With a swing of one vinyl clad arm, Tom found his outstretched hand holding a bottle of beer. With another motion, Rocky found himself leaning back, arms wide and quickly filled with Deb as she perched on his lap.  Another slow, silent, swing of the body, and her legs were up, and resting on Tom’s lap, one leg hanging on the corner of the table, the other vanishing beneath it.  She leaned back against Rocky and took a long pull on her beer, eyes locked to Tom’s, her sparkling orbs smiling as much as her lips ever could.

Tom blushed momentarily, then looked back to Rocky’s amused face.  “So, as I was saying, it’s not fair to compare the Kinks to the Triumphants. 75 years apart, completely different technology, society, and morality.  Yeah, they sound the same.  But they got there different ways.”

The rest of the table waited a moment, then, when it was obvious Tom wasn’t going to react further to Deb’s behavior, the conversation picked back up where it left off.  Deb simply sat there, drinking and smiling, until Rocky looked up at the stage, his bandmates calling to him.

“Whoops, intermission’s over.”  Rocky stood suddenly, and in a flash of motion, Deb stood in front of him, still sipping from her bottle.  He motioned towards the chair just vacated. “Your throne, my lady.”  Deborah grinned widely and winked at him, sitting down and putting her feet back in Tom’s lap as Rocky headed towards the shade, shaking his head back and forth slightly.

The night flowed on, Tom enjoying the music, sneaking glances now and then at the long legs resting against him.  As further bottles of beer were emptied, he dimly noticed that Deborah’s chair inched closer and closer to his, and the feet in his lap became calfs, then shins, until her knees were hooked on the edge of his leg, feet dangling free to his other side.  He looked down again to grab what seemed to him to be a coy glance, and was shocked to see a hand resting on her knee.  Following the arm, he realized it was his own, and darted his gaze sideways at her face.  Deb was watching the stage, then, as if feeling his eyes upon her, slowly turned to catch his eyes in her own.  She made an exaggerated motion with her eyes of looking at his hand, then back up to his eyes. She winked at him, and then stretched backward over her chair, vinyl creaking as it bent.  Tom quickly looked back to the stage and drained his beer, but left his hand on her knee, giving it a firm squeeze.

Quite suddenly, it seemed to Tom, the band was thanking the audience for coming while cheers and catcalls erupted from the bar, and the pressure on his lap was suddenly absent.  He rose slowly to his feet, realizing that he was a bit drunker than he had intended to get.  A hand came from the corner of his vision, to steady him from behind his shoulder.

“Tom, you okay?”  He looked over to Deborah’s concerned face, peering back into his eyes.

“Yeah, thanks.  Been … too long shince I went drinking. ” Tom winced as he realized he was slurring a little.

“Well, you stay here a minute.  I’m going to chat with Rocky, then we’ll head out.  Hey, Kat, get him a glass of water, will you?”

“I’m fine, just a bit tipsy!”  Tom stood for a minute, clearing his head as the crowd cleared from the bar. Looking around, he spotted Deb up on stage, leaned over the bass drum, talking to Rocky.  He mused to himself,  “Hmm, she leans over any farther, we’ll all know if she’s wearing anything under that vinyl.”

“So, you need someone to help you handle your sticks later?” Deb stuck the tip of her tongue out at Rocky, breasts perched on the edge of the clear plastic sound shield that prevented his drums from over-powering the other musicians.

“Shit Deb, you’re hornier than usual.  And no fair using heat on me like that when you were on my lap.  Had to keep a straight face with Tom at the table. “  Rocky looked around the bar at the crowd clearing out.  “That suit disappeared during intermission.  Any connection with that and your crotch being wetter’n usual?”

“He’s Commonwealth intel.  Well, he was Commonwealth intel.”

“Crapinahat Deborah. He disappears here, and.”

Deborah cut him off with a finger to his lips. “He knew my name. He was following me specifically. Which Phoenix expected to happen. We WANT them focusing on me, remember. But that means we have to watch ourselves away from the office. We’re going to arrange his body, make it look like he died on the toilet. Like that classic jazz guy, Elven, was it? They’ll suspect I was involved, sure, but no blame on the building. ”

Rocky sat there a few moments, digesting the new plan.  “Fine. But I’ma telling you, you keep getting yourself turned ON over flaming people, and I’m going to start getting turned off by it. ”

Deborah gave Rocky a skeptical look. “I doubt anything could take the wind out of YOUR sails, my pet. And you found it cute when I toasted the grunts that were after you in Loomis.”

He grunted once, and began breaking down his drum kit, packing pieces into a large case.

*******************

Tom watched Deb for a moment, until a large object filled his vision.  A blurry moment later, and he recognized a large mug of water.  His eyes followed the handle to the hand wrapped around it, and further back, to an arm, a shoulder, and then a face.

Katrina stared him in the eyes, a worried look evident. “Hey Tom, have some water. ”

Tom started to protest, then took the mug, knodding. “Just like work, do what Deb says, right?” He lifted the mug, draining it quickly. He lowered the glass, and realized the girl was still staring at him.  “What?”

Katrina bit her lower lip, nose trembling slightly.  She looked briefly over at where Deb and Rocky were bantering, then back at Tom.  In a quick motion, she was up against him, her cheek on his chest, her hand on his cheek.  He felt a barest puff of wind across his hair, but it vanished as fast as it occurred.

“Just…  If you ever get tired of Deb jerking you around, come talk to me, okay?  You’re sweet. I like that. I’d hate to see you ruined. ”

Tom tried to think of something to say, and was still scrambling for words a minute later when Deb returned.

“You ready?”

Tom looked around, realizing the bar was empty, and he was alone. “I, uh, where’s Katrina?  I mean, yeah. I need some sleep, let’s go. ”

“And when the flames climb into the night,
And evil’s power grows in his delight,
Remember how you wouldn’t fiiiggght!”

