Read Part 7

Wheels were turning in Jane’s head, but also she was thinking. Cyberpipe vapor did not agree with her system. Nanobots were hard at work filtering out any toxins before the air hit her degenerative lung tissue, but still a painful inflammation was growing in her chest. I could kill for some freeze-vapor right now, she thought. Seated opposite her, the man in the pinstriped suit flashed her another chrome-filled smile. Actually, that doesn’t sound so bad. She tucked her long black hair into the hood of her jacket, hoping it would block the stench.

The HoverLuxe had wound its way through narrow San Francisco streets for at least an hour. Jane found it curious they never took to the air, but evidently the Mr. Polhaus was in no hurry. Beyond introducing himself and reloading his pipe with a fresh cartridge he had done nothing but stare at her and smile whenever she coughed. Jane felt comfortable withstanding such brutal torture. Every minute gave her the upper hand as Ricky hacked that data.

Hopefully.

In the meantime, Jane scanned the inside of the town car in a lazy, meandering way. Wood paneling was a good sign: that meant old-school, which meant Mafia, not Bolt Gang. There was, however, a subtle odor of bleach. Sanitization Robots were known to collect DNA samples when they encounter unusual bodily fluids. This car had been scrubbed down recently — by hand. Not a good sign.

Still ground-bound, the HoverLuxe worked its way uphill. Out the window, Jane could see the Sutro Space Fountain looming over Twin Peaks. These hilltops had always been some of the highest points in the city, but now they stood with unnatural prominence. The natural peaks were hidden beneath the fountain’s power station and control tower. Pulses of light traced the path of projectiles as they were shot into the night sky. Aerial antennae lurked in the glowing fog. Jane’s right hand tingled with electromagnetic resonance. The metal-mouthed man stopped smiling.

Eventually they pulled into a garage built on the side of the cliffs, just below the power station. The garage was empty and dark except for LED screens on the eastern wall which displayed floor-to-ceiling images of the city’s old skyline, from back when you could still see the bay beyond the skyscrapers. On the top floor the car floated to a stop in front of this “view.” Mr. Polhaus shifted his weight — making the car rock uneasily — and cleared his throat.

“That was quite a number you pulled on that Bolt boy — what was his name?” His natural speaking voice seemed to only have one volume: motorcycle engine with a down comforter thrown over it. “I didn’t know PI’s used lethal force these days. How classic. How stylishly classic.”

“So, you think I plugged Glummy. Where do you get your information, bub?” Jane kept the tip of her nose pointed at the view, but darted her eyes to stare him down at a sharp angle. “Not even the police are thick enough to make that mistake.”

“No, no — Miss Brass, you misunderstand.” He flashed her a fresh smile. “I refer to the gentleman — well, punk, if I may — who died of a knife wound early this morning.”

Jane didn’t blink. “I wouldn’t know anything about that.”

“No, of course not. And the police don’t seem to think you do. Not at the moment, anyway.” He paused, but Jane made no response. “Please — don’t imagine I feel any need to bring justice for the poor fool. Still, what a waste, what a waste. The man wasn’t even an organ donor. These young gangs with their reckless transhumanism. Why throw away perfectly usable body parts so carelessly?” His jaw clanged shut as he frowned. Reflexively, Jane made a fist with her mechanical fingers but she kept her face blank. After a moment, Polhaus cleared his throat again. A speck of black ooze stuck to the corner of his mouth. “In any case, I would like you to keep him in mind as we discuss our next move. We should-”

“We?” Jane interrupted with a chuckle, then scowled. “Look, Jaws, you may have some ideas about what’s been goin’ on, but you don’t know a thing about Jane Brass.” She kept her voice smooth, almost lyrical, but firm enough to cut through the man’s rusty growls. “I work alone.”

Polhaus considered her for a moment.

“Do you think it a coincidence that Fred-E provided you with the very information you needed to free that boy’s mind? We asked you to obtain some data, of course, but-”

He was interrupted by a sudden, intense cough. Suppressing it, he pulled a sky-blue handkerchief from his pocket and wiped a fresh glob of black ooze from his mouth, then continued. “But myself and my affiliates do not usually request the services of petty flat-foots — if you’ll pardon the expression. These…  circumstances-”

It was as if an exhaust pipe backfired somewhere between his tongue and his lungs. Wheezing, he gestured out the window where Jane noticed a silver dome-covered electricycle pull into a space on the other side of the empty garage. “Perhaps I better let her explain.”

The cycle’s dome retracted and a thin figure in a grey suit dismounted the three-wheeled vehicle. The blurry field of a location scrambler prevented Jane from identifying this person, but she guessed it was a woman. The woman surveyed the garage, doing a scan with some kind of device in her hands. Apparently satisfied, she put the device back into the cycle and approached the HoverLuxe.

As the woman got closer, the blur around her faded until Jane could recognize a bronze-sculpted face framed by tightly-cropped brown hair. Jane stole a glance at Polhaus, but he was preoccupied refilling his cyberpipe. A knock came at the window and Jane took a deep breath. Assembling a smile that betrayed no surpris, she cracked her knuckles and opened the door.

“Madame District Attorney, so good to see you.”

To be continued…