Chương 150

Louis smelled coffee from a café across the street. Commuters moved along the sidewalks with coffee cups and phones. Some checked wrist screens as they crossed at the light. A city bus stopped at the curb, and passengers boarded. He stopped at the mouth of the alley. Angelique came to his side. Her cap covered most of her hair, and sunglasses hid her eyes even though the morning was still dim. She watched the street without speaking.

"Here we are," Gladice said.

"The land of the overfed and overwatched." Cherish kept staring at the people passing on the street.

"Are those people real?" she asked.

"Same as us," Savannah said.

"Just luckier."

"We need to find a way to Chicago," Willa said.

"Preferably without being arrested."

"Can we find a place to rest first?" Cherish said. Her voice was thin.

"We don't have IDs," Donya said.

"No hotel will take us."

"Money talks," Louis said.

"Find one that doesn't ask questions."

"The Alliance is not the Holy States." Donya looked at him.

"Every hotel is registered to the municipal network. You can't just pay cash and walk away."

"We need to stay out of the system," Angelique said.

"Until we reach the embassy."

"Then we stay out of hotels," Savannah said.

"Or we steal a car and drive all the way."

"No," Donya said.

"Every car in the Alliance is registered and tracked. Stealing one is the fastest way to get arrested."

"What about an intercity train or bus?" Louis asked.

"Both require ID," Donya said.

"You can't buy a ticket to Chicago without one."

"Damn," Gladice said.

"Let's just call a cab to the embassy and get this over with. We have money."

"Cabs haven't accepted cash since last year," Donya said.

"You need a registered account and digital payment. The trip would go straight into the municipal system."

"This is getting complicated," Angelique said.

"What about your father, Donya? Can he come pick us up?"

"He will be in surgery until tomorrow morning," Donya said.

"He can't leave the hospital."

"Then we need somewhere to hide tonight," Maeve said. She kept the brim of her cap low over her bruised face.

"Where do we go?" Willa opened the map app on the phone and studied it.

"I can try to get us a room of some sort. But I will need a computer to work with."

"Where do we find one?" Gladice asked.

"A library," Willa said.

"Columbus Metropolitan Library. We can walk there in ten minutes."

"Are they open yet?" Louis asked.

"According to the site, yes."

"Then we go there." He turned toward the street.

"Let's keep moving." They left the alley in pairs and joined the morning foot traffic. A few pedestrians stepped around them. Some stared at their dirty clothes and backpacks before hurrying on.

"We look like homeless people," Gladice muttered.

"Good," Angelique said.

"Better than looking like fugitives." They reached a corner and waited for the light. Two Aegis security guards with earpieces walked toward them on the opposite sidewalk. Louis felt a knot tighten in his stomach. Angelique saw him tense and touched his arm.

"Easy," she said.

"Act like you belong." The two guards made a gesture as they stepped closer, their eyes sweeping over the group.

"Good morning. Could you stop for a moment?" one of them said. His voice was calm, but his left hand rested near the baton at his belt.

"Yes?" Louis answered.

"You appear to be traveling without registered lodging. Do you have a local address, or should we arrange transport to municipal intake?" the other guard asked, his eyes moving from their faces to their worn boots. Louis exchanged a glance with Angelique. Willa stepped forward before they could speak.

"We are a band from Europe." Willa changed her accent to a slight German inflection.

"Our luggage was stolen. We are waiting for a replacement from our tour manager in New York. But he isn't answering." The guard studied her face, then looked at the others. Donya lowered her gaze. Cherish tightened her grip on her backpack.

"European, huh? Let me see your passports."

"Lost them in the luggage," Willa said.

"We are going to the French Consulate in Cleveland to get replacements." Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"French?" The guard looked at her.

"You don't look French."

"I'm German," Willa said, maintaining her accent.

"We are a European band. From everywhere. We are on a punk tour." Angelique turned to her. She switched to a French accent.

"These Americans are so rude." Louis switched to a German accent too.

"I want to go back to Hamburg. This country is terrible." The guards looked at each other. One of them stepped forward.

"What are your names?"

"I'm Klaus," Louis said. He gestured to Angelique.

"This is Camille." He pointed to Willa.

"That's Astrid."

"And the rest?" the guard asked.

"The rest doesn't speak English well," Louis said. The guard looked at Savannah.

"You don't speak English?" Savannah kept her face blank. Angelique spoke French close to her ear. Savannah shook her head. The guard looked at Maeve and Cherish.

"Them too," Angelique pointed at them.

"They are both from Poland." The guard looked at Donya.

"And you?"

"She is Turkish," Willa said.

"She only speaks Turkish and German." Donya lowered her eyes and said nothing. Gladice watched the guards. Louis could tell she was fighting the urge to say something. Willa pointed to Gladice.

"And that's Marie from France. She only speaks French." Gladice stared at Willa for a moment before switching to a Cajun French accent.

"Bonjour," she said. The guard sighed.

"Okay. Where is your tour manager supposed to meet you?"

"He was supposed to be here hours ago," Willa said with annoyance.

"He must have gotten drunk again. That American."

"Do you have a place to stay?"

"We are going to take a bus to Cleveland when the tour manager calls." Willa pointed down the street.

"We have to find a computer to email him again."

"Okay." The guard nodded slowly.

"But you should check in with the Foreign Visitor Service office in the Municipal Center. They can help you."

