different.”

“I’m sorry.” Addie barely vocalized the words, but Tony nodded like he’d heard her loud and clear. “As much as I want to hate her, I can’t. You’re right to wonder if she’s as much a victim as you were. I an, I don’t think her uncle’s ever been nice to her. He puts on a nice face—” Addie stopped, suddenly realizing she was talking about a dead man in the present tense. Had it still not sunken in? Was she still keeping what happened in the night at arm’s length?

“You good?” Tony looked at her, arching the brow over his silver eye.

“That’s what Beef asked . I wanna say yes, but maybe not. I don’t think I’ve quite processed what happened last night.”

“I’m gonna cancel that lunch. I think I should stay—”

“No! Don’t do that, Tony. She should hear it from you before her uncle’s people fill her with lies.”

He nodded. “You know that flower shop is two buildings down across the street. It’s not like I’m trying to bail out of the district.”

His sudden change of topic caught Addie off guard, and she looked up at him, narrowing her eyes. Was he doing that on purpose? “I know, it’s just…” She trailed off, not sure how to vocalize her nebulous objections.

“It’s just that you like being involved in decisions.” He chuckled, nudging her shoulder again. “Right?”

Addie wanted to object, but he’d hit the bullseye, and her guilty smile would’ve made a liar out of her. “Okay, fair. Can you afford it, though?”

“Yep. Still have a few k left over after my morning with Doc Fox.”

Addie’s eyes flew wide as she rembered his earlier ssage. “Oh yeah! What about your new PAI? Is it a good one? Did you get anything else?”

“The PAI’s decent. She’s gonna need a little training, but so far, I’m just happy to be able to adjust my vision and manage my nanites.”

“She?”

“Well, the default personality was called Glenda. I chose a new voice and picked a different na, but yeah, she’s a she.”

Addie groaned and gave his shoulder a shove. “What’s the new na? It’s like pulling teeth!”

Tony smiled, clearly pleased to have gotten a rise out of her, and shrugged. “I nad her Nora after a childhood friend.”

“I like it. I’ve never known a ‘Nora,’ but it’s pretty and quick to say.”

Tony scratched his chin, pursing his lips as he contemplated sothing. After a minute, he shrugged. “I was cycling through the voice options, and this one reminded of my friend—kind of a southern twang. I an, I don’t know shit about accents, but that’s what I think of.” He tapped his chest. “Bought a new reactor and matrix, too. Hope you don’t mind, but I told Fox to give the old one to a needy kid.”

“Oh, um, no; that’s totally fine. Can your new reactor run your Dust-tech better?”

“Still can’t touch my wire-job, but, yeah, it can bank a hundred Dust units and extract one per minute, so I can keep my nanites functioning on maintenance mode almost all the ti.”

Addie gave Tony a long, appraising look. She’d forgotten he had so kind of high-end wire-job. What did he call it? Tier-one tech? “If you can’t fire off your reflexes with a hundred Dust units, you must have had one heck of a budget back in your old job.”

“A hundred Dust might get half a second of operation. We’re talking the dirty, impure stuff from the Blast. If I had my hands on so refined Dust, then yeah, a hundred units would get through a quick fight.” He shrugged. “I used to make a lot of money, Ads.” His smile crept back onto his lips as he added, “Which brings back to my earlier question. Have you thought about it at all?”

“’Course I did,” Addie relented. “Thought about it a lot and almost brought it up with my dad when I was telling him about how Beef and his boys helped you out. By the way, I hope you didn’t tell him any gory details! I told him I hung back—”

“Relax, I’m not a dummy. All I said was that the Jades aren’t going to be happy about how and the Helldogs wrecked the place.”

“Right. Okay.” Addie felt a wave of relief; the last thing she needed was for her dad to try to get even more protective. “Well, if we wanted to beco operators, how does that work? Is there a test or sothing?” Addie knew the answer; she’d scoured so public net pages before falling asleep, but she wanted to hear Tony’s perspective.

“For an ‘unranked’ license, we just need to fill out so paperwork, pay a hundred bits, and voila, we’re bona fide SOA operatives.” He stopped leaning on the counter and swiveled to face her more directly. “You familiar with the SOA?”

“Short for SOA-SP, it stands for Special Operators Association of Sovereign Peoples.” She smiled crookedly, her cheeks getting warm. “I looked it up last night.”

“Right, well, it’s kind of like joining a crowd-sourced legal entity. They carry so clout, and as long as we’re operating inside their guidelines, they’ll back us in legal disputes. The higher an operator’s tier in the SOA, the more support they can count on. As new mbers, we might get so counseling from a legal expert online; no one’s gonna co to our rescue if Boxer cos after us.”

Addie nodded, reciting more of her recent research, “We’ll start as unranked and can apply to be evaluated as frequently as we like for rank improvents from tier-9 to tier-1 operator.”

“Sure, we can apply as frequently as we want to pay the fee. Tier-9 will cost us 500 bits per evaluation. If the judge doesn’t think we cut it, that’s money down the drain.”

“You really have to start from scratch? What was your rank before?”

“Tier-2, and yeah, I confird my fears when I got Nora online. My old ‘friends’”—Tony made air quotes around the word—“orchestrated so very thorough character assassination; my operator ID was revoked with prejudice.” He sighed, then did that thing he liked to do, reaching with his fingers in a loose fist and nudging her shoulder. “So? Can I take your research to an you’re still interested?”

Addie tried to scowl as he jostled her, but it probably looked more like a pained smile. “I am, but, Tony, we need to talk about our roles. Like, seriously, I get that you think I’m good with my cara drone, but—”

“That’s the tip of the iceberg where your talents lie, Miss Jones. You’re a spark! Speaking of which, you ntioned that Zane guy put you in an AutoCab and sothing about being Dust sick, but I still don’t know what’s going on with all that.” He glanced at the door. “Is it a long story?”

“Kinda.” Addie looked at her clock. It was almost noon. “Getting nervous you’ll miss your date?”

Tony narrowed his eyes, but Addie could tell he knew she was teasing. He clicked his tongue and ignored the question. “Wondering if I ought to head over to talk with that flower lady. Your pops is great, but I don’t want him to call in any favors or anything. If she’s not looking to rent, I’d rather look around a little.”

Addie nodded, pushing her cup aside. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll watch the store. Can we talk later? After lunch?”

Tony smiled and clenched his cybernetic fist, holding it out to her. “I’ll be counting on it.” Addie felt stupid, but she couldn’t resist giving his knuckles a bump. His fingers were loose, and the plasteel digits made a satisfying series of clicks as she hit them. He grinned, slapped the counter, and hurried out of the shop. She watched him go, confused, irritated, and wishing he wasn’t leaving—feelings she was beginning to realize went hand in hand with Tony Santoro.