“How can it be for money?” Yuri asked.

“Shields have protected cities from severe weather for decades,” Eldlund said in a tone that told us sie clearly felt sie was explaining the utterly obvious. “People are complacent; they take that protection for granted. So if a shield fails during a storm, there’ll be plenty of damage. That will have a big effect on spending patterns and insurance payments. If you knew in advance that was going to happen, you could make a killing in the markets.”

“Wow,” Loi said. “I hope you never become a criminal mastermind. You’d be terrifying.”

Eldlund gave him a knowing grin. “If whoever wanted the files could afford Cancer, you know it has to be a big deal, right? That’s got to be a Wall Street playa.”

Yuri pursed his lips as if in approval. “Good point.”

You had to be as familiar as I was with my boss to see just how much he was humoring the poor jerk. I’d seen those tactics played in a dozen meetings. It nearly always ended with someone getting fired, or worse.

“So what happened to Colleana’s brat?” Kandara asked. “You?” Her index finger lined up on Eldlund.

“No!”

Loi laughed out loud; everyone else was grinning.

“Who gives a crap what happened to the kid?” Alik grumbled.

“You haven’t been checking back on Colleana after you were so noble with her insurance?” Yuri joined in, parodying disappointment. “Shame on you.”

“Do I look like a fucking fairy godmother?”

“Stranger things,” Callum proclaimed.

“Fuck you all!”

“What about Cancer?” Loi asked. “Are you still looking for her?”

“Sure,” Alik said. “The Manila police lost her cabez, of course; she scrambled the city’s logs good and hard. Langley assigned a dark team, but even they couldn’t catch the scent. The bitch vanished like she always does. We’ll catch her one day. And when we do, I’ll be having a long conversation with her before we dump her naked ass on Zagreus.”

“No, you won’t,” Kandara said.

Alik bridled at what he took to be a challenge. “Yeah, how do you figure that?”

“Because she’s dead.”

“No fucking way. I’d have heard.”

“You didn’t hear.”

Alik gave her a suspicious look. “How do you know this?”

“Because ten years ago, I watched her die.”

The Death of Cancer

THE DEATH OF CANCER

RIO, AD 2194

Early morning on Copacabana beach, before the gold-skinned body gods began strutting their glistening physiques for the tourists and lovelorn to envy, the horizontal rays of the sun were playing across the water to create a dazzling shimmer. Not even Kandara’s category-four sunglasses seemed to offer much protection from the glare. She pounded barefoot along the sand, careful to keep out of the long tire furrows. Every day, the city’s heavy-duty sand rake servez came out in the hour before dawn, restoring Copacabana to an implausible level of purity in readiness for the daily crowds. In doing so, the wheels often left sharp ruts behind, which could trip the unwary before fresh tides and ten thousand playful feet trampled them flat again.