Neon Dust [Progression Cyberpunk]

49 – Epilogue

"I can hear him coming," Addie whispered, nudging Tony between the shoulder blades. "Come on, seriously! Go to your side of the apartment."

Tony grunted and turned to eye her sleepily, yawning as he bunched the pillow up under his head. Addie felt her cheeks getting hot as amorous thoughts ran through her mind. They'd been talking late into the morning, and when Tony drifted off, Addie had capitalized, snuggling up with him. So, all in all, it had been innocent, but still, he was in a T-shirt and shorts, and…

Addie squeezed her eyes shut, banishing the thoughts. She didn't want to deal with her dad's reaction when there wasn't anything really to react to…yet. When they slept together for real, then she'd face up to the old busybody's scrutiny.

Tony grunted as he pushed himself up and sat on the side of the bed. "Barely noon. Would it kill him to let us sleep the afternoon away? Technically, we were working last night."

Addie giggled, nudging his lower back with her toes. "Trust me, he saw us come home and figures we've had enough time to sleep."

"Hey!" He grabbed her foot, grinning evilly. "I happen to have a very full bladder." When Addie's eyes widened with panic, he let her foot go and stood up. "I guess he doesn't consider we could have been awake for part of the time we've been in here." Again, his grin turned evil. "You know, doing things."

"Hush." Addie kept a straight face, but she was feeling a little flustered at the thought. They'd certainly got up to a little of that stuff before falling asleep, but Tony was still holding himself back. She knew why, of course. After their heart-to-heart, she knew he didn't feel like it was safe or proper or something to get more serious with her. Funny how he considered sex "getting serious." To Addie, they were already deadly serious. She loved him and would do just about anything for him. She had a feeling he felt the same, so, yeah, how could it get more serious?

"I'll go turn the coffee on. He sounds like he'll be here in about thirty seconds." Tony chuckled, and Addie knew he found her father's plodding, noisy progress through the warehouse endearing. He probably assumed—rightly so—her dad was being loud on purpose, hoping to avoid surprising them. Addie figured her dad was probably dreading the eventual realization that he'd facilitated his daughter moving in with her boyfriend.

"Boyfriend," she said, grinning stupidly.

Tony, who'd just opened the bedroom door, turned to raise an eyebrow at her. "What, now?"

"I don't care what you say, that's what I'm calling you."

Tony shrugged. "I like it."

Addie watched him slip away, then she crawled out of bed and picked out some clean clothes—a promotional beer T-shirt that Mr. Nguyen had given her, and a pair of well-worn yellow overalls. While she was brushing her teeth, she heard voices from their "living space," and smiled, imagining Tony chatting away with her dad while he made coffee. It was an image that evoked plenty of happy feelings, and she did her best to keep the lingering dark thoughts at bay, but they started to creep in.

Tony had come clean with her about a lot before they'd fallen asleep. He'd talked to her about Emily and his feelings for her, and he didn't try to sugarcoat or dissemble. He'd loved her, and it still hurt when he thought about her. Addie spat out her toothpaste and smiled as she recalled Tony holding her hand and saying it was different with her—that she made him feel things he couldn't explain. What had he said? He wanted to "be good for her."

"So weird, JJ."

"What's that, Addie?"

"People. Men, especially."

"I agree wholeheartedly. Though Bert isn't weird. In fact, he's the best dad in the—"

"Okay, okay, JJ." Addie considered slightly altering JJ's default personality. Statements like that one about her dad had been endearing when JJ had been just this side of dimwitted. He was far cleverer now, though, and she wasn't sure it fit. She put off the decision; messing with nostalgia wasn't something one did lightly. "Or on an empty stomach."

"I'm not sure I underst—"

"Not talking to you, JJ." Addie tugged on some clean socks and then shuffled out to join Tony and her Dad. Tony stood on one side of the counter, and her dad sat on the other, nursing a steaming cup of coffee.

Tony pointed to another cup. "For you."

