Daughter of Zeus ✔

5.5

Before her mother's hospitalization, Ada could have seen Kressick as a father-figure. Her longing for a paternal influence died with her mother's good health. Ada didn't want anyone caring for her anymore. Hopefully, he was figuring that out and would leave her alone.

His purpose was wearing thin. Money wasn't an issue, as her conscience had evaporated after the experience at the gas station. Stealing money from government interfaces no longer made her nervous. An o-plane hadn't reported her yet, so maybe they weren't as vigilant as the Prominents let everyone believe they were. Overriding the hotel interface was just been the beginning.

She found the ice machine in a dark corner. How come ice machines were always placed in dark corners? A bit of illumination never hurt anyone. Next to the dispenser was a snack machine. Real food. She set down the bucket to choose her meal. Hmm, chocolate bar? Gummy bears? Potato chips?

She mentally imparted her food choices to the machine. One-by-one, the packages dropped to the opening. After filling the bucket, she plucked up her choices, and headed to the room. At the sight of a man leaning against the wall in the hallway, looking as though he belonged there, she hesitated slightly but kept going.

He assessed her, up and down. "Do you ever pay for anything?"

"Excuse me?"

In return, she gave him a cursory scan, noting he was tall and handsome, but not really caring.

"Math's not my strong suit, but I know in order to get anything out of a public machine, you have to put something in first." He flashed a bright smile which stood out against his dark skin. "You seem to have found a way to circumvent that exchange."

"Circumvent? For being admittedly math challenged, you sure know your big words." Ada crossed her arms over her chest, mimicking the stranger's stance.

He shrugged. "Yeah, words are easy. I'm trying to figure out why you haven't told me to fuck off."

Smart, but not smart enough if he hadn't called the Staties on her. Stealing from a public interface—a near impossible feat—was considered Undesirable Conduct. Successfully reported, a narc could receive a sizeable reward, with the satisfaction of sending the offender to various work camps stationed around the nation. There was only one reason why he would fail to report Ada's theft.

"I'm waiting on you to call the Staties," she said.

The stranger chuckled. "Why would I do that?"

She tilted her head. Her presumption was correct. "Then you're an IT."

IT stood for interstate thug. Since the reference had been trademarked, the fear of IT's spread farther and wider.

"I could be at that." His grin showed off dimples and white teeth.

Getting rid of him could be easy. She considered connecting with his mind, or trying to. As she imagined this man with a bloody face, her stomach churned.

"Know what? I've had my share."

She pushed past him into the hallway, then heard footsteps following behind her. Idiot. If only he knew she was running away to protect him. Just because he was stupid didn't mean he deserved her brand of electric justice.

"Stay," she snapped.

The man stopped where he was.

"Wait!" Panic colored his voice.

Unconcerned, she kept going.

~ * ~