Owen jogged across the mid city sky bridge connecting Wilson’s Warzone to the Solco Commerce Dome. The air in the mid city was clean and the sky a comforting shade of blue compared to the smog of the low city. Buildings housed apartments fit for families, not tubes fit for nobody. Owen was even getting some color in his skin after years of nocturnal living and he no longer had permanent purple bags under his eyes.

  His injuries from the warehouse raid were mostly healed. He had a slight ache in his ribs from time to time, but he could handle it. Peacekeepers didn’t kick down his front door to drag him off to Black Hill and Coach Wilson didn’t seem to notice his new bruises. He was still sore about losing his nunchucks and wondered if they could be traced back to him. He shook his head. Tuck said they paid off a record keeper to have his prints swapped with a dead citizen. He should've been in the clear.

  “What are you thinking about?” Amber asked as she jogged beside him.

  “What?” Owen stumbled and regained his composure. “Nothing. What are you doing here?” His runs were a solitary activity amongst the bustle of the Commerce Dome. “Shouldn’t you be at the studio?”

  “I don’t have any scenes today and I need to fit in that suit.” She winked at him. “Is Derek treating you okay?”

  “He’s teaching me takedown defense.” Mostly in the form of sprawling onto a stack of crash mats until he couldn’t stand. “He says cardio can always get better.”

  “He tells me that too.” Amber pulled ahead of Owen. “Keep up.”

  “Is it safe for you to run out here?” Amber was the most famous woman in City Seven. Owen imagined all types of weirdos would love to get their hands on her.

  “You won’t let anything happen to me, right?” Amber ran backwards for a few steps. “You know that statue of my grandpa at the dome’s center?” Owen nodded. “I’ll race you.” Amber turned on her heel and she was off. For a moment Owen admired the way her jogging pants hugged her hips.

  “Get after her!” Sensei Dan shouted.

  Owen laughed and gave chase. He wove around citizens on the bridge as the Commerce Dome grew closer. Amber was fast, but he gained on her. He was close enough to touch her. A couple of peacekeepers looked in his direction. He fully expected them to yell at him, but they just waved. He wasn’t sure if they were actually peacekeepers until he saw the ECDs hanging from their belts.

  “Pay attention,” Amber said as she pulled away from Owen. “I thought you were faster than this. What am I paying for?” She had a wide lead, running close to the bridge safety rails to avoid the bulk of the daytime crowd.

  “Let her win,” Sensei Dan said as he jogged beside Owen, citizens passing through his phantom form. “But make it close.”

  “Why?”

  “Trust me.” Sensei Dan disappeared.

  Owen listened to his sensei, closing the gap, but slowing down just before he passed his sponsor. They ran across the center of the Commerce Dome and the statue of Bruce Callahan was close. Amber slapped the fountain at her grandpa’s feet and threw both hands up in victory.

  “And she wins!” Amber shouted to the sky. “It was close though.” She took a deep breath. “I actually started sweating.” She leaned against Owen and fanned herself melodramatically.

  “Sorry,” Owen said. He wiped his brow. “I didn’t mean to get you sweaty.”

  “Really? A lot of guys would kill to get me sweaty.” She slapped Owen’s arm and looked over her shoulder. “I’m hungry. Are you hungry? Sure you are. Wait here, I’ll be right back.”

  Amber jogged away before Owen could protest. He watched the dome crowd move in a circular motion as citizens shopped. A hologram of Amber posed in front of a Solco indoor beach while a trio of teenagers took pictures outside of a trendy bakery. A young couple stopped in front of Owen and asked him to take their picture. He obliged, getting the statue of Bruce Callahan into frame behind them before he returned their scratchpad and sat on the fountain’s edge like a dozen other citizens who were taking pictures while they enjoyed their ice cream.

  He still couldn’t get used to how different the mid city was compared to his old home. Not a single low life would trust their scratchpad to a stranger. Citizens smiled at one another. Harvesters didn’t lurk in dark alleyways. Gangs didn’t rule where peacekeepers feared to tread.

