"You didn't show up for work," Marlene said. "They gave me a call about that."
"Sorry."
"How are you gonna afford this taste you have for expensive food?" Marlene asked. "Without working, I mean."
"Do something illegal," Ric said. "Most likely."
"That's what I thought." She looked up at him, sideways. "You gonna let me play?"
"If you want."
Marlene swallowed half her wine, looked at the littered apartment, shrugged.
"Only if you really want," Ric said. "It has to be a thing you decide."
"What else have I got to do?" she said.
"I'm going to have to do some research, first," he said. "Spend a few days accessing the library."
Marlene was looking at him again. "Boredom," she said. "In your experience, is that why most people turn to crime?"
"In my experience," he said, "most people turn to crime because of stupidity."
She grinned. "That's cool," she said. "That's sort of what I figured." She lit a cigarette. "You have a plan?"
"Something I can only do once. Then every freak in Western America is going to be looking for me with a machine gun."
Marlene grinned. "Sounds exciting."
He looked at her. "Remember what I said about stupidity."
She laughed. "I've been smart all my life. What's it ever got me?"
Ric, looking down at her, felt a warning resonate through him, like an unmistakable taste drawn across his tongue. "You've got a lot to lose, Marlene," he said. "A lot more than I do."
The cigarette had burned her fingers. She squashed it in the ashtray, too fast, spilling ashes on the couch. Ric watched her for a moment, then went back to his thinking.
People were dying all over California in a war over the neurohormone Genesios Three. There had to be a way to take advantage of it.
)
