Artemis

The fire system had sealed the air vents, so the workshop was full of inert gas. You don’t notice neon when you breathe it. It just feels like normal air. And the human body has no way to detect a lack of oxygen. You just plug along until you pass out.

Lefty fell to his hands and knees. He shook a bit, then collapsed to the floor.

Jin Chu lasted a little longer. He hadn’t exerted himself as much. But he succumbed a few seconds later.

Let’s meet so I can protect you. Did he really think I’d fall for that?

I pulled out Harpreet’s Gizmo and dialed Rudy’s number. I didn’t want to, but I had no choice. Either I could call him or the fire brigade volunteers would when they arrived. May as well get a jump on it.

—

Artemis didn’t have a police station. Just Rudy’s office in Armstrong Bubble. Its holding cell was nothing more than a repurposed air shelter. In fact, it was Dad who’d installed it. Air shelters don’t have locks, of course. That would massively defeat the purpose. So Rudy’s “cell” had a metal chain with a padlock around the crank. Crude, but effective.

The usual occupants of the cell were drunks or people who needed to cool off after a fistfight. But today it held Lefty.

The rest of the room wasn’t much larger than the apartment I’d grown up in. If Rudy had been born a few thousand years earlier, he would have made a good Spartan.

Jin Chu and I sat handcuffed to metal chairs.

“This is some bullshit,” I said.

“You poor, innocent thing,” said Rudy without looking up from his computer.

Jin rattled his handcuffs. “Hey, I actually am innocent! I shouldn’t be here.”

“Are you fucking kidding?!” I said. “You tried to kill me!”

“That’s not true!” Jin pointed to Lefty’s cell. “He tried to kill you. I just set up the meet. If I hadn’t he would have killed me on the spot!”

“Chickenshit!”

“I value my life more than yours. Sue me. We wouldn’t be in this mess if you hadn’t been so blatantly obvious with your sabotage!”

“Fuck you!”

Rudy pulled a squirt bottle from his desk and sprayed us both. “Hush,” he said.

Jin winced “Now, that’s just unprofessional!”

“Quit bitching,” I said, shaking the water off my face.

“You may be used to taking shots in the face, but I’m not,” he said.

Okay, that was a good one. “Go fuck yourself,” I said.

The door opened and Administrator Ngugi stepped in. Because why the hell not?

Rudy glanced over. “Hmm. You.”

“Constable,” Ngugi said. She looked over to me. “Jasmine. How are you, dear?”

I showed her my handcuffs.

“Is that necessary, Constable?”

“Is it necessary for you to be here?” Rudy asked.

I could have sworn the temperature dropped ten degrees.