Chapter 146

“So, how are things?” Jasmine asked when I sat down across from her.

“Life has changed a lot in the last couple of weeks,” I admitted. “And I could really use a girlfriend.”

“Well, you’re always welcome to talk.”

I shook my head. “No, thank you. What I need is a distraction, something to get my mind off unpleasantness and move me in a positive direction.”

I leaned toward her. “I have a question, and it’s off the record. This is just for me because I haven’t been in Packhaven long enough to fully form an opinion of the city, and I seem to be getting rather homogeneous answers when I ask people how they like living here. No strings attached, person to person, no one to impress; what do you think of life in Packhaven?”

She glanced around and leaned across the table, beckoning for me to come closer. “I think there’s a lot more to Packhaven than you can see on the surface, and I think a huge chunk of the residents choose not to look any deeper.” She leaned back, keeping her voice soft. “It’s pleasant living here the way that it looks on the surface. So why shake things up?”

I nodded in understanding that we weren’t going to discuss things in detail in the restaurant.

Jasmine tapped her fingers on the table, her nails drumming thoughtfully for a moment. “Do you have to hurry back to work when you’re done?” she asked. “My shift is actually over. I start extremely early in the day, but I would love to show you the city gardens.”

“I’ve heard from several people that they’re very nice,” I said.

She nodded, a gleam in her eye. “It’s just the kind of place that I think you’d like.” Her words dripped with suggestion. Now we were getting somewhere.

She and I chatted about non-important things like the best restaurants and what popular bands and actors and actresses had come from Packhaven. Packhaven claimed a lot of pride in their cultural exports to the rest of Orlune.

After lunch, we walked back-to-back to Theo’s car. He’d offered to give us a ride to the gardens, and she and I sat in the back seat.

She leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Ditch the guard.”

I giggled as if she’d said something funny. “I would love to see that happen,” I said as if we were talking about something not important at all.

Charles and I had ditched our guards once, and while I hated to do it to Theo, she obviously had stuff to say to me that we needed to be outdoors, away from people, and that included Theo.

It wasn’t until about halfway through the gardens that I finally saw an opportunity to send Theo off without being suspicious. Just up the path stood a candy stall that had a huge line waiting to get cotton candy that looked like various flowers from the garden.

“Theo, would you be kind enough to go get Jasmine and me cotton candy? Please?” I begged, handing him a couple of bills. “I want to thank her for coming out and spending time with me. And the flowers are so cute.”

He frowned. “Where are you going while I do this?”

I glanced around. “We’ll just wait right over there by the roses,” I suggested.

The roses stood in a planting that had no statues or benches or any place else where people could hide and listen in. Not that I thought anyone was spying on people randomly in parks. But there was such a weird vibe to the city that one never knew.

“All right,” he agreed. “You stay by the roses, and I will get you cotton candy.”

He took the bills and stood in line. I pulled Jasmine over by the roses. No one else was there because there were only a few blooms left on the plants as they took one last opportunity in the cool fall weather to blossom before dying out for winter.

“I think that’s as good as I’m going to be able to get rid of him,” I said. “What do you need to tell me?”

“There is a dark side of Packhaven,” Jasmine murmured.

“I’ve heard that before,” I said. “And I’m trying to get to the bottom of it, but I’m so stuck. In my position in the city, I can’t be sure who I can trust. And I definitely don’t trust any of the electronics that I’ve been issued.”

“You know about the dark web?” she asked.

“Yes. I have the address. I just can’t access it.”

She nodded. “I’ll tell you what. I’ve read your works that are banned in Packhaven, and I’d love to see you do for Packhaven what you did for Lustrum. There’s something rotten in the core of the government, and it needs to be exposed.”

“Do you have anything more specific for me than that?” I tried to hold back premature disappointment.

She took a look and counted the number of people in front of Theo. He was still three back from even placing his order.

“I do, and it’s a feminist cause. And I think you’re the right reporter for it. I know lots and lots of women who have either worked for are currently in positions within the government, and the common consensus is that if one wants to get ahead as a female within the government, regardless of role, the way to do it is in your boss’s pants.”

“Seriously? Sexual favors for promotion?” I asked, remembering to drop my voice after I said seriously.

“Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying. It’s all over the dark web. You’ll see when you get there. If you give me cash, I can get you a clean laptop. But don’t let your guard see it. Especially if you don’t know who’s payroll he’s really on.”

“Do you have any more details than that?” I pressed, my nature as a reporter taking over.

She said she glanced at the line and Theo again. “I don’t honestly have much more to say, but just realize that you need to be careful. And it’ll take me about a week to get the laptop for you. And in between, we won’t be able to communicate about this. Because anything you say over your phone could be recorded.”

“Speaking of that,” I said, “could you get me a phone that’s… Well, to use movie terminology, could you give me a burner phone?”

She grinned. “I can do that, too.”

“I haven’t been able to talk to some of my friends in Lustrum in months. They’re probably worried sick about me. Supposedly, they took our original phones because they were worried about who might be listening in, but I think it was the opposite.”

She nodded. “Wise. I’m glad you’re not completely naive. But I’m going to advise you not to call them. You have no way of knowing if their phones and computers are being monitored. And no good way to get them clean devices without being overheard on their end.”

I drooped under the crushing weight of disappointment.

“Don’t worry. You’ll catch up with your friends eventually. And until then, it’s probably safer for them if you don’t contact them.” She pressed her lips together in thought. I’m guessing for the pair you should bring me five hundred dollars. I’m not getting you top-of-the-line anything because if anybody finds it you’ll just be throwing the devices away. They’ll both come equipped with a virus that’ll wipe the hard drive.”

“Like a cyanide pill for your computer?” I said. “It’s beginning to feel like I’m in a spy movie.”

“You kind of are. I mean, not the movie part.” She stood upright and gave me a white smile. “I’d love to meet you at your house in a week,” she said, using her eyes to indicate that Theo was behind me.

I smiled back at her. “Well, it’s nothing special. It’s just an interim apartment. But it’s what I have to offer. And you’re always welcome.”

“Excellent. I’ll be by for dinner. What time are you usually home from the office?”

“6:30 is probably safe enough. I said I’m pretty flexible. By next week, I will have turned in my current article, and I’ll be starting a new one, so if that changes my schedule, I’ll be sure to let you know.”