Famous Men Who Never Lived by K. Chess

Author:K. Chess
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Tin House Books
Published: 2018-11-12T00:00:00+00:00

Hel learned how to follow on foot from the internet. In half an hour of research, she picked up useful tips about everything from the optimal distance to maintain to the correct way to use windows, car mirrors, and other reflective surfaces. She informed herself about the possible legal penalties for recording video and audio in various states without a subject’s permission.

It wasn’t wise to hang around the Domino Sugar complex anymore; the employees at MoMT and at the apartment leasing office all knew her by sight. Besides, everything about the place—the half-preserved buildings, the intangible lingering memory-smell of molasses—reminded her of her failures, her humiliation. Pinch-faced Klay, all 110 pounds of her, the world’s smallest enforcer. Klay, who would never understand, daring to show her sympathy.

One of the articles she read specifically recommended against black clothing for surveillance missions, suggesting that the best way to blend in with a crowd was to wear neutrals. That morning, she’d chosen a large gray sweatshirt that belonged to Vikram for her disguise, tied her hair back under a navy-blue beanie, and donned the largest pair of shades she could find. Now she lurked among a mixed group of tourists, Upper East Siders, and students with sketch pads on the sidewalk in front of the patch of Central Park directly opposite the Guggenheim, waiting for Donaldson to emerge from a board meeting she might or might not be attending. To pass the time, Hel counted the number of people nearby wearing all black. Twelve. Obviously, the author of the surveillance article had never been to New York.

This was her only option now. Direct confrontation had failed. Powerful intervention through Oliveira—and who else did Hel know?—had failed. This was all that was left to her.

Neither Ayanna Donaldson nor her wife, Angelene Silva, made their home address publicly visible on the social networking sites they used, but after some searching, Hel had located an online list of public arts charities and museum boards. Some of these posted the dates and locations of their events, not that Hel could know if or how faithfully Donaldson attended any particular gathering. So when Donaldson emerged after a scheduled meeting of the African American Artists’ Coalition into the bright sunlight of Fifth Avenue (wearing all black, of course) and turned onto East Eighty-Eighth, away from the park, Hel felt her heartbeat speed, the way it used to when she was a resident prepping for surgery. She sprinted to the other side of the avenue and fell in behind, pulling her cap lower and shrugging her shoulders tight. This was it.

Aboveground, keeping Donaldson in sight was easier than she’d anticipated. They walked east, crossing Madison and Park, and then turned downtown at Lexington. At first, Hel’s insides lurched every time Donaldson’s steps faltered, every time the other woman turned her head to look at a window display or paused to fish her phone out of her purse and answer a text. Each time, Hel convinced herself she was about to be found out, confronted, arrested.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.