“Kick you? With my feet.”
“Surprised me. I didn’t even see you coming.” He tilted his head. Tapped his temple. “For some reason your face doesn’t show up on the camera. It’s just a blur.”
It’s because my face is a natural dazzle pattern, Hwa thought of saying. But she didn’t. Let him keep whatever vision of her face his eyes were feeding him. Let the cataract of data growing over his vision blind him completely.
“Oh, sorry. No wonder you don’t feel like talking.” From another pocket, he produced a flask. “You did so much screaming, your throat must be raw.”
Hwa took the flask. She opened it up and sniffed.
“It’s just water,” he said. “I promise.”
Hwa sipped. Seemingly just water. And it did feel nice on her throat. “Screaming?”
“The pain ray. You just went rigid, and…” He swallowed. “I didn’t want them to. So you know. I don’t like those things.”
“But you’re cool with pointing rifles at crowds of people.”
He sighed. “It wasn’t a rifle. It was a long-range microphone. The company doesn’t have access to all the networks in the city, yet. So I was using the scope to pinpoint the sources of the conversations I was listening to. You probably didn’t notice, what with all the karate—”
“Tae kwon do.”
“Tae kwon do?”
“Karate is Japanese. I’m Korean. Half Korean.”
His brows rose. “And clearly very proud of it.”
“I’ll learn karate when the Empress apologizes for the comfort women.” She folded her arms. “Anyway. Guns are bullshit.”
“It was a ricochet that set off the chain reaction that blew up the Old Rig, wasn’t it?”
Hwa nodded.
“You knew someone in the blast?”
Hwa levelled her gaze with his. Made sure he could see her eyes, if not her true face. That was the nice thing about anger. It could burn away any hint of embarrassment. “It’s a small town, Mr. Síofra. Everybody knew somebody.”
She tipped the flask high before he could say anything, but left some water sloshing at the bottom. He gestured for her to finish it. He was back to being the version of himself he’d introduced himself as. “You’re the escorts’ escort?”
Hwa swallowed and shook her head. “Just one of them. There are more.”
“Is it a good job?”
“There’s a pension. Flexible hours. Nice people.”
“Nice people who won’t cover a machine subscription that could improve your quality of life.”
“It’ll come up next bargaining session. I talked to my rep about it.” Hwa tried not to sound defensive. It wasn’t like it was any of his business, anyway. He was just trotting out the usual multinational rhetoric about how much better he had it as a corporate drone.
“Would you ever consider leaving? For a job with Lynch? I work in our Urban Tactics department.”
“The fuck’s that?”
“I change the moods of cities.”
Hwa gave him the look she gave clients who refused to pay overtime.
“It’s applying a design thinking sensibility to urban engineering, on a day-to-day basis. Changing light levels in a building so its inhabitants sleep more easily. Raising the tempo of music in the refinery to increase production.” He gestured as he spoke, and Hwa immediately understood that this was part of his work, that he orchestrated cities like a symphony conductor. “I have a certain knack for it. A sensitivity. Or so I’m told.”
Hwa looked at the dead gel ties on the floor. She toed one of them and flipped it up into her waiting hands. She twisted its length in her fingers. It twitched back to life like bait on the end of a hook. “You start every job interview in handcuffs? Because if you’re hurting for talent, that might be why.”
“You have skills we need,” he said, seemingly undeterred. “You got the jump on me. Literally. That’s not easy to do. It hasn’t happened in years. Also literally.”
Hwa grinned. “There’s plenty of muscle in this town. You don’t need mine.”
“I don’t need it. I want it.” He thrust his hands into his pockets. “And I’m willing to pay for it. Handsomely.”
The laughter bubbled up out of Hwa before she could stop it. Maybe it was the pain ray, still playing with her nerves. Handsomely. Jesus wept. Men always sounded the same, when they tried to buy women.
“I’m sorry.” She got herself together. “It’s a very kind offer. But the answer’s no. I like me own job just fine.”
He opened his mouth to answer. Then his head jerked to one side. He scowled, and then nodded. “Mm. Mm-hmm. I’ll let her know.” He refocused on Hwa. “Someone’s come to collect you. She says she’s your mother.”
Hwa winced. “You sure you can’t just arrest me?”