Did he just hear that right? His new tenant is a Decker? The first Decker? Called by Joaquin Rosa personally? This is going to be the best day of his life. Frankie’s obviously, not Valentino’s. Though Frankie won’t be grieving Valentino, he’s very ready to exploit his death. The new tenant is going to be his golden ticket out of this building.

There’s no way pictures of the first Decker dying won’t sell for millions.

Frankie hangs up on Rolando and rushes to his window, drawing the curtain to look into Valentino’s apartment. The lights are off. He’s probably still sleeping. Or he could have been murdered by that other boy who was trying to be smart with Frankie. Serves Valentino right for picking up strangers in the streets. He runs out into the hallway and bangs on Valentino’s door.

“It’s me, Frankie!”

Still nothing.

Silence is good. Silence means he’s not alive to answer.

Frankie returns to his apartment to grab the key to 6G, just used in the middle of the night when Valentino locked himself out.

“What’s wrong, Daddy?” Paz asks, eating cereal at the table.

He leaves without answering. He unlocks the door, and if anyone gives him trouble for doing so, he’ll rat out Rolando for sharing this Decker’s name and Frankie will tell the authorities he was very concerned for the well-being of his tenant. When in reality, Frankie opens the door and steps inside, hoping to find a crime scene.

Nothing, again.

Just an air mattress and clothes and shoes.

He swears under his breath and returns home.

Gloria looks him up and down, finally taking an interest. “What’s going on?”

Frankie finds Valentino’s number and calls him. But it keeps ringing and ringing. “Why do people have phones if they never answer them?!”

“Why, Daddy?” Paz asks, not understanding that it was rhetorical.

Frankie drags a chair from the dining table—these floors have long been scratched up, and he won’t be living here for much longer anyway—and props the chair against his front door to make sure he can see and hear Valentino coming home.

That Decker will change Frankie’s life today.

Valentino

7:06 a.m.

I love the morning sun on my skin, but I come alive as we go down into the subway, like I’m in a whole new world. Orion isn’t nearly as fascinated as I am by the fact that we’re suddenly underground. Then we need to buy our MetroCards, and I’m looking between the teller booth and the ticket vending machine as if it might be my only chance to do so.

“I’m torn.”

“Human or robot?” Orion asks.

“Most humans have been pretty rude since I got here.”

“Robot for the win,” Orion says.

“Glad to be checking out of here before a robot apocalypse.”