| Chapter 08

We stepped off the Chicago blue line with no real plan. I hadn't thought of one. I told Vera I would, promised I could, but as the train took us downtown, I found it harder than I originally thought.

David had refused to help me think of something. He wouldn't tag along, either. He argued, in his defense, that with his police record, he couldn't go anywhere near the city center. If they somehow managed to connect him to what happened the night before, they'd arrest him for sure.

While I wasn't going to argue with him, I couldn't understand how much trouble he'd get into if it was just trespassing. It wasn't like he'd been the one to dismantle the side of the ship.

"This is—" The city center showed up on my phone's GPS. After walking for five minutes under the summer sun, my automated assistant alerted me of my destination being on the left. With my phone in front of my face, I looked ahead, squinting against the sunlight.

All I saw were buildings and people walking around without anything to navigate them.

Shit.

"You really don't know where you're going, huh?" Vera came beside me, clutching the sides of her hood around her face. She had picked one of David's black sweaters and an old pair of joggers as her disguise. The waistband was pulled tight to keep them from falling, yet she still stumbled over them.

I had to admit, she looked ridiculous, but teens weren't all that different. Just baggy clothes, not a care in the world.

She's got to be eighteen. I scratched the side of my face as I glanced back at my phone instead of staring at her. Or nineteen, like me, right?

"It's that building right there." Vera placed her hand over mine to cover the view of my tiny map. Rather than follow the point of her finger, I looked back at her face. The shades did nothing but make her mysterious.

I liked mysteries.

"Not me." She chuckled and shook her head. She grabbed my chin, forcing me to look down the street. With her other hand, she pointed straight ahead. "Do you see it?"

I saw buildings, yes. That was all downtown Chicago had. Tall, lively, record-holding buildings.

"It's the one with the statues in front of it. They look like cows. I think you guys call them cows."

Cows. There were in fact statues in front of a building, four of them. I wouldn't say they looked like cows, but they were obscure. Once we stood in front of them and got a closer look, I thought I'd compare them to monkeys. Maybe horses?

I scratched my chin. "What do you call them?" I asked, looking back at Vera with curious eyes.

She glanced up at me, blinking. "Call who what?"

"Cows." I faced her.

Vera didn't answer me. She laughed, instead. And with a tug, she pulled me towards the center's main entrance.

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The automatic doors shut behind us. Before we could step all the way inside, a tiny machine rolled our way, blocking our entrance. With Vera at my side, I glanced at the light that appeared above it.

City holograms.

Big cities found ways to cut corners, that was common knowledge. They crafted machines to do the tasks humans could do on their own. As the image of a woman smiled at us, unnatural but polite, I was reminded of one of their lazy attempts at the future.

"Welcome," the hologram said. "This is Chicago's main city center. How may we be of assistance?"

I looked at the hologram for a moment before scanning the open space around us. There was a receptionist's desk with two workers behind it. Large windows gave them all the sunlight they'd ever need, even with the faux plants casting slight shadows on their faces. On a screen hanging over their heads were images of Chicago and all its glory.

But these human workers didn't look up at us, not once. Not even the security guards at the door.

It was just a hologram. The same one that used its connected robo-wheels to move in front of me and cut off my point of view. "Welcome," she repeated. "This is Chicago's main city center. How may we be of assistance?"

Vera had somehow latched herself onto my arm. Her fingers dug into my skin, just like she'd done the other night. At first, I wondered why. There was no reason for her to be scared. But when the hologram repeated her pre-recorded question, they looked at us. And if they looked long enough, regardless of what Vera had on, they would probably notice she wasn't quite human.

Giving the hologram my attention, I faced her and nodded. "I'd like to speak to a representative."

"I understand," she said, nodding her head. "But for me to guide you to the right section of the building, I need to ask you more questions. Or, if you like, I'm programmed with a system to help troubleshoot your difficulties today."

I shook my head, confused. "What? Troubleshooting?" I tried to look past the hologram. "There's nothing to troubleshoot, I just need to talk to someone."

"I understand," she repeated. Her unnatural smile widened. "Are you here to pay for a city ticket? Dispute a circuit case?"

"No." I tried to move Vera behind me. I could tell she didn't want to be seen. And, truthfully, it was safer that way. "I'm not here to do any of those things."

"I understand." The sound of the hologram's voice slowly irritated me. Back home, we didn't have holograms. But fighting with my town's automated systems to do anything was just as bad. Seeing the face with the same responses was like nails on a chalkboard.

I tried to move but the hologram did, too. "If you weren't here for any of the situations I've previously mentioned, then are you able to tell me why you're here? So, I may better assist you."

I pinched the bridge of my nose and took in a deep breath. "I'd like to... speak to... a representative."

Again, it smiled. And again, it blocked my path when I tried to move out of its way. "I understand.

If she says this shit one more fucking time...

"But to better assist you and guide you to the right section of this building, I—"

"I want to speak to a fucking person, please!" I shouted. Vera jumped at my side. "A person! Flesh and blood! Not you!"

No one paid us any attention until I raised my voice higher than I meant to. I was sure there was a vein or two pulsing on my forehead, because I simply couldn't deal with this machine. It lacked what humans had and that was common sense. And if it didn't fucking move, I'd—

"What seems to be the problem here?"

A man with a tablet in his hands approached us from the stairs to our left. Everyone who had been looking at us then turned their attention towards him. Smiles graced their faces. The workers at the receptionist desk each nodded their heads, "Good Morning, Mr. Holmes," they said.

"Morning, ladies." With a nod, he shot them a quick smile before standing just a few feet in front of me. His brows were pushed together in thought. "Now, can someone tell me what seems to be the problem here?"

I felt like I'd seen this Mr. Holmes before. He had to have been listed in a news article, or if he worked in this building, he could have had his photos on the Chicago website. Considering he was older with a clean haircut, he fit the professional look.

Maybe I can talk to him.

He approached us. "Was our building's assistant not up to par?" He glanced at Vera and observed her. When I moved her further behind me, he widened his eyes. "Has there been an incident with this young woman?"

"Um." My mouth went dry. I wasn't sure if it were the peering eyes of everyone in the lobby, the hologram in my face, or this Holmes and his perfectly ironed blue suit that made me uncomfortable. But in an instant, I wasn't sure what to say. The entire plan I'd concocted in my head crumbled, piece by piece.

Reaching back, I grabbed onto Vera's arm and squeezed it, just like she'd done to mine.

"I understand." Mr. Holmes motioned for one of the guards to come closer. Sweat broke out on my forehead. I assumed the worst.

But when Mr. Holmes simply passed his tablet over to the man with the instructions, "Give this to Gladys, please," I knew there was nothing to be worried about. I had a good gut feeling.

"Mr. Holmes, I—"

"No, no." The older man smiled and moved over to one side. With his arm, he gestured for us to move ahead, to follow him. "I said I understand. It seems whatever it is you need to discuss cannot be said in public. For your privacy, I think it's best if we talk in my office."

Relief came over me. I couldn't agree more. Maybe being in a smaller, quieter place, it would be simpler to explain what had happened last night. I knew I couldn't go into detail and I'm sure every officer and city official knew what had happened; in greater detail than I was aware of. And if I could admit I was there and stated how I saw it all occur, maybe then it would be easier for Vera to get home.

But as we followed Mr. Holmes through the lobby and up the flight of stairs, it hit me:

When was anything ever this easy?