Crowd: A Dystopian Social Network Thriller (Final Draft)

Danger District

Rain focused on her office work. Despite all the advancements and AI-assists infiltrating society, some issues needed to be handled by humans. The section chief especially wanted personal video reports where Rain had to comment on her cases and personal experiences. In the middle of the report, Benjamin wrote her a message:

Five thirty at my place. Arrive hungry, because I've prepared something delicious for you. We're talking a three-star menu.

I accept no cancelation :)

It sounded like the sweetest thing.

Benjamin rocked as a cook, jamming the most delicious south pacific Mediterranean meals known to gamut-kind, but...

Sasha's curious glance snuck around his terminal. "Bad news?"

"My BF is preparing a feast for me tonight."

"Yummy."

Rain nodded but failed to find the right words.

"Speak to me."

Rain looked left and right as if to spy out eavesdroppers. Paranoid, yeah, but her feelings told her so. "You're going to laugh."

Sasha zipped his mouth with a finger. "Unless you're having sex with dolphins, I keep my serious face on."

She sat close to him. "My boyfriend's been over to my place for the past months but he wants me to come over to his."

Sasha's right eyebrow arched as if to say—continue.

"He lives in a...well, a dingy neighborhood. Even the Fleet cabs demand a danger zone surplus."

"Which zone?"

"Esperanza."

Sasha's face froze. "Why in the world would he live there?"

"Cheap rent. He's not part of Crowd, so he can't get any discounts."

Sasha scratched his temple, a reaction Rain had never seen from him.

"You've got a boyfriend who's not on Crowd, and he's living in Esperanza. He's not a gangbanger, right?"

"What? No way. Benjamin works for a startup. Well, he used to. It's complicated."

She covered her face. "I don't mind riding there with a Fleet unit, but I have to walk across the courtyard, and well, some of the inhabitants are a bit...intimidating."

"Do you want me to accompany you?"

"What, no."

"It's okay."

"I'd hate to waste your time."

Sasha grinned. "You already did. Might as well go the full mile."

He shot up from his chair and waved Rain over to the office door. "A few cruisers are available."

"Can we use them after work?"

"Watch and see."

They left the office and entered the parking lot. Sasha voiced a command and changed the surface pattern of the Crowd cruiser into a regular 'civilian' ride.

"Adaptive nano-plates," Sasha said. "I once put my J-porn collection on display but the chief didn't like it."

Rain and Sasha stepped inside and rode on auto-pilot. They listened to the humming of the electric motor.

"Who do you think will win the election?" Rain asked.

"Diego probably," Sasha said. "Lots of people are afraid of the crime sneaking up to their districts. Then there's the Red Block rioting going on. The middle-class doesn't like it when their cars and shops get set on fire."