18% Gray by Anne Tenino Read Free Book Online Page B

fence, and pulled the tab on his beer.
    Within a couple of minutes, he saw a guy in dirty safety-yellow all-weathers and a black old-fashioned ball cap plodding down the street toward him. He knew it was Matt, but he looked nothing like the Basha’s delivery guy who’d been at James’s door ten minutes earlier. His dirty-blond hair was hidden under the hat. More importantly, Matt moved differently now. As the delivery guy, he’d been quick, efficient, and professional—almost geeky—but this construction worker was dead-tired after a long day, barely picking his feet up off the ground. He even had a little hitch in his gait.
    In spite of the glibness of his approach, James had to hand it to Matt. He seemed good at his job. So far. He’d always thought Matt might end up at SOUF, since half his family had, but QESA must be working out for him all right.
    James picked up the other beer from the ground and handed it to Matt as he drew up to the fence. “Nice pants.”
    “You like ’em? I’m just borrowing ’em. Can we talk here?”
    “Yeah, I think I’ve swept it well enough. Within about one meter of this spot, we’re back in their range.”
    “No vid?” Matt looked a little surprised.
    James smirked. “They appear not to have that kind of budget.” A lot of things that the Blue could afford the RIA and other Red states couldn’t. There was almost no resource sharing in the Confederated Red States. Only some military entities and trade boards were nationalized under the Confederation agreements.
    “They either have a hell of a budget for housing parolees or you are one lucky bastard.” Matt was looking around at James’s little yard.
    “Yeah, they’re trying to win me over to the Dark Side. Or coddle me, ’cause they know I’m slowly cracking up.” Shit, he hadn’t meant to say that. He looked away from Matt.
    Matt leveled an intense stare at him. He could feel it hitting the side of his head. “So, on that note, let’s get you the hell out of here tonight.”
    “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Apparently I’ve been assigned a ‘caseworker’ and I have a meeting with her at 0845. I’m thinking it’d be smarter to wait and see her.”
    “What if meeting with her doesn’t mean any change in your surveillance? You could still have someone looking for you twenty minutes after we leave, wanting to do your daily check-in.”
    “I don’t think so. Apparently now I’ve got the same guy every day, for a while at least. I think he might stick to the same late-afternoon, early-evening time frame for another day, at least. Especially since I have this meeting.”
    “How long’s the meeting?”
    James shrugged. They continued to hash it out, discussing the best approach to the job. Between the beer and the talk, James started to slip back into that place he’d been eight years before, that brief period when Matt had been his friend. James had liked him, so much he was afraid to let himself admit it. It had almost been a relief when he’d caught Steve and Matt together. It meant James hadn’t been forced to face something he wasn’t ready for. Something he didn’t fully face until five years later, when he first got his implant.
    “So, whadya think?” Matt was looking at him, clear blue eyes looking into his. James let his brain come back into the present moment.
    “Sorry.” he cleared his throat. “What do I think about…?”
    Matt gave him another penetrating look. “About me staying in the Brick-and-Mortar Inn tonight, and I’ll stick around until you return from your appointment. James, we gotta get you outta here, buddy,” he added softly. Almost like he cared about him.
    James was pretty sure he didn’t deserve any caring from Matt, but he wanted it. He cleared his throat again. “Yeah, I gotta get my head screwed on straight.” Then he decided to share something that was really starting to bug him. “I can’t feel you.” Matt gave him a slightly worried look. “I mean