She hated this part of town.
45341.
It was the patch number for Eve Tesler’s friend on Dumera. A male named Gorkan, who had helped Eve and Khiva get off Everton. He was the one who had helped find them a home there.
However, universal patch numbers could only be accessed through the main Coms building in the Downtown District.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the towering building to her left called The Plaza. Luxury homes and flats. Madame Allegria owned the top floor of it. Valerie had never seen it in person, but she’d seen pictures of it in an article spread, run by a magazine that highlighted ‘luxury living’ throughout the New Earth colonies.
So, Valerie knew that it was a large penthouse, with glass windows on all sides, spanning over three floors. It had five bedrooms and six bathrooms—though Valerie didn’t know why anyone would need that many. It boasted a heated pool, the largest closet in existence on all of Everton, and it was staffed by two personal butlers.
Valerie’s lips pressed together as she eyed the top of the building. It made her sick, knowing that some of the credits Madame Allegria had stolen from the Keriv’i males had helped pay for it—credits that were rightfully theirs.
She had a similar home on Genesis too.
Valerie rubbed the back of her shoulder through the thin, plain top she wore. She’d chosen this hour to sneak to the Coms building because she knew that every afternoon, Madame Allegria had lunch with her socialite friends. Every afternoon, without fail. She wouldn’t even think to track Valerie’s whereabouts, or at least she hoped she would be too preoccupied to.
Regardless, it was a risk she would take.
The Coms building loomed overhead and Valerie hurried towards it, feeling a warm breeze brush over her bare arms, just another reminder that summer was approaching fast.
Once she stepped inside the Coms building, however, Valerie wished she’d dressed in something thicker and warmer. It was freezing inside, no doubt to keep the expensive equipment and wiring cool.
There was a receptionist at the greeting desk and Valerie got in line, waiting for her turn. Overhead, there was a projection of a looped commercial for Bell Tech—the company that owned and ran and oversaw all the Coms.
When it was her turn, the girl behind the front desk greeted her.
“I need to make a universal call,” she told the girl, whose name plate read ‘Sienna.’
“To which Quadrant?” Sienna asked, typing on her Nu device, not looking up.
“The Second, I believe,” Valerie replied.
“Calls to the Second Quadrant will be 50 credits each,” Sienna informed her, finally looking up. “Or would you like to rent the box per hour? If you do, then the calls are free and unlimited.”
Of course. Because universal patch numbers were dodgy and unpredictable at best. And the call would only go through if Gorkan happened to be at his patch line at that very moment and saw the signal coming through.
“How much to rent?” she asked, smoothing her fingers over the loaded credit card in her pocket. From the account she’d set up for the Keriv’i. Half the credits from the townhome had already come in.
“150 credits per hour.”
She sighed. The newly acquired credits were all she could use. Madame Allegria didn’t pay her. At all. Her ‘Krave’ got one credit per night, but Valerie didn’t have any money of her own.
“I’ll rent then,” she said, sliding her credit card over the scanner.
“Great,” Sienna chirped, though she didn’t smile. “Box 245. You can take the lift to the second floor.”
Valerie nodded, taking the key that Sienna slid over the desk, and then turned towards the hallway of elevators.
She took the lift up one floor, following the glowing placards on the walls to her assigned box for the afternoon. When she found the correct room, she slid her key inside and then stepped in.
Boxwas right. It was tiny and narrow. A basic Coms unit was set up at a small table, a single chair next to it. A fake plant was in the corner, limp and faded. A fan palm was what she believed it was called.
There were instructions for how to use the unit, ones Valerie read carefully. Then she smoothed her sweating palms down her thighs and dialed the patch number, using the correct prefix code for the Second Quadrant.
X94X567-45341.
She held the receiver to her ear, waiting for the line to signal that it had connected.
