Page 76 of Privilege

When the car stops I fiddle with the seatbelt. Vale opens his door while I’m untangling myself.

“Sit tight a second,” he tells me.

So I do, wondering why he’s out of the car and I’m not. I hug my purse.

My door opens and it’s Vale reaching in, holding out his hand, and I take it. He pulls me out and it reminds me of a scene from an old video. He holds my hand tight, poking his head in to say something low to the driver before shutting the door. The driver leaves and we are standing on the sidewalk outside the tall brick wall of a building.

Vale pulls me closer, tucking me under his arm.

“Here we are. We’ll go in, look around, get you something to eat, and relax for a bit.” He glances at his watch. “It’s not even midnight.”

I nod tightly and focus on my job. I need to watch out for any danger we might be in, and I need to copy the other girls.

Next to us the line snakes down the block. I see girls tucked under men’s arms as I am. I mimic their body language. A little timid, a little wary, eyes down.

Feeling the shift, Vale turns, speaking into the hair hanging around my face.

“Good,” he murmurs. He leads up to the line at the door where a couple of large guards stand, along with a tan, blond man with a distasteful expression on his face. The man wears a gun strapped to the front of his shirt and I look everywhere but at the gun.

Vale has one I think, and knows how to shoot. But after everything MAV went through, my family went through, it’s crazy to see the gun casually there. Like my grandmother and all the other martyrs’ deaths mean nothing. It only strengthens my resolve.

Vale will be okay. I’ll get the laptop and get it to the PS. That will keep Greater Maryland safe from whatever the Forge is planning. Vale can go back to whatever he was doing before this.

I might as well enjoy myself. I cuddle in closer, squeezing his waist.

The blond man interrupts my train of thought.

“Hey, man. Thanks for coming.” He reaches forward a hand and Vale clasps it with his free hand. Then they’re stuck in the handshake. “Didn’t know if I’d see you here, Adamson.”

“Jeremy. Here I am,” Vale says in a harder voice than I’ve heard him use.

“I didn’t hear back,” Jeremy says, fishing for information.

“My girl wants to celebrate,” Vale says, giving me asqueeze, “so here we are.” The blond man’s eyes slide up and down me. It’s gross. I imagine his body crumpling, stunned by CSOs.

Behind our conversation, the guards are scanning phones and watches, letting people in.

“And who’s this?” The man, Jeremy, steps closer.

“This is Ami. Ami, Jeremy,” Vale says smoothly.

I go against my instinct and shrink back, pretending to be intimidated by Jeremy. “Nice to meet you.”

“Well, let me know if you need anything,” Jeremy says, his eyes lingering even as he turns to enter the building.

We duck through the door after him and it’s crowded. There are people everywhere. Loud music thumps, the bass vibrating through me. I stay close to Vale and let him lead me through the crowd.

There’s a lot of movement on the other side of the room where people are dancing and a live band is playing music on a roughly built stage. The ceiling seems impossibly high—maybe this was an old warehouse before the Integration? The walls are rough brick and it’s huge. Already I’m wondering about being on the roof, four or five stories up.

Vale remembers I’m hungry, so our first stop is a table covered with a spread of delicious-looking food.

“Fill it up,” he directs, handing me a plate.

“I intend to,” I tell him.

When the plate is full I hold it carefully with two hands. Vale’s arm is still wrapped around my waist, and he leads me toward a door on the side of the room. We push through another crowd and duck out the door.

There’s an old, fenced parking lot with tables and chairs and benches out here. The sun is a deep brilliant gold, juststarting to set finally, and the sky is washed over in fiery orange. Vale pulls me over to a bench. Before we get there a man comes up to us and tries to start a conversation. Vale dismisses him, telling the man he has to take care of his “girl.” Once we’re sitting on the bench, Vale sighs.

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