around, she’d be looking for a way out as soon as possible. I needed to figure out where she’d go, and if she had contacts out there…
I was giving this twenty-four hours before I assumed she’d left, and then I’d have to extend the search area. Nearly fucking hopeless.
But I clenched my fists. This time, I wasn’t leaving for the Raven complex without her.
Chapter Five
CIPHER
I stuck to the shade as I wove between pop-up tents, trying to stop myself from sweating like a whore in church. Scanning through the entrance gate had been hard enough, but the cameras logging in all the faces in attendance put me on edge.
I’d prepared as best I could. My fake ID had my face and fingerprints associated with it, but even with that, I felt unsettled. Scanning in at Marx’s was one thing. A Seligo event was a whole new level of dangerous.
It didn’t matter that the only helixed people here were the ones working. The rest stayed away from the Voidies. Either way, I was too close to the enemy for any kind of comfort. Plus, swarms of people made me nervous, and this was more than a swarm. I tucked my arms into my sides and focused my gaze straight ahead.
I was going to kill Mona for making me come here. I’d all but decided to not meet up with Crackhead’s connection when she banged on my door to drag me out. If it meant me going out in public, Mona was all for it. And in the daytime, she was even more jazzed. Sunlight did good for you, apparently. My white, flowing sleeveless shirt was lightweight enough that it didn’t add to the heat, but it didn’t cover me from the sun. Neither did my cut-off jean shorts or sandals. I’d slathered myself in blocker, but I was going to have a million more freckles before the day was over.
As we walked, she regaled me with the benefits of the getting out during the day—something about vitamins and mental health—but I tuned her out. I’d already given in to her so she couldn’t complain. If I decided to bail like I wanted to in about thirty seconds, then it’d be all good. At least I hoped she’d understand.
My stomach rumbled as we strode by a stall selling funnel cakes. I didn’t know the last time I’d eaten one of those, but it’d been a while. The sweet smell was nearly intoxicating.
“Want to grab a bite?” I asked Mona.
“Later. Don’t want to be late.”
I rolled my eyes. She wasn’t going to let me have even a little bit of my kind of fun.
We passed by the Green tents, where helixes showed off their latest tech. Huge screens mirrored what the Green Helix at the front of the demo area was working on. A satellite image zoomed in on one of the Black Helixes who was standing guard along the back fence. He was picking his nose.
“You can see that even from space, we can monitor every person who’s been chipped. All I have to do is look you up and bam. There you are. It’s linked into every helixes’ tattoo,” said the shrimpy-looking guy in a forest green T-shirt, marking him as a Green Helix.
Oh my God . I stopped walking. That was new and completely horrible. I didn’t know the Seligo had this kind of tech. They were monitoring their own people? Were Nagi and the Senate that paranoid?
“Ensuring the safety of those in the Voids is a priority among the Greens,” he grinned big, like there wasn’t anything nefarious going on with the intel they gathered. “If you’re chipped, we can monitor your health and vitals. We can get you help when you’re sick. If you get attacked, we can send a Black Helix unit to you within five seconds. We hope to get everyone to leave here with a chip.”
If people weren’t looking so excited by the idea, I would’ve laughed, but the crowd cheered him on. Clapping excitedly.
I didn’t know what made me sicker. That the Green was trying to sell the audience on monitoring chips, or that the people were actually buying his bullshit. Nobody with a helix gave a rat’s ass about helping us in the Voids. This
I was giving this twenty-four hours before I assumed she’d left, and then I’d have to extend the search area. Nearly fucking hopeless.
But I clenched my fists. This time, I wasn’t leaving for the Raven complex without her.
Chapter Five
CIPHER
I stuck to the shade as I wove between pop-up tents, trying to stop myself from sweating like a whore in church. Scanning through the entrance gate had been hard enough, but the cameras logging in all the faces in attendance put me on edge.
I’d prepared as best I could. My fake ID had my face and fingerprints associated with it, but even with that, I felt unsettled. Scanning in at Marx’s was one thing. A Seligo event was a whole new level of dangerous.
It didn’t matter that the only helixed people here were the ones working. The rest stayed away from the Voidies. Either way, I was too close to the enemy for any kind of comfort. Plus, swarms of people made me nervous, and this was more than a swarm. I tucked my arms into my sides and focused my gaze straight ahead.
I was going to kill Mona for making me come here. I’d all but decided to not meet up with Crackhead’s connection when she banged on my door to drag me out. If it meant me going out in public, Mona was all for it. And in the daytime, she was even more jazzed. Sunlight did good for you, apparently. My white, flowing sleeveless shirt was lightweight enough that it didn’t add to the heat, but it didn’t cover me from the sun. Neither did my cut-off jean shorts or sandals. I’d slathered myself in blocker, but I was going to have a million more freckles before the day was over.
As we walked, she regaled me with the benefits of the getting out during the day—something about vitamins and mental health—but I tuned her out. I’d already given in to her so she couldn’t complain. If I decided to bail like I wanted to in about thirty seconds, then it’d be all good. At least I hoped she’d understand.
My stomach rumbled as we strode by a stall selling funnel cakes. I didn’t know the last time I’d eaten one of those, but it’d been a while. The sweet smell was nearly intoxicating.
“Want to grab a bite?” I asked Mona.
“Later. Don’t want to be late.”
I rolled my eyes. She wasn’t going to let me have even a little bit of my kind of fun.
We passed by the Green tents, where helixes showed off their latest tech. Huge screens mirrored what the Green Helix at the front of the demo area was working on. A satellite image zoomed in on one of the Black Helixes who was standing guard along the back fence. He was picking his nose.
“You can see that even from space, we can monitor every person who’s been chipped. All I have to do is look you up and bam. There you are. It’s linked into every helixes’ tattoo,” said the shrimpy-looking guy in a forest green T-shirt, marking him as a Green Helix.
Oh my God . I stopped walking. That was new and completely horrible. I didn’t know the Seligo had this kind of tech. They were monitoring their own people? Were Nagi and the Senate that paranoid?
“Ensuring the safety of those in the Voids is a priority among the Greens,” he grinned big, like there wasn’t anything nefarious going on with the intel they gathered. “If you’re chipped, we can monitor your health and vitals. We can get you help when you’re sick. If you get attacked, we can send a Black Helix unit to you within five seconds. We hope to get everyone to leave here with a chip.”
If people weren’t looking so excited by the idea, I would’ve laughed, but the crowd cheered him on. Clapping excitedly.
I didn’t know what made me sicker. That the Green was trying to sell the audience on monitoring chips, or that the people were actually buying his bullshit. Nobody with a helix gave a rat’s ass about helping us in the Voids. This
Similar Books
