“Kim,” she says, and her voice cracks on the single syllable so badly it feels like someone just reached through my ribs and squeezed my lungs. “They came by the apartment again. Two guys this time. Different ones. They were polite about it, but it was… not polite, you know?”
I close my eyes.
“They said the Nine are blacklisting anyone still associated with you. Suppliers. Staff. Property managers. They told Lily her lease renewal might get… complicated if she keeps answering your calls. They told Ishaan his cousin’s shop in Sector Four had a gas inspection scheduled that ‘might not go well.’”
Her breath stutters.
“I told them to go fuck themselves, obviously,” she adds weakly. “But, Kim, people are scared. I’m scared.”
I press my thumb into the bridge of my nose until stars burst behind my eyelids.
“Call me back,” she finishes. “Please. I don’t know what to do anymore.”
The message ends.
The room feels smaller.
The air feels heavier.
The antiseptic smell that’s become the background radiation of my life now presses against my sinuses like a personal insult.
I scrub a hand down my face and reopen my eyes, forcing myself to watch the footage again because not watching it feels like a betrayal.
Loop.
The tablet vibrates again.
A text this time.
Unknown off-world number.
Cousin Leena: You can come stay with us on Halcyon until things calm down. We have room. You’ll be safe here.
Another buzz.
Old supplier rep: Heard what happened. Jesus, Kim. I’m so sorry. I’ve got a friend in shipping who can get you a work visa for Meridia if you want out.
Another.
Union liaison: We can relocate you temporarily under protective labor asylum. It’s not glamorous, but it’s off-grid and the Nine won’t touch it.
Evacuation offers.
Exit ramps.
Golden lifeboats bobbing politely in the water while my city burns behind me.
My throat tightens.
I delete them all.
One by one.
With shaking fingers and a jaw clenched so hard it feels like it might fracture.
“I will not be displaced again,” I whisper to the empty concrete room.
I say it out loud because if I don’t, my body might interpret silence as consent.