Reaching the table, Tom set a beer in front of Deb, who looked up at him, smiling. “Thank you kind sir. I saved you a seat. ” She motioned to the empty wooden chair sitting next to her. Tom saluted her with his beer, and sat, looking around the table. “Tom, you know Katrina. This is Paul, he’s with the Governor’s office, Shorty works in the Archives, and Veronica works for Phelco.” As each were introduced they nodded or waved, and Tom tipped his beer in return.

Tom turned his attention to the band, letting the small talk wash around him. A guitarist, a bassist, a keyboard player, a horn player, and the unmistakable Rocky on the drums danced and moved around on a stage overloaded with smoke and lights, appearing and disappearing like ghosts in thick clouds. Tom nodded along with the music, taking sips from his beer. Song over, the lead guitarist stepped up to the front of the stage amid waves of applause and catcalls. He touched something at his waist, and the fog and clouds mostly vanished, visual effects from projectors hidden in the stage.

“Thank you everyone, thank you! Glad you’re enjoying the show. We’ve got one more we’d like to do, a cover of Green Day’s “The world didn’t end”, and then we’ll take a quick break and give you a treat, some original music!” He stepped back among the rest of the group, fingers flying over the strings as the opening riff to the iconic song cut through the conversing crowd.

Tom leaned over to Deb. “Man, they seem big on the pre-Interregnum music. Not complaining, mind you. ”

Deb chuckled, and drained her beer with a flourish. “Yeah, that’s a theme for the venue as a whole, my Tom cat. A lot of the people here would like to pretend that the Prophet never came to be. Hell, if it weren’t for the law REQUIRING it, they wouldn’t even have… the… Church appr…. HOLY SHIT. ” Deb trailed off, bottle slack in her hand as she roughly pointed back towards the bar. Her final exclamation, while not loud, carried a tone with it that caught the ears, and Tom found himself one of many at both their table and the tables around them swiveling to look in that direction. Muttering and exclamations from those looking caught the further attention of other patrons, and in moments the entire bar was staring at a single man standing at the Church Approved Bar. He collected a mixed drink of some kind from the bartender, whose face warred between amusement and horror. He took a sip, smiled, and dropped a large coin on the counter, then turned.

Halfway around, he froze, realizing that all eyes were on him. He continued turning, looking over the crowd, meeting people’s eyes, and one by one people turned back to the band that played on, blissfully unaware of the scene. Upon reaching their table, the man stopped a moment, looking just past Tom. Tom turned slightly, realizing that he was locking gazes with Deborah. He looked back to see that the man had finished his circuit of the room, and now only he and Deb remained looking at the man. Confused, Tom mentally shrugged his shoulders and turned back to the music, taking a few gulps from his beer. A moment later, Deb did the same.

As the song wound down, Rocky stood, and the musicians unlimbered their instruments. “Thank you Titty Twister! Again, we’re Andromodeian! We’re going to take ten, then come back to rock your faces off!”

Rocky came down off the stage, and made a beeline for their table, grinning ear to ear. Deb stood. “Excuse me, I need to use the little girls’ room. Be right back. Tom, next round’s on me, I’ll grab beers on the way back. ” Tom nodded, and Deb faded into the crowd as Rocky reached their table.

Deciding to learn his neighborhood, even if he hoped to move in a few months, Tom spent most of the day wandering the few blocks around him. Discovering a used furniture store in his building, he made a few purchases and set them to be delivered to his apartment. Some shelving to actual store things on, a dresser for the non hanging clothes. Wood tones had come back in style a decade ago for all of a year, so both pieces were artificial wood, as were all the cheap pieces for sale.

Soon enough, seven o’clock rolled around, finding Tom sitting on his bed, waiting for Deb. Shortly after the hour, a chirp on his phone grabbed his attention, a simple text. “Here, at south entrance.”

Checking himself in the mirror, he quickly headed downstairs. Out on the street, Tom started looking for Deb, worried suddenly that he was on the wrong side of the building. A short toot drew his attention to a slim car parked near him. The shaded canopy drew back, revealing 3 seats in-line, the front one spilling over with red hair. “Tom, over here”. Looking him over as he walked to the, Deb brought a small blush to his cheeks as she wolf whistled loudly. ” A zipper? I didn’t pick you for a man who would own a zipper.”

Tom rubbed his hands self-consciously down the front of his outfit. Composed of randomly cut panels of black, red, brown, and white leather held together with what appeared to be dozens of zippers, the suit certainly stood out “Well, he said fresh rock, so I assumed…”

Deborah smiled, her eyes sparkling with barely contained mirth. “Well, good guess, but the bar itself is a little bit country, a little bit NuJu underground. But you won’t stand out too much. Hop in.”

Tom climbed up onto the steps on the side of the car, and swung into the middle seat, noticing the back seat was filled with a couple of boxes of folders. The canopy hissed forward, and locked down, and automatic restraints filled with air, fitting themselves to Tom’s sides and back. Deborah pulled out into the non existent traffic on manual control. A few miles later, the car moved onto the freeway, and automatics took over. Deb swung her arm over the seat back, twisting at the hip to rest her chin on her wrist, in turn resting on the back of her seat. Tom found himself staring her dead in the eye, and without a word being said, felt himself losing his thoughts in the shimmering emerald orbs. Tracing the shades and patches of colors, he wondered at the red tint to her pupils, before realizing he was staring.

Seeing his eyes focus back out, Deb grinned widely. “Please, stare. I enjoy people enjoying my eyes. ”

Tom coughed into his hand once, embarrassed. “No, I’m good, thanks. So, where are we headed to anyways?”, he asked as the car merged onto the Beeline South, dipping underground into the tunnel. Sunlight overhead disipated and the internal lights of the car took over. Streaks and stripes of different colored stone whizzed by, barely seen from the light of the car.

