Hill -- Outside line
"The Wondrous Torsos. Diffraction Orifice. The Untidy Igloos."
"Shut up and drink."
"The God Doughnuts. Taunting Flags. Lonely Gun Odour... no, that's a song name."
"Actually, Wondrous Torsos isn't bad. OK, if you won't, I'll drink it—”
"Get off! The Fried Wives. The Ridiculous Florins. The Gland Rowers. The Outer Darlings? Dongle Denial. Rodeo Truce? The Rayon Goats."
"I'm going to throw your drink over you if you don't fucking shut up. Look, I have something to ask."
"You do? Uh oh. The Zinc Fingers. No, wait — the Wool Editorial. The Tandoori Agony. Ah! Rotating Fecal Addiction. Though that's possibly an actual medical condition."
“Rem, Are you listening? Mary’s asked us to… fucking gimme your drink if you're not g—”
Remzi yanked the beer protectively to his chest, managed not to spill it. “Get your own.”
Hill pulled her hand back. “The bar’s a long way from here.”
“No it’s not. Get me another while you’re there.”
A breeze block wall ahead of them smothered the music to a low, rhythmic surge they felt pass through the bare floor under them, their backs propped against a concrete shelf. The corridor was crowded, tight clusters all shouting, leaning in close to be heard.
“Better idea, why don’t y—”
Something dripped just in front of them. They looked up — and quickly pushed themselves away from the edge across the floor. Rivulets were forming along the length of the corrugated roof that slanted down over the breeze blocks and over their heads, gravity-fed from the room beyond. No-one else seemed to have noticed the now-regular droplets.
Hill reached out an open palm and caught a drop.
“That’s disgusting,” said Remzi.
She grinned. “Must be getting very humid in there. Shall we both go? Your beer’ll end up getting salty if we stay here.” Before Remzi could reply, she got to her feet and walked away.
He fumbled to standing, glass in one hand, and shouted after her: "The Elicit Tunics! The Tony Fiends?” She didn’t respond, walked on to an open passage at the far end and disappeared into it. He paced after Hill round the corner, following her down iron stairs into the full hammer-strike force of the noise. The human source of the rain was barely visible below them, creating their own weather as they danced.
Hill and Remzi looped to the right through another door and down a second narrow stair where the sound dropped again to a dull rumble. They picked a path through people sat on the steps in twos and threes. A last short press through bodies and they were out under a high arch that gave way to open sky and relative quiet, where a disinterested-looking server stood at a makeshift table. Hill pointed to a beer pump and held up two fingers.
They found a spot on the grass. Now Remzi could hear himself, he tried again. "Genocidal Afterglow. The Rusting Dingos. The Rude Girders. No, that's a steel workers' bar. I said get off. Drink your... you just got one, why won't you leave mine alone?"
"You're drinking too slowly, I'm helping. You have this fresh one to start. That thing I was going to ask — Mary wants us to perform at the exhibition.”
“What, our new band? We don’t have any songs. We’re struggling for a name as well.”
“No, not our new band. Apparently there are some buyers she wants us to showcase the tech to.”
“We’re not selling.”
“No, she knows that. She just wants us to help muster interest in the school. You in?”
Remzi dropped his head, forlorn. “Does this mean you don't want to start a band with me?"
"I want to start a band with you and I want to not do this exhibition by myself.”
"Neither of us play an instrument.”
"So let's start with the exhibition and take it from there. Our usual one-two? I’ll blather about axioms for a while, bore them with protein folding, then you can wow them with the magic trick?“
“And after that we play a song?”
“No rem, we d—” Hill looked over Remzi’s shoulder. “Is that…?”
Remzi twisted round to see where Hill was nodding. A man sat cross-legged on a small rise in the grass, attention fully absorbed in cigarette-rolling. Remzi said, “Yup.”
Hill raised her voice. “Tru?”
The man lifted his head and squinted in their direction. He smiled and lifted a give me a moment finger before shuffling his way over to them, half-formed cigarette cupped in his palm. “Look at you two. Haven’t seen you in a long while.”
“A year? Two?” said Hill.
Tru returned his focus to rolling. “Two. What brings you outside-line?”
