Augmented States: A Cyberpunk Saga (Book 5) by Matthew A. Goodwin

Author:Matthew A. Goodwin [Goodwin, Matthew A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-07-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

“Hey, boys,” Jitters said as she slid the van door open. She was dressed as she had been when Moss last saw her, but she had dyed her hair in the interim. It was now crimson red, complemented by dark black eyeshadow, and intentionally smudged mascara and black lipstick.

The two climbed into the back and Moss said, “Jitters, this is Zip Thud.” He swept a hand to introduce the semi-famous breaker.

She laughed, looking him over. “You fucking wish.”

“Just ask your mom,” Zip said without missing a beat. With people he didn’t know, he defaulted to his old tough-guy bullshit. It was how he had acted when he first met Moss.

Jitters covered her mouth but couldn’t keep from laughing in his face. She looked at least ten years older than the young hacker and she snorted before saying, “Aww, that’s actually really pretty friggin’ adorable.”

Jitters slid the door closed and Zip rolled his eyes. “Keep dreaming, you don’t have the right parts for me.”

She could not remove the amused look from her face. “Not at all what I meant when I said adorable there, tough guy,” she said. Turning to Moss, she added, “This kid for real?”

“Oh, I’m as real as it gets, baby,” he said. Moss had almost forgotten that this version of Zip Thud even existed.

Jitters was now laughing so hard she couldn’t catch her breath, “Okay, okay, okay, enough. Enough, now.”

Moss and Zip strapped into their seats and Red Eyes started to drive without a word. He looked even more tired than when Moss had seen him earlier, but he had slicked back his jet black hair with exposed white roots.

“Fill him in, chosen one?” Jitters asked, the shit-eating grin still plastered on her face.

Moss closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “If we are going to work together, I should mention that I really dislike that. There is no chosen one. This is not some grand saga. People are dying. Shit, we are going right now to rescue human beings from being sold. This isn’t some action movie.”

“Says the asshole whose life I saved after he blew my operation,” Jitters said. The laughter was gone.

“He told it differently,” Zip said.

“I’ll bet he did,” Jitters said as the lights of the city passed beneath them.

“Do we have a problem?” Moss asked, more annoyed than angry.

Jitters shook her head. “You guys pull this off and we will be square.”

“I really am sorry I messed up your plan,” Moss said, sighing.

Jitters let out a long breath too. “I know. And I know you insisted on coming and helping us. It’s cool. You didn’t have to. Sounds like you’ve got your own shit going on in addition to the whole election fraud thing. It’s just… it’s just…”

“It’s just that you went through a shit ton and I blew it all in an afternoon,” Moss said quietly.

“I don’t like people cutting me off,” she said, but her words were not angry. She was quiet a moment. “But yes. Plus.”

Moss knew better than to speak, but Zip opened his mouth and Moss quickly gestured for him to keep quiet.

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