He nodded. “Lawyerbot will be restored to the app store. The fake replacement will be gone by tomorrow. The CEO is pleased.”
“So everything goes back to normal,” I said. “Eighty dollars an hour for a crappy chatbot.”
He shrugged. “Probably. At least until someone creates an alternative.”
I thought of Mr. Bright Eyes and all those other lawyers scurrying out the back door. “That’s why you let most of them go.”
His face was blank as glass. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You sympathized with them,” I said, nudging him with my elbow. “Didn’t you? That’s why you helped them.”
“I did no such thing.” He speared me with a look. “And neither did you. Officially, we’ll both be reprimanded if anything else ever comes to light.”
“You were a lawyer,” I said. “Before… all this. That’s how you got inside without anyone buzzing you in.”
I caught a glimpse of something like longing in his eyes before he closed them.
“Another life,” he said. “Another world.”
I considered pressing. After all, he knew everything about my life. But he’d done a good thing today—bending the law in a way that wasn’t entirely un-Augusta-esque. He could keep his secrets.
“Fair enough,” I said.
12
I zip-tie Anasova to one of the solar panels.
Then I pry open one of the HVAC vents and toss both of her guns into the ventilation shaft. I wince as metal clatters against metal, hoping desperately no one below will hear it. But I don’t dare chuck guns off the roof and into the courtyard below. With my luck, I’d accidentally take out a civilian.
I do steal her radio—it’s good to have a spare. As I work, I can feel Anasova’s eyes on me. She sits under that solar panel, wrists bound behind her. Her ankles are also tied and one boot is missing. Even unarmed and shackled, she’s still terrifying. Fury rolls off her like heat shimmering off pavement.
“I will kill you,” she says.
“There’s a waiting list,” I say.
I leave her to stew on the rooftop, making sure to pull the door shut behind me. Then I tap my ring against the lock and seal access to the roof.
I close my eyes, trying to calm my breathing. It feels as though half a day has passed, although it has probably only been half an hour since I left the security office.
Two down, four to go.
The thought exhausts me. I’ve only managed to eliminate two of six threats. As the adrenaline ebbs from my body, fatigue sweeps in to take its place. My broken nose throbs in time with my heartbeat, and I can feel blood drying on my chin. I slip my visor into place, delicately propping it atop my sore nose.
I’m amess. I need a few minutes to rest, to take stock of my surroundings and plan my next move.
But of course the universe can never give me that.
A familiar buzzing sound makes me look up. A bumblebee rounds the corner. I lick my lips and taste copper. “Edgar?”
Edgar buzzes around my head. “There’s someone poking around the third floor.”
I bite back a vehement curse. I thought it would take longer for Vale’s crew to reach Nonna’s apartment.
“Who?” I ask. My mind races through possibilities: that brawny Corey or the tech-savvy Carla. Or even Vale herself.
“I don’t recognize her,” says Edgar.
The bottom of my stomach drops out.
