Chapter 76

The next day.

Time: Monday, April 11, 2019 5:35 AM

The windows of the Black Mall lounge showed a cold, gray, and very wet morning, with occasional gusts of wind whipping the pines and spruces in the adjacent park. Amber’s team was scheduled to depart Jacob’s at 6 AM and currently her team members were scattered about the home complex. Brandi and Whitney were sitting on one of the couches in the lounge.

Whitney ran her hand across the luxuriant leather surface. “You know, this is a little odd.”

Brandi had been resting on the other end of the couch, digesting the large breakfast of steak and eggs they had all eaten down in Jacob’s earlier. She opened her eyes and smiled at her teammate. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t you remember? A few days after we came here, Gilberto was hacking away at this couch with a knife.”

“Yes, I remember. What a scene! It was the day Britney...”

“Yes, the day Ricardo killed her. Anyway, take a look at this couch. There’s not even a scratch. And the blood stains are gone too. The servos must have replaced the couch.”

Brandi shook her head and patted the wooden armrest. “I recognize the swirl pattern here. I think it’s the exact same couch.”

Whitney frowned. “But how do you make knife gouges totally disappear?”

“No idea, but I think that’s what happened.” Brandi pointed with her finger to a spot across the room. “See that empty space there? Remember the chair that Alfredo destroyed and then threw out? It hasn’t been replaced. I think the rule is still in effect. Once a place is under servo maintenance rules, they will clean and repair but will not replace.”

“Ah. Yeah, okay.” Whitney idly inspected the couch for a moment and then changed topics. “Are you nervous Brandi, about being the one to talk to Alfonso first?”

Brandi shrugged her shoulders. “He didn’t have many friends. Somebody has to do it. And we were never enemies.” She stretched her arms. “Maybe Charles would be a better choice, but he’s down in Wobanakik”

“What about Tom?”

Brandi shook her head. “That’s what Tom tried to talk me into, but I’ve seen those two together. Alfonso used to boss Tom around, a bit cruel about it too. I think he might feel uncomfortable surrendering to Tom now.” She sighed. “Relax, Whitney. I’ll be okay.” Brandi then looked at her friend and smiled. “And how about you? How have you been doing lately?”

Whitney raised her eyebrows a bit. “What do you mean?”

“Well...” Brandi suddenly looked at a loss for words. “Well ... Oh, I don’t know.”

Whitney stared at the woman across the couch. “Brandi, what the hell are you talking about?”

“Well, the past few weeks, you’ve been pretty quiet. Whitney, are you okay, social wise?”

There was a long pause. “Social wise? You mean me being the only African American here?”

Brandi nodded. “Yeah, kind of I guess ... Yeah.”

Whitney thought for a moment and decided to give an honest answer. “Just a little tense maybe, but I’m getting used to it. And I’ve locked eyes with a lot of people. People have been open. I’ve never seen any racism. The culture here is sure different, but hell, we’re all making adjustments.”

The women shared a brief moment of eye contact. Whitney saw kindness and acceptance in Britney’s mind, and also something else, something so unexpected she blinked her eyes and broke the lock as she realized what it was. Brandi was asking Whitney to forgive her, and Whitney didn’t understand why.

It was a deeply buried emotional need, so low level that Whitney thought Brandi didn’t even recognize the nature of the yearning, not at a conscious level. And for a moment Whitney felt very confused. Forgive her for what? Absolutely nothing came to mind.

And then it hit her. For a time, Brandi had allowed herself to assume the role of slave driver. The guilt was still eating her. But why come to her? Whitney was never hoof pussy, especially in the early times before Charles’ expedition.

Whitney shivered with the recognition of what was going on. Was it racism for Brandi to come to her for absolution, was it cultural stereotyping? Or was it just a troubled friend whose mind had made a historical association? Whitney realized she could adopt either perspective.

She reached over and gave Brandi an affectionate hug. Brandi hugged back fiercely, confused for a moment why she was shivering. A moment later both women left for downstairs.

Time: Monday, April 11, 2019 7 AM

Amber’s team had worked very quietly in the last hour, continuing their mission of Black Mall lockdown. There was only a small risk that someone in addition to Alfonso was trapped in the mall, and if so they were keeping very well hidden. But there was no need to take that risk and leave the doors open as they passed. Someone could shoot them in the back. So they worked methodically to close everything, and about an hour after leaving Jacob’s, Amber’s team had their latest sensor node installed at spiral mark 73836, with a Looking Glass connection to spiral mark 74828. Except for small areas around the hub, the entire mall was now visible on their network.