Addie smiled and scooted onto one of the stools; they were the same ones that used to be behind the counter in her dad's shop. "Thank you." The coffee machine knew what she liked, so she wasn't surprised when the creamy, semi-sweet liquid hit her tongue. "That's what I needed." She set the cup down and glared at her dad. "By the way, Dad, you could have checked with JJ. I was still sleeping!"

"What? It's not like I came over here and started pounding on the door! I only let myself in because I heard Tony in the kitchen and the light was on!"

Addie shook a finger at him. "I'm a light sleeper. I heard you squeaking your way down those metal stairs."

"What? So now I'm supposed to confine myself to my quarters until you let me know you're awake? It's noon, Addie!"

Addie waved a hand, dismissing the topic as she sipped her coffee. Bert turned to Tony. "Anyway, what were you saying about the SOA thing?"

"Addie and I are going to test for tier eight this afternoon."

"Oh yeah?"

Tony nodded. "Should be a piece of cake."

Addie frowned. "Did we agree on that last night?"

"Maybe?" Tony shrugged. "But I had it in my head. That alright? I figured we could pick up Beef on the way."

"Beef?"

Tony grinned, clearly pleased with himself. "Yeah, I hit him up. Figured we could bring him along so he can get his license."

"Tony!" Addie squealed. She started to leap up, intent on kissing him, but she glanced at her dad's puzzled expression and settled back onto her stool. "That was sweet of you." She smiled at Tony over the top of her coffee cup, and he grinned, looking down briefly.

Her dad leaned forward, peering at Tony as he adjusted his grip on his coffee cup. "You getting along with Beef? I didn't see that coming."

"He's pretty damn good at security-type stuff, Bert. Besides, he and Addie go way back."

Addie's dad nodded, lifting his cup to his lips. "They sure do." As he swallowed, he chuckled and gave Addie's knee a nudge, jostling her so much she almost slid off her stool. "Remember how he always wore that same winter hat? The one with the earflaps?"

Addie readjusted her seat, tucking one foot under her thigh. "Yeah, I remember. It's not funny, though, Dad. I think it was his dad's. You know, before—"

"Ah, jeez!" Bert slapped a thick palm to his forehead. "Yeah, that makes the story a lot less cute and a hell of a lot more tragic."

Tony cleared his throat awkwardly and changed the topic. "Got a message from Ross, Ads."

Addie felt her stomach drop. Her heart began to hammer in her chest as she answered, "Yeah?"

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"Yeah. Well, not from him, from his office. It was a form letter, announcing an unexpected personal crisis. It stated that we could contact his former office number for referrals to one of his Boxer contemporaries."

Addie nodded, trying to let the news settle in her mind. It seemed good, or at least not bad. If they'd received that form letter… "I guess that means our contract with him is on ice?"

"Yeah, considering it was off the books and between him and us, I'd say it's not gonna happen."

Addie's dad, who'd already been more patient than she would have expected, asked, "What's that about? You were working with Boxer?"

Tony shook his head. "Nah, this guy wanted us to do something on the side, not officially for the company. Honestly, I'm glad it fell through. We need—"

"To keep out of Boxer's sights!" Addie finished for him.

Tony held up his coffee in a salute. "Couldn't have said it better."

"For once, I agree with you two. So? What's the plan? Get ranked up with SOA, then do more jobs around here?"

Addie nodded. "Yeah, basically. We're gonna apply for metro visas, though."

"What? Why?"

Tony came to Addie's rescue. "It just opens up a lot more work for us—allows us to be a little more choosy for the jobs. We figure if we get some jobs in neighboring districts, or even a couple of districts toward the city, we could pick ones that align with Addie's talents better."

Her dad's eyebrows rose as he nodded along with Tony. Addie wondered if Tony knew he was manipulating her dad by framing it as being about "Addie's talents." He was clever, but lots of the clever things he did were automatic; he didn't think about them. Meanwhile, as she was contemplating Tony's motives, her dad said, "Makes good sense! Probably get paid better, too!"

