Page 57 of Light Leech

I gave them a brief explanation of our time at Water Hills but deferred their questions about Kalacia to focus on my theory concerning Boyband’s enrollment. Ralia could explain the neurocore thing later

Akna furrowed her brow. “So you think his parents wanted him to find a job as a celebrity to escape the weight of their empire?”

“I don’t know, but I think they had a purpose in sending him to a school that feeds corporations with lackeys.” I looked at David.

“And you think that thing might have an idea?” Abbas asked. “Again, I get that this is important and all, but if we’re just going to toss aside our Reef and Haven connection discoveries, why did we go in the first place?”

“To make sure we’re not being haunted by Haven,” Ralia said. “We already have too many assassins out for us, but that might change soon. Pet and I are working on that. We also don’t want to cut our ties with the presidency. If we are going to try and end these ten Beacons and the tide, we’ll need connections to the elite. So far, three of the Beacons have been among them.”

“Was Deleon really an elite?”

She laughed. “You’re an invaluable resource right now, Abbas.” She continued to speak through his smile. For once, he looked like he felt valued without the sting of his betrayal. “And if this provides a route for Naoma to use her Reef connections without reaching out to them out of the blue, all the better. You gotta remember, the network the elite use goes beyond the one on the neuronet. You plug?”

He nodded. “I guess so.”

“Good, because we’ll need you and Aknie to keep an eye out while we vermin work in the sewers.”

He and Akna shared a grin, filling me with that rare warmth. The memories of my family were ghosts, but I felt that same love growing here.

Still, that didn’t diminish the ache of missing Matvey. Where had my brother gone? What would he think of me now?

“Back to what we were saying.” Boyband scratched David’s top. “If there is any information on what my parents were hoping to do by sending me to Water Hills, it’ll be in David.”

“Your caressing feels nice.”

Boyband smiled at David’s remark. “Hey! That’s a positive thought!”

“I imagine this is how death feels. Will you please grant it unto me?”

“No, bud, we need some help.”

“Yet I plead for aid and you deny it?”

“Killing you isn’t going to help anyone.” He looked up at Denji. “Maybe tone down the formal talk a bit? I don’t like him acting like he is smarter than me.”

“With your parent’s data in his mind, he kind of is.”

Boyband sighed and shook his head. “Do I just ask him about my parents or do we need to hook up a light line?”

“No,” Denji said. “You should be able to access everything conversationally. More reliable than AI or looking blindly through a system. While his personality might sound like… well… he was made to be a Luxist like me, so he should want nothing more than to help you.”

“David?” Boyband asked.

David eyed him. I sighed when the thing did not reply.

“I need you to look for–no… how about… Why did my parents send me to Water Hills?”

“Because they loved you.”

Boyband looked up at Denji as if to ask, “Really?”

Denji nodded and waved for him to continue.

“Why did my parents care about Water Hills?”

“Be more descriptive,” said Denji. “Almost treat him as if he’s a search engine.”

Boyband nodded. “What does Water Hills have to do with my parents’ Luxist interests? Specifically, the Correction.”