“Turner. He shut the recap off and turned to find Angie in the doorway. “How you doing, Angie?” “Okay. I didn’t dream.” She hugged the black sweatshirt around her, peered up at him from beneath limp brown bangs. “Bobby showed me where there’s a shower. Sort of a dress- ing room I’m going back there soon. My hair’s horrible.” He went over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. “You’ve handled this all pretty well. You’ll be out of here, soon.” She shrugged out of his touch. “Out of here? Where to? Japan?” “Well, maybe not Japan Maybe not Hosaka ~`She’ll go with us,” Beauvoir said, behind her. “Why would I want to?” “Because,” Beauvoir said, “we know who you are. Those dreams of yours are real. You met Bobby in one, and saved his life, cut him loose from black ice. You said, `Why are they doing that to you?’ . . Angie’s eyes widened, darted to Turner and back to Beauvoir. “It’s a whole long story,” Beauvoir said, “and it’s open to interpretation. But if you come with me, come back to the Projects, our people can teach you things We can teach you things we don’t understand, but maybe you can . “Why?” “Because of what’s in your head” Beauvoir nodded sol- emnly, then shoved the plastic eyeglass frames back up his nose. “You don’t have to stay with us, if you don’t want to. In fact, we’re only there to serve you . “Serve me?” `Like I said, it’s a long story . . How about it, Mr. Turner?” Turner shrugged. He couldn’t think where else she might go, and Maas would certainly pay to either have her back or dead, and Hosaka as well. “That might be the best way,” he said. “I want to stay with you,” she said to Turner. “I like Jackie, but then she . “Never mind,” Turner said. “I know.” I don’t know anything, he screamed silently. `I’ll keep in touch ..” I’ll never see you again. “But there’s something I’d better tell you, now. Your father’s dead.” He killed himself. “The Maas security people killed him; he held them off while you got the ultralight off the mesa.” “Is that true? That he held them off? I mean, I could feel it, that he was dead, but . `Yes,” Turner said He took Conroy’s black wallet from his pocket, hung the loop around her neck. “There’s a biosoft dossier in there For when you’re older It doesn’t tell the whole story. Remember that Nothing ever does .
Bobby was standing by the bar when the big guy walked out of Jammer’s office. The big guy crossed to where the girl had been sleeping and picked up his grungy army coat, put it on, then walked to the edge of the stage. where Jackie laylooking so smallbeneath the black coat. The man reached into his own coat and drew out the gun, the huge Smith & Wesson Tactical. He opened the cylinder and ex- tracted the shells, put the shells into hrs coat pocket, then lay the gun down beside Jackie’s body, quiet, so it didn’t make a sound at all. “You did good, Count,” he said, turning to face Bobby, his hands deep in the pockets of his coat “Thanks, man.” Bobby felt a surge of pride through his numbness. “So long, Bobby “The man crossed to the door and began to try the various locks. “You want out?” He hurried to the door. “Here. Jammer showed me. You goin’, dude? Where you gonna go?” And then the door was open and Turner was walking away through the deserted stalls. “I don’t know,” he called back to Bobby “I’ve got to buy eighty liters of kerosene first, then I’ll think about it . Bobby watched until he was gone, down the dead escalator it looked like, then closed the door and relocked it. Looking away from the stage, he crossed Jammer’s to the office door and looked in. Angie was crying, her face pressed into Beauvoir’s shoulder, and Bobby felt a stab of jealousy that startled him. The phone was cycling, behind Beauvoir, and Bobby saw that it was the news recap. “Bobby,” Beauvoir said, “Angela’s coming to live with us, up in the Projects, for a while. You want to come, too?” Behind Beauvoir, on the phone screen, the face of Marsha Newmark appeared, Marsha-momma, his mother “ning’s human interest note, police in a New Jersey suburb said that a local woman whose condo was the target of a recent bombing was startled when she returned last night and disco”