is.”
CHAPTER 16
BEFORE LEXI EVEN SET HER SCHOOL BAG DOWN THE NEXT AFTERNOON, Cass was putting on her shoes. Nick donned his old disguise—Lexi’s sunglasses and the scavenged brown hat—and they were off. Farryn’s home was only five minutes away, according to Lexi. Cass was just happy to be out of the house; she felt like she could breathe for the first time all day.
Soon Lexi had led them to the back door of a house that seemed almost identical to the Tanners’. Lexi knocked on the door, and after a few moments it swung open. The boy who answered was about the same age as Cass. He was tall, almost Nick’s height, but skinnier. He had stubble on his face, and his brown hair was wild like he had just woken up. His brown shirt was ripped at the collar and only half tucked into his pants.
“All right, Lex. You’ve got my attention.” He held up his comm, and Cass quickly read the screen. Farryn, coming over with important new friends. Make sure just you, nobody else around . He looked at Nick, Kevin, and then Cass, lingering a bit longer on her. Cass crossed her arms over her chest and refused to look away. Farryn turned back to Lexi. “So who do you got?”
“Let us in first, dammit,” said Lexi. “Unless you want to wait for one of your neighbors to comm us in.” She shouldered past Farryn, and everyone else followed. The interior of the house was similar in design to Lexi’s, but the hallway was a mess—shoes and clothes lay on the floor, a small table near the door held a plastic tray of half-eaten food, and the carpet was stained and dirty.
Cass stepped forward and held out her hand. “I’m Cass. These are my brothers Nick and Kevin.”
Farryn took Cass’s hand and stared at her, smiling. “So, three unchipped youths from Revolution 19 loose in the City, one wanted for violent rebellion. Nice to meet you.”
Cass, shocked, pulled her hand away from Farryn. “Lexi!” she said.
Lexi held her hands up. “I didn’t say a word.”
“It wasn’t that hard to put two and two together,” said Farryn. “You’re all over the vids. Come on in and let’s talk about what we can do for each other.”
Cass wrinkled her nose as they entered the living room. It was in even worse shape than the hallway. Farryn cleared space on the couch by pushing a jacket, a pair of shoes, and a dirty plate onto the floor. “Have a seat,” he said. “I just gotta run upstairs and grab my old man tracker.” He left the room.
“What’s with the mess?” said Cass to Lexi. “Did he just have a party or something?”
Lexi shook her head. “No. He’s a slob, and his father doesn’t care. Doesn’t even notice, really.”
“What about his mom?” said Kevin.
“Dead,” said Lexi quietly. “She …” Lexi cut herself off as Farryn walked back into the room. He sat down on a chair next to the couch and placed a small flat screen, about the size of his hand, onto the table. He looked around at the quiet room.
“So serious,” he said. He tapped on the screen and looked at it a moment. “He’s still out at the warehouse. Miles away. We’re good.”
Kevin leaned forward. “You’re tracking your father? How?”
“Just a snip of code written into his comm. It feeds the location back. I can listen in with an audio bug, too, but that’s usually too depressing. Even tap into his vid if I want to, but all you’ll probably see is the inside of his pocket.”
“Why not just use your comm?” said Kevin. “Wouldn’t it be easier to tap into the comm network directly? Why rig this?”
“Easier, yes. But too obvious. The loop would look a bit too weird through my comm. The bots probably wouldn’t notice, with all the traffic streaming through, but this way I can spread the data packets around a bit more organically, you know what I mean? Make it seem a bit cleaner, just in case anything’s really digging.”
Kevin picked up the tracking screen. “You’ve gotta show me what you did,” he
CHAPTER 16
BEFORE LEXI EVEN SET HER SCHOOL BAG DOWN THE NEXT AFTERNOON, Cass was putting on her shoes. Nick donned his old disguise—Lexi’s sunglasses and the scavenged brown hat—and they were off. Farryn’s home was only five minutes away, according to Lexi. Cass was just happy to be out of the house; she felt like she could breathe for the first time all day.
Soon Lexi had led them to the back door of a house that seemed almost identical to the Tanners’. Lexi knocked on the door, and after a few moments it swung open. The boy who answered was about the same age as Cass. He was tall, almost Nick’s height, but skinnier. He had stubble on his face, and his brown hair was wild like he had just woken up. His brown shirt was ripped at the collar and only half tucked into his pants.
“All right, Lex. You’ve got my attention.” He held up his comm, and Cass quickly read the screen. Farryn, coming over with important new friends. Make sure just you, nobody else around . He looked at Nick, Kevin, and then Cass, lingering a bit longer on her. Cass crossed her arms over her chest and refused to look away. Farryn turned back to Lexi. “So who do you got?”
“Let us in first, dammit,” said Lexi. “Unless you want to wait for one of your neighbors to comm us in.” She shouldered past Farryn, and everyone else followed. The interior of the house was similar in design to Lexi’s, but the hallway was a mess—shoes and clothes lay on the floor, a small table near the door held a plastic tray of half-eaten food, and the carpet was stained and dirty.
Cass stepped forward and held out her hand. “I’m Cass. These are my brothers Nick and Kevin.”
Farryn took Cass’s hand and stared at her, smiling. “So, three unchipped youths from Revolution 19 loose in the City, one wanted for violent rebellion. Nice to meet you.”
Cass, shocked, pulled her hand away from Farryn. “Lexi!” she said.
Lexi held her hands up. “I didn’t say a word.”
“It wasn’t that hard to put two and two together,” said Farryn. “You’re all over the vids. Come on in and let’s talk about what we can do for each other.”
Cass wrinkled her nose as they entered the living room. It was in even worse shape than the hallway. Farryn cleared space on the couch by pushing a jacket, a pair of shoes, and a dirty plate onto the floor. “Have a seat,” he said. “I just gotta run upstairs and grab my old man tracker.” He left the room.
“What’s with the mess?” said Cass to Lexi. “Did he just have a party or something?”
Lexi shook her head. “No. He’s a slob, and his father doesn’t care. Doesn’t even notice, really.”
“What about his mom?” said Kevin.
“Dead,” said Lexi quietly. “She …” Lexi cut herself off as Farryn walked back into the room. He sat down on a chair next to the couch and placed a small flat screen, about the size of his hand, onto the table. He looked around at the quiet room.
“So serious,” he said. He tapped on the screen and looked at it a moment. “He’s still out at the warehouse. Miles away. We’re good.”
Kevin leaned forward. “You’re tracking your father? How?”
“Just a snip of code written into his comm. It feeds the location back. I can listen in with an audio bug, too, but that’s usually too depressing. Even tap into his vid if I want to, but all you’ll probably see is the inside of his pocket.”
“Why not just use your comm?” said Kevin. “Wouldn’t it be easier to tap into the comm network directly? Why rig this?”
“Easier, yes. But too obvious. The loop would look a bit too weird through my comm. The bots probably wouldn’t notice, with all the traffic streaming through, but this way I can spread the data packets around a bit more organically, you know what I mean? Make it seem a bit cleaner, just in case anything’s really digging.”
Kevin picked up the tracking screen. “You’ve gotta show me what you did,” he
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