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“With the pay around here?” Abhishek chuckled. “We
all
do contract work.”

“Good, good,” he replied. “What I’m actually looking for, is
a little bit of information on someone. Nothing illegal, of course, just things
that you might know how to find online, but I might not.” He smiled sheepishly.
“You know, addresses and the like?”

Abhishek frowned. This wasn’t actually contract work, and it
definitely
wasn’t something he did. The legalities were fairly grey in
that regard.

“I can’t really help you with that,” Abhishek said. “Sorry.”

“That’s too bad,” the professor muttered in disappointment.
“I was hoping you could.”

Abhishek reached out for the yellow sticky pad on the desk.

“I can’t,” he said. “But I can find you someone who can.”
Abhishek checked the clock above the door. If he could get this guy out of the
office, he could be downtown in half an hour. Marq and Jude did this kind of
work. “Just give me a number where I can find you, Keith, and I’ll ask around
with the other tech guys.”

The man’s smile returned. He reached out, scribbling down a
cell number.

“That sounds perfect.”

: : :
: : : : : : : :

Indigo was half a block away when she heard a man call her
name.

“Indigo!” he shouted. “Indigo Sykes!”

Indigo turned, blood draining from her face.

“Oh God,” she breathed.

She watched as the man who’d shouted at her appeared, fear
leaving her immobile. Luca Brin stalked forward, surrounded by a group of
suited men. They stopped on the sidewalk, blocking her way.

“Hey, baby!” he said. “Long time no see.”

“Luca,” she answered, falsely bright. “What a surprise!”

He grinned, stepping closer to her than he needed to in
order to talk.

“Where you been?” he asked. “Haven’t seen you in ages.”

She stood still, refusing to cower. Instead she preened
under his gaze.

“Oh, I’ve been around, Luca,” she said with a false giggle.
“You know that. Just not around here.”

He laughed, and the suits laughed with him, and Indigo
fought the urge to bolt.

“I’ve missed you,” he said with a toothy grin, his eyes on
the top of her dress. “We all have.”

She reached out, straightening his tie, smoothing down the
lapels of his coat. She didn’t have to hold his eyes then. He couldn’t see her
fear.

“And I’ve missed you,” Indigo lied. “I’ve just been busy.”
She looked back up, giving him a one-shouldered shrug. “You know how life is.”

He nodded, putting a hand on her elbow.

“I do,” he agreed, “Which is why
you,
” he tugged her
forward so that she bumped against the front of his suit, “should come party
with us tonight.” He nodded to the men that surrounded him. “We’re meeting up
with some friends.” Luca winked. “A little work and a little play, if you know
what I mean.”

She hated it when Luca talked like that, but she still
laughed at his joke, forcing herself to play along.

“I’d love to,” Indigo said demurely. “I really would, Luca.
And I’m so sorry I have to say no.” She gave him another coy look: part girl,
part woman. “But I already have plans.”

“Change them,” he ordered.

She laughed again, hoping she didn’t sound as panicked as
she felt. Jude was here. He was inside The Vault right fucking now! And he’d
certainly see her if she went in on Luca’s arm.

“I can’t,” she insisted, leaning in to press a kiss to
either of his cheeks. Luca’s hand drifted to her waist, but she ignored it. She
pulled away, smiling shyly to gentle the blow. “But I’ll come back another
night, alright?
Just for you
.”

There were hoots from the group of men, and Indigo put
another step between them.
‘End scene,’
her mind screamed.

“I’ll be waiting for you, baby,” Luca growled. “Don’t
forget.”

“I never do,” she laughed, lifting a hand and waving in the
air as she walked away.

She headed down the sidewalk, away from the group, her hips
swinging in a sultry swagger. Reaching the end of the avenue, she turned,
disappearing onto a side-street. She took one last look behind her,
double-checking she wasn’t being followed, and began to run.

: : :
: : : : : : : :

Elliot waited until Jude had moved out before he made the call.
He knew it would end any hint of friendship between them, but letting it go
wasn’t an option.

He didn’t want to attend Jude’s funeral.

