"I'm fine, Carla. Appreciate the concern, though."
"So, you'll come by this Sunday?"
Grinning, he waved her off. "Bye, Carla."
Turning the corner, he began his inspection of the facility's fully automated security protocols that allowed only authorized personnel in and out, along with service androids that tended to the children's needs and kept them secured even when Jett was away. Everything needed to work smoothly and safely, so he took the time to do meticulous examinations of the equipment every day. There could be no mistakes, not after the trauma that most of the children had already endured.
The thought made his blood boil. As Vigil, he'd made it a priority to follow every trace of the Beast's operation and stamp it out. He was careful to bring them in alive, but the fact that every one of them died from the Haven's brain chips didn't keep him from sleeping at night. It was more than they deserved after what they did. And now that they were taken care of, he could move on to the next phase of his operation. The gangs that plagued the streets were almost as—
His thoughts were interrupted when one of the children collided into him. Tall for her age and slender, thirteen-year-old Zoe was the opposite of her sister Mira — blonde-haired, shy, and gifted, prone to daydreaming and nature gazing when not engaged with her holovisor, the reason she walked right into Jett. Whatever program she interacted with had her full attention, transforming her surroundings into a digitally altered landscape. Ignoring him, she turned around in circles, hands outstretched as if reaching for objects he couldn't see. Like most of the children, she wore second-hand clothes made available by donations. She had on too many layers, as if undecided on what to wear and chose to wear them all. The scarf and bulky jacket looked too hot for the environment, even if it was indoors. The YH's air-conditioning wasn't exactly known for working well under pressure, and with the heatwave, it was under pressure every day.
He tapped the front of her goggles. "How many times do I have to tell you to be careful, Zoe? Next time you could walk down a flight of stairs."
She pushed one side of the oversized VR helmet, looking up at him with a slightly dazed smile. "Hello, giant."
He sighed. "I'm not a giant, Zoe."
She laughed, rocking back and forth. "I know, Mr. Wolfe. Jay-kay."
"Joking. Yeah, I get it. Look — do the virtual thing when you're sitting down, okay? Don't want you to get hurt."
"Sure, Mr. Wolfe. Seen ya."
"Yeah, see you later."
She giggled. "No, silly. Seen ya. In the war."
"What?"
"The war. You know: Imperials, with crazy powers. You, fighting with ABC."
"ACU. Aberrant Control Unit. Where did you see that — education center?"
"Boring. Seen you in Limbo."
He scratched his head. "Limbo? What's that?"
"Where, not what."
"Okay, where?"
"The Breaks. Haze arcade."
He frowned. "Haze? Don't tell me you've been to one of those joints where you get hooked up to Sensync."
"Immersion. It's so real. Explosion in the sky, all the terrible colors… Her expression saddened. I'm so sorry about your brother."
"My… brother?" He felt a dull throb in his temples as the memory flashed across his mind. The final battle in the Imperial War, the Skygate explosion. The price that Marcus paid for trying to save the world…
His fists clenched. "Where is this Limbo?"
He caught the airbus to the Breaks District, where he used the GPS on his holoband to locate the Haze parlor Zoe talked about. Walking the city blocks was an exercise in risking heat stroke, but people still packed the sidewalks, grumbling about the heat and dressed in practically nothing to try to stay cool. He wore cargo shorts and a t-shirt but still felt overdressed. Sweat beaded on his shaved head, slid down his face.
He recognized little of the borough that was called the Bronx in his time. It had degenerated along with the rest of New York, reborn as Neo York in the post-Cataclysm era. The Bronx had never been pretty to look at, but things had grown even seedier as the Breaks, particularly the southern area, where he wandered. Brown and gray seemed to be the only colors on the buildings arranged in interconnected clusters — old neighborhoods and tenement buildings, blocks of shipping crate apartments stacked twenty-five stories high.
He studied the area as he walked. Things looked different in the daytime, a little less grim than at night when he stalked the rooftops as Vigil. The sunlight painted the streets golden, blazed between buildings, and brightened the neighborhood somewhat. There were still parks where old men played chess on holographic boards, and children chased each other around, laughing while holovisors transformed their surroundings. People did their shopping during the day, took care of their business, walked their pets, went on dates.
Lived their lives.
He couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy. Even people in the worst neighborhoods had what he didn't. They had family, friends, history, held together by the tapestry of shared experiences instead of hibernating through three centuries and waking up long after everyone and everything recognizable was long gone. A couple walked past, eyes full of each other, fingers intertwined. He thought of Tatsu, the private times they shared together. The rare smiles she shared with him like intimate gifts…
No. Think of something else. Anything else.
He turned his attention to the crews of bangers that lounged against buildings, chatting and hanging out, marked by their black and purple outfits and the eight-ball logo on their clothes and tagged on buildings in their turf. The Krazy Eights were known as party boys, avoiding violence when possible. They preferred to benefit from alliances, allowing other syndicates to distribute contraband Sensync and other drugs in their Haze parlors for a cut of the profits. Their turf was neutral, ideal for brokering deals with rivals. Full of bounce and swagger, they threw raves and wild parties throughout the Five Districts.
One of the younger ones approached him with a digital flyer beaming from the thick holoband around his wrist. Chewing a toothpick, he gave Jett a gold-plated smile.
"Purple Haze tomorrow night, OG. Even bigger than last time. Gonna be straight fie."
Jett nodded and tapped wrists, downloading the flyer to his holoband. "Ace, dog." He kept walking, spotting the Limbo building in an old strip mall across the street.
He walked in and glanced around. The room was dark, lit by ultraviolet strips that transformed colors into psychedelic neon. A man with blazing pink hair and face piercings glanced up from his seat behind a counter, holovisor covering his eyes.
"Bro-man. You new? Ready to experience that one-of-a-kind Immersion experience? Got trips of all kinds. Only limits are what you bring with you."
Jett looked around. The walls were plastered with screens, all displaying different scenes like movie trailers. "All of these are memories?"
"Yeah, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Wait — you're an Immersion virgin?" The clerk rubbed his hands together. "This is gonna be good. Whaddya wanna try — skydiving? A lotta people wanna trip on that the first time. Total rush, brofessor. Of course, we got all types of kink if that's what you're looking for." Removing his holovisor, he gave Jett a sly wink.
"I'm not—"
"Hey, I don't judge, broseph. And don't worry — I won't tell the old lady. What happens in Limbo stays in Limbo, knawmean?"
Jett gave him a flat stare. "One of my kids comes here. I'm trying to figure out why you would let that happen."
The clerk's expression changed. "Kids come it all the time, broski. We got an arcade they use while their parents trip out in the adult section. All certified and safe, so no worries."