Gomez sighed. “Well, at least you’ve made some progress.”
“Not enough. I leave for New Orleans tonight, and I don’t know if I can get this up and running before I leave. I can set it to rotate through the cameras. I think I have enough time for that.”
“Do you have to leave tonight?”
“The seventh is in four days. I had to book a room a few days early to make sure I got one. I just wish you were going with me,” she said.
“I’ve got too much to do here. Besides, it’s not my thing. You know that. I don’t mind going to the church services with you, but going to the guy’s tomb on his birthday is a bit more than I can handle.”
“He’s not just any guy. He’s Nicolas fucking Cage,” Kat said, tossing her hands in the air, a look of disbelief on her face.
“I’m just not a religious person. I go to the services because I love you. And they’re fun.” He moved to her, taking her hands, his hands enveloping hers, gently. “But mostly because I love you.”
He bent down and kissed her.
“Damn kids, get a room,” Jacob said from the workroom doorway. He put his backpack, code deck, and a to-go box on his desk.
“How did it go this morning?” Kat asked.
“Some crazy on the bus gave me an energy drink and a speech about the state of the Democratic party.”
“You know what I mean.”
Jacob sat. “I’m free.”
“Hell yeah,” Gomez said. “I’m happy for you, man.” He pulled up a chair and sat. “You got some food earlier? Did you happen to see what went down in the food court?” He gestured to screens behind him. “The system is still acting up, and I couldn’t get a view.”
“Oh, just some kid using code had an overload. I had to help him out of it,” Jacob said, opening the to-go box. “I got to direct link for the first in time years.”
“That’s right,” Gomez said. “Your chip got reactivated.”
“Nice,” Kat said.
“It was.” He took a bite and offered some to Kat and Gomez. When they passed, he set the box back on the desk.
“So, what was up with the overload?” Gomez asked.
Jacob relayed the story.
“It’s a good thing you were there,” Kat said.
“Yeah. But the strange thing is how that code acted. It was so unrefined. It was as if the coder didn’t know what they were doing, or it was in the early stages of development,” Jacob said.
Gomez leaned back. “We know almost every subderm hacker out there. None of them would put something like that on the streets. You think it’s someone new we?”
Jacob shook his head. “No clue. But whoever it is, they need to clean up their shit. That kid would’ve died if I wasn’t there, and my chip wasn’t unlocked.”
“God looks after sailors, junkies, and fools,” Gomez said.
“I thought you said you weren’t religious,” Kat said.
“I’m not. It’s just something my mom used to say.”
Later, after Kat left for New Orleans, Gomez pulled down the gate covering the entrance to the shop.
“How long is she going to be gone?” Jacob asked.
“A week or so. I think I’m going to miss her. We haven’t been apart that long in a while,” Gomez replied, locking the gate.
“Oh, how cute.”
“Shut up and help me get the lights.”
“We had a good day,” Two-Step called from the register terminal.
“You mean we didn’t lose money?” Gomez asked.
“I finally sold that Game Cube and complete game catalog. That should get us through a few days at least.”
“Who bought it?”
“Some young corporate,” Two-Step said.
“I can’t stand them, but I love their credits. Finish up,” Gomez said to Two-Step, “we’re going in the back and have a beer.”
“I’ll be there as soon as I’m done,” Two-Step replied.
“You’re too young to drink.”
“Screw you.”
In the backroom, Gomez opened the refrigerator and took out two beers, twisted off the caps, and handed one to Jacob.
“So,” he said, “how’s the code for Ivan coming along?”
“I should be done in a day or two. I saw him today and let him know,” Jacob said.
“That will be a good payout.”
“I just need to run one more simulation. Maybe test it myself. I haven’t done code in three years, and it might be nice. You want to give it a run?”
Gomez shook his head. “No, I promised Kat I would stay away from code while she’s gone.”
“Man, this sounds more serious every day.”
Gomez turned the beer bottle in his hand. He picked at the corner of the label. He had known Kat for a long time. They met in Berlin five years ago, and he didn’t know if he was in love with her from the start, but he knew he was now. They had been through a lot together, both when they were working corporate security and after she moved to Houston three years ago. Through most of that, there didn’t seem to be room to be in love, just room for fun with each other. That changed when she moved in with him. They were different together after that. After a moment he said, “I think I might pop the question when she gets back.”
Jacob looked stunned for a brief second. Gomez could see he was processing the information, and it made him a bit nervous for some reason. They had been friends since they were kids, and while he didn’t necessarily need Jacob’s approval, part of him wanted it. Jacob’s face lit up. “No shit? That’s awesome. You think she’ll say yes?”
“I sure as hell hope so. I’ll be damned embarrassed if she doesn’t. Especially now that I told you.”
They both laughed and went back to drinking.
Gomez thought for a moment, trying to find the right way to start the conversation he wanted to have. He could see Jacob had a lot on his mind, despite being released from probation. Or maybe because of being released. Finally, he opted for bluntness. “So
