Read Online Emergence by Various - Free Book Online Page B

stood, he saw the slack expression of drunkenness on the man’s face. His hand was set firmly on Lucy’s hip, sausage-like fingers pressing into her flesh.
    Vlad swallowed the last of his candy bar, shoved the wrapper in his pocket, and trailed the two. Lucy’s giggle was clear and high pitched. It was fake. She used it on marks who were too stupid to see through it. She teetered a bit, her high heels slipping on the icy sidewalk. She must have been freezing in her small, sparkling dress.
    They stopped at the entrance of an alley where the man pushed Lucy against a wall and buried his face in her exposed cleavage. Lucy turned her head and gave Vlad a nod. It meant they would not be returning to the man’s apartment. Their dupe was too aroused and obviously wasn’t much for discretion. They had to act now. Vlad returned the gesture. After a moment, Lucy pulled the man’s head up and led him in to the alley. The man followed eagerly and disappeared from Vlad’s sight.
    They’d gotten him this far. Even if the mark spotted Vlad, it wouldn’t matter. Once a mark was out of public view, he was theirs. Vlad walked to the alley, once he was sure no one was watching, and darted in.
    “Here!” Lucy called. Her British accent clung to the edges of her Russian when she spoke. “Quick. I’m tired.”
    The man sat in the snow between two dumpsters, mostly obscured from the main road. With a disgusted expression, Lucy gripped the man’s limp wrist in her hand, keeping it as far away from her body as she could. She was tall in her shoes and had to hunch over to maintain her hold on him. Now that Vlad was closer, he saw her shivering. The heavy makeup she wore made her look much older than eighteen.
    Lucy could keep the man asleep as long as she was awake and maintained physical contact. Unlike Vlad, she was able to use her power at will. It was a strange ability; Vlad imagined most people would be unimpressed. Not Cheslav. For him, it was the perfect accompaniment to Vlad’s powers.
    Vlad went down to one knee in the snow. He grabbed the man’s free hand and closed his eyes. It was easier to sift through a mark’s memories when Lucy had them under. It reassured Vlad they wouldn’t wake up while he worked. The memories sped by like a river. Vlad watched, looking for anything of use.
    He saw Lucy dancing with him. Her hips swayed, the curve of her bottom pressed against the man. Before that, a day at work. The mark was some kind of lawyer or businessman. Vlad felt his stress decrease as time continued backwards and the day’s events rewound. A private car, the man waiting on the street, breakfast, shower, dressing…
    There. Vlad forced the memory to pause. The mark was in a walk-in closet getting dressed. There was a small dresser at the end of the closet with thin drawers. One was pulled out. Vlad spotted rows of beautiful, gleaming watches.
    He flicked through more memories. Minutes flew by as he looked at weeks of the man’s life. At that speed, Vlad only picked up on vague sensations. This man was usually stressed and horny.
    Finally, he found what he hoped for and paused. In the closet surrounded by shoe boxes was a small safe. The man kept his passport, other documents, and some jewelry inside. More importantly, two large stacks of money. Vlad went farther back, then let the memory play in real time. He watched the mark key in his code. He was thinking about lunch and if he’d go out that night, if he did go out, if he’d find a woman to sleep with. He needed to buy toilet paper, but not the same brand as last time because it was rough.
    Vlad watched the memory a second time to memorize the code, then let himself resurface.
    When he was inside someone’s memories, he was unaware of his conscious body. Now back in the real world, he was more aware of how frigid it was. Lucy’s teeth chattered.
    “Fuck. I wish we could’ve gone to his place. I could tell he wasn’t going to though. What a rotter.” She switched