Addie smiled, feeling a little guilty. It was true that they wanted to get metro visas that would allow them to work in other districts on a limited timeline, but the reasons went beyond that. They also wanted to start trying to get some contacts in the city. They wanted to get some intel on Cross Corp's current situation. What were Jen and Eric up to? It wasn't frivolous; if they were ever going to feel like they could relax and not worry about when the headsman's axe was gonna drop, they needed to get out from under the specter of Tony's past.

"Well, if you need a reference…" Her dad shrugged, smiling, and Addie leaned close to kiss him on the cheek.

"Of course, we know we can count on you, Daddy."

As usual, her dad melted at the treatment, and Tony laughed, turning to put his cup in the sink. When he returned, he locked his silvery iris onto Addie and said, "So? Who wants to get some breakfast?"

###

Janet Dawkins stared at the idiot in the private Boxer Corp hospital suite. She could see him in his bed through the crystal-glass room partition, but the nurse had promised her that all he'd see was a view of a picturesque beach. "You idiot," she said softly, putting her private thoughts into words—making them real. He looked happy and relaxed, blissfully ignorant of his failings; the doctor had been pleased with his recovery, but "unsurprised" that Gregory couldn't remember much of what had happened.

She walked toward the sliding door, and a red X flashed on the glass. A voice spoke into her auditory implant, "Present credentials, please."

"Winston," she asked, waking up her PAI, "why am I seeing this?"

"Pardon, ma'am, but to what do you refer?"

"This X on the door. The AI asked me for my credentials. Did you send them?"

"Ah, I understand, ma'am. I don't have security clearance for this door. Just stare at the sensor bulb there."

Janet glowered at the shiny black bulb above the door. After a moment, the red X faded, and the door slid open with a soft chime to announce her presence. Before she stepped through, Winston announced, "The company will sequester me while you're inside, ma'am. I'll be here when you leave."

Janet's scowl deepened. The only time the company ever blocked her PAI was during a private meeting with the board members. Was something else going on? Tentatively, she peered through the door and confirmed that Ross was alone in there. Steeling herself, she stepped into the room, and Gregory Ross blinked his eyes, his stupid smile widening. "Janet! I've been hoping you'd visit! Surprised you weren't here earlier, to be honest. It's dreadful being cut off from everything."

Janet wasn't in a smiling mood, but she forced herself to take a deep breath as she approached his hospital bed. The sound of a wave crashing drew her attention, and she looked over her shoulder to see that the crystal-glass display was everything the nurse had promised. It was certainly better than the media wall in her apartment! She could have sworn she was standing on the edge of a perfect, white-sands beach. The beach extended into the distance for as far as her eyes would allow, and the boats and people in the scene were perfectly lifelike. One of them held up a frisbee, waving to her.

Janet ignored the AI's attempt to include her, looking away from the scene and folding her arms. "Quite a nice room the company got you."

Ross waved a hand dismissively. "I'm sure you'd get the same if you were in my shoes."

Janet nodded, still a little put off by the room AI blocking Winston. Her irritation mounted, and she couldn't stop herself from asking, "AI, why is this room under such strict security? Why was my PAI denied entry?"

The AI responded, poorly masked amusement in its tone, "I am but the enforcer of rules, madam. I do not make them and, thus, do not know why they exist."

"You have no further details?"

"Only that this room and its patient were marked as onyx-level this morning."

Janet looked at Gregory, arching an eyebrow. "Know anything about that?"

He shook his head, frowning. "First I'm hearing of it. Onyx level? Isn't that reserved for R&D?"

Janet shook her head. "No, it just means that your existence is a possible threat to the company. Everything you do and say is recorded." Janet looked at the security array by the door. "Including your meetings with visitors. It means that nothing can be recorded here, either. I mean, other than by the company."

"But, Janet, I don't remember shit—"

"Gregory," Janet cut him off, "I spoke to your doctor this morning. I already know you're struggling with your memory."

"Yes!" Gregory looked at the sensor array, licking his lips nervously. "It's all jumbled images and mismatched timelines—voices that don't match faces. I can't remember exactly what we were doing last night. Something to do with Kwon, right?"

