Free Archon's Queen by Matthew S. Cox Page B

assistance man to tell the nurse not to bother with the drug test.
    He took a step closer. “Crikey. Are you all right?”
    Being it unclear whom he addressed, both women answered with a yes.
    Anna smiled, rubbing her arm where a small red dot remained from the burn.
Please… Skip it.
    “Spose you’ll need to fetch another unit then?” He nudged the nurse toward a rear door with his eyes.
    Terror.
    LED lamps in the ceiling exploded all at once; flashing sparks lit the subsequent darkness for seconds afterward accompanied by a lingering
buzz
and reek of ozone. The gunshot like sound of the failure sent everyone in the waiting area to the ground.
    The assistance man yelled, pulling Anna to the floor as if to shield her. “What the bloody hell was that?”
    “All the others are in use in the other rooms. We’ve been losin’ one a month lately. Damn cheap Paki machines.” The nurse grumbled and smacked the dead scanner.
    Backup lights filled the room red. The man gave Anna the once-over and shook his head.
    “Bugger it then. You don’t look strung out. Don’t let me find out you’re on somethin’, luv.”
    She offered a demure smile. “Wouldn’t dream of it, guv’na.”



dvert droids massed around the public assistance office, like flies searching for the perfect spot of turd to settle on. Whenever someone left, they suffered a bombardment of ads for a block and a half, until the droids gave up and returned to the throng. Walking astride, the two women headed to a small sidewalk café.
    The pair seated themselves and ordered the least expensive breakfast they could find after scrolling through a menu terminal at the center of the table. Anna leaned back in the chair and turned the credstick over in her fingers, staring at the glowing digits on its end with a frown.
    “Five twenty-five. What do they expect anyone to do with that?”
    Penny spoke between the noises she made at the boy whilst trying to feed him some of her eggs. “They’d give you double if you popped one out. Still, for one person it’s not bad for two weeks.”
    After some quick mental arithmetic, Anna blurted. “Are you serious? The cheapest food I can get is about twelve credits a plate. Three times a day for two weeks, almost all of it… Five hundred or so―”
    “Five o’ four to be precise.” Penny swabbed synthetic mayo on a thick chip and tossed it in her mouth.
    Anna used a chip to scoop mayo out of the little serving bowl. It almost didn’t taste like they had been reassembled at a molecular level from the same bland paste.
    “Still.” Anna stuffed the credstick into her pocket. “That leaves me Ͼ21 for rent, clothes, travel, and whatever else.”
    “We don’t pay rent, you don’t travel, and you’ve worn the same outfit every day for six months. I’m astounded that skirt isn’t walking on its own.”
    Guess I at least owe Plonk for getting my clothes back.
    Pushing her plate to the side, Anna flopped face down on folded arms. “They treat us like such trash, but they don’t give us a chance. We don’t pay rent ‘cause we can’t. Where else would we go?”
    “There’s always the Moon.” Penny grinned.
    “Bugger that.” Anna leaned to the side, nibbling at her food.
    “Buggerat!” yelled the little boy.
    Anna rubbed her arms. Withdrawal started in the form of full-body aches, as though her skeleton had bruised everywhere.
    “You could always get a proper job. You’re always so miserable whenever you come back from the club. Why do you do it if you hate it? Carryin’ food to tables can’t be as demeaning as wagging your chesticles at a room full of drunken men.”
    “They’re not
that
small,” Anna barked, pulling her jacket closed over her breasts. She calmed in a few seconds, and shrugged. “Blake don’t care if I’m high, don’t ask questions, and I don’t have to think about it.”
    Penny held a piece of toast up for the boy to gnaw on. “Those tits won’t last forever, hon.”
    The child