Chapter 58

Zeke went shopping.

He checked the jewellery stores in Section F. He knew what he was looking for but couldn’t find it. He’d just come out of the fifth one when a slim girl, wearing a jumpsuit and an old coat, brushed against him.

Before she got passed, he grabbed her arm. “Sorry, but it won’t come off unless I want it, too.”

She looked up at him, way up at him since she was barely 163cm tall. She blinked her brown ringed-amber eyes and tried the innocent tact.

“What’s your problem, Mister?”

Zeke smiled down at her. Her fizzy, red-streaked, light-brown hair was pulled into a ponytail that puffed out in wild corkscrews around her heart-shaped, golden-brown toned face.

“It’s nice to know the old professions still exist.”

She bristled and tugged to pull free as she snarled, “I’m no cock-sucking, Pro!”

Zeke didn’t let go, but he pulled her to the side out of view of the shop’s cameras.

“I meant pickpockets, Dear. The thought of you selling yourself at your age sickens me, let alone using you.”

“What? I’m not pretty enough for you, your Lordship,” she spat indignantly.

Zeke gave her an amused smile. “I’m sure that a pretty girl does exist under the bad clothing. How old are you anyway?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m almost eighteen.”

She had stopped struggling as she didn’t feel he meant her harm. It was a more protective feeling. She always knew people’s intentions towards her once she had touched them.

Zeke gave her an odd look. “I believe you. I don’t think you have reached your full growth yet. Since the plague in ‘32, women, in particular, don’t seem to hit puberty until fifteen to sixteen.”

“I think you have recently started. It will be worse for you, being one of my people. I also think you are very gifted. Where are your parents?”

“Gone. No dad worth mentioning, and Mum just didn’t come home one day. The bitch did at least leave a note. I’ve had to support myself for the last year. It can be tough being a station waif.”

Zeke huffed as he thought of the problems this girl was presenting him with. “Do you have valid ID?”

She put her hands on her hips. Not even comprehending that Zeke had let her go some time ago.

“Of course. I was abandoned, not illegal. I’ve lived here all my life. I’ve even got my school certs.”

“So why haven’t you got a job?”

“I screwed up a couple of months ago. Now, every time I apply for a job, they get a call and don’t hire me. Fucking, Goldenrod-Burns blacklisted me. It was a stupid receptionist position. I didn’t realise I had to be receptive to him too.”

“His brother, George, works for Station Admin. They are as crooked as each other. They also control prostitution in this sector. I don’t like to steal, especially from the average person. Normally, I go for the rich bitches, but things are tough, and I need some Sols, or I’ll be evicted.”

“Then maybe you can help me. I pay well. Do you know who sells superior-quality gold chains? I’m looking for an unusual design. And what’s your name?”

“Oh!” she said. Wiping her hand on her suit, she stuck it out for Zeke to shake. “Carly Watson, Tour Guide Extraordinaire.” Once she pulled her tingling hand back, she added, “Wazza Gillian, he is in Section C. I can take you to him if you wish.”

“Good. Think of a safe space near his shop,” Zeke said as he put his hand on her shoulder.

“Stone me! What the fuck did you do?” she cried and stepped back several paces from Zeke in fright.

“We call it, blinking. You may be able to learn how to do it one day. What’s your relationship to the Watsons on Harmony?”

Carly shrugged, “No idea. My dad once told me that his dad was famous. He was lost in space in 2061. Something to do with dropping an ice asteroid on Luna. Dad was a systems mechanic here. He and Mum divorced when I was seven. I have no idea where he is now.”

“If you give me their details, I might be able to find them for you.”

Carly shrugged, “What’s the point? I haven’t heard from dear old Dad in ten years, and Mum disappeared off the station a year ago. She caught a shuttle to Earth, and that’s the last I heard from her.”

“Don’t you find that odd? She did spend seventeen years raising you. You said she left a note. Didn’t it hint at why she was going to Earth?”

“It just said she was offered a job, and I was old enough to look after myself. She worked at the labs for Jackson Space Flora, but they just said she quit and left. I was lucky if I saw her for an hour a day once I turned twelve as it was.”

“Dad said she was in love with her job and had no room for him, so they divorced. She didn’t have room for me either. He should have taken me with him. It couldn’t have been any worse.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Well, let’s go see what Wazza has for me.”

“Right this way, Sir,” Carly replied and pushed the door open.

She waved Zeke inside.

“Nice,” Zeke said as he looked around.

Wazza’s store, Gillian Gems, was part antique and part modern. Wazza liked to let the jewellery sell itself. The store was done in white and warm tones, with bronze for the frames of the glass cabinets.