I remained silent.
Social engineering was a delightful way of saying she needed me to fuck a few assets to keep them occupied.
“Please, Eon, I really need your help here,” she pleaded.
“You know I can’t. Ever since the shield job, I’ve been on Deacon’s shit list. He would never agree—”
The tiny blue Taos that hovered in front of my eyes perked up. “Deacon approved this! He says he’ll get you off the blacklist if you do this for us. The pay is good too, really good!”
“Taos…”
“Please, E! I don’t know how the information got leaked, but this could jeopardize everything. You know how dangerous kaijin can be.”
Of that, I certainly did.
My hand instinctively went to the long scar that wrapped around my ribcage.
A reminder of brutality.
Deacon was desperate again, which meant people would get hurt. The image of Lock’s face exploding with gore replayed in my mind.
If I could help prevent that…
“Un alma sensible,” Mercy had called me. Tonto was more accurate.
I glanced beyond the call displayed on the Vysor screen before turning my gaze back to the passing crowd. The neon display muted everything outside, making it gray, dull, and wet. Only the occasional flash of a Vysor, people condensed down to nothing more than data, a consumer profile in POM’s data center.
“Please, E…” Taos pleaded again. The red payment warning flickered behind her avatar, a demon lurking in the dark.
“And how do you expect I will distract them?” I wanted her to say it. I wanted her hands as dirty as mine were.
It was Taos’ turn to stay silent—until: “You should just do what you do best.”
I sighed.
Taos would never say it. Like so many of Neo Stellaris’ citizens, she still looked down on sex work, even if she didn’t realize how very close she came every day to depending on it for survival. Even if here she was, paying me to do just that.
“What’s the pay?” I asked.
“One hundred thousand creds.”
Shit. With money like that, I could make at least three months of payments, give myself enough time to build up my reserves again.
That red light kept flashing, and I knew there were no miracles. Not for someone like me.
“I’ll do it. But I need half the payment now.”
I heard Taos squeal through the comm. “Thank you, Eon! You’re the best. You know I wouldn’t ask if we had any other choice. I’ll send you the creds and data right away.”
“Thanks,” I replied, ending the call without letting her respond.
The truth was, I probably didn’t need the data. Ever since the data center, I’d been collecting everything I could find on the man with Flux that harmonized with mine.
Another high to chase.
The rain had died back to nothing but an annoying drizzle.
I kicked myself off the wall to continue my walk home, when one last enormous drop from the balcony above found its way directly into my cleavage. I shivered, pulling my hood up over my hair. It was already frizzy, but at least I didn’t have to be soaking wet.