  “You can’t sit there,” a peacekeeper said. It was like he materialized out of thin air to harass Owen. He had the shittiest luck in the entire city. A second peacekeeper stood nearby. “Move, citizen. Do it now!” He pointed at a spot away from the fountain. Owen stared at him.

  “Move citizen!”

  “I heard you,” Owen said. Silence hung between them for a few seconds. “What now?”

  “Follow my order. Name and identification, citizen.” The peacekeeper’s hand went to his ECD.

  “I don’t have my scratchpad.” Owen shrugged. He left it in his locker at the gym. “I don’t have any identification.”

  “Get off the fountain!” the peacekeeper ordered. An ad for a new soda bar played on his visor. The dancing squirrel mascot in it made Owen chuckle. The whole situation was too ridiculous to take seriously.

  “What about the rest of the citizens?” Owen nodded at them. There were at least two dozen. “They’re sitting on the fountain.”

  “I’m not talking to them.”

  “Are you okay, Owen?” Amber asked. She was holding a pair of chocolate ice cream cones. She squinted to read the PK’s badge. “Is there a problem here, Peacekeeper Williams?”

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  “Get back!” The peacekeeper pulled his ECD and Owen almost tackled him. But Amber didn’t flinch. Before anything else happened a second peacekeeper flew at Williams and grabbed his ECD. He lifted his visor and whispered something in William’s ear. “Oh shit.” Williams stowed the ECD and pulled off his helmet. He had to be fresh out of the peacekeeper academy. “I’m very sorry, Ms. Callahan.” He looked at her feet. “I didn’t recognize you.”

  “Your friend did,” Amber said. She licked one of the ice cream cones. “You just threatened me with an electric compliance device. Why?”

  “I didn’t know it was you.”

  “That’s not a reason. Did you think this ice cream was dangerous?” She spoke like she was the PK. “Peacekeeper Williams, did you think the ice cream was a threat to your life?”

  “I didn’t know he was with you, Ms. Callahan.”

  “You aren’t getting the point.” Amber glared at the second peacekeeper. “What is the punishment for a citizen threatening a citizen with deadly force?”

  “Two thousand credits and a mandatory five year stay in a labor penitentiary.”

  “Arrest Peacekeeper Williams for that violation please. And add on a fine for removing his helmet on duty.” Amber handed one of the ice cream cones to Owen before she sat beside him on the fountain. “Do it now.” She smiled sweetly.

  “What?” Williams’s eyes went wide.

  The peacekeeper started the process of placing Williams under arrest. Owen finally saw the power of the Callahan name first hand. A word could have PK locked up for years. The cuffs clicked into place as tears streamed down Williams’s face and he howled apologies all the way to the subject transportation station.

  “Do you think that was too much?” Amber asked Owen. She gave her ice cream a little lick.

  “Maybe a little.” Owen shrugged. “You really going to have him locked up for a few years. Seems excessive.”

  “Is it?” Amber cocked her head and hummed. “Have you ever been shocked with an ECD?”

  “I have.” Owen could feel the pain when he thought about it. It was like a jack hammer on every cell in his body. Complete muscle immobilization with the press of a button.

  “Me too.” Amber licked her ice cream. Owen couldn’t think of a single reason the princess of City Seven would meet the business end of an ECD. “My dad got my brother one for his tenth birthday. I ended up in the hospital after he zapped me a couple times.”

  “Oh, sorry.”

  “I’ve still got the scar.” She lifted her shirt to show Owen her toned belly, and the small blemish that matched an ECD prong. “Jake’s a dick.”

  “How’d your dad react?”

  “He stuck it to Jake’s ass when he wasn’t expecting it.” Amber smiled. “It’s going to melt.”

  “What?”

  “The ice cream. You’re supposed to eat it.”

  “Right.” Owen licked the vanilla treat. “I don’t think this is on Coach Wilson’s diet plan.” It was explicitly off provided diet plan in big bold letters. NO ICE CREAM! NO PASTA! NO CANDY! NO SODA! PROTEIN ONLY!

