Julia Karr - Truth

As we were leaving, Gran said, “Call Harriet and let her know what’s going on. They’ve only let me talk to her twice,” Gran said. “Make sure she won’t be alone on Holiday, what with her son, Johnny, being taken away by B.O.S.S.”

When we got home, Chris and Wei were waiting for us. After congratulations on the outcome of the hearing, Chris spirited Dee away to the grocery for Holiday food supplies. She was becoming quite the chef under his tutelage. Wei took me to her room for a PAV meeting with the Sisterhood. Everyone was on the call except for Dorrie.

“How’d the hearing go?” Brie asked.

“The judge dismissed the writ.”

“Awesome. Did they ever figure out who filed it?” Brie asked. “That was ultracruel. Your poor grandmother.”

“It was filed anonymously,” I said. “It’s what caused Gran to have the heart attack, that and Pops’s arrest by B.O.S.S.”

“My grandparents’ doctor goes to their house once a month to do a routine health scan. All elderly people should do that,” Paulette said.

“Yeah, well, not everyone has a personal doctor, or the credits to hire one. And when you’ve only got one medical option, that isn’t going to happen. Can we stop talking about my family now?”

“Sure,” Wei said. “So what’s up? And where’s Dorrie?”

“Today’s the day,” Brie said.

“Rogue?” Mag said.

“Uh-huh. Dorrie’s recording right now. It’ll be on at six tonight.”

“So wait, how does Rogue Radio work?” I asked.

“Each of us gets a turn at putting together a broadcast. After it’s recorded, Dorrie hacks into the signals of three obsolete communication satellites and programs them to play at a set time on a specific frequency. We’ve done some vid interruptions, too.”

“Wait a nano! Did you guys do the clips of the Fems’ rally that interrupted that XVI Ways fashion show?” I said. “That was ultra!”

“Sure enough,” Brie said. “Dorrie loves interruptions. She’s got her PAV programmed to hit those satellites from anywhere at any time.”

“I have to admit, I’ve only ever heard Rogue Radio by accident,” I said.

“Chris can set up the channel on your PAV,” Wei said.

“There’ll be an impromptu vert interruption this afternoon,” Paulette said. “Just in time to hit all the last-minute Holiday shoppers. If you want some free entertainment, go down to State or Michigan. Should be fun.”

“I would, but all my shopping’s done,” Brie said. “And I sure don’t want to be part of the mob that’s doing the last-minute routine.”

Mag and Wei nodded. I did, too, although in reality I hadn’t bought one single present. Everyone was getting something I’d made or drawn. Sometimes it really sucked being low tier. Really.

“Sorry your parents can’t make the New Year’s party, Wei. Lots of top-tier people will be there,” Paulette said. “Mom hinted that even Kasimir Lessig might attend.”

“That jerk?” Brie asked. “Who’d want to be in the same room as him?”

Wei passed me a note. You going to tell her about your invite?

I shook my head.

“You guys been listening to the Alerts?” Mag asked. “Do you believe there’s a fake space station out west?”

“I don’t,” I said. “Although Ed used to take a lot of trips. I suppose he might have been doing something like that.”

“Ed? Ed Chamus?” Mag gasped. “You know that guy?”

Skivs! I’d forgotten that they didn’t know about my connection with Ed. About my killing him. About anything.

“What gives, Nina?” Paulette’s steely eyes bored into me.

“Yeah, I knew… know him. He’s my sister’s father.” I nearly choked on the words.

After what seemed an eternity of silence, Paulette said, “Well, if he did what B.O.S.S. is after him for, he’s as good as dead. My guess is he’ll be killed while they’re apprehending him. The GC can’t afford to let him reveal who gave him his orders. He didn’t look smart enough to have figured out a scheme like that on his own.”

I couldn’t believe she hadn’t ripped me for Ed being Dee’s dad—even though he really wasn’t—which, of course, I couldn’t say. To be safe, I changed the subject. “I saw my friend Joan on Monday. Some doctor’s been treating her on the sly. She seemed a lot better. Has anyone thought any more about what we could do to help her?”

“We’ll figure something out,” Mag said. “It’s tough to plan anything during Holiday because so many people have family obligations. However, we’ll come up with the right plan. And I bet we can get her out of town ourselves. Don’t you guys think so?”

Wei’s eyes lit up. Brie did a slow, affirmative nod. We all looked at Paulette.

“Are you willing to plan a daring rescue, Paulette?” Wei asked, teasingly.

“Only if it’s after New Year’s. There’s no way I can leave my mother in the lurch with this party.” She set her jaw. “After that, I’m game. No reason the guys should have all the fun.”

My eyebrow shot up. Paulette was a constant surprise. Now she’s up for helping a homeless girl? It stood to reason that she must believe some of the same things as the rest of us, since she is in the Sisterhood. But this?

Ileft Dee in the kitchen, absorbed in her newfound passion for cooking, and headed over to Harriet’s. I thought a visit would be better than a call.

On the way over, I called B.O.S.S. headquarters, to see if maybe I could get some information about Pops, or at least leave a message for them to give to him. It was Holiday, after all. The only two things they confirmed were that he was there and that he wasn’t allowed visitors.

When I got to Gran and Pops’s old building, I automatically put my hand on the auto-recognition pad. When nothing happened, I remembered I didn’t live there anymore.

Pressing D14, I said, “Nina Oberon for Harriet Pace.”

In a moment, her face popped up on the monitor.

“Lord! Nina? Come in.”

When I got off the elport, Harriet was standing outside her door. “How is Edith? I’ve been worried sick about her. I heard from her only once. The hospital won’t tell me anything, and this darn sciatica’s kept me laid up.” She latched onto my arm, ushering me into her apartment. “I’ve been so worried about her.”

It was almost nice to sit and talk with Harriet for a while. Almost like our old life. Two cups of tea and several cookies later, I left. But not until Harriet had assured me she was having Holiday dinner with the couple in D17. I was glad she wouldn’t be alone.

I headed out and walked along the riverfront, in the direction of Michigan Avenue. I was hoping to see Joan, but there was no sign of her or the homeless women she had been hanging out with. Heading up Illinois Street, I cut east. At Rush Street, I noticed an ultra single trannie idling at the light. The driver was Dr. Silverman. Before I could make up my mind to wave or not, the light changed and he speeded off. After what Mr. Jenkins had said about Silverman’s demotion to Metro Hospital, I wondered how he could afford that kind of transit. Maybe he’d made a ton of credits when he was doing research.

Any thoughts I had of the doctor disappeared as soon as I turned the corner onto Michigan Avenue. It was a virtual fairyland of twinkling lights and Holiday music—if you blocked out the verts. I clicked on my PAV to music only and ambled down the street. The decorations and the music were breathtakingly beautiful. But it wasn’t long before I was paying more attention to the sour faces of the people jostling past me, laden with bags and boxes. They weren’t happy; they were stressed. The only smiling people were the few who, like me, were without packages—strolling slowly down the sidewalk, taking in the sights.