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Disgusting place Dirty I’ to sit down God knohat I’d pick up on et this over with Why the hell did I meet him here? Stupid, stupid Should have used my office, my turf

Why didn’t I?

Because it’s private, Eve thought, closing her eyes It’s personal Too many people there, too many questions Not city business Her business

Why not her apartment?

Didn’t want hiue when he named the time and place

No, it’s just angry, i the droid’s stateain, she’d frowned, she’d given up, and walked out

Eve followed the route, re Sonize him? Has to, it’s face to face Maybe she speaks to him: “You’re late”

He does it quick It’s a bad neighborhood Not hts are dinky, always are around here Nobody complains much because it’s safer to score in the dark

But soht come out of the bar, or the club across the street One swipe and she’s down Her blood’s all over hiot to be all over him

He takes her umbrella An impulse, or maybe for a shield Walks away, fast Not to the subway He’s covered with blood Even around here, somebody would notice

She covered two blocks in either direction, then covered the on the street Most of the responses were shrugs, angry eyes Cops weren’t popular on the West End

She watched a street hawker, who she suspected was pushing more than fashion beads and feathers, skim around the corner on motor skates She scowled after him

“You been round here before”

Eve glanced over The woman was so white she was next to invisible Her face was like bleached putty, her hair cropped so close it showed her bone-white scalp, and her eyes were colorless down to the pinprick pupil

Funky junkie, Eve thought They popped the white tablet that kept the ments bleached