“Yeah. Sal took care of this one. We use it a lot.”
I held my tongue. Sal had told me he wasn’t interested in her—that should be good enough. Of course, the little voice in my head insisted, that was before you told him off and hung up on him. I didn’t have time to listen to that—what we were planning was important.
“We’re doing a little art show.” Wei uncovered the copies of my drawings that she’d made. “You drive, I’ll be the lookout, and Nina will post her sketches.”
“This should be fun.” Paulette eased the trannie into gear. “Where to first?”
“State Street,” Wei said. “Mag gave me seven locations where she knows the surveillance cameras are down.”
Our first stop was on State Street, near the Chicago Omniplex. Paulette pulled into the alley, and Wei and I hopped out. I secured two posters, one facing north, one south; Wei watched out for passersby. That one was easy.
We nearly got caught on Oak Street when a doorman told Paulette she couldn’t park where she’d stopped. I had to admit, though, she was smoother than smooth. Not only did she talk him into allowing her to stay, but he said if she ever needed free parking downtown while he was on duty, he’d find her a spot in the hotel lot. I was sure I saw her give him a tip card, too.
The other five stops were quick and easy. After the last one, we drove back by the first location to see if they were still there. They were. And they’d drawn a crowd. We didn’t dare go by the one on Oak, for fear the doorman might recognize Paulette’s trannie. A Media van was stopped at the third one—which was across from the Justice Building. The crew was taking pictures.
“I’d say you’ve made an impression,” Wei said.
“Looks like she’ll also make the news at eleven,” Paulette said.
“Except no one will know it’s me,” I said. “And that’s a good thing.”
“Yeah, well,” Paulette said. “It’s late. I have to get home. Last-minute party arrangements.”
Wei glanced back at me. I shook my head. Paulette didn’t need to know that I’d been invited. And Wei didn’t need to know that I had no intention of going.
Next morning Dee insisted that I go to Mars 9. “They have tons of stuff on their sale racks, Nina. I know you can find something ultra!”
“You want to come with me?” Maybe some of her excitement would rub off on me.
“No. I promised Miss Maldovar that I’d do some research on the Museum of Science and Industry. We’re taking a field trip there in February.” She picked up her cup of cocoa and trotted back to her room. “Get something cute!” she called out before she shut her door.
“Great.” I trudged back to my room and grabbed the gift certificate. “I’m not going to that stupid party,” I muttered. “I’m getting a new scarf.”
Just then my PAV beeped.
“Nina, it’s Martin. Percy will not leave me alone until I confirm that you are coming to the party, don’t you know? He’s absolutely smitten with you. I should be so jealous. But I’m smitten, too. Are you coming?”
“Martin, I… I don’t think it’s a good idea. I don’t think it’s the kind of thing for me. I’m only tier—”
“Nonsense, Nina. You are a Creative. And you are my assistant. And as such, you need to learn to associate with these people, like it or not. But listen, if you don’t have anything to wear, I’d love to take care of that. We could go shopping at—”
“No, please. I’ve got a gift credit at Mars 9. I was just going shopping. I’m sure I can find something perfect there.” Martin was right, if I was going to do anything in the art world, I was going to have to do things like this. I was going to Paulette’s whether I wanted to or not. And I was definitely on the “not” side of things.
“Fabulous! I’m off to tell Percy. See you at work tomorrow. Hugs and smooches.”
As I was pulling on my coat, I thought about my scarf, which made me think of Joan, which made me think of food. It was one thing to give to the homeless on Holiday, but people needed to eat every day. I made a detour into the kitchen and threw together a dozen nut butter sandwiches. It wasn’t much, but it wasn’t rotten garbage either.
I got off the transit at my old stop, thoroughly checking for any sign of that lady cop before ducking behind the buildings. I’d walked the whole length of the alley and was about to give up when I heard some female voices around a corner.
“I heard it myself. They’re offering fifty thousand for any escaped FeLS. We could get into one of those welfare dorms, you and me,” an eager voice said.
“We are not turning in anyone. Period. Understand?” The responding voice was threatening.
“Okay. I was only tryin’ to help.”
“It’s not help if you turn on your own.”
I couldn’t hear the muttered reply. Their footsteps crunched on the snow, coming closer. I spun around the corner, out onto the street. As soon as they passed between the buildings, they saw me. One of the women was Svette. She motioned me over.
“I brought you more food,” I said. “It’s just leftovers, but—”
“Better’n nothing.” The second woman snatched the food from my hands.
It was impossible for me to tell which of the two had wanted to turn Joan in.
Svette squinted one eye at me. “You’re being nice to us ’cause of Joan? Why? What d’ya want?”
“Joan’s a friend. I help my friends when I can.” I backed away. “Tell her I’ll see her soon.” With that, I hurried off. I was pretty sure the cold had nothing to do with the chill that ran down my spine. With that “reward” for escaped FeLS, Joan was in danger. The Sisterhood had to do something. And soon.
Mars 9’s Holiday scenes still played in the windows. Girl mannibots pranced around in skintight pleather pants and faux-shearling jackets over skimpy tops that left nothing to the imagination. I could almost hear Gran admonishing one of these “girls” to “cover up, before you freeze to death… or worse.”
My heart skipped a beat when a real, live person opened the door wide, welcoming me in. I hesitated for an overlong moment. Even with the gift credit in my pocket, I felt like a fraud. Two top-T’s came up behind me.
“Are you going in or just gawking, sludge?” They pushed past me.
The man holding the door flashed me an apologetic smile. “Won’t you come in? We have megasales going on right now. It’s the best time to find exactly what you didn’t get for Holiday.”
I muttered a thank-you and scurried past him, not stopping to look at anything until I was deep in the store. Shoes. I was surrounded by every kind of ultrachic shoe a girl could want. On my right were sweaters. Spying the one Miss Maldovar had given me, I couldn’t resist. I checked the price. Damn! How could a teacher afford even one gift from here, let alone the massive piles of clothes she’d gotten for Dee? She must be doing something besides teaching, I thought. Maybe she pushes animal flesh. The thought of Miss Maldovar, doling out packages of meat from the chiller in her home, made my stomach turn.
“May I help you?” I was accosted by a salesclerk who was dressed ten times more fashionably than I could ever hope to be. “Our sale racks are in the basement. That way.” Her nose wrinkled, her comet-red nail pointing the way. Even the people who sell to top-tiers look down on everyone below their customers.
“I’m shopping for a party dress.” I wished I’d worn my new sweater. Even if I didn’t have enough credits to look at anything full priced, I was not going to let this jerk of a salesgirl make me feel like, well, like what those girls had called me—a sludge.
She arched a brow. “Evening gowns are on the second floor. Elport is there and elsteir over there.” Giving me one last derisive look, she stalked off to pounce on a more worthy customer.