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Chapter 267 c
🕑 Added 2025-06-04 15:01:05 +0000 UTCChapter 267 c
Lucy’s lazy voice sounded like that of a kitten.
“You’re up this early?”
Leo washed his hands under the faucet and wiped them on the apron he had over his clothes. “Couldn’t sleep. Want something to eat? I’ll make it for you.”
Lucy scratched her slightly messy white hair. “You made this stew once—it looked kinda plain, but it tasted amazing. Can you make that again?”
“You mean pasulj? Let me say this again, pasulj doesn’t look boring. People who didn’t grow up with it just don’t get it. For me, it’s comfort food.”
“Yeah, that’s the one. I’ll take a bowl, thanks.”
“You’re in luck. I’ve still got the smoked meat for it.”
After taking a shower and getting dressed, Lucy came down from upstairs and sat on the couch. She rested her cheek on her wrist, tilted her head, and watched Leo bustling around in the kitchen. She let her mind go blank, thinking about nothing at all—just feeling that this kind of moment had a certain warmth to it.
“Hey, hey.”
Lucy snapped awake.
The steam from the fresh dish rose right into her face, and the hearty smell of pasulj filled her nose. She had actually dozed off without realizing it.
“If you’re still tired, go lie back down. Our job isn’t some nine-to-five office grind—no harm in sleeping in a bit more.”
“No, no,” Lucy’s delicate little nose twitched as she took the utensils Leo handed her. “Then I’ll start eating.”
She scooped up a spoonful of pasulj from the bowl. Steam rose off the thick broth.
She blew on it, brushed the hair from her forehead back with her free hand, and brought the spoon to her lips.
Standing in front of her, Leo asked, “How is it?”
Lucy’s eyes sparkled, and she waved her hand in front of her open mouth. “It’s good, just a bit spicy.”
“I only used a little. Next time I’ll leave it out.”
Leo placed a glass of water in front of her. Lucy downed it in one go.
“By the way, did you eat?”
“Don’t worry about me. I already ate.” Leo glanced toward the source of the ringing phone. “Go ahead and finish your food—I need to take this call.”
He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked out at the uneven skyline and the crowds bustling in the streets.
“Judy, what’s up?”
“Leo, are you busy?”
“Not really. Go ahead.”
“It’s nothing serious. Just… Evelyn’s doing better lately.”
Leo’s spirits lifted. “She’s awake?”
“No, but she’s started dreaming. And I pulled two braindance segments from her neural link. I thought you’d be interested.”
Though Evelyn hadn’t woken up yet, and Leo couldn’t help feeling a little let down, the fact that Judy was able to extract two BDs from her at all meant his fronting the medical costs hadn’t been for nothing.
The BDs were pulled directly from Evelyn’s brain. There was a chance he might get something out of them.
“Where are you? The hospital or your place?”
“I’m home. Drop by whenever you can.”
“I’ll be there right away.”
Leo ended the call. Lucy looked over with concern.
“What happened?”
“Evelyn’s doing a lot better. She’s not awake yet, but Judy pulled two braindances from her neural link.”
Leo thought for a moment, then added, “Remember how we suspected the Voodoo Boys might be behind Evelyn’s situation? Once we get to Judy’s place, we’ll know more.”
Lucy jumped up, already getting ready to go. “Then let’s head over now!”
Leo smiled and pressed down on her shoulder. “Don’t rush. Finish breakfast first. We’ve got time.”
Twenty minutes later, Leo and Lucy walked out of their Glen apartment and hailed a Delamain cab.
While getting in, Lucy suddenly said, “Leo, maybe we should buy a car. Taking Delamain all the time just doesn’t feel right.”
Leo thought about it. Though Delamain was convenient, there were times when not having a personal vehicle was a real hassle. Lucy’s suggestion made sense.
But if they were going to buy one, it’d have to be multifunctional and heavily armed—not some overpriced luxury car.
“I’ll look into it,” he said. He could ask Rogue about it later.
The Delamain cab drove them out of grimy, crumbling Heywood, past the glamorous, bustling City Center, and into Little China in Watson.
The cab came to a stop in front of the megabuilding where V lived.
Leo gave V a call, then waited in the cab with Lucy.