“Down near Casa Grande, little roadside bar called the Tittie Twister. ”

Tom coughed and nearly choked. “Seriously? A country bar in the middle of the desert called the Tittie Twister? Someone did that?”

Deb narrowed her eyebrows. “Yeah, why?”

“Old movie, “From Dusk till Dawn”. Pre Interregnum film. Had a bar by the same name, out in the desert. Turned out to be run by a group of vampires who would suck the crowd dry every now and then. ”

“PI? Where’d you watch PI films?”

“Class at school, Arts in the Interregnum, went over things that were banned by the Church, and why. Lots of interesting literature, film, music. ”

Deb made a face. “Oldy moldy not my style, mostly. But I can assure you, no one there is going to suck you dry. Well…” Her gazed panned slowly down then back up his body. “Not your neck, anyways. ”

Tom felt his face flushing. “Okay, enough is enough. Stop it Deb!”

Deborah pouted and waved her hand at her face like a fan. “Why, little ol’ me? Stop what? I did nothing!”

Tom’s face flushed further, and he knew his face was growing as red as his vision as embarrassment finally gave way to anger. “You’ve been teasing me like this since day one. It’s inappropriate, downright illegal if I decided to make a complaint, and embarrassing as hell. And I find out you have a reputation for this sort of thing, which doesn’t surprise me. ”

Deborah raised her eyebrows and tried to slip a word in, but Tom careened on. “Now, I’m sure you’re not the slut some have pegged you as, since you still have a job, and Felicity puts up with it, but acting like one doesn’t do your image any good, doesn’t do P and R’s image any good, and having people giggle about when Deb’s going to bag her new boy toy doesn’t do MY image any good. You’re a big girl, act like it!”

Deb stared at Tom’s pointed finger for a moment, mouth open, then started to laugh, full deep belly laughs. Tom felt his anger evaporate as she leaned forward, gasping for air and slapping her knee. His finger drooped, and he stared at her confused.

A full minute stretched by before Deb regained her voice. “Well, ohh, wow. Well done. I was expecting to get another week out of you. ”

“I, uhh, what?”

Deb reached for his drooping hand, and he pulled away, almost without realizing he was doing so. He had gone for a week without physical contact with her, and his subconscious had started to erase the memory of the burning, but had no desire to repeat the experience. Deb frowned at the withdrawn hand, pursing her lips a moment before speaking again.

“I guess I deserve that. Yes, I’ve been a horrible tease. And you took a lot longer to put your foot down than expected.” Tom continued staring at her, growing more confused by the word. “Kat had you pegged for two days, I had you down for a month. Rocky said two weeks. A winner is him!”

“Wait… you had a pool going on when I’d tell you off for being a tease?”

“Yes sir. It’s a… rite of passage. Or a test of morals you could call it. How long it takes before you get the spine to speak up.”

Tom thought for a moment, playing with a zipper on his suit. “Wow. Whats the record?”

“Well, we had a Reconstructionist pipe fitter that stormed out before I could show him the Morrow video. And then we had a typist who lasted six months before asking to be transferred.”

“Again, wow. I would think that you wouldn’t have such a reputation if everyone knew that you tested people like that. ”

Deb flushed a little herself. “Well, no, actually, I AM a horrible man eater. The reputation isn’t as bad as sooome people might claim,” At this, she put her fist to her mouth and coughed, “coughjanetcough, but it is somewhat deserved. No worries Tom, I’ll stop flirting false with you. ”

They sat for a moment in awkward silence, until a buzzer from the control panel sounded, stating that they were about to leave the freeway. Deborah spun her seat back around, locking it into place, and took over the controls as the car came back up above ground. Tom caught a glimpse of red sky before all but directly above them was blocked out by stone again as the freeway entered the San Tan Gorge. After a minute of driving, the wall of rock to their left opened up, and water ran next to the road and a few feet down. Across the river, Tom could see the lights of cars heading north, but there seemed almost no traffic heading south with them. The wall to their right ran up at a steep angle for several feet, and above it the peaks of the San Tan mountain hung seeming in midair above them.

Tom finally broke the silence. ” I should have known you weren’t really flirting with me that baldly. Still, did make me feel good for a while. Sorry I snapped at you like that. ”

Deb glanced backwards at him, a smile on her face, before looking forward again and changing lanes around a slow moving van. “Are you kidding? You’re a tasty morsel Tom. Tell you what, we’ll see how tonight goes, and maybe I’ll let you take me out to dinner. ”

Again at a loss for words, Tom sat as the car left the Gorge. The sun setting to the right, Tom looked to the left at the red filtered view of Florence Fields. Once a large town nestled in the foothills, after the Quake it had been abandoned, and the desert, while retreating from most of its territory, seemed to move in wholesale, quickly swallowing buildings and streets. Quartz sand shone like fresh blood, shimmering in the setting sunlight, dotted here and there with short scrub juniper and joshua trees that drew long shadows across the sand.

Fists balled in the sheets, Tom grimaced, grinding his teeth. A few tears He closed his eyes, and ran through a calming exercise. Counting back from 100, he focused on the rhythm of his breathing, in, out, in, out. The anger and depression fled, mostly, and he opened his eyes, getting to his feet. Deciding that activity would do him good, he started going through the boxes, cheap cardboard that barely held together long enough to be deposited in the corner of the small room that was now his world.

A few piece of clothing, not suitable for work, were quickly hung in the small closet by his bed. A few knickknacks accumulated over the years spotted what little counter space he had, a few pictures, static images in frames, to hang. Tom stopped, realizing that with no furniture to put things on and in, the boxes were still home to most everything he had. One thing needed unpacking through.

