Room for Henri: $12.97
The Squelch was roomy, with a high ceiling and walls stippled for soundproofing. Four chairs faced each other, and a bar sat behind them with old bottles of liquor on a shelf behind it. I was half-tempted to pilf a drink.
“Thirsty?” I joked.
“No,” Henri said with no laugh and no smile. He seemed uneasy. “We should go back.”
“I know, we just need to let the dust settle,” I said. “They won’t find us here. And if anyone is home, we have this.” I held up the sleep gas.
Henri nodded reluctantly. “I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about Margot and Mira and the others in that alley.”
“We don’t want to lead anyone back to them,” I explained. “This city’s rooftops aren’t a great place to hide.”
Henri shifted nervously.
“It will be okay,” I said. I put a hand on his shoulder and he recoiled. His reaction confused me—it wasn’t like Henri. “What’s wrong?”
Henri swallowed and looked at the ground, his face reddening with embarrassment. “You didn’t bring me here to be alone, right?”
“Oh, Henri,” I said, a blush rising to my cheeks as well. I backed away from him to make some space between us. We still hadn’t been able to talk about how I’d used him to steal the Cuff remover. “I didn’t lure you here. Please tell me you know that.”
“Yeah, I do,” Henri said in a half-hearted voice. I could tell he believed me, but his face was filled with angst.
Regret and shame flooded through me. “I’m so sorry,” I said. “For what I did. I should have found a different way.”
“I know you couldn’t ask me, but you could have, you know, asked.”
“How?” I demanded, my voice hitting much too high a note.
Even though Henri was older than both Margot and me, he often seemed less mature. But at that moment, he looked so much like a disappointed dad that I felt about four years old. “You could have just taken the Cuff remover out of my backpack,” he said. It was in his hand now, a metallic blue teardrop. He rolled it between his fingers. “I would have let you take it.”
“I tried that, Henri, right after you took my Cuff off.”
“I didn’t understand. I didn’t know why you put it back on.”
“Because I didn’t want the Cuff off, Henri. I wanted the device.”
He looked confused.
“I couldn’t see any other way to get my sister free,” I explained.
“You could have taken it again. I’d have figured it out eventually,” he said.
“I had no way to know that,” I said. Henri could be a bit clueless sometimes, though he was infinitely kind.
“You could have had a little faith in me,” Henri said softly. He shook his head. “It never even occurred to me that you’d be trying to steal something. I thought you were awesome. Your courage was inspiring. I thought you were...” His voice dropped off. He turned away and leaned forward on the bar. “I just don’t get it,” he said finally, head bowed. “You started a whole revolution, and you’re really, really clever, but that was your best idea?”
“Not my best. I know I messed up,” I admitted, regret hitting me harder each time I thought about what I’d done. I took a step forward and he flinched. “Henri, please look at me,” I pleaded.
Henri turned around, but kept the chairs between us. His eyes met mine, but his gaze was unsteady, like I was too bright to look at. I wished I could make this hurt go away.
“I’m not that clever,” I confessed. “Everyone thinks I had some genius plan to destroy this terrible system, but I really didn’t.”
“But what you did was so amazing.”
“I’m not that amazing, trust me,” I said, my eyes welling up.
“But you are,” Henri insisted. Suddenly, he could look at me directly, his eyes filled with fire. “You don’t appreciate how much courage you have. No one else did what you did.”
“Henri, you’re terrible at being mad at people,” I said, laughing through my tears.
“Margot says the same thing.” He laughed, and then his face fell. “She isn’t ever going to forgive me.”
“Of course she will,” I said. My words seemed to lift his spirits.
“I hope so,” he said, and then, like he was confessing, he added, “I really like her.”
“I know you do,” I said.
After a moment of bashfully ducking his head, he said, “Can I ask you a question?” His tone was suddenly serious.
Now I was worried. I gulped and said, “Yes.”
“Were you getting a message in your eyes when we were outside? Was one running across, like, right here?” He stared ahead and swung a finger back and forth in the air under his face. I understood what he meant and was relieved we were leaving all talk of kissing behind.
“Yes,” I said. “It has to be from Kel, right?”
“Could you read it?” he asked.
“I thought I saw Saretha’s name,” I replied. “And DC. But I’m not sure.”
Henri considered this. “I thought the very last part said ‘Kelly Wins.’ Does that mean anything to you?”
I shrugged and said, “No.” A long silence followed.
After a time, Henri glanced at the door and asked, “You think the coast is clear?”
I didn’t know how much time had passed, but I decided it was enough. It would be better to get back to the car sooner rather than later. Part of me wanted to talk with Henri more, but the conversation was in awkward territory and it would be a while before it could be anything else.
The moment the door opened, Kel’s message returned. I couldn’t make out even the part Henri had described. The home outside the Squelch was still quiet and dark as we crept back to the service door and up through the hatch. The nearby rooftops were empty, and we heard nothing from the streets below. Our way back seemed clear.
