Water laps under the pier. It’s a new moon, leaving the night dark. Ropes chafe my wrists—like guitar strings against my fingers, but harsh as the bad memory of yesterday, when this all began.
Busking on the corner near Brown’s Bar, I was getting good Saturday-afternoon tips from sailors off some freighters that’d just come in.
“If you don’t mind, Ellie,” Mr. Hill smiled pleasantly, again. “I’d rather not say anything more unless you’ve signed the non-disclosure agreement.”
An NDA seemed extreme as a requirement for a nannying job. But then, many things about this position were odd.
Haruo Settlement of the Last Survivors of Japan, 2094
Translated from Japanese
It was only a matter of time. I am fortunate I have been spared from it this long.
But it is necessary.
“This thing’s a museum piece.” Russ unlocked the door. “Literally. The only reason it’s not on display is that we don’t like to advertise.”
Will managed a half-smile as he entered the storage locker. Light flooded gray walls and concrete, making the object within incongruous: a domed cage of wrought copper and treated glass with exposed mechanical parts
Barely enough remained of the starship to make it valuable. It had been so badly damaged that Abby couldn’t tell what it was. It might have been anything from a cargo vessel to a battle cruiser. Now, it was past whatever purpose it had been meant for.
Read it now
Two multiple-homicides in a 3-block radius, and I got the one with no survivors.
Dark backroom. Dead bodies still seated around a game of poker.
Each man was a high-ranking member of the Martinez Gang. Even if I didn’t know them from run-ins or rap sheets, the distinctive neck tattoos advertised it.
“Judith Wong?” Burke slumped. “You think Judith Wong is a Hungarian spy?”
“It makes perfect sense. Think about it!”
“Ok.” Burke made a show of thinking, then went back to looking weary. “There. Thought about it. It’s still crazy. Judith Wong is the most popular actress in the country, everyone’s favorite starlet.
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