businesses. Her friends shared the upper floor with a few other couples. It afforded them more privacy than the Lion's Club building in the park where most of the gang lived. She and Jonah had offered to let the couple live in the house, but they'd refused.
She spotted Stran, his nose practically pressed against the window, watching the other riders. She recognized the raw yearning in his expression. He hadn't been able to go mech because of the A he needed to get through the brain blast, and hadn't been able to ride since the transformation. Jonah's orders. It took some people longer to recover than others, and Stran still had headaches. Headaches were a liability.
A creek separated Broadway from the Fountain City Park. Mike and David broke off from the others and fell in behind Jonah. Together, they coasted to a stop at the little bridge in front of the club building and cut the engine. A half dozen or so gang members milled around the door, tense.
And with good reason.
Dex leaned against the building, his right foot jacked against the wall. He'd ditched the suit and wore a pair of faded jeans, biker boots, and a long-sleeved t-shirt. His old Dragons hoodie hung over his shoulder. He'd turned it so the four bars cut out of the upper sleeve showed. The prominent display an in-your-face reminder that he'd once been their leader.
Ballsy.
Jonah ignored Dex and turned his attention to David. "Get the races started, and make them a spectacle. I want everybody's eyes on you. We've got some things to discuss with Dex, and I want it kept private."
"You sure you don't want me to hang around?"
"Yeah, I got this." Jonah dismounted and pocketed the key.
David's sharp whistle cut through the park. "Alright, everybody. Races in five." A dozen motorcycle engines revved, and the guys hanging around the building grudgingly started moving to the other end of the park while she and Jonah walked to Dex.
"You gave up the right to wear that shirt five years ago." Jonah grabbed for it, but Dex blocked the attempt, their forearms locked in midair like some ancient bonding ritual.
Dex smiled. "I'm not wearing it." He pushed off the wall. "Remember what else happened five years ago?"
"No." Jonah turned his back on Dex and walked to the door. "Let's take this inside."
She fell in step behind them and halfway expected Dex to elaborate, but not surprised when he didn't push it. Five years ago?
She was sixteen. The first section of the energy web had been launched and connected, and the world had celebrated when the technology was proclaimed viable. Her parents had worked on the project, had lost their lives to it. The wall went up, and they were left on the fringes. Without options, Jonah had joined the Dragons.
Gang members weren't mech back then. Most of them had been weekend riders, riding the Tail of the Dragon, or the winding roads of the Smoky Mountains, who simply got caught living on the wrong side of the wall. Controller technology was still considered experimental. Didn't stop people from signing up, though. Especially for the controller gig, and lots of volunteers meant Hadrian's science team didn't have to be particularly careful. The biomechanics were a natural progression from the controller tech. Hadrian used them to build a security force, and it didn't take long for the gangs to find their own surgeons. Counter measures after the wall went up and parts of the city turned into little more than war zones. Dex went mech, and even though she tried to talk Jonah out of it, he idolized Dex and did the same. When Dex deserted the Dragons and joined with the enemy, it had devastated her brother. Last night was the first time she'd heard Jonah say Dex's name since then.
Jonah still hurt, and whatever else had happened five years ago apparently wasn't enough to ease the pain of Dex's betrayal.
They sat at a card table, and Dex didn't waste any time. He slid a mini drive to Mary and a piece of paper to Jonah.
Jonah picked it up
She spotted Stran, his nose practically pressed against the window, watching the other riders. She recognized the raw yearning in his expression. He hadn't been able to go mech because of the A he needed to get through the brain blast, and hadn't been able to ride since the transformation. Jonah's orders. It took some people longer to recover than others, and Stran still had headaches. Headaches were a liability.
A creek separated Broadway from the Fountain City Park. Mike and David broke off from the others and fell in behind Jonah. Together, they coasted to a stop at the little bridge in front of the club building and cut the engine. A half dozen or so gang members milled around the door, tense.
And with good reason.
Dex leaned against the building, his right foot jacked against the wall. He'd ditched the suit and wore a pair of faded jeans, biker boots, and a long-sleeved t-shirt. His old Dragons hoodie hung over his shoulder. He'd turned it so the four bars cut out of the upper sleeve showed. The prominent display an in-your-face reminder that he'd once been their leader.
Ballsy.
Jonah ignored Dex and turned his attention to David. "Get the races started, and make them a spectacle. I want everybody's eyes on you. We've got some things to discuss with Dex, and I want it kept private."
"You sure you don't want me to hang around?"
"Yeah, I got this." Jonah dismounted and pocketed the key.
David's sharp whistle cut through the park. "Alright, everybody. Races in five." A dozen motorcycle engines revved, and the guys hanging around the building grudgingly started moving to the other end of the park while she and Jonah walked to Dex.
"You gave up the right to wear that shirt five years ago." Jonah grabbed for it, but Dex blocked the attempt, their forearms locked in midair like some ancient bonding ritual.
Dex smiled. "I'm not wearing it." He pushed off the wall. "Remember what else happened five years ago?"
"No." Jonah turned his back on Dex and walked to the door. "Let's take this inside."
She fell in step behind them and halfway expected Dex to elaborate, but not surprised when he didn't push it. Five years ago?
She was sixteen. The first section of the energy web had been launched and connected, and the world had celebrated when the technology was proclaimed viable. Her parents had worked on the project, had lost their lives to it. The wall went up, and they were left on the fringes. Without options, Jonah had joined the Dragons.
Gang members weren't mech back then. Most of them had been weekend riders, riding the Tail of the Dragon, or the winding roads of the Smoky Mountains, who simply got caught living on the wrong side of the wall. Controller technology was still considered experimental. Didn't stop people from signing up, though. Especially for the controller gig, and lots of volunteers meant Hadrian's science team didn't have to be particularly careful. The biomechanics were a natural progression from the controller tech. Hadrian used them to build a security force, and it didn't take long for the gangs to find their own surgeons. Counter measures after the wall went up and parts of the city turned into little more than war zones. Dex went mech, and even though she tried to talk Jonah out of it, he idolized Dex and did the same. When Dex deserted the Dragons and joined with the enemy, it had devastated her brother. Last night was the first time she'd heard Jonah say Dex's name since then.
Jonah still hurt, and whatever else had happened five years ago apparently wasn't enough to ease the pain of Dex's betrayal.
They sat at a card table, and Dex didn't waste any time. He slid a mini drive to Mary and a piece of paper to Jonah.
Jonah picked it up
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