Crack in the Kill Code (AmpCore #2)

29 - What the Saws Won't Sell

Kirk couldn't help but notice that his tirade hadn't managed to earn him the privilege of riding shotgun. He slumped moodily in the back seat, arms folded, watching the streets flicker by with a hawk-like gaze. He didn't entirely trust Doser not to just lock the doors and drive them all back to the police station.

He still simmered with anger. For a moment, his imagination had run away with him, letting him think that some people in Hadrian actually wanted to help him. To help everyone. But no. Treysi wasn't part of the mission, so they were ready to dump her.

So far, they seemed to be staying on course.

His first sign of vindication wasn't long in coming. They swung out onto the street leading to the supposedly abandoned flatsite, and Kirk straightened up at the sight of a clump of structures nestled amongst half-finished superstructures and naked girders. They looked decidedly ad-hoc, and dimly lit by anaemic work lighting, but it was a sign of life. Maybe two floors, sprawling out with several repurposed corporate housing modules clamped together to form an odd clump that spilled through the abandoned construction site. It looked like a geometric oil spill.

In the front seat, Doser straightened up with a grunt. "Well, that's something I suppose."

"Abandoned, you said?" Kirk muttered.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Don't get too excited," Nevay said, though her tone betrayed her own interest. "Plenty of squatters in Hadrian."

"Even you don't stack your coincidences that high." He nodded to buildings. "That's where Treysi must've gone. Pull over. We show up in a cop car, whoever's there might put a bullet in us before they let us talk."

"He's right," Doser sighed, guiding the police cruiser to the sidewalk. "I don't wanna get this thing scratched up. I'm gonna be in enough trouble as it is."

Kirk rolled his eyes, still not quite ready to forgive and forget. He whacked the autobelt release bad-temperedly and slid out into the evening air. He took a deep breath and turned his gaze on their destination. Find Treysi; get one step closer to finding out just what in the hell was going on out here.

"Kirk," Nevay said quietly as she closed the car door. "This... this thing with the girl – Treysi..."

"Yeah?"

"Just wanted to say, sorry about earlier."

He looked at her in surprise as they started walking. "You're 'sorry'?"

"Jesus, Kirk, I'm not a fucking machine. Yeah, I'm sorry. Didn't think about what this probably means, you know, for you."

Kirk dug his hands deeper into his pockets, shoulders hunching. "Meaning what?"

"I mean Piper."

He pressed his lips together hard, so hard it actually hurt, and he couldn't look at her. She waited, but he didn't really know what to say in response. Until she said the words he hadn't fully realised it himself, truth be told.

"You wanted to save her from the corps," Nevay continued after a moment, "and she punched you right in the heart for your trouble."

"It wasn't her fault," he protested weakly.

"Kirk, I don't give a fuck who's fault it is. You feel how you feel, don't you?"

"What if I do? That isn't going to change anything."

"Exactly. And that's what this is all about. Treysi's a second swing – round two of Kirk Balfour versus the corporations. That's why you're so hell bent on finding her, right?"