"FWLS44" - читать интересную книгу автора (A Future We'd Like to See)

matter where they run to."

"I gotta go get my sugar fix," Max announced, finished with
scrawling MAX RULES PROTEGE SUCKS DIE SCUMBAGS HA HA on the far
wall. "Meet you on Uber, Hardy!"

Max faded from view, parts at a time. The smile was last.

"'Hardy'?"

"Can that," Harden snapped. "The boy can call me what he
likes, not you. He's certainly had enough of his friends get old
and drop off to warrant a little speech leeway with the one bud
he's got left. Anyway, what do you say? Is it worth it getting
out of this politically correct cesspool?"

"You can't," I spoke softly. "It won't work. I've tried.
If the syndicate agents don't find me and bring me home, my will-
switches trigger and force me home. I can't even stay jacked out
for more than a day... someone shows and jacks me back in. All
in the contract, all perfectly legal. Dammit, I should have
listened to Fluki."

"He's a wise man," Harden said. "He's one of the primary
voices of UberNet."

I looked up, shocked. "What? Fluki? You KNOW him?"

"He joined up a year after Uber's forming," Harden said.
"Wanted to avoid 'the suits', as he put it."

"And Eroki Myki?"

"She's there too. They sent me, you know. Took a long time
to track you down, Benson. You've got some determined pals.
Lucky for you, case considering."

I grinned, genuinely pleased for the first time today. "The
Terrible Twosome. Figured they'd hunt me down sooner or later.
So, how do you figure you can get me out of this mess?"

"What time do they expect you jacked in by?" he asked.

"Six thirty in the morning, net.global.time."

"Alright. How closely is your building monitored?"

"Pretty gosh darn close. It's Protege's arcology."

Harden paused. Yeah, I saw this coming. He'd back out, too