“We’ve been coming to the Vault for years. A few other bars round here.”
“So have I. Since I left the school anyway. How have we not seen each other?”
“It’s a big place. Lot of dark corners. What do you mean, left the school? Where did you go?”
“Didn’t you hear? I’m permanently outside-line now. Or as good as permanent.”
“I just assumed you’d moved to a different lab somewhere, but then we didn’t see you and…”
Tru kept his eyes on the cigarette. “And you forgot about me?”
Hill ignored the question. “So what are you doing now?”
“For work? Screengrunt stuff. When I can get any. I’m here at Vault mostly. Meals for odd jobs.”
“Tru, what happened?”
He placed the finished cigarette between his lips, lit it and look a long breath. “Things got a little out of hand after the lab’s IP was sold. Did you hear about the sale?”
“No.”
“They had me promoting, of course. Hated it at first. But then I got a taste for it. Got pulled in deeper, ended up in high-end places on the street — you know, no intermediary, no warnings. Automated credit supply if there’s insufficient funds. The drinks keep on coming, then stronger stuff, the talk flows faster, gets more expensive. Forgot entirely why I was there. Suddenly you’re in serious debt and taking bigger risks to try and get out and it’s all the way down to…” He gestured with the roll-up to their surroundings. “If I say one more thing inside-line…” He shrugged.
“What?”
“There are always deeper holes you can fall in. Safer to just stay outside.”
..
First sun was still just below the horizon. The three of them walked unsteadily toward it down the middle of a long straight road sloping into the city, babbling and laughing. They passed a mix of metal-boarded houses, chaotic front yards, the occasional still-open, just-opening or shattered shop window.
On the tail of a laugh, Remzi said, “When will we see you again Tru?”
“You’ve got my number. Let me know when you’re coming back.”
Hill patted his shoulder. “We’re here most weeks. Often just for a quick drink.”
Tru put his hands in his pockets. “Slumming it outside-line with the rest of us huh?”
“It’s a good place to think without…”
“Without all the inside-line bullshit.”
“Exactly. Look, Tru — I was saying to Rem, we’re putting on a public seminar at the school in the week. You’re welcome to come.”
“I can’t.”
“Of course you can.”
“You know what I mean. I’d have to be mute.”
“But I can get you a pass into the building. You can come along, listen?”
“And just sit there in silence? Come on Hill. That’s so much worse.”
They walked on.
“Guess it would be.”
Hill and Remzi took a while to notice Tru had stopped. They looked back up the road.
Tru raised his hands to the side, palms facing them. “Far as I can go.” He pointed up at the buildings to each side. Toward the city, facades became well-kept, frontages landscaped. “Far as our conversation can go anyway. Where you’re standing, it’s past where I can speak. Time for me to head off.”
They stood a few feet apart. Remzi looked up at the architecture. “All the times I’ve walked down this road, never noticed the line was here.”
Tru nodded. “You’ve never needed to.”
Hill took three steps back up the road and hugged Tru. “You could still visit us at the school.”
“Hill, we just went over this. Come and see me on this side again. I can help you with band names if you’re still at a loss. We can free-form as much as we like out here.”
Hill reverse-walked to where Remzi stood. “At least we can get a ride easily now we’re back inside.” She spoke to the air: “Taxi for two, immediate.” Something in her coat chirped an affirmation.
Tru laughed. “Thanks for that.”
“What? Oh! Sorry Tru. I didn’t mean to…”
“Don’t worry, I’m used to it. And Hill? Be careful in your seminars.”
“Why would I need to be careful?”
“Just… there can be predators.”
Hill kept her voice controlled. “Bit patronising there, Tru. I know what I’m doing. I’ve been at this a while now.”
“So had I.”
“I’m not…”
Tru raised his eyebrows. “Not what?”
Hill shook her head. “Nothing.”
“Hill, I know you think you’re special. But by the time you’ve noticed you’re on the slope down, it’ll be too late. Don’t be complacent.” He smiled, raised a hand as if swearing an oath, and bowed slightly. “Really good to see you both.” He returned his hands to his pockets, turned and walked back the way they’d come, eyes up to the sky. Hill and Remzi watched him go.