In a few minutes, we reached the alley where we’d left the car. The Meiboch™, thankfully, was still there. The lowered Keene Inc. banner had done its job. I pulled the door handle and found it locked—as it should have been, but I still felt uneasy. Henri held up a hand and stared off into space, like he needed a minute.
The door clicked and opened. A fruity smell wafted out. Margot was in the driver’s seat and Mira was beside her, eating something purple and dripping. Norflo and Sera were in the back, looking pleased with themselves. Henri and I joined them, staring at the plum in Mira’s hands.
“Norflo and I got food,” Sera said proudly, holding up an apple.
“How...” Henri started to say, but I cut him off.
“You let them go out there?” I asked Margot.
“I am not their guardian,” Margot said. “And we needed food.”
“Need to eat, Jiménez,” Norflo said, smiling. Sera bumped his shoulder with hers, like they’d bonded while we were gone. A hot, prickling sensation spread over my shoulders. I shouldn’t have felt resentful of their newfound closeness, but I did.
“That was reckless,” I said to Norflo. “What if you’d gotten caught?”
“Jealous much?” Sera asked. I wasn’t jealous, but I felt left out, which was probably just as foolish. After all, I’d gone on my own adventure with Henri. Either way, I felt a shock at realizing how well Sera had read my expression. What had been an asset when I was silent suddenly felt like a liability.
“We need to get moving,” Margot said. “When we opened the doors, I saw an unreadable message in my vision that I think Kel—”
“I read it,” Henri replied, pointing to his eyes. “Just now, outside the car. I know what it says.”
Access Restricted: $13.98
“We should probably start driving while Henri explains,” Margot said.
She looked at me for a beat, backed the car up to the banner a
nd then stopped.
“I would prefer not to kill anyone,” she said.
“Onit,” Norflo replied, opening the door and climbing out.
We had to be silent again while Norflo pulled back the indigo banner like a curtain. Margot backed through, and he returned to the car. The banner swung into place and flashed an intense fluorescent orange. The logo disappeared.
“The hell’s that?” Norflo asked.
“It looks like a warning,” I said.
“’Bout what?”
“Moving the banner?” I suggested.
“I hope that is all it is,” Margot said darkly.
“What was the message, Henri?” I asked, hoping she was right.
“I’m pretty certain it was: ‘Do not return. Rogs are...something. Saretha needs three days. Safe as Carol Amanda Harving. Keep moving.’ I couldn’t make out that next part,” Henri went on, blinking like it had pained him to read it. “It was hard.”
“I don’t know how you read it at all,” I said, impressed.
“Henri is a marvel,” Margot said. She kept her eyes on the road ahead of us, driving cautiously.
Henri’s broad smile opened. “I concentrated.”
We passed another Keene Inc. banner and it, too, flashed a brilliant orange.
“Shit,” Margot said.
“Margot!” Mira admonished, like she’d never heard her sister swear.
“What does it mean?” I asked.
“Car’s prolly been flagged,” Norflo said.
“But I pulled out the identification chip while you two were gone,” Margot said. “They should not be able to track us.”
“Where is it?”
“Ina fruit stand,” Norflo said, miming that he’d tossed it there.
“I gave it to them to get rid of,” Margot explained.
“How are they tracking the car, then?” I asked.
“Maybe because it doesn’t have an ID?” Sera asked.
“Shit,” Mira said.
“Do not,” Margot warned her, then added, “It is possible they are tracking the Meiboch™’s appearance.”
“We shouldn’t go down that avenue, then,” I said, pointing to the main street with Bullion® Real Estate. “We want the southern exit. We came in from the east, so it must be that way.” I pointed out my best guess. Margot turned to get us headed in the right direction as fast as she could without attracting attention.
“Henri, did the message say anything else?” I asked. “Maybe about where to go?”
“The last part was: ‘Dome of DC. Kiely Wins,’” Henri said in a low voice.
“Kiely Wins?” I asked. “Not Kelly?”
“What did she win?” Mira asked.
Margot shook her head. “Not ‘Wins.’ Kiely Winston,” she said. “The message must have been cut off. Henri, you should remember her name.”
Henri looked chagrined.
“Kel told us about her.”
“I might not have been paying attention,” Henri admitted.
“What was so important that you ignored Kel?”
Henri turned a little red. “I might have been trying to figure out why you were so mean to me all the time.”
“Mean to you?” Margot asked, surprised. “I have not ever been mean to you, Henri.”
In the side mirror, I saw a car turn down the street behind us. “She was teasing you, Henri,” I said, trying to help. I tapped Margot’s shoulder and pointed to the car.
“I always liked you, Henri,” Margot said in a rush, reaching back for Henri’s hand and grabbing it before making a quick turn.
“And I always liked you,” Henri responded.
“Even when you were kissing Speth?” Margot asked acidly, letting go of his hand. Did she sense, somehow, that Henri and I had talked?
Henri turned two shades brighter. I probably did, too. Margot let him—and me—burn for a moment, waiting for a response.
This was so not the time to be having this conversation.
Sera looked from me to him with cruel delight. “You kissed Speth, but you liked Margot?”
