Chapter 3

“Whoa, whoa, now.” Andre said, as Amaya continued to sob into his shoulder. Amaya had attempted to explain her situation, sans potentially being wanted by Terra-Harvest authorities, but lost all fortitude when she began to describe Blaithe’s act of kindness; apparently a huffy middle-aged British man acting nicely - out of character, mind you - was the final poke she needed to feel her emotions.

“Well here’s what I’d suggest we do, Miss… A-may-a Queenie,” he said, using his hand terminal as reference to call her by name, a sweet gesture, even if he mispronounced it. “You take a few minutes here, but then we gotta’ get movin’. I got other fares to catch today, not to be too insensitive.” he said, smiling.. “Aaaannd,” he said, drawing out the last half of the word, “if I’m transporting a fugitive, I need you in and out of my cab darn quick.” The smile had not left his face. Andre was no stranger to sketchy cab fares; Amaya felt pretty certain he got a lot of tips for his tact.

“Of course, I’m really very grateful for your patience and your discretion here. I’m normally a little better at controlling myself. It’s just been a weird day.”

“Ma’am, I totally understand. Trust me, you won’t be my worst customer today, fact you might be my best.” The look on Andre’s face told Amaya that he had seen some bad customers in his time, she made a mental note to give Andre a good review and a tip for his trouble.

“Well, I suppose I need to go back to my apartment, and then on to an inter-city transport stop.” She forwarded her address on to Andre through her hand terminal’s cab-interface app and then queried her GPS for the nearest transport hub to her apartment.

“Sounds all-right enough a plan to me, Miss Amaya” Andre said as he plotted their flight and registered the route with his dispatcher. “Should just be a minute while we confirm some flight logistics with dispatch, then we’ll be sky bound.”

As he received the confirmation he was awaiting and pulled the cab into the air, Amaya looked down to survey the transport platform. Security was beginning to muster near the elevator at the corner of the transport platform, trying to establish when she had last been seen. Shit, Amaya thought. If security needed to detain her that badly, who’s to say she could even make it to her flat safely, or that they might not check for her there?

“Andre?” Amaya said, “I don’t know how to tell you this, but I think I might be a fugitive.”

“Ma’am, until my dispatch tells me to stop transportin’ you, your money’s good as the next criminal wearin’ a suit,” Andred said, reassuring her with a grin through the rear view.

It was only a few minutes to her flat, but Amaya was thankful for the time to collect her thoughts. Get my things from my place, get to a transport hub, get to Cirrus. Wait, though: if company security was already looking for her, it couldn’t be safe to return home. She had to think through this quick; all of her money, clothes, and items to travel with were there, and she was not a near accomplished criminal to have an idea for how to proceed from here without a few essentials. She’d have to take the risk.

Andre was a good driver. He had a natural sense of when to drive fast and when to watch for oversight vehicles. Amaya’s attention was too occupied with the transport tickets she was researching on her terminal to notice the city as it zipped by. Andre maneuvered the cab through the buildings and quickly completed the route from the Tech center where he had picked Amaya up to the corporate residential sector that he had been directed to.

Amaya looked up from her phone as Andre informed her that they would be landing soon. Her flat was on the forty-third level, so she would have to travel down about one hundred stories to get to her flat. Suddenly everything felt constricting. Even the openness of the landing platform atop her building felt dangerously exposed. She would have to step out into the open of a (probably) security infested rat hole, everyone looking for her. Then, she’d have to step into an elevator, probably getting flagged by the video surveillance immediately, and wouldn’t even make it to her damned apartment.

Beginning to despair, Amaya suddenly felt a presence at her side. Andre was looking at her with concern in his eyes. “You alright there, Amaya?”

“To be honest, Andre, no. I’m not alright,” she said. “I think they’re waiting for me here, but I don’t know where else to go.”

“Let me put your mind at ease, ma’am,” Andre said. “Part of what I do is ensure that all of my clientele feel safe while they’re under my care, you included. Allow me to escort you up, anyone looks at ya’ wrong, I’ll make sure they understand their mistake - corporate goon-thug or not. Call it an ‘all inclusive service’, if you will,” he winked at her and began to survey the platform to locate an elevator hatch.

“This is amazingly generous,” Amaya said, grabbing Andre’s arm to stop his progress down the ramp and onto the platform. “but I don’t think I can ask you to put yourself at this much risk just for me, why don’t you just cut me loose here and go grab your next fare, I think I’m safe enough and can handle from here.” Amaya tried to smile, but her face looked strained. She reached for her terminal to pay the bill.

