Molly - Part 4

Chapter 6

A light traffic going through the station. None of the hovercars got very high up; the feds had been clear that anyone going to the top of the towers would get gunned down. Charlie had seen it happen; it had been terrible.

Not so many hovercars now, not with gas being so expensive and the multitude of people now ambling through and into shops, out into the streets where they talked and laughed among themselves.

He bunched up his jacket and headed across. He almost got nicked by one of the cars, some fool leaning out and shouting for Charlie to move.

And now it was night and rain was coming, soft at first and then coming down hard, all of it happening in the span of a few minutes.

Not long now.

He stopped at the corner of an intersection. Some guy leaning against a wall. A woman walking down the opposite way.

"Charlie?"

Lana: hands were on her hips, frowning, the black-leather she wore hiding little. After a moment her face lit up and she laughed, going over and embracing Charlie, spinning in his arms.

"I had no idea you were back."

Charlie couldn't help himself--he smiled. "Just did. How are you Lana--how's Harold?"

"Harold's Harold--thank god. Hey, I was just about to go meet Stacy and the others--you coming?"

"Sounds good."

She hesitated, her eyes becoming slits.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just..."

Charlie sighed.

"It's been a long year."

"No shit--c'mon, I know exactly what you need."

Charlie felt a shiver go up and down his spine. He took out a hand and looked at it, turned it over.

"You high man?"

"I wish. Where's Stace?"

She hooked her arm in his and led him away. The rain came down in sheets, addling Charlie's brain, making him on-edge when he should have been acting normal. He chastised himself silently; he had a job to do and he was already distracted.

She was watching him. Her lips were red.

"So has anything changed? You still hiding from the cops?"

Lana grinned. "Hard to beat the cops when you depend on them. Harold's been talking about high-tailing it out for a while now but you know how it is. So long as we buy our fucking food here there's no way Harold will ever try anything."

"He might."

She stopped.

"You changed."

"Everyone did. Look: all I'm saying is that--"

Charlie forced a smile.

"Fuck, I don't want to talk about it."

"Because of what you saw."

Lana had always been too smart.

"Because of what I saw. I'm glad we bumped into each other, Lana. But please don't make me talk about how--"

"Okay."

They resumed their march.

"Did Stace and Rem ever hook up?"

Lana laughed. "Charlie!"

"Well? Last I heard--"

"Yeah, they fuck every night."