The Drucker Proxy by Lior Samson

Author:Lior Samson [Samson, Lior]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, thriller
Publisher: Gesher Press
Published: 2019-08-04T22:00:00+00:00

— 26 —

“Thanks for coming, Tonika. You’re probably wondering why I asked you over. Well, you’re not on the list, which is why. Plus, you know something about pricey cars and the road to Topanga, or so Barbra told me.”

Tonika Warner looked around as if confused. Finally, she spoke. “Back up girl. What list? Cars? Road? Perhaps we could go somewhere we can talk, if you are allowed to leave your apartment, that is.”

“No, I’m not allowed to leave.” She pulled up the left leg of her slacks. “We could walk around the block, but not much more. And there’s a good chance we would be under surveillance. So, let’s just go into the living room for coffee and some music.”

In the living room, she told the sound system to play something from the Poo Fritters, an indie neo-punk band, then kept upping the volume until they were immersed in an angry wave of sound. She leaned close to Tonika. “A friend gave me this.” She slipped a small plastic case from her cargo slacks. “It’s a work of techno abracadabra. I’ll show you out in a few minutes, change, and then slip out by the back stairs. No security cam there.”

It took Dana longer than expected to do her makeup and change. By the time she arrived out front from around the block, Tonika was sitting in the Tensora, checking messages on her phone. Dana opened the passenger door, and Tonika jumped. “What the hell?”

“It’s me. Chill.”

“I didn’t recognize you.”

“That’s the idea.” Dana checked herself in the visor mirror.

“You know, you look good as a brunette.”

“Don’t insult me. Let’s head for a mall. We’ll shop for hats. You like hats? We’ll get a couple of nice old-fashioned floppy ones.” She winked. “I never wear them, but perhaps it’s about time I changed the look. Know what I mean?” She patted the leather seat. “Nice wheels, Tonika. You must be doing okay.”

“Not mine. It’s on loan from Barbra. It’s quiet, clean, and green. Even though it’s blue. And it’s safe as long as we don’t play music. I’ll explain on the way to the mall.”

— —

The Mall of California was a megafauna throwback to an era before the “Do Downtown Again” movement sought to revitalized city centers across America. California developer Reuben Lefcovitz had been determined to reclaim the title of the world’s largest shopping mall from the Chinese and succeeded with a seven-million square-foot monster with enclosed water park, zoo, roller coaster, day camp, and ninety-one restaurants. Two years later, the Chinese reclaimed the title—with a mall that remained mostly empty ever since. So much for national pride.

The sections of the Mall of California were named for famous streets and urban locales around the world. Dana chose Fifth Avenue because it represented a stratum that was out of her league and anathema to both her aesthetics and her culture-of-choice. Who would expect her there?

“What do you think of this one?” In a shop called LidsOn, Dana modeled a woven wide-brim sun hat that would have been perfect for a royal wedding and was priced accordingly.

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.