Andre’s face shifted to melancholy as he thought briefly, he was remembering something. Amaya saw a shift in Andre’s energy, not a bad one, just a contemplative and brooding change in his demeanor. Amaya felt that she suddenly knew something about Andre. She couldn’t tell what that might be, but Andre had demons and this was his way of atoning. The smile was still there, though, his eyes a little less cheerful as he locked sight with her. A small glisten forming in the corner of his left eye. His voice was firm, calm, heartsick? “No ma’am, I’ll be escorting you through the end of your journey today, if that’s alright.”

“That will be fine, Andre,” Amaya said, squeezing his arm gently, a more genuine smile now finding its way to her lips.

As precipitously as the somber mood had come over Andre, it was gone. “Alrighty now, let’s go get your stuff and get you on the road!” Andre said as he resumed his search for an elevator shaft.

“This way - over there on that corner of the roof-top, but let’s stay near the edge in case there are any security folks looking for me,” Amaya said.

“You mean like that one?” Andre gestured to the patrol unit working their way around the outer perimeter of the platform to inspect new arrivals and ensure nothing illegal was happening.

“Shit, yep, like that one.” Amaya pulled her collar up to conceal her face and wished that she had anything else that might help to disguise her identity more effectively.

“Doesn’t look like they’re really lookin’ for anybody right now, maybe we just work our way around opposite ‘em?” Andre suggested. It was a good enough plan. They began to rotate around the platform conversely with the security team. Andre was right, the security patrol did not seem overly worried about finding her right now, but that didn’t mean that they weren’t looking.

“Amaya!!”

Amaya began walking faster around the perimeter, attempting to escape the dis-embodied caller. She did not need someone screaming her name and drawing attention, better get to the elevator right now.

“AMAYA! GIRL, ARE YOU DEAF??”

Amaya felt a tug at her arm and turned into the embrace of her neighbor, Alicia. Alicia Mosely worked for a tech firm on Skyreach and occupied the flat across the hall from Amaya’s. Alicia had always seemed fascinated by Amaya, heaven knew why, and Amaya had always been drawn to the honesty with which Alicia conducted herself. ‘Dem white boys don’t like how I talk? I talk how my momma raised me, boy.”

They’d been neighbors for about nine months and had fallen into a fast friendship full of weekend sleepovers and the occasional friends vacation to a resort level of Skyreach. Alicia was fiercely intelligent, but was prematurely judged by her peers because she refused to speak like the rest of the techie folks with their elevated vocabularies and jargain-laced conversations. The hug slowed her down, but Amaya was glad for the friendly face and the brief embrace; it was a nice reprieve from the intense emotions that had dominated her previous hour.

The wind atop the transport platform blew their hair wildly across their faces as they spoke. “Girl I been worried about you!” Alicia said. “Heard all sorts’a crashing around in your place this morning, thought you was throwing a temper tantrum or somethin’, but then you wouldn’t answer your damn door! Whats’up with you?”

“Alicia, I’ve been at work since eight this morning… what do you mean you heard crashing in my place?” Amaya said, suddenly worried that she was in more danger than she had originally understood. What the fuck did Marcus get me in to?

Amaya nervously looked around the platform to reestablish where the security team had progressed to. Security was rounding the corner and working toward them, now. She needed to get to the elevator before the team had a chance to glance in her direction for much longer.

“I don’t know, it sounded like you was openin’ and closin’ draws, throwin’ thangs all over the floor, I just thought you were feelin’ bad or somethin’. You mean that wasn’t you?” Alicia’s face grew heavy with a pout of concern.

“No, Alicia, I swear that wasn’t me. Did you hear anyone leave?” Amaya asked.

“Nah, I didn’t hear anyone go in or out, that’s why I thought it was you.” Alicia responded.

Amaya looked at Andre, her mouth contorting to the left in anxious thought, really really don’t want to put Andre at any more risk, he’s already done so much for me. Andre sensed her thoughts and shrugged, unzipping his jumpsuit just enough for Amaya and Alicia to notice the small pistol he kept for self defense. He smirked. “Well, they’re still in there, we can make ‘em real sorry about it.” Amaya hoped it wouldn’t come to violence, but something told her this was only the beginning, and that she might see more than her share of pain soon.