“It’s complicated,” I said, by which I meant it was none of her business.
Sera’s nose twitched, and she looked at Henri. “You’re such a boy,” she said.
We passed another banner. Henri tracked it, avoiding looking at anyone in the car. I did the same. The banner turned the same fluorescent orange, but this time, a lock and chain image appeared at the top. Ahead, all the banners changed, and a message appeared below the locks: ACCESS RESTRICTED. The people on the street began to move quickly, heading inside.
“They’re locking the city down,” Henri warned.
“Keep moving,” I said.
Margot grimaced. “Rog’s Trademark black-and-flame decor.”
“Maybe we can change the color of the car,” I suggested. I leaned forward and pressed at a screen control labeled TINT. The side windows immediately grew transparent.
“That is the black glass,” Margot hissed. “We need that!”
I hurriedly set the tint back to dark. Beside that control was a black square. When I touched it, the square grew lighter in color, and a label appeared over the tip of my finger, changing from Ebony™ to Charcoal™, then Slate™, Bone™, Cotton® and, finally, Blush™.
I let go of the button. The car’s metal exterior lightened to a pale pink.
“The car is now made-up, too!” Mira exclaimed.
“Buys us time,” Norflo said.
“Maybe,” Margot said.
“Either way, we have to keep moving,” I said. “We have to get out of here.”
“In our pink car,” Sera huffed, as if pink was even more conspicuous than Rog’s colors.
Margot sped up. I scanned the streets for anyone who might be a threat. “So...Kiely Winston?” I asked.
Margot gritted her teeth and continued, “Kel told us about Kiely one night when she was in an odd mood—almost wistful. Kiely Winston was a Placer in the Dome of DC. Kel had great respect for her. She worked so fluidly and with such quiet agility, Kel described it as balletic. Yes, she used that word,” Margot confirmed, catching a glimpse of my expression. “Kel is not one to use such language, so I took it seriously. I got the impression Kel trained with her. She may have been trained by her. I do not believe I have ever heard Kel speak of anyone with such affection and admiration.”
“Ooh,” Henri said, raising his head. “I do remember that. Didn’t her story have a sad ending?”
Margot eyed him like he wasn’t off the hook yet. “A Lawyer named Pierce Scotch discovered that a very rare book of Law in his collection had been stolen—”
“How do you remember these names?” Henri interrupted.
“Hush, Henri. Who is going to forget a name like Pierce Scotch?” Margot asked incredulously. “Anyway, Scotch’s book was stolen and replaced with a fake. The fake was filled with a paper-like block of white plastic, bound in an almost flawless reproduction of the cover. It was expert work. Affluents mostly keep books as a show of power and status; they do not read them. Scotch, however, noticed the switch. He made a very public complaint about the crime. Every Affluent who had books checked their collections. Apparently thousands of books had been stolen and replaced with frauds.”
Margot slowed the car. Ahead, at an intersection, a police car passed, and then another. I held my breath. Behind us, a garage slid open. A sleek platinum-and-gold Fjord™ pulled out and turned to fall in behind us.
“We better move,” I said.
Margot frowned, but recognized it would be better to go on than to have the Fjord™ draw attention to us by honking.
“How’d they know it was Kiely who took the books?” I asked quietly.
“She signed them,” Margot said.
“She signed the fakes?�
�� I exclaimed.
Margot rolled the car to a stop at the intersection. The two police cars were well down the road, and the Fjord™ was close on our tail. “Every one of them,” Margot answered. “With ink.”
“Awesome,” Norflo said.
Sera kept looking behind us. “You aren’t worried that’s Lucretia back there?”
Margot drove across the intersection. “That is not her car.”
“Like she couldn’t have several,” Sera scoffed. “We’re going to get caught.”
“We’re going to make it,” I said, and then to Henri, “You don’t remember any of this, about Kiely Winston?”
“Honestly? I thought Kel was Kiely,” Henri said, defending himself. “Wasn’t that the point of the story?”
Margot let out an exasperated sigh. “No, Henri, that was not the point. Kel described Kiely as over six feet tall, pale, with a shock of blond hair. How could that be Kel?”
Henri shrugged, embarrassed. Kel was very dark-skinned, and while it was possible she had once dyed her tight black hair blond, that would be very unlike her.
“Are we supposed to find her?” Mira asked.
“Yeah,” Henri said. “I think so.”
“I thought we were going to Crab Creek,” I said. “Isn’t that why Henri and I went to find a map?”
Sera nodded her assent. I watched in the mirror as the Fjord™ pulled off behind us and raced away.
“We have not talked about it,” Margot said, as though driving had put her in charge. She was right, but I’d hoped we were all on the same page.
I sighed, then said, “Let’s just focus on getting out of Keene first.”
Iridescence: $14.99
We found our way to the dome’s southern exit. The lanes ahead of us were all open, free of traffic, but the thick tollbooth arms were down, glowing with the same orange color and ACCESS RESTRICTED message.
“Can we smash through?” I asked.
Margot tensed. “Maybe.”
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