Digging through boxes until he found it, Tom unwrapped the frame, plastic bubble wrap protecting the antique brass and glass piece. The single photo inside showed several figures standing in front of a large building, one in a suit, cutting a large ribbon. Next to him, hand clapped over the first’s shoulder, was another man, dressed in the classic white labcoat that had for centuries proclaimed a man a scientist. Tom ran his finger lightly down the glass. “Miss you dad.”, he half whispered to nobody.

He was about to put the frame down, propped on a desk, when he stopped, and took a closer look at the man in the suit. He always wondered who it was cutting the ribbon on the grand opening of the Arcology, the man obviously a friend of his father’s. Having spoken with him over the last two weeks, the younger Ed Marrow was unmistakable. Even younger than the the 3d model he’d watched, but unmistakably Marrow. Tom thought about this for a moment, then was interrupted by the pealing of brass bells, coming from his pocket.

Slipping his phone from his pocket, the display showed Deborah’s name and id, and a little movie camera. Tom grinned to himself, then hit a pair of buttons on the screen, and her face filled the screen.

“Tom, good, I caught you! Awww, why the disappointment?” Tom put his face back in neutral, not realizing he’d let it show. So much for his hope that… “Hoping to see more than my face? Not before the first date. Speaking of, I’m giving you a, ahem, ride Saturday, is that still keerect?”

“Absolutely, thank you. Uhh, I know you tend to be a bit… jovial, but to be serious, there IS a rule against dating within the department, is there not?”

Deb smiled broadly, and laughed. “Perhaps, but Felicity is head of HR, among other things, and tends to look the other way when I’m involved. Why, thinking of trying to ask me out? Why what will people say, the new young hearthrob snatching up poor ol’ me?”

“From what I hear, it will be the other way around. I’ve only had, ohh, three people warn me about you. Feared I’ll be the resident man eater’s afternoon snack.”

“Delightful! I knew I had a reputation, but to have it confirmed is nice. Hmm, Janet, Katrina…” Deb looked upwards, scanning her eyes back and forth as if reading. “Wouldn’t be Rocky, he’d probably tell you to go for it if you talked about me… Oh, is that why he called me to arrange a ride?” She stared back straight at the camera. “Tell you what. I like you, I do. Lets see how things go when I get you away from the office, and maybe down the road I’ll add a notch to my bedpost. If you think you can handle it. ” She smiled softly at him, and Tom felt himself gulping, what little bravado he’d built up evaporating as her eyes burrowed into his.

“Sounds like a plan Deb. See you tomorrow.”

“No, you won’t. Business to attend in Flag, I won’t be back until you’ve gone home. See you Saturday.”

The image blurred as Deb leaned forward, then clicked out. Tom let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding, and shook his head, rubbing his temples. “What have I gotten myself into…”

******

Deborah looked at the large activewall above her, blank for a moment before switching to showing the camera’s view,  a veritable magnifying mirror. Her hand still on the control that cut the call, she fiddled with a knob, zooming the image back out until the wall seemed a true mirror, reflecting herself and all around her.  Laying back in a large bed, her prone position hidden by the tricks of the camera,  she watched herself as she pulled her hand back and ran it along the leg that lay across her chest, just out of view of the previous call to Tom.  Reaching another leg crossed over it, she ran the same fingers up the smooth skin of that limb, lightly teasing the flesh until the leg squirmed from its owner giggling softly.

The soft tinkle of laughter spoke.  “You did well Deborah.  We’ll have him eating out of the palm of my hand in a month.”

Deborah turned her head, kissing the thigh that rested next to her, nibbling softly before letting go.  “Thank you Phoenix.  You know I live to serve.”

“Rocky, we’re in an office district?”

“That’s right. Best tacos this side of the Catholic – Union line. Right… about… NOW!” Rocky pointed as a large truck came around a corner, engine humming. It pulled to a stop right in front of them, and the driver’s side popped open, signs sliding out and a bar appearing along the side. Two men in chef hats and aprons stood inside, partially visible through a window. One peered out and chuckled.

“Rocky, my friend! Your usual?”

“Fernando! I was hoping you were on the grill today. Yes please, and add a carnitas. ” He turned to Tom. “Whatcha want?”

“Uhh, you know what’s good, whatever. Wait!” Tom caught an item on the menu in the corner. “Green chile chicken enchiladas! Can I get an order of that?”

The two men stood around, eating and chatting, as a flood of people from the nearby offices quickly lined up a block long. Their meal finished, Tom took their plates and shoved them into a small labeled hole on the back of the truck. A wisp of smoke escaped as their plates and utensils melted back down to raw plastic, to be reformed later, new and sterile.

He rejoined Rocky, who was chatting with one of the cooks. He watched him thrust a small card through the window, and caught the last little bit of the conversation.

“Yeah, tomorrow night. I better see you there!”

They walked away from the busy food truck, still swamped with their lunch rush, towards where they had parked.

“So, what was that about?”

Rocky turned to look at Tom. “What? You can’t mean you’ve forgotten already? My band?”

Tom snapped his fingers. “That’s right, shoot. You guys are playing someplace in the Hills, right? Uhh… I’ll need to find a ride out there. No cable out there.”

Rocky grinned and nodded. “Damn right you are. Deb should be able to give you a ride!”

“I’ll have to ask her.”

Rocky gave Tom a raised eyebrow, then touched his wrist twice. A faint sound of music emanated from Rocky’s collar, “Smooth as Silk”, by The Reznors. A moment later, the music cut, and a familiar voice rang out.

“Yes Rocky? What can I do for you?”

