GLAZE by Kim Curran Read Free Book Online Page A

 
    ‘Stay right there,’ Lee snaps, and my knees bend. Calmness returns to Lee’s expression. He turns to me. ‘Petri Quinn, in accordance with section 29B of the Criminal Justice Act 2017, I am hereby issuing you with a civil disobedience order.’
    ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Max snorts. He grabs hold of my arm, his leather glove creaking.  
    Lee ignores him. ‘Now, we have a choice,’ he says, turning to Zizi. ‘We can remand Petri in custody until such a time as she can have a court hearing, which, given how swamped we are since the events of this afternoon, might be a week, maybe two. Or we can fit her with a blank now and you can all go home.’
    ‘What’s a blank?’ I say. ‘What does he mean?’  
    Zizi breathes in, the air whistling through her tight lips. I can hear Max’s teeth grinding from here.  
    ‘A blank chip?’ Zizi eyes gloss over, accessing data. Why will no one tell me what they’re talking about?
    Lee takes pity on me and explains. ‘It’s a simple procedure that negates the need for any sentencing. It means we can track you, monitor your activity, but … ’ and Lee turns back to Max. ‘It will mean a five year ban from Glaze.’  
    ‘Hang on,’ I say looking from Max to the Detective. ‘You can’t ban me. I’m not even on yet.’
    Zizi chews her finger, looking from Max to Lee and back to Max. Max stares at the door. No one looks at me.  
      ‘So,’ Lee says. ‘What will it be?’

5

    SHAKING, I FOLLOW LEE out of the room. My head feels like someone’s filled it with concrete; heavy and dense. The pounding rush of blood in my ears is so loud I can’t hear what Zizi is saying, only see her lips moving. I turn away, unable to even look at her.
    I begged her to let us contest this, to get Max to set his super-lawyers on the police, screamed about the injustice of it all. But she ignored me. Max tried reasoning with her too. He kept saying he could fix this. That she wasn’t to take her problem with him out on me. Zizi countered by saying it had nothing to do with him and it was her decision, not his.  
      ‘You’re right,’ Max had said, his voice smooth as marble. ‘You are her mother. So why don’t you act like it for once?’
    That had only served to make her mind up. ‘Do it,’ Zizi said to Lee. ‘Do it now.’  
    Now, Max has given up trying and looks distracted, as if I’m eating into his precious time. Which I guess I am. He’s busy checking his feed and, if I know him, already back to business.  
    Zizi is talking to me, trying to explain I guess. All I hear is white noise.  
    Lee ignores them both as he strides down the corridor. Leading me to my fate. He stops in front of a door, punches in a new set of numbers, which I don’t even have the energy to register, and stands aside. What choice do I have? I walk in.  
    Zizi tries to follow us, but Lee stops her with a raised hand. Her face crumples as the door swings closed. Locking her and Max on the other side.  
    Lee turns to me. He smiles, kindly, like a nurse about to give an injection, like whatever he’s about to do may hurt, but it will be for my own good.  
    He says something, but I still can’t hear, and points behind me.  
    I turn around.  
    I know what the official chipping shops are like. I went with Kiara when she got hers done. The shop was a glowing beacon of white, impossible to miss as soon as we walked into the shopping centre. Up on the third floor spilling light and loud music into the soulless atrium. It called to me like a Siren.  
    We had to queue for three hours for Kiara to get her turn in one of the four chipping docks—large leather chairs that looked more like something out of an old-fashioned barbers, all white leather and chrome. There was a hole in the headrest to give the operator access to the back of the head. I watched as Kiara sat down and laid her head against the padded rest. The operator, wearing a pale blue t-shirt with the Glaze logo—three