Suddenly, the sound of two NCPD officers talking drifted over from a nearby breakfast stall.
“Wanna talk about yesterday?”
“I wrote everything in the report.”
“You know what I’m talking about. Leave the cyberpsychos to MaxTac—you should’ve followed protocol.”
“A civilian was in danger. What was I supposed to do, just watch?”
“To MaxTac, we’re civilians too. When the department starts handing out MaxTac gear to us, then go play hero. Until then, follow the damn rules.”
Hearing the exchange, Leo fell into thought.
Cyberpsychosis cases were on the rise. MaxTac deployments were becoming more frequent. Yet the news barely mentioned it, and most citizens still thought cyberpsychos had nothing to do with their lives. Even if they knew the truth, nothing would change.
For those at the bottom, life could be summed up with one word—numb.
Thump thump thump—
Someone knocked on the car window. Leo snapped out of his thoughts and turned to look—V was standing outside the car, holding three steaming drinks.
Lucy opened the door for her. V placed the drinks on the seat, and Lucy quickly grabbed one for Leo, holding the other two in her hands to free up space.
V bent down and climbed into the car, shutting the door behind her.
“Thanks.” She took the drink from Lucy, sipped it through the straw. The color of the straw darkened. “We heading to the hospital to see Evelyn?”
“No, straight to Judy’s. Evelyn’s still out, but Judy found two braindances in her neural link. We’re going to check them out, see if there’s anything useful.”
…......................
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Judy’s apartment was on the eastern side of Kabuki’s ring road. The Delamain cab pulled up in front of her building.
The place was even shabbier than V’s megabuilding. Two homeless guys were sitting at the stairs, chatting.
“I don’t get it. There’s tons of food in those dumpsters—still fresh. Why throw it out?”
“’Cause the rich don’t wanna eat it anymore. Simple as that.”
“Then why don’t they give it away, or sell it cheap?”
“Because they don’t see us.”
“Don’t see us? What do you mean?”
“Man, to them, we’re no different from sewer rats or cockroaches. They don’t even see us as people.”
The two were still talking when one of them spotted Leo’s group approaching and quickly pulled the other one aside.
“Why’re we moving?”
“Didn’t you see the gear on those three? Mercs. You don’t wanna mess with mercs. Some of ’em snap and draw on you just for breathing too loud—ain’t gonna be time to cry before you bleed out.”
Upstairs, Leo and the others reached Judy’s door. He pressed the doorbell. “It’s us, Judy.”
“Come in.”
The moment her voice fell, the door slid open and disappeared into the wall.
The three stepped inside but paused at the entryway.
“Shoes off?”
Judy stepped out of her computer room, waved them in. “No need. I’ll have the cleaning bot mop up later.”
The group followed her into the computer room.
The space was packed with monitors, the lighting dim, illuminated only by a small desk lamp.
“Sit wherever you like.” Judy took a seat before the wall of screens. “The data’s heavily damaged—can’t edit it anymore. Quality’s bad, but I did my best.”
She held up a braindance wreath and fitted it onto Leo’s head.
“Ready?”
Leo adjusted the fit and gave her an OK sign. “All set.”
“Three, two, one…”
As Judy counted down, the BD wreath’s optical extensions lit up, flaring bright in Leo’s eyes.
A flash of intense white light—and then he was no longer in Judy’s dark computer room.
Now, he was inside what looked like a Voodoo Boys chapel.
He tried turning his neck, but quickly realized the POV was fixed.
He understood now—he was inside the braindance recording.
“What do you need me to find? Any visible tech or security?”
The POV’s owner—Evelyn—was sitting on a pew, speaking to a woman right in front of her.
That woman was obscured by thick pixelation from head to toe, and even her voice had been digitally scrambled—unreadable and untraceable.
“We just need the layout of the room. We can get everything else from the BD.”
Evelyn asked hesitantly, “What about his information?”
“If you can get it—without being noticed. Most important thing is not to raise suspicion. Stay relaxed. Act normal.”
Evelyn hesitated. “If he talks to me about the biochip himself, what should I…”
The woman visibly tensed. “Biochip? Where did you hear that? That’s not something you should know. Just go in, record the BD, then come back here. We’ll pay you. That’s all you need to do. Everything else has nothing to do with you. Got it?”