“Deb! Glad I caught you. Tom needs a ride to the show Saturday. You have room in your heap?”

“Heap? I should say no just to spite you, but yeah, plenty. Well… I’ll have a lot of files in the backseat, so he might have to sit on my lap, but he doesn’t look like he weighs too much. ”

Rocky laughed. “All right, I’ll tell him. See ya.” Rocky touched his watch again. “So, Deb is going to pick you up, be ready by, say, seven.”
“Uhh… Thanks Rocky.”
They reached their truck, bright orange except for the city seal on the side. Sitting down, Rocky gave Tom a quizzical look. “Something the matter? Wait… don’t tell me Deb scares you?” Seeing Tom start to blush and look away, he slapped the steering control and laughed again. “My god, you are. Don’t worry, for all her talk, she don’t bite. Well, unless you ask nice.”

Tom shook his head. “No, see, that’s what I’m afraid of. I’ve slept with a superior before. It… didn’t end well. For me! And well… Janet kinda warned me about Deb…” Tom trailed off, and it was Rocky’s turn to shake his head.

“Now, Janet doesn’t like her because she’s damn possessive of Ed, and Deb flirts as hard with him as anyone. Its just Deb. She doesn’t mean anything by it, and if she does, she knows it won’t go anywhere. That man is dedicated to Janet.”

“Yeah, I guess. Wait. What?” Tom looked back at Rocky. “Marrow and Janet?”

“Best kept secret that everyone knows about. They’ve been together for years.”

“Hunh. That explains a lot. Still, it worries me. I like this job, I like the people. I’d hate to get involved with someone, then break up, and have it all fall apart. I’m moved back here in part to get away from drama in my life. ”

“Well, that’s no worry with Deb. She’s not like that. Hell, she and I used to date. And I think she has the hots for you. ”

Tom sat back and thought on this as Rocky pulled the work truck into traffic, and started heading to their next repair.

“This baby here is the most useful, and most glitchy piece of crap we have.”, Rocky said, waving the device in question around. About 5 inches wide and 8 inches tall, it was a good inch thick. Most of the entire front was a green flat screen that, when turned on, built a dot pattern that gave an illusion of depth. Thick dials ran up and down or left to right around the screen, little scroll wheels sticking up just above the surface, and a few more controls studded the side. Rocky ran his fingers across one of the scroll dials, and the image shifted. “This sucker draws wirelessly from the radio network along the tunnels, grabbing slices of blueprints from Old Roy in realtime. In theory, it basically looks through whatever surface you put it on. Of course, not everything is ON the blueprints, so you still run into the occasional pipe or wire. Also, sometimes it thinks its a few inches, feet, or miles from where you actually ARE! Hence the calibration wheels here, and here. ” A this, he spun two of the dials, and Tom found himself feeling sick as it appeared that a foot deep hole in the wall filled and emptied with various structures, the underground landscape sliding past.

“Also, there was a tendency about 10 years back to cover up lots of access hatches and doors that were deemed no longer needed. Now that they are needed, they can be hard to find.” Rocky pointed down the tunnel they were in. “This way, I’ll show you. ” As they walked along the tunnel, automatic lights flicked off behind them and on in front of them, a bubble of yellow glare surrounding them. Turns and cross passages opened up suddenly in front of them, yawning mouths opening in an instant as the light struck them.

Tom had almost expected dripping water, or some other sign of being underground, other than the lack of windows. The plain passages, made of formed concrete and steel, could have been any internal hallway of a parking structure, or storage facility. Doors appeared now and then, pipes and wires crawled endlessly above them, and snaked up and down the walls, but there was no… pressure. That was it, Tom thought, he expected to feel pressure on him 30 feet underground, the world pushing down from above. Instead, the passages were simply that, passages. Without something like Rocky’s map, one could just as easily imagine the tunnel a tube in midair, walls a mere inch thick, as underground, surrounded by the earth.

They turned a corner, and Tom stopped suddenly. What appeared a main turn in the tunnel ended abruptly, a concrete wall 2 feet down the tunnel path. The light above them flickered in and out. Rocky grinned, and handed Tom his map.

“Find the door.”

Tom looked at the map for a moment, working the controls. Looking at Rocky to be sure he set it right, he was rewarded with a blank smile that gave no indication of if the unit were showing the true blueprints, or a tunnel miles away. Hoping he was using the tool right, and cursing the sudden test, he waved the pad back and forth along the wall. The solid shape on the screen stayed solid. Running the wheel, Tom zoomed the unit in and out, until suddenly a wide rectangle of open space appeared in the screen, marked as a door. Tom walked over to the wall, and drew an outline in the dust with his finger.

“Here?”, he asked, looking hopefully at Rocky. Rocky nodded approvingly.

“I think you might be an inch or two off, but we need to go that extra few inches anyways. There’s an access tunnel to a main switch here, and a fuse in need of replacing. Stand back now!” Rocky motioned Tom away from the wall, and pulled a large hammer from his belt. A fiberglass handle, two foot long, was topped by a 5 inch long, 3 inch across black cylinder. Having seen the tool in action earlier that day, Tom backed up quickly, giving Rocky some room. Twisting the handle, Rocky activated the hammer. A keening whine filled the room, grating on Tom’s ears. Rocky put on a pair of earpads hanging from his belt, and handed a pair to Tom. Tom put them on, then flipped down the built in eye protection. Rocky braced himself, then let fly. The hammer struck the concrete again and again, and each time it impacted, a piercing scream made it through Tom’s earpads. The concrete crumbled in foot wide circles around the centers of impact, and small chunks of concrete started falling out of the wall. Rocky paused for a moment, looking at the pattern of weakened spots, then squared the hammer again. A final smack, and the wall came down, a hail of dust and pebbles. Behind the concrete gleamed a metal door, the painted word “Maintenance” still blazoned across it.

