Crowd: A Dystopian Social Network Thriller (Final Draft)

You must help me

Sanchez' voice sounded stern. His posture had stiffened.

"What's wrong?" Rain asked.

He glanced out the window, waving at his Lizzie outside. Rain could make the connection, but she wanted to hear it from his mouth.

"When I logged into Crowd, the profile updated in real-time."

"Standard procedure," Rain said.

"Yeah, well, the algorithm also updates my relationship status on my profile, which everyone can see."

"Only members of the network. Again, that's standard. Crowd's all about transparency."

Sanchez noted, but his eyes flicked around. He put himself into a pressure cooker. "Is there a way to change some privacy issues?"

"Why?"

"You know, in case you want some things to be private."

His hands shivered. He sweated, even though the AC worked overtime. An invisible heatwave tore through his body like a thunder. "Why don't you just tell me what's going on?"

"Promise me to not tell Lizzie."

"I'm not sure I like where this is going."

He walked toward the windows and touched the glass. "They're soundproof, right? You can't hear us from outside?"

"They're soundproof bulletproof shields."

"Seriously?"

"Just tell me what you screwed up."

Sanchez took a deep breath and wiped his forehead. "You know, the other day at work, my colleagues and I celebrated a kick-ass business deal. We just had signed a major Chinese client from Shanghai, netting us a fat sum."

"I assume this story will lead somewhere."

"You know how these events end. Everyone's a bit full of themselves, drinking more Champagne that they should, telling each other how awesome everyone is—"

"Oh-uh."

He swallowed. "So Jane from accounting comes over to me, losing her frost shell with all the Champagne she had. We just chat for a while, and out of nowhere, her lips are close to my ears, telling me how freaking hot I am."

"Are you sure this wasn't a dream?"

"Rain."

"Sorry, go on."

"Well, one thing leads to another, and I suddenly wake up in a bedroom with Jane lying next to me."

Rain squinted her eyes. "You ended up in her bed, poof, just like that?"

"I had no idea how it happened, honestly."

"Did she say energy up?"

"What?"

"Maybe Jane was a Star Fleet officer in disguise, using a transporter to teleport you from the office into her bed."

Sanchez grimaced. "This isn't funny, Rain."

"It is actually, funny how you guys can't keep your dicks in your pants when the alcohol starts flowing. I mean, seriously? You're the walking office hobo cliché from the last century."

"Here's when it gets strange. I left early and went home, and everything was normal. Not a word to no one, but after two days or so, I found an odd little entry in my Crowd profile."

Rain looked up his profile and scanned the countless data points. "Where do I have to look at?"

"Relationship status," Sanchez said, well, squeezed out with a pressed face.