  “It’s not on my diet plan either.” Amber flashed him a mischievous smile. “I won’t tell if you don’t.” Owen took a bite of his ice cream. “Now we’re partners in crime. I won’t put that peacekeeper away for years. He will lose his license though. Someone like that doesn’t need to be protecting our city.”

  Owen wished he had Amber with him months ago. Maybe he wouldn’t be undercover for the Citizen’s Liberation Brigade. A lot of things wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t received his fine. No Sensei Dan, no Vicky and the crew, no Amber. Nothing in his life would’ve changed without the fine. He’d still be a cog spinning in place. In a way he was thankful for the peacekeeper.

  “Tell me about your family,” Amber said suddenly.

  “My family?”

  “Yeah. You know all about my family,” Amber said with a sly grin. “It’s only fair I get to know something about yours.”

  “There isn’t much to tell.” Almost less than nothing. “I don’t have any siblings and my parents are dead. That’s it.”

  “Oh.” Amber sat quietly. “I didn’t know that when I asked. How did they…forget it.”

  “It’s fine,” Owen said. He hadn’t really talked about it with anyone. “There was some maintenance being done on a residential tower and a tube got dropped. They were coming home from work together. Wrong place, wrong time. That’s just how it is.” It was a fact of life he’d grown accustomed to a long time ago.

  “That’s shitty.”

  “It really is.” Owen finished his ice cream and stood. He didn’t want to linger in painful memories. “I should get back to the gym. It was nice talking to you. Thanks for the snack.” Owen started to jog, but Amber grabbed his wrist. Instinct took over. He threw off her grapple. Hopped away. Hit the edge of the fountain and splashed down. Owen coughed water as Amber laughed, hiding her wide smile with both hands.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “I’m soaked.” Owen spit fountain water. “I’ll live. Help me up.” He offered his hand, and when Amber took it he yanked her in without thinking. She went down with a yelp, splashing beside Owen as a pair of teenagers took a picture and ran off. “Whoops,” Owen said when she came up for air, her hair plastered to the side of her face and her makeup running.

  “You got me all wet,” Amber said with a coy smile. She brushed hair away from her face and stared at Owen, her blue eyes the most beautiful thing he’d seen in his life. A stupid lowlife idea took root in Owen’s mind as his gaze drifted to her lips and he noticed just how close she was. Better sense won out.

  “We should get back,” Owen said as he fled the fountain.

  “Right,” Amber said flatly. She refused his help climbing out. “You can go back on your own.” She shook water out of her hair. “I need to do some shopping.” She shook her head. “See you around, Owen.” Amber waved as she left and Owen felt like he did something wrong, but he couldn’t figure out what.

  “The more things change,” Sensei Dan said as he slapped a big hand on Owen’s shoulder. “The more they stay the same. At least you got something sweet out of it.”

  “What was I supposed to do?” Owen jogged toward Wilson’s Warzone.

  “Usually when a lady gives you that look, it’s a good time to kiss her.”

  “That’s ridiculous. She’s Amber Callahan.” The princess of City Seven didn’t slum it with low city trash. Owen was her employee, nothing else. He didn’t have time for delusions. “I need to focus on the mission.”

  “I think it’s a waste,” Dan said. “You don’t want to be a cog in the Callahan machine, but you’re happy to be a cog in Tuck’s machine. The man hasn’t done a thing to earn your loyalty. He left you to the wolves back at the flamingo tunnel and you almost got caught again at the warehouse. You’re doing an awful lot of sticking your neck out for this little resistance with nothing to show for it.”

  “He kept me out of Black hill.”

  “By forcing you into a worse position. What was your call-sign? Knight? Guess it’s better than pawn. I don’t think he’s looking out for your best interest, Owen.”

  “And you are?”

  “Always,” Dan said. “I’m your sensei, and don’t you forget it.”

  Owen shook his head at Sensei Dan’s suggestion. Tuck was his leader. He guided Owen through the chaos of City Seven so they could all be free from the Callahan’s control one day. There wouldn’t be any cogs when Tuck was finished. No citizens. They’d be people again.

  When Owen finished training for the day he took a quick shower and checked his scratchpad. He had a message from Vicky to meet and an address in the Low City.