Rocky turned off the hammer, and returned it to his belt. He collected the earpads from Tom, and hung them both off his massive belt of tools. The door opened easily inwards. Tom followed Rocky, stepping over the white and gray rubble.

“What happens to that?” Tom asked, pointing at the shattered concrete.

“Cleaning crew will get to it sometime. Come in, clean that out, square up the hole a bit neater, and spray some plasteel over the opening. Put in better locks, as well. Part of the reason they blocked these doors up was to keep people out!”

They walked wordlessly down several tunnels, a few hundred feet back and forth. Now and again Rocky consulted both a small digital map, and the blueprint device. Finally, he stopped in front of a small metal box inset to the wall. Without a word, he opened it with a key, and quickly removed a part, replacing it with a larger but similar shaped piece from his belt.

“I thought newer replacements were supposed to be smaller, more efficient?” Tom asked wryly. “So why the hulking beast there?”

Rocky chuckled. “Well, one, sometimes better doesn’t need smaller. This particular assembly was made too small, and wears unevenly. That, and the package has some additional monitoring sensors in it.” Rocky held the blueprint reader up to the wall, closing the panel. Looking through the panel using the device, he quickly marked the replacement part, highlighting it and noting a few changes. The screen blinked for a moment, then the change glowed in green, showing it had been accepted, and updated to the newest blueprints in Old Roy.

Leaving, Tom noticed the blinking light was now solid. Rocky looked at his watch, then licked his lips.
“Okay, lets head back to the surface. It’s lunch time!”

Coming around the corner into Deborah’s space, Tom saw a group of people standing around the small conference table that sat between Deborah’s desk and Felicity’s office door. Janet, Deborah, and a few others were chatting and building sandwiches from large foil containers. The pair joined them, and introductions were quickly made.

Tom walked straight to his new boss. He recognized her from several photos he had seen.  Prim glasses perched on her nose, lightly hooked. Auburn hair tied up in a small bun framed a heart shaped pixie face.  Her figure was mostly hidden in a simple pencil skirt, but Tom realized that she was skinnier than she appeared from her face.

“You must be Miss Stryker?” She nodded, her mouth full. An embarrassed look on her face, she quickly swallowed, and wiped her face with a napkin.

“Yes, I am, and Felicity, please.” She started to hold out a hand to shake when she realized that it still held a napkin, her other a plate of food, and checked the motion. “You must be Tom. I’ve been hearing nothing but good things about you so far. You taking care of him for me Rocky?”, she added, looking up at the engineer.

“You know me Deb. Pipes, power, and people, I babysit them all. ”

Deb nodded briefly. “Good. Janet tells me you’re learning the computer systems.” Tom knodded. “Good. And I’ve heard you’ve already made the rounds, introduced yourself. Good. Now, I want you to draft something up memo wise in regards to security. List behaviors you’ve seen, or been trained to avoid, and why people should stop doing it. Give it to Felicity, she’ll pretty up the language and put it out. We’ve had a lot of possible security issues, which is part of how I managed to get the funds for your position. Can you have that for me by, say, this time tomorrow? Good. Okay, since I am…, ” She looked up at a bar of active wall mounted near the ceiling., “About twenty minutes ahead of schedule, I’m going to try and stay ahead. I have to meet with Senator Brewer’s people, so I’m going to go ahead and take care of that. Felicity, keep the homefires burning. Tom, nice meeting you, I’ve got you scheduled for a meeting at two o’clock with me, be prompt! Good. Rocky, you’re with me. Good.” With that, she turned and walked into her office, trailed by Rocky.

Tom grabbed himself a plate, and let his mind wander, engaging in idle chat. A few minutes later, Deb and Rocky came out of her office, she with a small briefcase in hand, he with a large banker’s box. A quick wave and a nod, and they were around the corner, heading for the main entrance.

Tom used the rest of his afternoon until the appointment time reading up on the files Janet gave him, and working on the memo he was asked to write. At 1:50 a timer rang from his desk, and his screen flashed momentarily. Touching a bar on the side, the alarms faded, and Tom locked his screen, grabbing a pad from his desk. Walking over to Felicity’s office, he noticed Deb’s desk was empty. He raised a hand to knock on the door, and as his hand raised, the door slid open.

“Come in”, came Felicity’s voice. Tom entered the room and looked around. Rather austere, the office was colored in the same tones as the rest of the building’s interior. An old fashioned wooden desk dominated, with a single panel that was obviously a screen, rather than one that matched the tone of the desk when not in use, as was customary. Several chairs were arrayed in front of the desk, and one extra, besides the one occupied by Tom’s boss, behind. “Right on time! Have a seat Tom. ” Felicity waved him towards the chairs in front of the desk. “We’re glad to have you. As you know…”

Tom found himself fading out a bit as Felicity talked on. A very standard speech about the growth of the department, problems they had had with efficiency, his value, and such. All in all, Tom found it the most normal thing that had happened to him since coming back to Arizona. Looking around the office while trying to appear attentive, it seemed… again, normal. The only odd thing was a shelf of kachina dolls. Beyond that, most surfaces were bare, or lightly spotted in the normal accouterments of a business office. Before he knew it, Tom found himself standing as Felicity did so, and focused back on to her speech.
“Well, again Tom, welcome aboard, and we’re glad to have you on the team.” Felicity reached out a hand across her desk, and without thinking, Tom took it to give a polite handshake.

The wave of motion that hit him nearly made him vomit, the feeling like a dropping roller coaster that then jumped high again as fast as it fell, over and over. The fire came in a burst a moment later, twin centers at his heart and his gonads enveloping his body. He broke out in sweat, and the world disappeared behind a blaze of orange and red for a moment, before coming back into focus. He felt flames crackling across his skin, under his clothes, like lightning raising his hairs, but burning and charring as it went.

