Two of the men patted him down roughly. One of them yanked the RoamZone from his pocket and handed it to René. With amusement René regarded the smashed screen and the cracked casing, bubbled from the fire. He laughed at the seemingly useless phone and tossed it back at Evan. With numb fingers Evan fumbled it into his pocket, then curled into himself again to try to generate warmth. The collar scraped into the tender flesh at the contact points.

René adjusted his eggplant-colored scarf. “You look cold.”

Evan licked his cracked lips and tried not to shudder. Tried and failed. Finally he let his eyes roll up to take in the stout man once again. Manny stood behind him.

Evan drummed up a smile. “The band’s getting back together.”

“You’ll find that your humor is going to evaporate quickly,” René said.

“I’ve seen what you do in that medical lab.” Evan’s fingers moved to the scab in his arm. “You stole my blood? When I was passed out?”

“You’re too old,” René said. “You’re just the bank. The kids, they’re the feast.”

Evan had to breathe a few times to get enough oxygen. “Why do you want their blood?”

René took a moment to smooth down his hair. He adjusted the thick fabric of his suit, skimming his hands over the lush lapels. “Scientists at Cornell have been conducting the most fascinating research,” he said. “They took old rats and young rats and stitched them together at the flanks. Literally combined their circulatory systems. You wouldn’t believe what they discovered.”

“Try me.”

“The short version is that it reversed aging in the older rats. Turns out that bathing old stem cells in young blood has a rejuvenating effect. It enhances memory, strengthens skeletal muscle, hastens healing. Who would have thought that the fountain of youth was right there all along? A fountain inside our youth?” He paused, pleased, and studied Evan. “Let me guess. You object vehemently. I’ve committed a moral atrocity that flies in the face of nature.”

“Antibiotics and skyscrapers fly in the face of nature,” Evan said. “I don’t give a shit about natural or unnatural. I care about who you’re doing this to.”

“Oh, I just skim a little off the top. Like a mosquito. Besides, you’re hardly one to object to hurting people.”

“I only hurt people who deserve it.”

René showed off his glorious caps. “You are such a wonderfully pure thing. A self-made construct.”

Evan pushed himself up to sit on the mat. He still felt weak from the exposure, but his arms were tingling, the blood flow picking up again. “The young rats. You didn’t say what happens to them.”

“Well, that’s the unfortunate part,” René said. “They aged prematurely. Their muscles broke down, didn’t heal the same way. Every benefit has a cost.”

“As long as you’re not paying it, right?”

“That’s right.”