Janet sighed. No wonder he'd been so happy. "Nothing about who took your PAI?"

He shook his head. "Just a kaleidoscope of images—some faces, maybe. Someone with white hair… I'm not sure which ones are associated with what, though."

Janet nodded. "I had my PAI do some research on the subject. From what I can gather, you're lucky you didn't lose more. Having a chip yanked when the synth-nerves are still engaged could have done worse. You could have wound up like your girlfriend." She dropped the last line casually, relishing his shocked, confused expression. She almost felt guilty about doing it while the company was listening, but not quite. Gregory deserved some shit falling his way.

"M-my girlfriend?"

"You don't remember having Lori Hemwall on the job with you?"

"Lori?" Ross grabbed his blanket, pushing it down as he tried to move toward the edge of the bed. "What happened to her?"

Janet stepped closer and put a hand on his shoulder. "Be still, Gregory. You know you're not allowed to leave right now. Anyway, Hemwall is in a room not too different from this. She's being looked after, of course, but her memory is much worse than yours. Apparently, she keeps having random screaming fits wherein she seems to think she's only seventeen again."

"Jesus! Seriously?"

Janet nodded. "They're optimistic they'll be able to reconnect some of the disjointed memories. Hopefully, she'll be able to return to work in some capacity. Eventually."

"So, what was I doing, Janet? Did I screw up badly?"

She clicked her tongue, puffing up one of the spare pillows and shoving it down behind his shoulders. "You want me to give it to you straight?"

"Yes, dammit!" he growled, flopping back against the pillow, trying to flatten it.

"Well, Kwon's dead. The lab is destroyed. Your team got completely owned—picked clean of tech and God knows how much data. You've been removed from the executive flowchart—well, at least the ones I have access to." She looked at the security array. "I'd say it looks like someone still has plans for you, though."

Gregory had gone still, and he lay there staring blankly into space for several long seconds before he replied. "You came here to gloat."

Janet shrugged. "You shouldn't have taken that lateral promotion. We had plans, Gregory. You'd be safe under my wing right now if you'd just been patient."

"Can't you do anything?"

Janet made a show of stroking her chin as she turned on her heel and paced in a slow circle, making him wait. "I don't think I can do much right now. I mean, not until you figure out who's got you here under onyx-level security. Here's my best advice, though, Gregory. Start really looking at those faces floating around in your skull. When you get a new PAI, install a drawing app—one of the good ones—and then see if you can get your PAI to draw those faces. Maybe, if you can figure out who hit your team, you can find a way to save some face."

"You think they'll give me a new PAI?"

Janet shrugged. "No idea. If they question you and then cut you loose, look me up. I'll get you a PAI if it leads us to whoever took you out."

Ross looked grateful at first, but then his countenance clouded, and he folded his arms. "Why do you care who hit me?"

Janet glanced at the sensor array and smiled. "Gregory, Boxer was dealt a blow last night, and it's my duty to see that whoever did it is brought to justice."

"Opportunistic bi—"

Janet yawned hugely. "Well, that's about all the time I have. Not to rub salt in the wound, but I've got an appointment with a Boxer property agent. It seems one of the nicer corporate apartments opened up last night."

Gregory's eyes flew wide, and he clenched his fists in his blanket. "Janet, I swear—"

She held up a finger, and he cut his threat short. "Remember what I said, Gregory. If the company cuts you loose, look me up. I might be your only hope." With that, she wriggled her fingers at him and smiled, flashing her diamond canine as she turned and pushed her way out the door.

When the door slid shut with a gentle chime, Winston announced, "I've been released, ma'am."

"Hush, and look up Gregory Ross's corporate apartment ID. Message a Boxer property rep and ask if—"

"It doesn't show available, ma'am."

Janet looked over her shoulder at the high-security med suite. An involuntary shudder ran down her spine. "I have a strong feeling that it will be listed soon. Check it every minute; I don't want to miss the bidding window."