Double Edge | WATTYS 2023 SHORTLIST + AMBYS 2023 WINNER

Chapter 06

I was a mile away when I stopped under the viaduct between Palmer and Lovett. With my back pressed against the concrete wall, I watched cop cars zoom down the street. Their criminal was long gone—me.

"Gio, we need to talk." For fifteen minutes, Kimi was silent. She had set my computers free and allowed me to escape, but she didn't say anything until now.

I rolled my head around my shoulders, unwinding the knots in my muscles. "About what?"

"What do you mean about 'what?'" Kimi was angry. She would've spit on my face if she were next to me. But I was mad, too. I turned, leaning just my shoulder against the wall. I rubbed the soreness in my wrists. Fighting against safety restrictions was a bitch; a dog fighting against his chains.

"What happened back there was a shit show, Gio," Kimi hissed in my ear. "I gave you that information thinking he was guilty, but once he started talking, it was all over his face! He was innocent and telling the truth!"

"I heard him." I eyed the car waiting at the intersection. They wouldn't see me if they looked my way; the viaduct's shadows covered me. "I listened."

"Did you?" The anger in Kimi's voice echoed. "Gio, you were going to kill him!"

Pushing off the wall, I stepped towards the street, but when sunlight touched my shirt, I moved back. Ruben's blood was on my chest. I couldn't go out into the city like this. Fuck.

"Gio, your enhancements are supposed to detect all human emotion—negative, positive, neutral. You're supposed to know when someone's innocent the moment they open their mouth. Couldn't you see that?"

I shook off my sweater. With one hand, I tugged my shirt off my head. I glanced at the tank top I wore underneath. Thankfully it was black. If there was blood on it, no one could see it.

"Gio, I asked you a question."

The viaduct was near a park. Meaning there were water fountains close by. I just needed a little splash; rinse my hands clean of the crime.

"Gio!" Kimi hissed.

"All I saw was red, Kim. That's what you want me to admit, right?" I stepped out from my protection. Sun hit my face. Shielding my eyes with one hand, I scanned the area for a fountain; right next to the playground. I groaned. Witnesses.

"If all you saw was red, there's an error in this entire experiment. It never came up before—"

Thankfully, the park wasn't full of people. The kids playing with their parents were at the opposite end by the swings. The fountain was closer to the sandbox with the squirrels. They scurried off as I walked over to it and put my hand under the water.

"You always had good reception and results. I never noticed a glitch in your upgrades. If being mad means you can't see innocence, this won't work."

As Kimi spoke, I only half-listened. The water ran over my skin, pushed away the blood, and had my attention. This was me, rushing waters mixed with red until everything cleared again. As I stood in front of the fountain, my system hadn't an ounce of rage. Why? Was this regret? Remorse? Or were my enhancements blending that thin line between right and wrong until I couldn't tell the difference?

Interesting—but it was over. Ruben was alive, and I got what I wanted—this was Tommy's fault. I never should have let my friends trust a guy they didn't know.

"I'm going to have to send this report in, Gio."

Now I listened. My head shot up as Kimi's voice echoed in my head. She couldn't send the report. Griff and Paxton Corp. didn't need to know what I was doing. It was for my own good. Not theirs.