“Tom? TOM? Are you alright?” The haze faded, and a cooling wave spread through him, starting at his hands as well. He blinked repeatedly, and looked down to see that Felicity had placed her other hand over his. He looked back up at her, her face worried.

“I, I’m fine. Sorry. Working too hard I guess.” Tom smiled wryly, and withdrew his hand from hers. “I’ll be fine. ”

“Good, good. Don’t overdo it your first week! You get back to work then, I still have half a mountain of paperwork to shovel.”

Tom left hurriedly, still a little dazed. Felicity stuck her head out her office door, watching him pass the doors into the main workroom. She looked over at Deborah, now sitting at her desk. Their eyes met, and Felicity grinned widely.

“Hey Deb, would you order in for me? Its going to be a long night, and I’m in the mood for a chicken dinner.”

Marrow clapped Tom on the shoulder. “So, we haven’t scared you away yet, I see. Good.”

“No sir. It did get hairy for a minute when a younger you addressed me directly. ”

Marrow laughed, a deep belly laugh that quickly caught. Tom found himself giggling, and a few people looked over, smiles on their face. “Ahh, yes, Janet told me about the gag. Wonderful woman, great with the modeling controls. To be honest, Tom, half my reputation depends on her. Started off as a modeler for my firm, helped keep me grounded, see what my ideas would do.

Then; during the first wave of rebuilding here, she actually did a bit of everything. Managed our communications networks, handled the main tech infrastructure, and ran modelers at night based on my ideas, see how it all looked live. If you’re living here in Block District B, you live in a building I designed and she modeled. The facade’s, anyways. ”

“Really? She made it sound like she used to work basic help desk.”

“Ohh, she did, after a while. Her skills weren’t needed as much anymore, and rather than finding a private business to work for, she stayed with me working for the State. Says she likes the quiet life. ” Marrow shook his head slightly, a far away look on his face. “Don’t understand it myself, but she’s happy.”

“That’s what counts, right?” Tom added hopefully. “Still, if my building’s a Marrow, that makes the second one I lived in. ”

“Really? I didn’t design any living spaces before the quakes. Well…” Marrow looked thoughtful, and started chewing on his thumb while staring at nothing past Tom’s head. “Government ward, you were in the Arcology? ”

Tom nodded.

“My lord. So you were right in the brunt of it. Most of the children didn’t make it out. ”

Tom purses his lips, an image of his father pinned under rubble in his mind. “I know. ”

The men fell silent for a moment, then reanimated as their cable car arrived.

Marrow broke the silence as the car jostled and bounced its way up several stories into place on the main track.
“That was a shame to lose. The layers, inter-built systems, it was a pain and a joy to balance. And then to be allowed to make it all LOOK good. That was a rare place. Hardly looked government, it looked like a millionaire’s personal city. Which it was, in a way. They want to rebuild it, in a way, out in Chicago. Bulldoze several miles of abandoned housing, create a self contained city.”

“Really? Are they asking you to work on it?”

“No. Friend of mine, student of mine, really. But they are using the old blueprints and designs, just modernized for the last twenty years of new technology. They want to de-emphasize the labs as well. Shame. The point of the place was the scientists and research.”

The rest of the trip passed in random conversation, and silence as they watched the sun again blaze out over the peaks. Dropping to their final descent, the Estrella peaks behind them, Marrow sighed. “They did get a hell of a tombstone though.”

“That they did”, Tom thought to himself. “That he did.”

Flashing from out of the window broke his reverie. Sunlight caught and glittered against a passing aircar overhead. His attention diverted, Tom walked over to his small window, looking out at his corner of the city. The sun shone from above the Superstition mountains in the distance, the very top of the mountain peeking over buildings. Across the street, another apartment building, nearly identical to his, rose 5 stories, plumbing and air conditioning equipment unobtrusive but obvious, white lumps in the gray-green solar paneling that covered the buildings roof. Every few windows, there was a balcony, luxury units above his current pay scale, concrete banisters textured to look like stone, built in window boxes dotted with greenery, auto polarizing windows, and misting systems hidden in the porch roofs. Two blocks square, the squat apartment building was this century’s replacement of tract housing, less square footage per person, but many more people. The first floor of a building was packed with stores, shops, and small office spaces, the second with maintenance offices and structures. In theory, for some people, they could live their entire lives and not need to leave their building. In practice, it became a point of pride to work, shop, and play at a different building than you lived in, even if just next door or across the street. Few people knew why, but it was generally regarded as lazy to do everything in your own building. While the buildings next to his, and across the street, might be mirror images, they were not featureless, fine details molded into the concrete structure. Each square mile had its own style, and the neighborhoods of arcologys had grown to be known by that style. Tom was living in Romana, known for an impression of columns, ivy, and brickwork, with concrete textured to look like limestone.

Dressed, a heavy bottle of water hanging from his belt, Tom left his building walked a few blocks, passing from Romana to Tombstone, full of concrete posing as textured wood panels and fake swinging saloon doors. The path more remembered by day, he quickly weaved his way to cable car loading zone, the roof of a building that was nothing but shops and offices all the way up. He hopped into the first available elevator, and rode up with several other people. The top of the elevator appeared open, with a thin translucent piece of plastic obscuring the inner workings of the shaft. Lights along the inner edge lit the elevator, with a slight glow from the plastic top that wavered, making Tom think of clouds across the sun. Getting out at the room, Tom turned and saw that the top of the elevator bank was a rounded glass enclosure, allowing sunlight in. Not in quite the rush of his first day, he stopped to look at the setup for a moment. He guessed that mirrors shone light down onto the top of the elevators once the sun was higher in the sky. Or rather, they were doing so now, he realized, and once the sun was high up, it would shine in directly.

