Mindfracked (Cassidy Book 1) by M.R. Forbes

Author:M.R. Forbes [Forbes, M.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-02-28T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 28

Cassidy exited the Agora Hotel, lifting his hood over his head. The steady rain had subsided, replaced by a misty drizzle that still left his raincoat dripping by the time he reached the corner. He paused there for a moment, recalling the details Jazz had sent him earlier.

He had about half an hour to get across the city to the International District. According to the map he had consulted, the meeting place was a century-old izakaya tucked into the corner of the district, less than a block from the north side seawall. A relatively quiet section of the city, it struck Cassidy as the perfect place for two men to meet who didn’t trust one another.

Since it didn’t make sense to cover that much distance using ground-based transportation, Cassidy made his way one block south to a building marked as a public roto taxi station. A small line had already formed for access to the station, advancing briskly enough as yellow-striped rotos dropped out of the overhead lanes to land on the rooftop one after another, while prior craft lifted off in a steady stream. It only took a few minutes for Cassidy to reach the front of the line where an automated gate allowed riders in as the six elevators lining the station arrived and departed. The entire operation was fully automated and ran with expected precision.

Considering the conversation he had just had with Brie, Cassidy wondered if the roto-station software was a sub-process of Unity, and if so what other information the system collected as passengers utilitized the service. He had never given it much thought before. As part of the UDF there was never any reason to care much about how it tracked him. Even now, there wasn’t a lot of cause for concern. What made Unity effective was that it wasn’t subject to opinions and didn’t take sides. It operated in the best interest of humanity, unwavering in its approach, which had been proven out as successful over time. The Silent War had happened long before Cassidy was born, but every child learned how dangerously close the world had come to ending.

He walked to the designated elevator with four other people. The three women, two brunettes and a blonde, carried umbrellas and were all dressed virtually the same, in short tight skirts and high boots. The colorful flashing bands around their bare arms and legs signaled they were headed for a club somewhere. The fourth person was a short thin man with a crooked nose and a scuffed raincoat, who didn’t look like he could afford the fare.

They boarded the elevator. The girls huddled together for the short ride, while the man tried to insert himself between them.

“Hey, ladies,” he said.

Cassidy could smell the alcohol as soon as the man opened his mouth. Still, he didn’t rush to the womens’ defense. Most people out here could take care of themselves.

“Screw off, creep,” the blonde said.

“That’s no way to talk to your next lover,” the man replied, offering a lascivious smile.

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