The door opened with a squeal as I entered the dimly lit casino lobby that stunk of tar-weed and substances better left unnamed. Despite lingering at the water fountain display for longer than anticipated—Toby had been enthralled by it—this place only had a handful of people inside. Far fewer than should be here this late in the afternoon.

As I wandered over to the token exchanger, I asked Toby, "Where's a good spot for me? I don't see any network ports from here."

"No idea. Their camera network is all run on an internal server that doesn't touch the spaceweb. No pictures in the reviews section either."

I'd just have to do this the old-fashioned way. With a small basket of tokens, I wandered around the small establishment. The handful of staff kept an eye on me, and I was getting unwelcome vibes already, so something here was shady. That alone was unusual since most money laundering joints liked having hordes of naïve foot traffic covering up whatever they were doing.

I inserted a couple of tokens while cringing internally. It felt like such a waste when I knew how badly the odds were stacked against me. As I pushed the start button, I openly looked around and examined the other slot machines, just like most gamblers would.

The tokens I'd inserted were almost all gone before I finally spotted an older slot machine to the side. A section of tape at knee height seemed promising for something that age. When the machine proclaimed it wanted more tokens, I wandered down the row and looked at the various machines again.

I meandered back before approaching my target. Adding quite a few more tokens, I started the slow process of losing them as I surreptitiously peeled back a corner of the tape. Bingo. An old update port.

They would have installed remote access in the years since then, but unless they were smart enough to cut wires inside, a good tech—or a rambunctious AI—could bypass the securities and switches that turned the port "off". Five-factor authentication guarded the machine's software, but only a firewall stood between the port and the building's internal network.

I fished through my pockets to find a connection cable with the proper end. I subtly hooked up my bracelet, suddenly very glad the lighting in here was so poor.

"Cool, I'm in!"

Each press of the spin button watched the money slip away, with just enough small wins to try and make the user think they were getting somewhere. I was already getting bored and more than a bit uncomfortable with how much I was spending. I hoped Toby got what he needed soon.

A man with an extraordinarily clean serving apron came over. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

Instead of the polite offer I'd expected, his tone was like listening to someone using a rock on a cheese grater. Definitely unwelcome vibes. A drink might give me a reason to linger at this machine though...

"This is my first time here. What do you have on tap?"

"Not much," came the terse reply before he listed five drinks.

"I'll have the soda, please."

A casino with only five options? One of which was soda? I could see a dozen colorful bottles behind the bar counter, most of which had a faint haze of dust on them. Two had condensation inside, likely having been filled with water.

"That does seem strange," Toby piped up. "I'll keep an eye on him."

"Thanks."

Barely a minute later, Toby had an update. "He cracked a can of soda in the back and dumped it into a glass."

The man soon returned with the glass of soda and set it in the drink holder. I nodded a polite thanks and handed him a couple of tokens as a tip, keeping my other hand in my lap to hide the dark, dappled grey cord that almost matched the shade of my pants. With a faint sniff of disapproval, he left. I took a sip of the soda and made a face. It was flat.

No wonder this place was so popular. Not.

"Did you know that none of the cameras can see the card tables? There are posters and hanging decorations in the way."

My heart sank as I remembered there had only been one card table in operation, and it had been occupied by five rather focused people. "Can I just walk by?"

"It'll be better if I can record several rounds being played and the cards dealt."

With an internal groan, I slid my connection cable back into hiding, redeemed my tokens from the greedy machine, and wandered over to the card table. I left the nasty soda behind to keep the slot machine company.

The dealer and five players all sent me frowns as I approached.

"Mind if I join you?" I asked. "The slot machines didn't like me."

"You'll have to wait for a new game," the dealer informed me coolly. "It'll take a while."

From the corner of my eye, I saw two bulky men emerging from the back. I had just stepped a bit too close to the viper's den.

"Uh, no worries. I have to get going anyway," I hastily said, backing up, only to bump into something.

I jumped and spun around, dropping the small basket of tokens, which clattered to the floor in a musical chiming as I stared up and up to locate the security guard's scowling face. Three playing cards dropped from his hand and fluttered to the ground.

"Cheater!" he boomed. "Outside cards are not permitted! You're banned from this establishment!"

"Wha— You dropped those cards!" I protested, trying to prove my innocence. When he took a step forward, I hastily changed strategies as I scampered backward. "Actually, I was just about to leave."

"Run!" Toby cried out.

The bouncer took a menacing step forward, and I turned and ran for the door, only to find two men blocking my only exit. My heart pounded far too hard with adrenaline; this wasn't good. My split-second hesitation gave the bouncer just enough time to grab me by the back of my shirt and my belt.

I thrashed in his hold, landing a few kicks and punches as the two men pulled the double doors open. "Put me down! I was leaving!"

He took several running steps before pitching me through the opening.

My arms windmilled as I tried to twist midair. A woman on the sidewalk skipped out of my way as I crashed into a stack of garbage bags piled along the narrow street.

"And don't come back!" the bouncer stated, closing the doors behind himself with a bang.

"Are you okay?"

I groaned as I fought my way free of the pile, feeling hard corners digging into my sides. I definitely hadn't landed gracefully. The woman had already disappeared, so at least there weren't any witnesses as I staggered back onto my feet.

"Jennisa, are you okay?" Toby asked again.

"That depends on how you want to define that word." I took a deep breath, feeling the deep aches that would surely form into bruises from whatever I'd landed on. There was a slight tightness in my chest, but no sharp pains of broken or cracked ribs. The Syntech ribs would be fine, but the others were just flexible bones."I don't need to go to the hospital, and they didn't shoot at me, so that's a bonus, but I'm never stepping foot in there again."

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked again in worry. "There's a lot of crackling among the static, almost like you're in pain."

"Bruises. Did you get what we needed?"

"I hope so." He quickly added, "Even if we didn't, I don't want you going back in there. No wonder they don't have any customers."

I snorted, immediately regretting it as my ribs ached. "Let's go home. I want a long soak in the bathtub while you preoccupy yourself elsewhere."

Baths were always nice, at least until the water got cold and you had to get out.

"I'll go look for more criminals! Ones you don't have to meet."

I began walking, hiding my pain in case any street thugs thought I was an easy mark. I ignored Toby's first few suggestions to flag down a shuttle before finally giving in and catching a ride back home.