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Pablo chuckled

The indicator on the wall counted through all fifty-six floors before reaching "PH" A chireeted them, and beyond that a pair of fine wood doors Soainst the wall nearby

"After you," Ana said, and bowed "Tonight, we set the real world aside"

Skyler found himself inside a spacious apartment, trimmed and furnished in luxurious fashion The ray: bleached slat floors, black carpets, and walls done in two-tone vertical gray stripes Black leather couches and chairs were backed by brushed-inable, all stainless steel surrounded by black marble and ashed hardwood cabinets

All of this paled coth of the space The sky outside blazed orange and red around a sun half-set behind the mountains to the west

As Skyler took in the view, Ana set to work in the dining area, placing cutlery and candles upon the thick wood table Vanessa took to the kitchen, hoisting her backpack onto the counter and re the contents within Two bottles of wine, plus so, as if she’d just popped out to the corner store

Pablo ventured out on the balcony and dropped his pack near a professional grill built into the wall beside an e on?" Skyler asked Ana

"It’s my birthday," she said, and offered him a half smile as she lit a candle

"Isn’t this a bit excessive--oh" He sed the rest of his co his mistake Ana’s birthday meant it was Davi’s birthday, too "Shit Sorry"

A loud pop saved hiled as chareen bottle and splashed onto the floor It ht, the first tih

Dinner consisted of chops Pablo had cut frorilled the rease as Skyler shoveled the first bite into his etables inside packets of alu oil, salt, and pepper

The trio had brought enough wine for each of them to claim two bottles, and a wet bar within the apartment offered up a dozen different options for harder libations

For a time no one spoke, at least not verbally The chatter of cutlery on porcelain, the ht by rich, flavorful food, said everything that needed saying TheSkyler had eaten in ht, years, as he savored a sip of the merlot Better even than the bowl of rah no-man’s-land

And then Vanessa poured the wine She said a toast in Portuguese, then wished happy birthday to Ana on behalf of the whole world

Ana blushed and took a healthy gulp of wine

With food and alcohol consumed the birthday party started in earnest Skyler and Pablo handled the task of clearing the table by flinging dirty dishes from the fifty-seventh-floor balcony Ana fiddled with the entertainment panel until she had the entire place flooded with music that blended electronica, fizz-def, and traditional Latin instruments Soon she and Vanessa kicked off their shoes and the two danced on top of a polished teak coffee table, Ana with a bottle of chaht back to the first ti white dress flowing around her toned body Her movements had been fluid, even delicate Now, dressed in khaki shorts and a stained tank top, her hiking boots kicked off, she showed a different side Skyler thought of the university girls who filled dark clubs in Utrecht on the weekends More than a few had war the peak of his transition to manhood, before he’d joined the Luchtmacht The Darwin Elevator had arrived a few years before, but the explosion of hope the device created in the world’s youth still raged A fine tihteen-year-old, he ressive tune that blared froe in a post-disease world soer at the Builders than all the billions who had died or succumbed, and all the survivors who remained trapped within the auras They’d stolen a proper, carefree childhood fro woman, and so many others Ana just had the fortune, or rudge her the desire to act with reckless abandon now and then?

She had earned the right, and ht, the four immunes lay haphazardly on cushions they’d amassed on the wide balcony Stars filled the sky above, and the silken voice of Ella Fitzgerald wafted over theh to fill the occasional lapse in conversation

Each iiven Pablo, with a little wine, showed signs of a sly sense of hu and silent façade Even Vanessa, who spoke last, opened up somewhat The e ran deep, though, and she avoided the topic entirely

Skyler’s experience in Darwin fascinated the others, and so he spent theHe told them of the events that led to Tania’s discovery of the new Builder ship, and how they wound up coer crew he’d run, and the fate that had met both thean to dwindle as dawn approached, and the gaps in conversation widened Soon the others slept soundly under the stars, but Skyler found it difficult to snooze there He’d always preferred a dark, quiet rooht halfway between a dream and reality At some point Ana decided to use Skyler’s stomach as a pillow, and he had to cup her head in both hands to get out from beneath

He left the three of the draw fro away More time would be required before it could do the sa on He relieved hirabbed a blanket and pulled it over his shoulders

Yawning, Skyler settled on the big leather couch in the ht, reflected into the west-facing rooe of the balcony outside, and proain It ht, and wondered if their absence fro a handheld

The smell of coffee kept hi rested on the table near hi from its lip He rubbed his eyes and took in the room Ana, Vanessa, and Pablo all sat on the floor around the low table, each with a ," Skyler said, and sipped He would have used ar, but he didn’t complain

"We need to speak with you," Pablo said

Uh-oh "Should I switch back to wine first?"

"Stick with the coffee," Ana said, her voice light

He didn’t know exactly how to take that remark After a quick study of the dark brown liquid in the cup, he tilted it back and downed the reirl?"

"The three of us have been talking," she said, "since dawn Talking about our future, and yours"

"Is theretoward the kitchen

"We talked about what you told us," she went on, ignoring his lame atteed to say The three of theht’s revelry banished with the break of day My old crew Yeah, I really fucked that up, what about it? "Is there ht be best to make this little band we’ve for an authority in her voice like only a lawyer could "We want to be your ne"

Skyler stared at the three immunes in stunned silence

Pablo spread his hands "We already are, really It’s just never been … eh, stated"