Sandy and Jacob walked down the aisle to the flower shop when the sound of an African tribal beat looped and layered in a driving post-house mix playing from a small speaker at the entrance to a shop caught Sandy’s attention. “I want to stop here,” Sandy said. “We need some new music at the club. Something different.”
“No problem. The flower stall is just down a bit. I’ll get one and surprise you.”
“Just head back this way. We’ll meet in the middle,” Sandy said and turned to start a conversation with the woman in the shop.
Jacob continued down the aisle, the music from the speaker getting softer and mixing with the sounds of The Market. The flipper in his pocket vibrated. He took it out and checked the text.
<u have a shadow>
Chapter 33
The text was from Sandy. He fought the urge to turn around and look. The flipper vibrated again.
<blk jacket blu t>
He put the flipper back in his pocket and stepped up to a shop selling paper books.
“You don’t see these much anymore,” he said to the old man running the shop.
The man looked up from his reading device. “And it's a damn shame. What can you do about progress?”
“Move with it or get run over, I guess.”
“True. You some sort of philosopher?”
Jacob laughed. “No. I’m in the same kind of business, though. I help run Retro Media in The Galleria. We sell old computers and games and, well, other media.”
“I know the place. Seems we are kindred spirits.”
Jacob nodded. “What do you have that’s good?”
“I know just the book for you. In Defense of Lost Causes by Žižek. You know it?”
“Never heard of it. Not the most inspiring title.”
The man seemed to ignore Jacob's comment and went to a stack of books on a table at the back of the shop. While he did this, Jacob rummaged through the books spread out on the table near the front. He moved to the side of the table to get a view of the aisle and scanned the crowd. A man with a black jacket over a blue shirt stood two stalls down on the opposite side of the aisle, examining fresh vegetables. Jacob went back to the books on the table.
“Here you go,” the old man said, handing Jacob the book. “Twenty credits.”
“Twenty?”
“I don’t barter. Twenty credits.”
Jacob laughed and transferred the credits to the old man’s account.
He put the book in his backpack and continued to Pigeon Eater’s shop, the sounds of pigeons cooing and the smell of pigeon roasting reaching him before he could see the shop.
“Jacob, a surprise seeing you,” Pigeon Eater said, stepping out to greet him. A solemn look came over his face. “Hey man, about Gomez. I’m sorry. He was a good man and a good friend.”
“He was.” Jacob quickly scanned the aisle for the man in the black jacket. He turned back to Pigeon Eater. “I’ve got a favor to ask.”
“Sure, man. Anything, you know that.”
“I’ve got someone following me, maybe two stalls down. Man in a black jacket and blue shirt. Do you have your flipper on you?”
Pigeon Eater nodded.
“Do you still have my flipper number?”
“It’s programmed in.”
“Good. I’m going to go to the next shop and buy a flower. When I go back the other way, I want you to see if he follows me. If he does, text me.”
“No problem, man.”
“Thanks, I owe you.”
He bought the flower and put the stem in the book and headed back toward the shop with the music and Sandy. He passed Pigeon Eater and the man in the black jacket. After he had gone the length of three more stalls, his flipper vibrated.
<on you>
He met Sandy at the music shop.
“Did you buy any music?”
“I did,” Sandy said.
“I have new mixes all of the time,” the woman running the shop said. “Come back if people like it.”
Sandy said, “I’m sure they will.”
“We should get back,” Jacob said. “We do have a shadow.”
“Any idea who it is?”
“I don’t think it’s the SRS. They usually go in pairs. Maybe NirvanaWare, if Evgeny told them we were part of the hijacking. Maybe one of Johnson’s men. Let’s just get back, but be ready for anything.”
They made their way back to The Galleria, walking a normal pace, finding excuses to stop several times to see if they were still being followed. They lost sight of the man once they were in The Galleria, but they knew he could keep an eye on the store from any number of vantage points.
When they walked into Retro Media, Two-Step was with a customer explaining the modifications he made to the Tandy. “Kat’s in the back,” he said and went back to the customer.
Kat had several of the security monitors completely disassembled, the parts spread over multiple workstations.
“I had to do something to keep my mind off of,” she said, her voice not stopping but trailing off.
“Are they working?” Jacob asked, pointing to the monitors still in one piece.
“Only as good as they were before.”
“That’s good enough.”
“What’s going on?” Kat asked.
“We were followed. We need to cycle through and get a visual on the guy. I want to know where he is.”
Kat turned the screens on and cycled through the cameras placed throughout The Galleria.
“We can skip any area that doesn’t have a view of our storefront,” Jacob said.
Kat nodded and quickly found the man. He was at the far edge of the garden.
“That’s him,” Sandy said.
“Who’s he with?” Kat asked.
“We don’t know,” Sandy said.
“Maybe we can find out,” Jacob said. “Kat, where are the earpieces?”
“In my drawer.”
“We each need a set. I’ll go stand by the railing so he has eyes on me. Kat, after I go out, you leave the store and make your way down there and come up behind him. Do you think you can take him out?”
Kat looked at the man on the