A standing kiosk with TV panels on every side announced pending arrival times and loading bays. Tom saw that his car would be in a few minutes, and dropped his reverie, heading to the bay marked to match the screen.
From behind him, a strong voice rang out. “Tom! Still with us the second day, I see.”

Tom turned to see Marrow a few feet behind him, waving to him.

“Hey Tom! Sorry I just left you alone. Things are popping today, and I figured you could manage it.”

“Oh, uh, no worries Deb. I managed. And I can see why you all needed me. Who do I talk to about getting some all users messages put out on security?”

Deborah smiled, and leaned in close. Tom felt himself shrinking back a little, but in the tight hallway, he didn’t have much room to move. She put her hand on his shoulder and the heat returned, starting from the center of his stomach and spreading out, rather than the point of contact.

“Well, aren’t you the go getter? You’re the top computer guy Tom. You get to make all the decisions. If you find you’re missing permissions in the network, talk to Janice, but beyond that, do as you want. “

“Ahh, okay, uh, good.” Tom stammered and tried hard not to blush. “I, I guess I’ll see, you tomorrow Deb?”

A smile spread across her lips. “That you will Tom, that you will.” With that, she turned and headed down the hall, back toward her office.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Tom headed out the door. He started following signs back towards the cable car station, when a door marked “Maintenance only” popped open next to him.

“Tom, this way!” Tom looked around to make sure no one was watching, and followed Daneel inside. “Didn’t you learn this morning? Follow the flock and you’ll take an hour to go two blocks!”

“Well then, lead the way!” Tom intoned heavily, pointing dramatically down the corridor and holding the pose. Daneel stared at him for a moment, then cracked up.

“Good, you still have a sense of humor after your first day. Naw, I still have work to do tonight, pulling an all nighter as a favor to a friend. Here.” Daneel held out a mini data chip. “Pop this in your phone. Daneel’s map of the caves of steel. I’ve programmed in a few common destinations for you. Remember, main routes change as work gets done, so don’t use it to explore, it won’t always be accurate. And don’t tell Rocky, he gets upset when I give out his secret maps like this. Oh, and, watch out for Katarina. She’s got her claws out for you”

Tom took the chip, pulling out one already in his phone and socketing Daneel’s in its place. “I won’t. I heard you were the top gossip on the island, but seriously, is there anything about my day you DON’T know?”

“Well, I don’t know what Anferny said after you yelled at him for reckless downloading, if you managed to see him this afternoon, that is. “

Tom shook his head. “Okay, I give. You know everything that goes on around here. “

Daneel giggled, and nodded, seeming for the first time like a teenage girl in attitude. “Well, someone has too. But off with you, or you’ll miss your car. “
Daneel started down one path, pointing Tom down another. Following the map, he quickly emerged into a men’s room from the janitor’s door, and from there out onto the cable car square. Lining up for the right numbered car, he hoped to himself that the view heading out would be as spectacular.

The sun, low in the western sky, sparkled off of Arizona Bay’s waters, long shadows dug in the choppy blue green by boats floating along. Illuminated from the other side, the craggy ranges north of the capitol looked more foreboding, more like the monstrosities that had once destroyed his young life. The strange occurrences of the day, emotional ups and downs, finally got to him. Goaded by the black and red twisted spires of rock, he turned away from the windows. Tom closed his eyes, sadness, anger, and confusion warring through him. Returning to the valley of the sun had been like a rite of passage to him, a way of proving to himself that in the battle of man versus nature, man would win. But he realized that it was more than that. He had hoped to be returning home, but this strange place was not that home he had lost, buried under tons of lava and stone.

Lost in thought, burning with rage at himself for lost hopes, he opened his eyes with a start as the car clanged to its final landing. Looking around, he saw the other passengers sweating, neckties loosened, random papers being used as fans. The heat of the air hit him suddenly, as he realized it was unseasonably hot in the car. As the doors opened, people streamed out, a few giving him odd looks. Ignoring this, Tom changed chips in his phone, loading up a map he had put on the night before, leading back from the car to his apartment. Emotionally drained, he walked the half mile from the cable station to his building in a daze.

Block buildings rose up twenty stories tall around him, at the smallest. Looking more like the northeast coast Tom was more familiar with, he could almost hear his father’s voice complaining.

“Not like it used to be Tom. Urban sprawl, we used to have. Track housing, every house alike and on top of each other, yes, but separate buildings. A square mile of houses, and THEN shopping malls and grocery stores and businesses, in their own blocks. None of these damned self contained arcologies.”

The words echoing in his ears, he looked at the buildings of stone and glass with a new eye, trained by his earlier underground escapades. He noticed regular inset stairs every block or so, small metal doors labeled “City Maintenance only”, or simply, “Restricted Access”. As much as the process had started in his childhood, most of these buildings had been put up since the Quake had flattened those already there, government projects to quickly house those displaced both within Arizona, and the millions who had managed to flee California ahead of the rising waters. It appeared that much like the Capitol, the rest of the city was built high upon existing layers.

Reaching his own building, alike as the rest, silvered glass panels set in concrete with a faux limestone front to it, he shelved his thoughts. Making his way up to his apartment, he entered the small flat, furnished in a futon on the floor and unopened cardboard boxes. He looked out over the city at a rather unspectacular sunset, sipping a protein shake out of the fridge. None of the reds and browns shining in the sky that he remembered, the shrinking desert and higher humidity kept the dust that once gave such brilliant views out of the sky. Drained, he slept, and dreamed himself a moth, bouncing against a glass globe that held within it a flame. A bright purple flame, that laughed at him with Deborah’s smile.