Chapter Twenty-One -
Departures
A cold wind
blew across the crowns of San Francisco's skyscrapers, cutting like a blade
through trench coats and sweaters alike. Crow and Rebecca stood on the top deck
of the Hilton, nursing steaming coffees and shivering against the wind. A
swimming pool nestled between ornamental boulders behind them, a design idea of
an out-of-town architect who thought that all of California was sunny and warm.
Ravens lighted between the boulders, picking at the debris of last night's
cultured cocktail party. Corners of bread, crumbs of cheese, a missing ear ring
or two, the birds picked the roof cleaner than the janitors could manage.
Crow watched
a ferry meander across the bay and noticed that it had also caught Rebecca's
eye. He gestured to it. "Ever been on one of the ferries?" Meaningless
conversation, it was the glue that held together social gatherings even of only
two people.
Rebecca
shrugged. "I think I went to Alcatraz when I was little, but other than that,
no. I'm not from around here remember, I grew up in Nebraska."
"They must
have loved the mods there." Crow said. "Was it teenage rebellion against the
heartland at first? Did your mom wonder why you couldn't have just gotten a
tattoo like every other dumb drunk kid?"
Rebecca
didn't smile, studied the ferry. "It was an internment camp in everything but
name. They kept the families and children of cyborgs close. They never trusted
any of us."
"Sorry."
Crow said quietly.
A silence
fell over the roof and Crow took the time to study his coffee intently,
counting the bubbles clinging to the surface. Rebecca broke the silence after a
few minutes with false cheer.
"So is there
a reason we're freezing our asses off up here instead of being somewhere
civilized with heaters?" Rebecca asked.
Crow
shrugged and smiled. "I think my room's bugged."
Rebecca
raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Little full of yourself aren't you?"
"It's less
depressing than low self esteem." Crow said. He slushed his coffee around in
slow circles, until a whirlpool's edges touched the rim of the paper cup. "What
do you say we get Green Eyes out?"
"He won't go
for it." Rebecca said without hesitation and then blushed slightly. "You were
there the first time I went for it and he hasn't budged a bit. He can be quite
stubborn."
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