Free SF in The City Anthology by Joshua Wilkinson Page B

started to attempt dancing, Charlisle couldn’t help but gaze at Elegance. She wasn’t stupid, that much he knew. However, she looked at the stage differently than he did, with more optimism. It was like she could see what could be rather than what was. Charlisle had kept his crush on her a secret for years. Truthfully, he feared what she would do to him if he asked her out.
    Elegance didn’t have a great history with men. She had only ever dated two boys, and both turned out to be abusive hotheads. Within months of courting them, Elegance had killed them both. Sitting the row behind her, Charlisle noticed something he had not spotted earlier – a bruise on the back of her neck.
    Now the Harpies had a history for brutally beating anyone who approached their territory. There used to be an all-boy vigilante group, the Griffins, who believed they could rid the Gorse of gangs, like they were superheroes. After these boys came to the Harpie’s turf looking for a fight, they found it. They never bothered any of the gangs ever again. Needless to say, Charlisle would normally not be surprised at visible injuries on the girls, but that day his imagination ran wild.
    If he could demonstrate to Elegance that he wasn’t a loser, that his possible job with the CA demonstrated his inherent worth, maybe she would consider a relationship with him. Feeling a desire so long denied him drawing rapidly closer, the idea of possible competition also floated around in his mind. What if she had found a new date, and he abused her? Charlisle wasn’t the strongest gangster, or the most violent, yet he felt like killing anyone who would mistreat Elegance.
    That’s when it hit him. There was a way he could solve the problem of the gray box hack and discover the truth behind Elegance’s relationship status. He would perform the hack himself, on the gray box in this girl’s neighborhood! He could sift through her transmitted thoughts directly. If she sent mental messages to another guy, he could see the content of those communiques and experience the emotions she felt when sending them. She would cut his head off if she ever found out about his snooping, but to an infatuated teenager, that seemed like a risk worth taking.
    ***
    Once the poor rendition of the ballet came to a close, the Dingoneks and Harpies parted with few words exchanged between them. Charlisle and Elegance did not talk to each other once during the whole get together. Meeting up with the girls had given the youth a stronger desire to find a fight. How impressed they would be if the boys brought some severed fingers next time they met.
    Vox mentally accessed the “geoflagging” app for the Gorse. It had originally been designed by people wishing to avoid gang activity, but the program could be used for nefarious purposes, as well. An older man posted his thought that an imminent attack was about to begin on Springer Street, the work of the Leyaks no doubt. Attacking civilians with this app was like drawing blood in the ocean – it attracted sharks.
    Springer Street was not a far walk from the Culture Center, so the Dingoneks arrived before the mugging even concluded. The elderly man was laid out on the sidewalk, tending to a huge bloody gash on his head.
    “Tsk, tsk, you’ve got to be more careful in the future,” Norn said as the Dingoneks faced their enemies across the street. “You can’t mug a man tomorrow, if you put him in the hospital today.” 
    Springer Street was an unusually large path that cut just around the Nest. It had been designed for old fashioned automobile use, but too many people had their vehicles “appropriated” when they passed through this neighborhood. A large open street would be the perfect place for a brawl. 
    “Well, looky here gents,” Addanc Teivel, leader of the Leyaks, pointed across the divide. “A band of pavement kissers has seen fit to cut in on our business.”
    What followed was a brutal battle that lasted for several