Page 51 of The Fall

“I mean,” Kerr flexed her fingers nervously. “There are tunnels. They had to get power and water to this area when it was occupied. It’s too cold to run them above ground.”

“But…” Lusa prodded.

“But there’s no power running through them anymore. And power is the whole reason we were underground to begin with. That’s why they called us Chargers. We hacked and recharged our implants after corps stopped paying for subscriptions.”

“Are there monsters down there or something?” Lusa curled her lip. “I still don’t see why we can’t use them.”

“You don’t understand.” Kerr stood up straight. “It’s not that something dangerous might be down there, though there might be. It’s that nobody has mapped any of it. We could be wandering around down there in the dark for months.”

“I thought cities had blueprints for all infrastructure” Lusa ran her thumb across her lip. She noticed Kerr staring. “At least, that’s what I learned. Is that not true?”

“If it’s true, it’s probably stored away in Model 2.”

“And she won’t talk to me unless I help get her what she wants,” Lusa mused. “Fuck.”

“She?” The way her freckles danced when Kerr frowned was too distracting. “What does she want?”

“It doesn’t matter. You don’t have it.”

Kerr kept staring, waiting for Lusa to continue.

“Fine. She wants a DocPod. Late gen, with expanded RAM ports,” Lusa said defiantly. “You don’t have those.”

“But the Styx do.” Kerr let the words hang. They both knew that the possibility of acquiring one was ridiculous. Breaking into Model 2 was one thing. Stealing a piece of tech that weighed almost a tonne from a rival gang was quite another. Lusa wasn’t going on a suicide mission and Chalice was running out of time before the Adlets arrived.

“It’s not going to happen,” Lusa said after the pause had become uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know this would become such a disaster.” Kerr looked genuinely ashamed at how things had turned out.

“You’re sorry?” Lusa glared icily.

Bracing herself, Kerr looked like she expected Lusa to attack her. Which, fair, but Lusa had more control than that. For now. Her chest rose and fell while she skimmed her knives, until the anger evaporated. Kerr relaxed.

Perhaps Alana knew some way to get past the Styx. She might not like her, but Pinga’s life was at stake. Lusa’s monocle flashed No Signal. The nearest geostat wouldn’t be in range for another hour. She would be on her own solving this for now. “How far away is it if we take the bike?”

“Five minutes, maybe?” Kerr tried to hide it, but Lusa could see her fingers twitch.

“If we run into Styx, what can we expect?” Lusa fastened the straps on her jacket.

Kerr picked at her fingernails. “They drive weaponised vehicles. Even if they can’t target your biosig, they can fire enough rounds that it won’t matter.”

Lusa stared at the dusty floor while she thought. “We’ll need to ride either way. What’s another five minutes?”

Panic flashed across those beautiful blue eyes, but Kerr straightened her face. She stood and held out her hands for the helmet. Lusa hoped it was because she thought Lusa was brave rather than stupid.

Journeys End In Lovers Meeting

Lusa killed the engine and Kerr relaxed her grip. She hoped Lusa hadn’t noticed how tightly she’d held on. They may be able to take one or two, but if they ran into more than that, they’d be fucked. She doubted Lusa knew what the Styx did to people. Death and torture didn’t even begin to cover it.

Kerr pulled the helmet off and smoothed her hair back. Only a few strands fell loose. “That lotion trick really works.” She smiled, hoping to cover her nerves.

The bank did not look like the ones downtown. It would have fit in right beside the sex shop they had left. The sagging flat-top asphalt roof, its eaves covered in an absolutely stunning amount of seagull excrement. Several birds perched on the edge, eyeing them, offended by their presence.

Lusa’s plush lips turned into a thin white line.

“It’s okay, the door has always been broken.” Kerr ducked through the shattered glass, disappearing into the bank. Lusa followed.

Blankets of mushrooms grew from plaster walls. Kerr noticed Lusa staring. “Banks never used Hexaline,” she explained. “Too many points of entry to secure.” Opti adjusting for the low light conditions. , she made her way into the black void behind the teller’s desks. Lusa followed.