The man made a fist with his white gloved hand and did a knocking motion in the direction of the door. Immediately, they heard a thud from the entrance and Mayuko jolted away from it in fright. More thuds followed and the door shook repeatedly as the two tengu in front began to kick it at a steady pace in alternation.
Amon activated a Liquidator standard issue shape recognition app called KonTour. It traced white lines around the edge of bulges, folds, and billows in their clothes, searching for concealed weapons. It detected nothing, which was encouraging, but given how baggy the shawls and pants of the tengu were, offered no guarantees.
OH, THIS IS AWFUL, texted Mayuko.
HOW DO WE GET OUT OF HERE?
THERE’S A FIRE EXIT THROUGH MY ROOM. She rushed over and opened the bedroom door. WE’RE TOO HIGH TO CLIMB DOWN BUT THERE’S A RIDE ON THE ROOF. WE CAN PROBABLY FIND A WAY DOWN FROM THERE.
NO! Amon texted, as she made her way across the room to a thick whitish-blue door on the back wall. THEY’LL BE WATCHING THE EXIT AND TWO OF THEM ARE WAITING FOR US BELOW. IT WON’T TAKE THE OTHERS LONG TO CATCH UP WITH US IN THAT ELEVATOR ONCE THEY’VE CRACKED THE EMERGENCY STOP AND THERE COULD BE MORE LURKING ABOUT. HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR ACCOUNT?
WHAT DOES THAT MATTER?
MAYBE WE CAN STAY AND FIGHT, texted Amon as he went over to the elevator, carried his shoes in from the doorway and began to change into his suit.
Grasping his meaning, Mayuko sent a figure to Amon and he went to the Fiscal Judiciary’s website. There he found the credicrime database and did a search for “Liquidator abuse of authority.” The thudding on the door was steady and rhythmic, boots striking the same spot in turn, and the sound was amplified as it doubled up with the recording coming through the portal. From their cold efficiency, Amon could see that these mercenaries were well-trained. He couldn’t hope to take them all in a fair firefight, but given KonTour’s result they were probably unarmed. Either way, if he waited until a hole opened in the door and went trigger-happy into the chamber, he could dust everyone inside before they knew what hit them. With any luck, the Judicial Broker would rule it as self-defense, given that the men were breaking into his friend’s rented property. Then Mayuko would pay nothing and they might find a way to escape. Yet Amon wasn’t authorized to use his duster except in the line of duty, and dispatching nine men would undoubtedly incur heavy penalties. When he found the list of credicrimes he was looking for, Amon watched their fines fluctuate with inflation. He then had PennyPinch calculate whether Mayuko’s balance was enough. Amon was impressed by the amount she had saved: it rivaled his dream account, and just kept on growing rapidly as the compensation for the B & E continued to pour in. But it still wasn’t enough. The penalty was stricter than he’d expected, and the assault would clean her out.
For a moment he considered cutting the leash and dusting them with his own funding, but what would that achieve? He might succeed in knocking them out, but it would mean instant financial suicide. Then Sekido could get into Amon’s inner profile using the access privileges given to the assigned Liquidator or, failing that, wait until the Collectors took his cash-crashed body to the now-corrupted Archives for upload and a quick look through his LifeStream would reveal just how much Mayuko knew. She would become their new target, and there would be no one to protect her. They might as well just turn themselves in on the spot. No! They would have to find a way out.
As the man checked his watch, the tengu rotated clockwise around him so that two men with fresh legs could take over the kicking. The switchover was so smooth they didn’t miss a thud. Already a slight dent had appeared in the outer door. Apparently the material was much cheaper and flimsier than it looked.
IS THERE ANY WAY TO SLIP INTO ONE OF THE OTHER APARTMENTS? texted Amon, buckling the duster to his belt and slipping on his jacket.
Mayuko shook her head. I DON’T THINK SO. THERE’S NO HALLWAY. JUST ELEVATORS THAT LEAD STRAIGHT INTO EACH ONE.
Like a cornered beast, Amon’s eyes darted madly about the room in search of an exit, but there was none to be found. Just an elevator under siege, a door being watched, and a window that opened to a seventy-story plunge. Could he leap out and grab ahold of some ride scaffolding? Maybe, but it was madness to think he could climb to the ground without losing his grip, especially if a coaster rode over and shook the track. Amon felt his gut clenching with terror. He took out his duster, pointed it at the growing bulge in the door, and then put it away again. He ran his fingers over his buzzed hair and gritted his teeth. He wanted to scream and shout, but that would only tell his pursuers that Mayuko had company, and they would recognize his voice upon analysis. He knew he should have got a capsule on his own. Because of his presence she was in danger now, and his evidence was about to be seized. The only sane possibility was the fire escape after all. If he could just find a way for them to sneak out unnoticed. Yes! He remembered one of the tricks a bankrupt had tried to pull on him and immediately conceived a plan.
Amon did some quick calculations to make sure it was financially feasible. He knew that Mayuko was watching him through his perspective and, when he was finished, he turned to her, and shook his head. THIS ISN’T GONNA WORK. IT WOULD BRING YOU RIGHT TO THE EDGE OF BANKRUPTCY. AND EVEN IF WE HAD THE FUNDING, THEY’LL KNOW THE MOMENT THE DOOR OPENS.
BUT WHAT IF… YOU WENT OUT ALONE.
WHAT!? YOU CAN’T—
I CAN AFFORD IT FOR ONE OF US. AND IF I OPEN THE DOOR FOR YOU, THEY WON’T HAVE A CLUE.
NO WAY. Amon gave his head a single emphatic shake. If one of us goes, it’ll be you.
ARE YOU CRAZY? WE DON’T HAVE THE MONEY TO FIGHT, SO WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? JUST LET THESE WEIRDOS HAVE THEIR WAY WITH YOU?
Unsure how to answer, Amon froze and stared into Mayuko’s incisive but deeply-troubled eyes.
PLEASE, AMON. I’VE JUST LOST RICK. I DON’T KNOW WHAT I’D DO IF I LOST YOU TOO. YOU’RE MY ONLY FRIEND LEFT AND EVERYTHING’S SO COMPLICATED NOW. I CAN’T FIGURE THIS ALL OUT ON MY OWN.
As Mayuko stared up at him with an expression of utter despair, Amon thought about what she’d said for a moment. If he gave in peacefully and did nothing to bankrupt Mayuko or himself, he could pretend that he’d borrowed a woman’s voice to lie to the men earlier and she might slip away safely. Yet there was no telling what they would do to him, and in all likelihood Mayuko would be left to spend the rest of her days alone in the city. Her two closest friends would be gone and she would have no way of finding out what had happened to them. Not being a Liquidator, she didn’t know how the bureaucracy worked, and even with the segs he’d given her, she wouldn’t know the first thing about where to start. Amon tried to imagine her life after he disappeared—directing her subordinates impatiently for the same opportunistic company, coming home by herself to this same joyless theme park, wondering every moment she had why the most important people in her life had been stolen from her, running so much on that treadmill her body just melted away… Was sacrificing himself to leave her in baffling solitude really the right thing to do? Could he really forsake justice and let Rick’s murder sink unproven into the dark oblivion of time? And what about his dream, the goal to which he had dedicated his whole waking existence for the last seven years? Was he going to let a bunch of double-dealing technocrats just kill it and get away with it?