GHOSTS

“What did you tell him?” the waify brunette chided, turning to her shorter blonde friend as they trotted up the bustling Market Street sidewalk. They were both draped in faux-fur cowlneck ponchos, but Declan could see their strappy purses bobbing beneath their cloaks.

Without turning, the shorter hipster replied, “I told him never to speak to me again, “ she laughed, “And then, I threw his clothes in the hall and shoved him out.” They both laughed heartily at that. “He pounded on the door and called me a few choice names, but he got the message. Good fucking riddance,” the blonde added.

Deck reached carefully into the breast pocket of his overcoat and grabbed the thin sniffer chip he’d made. It was fairly inconspicuous, appearing to be a small gunmetal min-phone rather than the datacatcher it was. Gripping it gently, he decided to make his move.

“Excuse me, ladies,” he said politely, pushing between them, carefully tapping the bulges of both their purses as he slipped past them.

“Yeah. Sure,” the brunette chimed, and went back to her conversation.

He quickly thrust the sniffer under his coat and looked down. A tiny display blinked two little green dots, indicating he’d snagged some of their confidential information. There was no way to know what he got for sure. Hyousuke would have to pour over the encryption for a day or so, but Silas would pay him nonetheless. Information is information, boy-o, he’d say.

“Hey! Someone stop that thief!” Deck heard the brunette shout. Without turning, he took off running down an alleyway.

Shit! That broad must have had a breach app on her phone. Breach notifiers weren’t terribly common, he knew, unless you had some seriously hush-hush data. Deck bounded down the alley at full sprint. He could hear people shouting and the pounding of footsteps pursuing him. He didn’t look back. Keep going, you careless bastard!

As he rounded a corner onto another street, he pulled the sniffer back out and hurriedly keyed it into jammer mode. It won’t do much good if they saw my face, but it’ll disrupt any scan cams running nearby. My picture will just be a scrambled mess.

His chest pounding, Deck pushed past throngs of pedestrians and kept running down the sidewalk. His head swiveled back and forth looking for somewhere he could duck off and lose his unseen pursuers. As he came upon a crosswalk, he quickly looked over his shoulder, but didn’t see a cyclist come upon him.

“Outta the fucking way!” the tall, scruffy blur shouted as it dipped left of him, a cool breeze blowing by with him. Deck stopped and fought his momentum from knocking him over. “Asshole!” the biker screamed, turning back at him. A car horn blared beside him.

Deck darted across the street and kept bounding forward, arms up, bleating curses and apologies. An older woman smacked him with a purse as he zipped by her.

Silas’ place was still twenty blocks north and he was bound to come upon a cop soon; patrol car, beat walker, or an off-duty man didn’t matter. Someone was gonna think suspiciously of a decently dressed fellow booking it down the sidewalk. Deck rounded an intersection and cut down a side street and there it was, like a beacon from on high.

The Electric Sheep, a life-cade, but most importantly, a safe haven for dirty thieving rats such as himself. He swung open the door and ducked inside.

The quiet, young clerk at reception barely even looked up from his magazine.

“It’ll be sixty-five for the hour,” he said, robotically, tossing a pass-card on the desk. “Seventeen is open. Lay the unit in the sanitizing caddy when you’re done.”

“Thanks, dude.” Deck swiped his palm and snagged the card. “I wasn’t here,”

The clerk sighed, “No one ever is.”

Deck hurried up the deathly quiet hallway, past the numbered iso-booths. Seventeen was near the end of the hall, on the right. Deck swiped the card and the booth slid open. Deck whipped his coat off and slung it over the railing on the sim platform. Taking his phone from his pocket, he dialed Silas. After a ring, Silas answered.

“And the prodigal returns,” Silas chuckled for a moment, then went suddenly quiet. “Where the fuck are you? I was expecting you half an hour ago.”

Deck massaged his temples in his hand, and replied, “I know, boss. I got held up making a score. Ritzy gal looked like an easy kill, but she had a beeper on her shit. Had to duck into the Sheep.”

Silas sighed, and Deck knew what was coming next. “You know the respect I have for you, boy-o. You’re a fine lifter.”

Here it comes. Fatherly advice.

“But, you are one reckless, stupid cunt sometimes. You’re a goddamn thief and the least clever son-a-of-bitch I’ve ever met in me life.”

Ah, such positive reinforcement. Deck breathed in.

“As you’re so fond of reminding me, boss. But I’ve got a good feeling about this swipe. I’ve got something good.”

The words tasted like weakness in his mouth. Deck longed desperately to be out from under Silas’ thumb, to be getting the whole purse instead of his meager allowance. He was the one on the ground, hustling. He knew he was the stronger one.

Clever enough for Enora’s tastes, prick.

“By fuckin’ Christ, I hope you’re right, Declan. I’ll send a bloody car. Hyousuke better find something worth two dogshits or I’ll have Bones start snapping some of yours,” and Silas disconnected.