Chapter 3
Beck raced through the narrow street to his new apartment.
After Pavel took control of Able's Garage, he fired every single mechanic for standing up against General Tesler alongside the Renegade.
When you lose your job there, you also lose your dormitory, locker, and so on. Everyone cleaned out their bedrooms and lockers a long time ago. Beck managed to get a new apartment; he lives with Zed and Mara. It's really no big deal; it's easy to sneak out.
His own bedroom has a fire escape, so he only has to climb out his window. He stopped right at the ladder, turned his bike back into a baton, and climbed up. Once he was inside, he jogged over to the cabinet, opened it, and stuck the half disk with the suit on the underside of the shelf.
Beck turned and looked in the mirror. He noticed that he shook slightly. "Crap" Beck thought. If he didn't pull himself together, and fast, Zed and Mara would notice that something's wrong for sure. Beck distracted himself by wondering what he and his friends would be doing later on.
While his mind wasn't thinking about the past, he walked downstairs and went into the living room where Zed and Mara were. "Hey guys, what's up?" Beck asked. They looked up at him. "Nothing much, we're just going to head to the club, you know, like always."
Beck nodded his head. "Okay, is there anything else, or is that it?" Mara hesitantly looked at Zed and shook her head. "No, there's more, but it's just about our ex-coworkers. Link, Dash, Copper, and the other of our ex-coworkers from the garage are starting to recruit programs to help them cause as many problems as possible for General Tesler."
Beck's eyes widened slightly in surprise. He didn't really expect them to keep rebelling for so long, he thought it would eventually die off, forgotten. "Well… That's new. Since when have they been rising up against Tesler?"
Mara narrowed her eyes a little. "After everyone stood up against Pavel in defense of the Renegade. But of course you wouldn't know that, because as usual, you aren't there."
Zed stiffened a little. "Come on Mara, go easy on him. I'm sure Beck was just… occupied…with… other matters. Oh! Maybe you were just hanging out with Cyrus, right?"
Beck tensed when he heard the name. "No, actually, I haven't seen him since the incident. With… Able, I mean. Does that seem a little peculiar to you?" Beck locked eyes with both of them, giving the 'hint, hint' facial expression, trying to tell Zed and Mara that Cyrus was bad. But, of course, they were completely oblivious, as usual.
…
At the club, Beck, Zed, and Mara were sitting at a booth, drinking their livations. Beck stared at his full glass blankly; he finally managed to clear his head of that girl from his past.
He looked up and glanced around the club. He could have sworn that he saw the mysterious girl again. But this time, for real. Beck gasped, stood up, and ran out of the club for fresh air before Zed or Mara could react to how Beck acted. No, no, no, no, NO! This can't be happening! She's dead, she died a long time ago, it's not possible. Beck thought as he stumbled outside, sucking in a lungful of air to calm himself down.
After a few nanocycles of clearing his head and getting back under control, he cautiously walked back to the club and stopped in confusion. He stood at the entrance and peeked inside. From what he saw inside, made him even more confused and dead shocked! Standing at the booth where Zed and Mara sat, talking to them, was a girl.