"We will," Willa said with irritation.

"But we need to email our manager first. He never answers his phone."

"Alright." The guard looked at them.

"Good luck with your tour manager. We will continue to improve our services for your future visit."

"Dankeschön," Louis said with a slight nod. They crossed the street. Gladice started laughing once they were on the other sidewalk.

"Marie from France," she said.

"I will kill you later, Willa."

"It worked," Willa said.

"For now," Angelique said.

"We still need to find a safe place."

"Keep walking," Louis said. The library was a broad white building with tinted glass. The front doors slid open as they approached. Inside, the lobby rose through several levels. A middle-aged woman at the main desk looked up and watched the group file into the lobby. Her mouth tightened.

"Can I help you?" Angelique smiled politely.

"Good morning. We would like to use the library services." The woman looked past Angelique at the others.

"All of you?"

"Yes," Angelique said.

"Thank you."

"Can I see some ID?"

"We ain't got any," Savannah said.

"We lost everything." The woman straightened behind the desk.

"I will need to ask you to leave. The library is for Alliance citizens with proper identification." Willa took out the phone and began to record with the front camera. The woman noticed.

"What are you doing?"

"Good morning, this is Astrid Schmidt. I'm at the Columbus Metropolitan Library, where we are being refused entry because we are foreigners. Apparently, the Alliance is not as welcoming as it claims." Willa turned the phone to show the woman. The woman's face reddened.

"That is not the reason."

"The lady over there just asked for our IDs and threatened to throw us out because we don't have them." Willa turned the phone back to Gladice.

"Bonjour." Gladice kept her face flat. Willa turned the phone back to herself.

"Today Marie is very upset. Her phone was stolen, and now she can't call her family. This is a terrible experience for European tourists."

"Stop recording," the woman said.

"Why? Afraid your boss will see this? We will post it on Tengri." Willa kept recording.

"We will tell everyone how the Alliance treats foreign visitors in need."

"Alright." The woman lowered her voice.

"What do you want?"

"We're only asking for equal treatment," Willa said.

"We want to use the public facilities. Like everyone else. But we don't have IDs because our luggage was stolen."

"Fine," the woman said through her teeth.

"Just stop recording."

"I will stop recording when you stop discriminating against us."

"Alright," the woman said.

"You can use the computers on the second floor. If anyone complains, I'll deal with it."

"Thank you for your cooperation," Willa said, ending the recording.

"We appreciate your understanding of our situation." The woman watched them go without another word. They went to the second floor by stairs.

"Damn, Willa." Gladice laughed.

"Marie from France is impressed."

"Glad you like it," Willa said, smiling.

"Now let's find a computer." The computer area occupied a corner overlooking the lobby. Low partitions separated the rows of terminals. Only a few people were there this early. Willa sat at Terminal 18. The others crowded around her, pulling chairs from nearby desks into a loose circle. Cherish stared at the screen.

"So people just walk in and use these?" she whispered.

"Yes." Willa opened the browser.

"It is part of the public system."

"It is free?"

"For basic use."

"That is amazing." Donya sat beside Cherish and patted the back of her hand.

"You will see many things here." Willa typed quickly. Louis could not follow what she was doing. She moved through property listings and corporate housing portals filled with photographs of spotless rooms. As she worked, her hands steadied and she leaned closer to the screen.

"What are you looking for?" Angelique asked.

"A building with vacancy, automated access, weak vendor separation, and no human front desk." Willa did not look up.

"Something that uses only passcodes and digital access." Maeve leaned forward.

"What does that mean?"

"It means a place where people live without seeing each other," Donya said.

"And where they do not ask who you are."

"Oh," Maeve said.

"Like storage for humans." She paused, then shook her head.

"No, that's worse." Willa searched a list of serviced apartments near downtown. Some had staff on site; others required too much information at check-in. She rejected a corporate housing platform for medical contractors, then a luxury rental building with a concierge. A listing near the river advertised "smart access" and a "frictionless guest experience." Willa stopped scrolling.

"Here," she said. Angelique came closer.

"Can you get us in?"

"Maybe." Willa opened the listing. A loading icon spun before a login page appeared and asked for an access code. She leaned toward the screen.

"No," she whispered.

"Come on."

"What?" Louis asked.

"Blocked." She went back and opened a different link. She moved between booking pages and vendor portals, testing one entry point after another.

"Can you do it?" Savannah asked.

"I can if you stop talking." Savannah raised her hands and sat back. Willa kept working.

"Found something," she whispered. Donya leaned closer.

"What?"

"Vacant corporate unit. Keypad access. Elevator code separate. Guest entry still active from a canceled booking."

"Can we use it?"

"I need to make it not look canceled."

"Can you?" Willa gave her a tired look.

"Let me work." They waited. Cherish watched Willa while Maeve watched the screen. Louis checked the doors and stairs. No one approached them. Willa finally sat back and wiped her forehead.

"Done," she said.

"The Pioneer. Unit 1401. It will accept the code until tomorrow morning."

"Great," Louis said.

"Now how do we get there?" Willa opened the map.

"Walk. Fifteen minutes." She saved the passcodes to the phone, signed out, and closed the browser.

"Let's go."

"We have a room?" Cherish asked.

"Yes," Willa said. They stood and left the computers. At the bottom of the stairs, the librarian looked up from her desk. She said nothing, only watched them go. Louis smiled at her. She looked away.