'Long time no see, Agent Grant, how's the boy?'

'Cut the BS, Renée, what do you want?'

'Straight to the point, Renée appreciates you coming, your boy is a real cutie, met him yesterday, lovely lad….for now!'

He grinned, running dirty fingers through dirtier hair. The smell of stale illicit alcohol and bad breath hitting her in waves as he spoke.

'Six, wow! Have you noticed anything wrong with him yet, only a matter of time, you know? Renée would hate to think he'd harmed a Citizen, Renée couldn't live with himself. Oh, the guilt Renée feels!'

He leant forward over the grubby desk, eyes shining in the glow of multiple computer screens.

'Perhaps Renée made a mistake with this one? Renée is tempted to put things right, before something dreadful happens. Before the boy does something…..oh, the terrible things that boy could do! '

He shivered theatrically, 'Yes! Too risky! Renée should inform the Agency, remove the data hack, make Society a safer place?'

Grant also shivered, dreading what was to come next.

'You'd get yourself shredded too. And to be perfectly honest, I'd personally volunteer to press that button, you dirty, slimy, horrib..'

'No need to call Renée names, calm yourself, Agent! If Renée goes to the shredders, you would be right alongside Renée!

Conspiracy to 180 Avoidance carries a death sentence, no?'

He tapped the keyboard, and a display appeared above his desk. Lucas Grant's records.

'This,' an impossibly stained finger jabbed at the projection, 'This is Renée's code. See? Beautiful work Renée does!

One finger, this finger, hits delete and…. poof!

Poor, bright, happy, innocent boy vanishes, replaced with a future killer, a glitch in the database, quickly flagged, your colleagues notified…who knows, you may even get the job of taking Lucas in for processing.

Now there's a button Renée thinks you would not like Renée to press?'

He actually laughed, spittle spraying over the medical equipment on his desk.

'What do you want?'

'Renée has been thinking. Why suffer all this guilt for one measly payment? Renée deserves more for his involvement. Much more!'

Jeez, this monster was shaking her down, could she call his bluff, report him, lose Lucas to the shredders?

'Again, what do you want?'

'Renée is not a greedy man, no, no, not at all. Renée thinks…'

He paused, making a show of counting silently on his foul fingers.

'Twenty grand.'

Another pause, more theatrics.

'A year, payable every five years. You owe me a hundred now, then another hundred when Lucas turns ten, fifteen…you get the picture? Renée has a deal?'

'Renée is a scumbag, and I tell you now, you disgusting creep, you'll get your money, but, when this is over, Renée has a shredder waiting for Renée's scrawny ass!'

Freewayriding

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