Late Saturday night, after he got off work, Elliot drove to
the industrial area on the outskirts of Jersey City, hoping his memory served
him well. There, next to the dealership where Elliot had bought his Matrix a
decade earlier, was an old-style pay phone. He’d watched enough cop flicks to
know the first thing that the police would pull would be cell phone records, and
he didn’t want
anyone
knowing he’d made the call, least of all Jude. It
would be a second blow if Jude ever discovered that Elliot had been the one
who’d turned him in to the police back in high school.

Elliot climbed from his car, anxiously glancing one
direction and then the other. The streets were empty. Saying a silent prayer,
he walked to the booth, lifting the receiver with sweating hands. He put it to
his ear, relief flooding his body.

It had a dial tone.

He tapped in the number, waiting through the greeting, his
throat tight.

“You’ve reached Police Services for the Twelfth Precinct,
Officer Brodie speaking. How may I direct your call?”

Elliot closed his eyes, remembering Jude when they’d been
kids together in Brooklyn. Jude had been happy then. But then there’d been the
fire that had killed his father. The anger that had followed that tragedy had
grown like a cancer, spreading into every part of Jude’s life.

Elliot flashed to another scene: the two of them, six
years-old, riding bikes together. Before the darkness, when everything had been
easy.

He missed that
other
Jude.

“Yeah, hi,” Elliot said. “I’d like to report a crime.”

Indigo sat in the crowded booth, the line of glasses lined
up like soldiers in front of her. She didn’t bother to look for Shireese, just
joined the other band members and started to drink. She pounded the shots back,
not spreading them out or waiting for the buzz to hit. Her mouth burned like
fire, her stomach a knot that only oblivion would undo.

Luca had seen her.

Eyes watering, Indigo threw another shot back, coughing when
it scalded her throat. She had the change left from the hundred dollar bill
Jude had given her, and she intended to spend it all, and perhaps more if
someone was generous, before the night was over. Before they’d arrived on 5
^th
,
Jude had insisted she might need money for drinks. She had no idea where he’d
gotten that type of cash, but who was she to say no? Years of living hand to
mouth had taught Indigo that you didn’t question the reasons why fortune was
bountiful. She’d learned a second lesson, which was equally true. Life was just
as likely to pull those gifts away if you waited too long.

It had almost happened tonight.

She lowered the glass to the table, waiting as her stomach
roiled. The first wave of alcohol rushed through her bloodstream and she
wobbled in place. Her eyes fluttered closed, but the only thing that awaited
her in the darkness was Luca’s leering face. That had been
far
too close
a call!

“Indigo?”

Her eyes fluttered open to find Shireese and Tanis, arm in
arm, a few feet away. Tanis was dressed for the stage. Sparkles adorned her
shoulders and upper lids, an animal print shirt and tight jeans wrapped her
frame.  

“Indigo, hon,” Shireese repeated. Indigo swivelled, another
wave of alcohol spinning the room on its axis. Yes, she was definitely drunk.
“Are you okay?” Shireese asked, slowing her words.

“Jus’ fine.”

Shireese reached out, brushing back a lock of hair that had
worked itself free from its bobby pin. Indigo jerked her head away, reaching
for another glass. When she set it back down, empty, Shireese was waiting.

“Something happen with you’n Jude?” she asked quietly.

“Jude’s fine,” Indigo mumbled. “Jus’ fine.” Shireese slid
into the booth as Indigo continued. “He’n the tech guys are out tonight.”

“But you’re not,” Shireese finished.

Indigo took a sharp breath, pressing her knuckles to her
mouth until the urge to scream passed. Shireese watched, her brown eyes worried.
She reached out, rubbing circles in her friend’s shoulders. This time Indigo
let Shireese touch her.

“Seriously, hon, you’re scaring me,” Shireese said.

Indigo turned, the room rotating, but not stopping. Her eyes
prickled with unshed tears, but she forced them away, breathing through flared
nostrils.

“That nice club Jude wanted to take me to?” Indigo gasped.
“Wasn’t just any club. It was The Vault!”

Shireese hand on Indigo’s shoulder went still.

“And I couldn’t go in. And I couldn’t tell Jude why!”

“What did you do?” Shireese whispered, her tense pose
abruptly matching Indigo’s.

“I told Jude I was coming here,” she said, “and that he
could come if he wanted. But then when I was walking to the subway, I… I…” She
blinked, and two tears rolled down her cheeks, her words halting. “I ran into
Luca and his friends.”

