Stained-glass windows shone with a light like sunlight, but brighter. Light from those windows all shone directly on the door, blinding me and forcing me to bow my head so my hat would shield my eyes. My vision slowly returned.
The church looked more like the writhing maw of an elder god than the proper place of worship it used to be. The floor was covered with black cords of all sizes. Like thick snakes, they crossed the walls and dangled from the ceiling. A mesh steel platform ran the circumference of the room and widened at the far side, where an altar had once been. Fourteen flat displays lined the walls, each showing a view of a town’s main street or a building in the desert. They might have been live displays, because the images were all enhanced with nightvision. Holographic projectors in the center of the room displayed a map of Texas, from the Yellowstone crater all the way down to Old Mexico.
Across the room, a shape detached from the wall. Wisps of copper-red wire took the form of hair, accented with tiny motes of light that shone bright enough to be seen even in the triple daylight glow from the windows. The tall figure of an impossibly slender woman separated from its place amongst the mass of wiring that made up the far wall. The loose black of her clothing draped over her four long, slender arms in a way that was both casual and provocative. Shining steel nails tipped each of her long fingers.
I tipped my hat. “Court,” I said.
“J.D.” Her voice seemed to harmonize with itself when she spoke. She gestured with a hand. “Welcome.”
“Sure.”
Holographic projectors between us flickered, rendering the image of the street where Legs and I had just played his game. Legs was a hazy image directing drones as they cleaned up broken bots.
“I was thinking,” Court said, “as you played games with the boy outside. We’re not friends. We’re not allies. You don’t like me, and I don’t like you.” She leaned down and peered at me with pure yellow eyes. “So, why would you come to visit me in the middle of the night?”
She was right. Court and I were not anything like friends. Her recent respect for the law was more a matter of her respect for the new sheriff, not fear of the old one. Truth was, any other night I’d probably have run the other direction if Court came calling. She wasn’t friendly, and she sure as hell wasn’t my friend.
I strolled along one wall, my boots clanging against the steel walkway. The blinding lights were focused on the entrance, and once I left the spotlight I was able to take in a little more of my surroundings. There wasn’t a damn bit of it that I understood. Tech laced the walls, floor, and ceiling. Conduits ran everywhere and the air smelled of a dry, electric heat.
“Stop,” Court said.
I raised an eyebrow at that, but I stopped.
“You’re getting too close to the Umbilical,” she explained. “We can’t risk you shutting down our operation, can we?”
“Umbilical?” Looking around, I spotted the cord she was talking about. It was gold with a silver stripe and ran from a central console to a junction where hundreds of other cables originated. “Is that important?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Yes, Sheriff. They’re hard to replace, as I’m sure you understand.”
“You’re afraid that I’ll break it and break all of your toys?”
“No.” She leaned in close and peered at me with her golden, glowing eyes. “We have a spare. I just don’t want to have to kill you for such a terrible faux pas.”
I cleared my throat. “Word is,” I said, “that you’re who people turn to for help.”
Court tracked my movement with her unblinking eyes.
“Boy needs the tech to be a football star, he comes to you. Man needs to escape some debt, he comes to you. Woman needs to disappear, she comes to you.” I pulled off my hat and held it against my chest. “So, here I am. I’m asking for help.”
Court smiled, giving the impression of a coyote
The church looked more like the writhing maw of an elder god than the proper place of worship it used to be. The floor was covered with black cords of all sizes. Like thick snakes, they crossed the walls and dangled from the ceiling. A mesh steel platform ran the circumference of the room and widened at the far side, where an altar had once been. Fourteen flat displays lined the walls, each showing a view of a town’s main street or a building in the desert. They might have been live displays, because the images were all enhanced with nightvision. Holographic projectors in the center of the room displayed a map of Texas, from the Yellowstone crater all the way down to Old Mexico.
Across the room, a shape detached from the wall. Wisps of copper-red wire took the form of hair, accented with tiny motes of light that shone bright enough to be seen even in the triple daylight glow from the windows. The tall figure of an impossibly slender woman separated from its place amongst the mass of wiring that made up the far wall. The loose black of her clothing draped over her four long, slender arms in a way that was both casual and provocative. Shining steel nails tipped each of her long fingers.
I tipped my hat. “Court,” I said.
“J.D.” Her voice seemed to harmonize with itself when she spoke. She gestured with a hand. “Welcome.”
“Sure.”
Holographic projectors between us flickered, rendering the image of the street where Legs and I had just played his game. Legs was a hazy image directing drones as they cleaned up broken bots.
“I was thinking,” Court said, “as you played games with the boy outside. We’re not friends. We’re not allies. You don’t like me, and I don’t like you.” She leaned down and peered at me with pure yellow eyes. “So, why would you come to visit me in the middle of the night?”
She was right. Court and I were not anything like friends. Her recent respect for the law was more a matter of her respect for the new sheriff, not fear of the old one. Truth was, any other night I’d probably have run the other direction if Court came calling. She wasn’t friendly, and she sure as hell wasn’t my friend.
I strolled along one wall, my boots clanging against the steel walkway. The blinding lights were focused on the entrance, and once I left the spotlight I was able to take in a little more of my surroundings. There wasn’t a damn bit of it that I understood. Tech laced the walls, floor, and ceiling. Conduits ran everywhere and the air smelled of a dry, electric heat.
“Stop,” Court said.
I raised an eyebrow at that, but I stopped.
“You’re getting too close to the Umbilical,” she explained. “We can’t risk you shutting down our operation, can we?”
“Umbilical?” Looking around, I spotted the cord she was talking about. It was gold with a silver stripe and ran from a central console to a junction where hundreds of other cables originated. “Is that important?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Yes, Sheriff. They’re hard to replace, as I’m sure you understand.”
“You’re afraid that I’ll break it and break all of your toys?”
“No.” She leaned in close and peered at me with her golden, glowing eyes. “We have a spare. I just don’t want to have to kill you for such a terrible faux pas.”
I cleared my throat. “Word is,” I said, “that you’re who people turn to for help.”
Court tracked my movement with her unblinking eyes.
“Boy needs the tech to be a football star, he comes to you. Man needs to escape some debt, he comes to you. Woman needs to disappear, she comes to you.” I pulled off my hat and held it against my chest. “So, here I am. I’m asking for help.”
Court smiled, giving the impression of a coyote
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