“Piss!” exclaimed King, and he crouched in front of her, searching her face. “Teal? But you’re… you left, down to Pandora.”
She nodded and gave him a watery grin. “I’m back.”
“Nobody comes back,” said Eng suspiciously. He hadn’t loosened his grip on her at all.
“Shut up, Eng, or I’ll tell your mother on you. Your ears will ring for a week.” Boxing ears was Jesmena Dor’s favorite way of punishing her eight children. Eng was probably too big for it now, but Teal got to see him blanch. A moment later, he let go.
“Sorry, Teal.” He stepped back, giving her room to stand.
“ ’S okay,” she told him, rubbing her wrists. She was going to be bruised. “How the piss were you gonna know?”
“And you’ve…” King’s eyes wandered up and down her body. “Changed.”
“I had help,” she muttered, and with a grunt she got up off the floor. “Now, what’s the squirt? How come you tackled me?”
“Thought you were a squatter.” Eng shrugged. He stopped when he saw the incomprehension on her face. “You don’t know?”
“They don’t tell us piss down there.” Teal rolled her shoulders, trying to work some of the burning out. “What should I know?”
King folded his arms and looked angrily at the wall. “The Authority dumped a whole bunch of Crisis refugees on us five, six, years ago, now. And instead of hauling them out again, like they were supposed to, the directors decided they should let them stay. Not only that, but they keep bringing in more and more.” He shook his head.
“Director begged the hothousers for help, or at least he said he did.” Eng’s snort showed what he thought of that. “They said they could”— his voice changed, becoming slick and cultured—“absorb a hundred screened specimens, but no more than that.” He snorted again. “The rest of them decided, since there weren’t any rooms for them to rent, they’d take over a few.”
“There was a fight?”
King nodded again. “Should’ve shoved all of them out the airlock. But Director Shontio lost his nerve. Said they’re all going down to Pandora one way or another. This is all the Pandorans’ fault, he says, the Pandorans can take care of it. Well—” He threw out his arms and spun around. “They keep coming in, but ain’t none of them leaving.”
“It’s been short rations practically since you left,” said Eng. “And short water. There’s a black market like you wouldn’t believe, and a lot of it’s run by the squatters. They tap the pipes from the stairs.”
“If we didn’t keep the food lines under control, they’d be all over us,” added King.
The weight of the news staggered Teal, but she shoved it aside. It had nothing to do with her. All that mattered was getting to the Authority.
“Listen, guys, I need a room. Are the bureaus still up?”
“Not for at least a year,” said King. “Hate to tell you, Teal, but there aren’t any rooms.”
“What do you mean? There’s always something.” Sometimes it was monstrously expensive, but there was always something.
“Not anymore. The director made a deal with the airheads to give them extra rooms when the squatters started taking up the halls.” King looked like he wanted to spit. “So now we’re paying for their rent on top of ours. It’s all piss and smoke now, Teal. Nothing decent left up here.”
“You could stay with me, Teal,” suggested Eng.
Teal hesitated. She knew Eng was just a kid and a talker and it was a good offer. She did need to hole up somewhere, but this new woman’s body she was trapped in wanted to squirm at the idea. Maybe it was the memory of how he had just knocked her flat just because.
“Thanks, but not,” she told him. “I’ve got to find my own place. I’ve got… stuff to do.”
King shook his head again. “We’re telling you, Teal. There’s nothing.”
“So let me piss away a little time.” Teal shrugged. “What’s it to you?”
The boys—men, really—exchanged skeptical glances. King turned away first, his gaze wandering up and down the blank walls like he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.
“Okay,” said Eng for both of them. “Your time, not mine. But I wouldn’t let the superiors catch you sleeping in the hall. They’ll take your head off.”
“Nice to know some things haven’t changed,” said Teal blandly.
They all chuckled at that. “Watch out for yourself.” Eng held out his hand and they brushed palms and backs, touching their foreheads to each other, a kids’ salute Teal wouldn’t have realized she even remembered. “And I’m still in the same hole if you need anything.”