“Oh Jesus!” Shireese hissed. Emotion rippled over her
features: horror, then fear, then finally an old layer of indignant anger.

“And he was laughing, and talking,” Indigo continued, voice
choked with sobs. “Luca wanted me to come in with them! And I said I couldn’t,
but he was touching me, Shireese! And I just kept talking and talking, and he
must’ve believed me.” Shireese reached onto the cluttered table, grabbing an
untouched cocktail napkin and dabbing at Indigo’s cheeks. “I ran to the
station… and then I came here.”  

Shireese pulled Indigo against her while Tanis waited
nearby.

“Have to go,” Tanis mouthed, pointing to the far side of the
room to the stage.

Shireese nodded, and Tanis reached out, squeezing Shireese’s
arm before heading back into the crowd. After a few seconds, Indigo sat back
up, and Shireese used her thumbs to smudge away the last traces of smeared
mascara on Indigo’s cheeks.

“You did good,” Shireese said with a nod. “Handled that like
a pro.”

Indigo laughed, but it was a broken, desolate sound.

“Two minutes earlier, and Jude woulda known.”

“And you
still
would have handled it.” Indigo opened
her mouth to argue, but Shireese pushed on. “And Jude would have gotten it, or
not, but
you’re tough
, Indigo. You’d
still
be fine. I know it.”

“I dunno…” she said, shaking her head. “I can’t let him find
out.”

“He will eventually,” Shireese sighed. “You just have to
decide if you’re gonna be the one who tells him or someone else.”

Indigo’s chin dropped, her gaze going back to the table and
the remaining shots. She reached out for another, but Shireese caught her hand.
On the stage in the corner, Tanis and her band began to play, the loud twangs
of guitars meshing with an electronic beat. Shireese stood up, offering her
hand.

“C’mon, hon. Let’s go dance. Just like old times.”

Indigo’s expression tightened with pain, but she took her
hand, and followed.

: : :
: : : : : : :

The Vault was nothing like Jude had expected. It was
opulent, to the point of obscene. Crystal chandeliers scattered the light over
what looked like an old world ballroom. Mirrors along the walls reflected back
blood-red velvet chairs with lacquered wood detailing, the sound of clinking
crystal blending with the sounds of laughter and music.

Far more than the decor, it was the women Jude couldn't stop
staring at.

There were no male servers. Bevies of beautiful women of all
ethnicities, all of them young and slim, wove between tables. They ushered
patrons to their booths, smiling cheerfully as they served drinks and
refreshments. The women wore clothing that pushed the boundary between dressed
and undressed, long legs and jutting cleavage blatantly on display. One woman
walked through the room, selling cigarettes. Another danced in a cage behind
the bar.

Reaching the table where Marq and the rest of the group
waited, Jude was relieved that Indigo hadn’t come. Kimbra averted her eyes in
embarrassment, while Marq and the others stared lasciviously at the display.
Jude slid into the booth next to Kimbra, giving her a one-shouldered shrug.

“Marq’s got…
bad taste
.”

She pulled her eyes away from a woman who looked barely out
of high school, cheeks ruddy with colour.

“You’re telling me,” she grumbled. “I’m just waiting for the
valet to bring my car back around.” She nodded to the woman behind the bar,
swivelling in place. “Sorry, Jude, this isn’t my thing.”

He shook his head, turning again to look at the room.

“Not really mine either.”

His words faded as he caught sight of a group of men
crossing the floor. It was Luca Brin and his thugs. He waved as he caught sight
of Jude and the rest.

“Marq! Jude!” Luca shouted. “You made it!”

Jude turned, just as a young woman arrived carrying Kimbra’s
coat and a set of keys on a silver tray.

“I’m out of here,” Kimbra said with a terse smile. “See
y’all Monday.”

Jude waited until she’d stepped away before turning on Marq.

“You set this up!” Jude snarled.

Marq rolled his eyes.

“Luca wanted to talk shop, and I thought we could have a
little fun at the same time.” He lifted his drink, looking away from Jude. He
and Marq had been drinking buddies since Jude had been hired in the Tech
Department. He was a great guy to party with – always up for some fun – but
there were times when Jude hated him.